Read Online As Cold As Ice by Mandy Rosko - Free Book Online

down, yet unable to keep her mouth shut because of
the anxiety surging through her, she shivered with the idea of
having to go downstairs.
    “ Are you cold?” Soren
asked.
    “ No,” Jessica
said.
    His voice became a touch softer. “I meant
it. This isn’t a trick to put you back into isolation. I just need
to get you to a room where you can let loose your powers.”
    Jessica inhaled a deep breath then slowly
let it out again. She decided she was going to believe him on that
part. What else could she do?
    The doors opened and they were walking
again, passing the same concrete, cold walls with the same blue
lighting. The guards were all exactly as they’d been when she’d
first been brought down there, and then let out again.
    Though she hadn’t exactly walked these halls
a whole lot before, Jessica had the feeling that not a lot happened
down there; these men were just for show whenever a prisoner did
have to be moved.
    She had to wonder what they
did if several hours or more passed by with no excitement. Did they
whip out their phones and play Angry
Birds when no one watched? She didn’t see
any black camera balls anywhere.
    Thankfully, Soren didn’t take her down the
hall where her cell had been. Instead, they turned a corner and
went in an entirely different direction.

Chapter Seven
     
    The hallways seemed to twist and wind, which
was disorienting under the florescent lights. Jessica wasn't sure
if it was a trick of the light, but the halls also seemed to narrow
and curve down at a slant somewhat the farther they went.
    Almost like they were trudging deep into the
earth.
    She'd never been so deep into the building
before. "Where exactly are we going? It feels like you're about to
take me to some secret torture chamber."
    A small smile crawled up the corners of
Soren's mouth, almost as if he was fighting it, but couldn't help
himself. "No, that's not what this is. There's an arena down here.
Sometimes, some of the subjects you catch, the more violent or
powerful ones, are brought down here."
    Jessica thought about that. She'd known that
some of the paranormals she'd brought in needed to be tested, and
that could involve any number of things. It wasn't just taking
blood samples and getting the people to run on a treadmill for any
amount of time.
    Still, she hadn't known
people were brought down there. It all seemed kind of...what was
the word she wanted? Not Hunger
Games -ish. No, that would probably involve
a bigger arena. And more children.
    Though, maybe the description was closer
than she thought.
    "You don't make the people you bring down
here fight to the death, do you?"
    The smile immediately left Soren's lips.
"No, I don't," he said, and they finally came up to a set of
strong-looking double doors.
    There were tiny square windows in the steel,
though Jessica didn't know what the point was since the glass was
so thick she couldn't see into the room.
    Soren waved his card in front of the scanner
in the wall, a green light flashed, there was a hiss, and he opened
the door.
    He spoke before they could enter.
    "Sometimes, though, Mr. Layton does make
them do it."
    Jessica felt a shiver crawl up her spine. It
felt like a dozen oversized spiders were on her skin. It was so
horrifying, so believable yet unbelievable that she couldn't even
take in what she was seeing.
    It wasn't an arena in the classic sense of
the word, though it was a large, circular room with a domed top.
The ceiling had to reach a hundred feet high at the very top, right
where it rounded off.
    There were also seats where
spectators could watch any show that was put on for them, though
they weren't high up compared to the floor where the show was meant
to take place. Not in the Gladiator sense, anyway.
    She looked at Soren. "I guess he likes to
watch?"
    Soren didn't look at her. Whether because he
wouldn't, or just couldn't, Jessica couldn't say.
    "Sometimes," he answered finally, and she
noticed he was clenching his fists. "There's a couple of