Odium II: The Dead Saga Read Online Free PDF Page B

in response to the smell of food, and I jump down from my little window seat to join her at the table per our usual routine.
    She sits, I sit, I wait, she stares. I stare.
    “Dude, gimme my food.” I reach across and snatch the dish away from her, lifting off the silver lid as I dive straight into the food with my fork. After a couple of mouthfuls of the overcooked pasta I stop, my eyes fixated on what lies under my food.
    My eyes flit to the guard standing watch by the door. He’s young—barely seventeen by the looks of it—golden brown skin and dark brown hair. He’s slender but strong-looking, and not paying either of us any attention. In fact, when I think about it, that’s not the same guard that normally comes in with Emily. I look back at her, seeing her smiling, a mischievous look to her face, her eyes gesturing downward to the food. My brow furrows and I dive further into the pasta, still hungry yet not wanting to eat it anymore. I push it around the plate, moving it to one side and revealing more of the large knife hidden underneath. I look up at Emily with worry, my emotions a mixture of uncertainty about what she’s expecting me to do, being petrified of getting caught and receiving another beating, and yet excited to kick some of the Forgotten’s ass like I’ve been dreaming of doing.
    “It ’s okay.” She grins at me.
    I swallow hard. “Is it?”
    “We ’re getting out of here.”
    I reach for the knife, feeling the sharpness of it in the palm of my hand. My eyes look up at the guard coming toward us and my face blanches. Emily turns to look, her smile growing wider.
    “It ’s okay—he’s okay. He’s with us. With me, actually.”
    He places a hand on her shoulder, and I realize it’s with affection as their eyes lock and they smile at one another.
    “I ’m going to help you get out of here.” He holds out a hand to me. “I’m Alek.”
    I frown at his hand. “Well, you know who I am.” I shrug, holding onto my knife tightly.
    “Nina.” Emily rolls her eyes at me.
    I roll mine back and huff, feeling like a teenager, but I’m out of the loop and I don’t like it, and Mr. Hero over here has his hands on my girl.
    “Take your hands off her, ” I snarl. Images of him and her flood my head. Jeez, now I know what my mother used to talk about when she said she worried about me and boys.
    “Nina, stop it. He ’s helping us—helping you.”
    “You ’re still a child, Emily.” I glare at him and his cheeks flush with embarrassment. “I don’t think this relationship is appropriate.” I’m a fucking hypocrite and I know it, but I swore I would look after her and I’m doing a shoddy job so far.
    “Nothing ’s happened, and I’m not a child.” Emily stands, placing her hands flat on the table. “He’s trying to help us escape, Nina. Stop with all this crap.”
    I look at him and then her, and then away.
    “I know that you’re scared. I am too—”
    “No you ’re not.” I stand now, walking over to my window and looking out, never letting go of my knife. “Look at you, all grown up and brave with a big strong boyfriend to protect you, and here I am crying like a fucking baby.” I rub away the tears with the back of my hand. What is wrong with me? My freedom is being handed to me—literally on a plate—and I’m crying over Emily growing up and getting a boyfriend. She comes to stand next to me.
    “I am scared, Nina. I’ve missed you. I need you.”
    “No you don ’t. I failed you.” Misery engulfs me. I am a failure.
    “No you didn ’t! I’d be dead without you.”
    I turn to look at her. She looks so different from the girl I first met. I grab her and pull her into a hug.
    “You nearly died, and they did so much to you, but we’re going to make them pay,” she whispers into my ear.
    Tremors wrack me as I struggle to stop the tears , and I pull out of the hug; it’s only making it worse. I’ve bottled it all in—every touch, every lash, every wound