Page 61 of Stay Scared

Owen grabs the radio. “Is the bleeding controlled?”

“For now. We need an ambulance inside the grounds.”

“External communication is still blocked.”

“I gathered that.”

Metal scrapes in the background.

“Where are you?” Owen asks.

“Prize warehouse near the north service road. Outer door is locked.”

“Stay there. I’m heading for the backup controls.”

“You’re taking Salem?”

Owen looks at me. “She decides.”

Static fills the pause.

“Do not use your maze,” Cade says.

“The direct access corridors are already compromised.”

“Your maze has moving walls.”

“Local circuit.”

“Everything in this place was supposed to be isolated until tonight.”

Owen’s mouth hardens. “The backup room is under the east midway. The Blind Maze is our shortest path without using the main network.”

“And if your local circuit has been breached too?”

“I shut it down at the panel.”

Another pause follows.

“Keep her where you can reach her.”

Owen sets the radio down with more care than necessary.

“What exactly is the Blind Maze?” I ask.

“My section.”

“You planned to take me there after Cade?”

“That was the plan.”

“What was the point?”

“To take away your sight and make you rely on my voice.”

“You built an attraction around the one advantage you had at Halden.”

He looks at me. “I learned you without being seen. I wanted to know what happened when you had to find me.”