The Fall of Crazy House (Crazy House 2) - Page 69
Time for some answers. I crossed my arms, feeling the comforting length of my rifle beneath my coat. “What happened?” I asked, narrow-eyed. “Why did you leave the camp?” Usually Ms. Strepp scared the crap out of me, but after all we’d been through, she was going to have to up her game.
“I was kidnapped,” she said, sounding unlike herself, as if she still couldn’t believe it. “I don’t remember much. But I woke up hooded and handcuffed in a van. They put me in a prison cell—a room in a prison,” she went on. “The Loner blasted me out of there today.”
“Who kidnapped you?” I asked.
“The President. Or rather, his henchpeople.” She sounded bitter. I saw raw red marks on her wrists. Was this another test? After wondering if I could trust Tim, could I trust her?
“Why would the President kidnap you?”
She looked me in the eye. “To stop me,” she said. “From leading a revolt. From training an army.”
I let out an exhausted breath. “So much for the army,” I said, rubbing my hand over my eyes, as if I could ever unsee all those bodies.
“What do you mean?” she asked harshly. “I’ve sent word for them to join us, to make their way to the capital!”
“Did you get a reply?” Tim asked, sounding as beat as I was.
There was silence for a minute, and all I could focus on was the strong, mildewy scent.
“No… not yet,” she said, looking back and forth between me and Tim.
“You won’t be getting one,” Tim said, sounding colder than I’d ever heard him. “Everyone at camp is dead. From a virus. They couldn’t even fight back.”
When she looked at me, I nodded.
Ms. Strepp almost fell back against a filthy wall, seeming horrified, stunned. I was pretty sure she wasn’t acting.
105
MS. STREPP BREATHED HARD FOR a minute, her eyes darting around this small, dirty room. Then she looked at me, Tim, and the Loner.
“I can’t believe—” she said, then swallowed and tried again. “That’s an awful thing, for all those soldiers—all those kids—” her voice grew quieter. “How did you two escape it?”
“We were up in the attic,” I pointed out.
She nodded. “Listen. I do have an army outside of the city—the second division. They’re going to infiltrate through the subway tunnels.” Strepp must’ve seen our looks of confusion. “The subway is like an underground train system. The Loner has been planting explosives all around the city, and he’ll wire the tunnels after we’ve gone through.”
“So we’ll be trapped with no way out?” Tim asked.
“The way out will be through,” she said, sounding more like her cool self. “Through the fine citizens of the capital. You, Cassie, and I will lead troops to the presidential palace. If the President isn’t already dead, then we’ll kill him.”
“How would he already be dead?” I asked.
She met my questioning eyes. “Because Becca’s there, and her only mission is to kill the President.”
“Becca’s there? Inside the palace, surrounded by United soldiers?” I almost shouted, then lowered my voice. “What about Nate?”
She looked annoyed by my questions, but too freaking bad.
“Yes, as far as I know,” she said, then turned to Tim. “Now I want each of you to fully comprehend our mission. The President will die, at any cost. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said, my mind still exploding with joy that Becca was so close. I just hoped we could reach her before she made her move. Ms. Strepp might have been willing to sacrifice Becca, but I wasn’t. This wasn’t some stupid training exercise—I was sick of Strepp’s bullshit. I was not afraid to die, thanks to the Crazy House, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to live.
“Kill anyone else who gets in your way,” she ordered, staring at us intently. “Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I repeated, and Tim echoed me. I understood I was getting Becca back.
“Then let’s go,” she said, and opening one of the doors, led us into darkness.
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