Read Online Embers & Ice (Rouge) by Isabella Modra - Free Book Online Page A

especially after that speech –
she was wrong. At that moment, Jet and Mikayla entered the breakfast hall for
lunch. Mikayla whispered to Jet and the both of them stared at Hunter with
glimmers in their eyes. As they passed, Jet ran his tongue over his upper lip,
reminding her of the reason she slogged him that morning. The fire roared to
life inside her and she clenched the cold bench beneath her to keep from
attacking..
    “God,
he makes me want to stick this fork in my eye,” said Chantal as she shot them a
loathsome glare. “Sometimes I wonder how he can be so sadistic in a place like
this.”
    “Better
than being a nutcase,” Zac replied, his eyes watching Fearne as she sat at a
table with two younger girls. They were staring at her and giggling behind
their hands, but Fearne didn’t seem to notice and continued to yap away.
    Feeling
not too hungry herself, Hunter flipped her legs over the bench and stood.
    “Where
are you going?” asked Zac.
    “Anywhere.
I can’t take much more of this cruelty.”
    “But
you-”
    “See
you later,” she snapped and stormed towards the door.
    No
one had yet told her she couldn’t roam around the hallways without consent, so
she was almost nervous when she passed two Men in White standing stock still
beside the doorway. A small girl with thick auburn curls bumped into her as she
left and Hunter turned to say sorry, but the girl was already hurrying away
from her.
    The
corridor was empty, and Hunter knew that if she went left and up the stairs,
she would come to the cell level where she and the others slept and showered . She had no idea where the elevator would lead her, so the only other option
was the door opposite the breakfast hall, which stood slightly ajar.
    Hunter
entered cautiously and found herself in a small room with a low roof. Around
the interior were random objects; sofas, chairs and tables. It was something of
a common room, and the light was dimmer, giving it a comforting aura. Hunter
instantly felt more at home there than in her cell.
    The
immediate bank of couches on her left were occupied by several children playing
on an old chess board. Down the way, at a round table made of light wood, Benji
was hunched over a tattered book, his face engrossed. He didn’t seem to notice
her enter. The Men in White stationed in the room were watching closely, but
didn’t make a move to urge her out.
    After
a long look around the room, she decided she’d rather sit with someone than be
alone and pulled out a chair at Benji’s table.
    “What
are you reading?” she asked.
    Benji’s
eyes glanced up and his face immediately paled. Jeez, am I that scary?
    “Oh,
it’s u-uh…” he stuttered. “It’s c-called–”
    “It’s Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie,” said a voice from a deep maroon armchair
beside their table and Hunter almost jumped in fright when a young Asian girl
with a black concave bob and bright eyes popped up over the back of the chair
and nodded to the book. “I’ve read it eight times, when this kid here hasn’t
got his nose buried in it.”
    Hunter
stared at the girl with her mouth agape, feeling just as speechless as Benji
whose jaw was clenched in frustration.
    “I
can t-talk for myself, R-Ryo,” he said stubbornly.
    The
girl’s grin turned to the side. “I’m sorry Benji, I guess I’m just impatient.”
    “How
old are you?” Hunter blurted out. Seriously, the girl looks ten but she
talks like she’s sixteen. Her English is immaculate.
    “I’m
twelve, same as him.” She shook her head in Benji’s direction. “How old are you ?”
    “Uh,
eighteen.”
    “And
what do you do?”
    Hunter
cast a glance at Benji and caught him staring before burying his head back in
the tattered book.
    “You
first,” she replied.
    Ryo
nodded, a glimmer in her eyes. “I can manipulate the space-time continuum.”
    “How’d
they catch you then?” she asked.
    “Uh
uh,” Ryo tutted. Their entire conversation was like a game to the girl. “My
turn.