Chapter 13 - The Breach in the Stairwell
My fingers wrapped around the door handle, throwing it open just as a sharp, piercing pain flared in the back of my right shoulder.
I gasped, stumbling out into the dimly lit apartment complex hallway. I reached back and touched my shoulder—a tiny, razor-sharp dart was embedded deep into my flesh. The metallic taste of copper flooded my mouth instantly. My legs turned to lead, and the fluorescent lights of the hallway began to warp and stretch into blinding vertical streaks.
I collapsed against the stairwell door, sliding down until I hit the cold concrete floor.
The matriarch stepped out into the hallway, looking down at me with an expression of mild disappointment, like a teacher grading a failing student.
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"Too fast acting," she muttered to the man behind her. "We’ll need to adjust the paralytic ratio for the next generation. Bring her inside. And wake the boy; he needs to watch this time. It completes the psychological conditioning."
My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. I could hear footsteps approaching, heavy and unhurried. Through my blurring vision, I saw the heavy oak door of our apartment swing shut, locking us inside their nightmare once again.
