Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Each time they cleared a section of the building with its endless white walls alternating with torture chambers, prison cells, and tech rooms, Tyche would strip all the important loot off the dead. Weapons were handed over to Shey while he collected cash, key cards, and other random valuables that might help once they were free. He was a quick and remorseless magpie as he stuffed the pockets of his tattered and worn forest-green cargo pants.
Shey leaned against a wall and wiped some sweat from his brow. The air had become increasingly hot and stuffy. The air conditioner had shut off long ago, leaving the windowless building to bake in the summer heat.
“I’m starting to think there’s no way out of here. We’re still in one of Teitei’s nightmares,” Tyche muttered. “Do you think I should keep a guard alive next time and force him to show us the way out?”
A heavy sigh left Shey, and he tilted his head up, trying to summon up some encouraging words as his gaze lit on a very important sign.
“That’s an option,” Shey agreed. “But first, I think maybe we could try that.”
Tyche leaned forward and peered past Shey, his eyes following where Shey pointed at the red EXIT sign that hung from the ceiling and pointed down a corridor. “Should we trust it?”
Shey arched one brow. “You think they put up fake exit signs?”
“Wouldn’t you?” The bastard looked serious for two seconds before his lips twitched into a smirk. They were both exhausted, blood-splattered, and sore. His desperation for freedom was the only thing keeping Shey moving at this point. His body tingled and muscles spasmed as he continued to hold on to the magic, refusing to release it in case he needed it in a final, frantic fight for their lives.
“I’m taking a chance.” Shey pushed off the wall and hurried along the hallway, his shoes squeaking on the tile. They’d left behind a trail of dead bodies and nightmarish memories. Shey was ready to take a breath of freedom at long last. After they returned to civilization, he could figure out the next steps for ending this savage treatment of innocent people.
With a trembling hand, Shey shoved open the last heavy metal door enough to peek outside, but the wind caught it and ripped it open, revealing a howling storm. Shey stumbled back a step, bumping into Tyche as he stared at the swirling black sky illuminated by frequent flashes of lightning and crashes of ear-splitting thunder. The wind forced the sheets of rain sideways, creating a blinding gray blur that nearly blotted out the world. There was no way to tell what time of day it was.
“Fuck! Can you tell Daddy to rein in the storm?” Tyche cried.
Shey opened his mouth, but he didn’t have the words. He didn’t think this was from Kaes. It felt like his own endless rage over all the brutality and frustration he’d suffered during the past several weeks. The bubbling anger that had roiled in his stomach and pounded in his brain had found its outlet in the storm that roared in front of them.
“Look!” Tyche grabbed his shoulder, slender fingers digging in to bite into flesh and muscle. With his free hand, he pointed past Shey at the horizon. Shey started to say that he saw nothing in the darkness, but another round of lightning flashed, briefly outlining trees thrashing in the wind. Endless trees. No skyscrapers or buildings of any kind. Not even city lights.
“We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere,” Tyche howled.
He’d barely finished speaking when backup lights flickered on in the long hall and a sharp claxon screamed. They’d gotten the generator and various systems up and running again. It was going to be a matter of seconds now before they rallied their forces and came to overwhelm them. Even tapping his god-gifted powers, Shey knew he couldn’t keep fighting them. His strength and energy were flagging. Too many days of too little food. They couldn’t keep fighting as they were.
“We take our chances out there or we crawl back into our cells and let them kill us like they killed Teitei,” Shey shouted over the siren and thunder.
Tyche released his arm and rolled his eyes. “You say that like it’s actually a choice.”
They could do this. Shey checked the magazine of the handgun gripped in his right hand to find that it was nearly full. He then grabbed Tyche’s wrist with his left hand and launched them into the violent storm, pulling the smaller man behind him.
He couldn’t save Teitei or any of the other prisoners. Since entering Damardor, he’d lost Juro and Kaeda on this trip. Nothing was going to keep him from making sure Tyche got out of that hellhole and got a damn cup of decent coffee.