The man in the suspenders snaps his fingers, "It's time for you to leave. Go back to your room, I've left a plate of food for you there. This food here isn't safe to eat. "
I looked around the room, people began dropping to the floor and slouching into the tables. It's quiet, it's expected.
Many people look afraid, those are the innocent people. They just realized what they've gotten themselves into.
They were too innocent to know not to trust it.
That was almost me.
I clear my throat and allow myself to stand.
"How does Stein choose who dines here?"
"Most of them got a letter in the mail. Stein black mails his workers by threatening to send their family an invitation to dinner. If they disobey or warn their family not to come....Well, lets just say that Stein has a nasty habit of wiping out entire families by burning down their houses or driving them off the road. Most of these people have no idea what's actually happening and they realize too late that there's no escape. Otherwise, the initiation is for more than just you. If anyone survives, They'll be allowed to live so long as they work for Stein."
"Unfortunately, all of his workers have to participate in this 'initiation process' when ever Stein finds a new toy, like you." He pauses, staring off towards the stage.
"This isn't a good place to chat, I'll escort you out."
This mansion is huge, I honestly wasn't sure if I could find my way back.
We leave the room, this whole time I've had no shoes, and I'm not expecting to get any anytime soon.
My mind wanders to a thousand different things, I try to avoid thinking about it, about them.
Could they all really be dead?
Tyler, Chris, Jane,Clover?
All of them. In less than a year?
I have nothing left.
The man in the red suspenders stays at the bottom of the stairway as I ascend.
I make my way back to my hall, vaguely remembering things like paintings and doorways. I see a Door that looks familiar and open it, it's a room like mine, except there's someone's suitcase in the center of it.
Now that I think about it, I don't own any thing anymore.
No belongings.
No home.
In trying to save everything, I've lost it.
I close the door quietly and open a door up the hallway, I recognize the window.
This is mine. This is my refuge for now.
There's a plate of food on the chair where my dress had been. My dirty pajamas were gone too.
I pick up the plate and smell it as though I'd know how to tell if it were poisoned. My stomach is begging for food, but my nausea isn't quite as thrilled. When the lights go out...? What does that mean?
Why is Stein doing this? Why are they calling me Lucifer?
Why do some of them know me?
Something inside of me is aroused at the thought that I have nothing to lose. Nothing to gain but my freedom and revenge. I don't even know what I'm capable of yet.
Wait... Is this a test?....They want to know if 'lucifer' is someone to be afraid of. Stein wants to know.
If I win, I'll never be free of their pursuit.
but....
If I loose, I die.
My mind hovers over this silently, I take a deep breath and redirect my thoughts. My objective as of now is to shut Stein down for good. I can't kill innocent people just to live, I have to get to Stein.
That's the only way I can redeem myself now. Who's Stein, how do I find him?
Do I have any Allies?
I look at the food on the chair. There's an easy way to find out... I eat the food left for me, and nothing seems to happen. Except, as I'm eating I bite into something stiff. I pull it out of my mouth, and I find a piece of folded up paper. It says: "I'm cleaning you're dirty clothes."
Does he want me to go to the laundry room? Where the heck is that?!
This insight brings me hope. I'm sure by now there are people waiting for me to get a good shot at my door. I check just to be sure by putting my ear against the door.
I hear a slight muffle of someone talking on the other side. They can't shoot me until the lights are off, those are the rules, right?
I gently open the door and look into the hallway, there are about 4 other men standing out there watching me. They grip the assault rifles in their hands, they're all in black matching suits and have some sort of paint ball mask on.
I close the door again and quickly sweep my surroundings for an exit. The window has a crack in it and the bathroom has a possible vent I could shimmy through. I check outside the window and notice a sniper in the trees.
Wow...These guys really want me dead...
I close the curtains. Just survive until theres light again. Easy.....Easy... Easy... I try to tell myself.
I hurry back to the vents and decide to try my chances, although I'm not feeling optimistic AT all since these guys are waiting for me around every corner. I can only pray that these vents lead somewhere isolated.
I begin to crawl into the vent, slowly making my way around bends. These are almost like they're built for this purpose. I feel like a guinea pig wandering through a cage surrounded by wolves.
I pause every so often and listen in case someone else is in here with me, but there's no one yet. The lights remain on, so I carefully push forward as I pass by vents in halls and in rooms.
I pause beside a particular room, drawn to the conversation. "We'll wait a while before leaving, I don't wanna get ready for someone who'll be dead two minutes into lights out." There was a smell of Cigarettes in the air to match the man's tired voice. "Cynthia," The man says, I hear a faint voice reply, "What?"
"Now's not the time to back out." He warns, "Lucifer is a criminal, They're only killing two birds with one stone."He laughs to him self and huffs his cigar, "You sure you're cut out for undercover work?"
"Eyes and ears don't only belong to you, Cliff." She says with warning
... Undercover.. Maybe they're here to try stopping Stein. Part of me is tempted to ask for help. If they are planning a revolt tonight, I might just make it out of here in the chaos....Cynthia and Cliff... I peek through the vent and I seem to recognize them from somewhere. I can't remember where or why.
The lights begin to flicker.
Aw crap.... How am I gonna see in the vents?
"Shh... Listen." Cliff murmurs as the lights finally shut off.
I hear the sound of gunshots echo through the vents, probably my room.
It's silent for a while, I was about to leave, but that's when the conversation got more interesting.
"Anyway, there's no way that all of Stein's surveillance is down just because he turned the lights off. Be careful about what you say. Also, Where's everyone else?"
"The rest of the team is where they need to be. Stein didn't suspect any of us to be spies from the underground."
My mind flashes to the underground bar.
Underground?
Coincidence probably....?
"It's a shame though..." the girl says, "To hear all of the things Lucy did."
"Pffft..." The man puffs his cigar, "That inflated bull shit?"
I hear more shots ring out and someone enters the room, "Boss it's a free for all out there."
Another puff, "Ah...tsk....We'll wait," He says leisurely, " Wait until we can locate Stein."
I hear something in the vents move, that's my Que to exit.
I continue on, making more turns through the vents until I reach an empty room. It's much less extravagant then the guest rooms. I see a sign on the door saying, "Servant quarters." it's very dark, but it's easier to see in here than in the vents.
Jeez... I open the vent, and crawl out. There's some bunk beds, a bathroom, and a large metal slot on the wall with empty laundry baskets in front of it. I guess it makes sense for someone like stein to treat his workers like this.
I wander to the slot, Is it for laundry? I hear someone rattle the door knob, no time to guess! I dive into the metal slot and begin falling until I land into a giant basket filled several feet with sheets and clothes. I don't dare make a sound even though I just fell about two stories.
I sit up and look around at the room. There are washing machines and dryers everywhere. it's like a mini laundry mat. All of his workers must be out around the house trying to find me. I'm sure they'd like freedom, no matter the cost.
"Well...That... Was one way to get here I suppose..." A man says, his Boston accent is very familiar.
"Mr. Lettel?!" I spot him, still masked and wearing his red suspenders. He's sitting atop of a washing machine with his arms crossed.
"You're alive? H-H- " I begin asking but he silences me,
"Relax... I just thought you should know that you haven't killed anyone."
"You mean... The girls are alive?" She asks.
"and me." I hear a familiar voice say, I spin my head around and see The man with the green vest.
He removes his mask, Tyler....Isn't dead?
I stumble my way out of the basket of laundry and race towards Tyler to hug him. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I'm stopped dead in my tracks when I see His eyes darken as he pulls a gun from his vest, pointing it at my head.
Caught by surprise, I slip and fall back onto the floor and skid just a foot or two away from him. "Tyler wait!!!"
Mr. Lettel wanders to his side and they both remove their masks.
"When I first met you, you had commented on gang wars being a ridiculous mix of testosterone and pride. It's different when you're involved though, isn't it?" Mr. Lettel says with the same cold tone he used when I first met him wearing a mask.
"Let me get this straight..." I start, "Stein and the Underground are two opposing parties, right? You guys are trying to take Stein down tonight..."
"Correct. Stein is a man's last name, he likes thinking of everyone in the gang as 'family'. " Tyler says.
"Tyler, why are you involved in all of this?"
"Lucy, I've always been involved."
"So you lied to me...You said that I could trust you! You were going to let me get dragged into this? I thought that you wanted to help me..."
"You don't even understand what we do, Lucy. The Underground is a special task group, we go undercover to stop criminals like Stein."
"And like me?" I ask, I glance between the barrel of the gun and Tyler's face. His expression softens slightly.
Now that I think back, The underground bar must secretly be a meeting spot for their group. Cliff and Cynthia were probably familiar because I had seen them at the Underground bar. Why had I never seen Lettel before?
"Tyler, I'm sorry about what I did..."
He lowers the gun and frowns, "We're even."
"-I- Huh...? Just like that?"
"I'm the reason Stein found you," He admits regrettably, "It's all a huge mind game, he must have been looking into my personal life for black male and took notice of you. "
"..." I was speechless.
"Lettel and I work directly under Stein but he doesn't know we're under cover."
I relax and stare again at Tyler's face, "How many people from the underground are here and when are you attacking Stein?"
"All you need to know is that he's going down tonight." Tyler replies, he pulls his mask back down and leaves the room. I quickly try to follow him but Lettel wont let me pass.
"Wait, What am I here for then? Can't I help?"
"You're on your own Lucy, I can't trust you. I just thought you deserved to know the truth since you're probably going to die tonight."
__________
I wait in the laundry mat, trying to sort out everything they told me. Stein is a man who forces people to work for him with the threat of life or death. If that's not motivation enough, he's rich as hell and is willing to kill your family.
He likes games.... The pendants are like a point system and killing is the easiest way to obtain them. If you're caught without a pendant, you're dead.
The only thing I can do now to win is go directly for the boss. If I can get to Stein, then hopefully I'll gain some sort of advantage.
I don't want to play dirty, these people don't deserve to die... If it comes down to a fight, then I'll do my best to take them out without killing them.
If not... I guess I'll die trying...