Page 28 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

He sets a bowl in front of me, then plops down a spoon.

I force myself to look up into his eyes, though it hurts to do so. You can learn a lot from what is hidden in their eyes.

His are shuttered, cunning. I don’t learn a damn thing, but I don’t think he wishes me harm. Why would he go through all the effort of cooking just to poison me?

I pick up the spoon and dig in. It’s porridge in a way I’ve never tasted it. Sweet but thick, the flavour is mellow yet pleasant. Every time I’ve had it, it’s been cold and lumpy with no flavour and full of things that will hurt me. He leans against the cupboards and watches me as I eat.

“Have you seen, oh!”

I tense, the spoon clattering to the bench. The omega, Pix, picks it up and holds it out to me, while I twist around as the silver-haired Sage walks into the room. He smiles at me.

“Good morning, Merle.”

I gulp, trying to calm the startle response.

He goes to the cupboard and pulls out a glass and a jug of orange juice. I hold my orange tighter, hiding it from him.

Pix takes my hand and wraps my fingers around the spoon. “You can’t fight us all without food. Eat.”

I look up at him, gaping at the outrageous statement, but he simply snatches an energy drink and walks out of the room, not having even acknowledged the other alpha.

The silver-haired alpha watches him go.

“So, Merle, I’m not sure if you remember me from yesterday. It was a bit of a mess, to be honest, but my name is Sage, and this is my home.”

I stare at him, trembling a little when I remember how easily he made me do things yesterday.

“Please eat, I’m not going to touch you or hurt you. I’m just making breakfast for Blaze. He’s in his office, and if I don’t feed him, he won’t eat at all. He gets a little bit obsessed about the projects he’s working on.”

I eat a little more, but my stomach is tight, so when he’s not looking, I get off my chair and slink out of the room. There are lots of closed doors and a few lockedones. Some shared spaces, but the one I’m looking for is wide open. I slink back in and sit down against the wall on the far side. The tray of food is gone, but there’s a couple of water bottles, a book, and another jacket.

I sit there until I start falling asleep, then I lie down, my head on the jacket, facing the door where I can see anyone enter, and I sleep.

Time passes with visits from them. They all come, except the detective. But mostly it’s King, Rolly, and Pix. I get used to them suddenly opening the doors, bringing books, food, drink, clothes, and other little things. They always talk in low voices, as if they are trying not to startle me.

At night, sometimes when they are sleeping, I explore. Just a few steps out of the room, then back, trying to find the courage to run.

I gradually learn their names. Pix or Daega is the omega. King is the blue-haired alpha. Rolly is blond. Sage and his alpha, Blaze, and the last person here is Roseland.

There is no one else.

I keep expecting them to find me, or for the alphas here to suddenly change into the monsters they are. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d gotten fooled. People will go to extremes if they enjoy the game well enough.

My dreams are plagued with nightmares that have me waking, lost in vicious memories. My days are filled with reliving each and every single decision that led me to this point. If only I hadn’t chosen this path, if only I’d taken that fork, I should never have spoken up, I should…

But no matter how many times I go over it, I end up in the same place, making the same decisions.

There’s no hope for me if I can’t even help myself.

My bruises fade from the almost black purple to green, then yellow, before they vanish completely. My energy levels claw their way back, and a full stomach helps my aching muscles and weight increase back to a less close-to-death level.

But with the slow and gradual return of my health comes a return of my awareness. The fact that I can’t stay here indefinitely, my curiosity about my surroundings, the strange alphas, and this bunker-like home.

Every day, King brings me an orange on a tray, not speaking a single word to me. He just places the tray on the floor in front of me and walks out. The omega comes in and brings the porridge. Rolly…well, sometimes I wake up with him lying there staring at me with this smile that makes me feel uneasy; sometimes he brings me things. But I like the shiny things he brings. There’s a little bowl he brought that was so reflective that I could see my image in it. I keep that under the mattress, where no one can steal it.

I don’t see the others.

But the door is open. I can go out. There are no locks or rules, no doors stopping me. I stare at the temptation day after day, hour after hour, with nothing else to do but think.