Page 133 of Rattle the Cage

What really intrigued me were the sprawling gardens and endless woods that were scattered across the campus.

I’d hardly spent any time at colleges or universities. But as Cyrus pulled the Aston Martin into a small parking lot behind the science building, I realized it may have been nice to go. All these kids had to worry about was making friends and getting good grades.

Much easier than figuring out how to pay your own bills at 18 when you get thrown to the wolves.

We all got out of the car and walked toward the sparkling science building. Made entirely of glass, it was clearly a newer addition to the grounds.

Nash beelined for a back door, pulling a keycard from her pocket and swiping it over the small black box next to the latch.

“What the…” I started.

Cyrus grumbled back to me, looking over our shoulders to make sure no one was watching. “Snagged it off a security guard last week.”

“You’re gonna get that poor guy fired.” Shaking my head, I followed Nash as she pressed the door open.

Checking around the corner, Nash nodded up toward the security cameras. “Not quite. They’ll know it wasn’t him when they check the footage.”

We moved through the building, Blade leaping up stairs and scouting ahead for guards. Cyrus kept track of where we were, making sure we didn’t get lost in the labyrinth of labs and classrooms.

I took a peek out of the class windows as we reached the fourth floor. The few students that were on campus were just as zombie’d out as Atwood. But without a bustling student body mingling around them, the ambling and staring up at the sky seemed even more bizarre.

Like they’d all been left behind after the rapture. Listless.

Blade put her hand on my back. “Let’s move, Trinket. We don’t have all day.”

Nodding, I let her move me forward and followed to a metal door where Cyrus and Nash waited.

A sign was posted next to the door.

WARNING: Active Laboratory.

Harmful substances in use.

Proceed with full PPE.

Swallowing hard, I realized just how dangerous it was to dig around in this shit without any knowledge of what we were doing.

Cyrus’s eyes flicked between the three of us. “We’ve got 30 minutes, tops, before the lab supervisor is back. This is his lunch break, security will be doing rounds every 30.”

Nash grabbed Blade’s shoulders. “Break anything and we’re dead. This becomes a felony real fast.”

An evil smirk took over Blade’s face. “I know how to behave.”

“Eyes up.” Cyrus growled, nodding for Nash to swipe the card.

But when she did, the red light flashed and beeped its annoyance.

Nash hissed. “Fuck. No access.”

Pursing my lips, I shrugged. “Good sign though. Not even the security guards have clearance.”

If the access to this lab was that limited, there were good odds that illegal substances were inside. If the federal government was allowing a lab to study a highly addictive, dangerous drug, they’d have to have intense security protocols.

Nash peered around the long hallway for another way in. “We have to get in there.”

Before anyone could pitch an idea, Cyrus grabbed her wrist and drove her elbow into the small, glass window above the doorknob.

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