Free The Six: Complete Series by E.C. Richard

slammed, and the driver walked to the front seat without so much as a look over. He grabbed the gun from the ground and stuffed it in his pants pocket and headed back to the car.
    “Let’s just get out of here,” he said as he slammed the door behind him.
     

    BOOK 2
     
     
    She didn’t dare tell the others what Milo had told her. Two burly men had carried her down the hallway with their hands gripped around her waist. She barely stumbled down the hall before she was tossed inside, still dressed in the same hoodie and jeans that they’d taken her in. The clothes were splattered with blood and dirt and there were holes where they’d dragged her down the driveway of her ex-boyfriend’s home as she tried to fight back.
    Milo had sat alone in the room, by himself, for four days. He was catatonic and wouldn’t look her direction, much less speak to her. Drugged up and confused, she crawled to the corner of the room and sat, in silence, for days. There were no interruptions in the infinite stretches of silence except for the few meals they delivered to them. She didn’t eat, not for days. The thought of food made her nauseous and she could barely blink without her body aching. Milo couldn’t have cared less about how she felt. Without windows, the room had a sticky darkness that suffocated her the moment she realized she was effectively alone.
    They were alone for what she figured was five days. After that, the others came in one after another at a quick clip. The lawyer, the psychiatrist, the sad grocery guy and the nurse all came within two days of each other. Every few hours there would be a boom above their heads, which they learned was the door to the medical office. Each one of them had been taken in there to unwrap their bandages before being brought down. None of the doctors would say what they had been taken in for. Each one of them had gotten a different answer: you were hit by a car, you had a heart attack or your appendix burst. Under a substantial amount of drugs any story sounds plausible and she, like the others, had believed it.
    The others seemed to recover faster. Benjamin hardly spoke about it and Marie hadn’t even noticed there was something amiss. Milo’s chest, however, still ached even weeks later. The first words he said to her were about how much his chest hurt. He could barely move from his spot. Every time he shifted, he winced. She tried to make him feel better but all she had was an old Midol tucked in the back pocket of her jeans. It didn’t make a difference. He still whimpered in his sleep and clutched his chest if he had to do any significant moving. He was just a kid and he was terrified. Until the others came, she made it her job to keep his mind off of things and just survive the best they could.
    There was a boom above their heads, but it wasn’t the same sound. It seemed to be coming from farther away. The footsteps came quickly down the hall towards them. No one moved or even looked around to place the noise. The silence persisted.
    Dennis stood, exhausted, next to the door. Hours ago, he began his guard next to it and studied it for any imperfections that he might use to pry it open. His stiff stance had weakened over time to the point that he laid his forehead against the wall with his hands held tightly against his side. The others had stopped paying attention to him long ago, but she felt for him. They were bored and exhausted but he was still scared, absolutely terrified. Even across the room, Lila could see the tops of his nails were broken and the side of his arm was bruised from continuous banging against the door.
    “Dennis?” she said. Her quiet words pierced through the stagnant silence that had fallen upon them.
    The lawyer looked up and ventured a slight smile her way. Dennis didn’t so much as move. He stood still, his eyes shut tight.
    “Dennis?” she said a little louder.
    An object flew across the room and slapped against the back of Dennis’ leg. The