Read Online The Eighth Guardian by Meredith McCardle - Free Book Online
Authors: Meredith McCardle
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I’m breaching protocol.
Alpha leans forward. His eyes are furious, and I expect him to leap across the table and slam me to the ground again. I brace myself. Instead he leans back, grabs a file, flips it open, and starts rifling through a bunch of papers. He pulls one out, walks over to me, and slaps it into my chest. “Remember this?”
He lets go, and I glance at it. The Peel Academy seal is emblazoned at the top, and I immediately know what it is. It’s the commitment letter I signed my freshman year.
“Read it,” Alpha says.
“I know what it says.”
“Read it,” he repeats. “Out loud.”
Anger courses through my veins and seeps out my pores. But I take a breath, fan the paper in front of me, and start reading in a calm voice.
“I, Amanda Jean Obermann, hereby give the United States government the authority to assign me to any given organization they deem necessary of my service, at any time such service is deemed necessary.” My signature is at the bottom.
I drop my arm. “I’ve never heard of Annum Guard.” There’s still an edge to my voice.
Alpha breathes a sigh. I can’t tell if it’s one of frustration or one of relief. “Well, there are certain things you’re going to have to take at face value, this included. So you have two options. Stay here, on a trial basis, or leave.”
I straighten. “Leaving is an option?” Abe’s face flashes in my mind. I could see him tomorrow.
Behind me, I hear someone say no in a hushed, angry whisper.
“Of course it is,” Alpha says. “But probably not in the way you’re thinking. You’re done with school. You’ve graduated and moved on. Iris is a pupil no longer. And Annum Guard happens to be among the most secret government organizations in existence. You’re one of a handful of people who know about it, so I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able just to turn you loose. If you choose to leave, you will be . . . detained.”
My mouth goes dry, and I feel little pricks of electricity in my shoulders. Alpha’s voice got low. Scary. Ominous, even.
“Detained how?”
Alpha’s mouth presses into a thin line, and he pauses, as if he’s trying to figure out how to word his response. “You’ll be taken to a secure facility where your actions and interactions will be monitored on a full-time basis in the name of national security.”
My vision clouds as I read between the lines.
“You don’t mean detained,” I say. “You mean contained .”
Alpha’s lips curl up into the smallest smile, but he doesn’t answer me.
“Where?” I demand.
“Most likely Carswell.”
I jump out of my seat with such force that the chair falls over. I know what Carswell is. It’s a women’s federal prison in Texas. And now I fully understand what detained means.
Solitary confinement.
We studied solitary at Peel. It’s a form of psychological torture. Humans are social creatures by nature, and you can’t change that. Cut off from contact, isolated prisoners slowly go mad. Years and years of untreated madness. And I already know what that’s like.
My only thought is escape. I have to get out of here. Now. But before I take even one step, hands are on me from behind. Lots of them. My supposed teammates. Someone picks the chair back up, and I’m lowered down into it. I kick and fight, but it’s no use. It’s like ten on one.
“You’re really going to have to learn to control your temper,” Alpha says in a flat, almost bored voice. “Now, do you choose to stay or to go?”
“Do I really have a choice?” I spit.
“Yes. You can choose to stay or go.”
“So no,” I say. “I don’t have a choice. Of course I choose to stay.”
Alpha nods his head. “On a trial basis,” he repeats. “You see, our numbers are set. Teams have always been made up of seven. The government is thinking of expanding us, but they’re not sure yet. You’re the trial. If you succeed, you’re in, and we’re open for business. If you fail, well . . .
Alpha leans forward. His eyes are furious, and I expect him to leap across the table and slam me to the ground again. I brace myself. Instead he leans back, grabs a file, flips it open, and starts rifling through a bunch of papers. He pulls one out, walks over to me, and slaps it into my chest. “Remember this?”
He lets go, and I glance at it. The Peel Academy seal is emblazoned at the top, and I immediately know what it is. It’s the commitment letter I signed my freshman year.
“Read it,” Alpha says.
“I know what it says.”
“Read it,” he repeats. “Out loud.”
Anger courses through my veins and seeps out my pores. But I take a breath, fan the paper in front of me, and start reading in a calm voice.
“I, Amanda Jean Obermann, hereby give the United States government the authority to assign me to any given organization they deem necessary of my service, at any time such service is deemed necessary.” My signature is at the bottom.
I drop my arm. “I’ve never heard of Annum Guard.” There’s still an edge to my voice.
Alpha breathes a sigh. I can’t tell if it’s one of frustration or one of relief. “Well, there are certain things you’re going to have to take at face value, this included. So you have two options. Stay here, on a trial basis, or leave.”
I straighten. “Leaving is an option?” Abe’s face flashes in my mind. I could see him tomorrow.
Behind me, I hear someone say no in a hushed, angry whisper.
“Of course it is,” Alpha says. “But probably not in the way you’re thinking. You’re done with school. You’ve graduated and moved on. Iris is a pupil no longer. And Annum Guard happens to be among the most secret government organizations in existence. You’re one of a handful of people who know about it, so I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able just to turn you loose. If you choose to leave, you will be . . . detained.”
My mouth goes dry, and I feel little pricks of electricity in my shoulders. Alpha’s voice got low. Scary. Ominous, even.
“Detained how?”
Alpha’s mouth presses into a thin line, and he pauses, as if he’s trying to figure out how to word his response. “You’ll be taken to a secure facility where your actions and interactions will be monitored on a full-time basis in the name of national security.”
My vision clouds as I read between the lines.
“You don’t mean detained,” I say. “You mean contained .”
Alpha’s lips curl up into the smallest smile, but he doesn’t answer me.
“Where?” I demand.
“Most likely Carswell.”
I jump out of my seat with such force that the chair falls over. I know what Carswell is. It’s a women’s federal prison in Texas. And now I fully understand what detained means.
Solitary confinement.
We studied solitary at Peel. It’s a form of psychological torture. Humans are social creatures by nature, and you can’t change that. Cut off from contact, isolated prisoners slowly go mad. Years and years of untreated madness. And I already know what that’s like.
My only thought is escape. I have to get out of here. Now. But before I take even one step, hands are on me from behind. Lots of them. My supposed teammates. Someone picks the chair back up, and I’m lowered down into it. I kick and fight, but it’s no use. It’s like ten on one.
“You’re really going to have to learn to control your temper,” Alpha says in a flat, almost bored voice. “Now, do you choose to stay or to go?”
“Do I really have a choice?” I spit.
“Yes. You can choose to stay or go.”
“So no,” I say. “I don’t have a choice. Of course I choose to stay.”
Alpha nods his head. “On a trial basis,” he repeats. “You see, our numbers are set. Teams have always been made up of seven. The government is thinking of expanding us, but they’re not sure yet. You’re the trial. If you succeed, you’re in, and we’re open for business. If you fail, well . . .
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