Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I creep down the halls, my skin prickling with awareness of every noise, every creak of the floors, every distant bark of a wild dog. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but tonight, I’m on edge. I manage to make it to the lobby of the hotel and suck in a breath when I see two guards up front, smoking cigarettes. One’s got a gun shouldered and the other’s seated across from him, laughing.
Fuck. Why are there guards? I slide back into the shadows of the hallway and press against the wall, panting with fear.
Are those men normally not there? Zohr asks, picking my thoughts from the air. Can you avoid them?
I’m going to have to.
Do not risk yourself.
I don’t answer. I close my eyes, willing myself to calm down. Our escape has to be tonight. I can’t wait for tomorrow for Azar to find out that my scent’s changed. I don’t want him to realize that Zohr’s no longer crazy and try to manipulate him. We can’t wait. Already Zohr’s been kept captive too long.
This is our moment…just as soon as I get out of this hotel.
I retreat to the second floor and try the doorknobs of a few empty rooms. I know most of the nomads are staying on the first floor, where the windows aren’t as broken. Here on the second floor, I’m looking for a broken window so I can escape out. I try a few doorknobs, and when none open, I pick the lock of the next and then slip inside. Luckily for me, the window in this room is broken, a few jagged glass shards sticking up. I pluck the shards off of the windowsill and stick the largest one in my boot for safekeeping. A girl can never have too many weapons. Once the sill is cleared, I lean out and check how far below the ground is. Too far for a jump, that’s for sure. I glance down the side of the building, but I don’t see other guards. Okay then. I can make this work.
Give me a few, I tell Zohr. I’ll be there shortly.
I cannot leave, he replies, wryness in his tone.
Right. Sorry about that.
The bed in this room is stripped, but that’s not surprising. One of the things I never really thought would become rare in the After is fabric, but now that years have passed and clothing is in short supply, fabric’s become a hot commodity. If there were sheets here, someone already grabbed them. That’s all right. I can make do. I cut the nylon cords from the broken mini-blinds in this room and the next, tying them into a longish, skinny rope that should hold my weight. I tie it onto the bed and push the frame against the window. When I dangle the rope over the ledge, it doesn’t quite reach the ground, but it’s close enough that a fall won’t kill me.
The “rope” itself cuts into my hands when I test it, so I pull off one of my shirts and wrap it around my hand and use that to anchor myself. I brace my feet against the outside wall and slowly creep down, my arms burning with the chore of holding my weight. I lose my grip a short distance before the bottom and tumble to the ground the rest of the way, knocking the air from my lungs.
EMMA!
I’m okay. I lie flat on the ground, head ringing, and wait for the world to right itself. Just lost my breath. Don’t panic. I wince as I crawl to an upright position. My stitches are throbbing and I feel scraped up, but otherwise, nothing’s broken. I’m good, I reassure Zohr. On my way.
Be careful. There is frustration and pent-up rage in his thoughts. Not at me, I realize, but at the situation. At those that are making us sneak out at night. I worry that Zohr’s not entirely with me in our plan, that I’m going to free him and he’s going to lose his shit on the others and go nuts. That our bond is a lie and this could all be an elaborate trap.
We’ll see, I guess.
I trust you. You must trust me.
He’s got a point. Trust is all we seem to have right now, I tease, but he doesn’t find it funny. That’s all right, I guess. If my head wasn’t ringing, I might not find it all that funny, either.
I do not like that you are hurting yourself.
I’m not a fan of it, either, I tell him, rubbing my sore ass. I must have landed on it. But since we’re low on options, I’ll take what I can get. I glance around to make sure no one’s noticed me and then head toward the outside doors to the pool house. Normally I go in through the front, the part that leads off from one of the long corridors of the hotel lobby, but since that wasn’t available, I’m exploring new routes. I’m not surprised to find the metal outside doors are chained together to keep anyone from getting in…or out. No problem. I can handle a few locks.