I nodded in agreement. “Thanks, Laurie. I'm really sorry-"

"No you're not..." She smiled in a way that made my stomach churn. "Not yet."

If I'd thought the training was hard before, what followed was like some form of new and twisted torture. Laurie made us defend ourselves against her on the mat. Trying to land a hit on her was futile. Trying to avoid getting hit by her was impossible. And by the end of the day I was pretty sure I looked like a peach which had taken a tumble down a flight of stairs.

My bruises had bruises and my aching body felt like it would never recover again. But I was happy to take the brutal treat

ment. Because if Grey or Dolly or any of the other assholes who had been condemned alongside me came at me again, I was determined to fight back like my life depended on it. Which I was becoming increasingly concerned that it was…

That night everything ached from Laurie's lesson in discipline and all I wanted was the nothingness of sleep, but it evaded me.

As I was being crushed between Taylor and the bed frame, a strange rattling noise reached me from out in the dorm beyond our security wall. It sounded like something had been knocked over and I strained my ears as I listened to make sure I hadn’t imagined it.

I was almost certain that I could hear footsteps shuffling around beyond our bunk and I swallowed thickly as a shiver danced along my spine.

Our roommate never made a peep, even during the day and once we were in the dorms he didn't reappear from his private bunk until morning, so the sounds put my nerves on edge.

“Would you like to allow access to your bunk?" the smooth voice cut into my worrying and nearly gave me a heart attack.

"No!” I whispered absolutely certain that I didn't want to let anyone into the bunk with us.

"What?" Taylor mumbled, still mostly asleep and I slapped a hand over his mouth in fear.

"Someone's out there," I hissed, but it was the wrong thing to say. As soon as the word 'out' left my mouth, the walls slid down.

Grey stood in the gloom at the exit to our dorm. He turned to face us, his eyes shining wickedly as he took in our panic and a shriek of fear escaped me.

Taylor bolted upright, trying to position himself in front of me as I grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving the ring of protection offered by the bed.

"There you are," Grey purred and he leapt into motion, racing across the room straight for us.

He moved far quicker than I would have expected based on his bulk, jumping over an empty bunk and knocking the mattress away towards the door as he came for us.

“Close! Up! Shut!” I yelled, trying to make the walls rise again but before I could figure it out, he was upon us.

Taylor shoved me backwards and moved towards Grey with a yell of anger. In his panic, he pushed me harder than he meant to and I tumbled back, falling out of the far side of the bed before sliding across the floor. My head connected with the edge of the bunk opposite and pain sliced through my skull as my vision blurred.

Taylor aimed a punch which caught Grey in the mouth but it barely seemed to register. Grey actually laughed at him as his huge fist swung back and I screamed a warning half a second before it connected with Taylor's temple. He went down hard on the other side of the bed and terror raced through me as he failed to rise again. I was frozen with shock, adrenaline coursed through my veins urging me into action but I couldn't make myself move.

Grey's attention shifted back to me and my heart leapt into my throat. I rolled under the bunk I'd collided with and started crawling beneath it. My heart was pounding and my palms were slick with sweat as I worked desperately to drag myself across the cold floor as fast as I could.

Springs squealed in protest as he jumped on top of my bed. The thump, thump, thump of my heartbeat pulsed in my ears. My elbows screamed with friction burn as I dragged myself under the next bed. I was nearly there, if I could make it to the doors there would be a Warden down the corridor and I had to be faster than him if I could just get to my feet.

I was halfway out from under the final bed as I felt his iron grasp close around my ankle and he yanked me backwards. I screamed as loudly as I could and the skin from my arms burned as I was dragged across the floor. I kicked and flailed, yelling out in sheer panic as I tried to grab hold of anything at all to stop myself from moving back into his clutches.

My fingers hooked onto the edge of the bed frame and I jerked to a halt, thrashing and kicking with my free foot.

My heel connected with his face and Grey snarled with rage as his grip on me loosened marginally. I thrashed harder, screaming again as I tried desperately to break free of his grasp.

He grunted with effort as his fingers dug into the skin around my ankle and he yanked hard. My fingernails shattered as I was ripped free of my hold on the bed frame and he dragged me out from beneath the bed.

Grey swung me like a ragdoll and I crashed down onto the mattress behind him, my head colliding with the headboard as pain splintered through my skull. Blood spilled down the side of my face but I had to keep fighting, I couldn’t stop for a moment.

He loomed over me and laughed, cracking his knuckles together as he moved forward slowly, taking his time like he thought he had me beaten.

I screamed in defiance and kicked out as hard as I could, aiming between his legs, my foot impacting with his junk. He jerked backwards with a cry of pain, doubling over as the effects of my attack washed through him.

I rolled over the bed, turning back towards the far end of the dorm and threw myself off the edge, hitting the ground on my feet. I started running instantly, but he was just as fast to recover. He caught hold of my hair and ripped me backwards with a snarl of rage, throwing me to the ground again.

Tags: Susanne Valenti Science Fiction
Source: readsnovelonline.net