Read Online The Vault (A Farm Novel) by Emily McKay - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Emily McKay
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The crowd had surged back when I got in the fight, and a rumble of confusion went through it. “Think, Zeke,” I said, more quietly. Just for him. “You don’t have any problem with him.”
“Bullshit, I don’t!” Zeke’s fingers curved, digging more sharply into my skin. “He didn’t just betray you. He used me to get to you. He used everyone in this Farm. He betrayed all of us!”
The other guy, the one who’d been holding Ely—or maybe someone else even, I couldn’t quite tell—launched himself at my back, trying to tear me off Zeke. A hand dug into my hair, yanking my head even farther back. Which gave me the perfect view of the angry mob surging forward again, ready to take down me and Ely.
Well, crap, this wasn’t exactly helpful.
What was I supposed to do now?
My anger had gotten me into this mess—my pure, driven need for revenge—and my logic wasn’t doing jack to get me out of it.
Somehow the person at my back got his arm—but it was a small arm. A small person. Maybe a girl? Whoever it was, she got her arm around my neck and pulled, pressing the hard edge of her tibia against my windpipe.
The last person to put me in a choke hold had been Lily. She’d nearly kicked my ass and I’d fallen even more in love with her. And now she was in danger, maybe dying, maybe dead, and I couldn’t help her because of my own anger. God damn it.
It couldn’t end like this.
I wasn’t going to let it end like this. I would find a way to help her. One that didn’t involve a bunch more people getting hurt.
I dropped my hold on Zeke, pushing him away from me as I wedged my hands under the girl’s arm and pried it from my throat. She stumbled back. I whirled around, putting myself between Ely and the others.
Crap, the girl was Charla. Three minutes ago, Charla had been a rational human being. Until I’d dosed her with my rage. Great. Just friggin’ great.
“Stop!” I yelled, at everyone and no one. “Just stop! We can’t do this.”
The crowd grumbled with discord, looking unconvinced.
My need to avenge Lily had gotten us into this. Maybe my need to save her could get us out of it. “We can’t kill him. I need him alive,” I said, a plan just beginning to form even as I said it. “Lily is out there and he’s the only one who can track her down.”
Most of these people didn’t know who the hell Lily was and didn’t care, but the fact that I knew, that I cared, that seemed to sink in for them. The fury and rage began to dissipate from the crowd as people blinked, looked around, and seemed surprised to find themselves there. The emotions eased away, but not entirely. There were mumbles of dissatisfaction as they started to drift past me. That rage and fury still lingered. The people in this Farm had been too angry and too hungry and too helpless for too long. Their emotions had been their own. I’d just distilled it. I’d given the rage an outlet.
The change was most obvious with Charla and Zeke, the two people who’d gotten the strongest dose of my anger. And then there were the other two guys who’d been in the fight, the guy who’d been holding Ely and another guy near the edge with bloodied knuckles. They were the two guards who’d been outside Ely’s room when I’d first gone in.
I looked at the four of them and then, without really turning my back on any of them, I reached down to where Ely had slumped against the wall and grabbed his arm, hauling him up. I pulled him along with me, down the hall to the Dean’s office.
The door was open, the office empty. Thank God there was a bolt on the inside of the door. I released Ely’s arm, letting him sink to the floor beside the door as I threw the dead bolt. And then wedged a chair under the knob, just for good measure. Then I sank to the floor myself, back to the door, and buried my head in my palms.
Roberto had told me I was an
abductura
.
I don’t know that I’d really believed him. Until now, I hadn’t seen any
“Bullshit, I don’t!” Zeke’s fingers curved, digging more sharply into my skin. “He didn’t just betray you. He used me to get to you. He used everyone in this Farm. He betrayed all of us!”
The other guy, the one who’d been holding Ely—or maybe someone else even, I couldn’t quite tell—launched himself at my back, trying to tear me off Zeke. A hand dug into my hair, yanking my head even farther back. Which gave me the perfect view of the angry mob surging forward again, ready to take down me and Ely.
Well, crap, this wasn’t exactly helpful.
What was I supposed to do now?
My anger had gotten me into this mess—my pure, driven need for revenge—and my logic wasn’t doing jack to get me out of it.
Somehow the person at my back got his arm—but it was a small arm. A small person. Maybe a girl? Whoever it was, she got her arm around my neck and pulled, pressing the hard edge of her tibia against my windpipe.
The last person to put me in a choke hold had been Lily. She’d nearly kicked my ass and I’d fallen even more in love with her. And now she was in danger, maybe dying, maybe dead, and I couldn’t help her because of my own anger. God damn it.
It couldn’t end like this.
I wasn’t going to let it end like this. I would find a way to help her. One that didn’t involve a bunch more people getting hurt.
I dropped my hold on Zeke, pushing him away from me as I wedged my hands under the girl’s arm and pried it from my throat. She stumbled back. I whirled around, putting myself between Ely and the others.
Crap, the girl was Charla. Three minutes ago, Charla had been a rational human being. Until I’d dosed her with my rage. Great. Just friggin’ great.
“Stop!” I yelled, at everyone and no one. “Just stop! We can’t do this.”
The crowd grumbled with discord, looking unconvinced.
My need to avenge Lily had gotten us into this. Maybe my need to save her could get us out of it. “We can’t kill him. I need him alive,” I said, a plan just beginning to form even as I said it. “Lily is out there and he’s the only one who can track her down.”
Most of these people didn’t know who the hell Lily was and didn’t care, but the fact that I knew, that I cared, that seemed to sink in for them. The fury and rage began to dissipate from the crowd as people blinked, looked around, and seemed surprised to find themselves there. The emotions eased away, but not entirely. There were mumbles of dissatisfaction as they started to drift past me. That rage and fury still lingered. The people in this Farm had been too angry and too hungry and too helpless for too long. Their emotions had been their own. I’d just distilled it. I’d given the rage an outlet.
The change was most obvious with Charla and Zeke, the two people who’d gotten the strongest dose of my anger. And then there were the other two guys who’d been in the fight, the guy who’d been holding Ely and another guy near the edge with bloodied knuckles. They were the two guards who’d been outside Ely’s room when I’d first gone in.
I looked at the four of them and then, without really turning my back on any of them, I reached down to where Ely had slumped against the wall and grabbed his arm, hauling him up. I pulled him along with me, down the hall to the Dean’s office.
The door was open, the office empty. Thank God there was a bolt on the inside of the door. I released Ely’s arm, letting him sink to the floor beside the door as I threw the dead bolt. And then wedged a chair under the knob, just for good measure. Then I sank to the floor myself, back to the door, and buried my head in my palms.
Roberto had told me I was an
abductura
.
I don’t know that I’d really believed him. Until now, I hadn’t seen any
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