Uprising by Jessica Therrien Page B

her. Maybe it was the remaining nourishment my blood had provided when she was healed, or maybe she simply needed to endure for her child.
    I wanted to hold them, evaluate if they’d been hurt or severely mistreated, but with the men on the other side of the wall, I knew we needed to move.
    “Can you walk?” I asked Anna. “Mac can carry Chloe. We need to go.”
    Anna’s face didn’t show an ounce of urgency. “We’re locked in, Elyse.”
    “No,” I uttered aloud, refusing to believe it. As I looked around, hoping to prove her wrong, my eyes fully adjusted to the dark and the room came into view. There was no furniture, no décor, no windows, nothing but hard walls and a bare floor. We were in a holding cell. The only light that kept the room from complete darkness came from a small glass peephole embedded in another door across the room, one that wasn’t a secret part of the wall.
    “Is there someone out there?” William asked. I hadn’t been paying attention to the others, but they were just as busy trying to figure out an escape as I was.
    “Usually a guard,” Anna answered calmly, her voice sounding as though she’d already given up. She ran her fingers through Chloe’s hair as she stayed unconscious, looking at her with a mother’s love.
    “He’s out there,” Kara confirmed, finding his thoughts with her mind.
    “Do you think you could get him to open the door?” I asked William.
    “He better. Put your training to use kid,” Mac snarled, stepping over to Anna and Chloe. “We’re going to get you girls out of here, okay?” He bent down and slipped his strong arms under Chloe’s limp body and picked her up. She opened her eyes only slightly, too weak to care what happened to her. Mac and Anna looked at each other, sharing in the pain of the moment. “She’ll be all right.”
    Anna managed a slight smile at the gesture, and accepted my hand as I pulled her onto her feet.
    “He’s coming,” William said, concentrating his gaze through the small glass window.
    “He’s not going to let us out,” Anna said with little faith. William grinned wide and proud. “Yes he is.”
    The door handle turned and clicked, and a stout balding man looked at William with glazed eyes.
    “He’s just letting us go?” Anna asked in shock. “I don’t understand. Why?”
    “He’s in love,” Kara snickered.
    “All right, have your fun once we get out of here,” Mac scolded. “It’s not over yet.”
    I stayed behind, making sure everyone was out before shooting a dart into the portly man’s neck. He collapsed with a subtle bounce, and William locked him in the holding room.
    I loaded my dart gun with a blood soaked hollow, just in case, and grabbed William’s hand, giddy with satisfaction. “I love you.”
    He sauntered casually, acting cool, and flipped his hair back playfully. “I know.”
    The long hallway we’d found ourselves in ended at a flight of stairs that led up to the ground floor and out of what must have been a basement level. Kara confirmed that we were clear to move. The absence of people felt suspicious to me, but we didn’t have much of a choice. The five of us, Mac still carrying a slightly more alert Chloe, crept up the velvety red staircase.
    When Kara reached the top, she looked back at us with her eyes alight. I know where we are. The front door is on the other side of this room .
    It seemed too easy, too quiet. The room we had to pass through was decorated in an elaborate Victorian style. The chandelier above cast dim gold light that reflected off of large framed mirrors and rich elegant furnishings that reminded me of a different time.
    Just as we were about to make our move, Kara threw up a hand. Wait .
    William stepped forward until he was in front of me. There was nobody in sight, but Kara must have known a wandering mind was close. After a few minutes of heavy silence that had me tensed to draw my weapon, I saw him come into view—the Hunter from the passageway. His