Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 30

(Angel's POV)

I couldn't stop thinking about it.

The door. The warning. Dr. Nixon's face was pale, and she was shaking. Why did she suddenly change? Why was she willing to help us get out of the center now? Did something happen with Dr. Joe? Or was she just playing us? How did she even know we were in the lounge?

Everything spun in my head, and it felt like I was trapped in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.

My body moved on autopilot, and I walked down the hall to my dorm room. The flickering lights cast shadows that felt too long and twisted. I didn't even realize where I was going until I stopped in front of our room.

I knocked once, then twice. My heart pounded.

I wonder why I was knocking but I was thinking of ten different things at the same time, so I didn't even know what my body was doing.

The door creaked open, and there she was. Cylan. Her face was blank, as always. But there was something in her eyes, something curious. "Why are you so up late?" she asked, and her voice was low, barely above a whisper.

I stepped inside quickly. The air in the room felt thick and heavy.

"I need to talk to you," I said, and I closed the door behind me. The other girls were asleep.

Cylan crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "About?"

I took a deep breath and tried to keep my voice steady. "The noises in the West Wing."

Her eyes flickered for just a second, then she looked away like she didn't care. But I knew she did.

"I've heard them," she said, and her voice was flat.

I knew it.

"And?" I pushed and stepped closer. "What do you think they are?"

She shrugged, and her gaze still avoided mine. "Does it matter?"

"Yes," I said, more forceful than I meant to. "It matters."

Cylan finally looked at me, and there was something dark in her eyes, something haunted. "What are you trying to say, Angel?"

"I want to find out," I whispered, and the words tumbled out before I could stop them. "I want to know what's going on in this place."

She watched me, and her expression stayed unreadable. I couldn't tell if she was considering it or if she thought I was insane.

she said finally, but there wasn't any heat in her voice. Just a quiet acceptance, like she had already resigned

to know what happened to Emily? Don't you care about what they did to her? We might find some leads or answers there." Cylan stayed silent, and the tension between us

"But if we

feeling both relief

We waited until midnight.

and the only sounds were the occasional creak of the old building settling and

at her, my

set with grim determination.

at the girls, all sleeping obliviously, before we

halls, and the darkness pressed in around us. Every step felt heavier than the last, like the air was thick with secrets. My nerves were on edge, and every shadow made me jump. But we

front of the door to the

the handle, and my fingers trembled. This wasn't my first time but it was still

but I

moment, I thought about Dr. Nixon's warning. Maybe....or maybe not...whatever. I

creaked loudly in the silence. My heart leaped into my throat, and I

But no one came.

the shadows looked long and menacing. The air smelled sterile, like a hospital.

crawled with the feeling that we shouldn't be there, that we were trespassing in a place where we didn't belong. "This

my throat was too tight

heavy silence. Doors lined the walls and each one was closed and locked. But it wasn't the rooms that caught

came from somewhere ahead and my

you hear that?" I whispered and stopped in my

as her eyes narrowed. "What

answer because I

our footsteps quickened as the noise grew louder. It led us to a room at the end of the hall. The door was slightly

medical equipment. Machines I didn't recognize beeped softly and their screens showed numbers and graphs I couldn't understand. But that

high on a desk in

moved toward them and my fingers trembled as I reached for the

My blood ran cold.

whispered

of me. My medical history. My daily

I felt sick.

us," I murmured faintly. "They've been watching us this whole

the room. "This place is a

could respond, there was a sound. A loud

My heart stopped.

to go," Cylan hissed

as our footsteps were loud in the silence. The hallway seemed longer now and darker. Every corner felt like a trap.

muttered and my heart pounded in my