Chapter 323
Joshua:
“Well, you should stay awake at night. That’s when we’re most vulnerable, and we need the strongest players up,” I said to Clementine, avoiding her eyes.
Every time I looked at her, she could tell if I was hiding something.
“It’s fine. I can stay awake at night too,” she argued, making my jaw tighten.
Hours passed with nothing happening and night arrived.
After dinner, Oriana led the three alphas upstairs, probably because she didn’t feel safe with Clementine awake.
Everyone watched them leave. We all had the same thought, what kind of power did she have?
Clementine looked restless, more so anxious.
Then it happened.
As everyone drifted to sleep and I pretended to be asleep on the couch, I saw Clementine lose control.
She marched upstairs to check on her squad mates. And that was my moment, the course was clear.
I gestured for Jack to keep an eye on Nate, since we weren’t going to involve him either.
However, instead of taking Nate to the side, like into the kitchen, as we had agreed, Jack walked over to me.
He hunched down on the couch where I was lying, whispering.
“Are you sure? Everybody’s kind of sleeping. What if the Fleshmingos come in and attack them? Shouldn’t we have someone here to warn them so they can defend themselves p>
As expected, Jack was starting to chicken out.
I didn’t understand why he couldn’t grasp a single thing. We needed to consider ourselves first.
“Jack, just do what I say, okay? I’m not going to let anyone die, trust me. As soon as the door opens, you just start screaming that you’ve seen a Fleshmingo come in and rush into one of the rooms p>
I tried to convince him by agreeing with me, but he still didn’t seem comfortable.
That was when Oriana briskly walked downstairs, and it seemed the opportunity had finally presented itself.
When Oriana came downstairs, I could tell she’d had quite a clash with Clementine, or maybe it was one-sided, since only Oriana appeared.
She looked panicked. Her zipper was half-open, and strands of her hair were caught in it.
The front section of her hair looked tugged, as if someone had really yanked it.
And I didn’t need to guess who, it had to be Clementine.
I sat up instantly when Oriana ran down the stairs.
Jack and I exchanged a quick look, both of us hiding our smiles when she almost tripped on the last step before catching her balance.
She fixed her suit, tried to smooth her hair back to look presentable, but the piece stuck in her zipper made her wince.
Her eyes darted upward, and I knew if I didn’t act now, she’d slip away again.
She began pacing nervously, glancing toward the ceiling, listening for sounds, probably expecting the others to be fighting Clementine, since that’s what she’d been yelling about when she came down.
But the silence upstairs told a different story.
“Okay, Jack. Now’s the time,” I whispered.
Jack’s eyes widened. He was still hunched on the couch, his arm resting across the backrest.
“Are you sure, Joshua?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’s just Nate downstairs, and I’m sure you won’t sell me out. Right now’s our chance,” I said, watching Jack run a hand through his hair nervously.
“Listen, that’s even better. Remember how you worried the Fleshmingos would get in while the others were asleep and unable to fight? Well, now she’s awake. I can grab her, and you open the door. I’ll run out with her, claiming she left it unlocked. You’ll tell everyone she came downstairs, scared of Clementine, and ran out. Then I went after her to make sure she didn’t get herself in trouble p>
I laid out the plan for Jack. This time, it actually sounded believable.
“So, this way you’ll be able to call everyone. Nobody will suspect we opened the door, and nobody will listen to her or believe her. Besides, you can close the door afterward to make sure everyone’s safe,” I told Jack, giving him a reassuring look and patting his elbow to push him into action.
He started walking toward the door while I got up from the couch and walked straight over to Oriana, who immediately noticed me.
“If you’re going to advise me or suggest something, save it,” she snapped, flipping me off and tilting her head until she realized I didn’t want to talk.
Her eyebrows drew together the moment I grabbed her arm.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” she panicked.
“Tell me the truth,” I demanded, watching her eyes widen.
“What do you mean? What truth? What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? Let me go!” she yelled, raising her voice.
I had to silence her. I covered her mouth with my hand, her pupils grew wide.
“What are you doing?” Nate yelled, arriving at my side, confusion on his face.
At the same time Jack opened the door.
When Nate moved to lock it again, Jack held him back and whispered something.
I turned Oriana, keeping my hand clamped over her mouth, and began to drag her toward the exit.
I had to get her out of there.
She kicked and twisted, and when we reached the threshold she finally wriggled free, she’d been thrashing so hard, and there were Fleshmingos right outside like we hadn’t expected.
I finally let go, and she bolted for the road.
“Shit!” I grunted, sprinting after her. Jack lunged after me to help restrain her.
“We need to get to her before she goes back and tells everyone we opened the door!” Jack yelled, shooting me a fierce look as we chased.
At that point we didn’t know the full damage inside the mansion, but I knew in my bones we’d let Fleshmingos in.
I reached Oriana and grabbed a handful of her hair.
When I glanced back, Nate was already running away from the mansion, but it was too late.
Oriana was flailing and fighting like a cornered animal, I wrapped my arm around her and clamped my hand over her mouth again while Jack grabbed her legs and carried her.
“Where to now?” Jack asked, panting.
“To the underground station,” I said, remembering it was another safe place. Together we dragged her away.