Scarlett Romero has spent her entire life as an ordinary citizen; going to school, getting a job and definitely not killing people in the middle of the woods on a Friday night.
Until one Friday night, she does.
All she can remember is acting out of...
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Chapter Thirty-Nine "In the Eyes of the Enemy"
Quinn's POV:
Quinn stands on the stairs of the secret tunnel, annoyance burning deep within her gut. She tries to shake it off, but Governor Tolkien's dismissal of her abilities is getting on her last nerve. She should be the one trying to find the escaped prisoners, not the incompetent morons he has combing the bushland day and night.
Shaking her head, Quinn pulls her phone out of her back pocket, muttering angrily. Video feed of the garage comes up on her screen. When the tunnel was first installed, she put a secret camera in the corner of the garage, so her and the Governor could make sure the coast was clear before coming and going from their secret room.
Once the last guard leaves the garage, Quinn slinks out of the tunnel, pausing behind the reception desk, staying hidden in case one of the guard's decides to come back. She waits an impatient minute before marching from the garage, and the soldiers on duty on the first floor fall silent.
She stares down anyone who meets her eyes, steps harsh and echoing off the walls. Even the inmates simmer down, looking anywhere but at her. A sick satisfaction settles in her chest, and Quinn smirks at the one prisoner daring enough to snarl at her.
"Head Guard," a rose soldier bows her head, opening the staircase in the wall for Quinn. "You just came from the garage? I didn't see you in there."
Quinn pauses briefly, her heart giving a cursory shudder. Keeping her face blank, Quinn dignifies the guard with a glare, "And you wonder why you're still a rose guard stationed on the first floor after three years of work. Look harder next time."
The guard's face bleeds red, and she whimpers softly, like a scorned puppy. Quinn doesn't spare her another glance, stomping up the stairs and pretending she can't hear the snickers of the other first floor guards.
With a hiss, Quinn hits a clenched fist against the wall of the staircase. She's resorted to insulting lowly guards whose names she can't even remember, and for what? To make herself feel better about her own work? She's the Head Guard, for god's sake, she shouldn't need to be trying to make herself feel better.
Belittlement grabs hold of her, and for a moment she feels small, all alone in her own prison. Her job for the day is to make sure all of the guards are wearing their proper uniform. Not even a month ago, that was the task she gave a new guard on their first day, and now the Governor is assigning it to her.
Quinn thinks about how after Tolkien gave her task, she could barely resist hitting him over the head and hiding him in a broom closet. She'd have been in charge for the day, and it would have been the greatest day of her life.
