The Phoenix Society

Chapter 21

"What the hell happened?" Tyler's voice boomed as he burst into the infirmary where we all sat assessing our wounds. After glancing over everyone else, I promptly decided that I got the worst of it. My nose was definitely broken and would have to be re-placed, my upper lip was split, I had a cut at the top of forehead, my right eye was nearly swollen shut, and I was probably on the verge of a concussion. To put it lightly, I looked like I had been put through a meat grinder.

Elias stood over me, wiping the blood at the top of my head with a damp cloth. His eyes were focused as he cleaned my cuts. While his fingers were careful as they worked, they were not as soft and tender as Banks's were. Instead, his were lined with rough callouses formed only from years of fighting. I couldn't help but wish it was Banks in front of me cleaning my wounds instead of Elias, but I was glad Banks had offered to help Laken with a cut on his hand.

My eyes flickered over to where my little brother sat, not a few inches from me. He looked relieved. His body sat taller now and his eyes were lighter, happier, now that the realization that he was safe hit him.

"Ask her." Lillian's voice was low, and menacing as she spit her words out snapping me out of my thoughts. I could feel her glare from where I sat on the opposite side of the infirmary. Tyler turned around to face me. His eyes softened as they moved to Laken sitting beside me, as if suddenly everything made sense.

"Well, if she won't talk, then I will." Lillian spoke up again. She pushed up out of her seat in an angry huff. "Kya decided to risk everything, our whole mission. She compromised everything all for the sake of one little kid. I told you from the beginning, it was a mistake bringing her here."

"That's not true." Marely said calmly at the same time Elias snapped.

"That's not fair and you know it." Elias threw the cloth down on the table. "It was only a matter of time until they figured out we were there."

"Bullshit!" Lillian exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. I looked down at the blood staining my boots. I was tired of fighting. No matter what I did, no matter how close I got them to the Phoenix Society, it wasn't ever going to be enough. "Everything was going fine, until Kya saw her little friend Rider Olson get killed. She freaked out and ran out of the arena. Then of course Banks had to follow. We didn't see or hear from them again until the alarms went off."

I felt Tyler's eyes slowly land back on me, my gaze stayed down. I didn't know what to say. It was all true. Everything she was saying. I let Monroe get to me. My hand reached into my jacket pocket where the chip was placed neatly inside.

"Banks?" Tyler asked, realizing I wasn't going to say anything. As I twisted the chip in my fingers, I let my mind travel back to the arena, back to Jared. There was no way someone like him could be as strong and nimble as he was. It was physically impossible with the lack of food and water he was receiving. So how did he do it?

"Monroe knew we were there the entire time." Banks spoke carefully. "Rider had told him. They knew she would go for her brother. It was all a trap. Killing Rider was meant to weed us out of the arena, to get us alone."

"Brother?" Lillian said slowly. Her eyes traveled to Laken as she processed the information. She ran her hand through her hair, her eyes wide with shock. "You can't be serious. Can't you guys see what she's doing?"

"Lillian, stop." Banks told her, his voice firm.

I pulled the chip out and peered closer at it. Why would this chip need to be inserted in someone's neck? It would be close to the spinal cord, the nervous system, and the brain. All integral parts of the human body. They control everything. Our ability to move, think, and feel. My mind kept travelling back to Jared. He was losing the fight; it was only when Monroe pulled out his tablet...I frowned as all the pieces fell into place. If programmed correctly...would it even be possible for one person to control it all with a click of a button?  It was the only logical explanation. This chip. This device Monroe created, has the ability to control whoever it is implanted into.