Page 156 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

Rolly is watching, but he’s trying to fend off the Flock that Father has ordered in. He drops one, two, and then, before he can take a single step towards us, he’s got five more to deal with.

I turn back to Robin, trying to focus on only her. Raven whispers in my head, telling me how to save us both.

“He took us from our parents. We had parents. Do you remember them? Mum died fighting him off. In our bedroom, in front of us. Dad died in the other room; we heard him. It was just you and me.”

She glares, and all I can see is hatred.

If I die, I will take my pack with me.

I’m not prepared to do that. Even for her.

I launch myself at her, using all my best moves and then some. I don’t know what I expect, but she easily stops all my attacks. It’s like she knows what I’m going to do before I do it.

She’s been studying me, I realise with a cold sweat. He’s been making her study me. Like an experiment to see which one will be stronger. This is why I’m still alive.

Because she is.

“You don’t have to do this, Callea,” Jay says through me.

I focus on fighting, but when I throw in some moves I’ve learned from the pack, I make headway. She can’t predict what she hasn’t seen.

“He broke your body, but he broke our mind. Into pieces. Different pieces,” Jay says. “You think that we’ve had it so easy? We’re just as trained as you are.”

Robin narrows her eyes and puts in extra effort. I use a dirty move I saw Pix use on Roseland once and knee her between the legs. She groans and drops, gagging.

“I’m sorry!” Jay says. “I’m really sorry, but you have to stop and listen. You don’t want to be this for him. To do this forever. If you continue to live like this, there will never be an escape, not until he decides you are useless and kills you. Is that what you want?”

She closes her eyes, but tears run down her cheeks.

I want to hug her so badly. I crouch in front of her, aching.

“Our parents put stars on the ceiling so we could see in the dark. They kept a room full of our favourite books. Mum put Mr Sprinkles, our toy cat, in front of the closet to stop the monsters coming out at night.”

I don’t remember any of this, but I don’t question Jay. He is the door to the past.

“Mum used to make strawberry jelly and put ice cream with it. You liked sauce on everything. We used to talk with our fingers. Our own secret language that no one ever understood. Just you and me.”

When she opens her eyes, they are filled with tears, but she throws herself at us, attacking wildly. She’s not really trying to hurt us anymore, just trying to make us go away.

“I love you, Callea,” we say. All six of us. “We love you so much.”

She stumbles, and I’m there, grabbing her and hauling her into my arms.

“No scars on your body or broken pieces of me will make me love you less.”

She cries silently, holding onto me, holding herself up.

I squeeze her tight.

“You two always disappoint me,” Father says in a furious voice.

I lash out with my knife, but he’s moved out of the way.

“Kill them all.”

All around us, the Flock pick up guns and aim them at everyone on the floor.

Raven