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“Kinsey has gone missing. If you use your power as RXorcist to help us find her, we’ll let you keep your identity secret.”
Bobbi frowned. “Kinsey ismissing?”
“Yes. She’s been gone since last night.” I cocked my head. “So… are you in? Or would you rather be unmasked in front of the whole school?”
Bobbi went silent for a moment, shrewd gray eyes darting between Erin and me. Finally, she dipped her chin in a curt nod. “I’m in.”
7
Kinsey
Wincing,I pressed a hand over my abdomen and curled into a ball on the narrow cot. It felt like my growling stomach was eating itself out of sheer desperation.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been trapped in this strange little dungeon. Time had an odd way of slowing to a crawl when there was nothing to do but lie around feeling miserable. I estimated that I’d been here for at least a day though, judging by the level of dehydration and hunger I was experiencing.
I let out a groan and rolled over, facing the dirty stone ceiling. My eyelids were so sticky and swollen from all the crying I’d done that it was difficult to keep them open, so I let them flutter shut and tried to picture myself in a world where this nightmare didn’t exist.
It didn’t help. My heart was still beating in my throat, and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking of Jax and my mom; of what my disappearance was doing to them. They were probably terrified. Unable to sleep. Maybe even angry at the slippery sense of powerlessness they felt as they waited to find out what happened to me.
A fresh set of tears welled in my eyes as I realized I couldn’t remember the last words I said to either of them. I hadn’t expected to be taken prisoner the other night—at least not by my damn English teacher, anyway—so it hadn’t occurred to me to make any kind of mental notes when I last spoke to either of them. Did I tell them I loved them? If not, did I at least make it clear that I loved them in an unspoken way?
I damn well hoped so.
The sound of a key turning in the lock set my heart racing and my adrenaline spiking. I sat up straight and stared at the door, nausea and dread mingling in the pit of my stomach.
Mr. Blythe stepped into the tiny room, holding a plastic water bottle. The sight of him set my skin crawling with a mixture of fear and revulsion.
“Morning, Kinsey,” he said, tossing the water over to me.
“What morning is it?” I asked, weakly twisting the lid off the bottle. My voice sounded croaky from dehydration.
“Saturday.” Mr. Blythe turned his head over his shoulder and clicked a finger. “Come on, Nick. We can all fit in here.”
Another man stepped into the dungeon. He was short and slim with glasses and blond hair. A black bag was clutched in his right hand.
“Who are you?” I asked after gulping down several mouthfuls of water.
“I’m Nick Barron,” he replied with a pleasant smile. “Nice to meet you.”
I recognized his voice. He was the man who dropped off the battery-draining device for Mr. Blythe on Thursday night. Now that I could see his face properly, I realized I recognized him from somewhere else too.
“You work at CPA, don’t you?” I said, staring up at him. “I’ve seen you there before.”
He nodded. “I teach physics to the junior class.”
My gaze flickered between him and Mr. Blythe. There were still so many messy, wriggling loose ends beneath the surface of the awful thing that was happening to me—questions I’d asked many times and answers that were yet to be given. Now, with the addition of Mr. Barron’s presence, there were even more.
Was there some sort of conspiracy amongst the CPA teachers? What was their goal? Was the entire school staff in on it, or was it just a few of them?
Despite my burning curiosity, I didn’t bother asking either of the men standing before me. I knew they wouldn’t tell me the truth. I’d just get the same answer Mr. Blythe had given me multiple times now.I’ll tell you later.Then, of course, later would never come.
“Get up, Kinsey. Stretch your arms and legs.” Mr. Blythe snapped his fingers at me. “Come on. We don’t have all day.”
I did as he said, listlessly rising to my feet. “Why do I need to stretch?” I muttered. “You’re going to kill me anyway.”
“Yes, but not today.” Mr. Blythe smiled thinly. Then he turned to Mr. Barron. “You’re absolutely sure that thing works?”
Mr. Barron nodded. “Don’t worry. It’ll work.”
