The White Rose Read Online Free PDF Page A

hiding place. There is no handle on the inside of the door, so I’ve left it cracked the tiniest bit. The voices of two men are muffled.
    “. . . didn’t want anyone noticing, I suppose.”
    “Don’t see why anyone would care. How many surrogates has she gone through over the years? Twenty?”
    “Not your place to count, lad. We do as we’re told.”The first voice is definitely older and has a rough, grizzled quality. “They say House of the Stone, pickup at midnight, and that’s what we do.”
    House of the Stone! They have Raven! I nearly cry with relief.
    There’s the strange squeaking noise again, then a door creaks open. I hear the wrinkling of plastic being manipulated.
    “She’s not very heavy, is she?” the second voice says.
    “Ain’t none of them is heavy, lad. You’ll see.”
    Plastic scrapes and shifts over metal. The door closes.
    “Now,” the first voice says gruffly, “it’s back to bed and let’s hope there’s no more calls tonight.”
    Their shoes make tiny sticking sounds as they leave. The light switches off.
    I keep still for as long as I can, hardly daring to breathe, waiting to see whether they come back. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. My fingernails scrape the door, pushing it open. I wriggle out of the compartment as fast as I can and tumble onto the polished floor, as Ash and Garnet open their own doors. I scramble to my feet and push up the arms of the oversize Regimental coat, running my palms along the wall until I find the light switch.
    The light is painfully bright after so much darkness. Ash’s face is drained of color, and he climbs to his feet slowly. Garnet stays on the floor, leaning against the cabinets and smoothing back his blond hair, looking more rattled than I’ve ever seen him.
    “She’s here,” I say to Ash.
    “I know,” he replies.
    A smile breaks across my face, and I begin opening doors with a single-minded ferocity, pushing Garnet out of the way until I find one that was empty before.
    I yank on the metal sheeting and Raven’s body slides out, hidden underneath a thick layer of black plastic. Ash and Garnet join me as I pull the zipper down and open the bag.
    Raven’s face is as cold and lifeless as all the other girls’ in this place, and for one paralyzing moment, I fear she’s actually dead. Her beautiful caramel skin is waxy, her once-glossy black hair lank and tangled. She is naked. I quickly shrug out of the Regimental coat and throw it over her body, but not before seeing how painfully, sickeningly thin she is—every rib is visible, and her hip bones jut out in sharp points on either side of the tiny bump of her belly.
    I press my hand against her cheek. Her skin is like ice.
    “Raven,” I say, my voice trembling. I watch for a flutter of her eyelashes, or a parting of her lips, but there’s nothing. My best friend is deathly still.
    “Raven, it’s me,” I say. “It’s Violet.” It hurts to swallow. “Please wake up. I’ve saved you. Please come back to me.”
    The silence that follows is crushing. Pieces of me break under the weight of it.
    “Maybe she’s really—” Garnet begins, but I whirl around and slam my hands against his chest, sending him stumbling backward.
    “She is not dead!” I hiss. I turn back to Raven and shake her. Her head lolls on the metal slab. “Wake up , Raven! Come on, you took the serum, I know you did, so please, WAKE UP!”
    I slap her hard across the face.
    But nothing happens.
    I feel Ash’s hand on my shoulder. “Violet, I’m so sorry.”
    I shrug his hand away. I don’t want anyone’s pity right now. “She—”
    Suddenly, Raven’s eyes fly open. Her body arches, her eyeballs bugging out of her head, then she jerks onto her side and vomits on the floor. Ash and Garnet jump back as Raven’s body convulses, coughing and retching, but I collapse on top of her, my forehead falling onto her shoulder, one hand smoothing her hair, blissfully grateful to feel her breathing and