Soul Bound

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-five

As soon as Lily is through the other door I hop out of the bed, making my way down to the door she came through, undoing other binder's straps as I go, telling them to run, to get out of here.

Some follow the way Anna went, while I go with a group through the other door. I don't have the time to argue with them, to convince them we need to stay together, and now I feel guilty as I sneak down the hall with these three other binders, our bare feet making little sound against the natural stone. No one speaks to each other, too scared to draw attention, but we don't need words. We're all in this together with one goal. I will help them get out until I find someone who might know where River is.

A petite brunette woman leads us as we look through various doors for the exit. A few times we have to duck into an empty room as someone walks by and we wait, holding our breath, until the coast is clear. We hear yelling and shattering glass down some of the other halls. It sounds like the underground is breaking out into chaos.

We continue on and I peek around a corner. A white coat is walking down the hall. It's Gene. He scurries into one of the labs. My blood starts to boil.

I pull on the man's shirt in front of me. "There's something I have to do. You guys go on, if I can catch up I will."

He nods his head. "Good luck."

I rush for the room Gene had entered, skidding to a stop just beneath the glass panel. Slowly, I raise my head to peek through the glass, my whole body shaking with anger. Gene is stuffing blood vials from one of the fridges into a shoulder bag. He looks a bit frenzied. All the better for me. If he puts up a fight that'll make this much more satisfying.

I don't try to be quiet when I open the door. I want him to see me. I want him to know I've come for him. When he turns around I can make out the label beneath the row of vials he's been taking: "Jane."

When Gene sees me he clutches the bag to his chest and grips it tightly. His face is bright red and a vein in his temple is throbbing angrily.

"You! It's your fault she left me! You told her to go! All this time she has stayed to be with me. And now she's gone!" he yells at me, holding the bag tighter. "You think I didn't know she could get out of her restraints? Of course I did! I watch her! I'm always watching her! To protect her! And you tore us apart!"

With every word I move closer.

"She was lost when she came here!" he continues, yelling and squeezing the bag to his body. "Pining like a stupid little puppy for her family. I helped her forget! I made it easier for her! And this is how she repays me? I protected her! When she proved resistant to the drugs, when she became difficult, I saved her from the trackers. They wanted to throw my beautiful Jane to the trackers!"

We're maybe two feet apart when he sees the scalpel in my hand. His eyes widen, but he's not scared. If anything he calms down. He sets the bag with the vials down next to him like it was the most precious possession in the world.

Right now, it doesn't matter that I can't shift. I want to do this with my own two hands.

It takes me by surprise when he lunges at me. My muscles are slow to respond, but I manage to duck underneath his outstretched hands and circle behind him, running the scalpel across his back. It tears open his shirt and slices the skin beneath open. He doesn't cry out but pivots on his foot to face me, still eerily calm. He picks an aluminum tray off the table next to him, scattering the instruments on it all over the floor, then throws it at me. I knock it out of the air just as he follows behind it, lunging again, this time grabbing hold of my gown and taking me down to the floor with him.