Page 29 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

One thought is louder than the rest.

I need to escape.

But I wait, biding my time, gaining my strength. They bring me clothes and shoes, a hairbrush, toothbrush. I can shower as many times as I like; I can sleep where I like. Eat what I want. Do what I want.

The trap is going to snap closed around me, eventually.

I shower in the middle of the night in the veil of darkness, and I sleep on the carpet-covered concrete floor.

No one tells me to stop.

The day I decide to really explore is just like any other in this strange underground world. I find the courage from the shreds that I wear like a tattered cloak and slink out of the room, looking both ways along the corridor, waiting for the shout from the alphas telling me to stop.

Nothing comes.

I get to the first door and pause, sniffing. I follow the hallway, noting the scents; my feet whisper quiet on the soft carpet.

At the end, I find a door open, and when I peer inside, I see King attacking a punching bag. He’s vicious and strong, much stronger than he looks. Rolly is lying on the bench press, his ankle crossed over his knee.

“She’s really beautiful, isn’t she?”

King doesn’t answer.

“I wonder if she likes the presents I’ve been bringing her.”

“No presents,” King says sharply. “You give weird presents; you will scare her!”

“Moi?” Rolly says with his fingers pressed to his chest. Even from here, I can see him smiling. “I would never scare her. She might like a bouquet of fingers.”

Fingers?My mouth drops open.Who are these alphas?

King slumps. “We all already scare her.”

Rolly sits up. “With that shitty, defeatist attitude, of course, we will.”

“Why aren’t you chasing Pix?”

“I tried. He almost skewered my balls. I told him, I would court him again tomorrow when he’s not PMSing.”

King groans. “You did not say that to him.”

“I did. He went this fantastic shade of red. It was really pretty.”

King groans.

“But what about you, Mr. I Want To Antagonize A Certain Roseland Into Committing Murder?”

King grins. “I can’t help it. There’s something about him that makes me want to get him really mad. I just need to follow him around and brush against him, and he loses his mind.”

I shake my head, deciding the two of them are clearly insane. A quick circuit of the house reveals no obvious doors. The kitchen backs onto the dining room, then a movie room. Before a corridor runs into the bedrooms. The gym is at the far corner, then there’s a row of doors that smell strongly like Roseland, Blaze, and Sage. The corner room is locked. But along the next corridor is a massive pool.

Who builds a pool in their underground bunker?

The layout is a square with rooms on the inside and outside, but the bigger communal rooms are always on the outside.

I go back into my room and sit down in my blanket, pulling out the three spoons I’ve stolen and putting them under my jacket pillow.

I lay there and think about how to get out of this maze, but no answer comes.