Through A Lost Soul ✔

SOPHIE-NINE

Sophie walked closer to the little rectangle near the door. They'd have to open it to give her food, so she was going to try to see if she knew any of them. They couldn't not give her food, could they? She pushed the thought of being starved away. They'd given her breakfast, and she assumed her dinner would be coming soon.

She sat by the little hole, listening to Amanda and Julia talk in the other corner. They didn't question her quietness, and she was glad to have some alone time. The two ghosts seemed happy talking to each other. Which Sophie thought was a good thing since only The Silent Ghost could leave.

"She's been a bit quieter today," one of the men noted as their feet thumped against the stairs. Just what she'd been waiting for, a chance to see her captures.

"Wouldn't you think that's a good thing," the other one said, he obviously wasn't in charge. You could tell by the way he spoke, voice hardly audible compared to the first speaker.

"No, sudden changes in behavior is a bad thing," the first, more stern man said. She was growing restless as she waited for them to open the little hole for food.

Sophie tried to ignore a small part of herself getting angry. The last thing she'd wanted was for them to grow suspicious.

"Maybe she needs someone to talk to," the one not in charge said, and for a while there was no response. The thumping on the stairs stopped, and their footsteps told Sophie they were going down the hall.

"They don't need anybody." Soph got more comfortable in her little corner, expecting the men take a while before reaching her.

"Some people do, do you think I could talk to her?" Sophie's heart stopped. It wanted to talk to her. She didn't want to talk to it. It was disgusting, a monster, but maybe talking to him would give her a chance of escape.

"You're crazy. Joking, you have to be!" the man who seemed in charge said in a rush. Sophie cringed at his voice, she found herself inching toward the little hole again with curiosity. The ghosts in the corner tried to ignore her indecision.

"I'm not joking." It was a few minutes before he spoke again. "Some people need human interaction. You saw how she was the first day."

"Fine," the man in charge said. "I'm done, she's the last one. Go give her the food in person, see how she reacts to the person that took her. Have fun."

She heard more thumps against the stairs and the man outside remained quiet. She ran back to her corner, not wanting to look suspicious. She knew it was pointless, though, because they always said there were cameras in there.

The door started to open and she grabbed at her blanket, lifting it up in defense. An animal. She'd turned into an animal, and it hadn't even been that long. She lowered the blanket, wanting to be perceived as a normal person.

"Hello?" the man said, squinting in the darkness she'd grown used to. His skin was a dark caramel color, his hair was long, it fell over his face as he watched where he'd stepped.

"Is the lamp not enough light?" Sophie spat, the guy looked up and seemed to just notice Sophie was in the corner.

"They're paranoid of you guys escaping, you're lucky they allowed me to give you a lamp," the man replied. "I'm Austin, by the way."

"I don't care," Sophie snapped, but she made note of his name for later. "Why'd you take us anyway? You're all psycho creeps!" She almost threw the blanket at him, but decided that would make him leave. She needed to get information out of him. She couldn't ruin it.

"Woah, hold up. I think I should explain our side of the story."

Before he could explain, Sophie found herself unable to hold back. "What would justify your actions? Kidnapping people! That's crazy! You're ruining lives right now," Sophie felt tears start to roll down her cheeks, but she wasn't sad. She was angry. Very much so. "Fine, explain yourself."