Embers & Ice

Chapter Eighteen

Will wanted to catch Hunter before she hit the floor, but his reflexes were slower than they used to be. Her head made a terrible crack and her red hair spilled out around her like rose petals. He dropped down beside her, scooped her head up in his hands and tapped her lightly on the cheek.

She was completely out. Only her chest rose up and down. It was over.

A heavy sigh of relief fell out of Will’s mouth. Never, in all his sixteen years imprisoned in the institution, had he ever been forced to fight in the Orb. He’d seen countless kills and witnessed horrible fights. It always made him that much more determined to stay away from trouble. But Will knew what he was getting himself into when he burst into the girl’s bathroom. He knew that the justice system Dr. Wolfe enforced would have him punished for his heroic act.

But Will couldn’t walk away. Even though every fiber of his being begged him to put his head down and go back to his cell, Will was drawn to the sound of Hunter’s scream. And the sight of Jamison pressed against her squirming body still made his skin crawl with fury. Perhaps it was just in his nature to be protective over complete strangers.

Only, Hunter was no stranger. Will gazed down at her soft eyelashes that fluttered as she breathed, at her full lips and the already sunken shape of her cheeks. Asleep, she looked somewhat peaceful, but Will had been around enough pain and grief to know that she was hurting from something. He’d seen it in her amber-gold eyes the very first time he caught her gaze across the breakfast hall. Will could still remember when Hunter was free of pain and young and innocent. When she was his first and only friend in the nursery all those years ago, until one night the tall man with the pale eyes took her away and she never came back.

Hunter deserved to know why he defended her against Jamison. She didn’t know how many other girls that filthy man had taken advantage of. But… why her? The question was one even Will himself could not answer. He only knew that he could not stop himself from entering the bathroom.

Crouching over Hunter, Will didn’t see where the guards came from, but he heard their footsteps behind him. They took him roughly by each arm and dragged him away. After the guards escorted him through a door that had appeared in the Orb, which led to a dark corridor and a glass exit, he was taken in stiff silence to a room on the right. He’d never been in this part of the institution before. Inside the room, there was nothing but blackness. Black walls, dark mahogany furniture, several chairs with padded armrests made of leather and a single lamp on the desk that cast eerie shadows all over the room. The guards left, locked the door and Will sat in darkness for only a few seconds before the door opened again and Dr. Wolfe himself strode inside. His hollow cheeks were flushed from the excitement of the Orb. He undid the button of his white lab coat and sat opposite Will with his hands on the desk. A small puff of dust blew around his arms.

“Hello William,” he smiled. “How are you?”

“Fine,” he replied. He’d long ago become used to the doctor’s sick optimism and sense of humor.

“You healed rather quickly after the acid rain. I presume you were trying to show off for your childhood friend.”

“Your acid rain must not be as poisonous as you think, Doctor.” Will wriggled on the chair and became aware of how shredded his jumpsuit was. He put his hands between his legs to cover any holes. “What will you do to punish Jamison?”

Dr. Wolfe stroked a finger down the gray stubble of his chin. “You know what it’s like to have urges, don’t you William? My guards are a bit like soldiers, you see. Deprived of natural cravings and homesick and needing something to quench that thirst.”

“He was about to rape her,” Will said through gritted teeth. His nails dug into his palms, the pain completely numb as anger swallowed him whole. Who am I kidding? This man doesn’t care what kind of abuse we take, especially when given a chance to punish us.