BooksBarbecue
Back The Art of Exile Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Map
  4. Dedication
  5. GENESIS INSTITUTE GUILDS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  50. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  51. IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS

My pulse picks up. I’m so close to what I came here for, but I’m also scared. I’m alone at night with an older stranger, who I accepted a drink from, who’s watching me like I’m a science experiment. I need some space.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I say.

“Oh, okay. I’ll wait here for you.”

I reenter the restaurant and wind my way through the throng of people to the hallway in the back. A draft from the service entrance to the parking lot chills me as I push through the bathroom door.

I go to the sink and press cool water to my flushed cheeks. The door creaks, and I twist around, but no one’s there. The hair on the back of my neck rises, and I turn off the water. The faucet continues to drip.

Drip.

Drip.

I see movement in the mirror, but when I whip around again, there’s still nothing. I reach into my pocket for my phone, fumbling to unlock it, too scared to even breathe.

A large arm snakes around my torso. Panic jolts through me as my phone drops and skitters across the tiled floor. I push against my attacker and almost manage to slither out of his grasp, but then pain explodes behind my eyes as I’m struck on the back of my head. Everything goes fuzzy around the edges.

That’s when I’m shoved into a box.

2

I’m considering peeing my pants.

I’ve spent all my time in this box calming my fears to prevent that tingling in my hands, which seems to trigger the gloves to burn me, but now my anxieties have been reduced to one thought:

Hold in the pee.

But who knows how much longer I’ll be in here?

Izzy had said she had a bad feeling about this trip, and now I wish I’d taken her more seriously.

Maybe I should just…

Is this really what it’s come to? I finally get to become part of my family’s historic order. I finally get the chance to do something meaningful with my life. And I fumble it all so bad that it ends with me peeing my pants? Am I actually doing this?

Cons of just doing it:

1) My clothes will be wet.

2) I’ll be stuck in a box that smells like pee.

3) I will have peed my pants.

Pros of just doing it:

1) The glorious lack of pee in my bladder.

Yup, I’m doing it.

But before I relax the necessary muscles, I hear movement outside the box. There’s no way I’m facing my captors covered in pee.

My bladder is a steel fortress. It will not yield.