Chapter 24, Part 1

“I am so. Bored.” Mariah flopped back onto her bed and stared up through the clear ceiling of their prison.

“Welcome to the life of the lab rat,” Kyle retorted. He didn’t seem to have much of a problem with their forced activity. He was sitting on his bed, leaning up against the corner, a book in his hands, but Mariah saw the tell-tale twitch of his leg. He probably hated being enclosed more than she did.

“Is there enough room in here to work out?” Mariah asked.

“Oh look who wants to work out now!”

“Shut up.”

A faint smirk crossed his face, his eyes never leaving the book. Mariah sat up and flung her legs over the edge.

“Seriously. So bored.”

“You’re going to have to figure out how to entertain yourself. We haven’t even been in here for very long.”

Mariah stuck her tongue out at him. “Wish they’d let us play music at least.”

“What you listen to is not music.”

“What? Afraid I’ll make you even crazier?”

She ducked the pillow he threw at her, hair raising for a second as a pulse filled the room. She grinned almost proudly at him. She had no idea if the signal had even worked in the first place, or if Cassie’s friends would be able to pick it up while they were enclosed in their glass prison, but she’d do anything to make sure that Kyle didn’t give up.

The clank of the outer door opening caught her attention. Her stomach told her it must be lunch time at least. Two guards stepped into the room and up to their prison. Mariah recognized the one who was carrying the lunch tray.

“Hey, Mason,” she called. But he didn’t respond with his usual smile. He didn’t respond at all, except to look down. She glanced to Kyle and saw his eyes narrow at the reaction. The soldiers waited for the loud beep that signaled the electrical field being turned off and the door unlocking.

“Stay put,” a voice warned them. They obediently stayed on their beds as Mason and the other guard stepped in. Mason wasn’t armed but the other guard was. Mason placed the tray on the table and darted a glance to them.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Sorry for what?” his companion caught the words. “They’re the ones who got you in trouble,” he sneered.

“What? Why?” Mariah sat up straighter. Mason turned to leave but the other soldier wasn’t done yet.

“Cause he thought he could be friends with freaks. And didn’t report in when he found out you two were missing.”

Kyle and Mariah’s gaze shot to Mason, but he still didn’t look at them. No doubt he was regretting his decision.

“But boss can’t fire him in case he goes blabbing about this place, but don’t worry, we’ve got him all taken care of.” The guard laughed.

“Leave him alone!” Mariah stood, indignation making her forget she wasn’t very intimidating. Kyle still said nothing, but his jaw tensed and his fingers twitched. The guard pulled a Taser stick.

“Don’t even think about, Freak!” he hissed at Kyle. He held the stick in front of him as he backed out and the door swung shut again, locking with a taunting beep.

Mariah discovered she wasn’t very hungry anymore. She looked to Kyle afraid that the news would send him retreating back into his shell, but he just looked angry. Good. Mason had been the only one in the whole stupid building to treat them with a shred of respect. He shouldn’t even be working for Amelli.

She marched over to the table and grabbed the plates. She thrust one at Kyle, coming close enough to whisper.

“Jailbreak for three next time?” she asked, voice barely audible. He took the plate and nodded. Mariah took a seat on her bed again and picked up the sandwich. She hoped Amelli had meant to make them mad, because she was now.

Another pulse flooded the room and this time Mariah detected a faint crack like a whisper of distant lightning. Yeah, Kyle was ticked. She caught him glancing around at the walls and hid a smile. For however many degrees Amelli had, he probably shouldn’t have put them in the same room. They were going to figure out how to get out of there.