“The list is too long to count.”
“Naturally. I’ll skip the summary, thanks.”
“Kade is facing numerous narcotics charges,” Hunter continues. “Along with destruction of private property and charges for inciting the riot. Hudson, Phoenix and Eli stand accused of absconding from custody and participating in the riot. Potentially more if they link guard or patient deaths back to you six.”
You could hear a penny drop in the office. I’ve never seen everyone so equally horrified and stunned into silence, even after all we’ve been through. Enzo slams his hands down on the table, his face scrunched up. He’s turning a brighter shade of red than Hudson did earlier.
“As of tonight, our protection will be rendered illegal and classed as obstruction of justice.” Hunter ignores Enzo smashing his chair into the wall. “You will be forcibly removed from the premises, arrested by the SCU, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Kade is the first to find his voice, shaky and uncertain. “What does that mean?”
“Best case? Prison time. Release or parole will be out of the question. For some of you, a psychiatric sentence may be deemed more beneficial. You will be returned to Incendia’s care for the rest of your lives.”
“Do we get a trial?” Hudson asks.
Hunter shakes his head. “The SCU are in possession of emergency powers granted by the government. High-profile offenders can be dealt with at their discretion, without public involvement. The records will reflect otherwise, but your fates will be sealed the moment they slap the cuffs on.”
“That’s illegal,” Kade argues.
Closing his laptop, Theo removes his glasses to rub his eyes. “So is running a privately funded conspiracy to experiment on and torture the mentally unwell. Doesn’t stop Incendia from taking politicians’ money and passing their financial endorsement back to our lawmakers.”
“You’re saying the SCU has been compromised,” I summarise.
Hunter meets my eyes. “I’m saying there’s nothing else to be done.”
“You made promises.”
“We all did,” Enzo shouts, rounding on his best friend. “This is fucking bullshit, Hunt. We have the resources to take on whatever jackasses the SCU sends here, their warrants be damned. I won’t let these kids go without a fight.”
“Then we end up in matching cells with them.”
“So be it! This isn’t right!”
Theo watches his team members argue, his expression beyond bleak. He lost the one thing he cared about in this fight, the person that gave his life meaning and put a smile on his face. It was all for nothing.
“Eight,” Seven murmurs behind me. “We need to leave, right now.”
“And go where?” Phoenix responds before I can. “They will follow us everywhere. We can’t run away, not this time. This is the end of the road.”
“You’d give up so fucking easily?” Seven argues.
“You can’t punch your way out of this one!”
The crash of a chair hitting the floor interrupts their argument. Eli has backed up into a corner, his hands slammed over his ears. His green eyes are clouded over and far from the strong man he’s grown into recently—one brave enough to live, breathe and speak without fear.
“Eli?” I whisper softly.
“W-Won’t… b-back… won’t g-go… back.”
Sliding down the wall, he buries his face in his knees. I’m powerless to stop his dissolution into a trembling wreck, like the scared little boy I found cutting himself in that graveyard last year. It’s fucking devastating.
“Nix,” I force out. “I can’t…”
Taking over from me, Phoenix crouches in front of Eli. I have to look away from their whispered conversation. It hurts far too much to watch him try to pull Eli back from the edge of insanity. Instead, I let rage steel my spine as I face Hunter again.
“Tell us what to do. Give us something.”
Hands braced on the table, Hunter hesitates. We stare at each other for several long seconds, locked in our own private conversation. I leave all of my emotions on display. Terror. Hope. Defeat. Exhaustion. Desperation. Fury. Grief. Hatred. I can barely see through the force of them wracking me.
