The Cage (Book 2) ✔️

Imminent Arrival and Imminent Escape

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Imminent Arrival and Imminent Escape

"His... brother?" I questioned skeptically.

"Yeah, you might have heard of him."

"I have." How could I not? It was a name whispered in the darkest corridors of the prison like an omen and a promise. No mere man, but a revered and feared legend who even now garnered respect from prisoners who respected little else. The former king of the prison.

Yes... Yes, such a man could help us find Schneider, especially since the two were twin brothers. It had been nearly two years since he escaped this very prison with his lover. Naturally, he'd be invested in this just as much as we were. But-

"You don't know where he is?" I blurted a little too loudly.

Cade's expression turned grim. "Not even Schneider does. It was necessary to keep both him and us safe."

My hopes were dashed just as quickly as they'd manifested, leaving a bitter feeling in my mouth and burning sensation in my chest.

"So in order to find Schneider, we have to first find his brother? This isn't some treasure hunt! For all we know Schneider is running out of time!"

"Have you got any better ideas?" Cade countered, tilting an eyebrow at me. In that moment, he looked tired, exhausted even, like a man who was on the verge of collapse.

I clamped my mouth shut, feeling like an ass. No, I fucking didn't have any better ideas. Up until a few minutes ago, I didn't even know where the fuck Schneider was. I still didn't, but at least now I knew what happened to him.

And considering Cade had already tried to locate Schneider by himself and failed, it was safe to assume we had no other form of recourse than to find the brother.

In the distance, lighting flashed in the clouds above followed by the ominous rumbling of thunder. The beautiful, sunny day had quickly turned into a stormy one, which wasn't very unusual in this forgotten spot of ocean. The ocean began to stir, the once-still waters transforming into rough waves. Waves sprayed us with mist where we were sat at the side of the cliff.

I looked down at my pricked finger, at another drop of blood welling from it. "Fine. How do we find him?"

Cade abruptly got up. I looked up at him, eagerly awaiting to hear how he intended to find Schneizel, Schneider's brother, a man who was purposely staying low and had evaded the authorities these past two years successfully.

But Cade didn't deign to give me an answer.

"Pack light. We're leaving in a few hours." Cade said cryptically, then started to walk back to the prison.

Eyes flaring with disbelief and exasperation, I grabbed his ankle and demanded, "Oh, no. You don't get to get cryptic with me now. You're telling exactly how you plan to find-"

Cade's hand slapped against my mouth, silencing me mid-sentence. "Be quiet before someone hears you!" he growled in my face, irritated.

I cast a cursory glance around us to make sure we were still alone. We were. And the cameras were too far away to pick up on our conversation. So why was he being so incredibly paranoid?

Yet even as I thought that, a sense of caution came over me. Cade was probably right in keeping things hush-hush. We had ourselves some powerful enemies. Who knew where they could reach?

As if reading my mind, Cade confirmed my suspicions in a quiet voice, "You never know who's listening. I'll tell you when we're off this rock."

He allowed me to remove his hand from my mouth. "Then let's get the hell out of her."

****

Apparently breaking out of prison really was easier than breaking in. The guards pretty much... let us. Well, they let Cade. Me on the other hand, they tried to stop.

It seemed that I'd become a tad bit too valuable.

One of the guards stepped up to me upon noticing the duffel bag in my hand. "Where do you think you're going? I've still got that landlord case-"

Cade stepped between us, practically blocking me from view. In a tone that brooked no argument, he asked, "Do we have a problem?"

The guard instantly paled, and was wise enough to back down. "N-No, sir."

But no sooner did one guard back down did another quip up. Nervously, a different guard inquired, "But what about the inspection? The new warden is coming! He'll want to do an inspection and a tally!"

That caught Cade's attention. "There's a new warden?" His question was addressed to me, and he turned to look over his shoulder at me.

I nodded. "Yeah, though we haven't met him yet." I had all but forgotten about the warden's imminent arrival. For a few weeks now, the prison was abuzz with rumors of the new warden, yet nothing concrete about his identity or date of arrival had reached us yet. Until now.

"What happened to the old man?"

"Heart attack."

"Well, that's of no concern to us." Cade declared. And to the guards, he commanded, "Open the way!"

Faced with Cade's unbending resolve, the threat of violence, and the memory of what he'd done to half of them on his break-in so fresh, the guards had no choice but to obey.

When we were out of earshot and on our way to the docked boat that Cade had somehow arranged for, I said, "Let's go get my man." 

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

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