Chapter 40 The rooms
Ariel
The hallway was already crowded by the time I got out. Voices screaming left and right, gunshots still ringing in my head, I nearly lost my balance when I reached for the wall closest to me to hold myself up.
Fuck. The walls were jelly too? And I was barefoot?!
I didn't move forward until I was sure I wouldn't fall over on my face and even when I did move, I was sent straight to the floor almost immediately by another lady who pushed past me.
We both fell to the floor anyway.
God. I slid myself forward on the floor, too tired and scared to stand up. Why was this happening to us? To me? Was it not enough that I was being forced to sell my body to save my family? Now I was in the Hunger Games too.
“Ahh!” I squeaked when another gunshot rang through the ship but in the hallway this time. It felt like it had gone off in my head.
“Get it moving, ladies. You have less than twenty minutes now.”
What?! Ten minutes has passed.
I grabbed the wall again and pushed myself up, ignoring how squishy it felt. That was probably not real. Same for the floor that seemed to be moving up at me.
I shook my head. This was the same hallway I and General Yuri had come down to a few hours ago. The red carpet was the same, as were also the doors on either side with numbers on them. I just needed to get into one of the rooms, get under the bed and pray no one was smart enough to check there.
The first room I got to wasn't a bedroom, though; it was a study and hiding not-so-subtly behind the single desk in the room were two whimpering ladies. I could literally hear them as I took a look around the room.
There was a chair behind the desk, a couch with a coffee table in front of it, a book shelf to the side and a flickering lightbulb. I retreated back into the hallway. Yeah, that wasn't a good place to hide at all.
I trudged forward to the next room and paused abruptly. Why the fuck was there a children's playroom here? And the slow lullaby that was playing. That made my skin crawl. I retreated immediately, not willing to spend another minute in the disturbingly colourful room. Besides, it wasn't a good spot either. I'd spotted the ladies behind the slides and playhouse immediately.
The next one was even more disturbing. A mirror maze room. Like just mirrors everywhere, it made the dizziness I was feeling worse. I retreated into the room, one of the few ladies that were still moving in the hallway.
God. My stomach churned with fear. I pulled open the next door and was hit almost immediately with the loudest scream I'd ever heard. Fuck. I clasped my ear with one hand and stared in horror as the woman at the centre of the empty red velvet room writhed on the floor with a bear trap wrapped around her leg. The fuck?!. I stumbled back as two other girls who had been watching in horror ran out of the room.
How did that even happen? How did… The door closed shut.
My God. What was going on?”
I moved to the next room, wishing with everything within me that I had more strength in my limbs. I felt like a helpless fool, more so nauseous and dizzy, like I would pass out again but from exhaustion this time.
One of the ladies from that creepy red room pulled the next door open before I could, and we both knew we weren't going in when we saw the eerily white room. There was nothing in there too, just like the red room but this one was even more disturbing. There were disturbing drawings on the wall.
I flinched when a loud voice suddenly started echoing through the hallway.
“Ten!”
“Nine!”
My eyes widened in fear. Oh my God. Everyone scurried into a room, leaving just me and one other girl in the long narrow hallway.
“Five!”
We both headed for the next room; it was numbered 8 and rushed in. A loud click sounded behind us, indicating the door closing as we came to term with what was before us.
An upside-down room. Like literally.
The bed, dresser, table – everything was placed above us somehow with a chandelier centered in the middle of the room; only a wardrobe was placed normally at the far corner of the room. Including a door that led to God knows where.
We both headed for the wardrobe, or so I thought until I glanced back to see her headed for the door. What? I paused in front of the wardrobe. Should I follow her? Or just stay here?
My body moved before I could decide and opened up the wooden furniture. Oddly enough, it was empty without partitions or drawers and was large enough to contain a body.
I pulled the doors closed once I was in and heard that click again in the stark darkness.
Oh fuck. I finally took a deep breath and fell back against the furniture walls. My legs still felt weak enough that they might fall out and my brain was still so groggy.
I took another deep breath and slid to the floor, unable to hold myself up any longer and I felt my mind wander back to Anastasia.
Was she okay? Probably not. I mean, she was probably part of those girls from the first room and was hiding now.
I stifled a sob. Just what was wrong with me? Was I so ridden with bad luck and just the disgusting fate to always be used?
I stifled another sob.
How was I meant to get out of this now? Was I ever going to? Was there even any point in holding on at this point? I mean, Chloe and mum will understand, right?
I sucked in another breath and noticed then just how thick the air felt. It felt… weird, trapped, like someone had sucked all the air out from the space and my chest tightened.
Oh fuck.
I tried to suck in another breath but could only take short, sharp ones. The heat was creeping up my neck; I could feel the panic rising too in my chest. My hands reached for the wardrobe doors. What if I snuck out into the room on the other side of that door?
I mean, I could try. I haven't heard a sound since i got in here… how many minutes ago.
I tapped my hands along the door blindly, breathing rapidly to stop the evident asphyxiation that was coming my way and I froze in horror when I pushed the door to find it stuck.
I pushed it again. It didn't move. What?! Is it locked? The panic grew in my chest. Oh God.
I raised myself up properly to put all of my force into opening it but right then, I heard another click… outside the wardrobe.
Followed immediately by a voice, "...Anyone here?" I froze, my heart in my mouth.
“Come on. Don’t hide from daddy.”
I fell back against the walls, clasping my hand over my mouth to stifle the panic and sobs that threatened to burst out with my inability to breathe, and I winced at the sound I thought I made.
The room went silent.
Oh my God. Did he hear that light scuffle?
I thought I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the wardrobe right before its doors suddenly burst open, the sudden light blinding me momentarily. Fuck! It took another moment for me to register the face of the person before me, and I felt my stomach drop.
“There you are!” Gregory Lancaster said with a smirk as he reached for my arm to drag me out. “No!” I yelped desperately, summoning what little strength I had within me to force his hand away.
He chuckled eerily when I fell to the ground. “I love the effort but we don't have all day. Now come here.”
This time I couldn't stop him as he reached for my hair and dragged me with it to the center of the room.