The Elites

Chapter Twenty-Two

When I first woke up I didn't think "What dingy hole have I been thrown into now? My first thought was thank God that gas crap is gone. 

I guessed more guards had come through into the room and dragged us all out and into separate store closets just to get us out of the way. Being dragged up and down stairs was really starting to irritate me. I couldn't help but think that us arriving on Violet's doorstep wasn't part of her plan; it seemed like she had dumped us without purpose. It had looked like she'd set Jana up to it but Ashton was the one she'd wanted, not us. Maybe it was Jana's sly way of rebelling without getting her family killed. Somehow I doubted it'd work like that. She'd just delivered a further nuisance to the woman who held the gun to the heads of whoever she cared for.

From what I could see I was free to get up and leave. The door was unlocked and no one was stood over me like a watchdog. I had no idea where in the building I was but it wouldn't take me too long to find my way back to the hall. I didn't think the people in the hall would have seen what had happened up there; there'd be no reason for Violet to alert them of the men she'd sent coming for Ashton. The large machine guns would speak for themselves.

My head still felt a little dizzy as I stumbled to my feet. Remembering what Violet had said, I only hoped the disorientation was temporary. If the gas was going to start taking serious effect then it just had to take a little while longer to set in. 

It occurred to me that I had no idea what I'd walk into when I got to the hall. I had no way of knowing how long I'd been out for. Would it be heavily guarded? Would Violet herself be there holding a knife to Ashton's neck? Or would they all have been told to stay put until I got there.

Opening the door and stepping out into a dimly lit corridor told me I was back down in the basement. The bodies had already been moved, both unconscious and dead, Violet's side and our side. I was optimistic that people from my side had moved them; after all, even the ones people like Alice had killed were fundamentally innocent. If Violet's side had moved our dead then there was no telling what they'd do with them.

My vision blurred as I dragged myself up the stairs. They didn't last long, but they were there nevertheless. I clung onto the bannister for support, starting to feel the life drain from within me. It was hard to tell whether it was the gas or the sheer loss of hope.

The large set of doors leading into the hall were shut when I reached the top of the stairs. Before I could even think of taking steps towards them, Juliet launched into action and sprung onto me. She was frantic but strangely excited.

"Thank God you're here!" she said . "I've been scared to go in."

"Have any of the others?" I asked her, rubbing my eyes in a desperate attempt to see clearly again. 

"I haven't seen anyone else come up," she said, shaking her head. "I've been standing here for longer than I'd like to admit — nothing."

"Well then we should change that," I said casually, brushing past her and towards the double doors. She scurried after me and dug her nails into my arm. It hurt more now that my jacket had been abandoned back down in the basement.

"Do you think that's smart?" she asked, her eyes slightly frenzied. "I mean, we don't know what's on the other side!"

"And there's only one way to find out," I said calmly, her grip slacking as I spoke. "Come on."

She took a deep breath before following me forwards. The doors weren't as heavy as I expected them to be, but the strain pulled tightly on my shoulder. I'd almost forgotten I'd had a bullet through it.

The hall was in absolute chaos. Juliet gasped as it came into view, instinctively taking a few steps back from the madness.

The civil understanding that keeping quiet while plans were going forward had seemingly gone out of the window; everyone from Will to Paxley to a random old woman who oddly resembled a beetroot was screaming at the top of their lungs to be heard. It was so hectic that it took a few seconds for anyone to notice the loud swish of the doors as they swung open, let alone me or Juliet waltzing through them.