The Gender Game 2 by Bella Forrest (audio ebook reader .TXT) 📕

of life. Silence and a sickly yellow light poured through the opening. I stepped through slowly, my shoes scraping on the metal flooring.

I closed the door behind me, watching as the hand wheel turned itself. Then I turned to behold the room itself.

The space was massive, stretching out further than I could see. Great concrete boxes hung from the ceiling by massive cables. Catwalks formed pathways between each cube, with small sections jutting out toward each box. Handrails ran the lengths of the walkways, and as I approached one, I realized that everything was hanging over empty space.

Immediately, I was struck by vertigo, my vision blurring and contorting as I gazed down into the bottomless cavern beneath me. My stomach started doing backflips, and my breathing became ragged. I reached out blindly, gripping on to the handrails.

Looking up, I focused on the concrete cube that hung five feet away. I took deep even breaths and eventually the sensation passed. When I finally could focus again, I realized I was covered in a cold sweat.

Shuddering, I debated turning back. I clearly wasn’t dealing well with heights, and this room was having a very visceral effect on me.

I shut the thought down. I needed to keep moving, and get to Viggo before he was hurt. My heart trembled and I felt the cold press of determination—anyone who hurt Viggo would suffer.

It was that thought that helped me flip the switch between panic and calm. I had to keep going. Looking down was what caused the problem, so I decided to keep my eyes level.

I focused on the cubes. They were massive, probably ten feet by ten feet. Looking left, I could see rows and rows of them stretching out before me. The right was the same.

Biting my lip, I moved left to the first intersection, my feet clanging on the floor, filling the eerily silent space with noise. A few times, I paused at the sound of echoing footsteps, sending a spike of fear through me that I wasn’t alone. I listened intently as they faded back into the silence, and exhaled sharply.

I turned down the first row, shining my flashlight on the cubes. They were labeled with a combination of letters and numbers. The letters were the same, the numbers in order. Once in the catwalk cutting between them, I realized that there were windows on this side, similar to the windows in the observation rooms and surgical suites.

I walked over to one of the jutting platforms. There was a five-foot space between the end of the ramp and the concrete block. Studying the block, I could see clamps on the side, where the block would attach to the cube.

Examining the ramp, I realized that there was a keypad on the handrail. I took a tentative step closer, trying to ignore the empty space that was immediately in front of me, and focused on the remote. There were a series of buttons on it—two with two arrows pointing opposite directions, one massive red one, and one green one.

I ignored the red and green ones, and concentrated on the arrows. I picked it up. There was a slight whine as I stretched the wire out from a spool somewhere inside the post, and I almost dropped it. I took a step back and pointed the device at the cube.

The arrows went forward and backward from that angle. Biting my lip, I braced myself, and pressed the back button. I heard something clunk, and the catwalk shook almost imperceptibly under my feet.

Frowning, I pressed the forward button. There was a whirring sound, and suddenly the catwalk began to move slowly toward the cube. I remained still, much to my relief.

I held down the button and watched as it made contact with the cube. There was a loud grating sound, and the gears whirled to a stop.

The green button was flashing now, and after hesitating a second, I pressed it. The clamps closed down on the ramp with a bang.

I placed the remote back on the handrail, and studied the five feet of catwalk before me. I was intensely curious about the contents of the cube, but at the same time, readily aware that Viggo was in serious danger. I felt the press of time warring against my own curiosity.

Eventually, I reasoned that whatever was in there might be able to help us. There could be weapons or who knows what—maybe creatures from The Green. I knew how to survive them if it was, but it might be able to provide a distraction. I had no ideas on how to rescue Viggo—maybe whatever was in those boxes could help.

Taking a deep breath, I crossed quickly, trying to ignore the fact that there weren’t any hand rails on the extension.

I kept my eyes on the window, and moved. I felt a moment of panic, but before I knew it, I was on the other side, my hands pressing against the concrete structure.

Between my hands were several other buttons, glowing softly. There were several more here than on the remote control on the platform, and there were no labels on them. Frowning, I moved my hands away from them, worried about what one accidental press would do.

Instead, I focused my attention on the window. The room was dark, and I couldn’t make much out. I squinted my eyes, trying to pick up on any sign of movement, when something banged so hard on the glass that it flexed, and I jumped back in alarm.

Luckily, I landed on the catwalk. The window banged again, and a third time.

Biting my lower lip, I pulled out my flashlight and approached the window cautiously. Another bang and I realized that whatever material it was, it wasn’t glass, but it was strong enough to withstand the blows of whatever was inside.

Clicking the flashlight on, I shined it through the window. The light cut through the darkness, revealing a room that was barren. There was no furniture, only four concrete walls, a