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“Maybe.”
Another cry echoes between the stark walls.
Val jumps to her feet. She loads the gun and holds it toward the door. “You may be right. But I need to find out the truth for myself.”
The door creaks open. I grab Val and pull her behind me. A girl with dark-brown hair that covers her face and eyes slides on her arms across the floor. Her dress is torn, stockings ripped. She rasps as she crawls.
“P-please help m-me.”
Val pushes me aside and darts over to her. I follow behind, my hand on my gun. Stepping around the girl, I edge closer to the door. When I peek around the side, it’s nothing but an empty corridor. Streaks of blood stain the cement floor.
Val helps the girl up to a sitting position. She smooths her hair back. “How did you get here?”
“My f-friend and I went to a c-concert. We met these guys.” She sniffles. “They were sweet. Bought us drinks. After the concert, we went to a restaurant. A dingy dive place off The Strip. They gave us food. That’s the last thing I remember before waking up here.”
I narrow my eyes. The girl’s dark hair pops against her pale skin, her eyes red and puffy. Tears streak her cheeks. My eyes fall to her hands… her nails, more specifically.
Manicured. Bright red. Not a single chip of polish.
“They must have drugged us,” she whispers as if she knows the question on the tip of my tongue.
Why doesn’t it look like you clawed at them, kicking and screaming for your life?
“I passed out before I knew what was happening. When I woke up, they were gone, and we were here.”
A fresh torrent of tears starts. Val puts her arm around the girl. “They brought us here and left us in a room.”
“Is there anyone else here?”
The girl uses the back of her hand to wipe her nose. “No, it’s just us. At least in that one room. But my friend… s-she’s not waking up. We need help.”
“You know the name of the restaurant?” There’s an edge to my voice, one I hope Val picks up on. But based on the flood of sympathy in her eyes, I know it’s totally lost on her.
“Something… Mariachi.” She wrinkles her nose. “It stank. I remember that. Like grease and fried food. But I was so hungry, I ate what they gave us.” Tears pool in her eyes and she smacks her forehead. “So s-stupid. I can’t believe I let this happen.”
Val hugs her close. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. But we can help you.”
My eyebrows fly upward.
Who’s got the fucking savior complex now?
Val helps the girl to her feet. She teeters, unsteady, swaying left and right. “We need to get her out of here before anyone sees.”
“What the fuck are we gonna do with her?” I growl.
Val glares at me. “You want to just leave her to die?”
“I want to leave her, period. We don’t need anything else hunting us right now. And she might have a fucking bullseye on her back.”
“Please don’t leave me,” the girl whimpers. “I just want to go home. Please help me get home.”
“I am not leaving her.” Val hoists her up. “You wanted to get out of here so badly, well, here we fucking go.”
“We don’t have a way out, Brilliance. Remember? We were thrown into the dungeon. How do you think we’re gonna escape with an army after us? They’ll come looking for us if their guys don’t report back that we’re dead.”
Val takes a look around and bites her lower lip. “It’s dark. We need to take a chance and find another exit. We’d have to do it without her, anyway.”
I grit my teeth and point my gun at the door we entered. “This is a big fucking mistake.”
