Page 97 of Breathe Me In

“No.” He made a strange sound almost like a sigh. “I wish those girls were my subjects. I would have had a much deeper connection when their lives slipped away. I would have chosen something much more intimate.”

“Subjects?” That was an odd word to use. “So, they were an experiment?”

“In a way, yes.” I heard a door open and click closed, but I could see Hank in a small, tilted mirror, so I knew he was still with me.

“Dammit, get back here.” I pretended I was pissed he’d left. I cleared my mind and refocused. Puzzles were a big part of my job, and I loved that part of it. I planted my weight firmly on both feet and watched how the plates moved under them. One movement to the left, two to the right, and another two to the left before the pattern repeated.

I could feel his presence in the room, like a dark chill that prickled at my skin. I’d known the man for years and never gotten a bad vibe from him. That played on my mind. Focus. The mirrors repeated the same pattern then in an opposite sequence. I counted the directions as I moved through the maze. I let the floor swing me around in a new direction, and I came face-to-face with Hank. He swung, and I ducked, and he yelped in pain as his fist slammed into a mirror. I jumped and fought the floor as it turned to change my direction. Two mirrors turned inward, and I was able to slip between them, grab Hank by the jacket, and haul him with me backward. Suddenly, we both whirled around in opposite positions, and I lost my grip on him as the lights went dim in spots around the room.

I prepared myself for Hank to reappear when the floor swung back around. I planted my feet, raised my fist, and was ready to drill him in his face when Bree suddenly appeared.

What?

“Brad?” She looked confused.

I reached out for her only to slam my hand into mirrored glass. This place was maddening.

“Brad!”

“Ah, look.” Hank chuckled darkly from somewhere. “We have company.”

I saw his reflection in two of the mirrors, but I didn’t bite. I jumped to a different track and tried to see if I could catch her. The floor started to turn, and I forced myself to stand still and try to study the pattern.

“Ms. Jaminson, how lovely you could join us.” I heard his feet scrape as he hit the floor. Where is he? “Tell me, how is your head?”

“Brad.” Her voice was so quiet I hardly heard her, but when I turned toward the sound, she jumped onto my track, and I wrapped my arms around her to keep her with me. “Is that Hank?” she whispered.

I tilted her head up and nodded so he couldn’t discover where we were. Her face hardened, and her eyes went wide with understanding. You need to get out of here, I mouthed.

How? she mouthed back.

I looked desperately around for the exit. I hoped I could get her out so I could focus on Hank. I didn’t want him to catch us both together—it was too dangerous. I knew we needed to split up, but the thought of letting her out of my sight didn’t sit well with me.

Whoosh. A knife sliced through the top lining of my jacket, just missing the skin of my arm. Before I could react, he was gone again. My heart pounded. It could have been my neck.

I held my hand up to Bree as if to say, Stand still, then bent down to remove my Hellcat backup gun. I took her hand and pressed her fingers around the handle. She shook her head and tried to push it back into my hand.

“No,” she hissed. “No way.”

I silently cursed but knew I couldn’t force her to take it. I realized it might be more dangerous if she had it but refused to use it. “Stay close,” I warned, then tuned back into the room.

“People who can’t find their way out will face the clowns.” The speaker cackled out a warning. Bree put her hand in mine. I knew she wasn’t a fan of clowns. Most adults hated them, and I was no exception. I hated masks of any kind.

“Boo!” Hank appeared and threw a punch, but I blocked it easily as I shoved Bree away onto a different track. Her mouth opened as she disappeared from view. I turned, grabbed Hank’s arm, and twisted it behind him, then pushed him forward. He used that moment to jerk sideways and jump onto a different part of the moving floor. He was slippery but clearly not a fighter. I changed my mindset and played his game. I’d outsmart the son of a bitch.

“Unlike you, Bradley, I wasn’t an athletic kid.” I knew he knew a lot about me. I never questioned his UPS route before, but now I questioned everything. Memories of him showing up with his UPS boxes at the rink or the office flooded my head. I remembered the talks we’d had when I’d pick up skates he’d sharpened for me before a game. I couldn’t believe I’d never once seen this side of him.

I spotted the exit then and closed my eyes to try to memorize its position.

“I rather enjoyed the math club at school and, on some occasions, science camp.” He laughed. “Just wasn’t the sporty type. I did have some interesting friends, though.” He lunged forward with the knife, and at the last second I jerked sideways and sent him into the wall. He stopped moving and disappeared as my shot missed him completely. I realized that meant there was a border along the wall that I could use.

Once close enough, I jumped off and was able to take in the layout of the room. His shadow bounced around the ceiling, and I ripped off my coat and wrapped it around my hand just as he appeared in front of me again. I deflected the next thrust that came at me and knocked the knife from his grip. I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him into me. I’ve had enough of this fucking room!

“I knew you were quick.” He grinned. I had a quick glimpse inside the window of his soulless body and was shocked at his lack of feeling. I felt his hand leave my arm as he removed something from his coat pocket. He held up something that looked like a tiny plunger and aimed it toward my face. No! As his fingers flexed to release what I could only imagine was the drug that had killed the girls, I held my breath and sent him backward into the mirrors. As he stumbled, I was able to grab his wrist and bend it to the side. I prayed he hadn’t been able to release the toxic substance.

“Ahh!” he yelled, and I jammed my foot into the side of his knee. I felt a crunch, and he twisted as he hit a turning mirror hard. He was knocked out for a second. I saw the tiny plunger on the floor and saw a little puff of green powder get released from the plunger. I desperately wanted to gasp for a breath, but I held it as I kicked the plunger away and quickly secured his wrists in zip ties.

“Oh my god, I hate this place!” Bree lunged onto my platform and steadied herself against me as I slapped a hand over her mouth and madly made a motion to not inhale. Eyes wide, she nodded her understanding and smacked her own hand over her mouth to replace mine. Hank started to come to, so I grabbed him, and with Bree hard on my heels, we made it to the exit.