Chapter 173: Seething Rage (2/2)

”We've had one meal since you came. So, about six hours,” the girl answered.

”Gene, right?” I said with what I thought was a smile. The girl looked at me startled. ”Have they tried to drug you?”

I prayed that they hadn't. She shook her head vehemently.

”Good,” I breathed in relief.

I turned to the other woman. ”Jade Walsh, right?” She blinked, not knowing what to do. ”Apologies for taking so long.”

I didn't know why I said it. It wasn't my fault, but I wondered if they were under the influence all this time. I didn't even know if that was better or not.

Six hours, was it? That meant Nash and Sebastian knew by now. They would be searching for me. With them on the trail, I knew it was only a matter of time before we were found. The question was, how would I keep these people alive until then?

Where would this game take me? What did the man in the white shirt have waiting for me?

”What's your name?” I asked, turning to the last person in the room.

His lips quivered as he responded. ”Benny Phillips.” He wasn't lying. Maybe if I had asked his name the first time I met him, I wouldn't have ended up here.

”Hi Benny, I am Evie,” I whispered. I tried to go through the list of people I had come across at the station and every news article about people in power I had read over the years.

I know the surname was familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint who it was.

”You… react very violently to drugs,” Benny whispered. I sensed a shred of excitement in his voice. ”You kept analyzing what was happening around you. Very strange.”

I smiled. ”Do you know what drug it was?”

Maybe Benny would be helpful enough to tell me what they had used. I could pinpoint and understand the symptoms better. I could estimate my reactions and decide what path to take to help all these people to survive. Including Benny. I wanted him alive.

If my intrusive thoughts got the better of me during a drug-induced episode, I might just end up killing him brutally for tormenting me. I sucked in another lungful of air. The air smelled moldy and I wrinkled my nose.

Drug and health hazard. Excellent.

”No idea,” he said shortly but he scrutinized me closely.

”How did they get you?” I enquired. I wanted his official story. Knowing that he mixed the truth with lies, I had to let my mind take hints from his story and put together the events that led to me being here.

”I was waiting for a friend at the given location when they pounced on me and knocked me unconscious,” he claimed. I glanced at his bleeding lip and nodded.

I jogged my memory for a long minute before I came to the conclusion. The old man must have tried to keep her occupied until Benny and the daughter came from behind and overpower me. There had to be a scuffle which resulted in Benny getting a cut on his lip. I had probably headbutted him. Once the other two came in, I would be sure.

”I don't remember how they got me,” I blinked and looked around to see the expression of the others. Suspicion, fright, excitement.

”Why would they get so many people?” Jade asked, her voice shaking.

I stared at her intently. ”It's an experiment,” I told her. ”Don't worry,” I assured her. ”It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay.” My voice was a whisper.

I heard a heavy door opening behind me and stiffened. I could see the others turn in the direction. A brighter light beam fell on the wall opposite to me but it vanished when the door closed.

I heard two pairs of footsteps.

I had seen them work on video, now I had to see how they actually interacted without the presence of cameras. They entered wearing masks and I sighed in relief.

This ensured that they didn't have any plans on killing us. Maybe they even planned on drugging and dumping these two girls after the entertainment was over.

It was better than death.

”Little officer, how are you doing?” the old man asked. The woman remained eerily quiet. She was a step behind like she was waiting for her father's permission to do something.

Not much different from what I saw on the live-streams. The only thing that bothered me was the look in her eyes as she looked at the women in the room. There was hostility and possessive rage in them.

I had thought the father was the main aggressor but never thought that the one who lured the women in would feel a seething rage.