I leave the cold shower running, feeling the water flowing in rivulets down my body. The chilled temperature soothes the aches in my calves and the purplish bruises spotting my skin.

I'm caught up in a turmoil of thoughts. If I make a wrong move, I'm putting Mom's life at risk. If I were to get close to Dad again, he might attack me. And as for Zarius, I pray they haven't injected the nanobots into him.

How on earth am I supposed to save them from this place?

And even if we escape, where can we go?

I'm extremely lost right now, as if I'm stuck on a road with a dead end. I wish that someone could show me the way out of this.

After rubbing shampoo into my hair, scrubbing dirt and blood off my skin, I'm finally clean. A khaki-colored jumpsuit is the only thing they've provided to wear, similar to a prisoner's outfit, and I'm checking to make sure that the mark on my neck is well-hidden.

My stomach growls loudly. I eye the tray of food that was pushed through the slot in the steel door; a bowl of cereals, some boiled vegetables, and a glass of water. Even though I'm super hungry, I can't help wondering if they've drugged my food. I don't trust the people here. Should I just drink the water from the tap instead?

I'm poking around the tray, considering my choices, until something catches my eyes when I lift the bowl. There's a tiny black square case hidden in the hollow bottom and when I open it, I see an earpod.

It's a communication device. Someone must have placed it there for me. Rather convenient, in fact.

The question is–who?

There's a security camera mounted in my room's ceiling watching my every move. I pick up the earpod and slip it into my hand calmly, making sure that the people monitoring me won't suspect a thing. Faking a yawn, I slip back to the thin, hard mattress and roll onto my side to face the wall. With my back facing the camera, I fish out the pod and pop it into my ear. There's a tiny button, so I just push that.

I cough a few times and wait. It doesn't take long before a voice comes through.

"Hello?"

"Max?" I grimace, not bothering to hide the annoyance in my tone. "You're the last person I want to talk to right now."

"That's understandable and I kind of deserve that," he says quietly. "I know you have questions, so I'm here to answer them."

"Like, what are you doing here? Gee, thanks. I think I've already figured out that part myself."

He draws out a long exhale. "Cordelia, I'm truly sorry. Just give me a chance to explain. What my brother and I did is inexcusable. Please."

I give a weary sigh, ignoring the low rumbles coming from my stomach. "Fine. I'm listening."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes again. "When my brother first witnessed your friend fighting off the creatures, he reported to the military in exchange for a safe place to stay. I went along with his plan. But I never expected them to hurt you. I didn't know what they wanted to do to your friend until I'm assigned a role as a patrol guard here. The people here often discuss their plan to build an army of Super Soldiers, and this includes that merfolk friend of yours."

"Hang on a second." It takes everything in me not to sit up in excitement. Since Max works here, there's a good chance he knows where Zarius is. "Do you know where he is?"

"That's the reason why I wanted to contact you," Max admits. "Your friend has gained a lot of attention since he arrived. Right now, he's on the same floor as you, eight cells down from the merfolk you met earlier. He's contained and heavily sedated."

Relief floods my chest, knowing that I'm a lot closer to Zarius than I thought. "Have you seen my mother? Roxie Walters? They have her as well."

"I didn't," he pauses, "but I can check. I do vaguely remember another guard talking about being stationed on the upper floors because there's someone he needs to keep a watch on. Could be your mother."

Hope surges within me. "Thanks, Max, but why are you offering to help me? Aren't you putting your life at risk?"

Silence lapses from the other end of the line. "Because it feels wrong," he admits. "My brother doesn't stop his wrongdoings and repent. He just keeps getting worse. I know what he did to that little girl. And on the day Black Rose Bar collapsed, he shot at Charles's leg to slow him and Emily down as bait for the creatures so that we could run away."

I'm appalled. Matteo has obviously lied to me about this the other day. "How could he do that? They offered us a place to stay."

"I know." Max sounds genuinely upset. "Even if we're family, I can't stand what he did. While he seems to have forgotten what he has done to others, I have not. I watched him carry out his deeds and looked away, which I shouldn't have. And it cost a few precious lives. I'm a sinner just as he is," he admits. "I can't reverse what he did, but I can help you escape."

It's nice of Max to offer his help, but a part of me can't help but doubt him. What if things go wrong? What if he pulls out of the plan and betrays me at the last minute just to save his own life?

"Where is your brother now?"

"In our shared room. He broke his arm during our last run, so he's resting now."

I snort in disgust. "No offense, but I really hate your brother."

Max sighs again. "Frankly speaking, me too. I used to be really close to him when we were younger, but after we grew up, he became egotistic. Sometimes, I wonder what happened along the way and changed him."

A brooding silence sits between us for a while until Max confirms his agenda again. "Duty calls. I'll check on your mother later and contact you again at your next meal time. Keep your earpod hidden till then."

I hesitate at his plan. It's funny how it suddenly seems like we're a team. Can I really trust Max? Or will he go back on his words later on? Unlike his brother, he seems a lot more responsible and sensible. When we first met in that basement, he even volunteered to go on a run and help obtain Mia's medicine when she got sick.

I'm alone right now and I need all the help I can get.

I hope I'm making the right decision to let him help me. "Okay. I truly appreciate you helping us," I tell him earnestly. "And Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the food safe to eat?"

"Yes, it is. I watched them prepare the food, I promise."

After our call ends, I dive straight into the food. Eager to pump food into me to revitalize my energy for my big plan head. When Max returns with news about Mom, it's going to be operation time: breaking out of my cell.

But before that happens, I've to test my powers.