The Maiden (The Cloister Trilogy 1)

She squints at the crack between the doors, then darts off down the corridor.

“Eve,” I hiss.

“What’s she doing?” Hannah wads the skirt of her dress in her hand, then lets it go, then wads it again. “Ratting us out?”

“No way.” Sarah has pulled several different wires free, but doesn’t seem any closer to getting the door open.

I try to wedge the toothbrush in again, but it won’t go, and there’s no way to whittle it down.

Footsteps raise the hairs on the back of my neck, and I stare at the gloom until Eve reappears. We all take a breath when we realize it’s her.

“I’ve got this.” She kneels in front of the door and slides something in the crack.

“What is it?”

“Our good friend the dildo stick.” A metallic clang sounds from the door when the ruler makes purchase on the metal bar.

“Smart.”

She tries to lift the bar, but it either doesn’t work that way or is too heavy. “It’s digging into my hands, so I can’t get any leverage.”

“Here.” I wad the skirt of my dress around my palm, then grip the part of the ruler closest to the door.

Eve holds the end.

“On three.”

She nods.

“One, two—” We both push up on the ruler, and the bar moves, but not enough. It clangs back down. “Fuck.” I pull my hand away, and Eve’s shoulders slump.

So much time has passed. My hope is draining away, and I keep casting fearful glances down the dark corridor. If we can’t get out this door, we’re sunk. They could catch us any minute.

“We’re never getting out, are we?” Eve looks up at me, her eyes welling with tears.

I have to stay calm, even though I’m going to pieces on the inside. “We are. We just need to—”

“What are you doing?” Chastity appears out of the dark hallway, her brows pinched.

I freeze. Dread whispers along my skin, like poisonous tendrils caressing me toward death.

Susannah sprints past me toward the Spinner. Chastity is too surprised to react. By the time Susannah wraps her arm around her and presses the bloody shiv to her throat, Chastity has no chance.

“Make a sound, and I’ll stab this all the way through you.”

Chastity nods, her eyes wide, as Susannah walks her over to us.

“Don’t hurt her.” I can’t help my trembling words. Chastity has been good to me.

“I’ll do what I have to.” Susannah keeps the sharp end pressed to Chastity’s neck.

“Do you know the code for this door?”

She nods again.

“The key pad is busted, Sarah.” I point to the broken plastic on the floor. “Can you put it back together?”

“Fuck.” She gets to her feet.

“So, no.” I want to scream. Instead I turn to Chastity, “There’s another door. The one we came in that first night. Do you know the code for it?”

She doesn’t respond, and Susannah pushes the shiv into her skin, a crimson snake flowing down Chastity’s pale throat. She flinches, then nods.

“Let’s go.” I take the lead, hurrying back to the main hall and turning right. We go as fast as we can, but still check each intersecting hallway. By the time we get to the room where the Spinners washed our feet, faint rosy light is beginning to peek through the windows.

“Enter the code.” Susannah walks Chastity to the door.

Chastity enters four digits.

I practically hop from one foot to the other, adrenaline lighting up every cell in my body. Like a wild animal fleeing the hunter, I can’t stop. The urge to move and move and move hums beneath my skin.

The keypad beeps, but the door doesn’t open.

Hannah covers her face with her hands. “We’re going to get caught.”

Susannah shakes Chastity. “Are you fucking with us?”

“No. I just did it wrong.”

“Her hands are trembling. Give her a second.” I eye the bar between the two doors.

“We don’t have a second.” Sarah points her shiv at Chastity’s face. “Get it right or lose an eye.”

Chastity enters the code, and with a pneumatic sound, the bar lifts.

“What do we do with her?” Eve asks.

Sarah looks at me, and I don’t like the darkness I see in her eyes.

“We take her with us.” I take Chastity’s arm and drag her outside. “Close the doors.”

The cold air hits me in the face, and I’ve never felt anything more wonderful. “We have to hurry.” I keep Chastity at my side as we dash up the path toward where the bonfire was the first night. “Beyond this is another clearing, and after that, a few acres of woods before there’s a fence.” I recall the layout I’d memorized before coming here. “There’s barbed wire on the fence, but we can pile our dresses on the top in one spot, climb over, and not get hurt.”

The dead leaves crackle beneath us as we enter the trees. The branches and trunks give me some sense of security. At least we aren’t out in the open.