Captain Paulson laughed.
"Kid, I've seen this routine a hundred times. Drink it, pass it, and if nothing comes out, you're free to go."
"There's no time!"
I shot to my feet, but two guards shoved me back down by the shoulders.
"My brother is going to die! He's only eighteen!"
"Enough!" Paulson flicked a glance at his men.
One guard clamped my jaw open. The other tipped the cup and poured.
I thrashed, but more than half of it went down.
I collapsed over the table, fingers clawing at my throat.
All that came up was bile.
"That'll do it. Wait for nature to take its course." Paulson dusted off his hands. "Lock her in the back room. Come get me when she's done."
The door slammed shut.
I crumpled to the floor, checked the time, and couldn't stop shaking.
Too late. It was going to be too late.
No. I couldn't just sit here and wait to die.
Before the laxatives kicked in, I dragged myself up and scanned the room.
The door was bolted. The only way out was a small window, set high on the wall.
If I stacked the junk in the corner, I could reach it.
Then my stomach seized.
The drugs were already working.
I pressed one arm against my gut and bit down hard, pulling myself upward.
Every movement sent a knife twisting through my abdomen.
My fingers had just curled over the window ledge when someone grabbed my ankle.
My mother's shriek tore through the room behind me.
"Somebody stop her! She's trying to run!"
She lunged and locked both hands around my ankle.
I lost my balance and fell from the wall. My right arm hit the ground first.
A white-hot crack of pain shot up from my forearm.
Broken.
The world went black at the edges. I lay facedown on the concrete, unable to move.
My mother walked over and looked down at me.
"Tried to run, did you? Broke your arm for your trouble."
She crouched beside me, and there was something almost smug in her voice.
"I told you. Pay up early and you wouldn't have to suffer like this. But you never listen."
"Now look at you. Broken arm, no gold, and a hospital bill on top of it."
I lay on the ground, my voice shaking so badly the words barely held together.
"Mom, Hal is dying..."
"Enough!"
She stood up and brushed the dust off her hands.
"You've cursed him once, you've cursed him twice. Are you ever going to stop?"
She turned to the guards who had rushed in behind her.
"Take her back. Keep a closer eye on her this time."
"If she gets away with the gold, that's on you, not me."