The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Author:Danielle Vega
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-05-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I work my fingers through the tangled knots binding Brooklyn to the pillar. She barely moves now, having passed out from blood loss or pain, I’m not sure. The stiff ropes scratch my skin, but they finally come loose and pull apart. We’re getting out of here, I want to tell Brooklyn. The baptism will be easy compared with what she’s already been through.

Brooklyn’s eyelids flicker but stay closed. Grace wraps a wad of toilet paper around the remaining stub of her finger and secures it with a few Band-Aids. I avoid looking at the bloody tissues while she works.

“Make sure to tie up her arms and legs again.” Riley sticks a heavy wooden cross and the remaining salt and holy water into the backpack. “We’re going all the way up to the second floor. Don’t want her to get loose.”

“Isn’t there a bathroom on the first floor?” I ask. Alexis crawls around me, toward Brooklyn’s legs, and starts retying the bindings at her ankles.

“Only the bathrooms on the second floor have bathtubs,” Riley says.

“Why do we need a tub?”

“You’ll see.” Riley’s words chill me, but I say nothing. I tie the ropes at Brooklyn’s wrists, leaving them loose intentionally—just in case. Alexis finishes the knot at Brooklyn’s ankles and starts to giggle.

“What’s so funny?” I ask her. Alexis glances up, but her eyes don’t quite focus on my face.

“It’s like she’s not even real,” she says, poking Brooklyn’s limp leg. “She’s like a doll.”

I try not to think too hard about what she means. Riley sets the backpack down next to the wall and grabs Brooklyn’s arms while Alexis and Grace take her legs. Even with the three of them lifting together, they’re only able to get her a few feet off the ground. They crouch as they walk, moving slowly toward the staircase. Alexis’s breathing grows heavier with every move, and Grace already looks like she might pass out. Sweat lines her forehead, and a few fuzzy strands of hair come loose from her ponytail. They stick out of her head at odd angles.

“Sof, can you blow out the candles?” Riley asks, groaning as she shifts Brooklyn’s weight. One of her arms is looped around Brooklyn’s torso, while Grace now holds her bound arms and shoulders. Riley’s face tightens every time she takes a step back. “And grab the backpack?”

“Okay.” I quickly blow out the candles on the far side of the basement and move to grab the backpack still leaning against the wall. I kneel next to it and start shoving the knife and rosary inside. Then my hand brushes against something hard and plastic. I freeze.

Brooklyn’s cell phone sits next to the backpack, wedged between the strap and the wall. It must’ve landed back here after Riley threw it.

Nerves race up my spine. I glance over my shoulder. Riley and the others are still dragging Brooklyn up the stairs. I pick up the phone and press the power button. The screen lights up. Any fear I had that Riley might see me vanishes.

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