She shifted around in bed, shutting her eyes and reopening them.
What's worse..?
Every time she had her eyes open and she peered into the shadows, she would swear that she could see the shadows moving around her. There's been more than one instance where she thought one of the guys were hiding in her room, silently watching her as she struggled to sleep. She was paranoid about the fact that they would show up out of nowhere and torment her.
As if they weren't already tormenting her.
Even with the music that Evan had given her, her mind failed to become distracted.
Meanwhile, every time she had her eyes closed, that nightmarish persona of her would occasionally flash behind her eyes, its blank white eyes and twisted grin muttering soft spoken words of her being weak and worthless. Suicide was the best option for her. Her escapades would fail. She'd already been caught once.
Shifting to the side and turning on the lamp, the girl let out a heavy sigh.
She didn't know why she'd become so paranoid. Was it all the violence that she had witnessed? The moment Kai pressed the cuffs forcefully against her wrist made her come to realization that she really was in danger. But was that really all? Whatever it was, it was taking a toll on her body.
She glanced at the clock.
2:49 am
I'm not getting any sleep tonight.
Glancing around the room, her eyes landed on her cuffed wrist. It was bandaged, no longer bleeding. It still stung whenever she moved it, though.
Sighing, she looked away and caught sight of a particular small pillowcase lying by the side of the bed.
Hesitantly reaching for it, her fingers brushed the fabric of the casing before she pulled it over to her. Her fingers dug through the casing and produced a single safety pin.
Am I really going to..
Staring at the metallic object, she pursed her lips.
I have to try again.
She pressed against the metal, allowing it to escape from its casing. Staring at the pointy end, she brought it to her cuffs and began to pick the lock.
This time, applying the knowledge that she had gained from yesterday night's experience, she managed to unlock herself in half the time that it took previously.
Taking it into consideration, she put the safety pin back into the pillow casing, placing it in its original location on the bed. Hopefully, they don't find it.
Hesitantly placing her feet flat on the ground, she tested standing up, allowing her full weight to fall on her feet. It doesn't hurt much anymore.
As she began to search the room, her feet began to ache. It was like a dull, constant pain piercing through her skin.
She clenched her teeth. I have to deal with the pain.
Opening drawers and searching the closet for anything useful, she planned out what she would be attempting.
Should I sneak out the window? Or would it make sense if I just tried going through the front gate? Do I need a password for it?
She remembered the passcode that required four digits to unlock the gate.
But that's for if you want to enter the house.. right? Maybe I'll be able to open it without a code, considering I'll be opening it from the inside.
If that fails..
Opening a drawer, she found a pen and a stack of paper neatly tucked away by the corner.
Taking one out, she frowned.
I can't mail anything. I don't have an envelope nor the house's address. And also, snail mail takes far too long to deliver.
A sudden idea peaked her interest.
She wrote the same thing over and over again on multiple pieces of paper, folding them all and tucking them in her pajamas pockets. Thank goodness these clothing actually have pockets.
Putting the pen back in its place, Ace held her breath as she turned off the light, plunging the room into the darkness she feared so much.
As her eyes adjusted to the new lighting, she grew paranoid.
They aren't here.. They aren't here.. She told herself, crossing her fingers. Stay strong.
Slowly taking step after step, Ace struggled to relax her breathing. She had decided that she would try sneaking through the house and exiting through the main door. It seemed to be the easiest option. Perhaps simplicity was the best way out.
Her fingers trembled as they landed on the doorknob. She shut her eyes, taking a moment to steady steel herself.
I could do this.
Her fingers twisted the knob, causing the door to grow loose. She cracked the door open slightly, peaking out into the hallway.
Darkness.
Cautiously creeping out of the room, she gently shut the door behind her. As she looked down the hallway, she could see that only one door had lighting beneath it.
Someone's still awake.
She wasn't even sure if all of the boys had their bedrooms on the same floor.
Whatever. There wasn't anything she could do about it. She needed to act, now.
Making her way to the stairs and allowing her fingers to brush against the walls, she gently placed her feet down onto the staircase, slowly descending. With each step that she took, the dull pain in her feet amplified slightly, causing jolts of pain to rush through her feet.
She gritted her teeth, pushing through the pain. I can't let this stop me.
When she reached the first floor, she breathed out a sigh of relief. There was more lighting here, due to the many uncovered glass windows. The door that led to the backyard also had a great window, allowing in the moonlight. It eased her mind and helped her ease her paranoia a bit.
Looking around the place, she slowly and carefully crept to the main door, disappointed to find that her shoes were no longer resting on the shoe rack.
Sighing inwardly, she slid her feet into a random pair of shoes.
I'm sorry.. whoever these belong to..
As she unlocked the door, she cringed from the loud sound it made.
Here goes nothing.
Pulling the door open, she slipped outside of the house and closed it as quietly as she could behind her.
Almost instantly, the cold winter wind lashed against her skin.
Normally she would welcome this kind of temperature, but as of right now, it brought goosebumps to her skin. It gave her a chilling feeling, both literally and metaphorically. She was terrified she would be caught again.
Making a break for the gate, she became acutely aware of the sound of grass crunching beneath her feet and the pain with every step, as well as how loudly her heart pounded in her ears.
Her hand took hold of the gate's lock, the cold metal underneath her fingertips. As she attempted to slide the metal bar of the lock out of place, what sounded like an alarm went off.
It blared, and blared, making her flinch. The high pitched sound felt nearly deafening to her.
Frozen in fear, when she came to the realization of what was happening, she harshly bit the inside of her cheek and cursed under her breath. Dammit dammit dammit!! Why does this gate have to have an alarm?!
She banged her fists against the gate, her attempts at unlocking it useless.
As she saw the lights turn on through the windows of the second floor, she reached for her pocket, her fingers pulling out the pieces of folded paper.
Letting out a breath, she hurled the papers over the fencing, hoping that someone passing by would pick it up and read it.
After every single one of her messages had been tossed, she ran as quickly as her legs could take her, cursing at the pain that now soared through her feet. It hurts..! Make it stop!
Pushing herself to her limit, she frantically searched the front yard for an opening that would lead to the backyard. She felt crushed when she realized the narrow path leading to the backyard was blocked by yet another gate.
I should have just climbed the tree, I should have just climbed the tree..!
She desperately looked around the place, feeling defeated as there weren't any large trees that were close to the fencing.
She heard them calling for her, along with the sound of many footsteps.
There wasn't anything she could do.
She was cornered.
No...
"Well, well, what do we have here?" She heard Raiden's mocking voice. "Thought you could sneak through the front gate?"
She couldn't meet his eyes. She couldn't face them.
Pressing her palms to the sides of her head, she felt her legs giving up on her. Her feet gone through too much. She could no longer stand the pain.
She collapsed onto her knees, her body hunched over and beginning to tremble. How can I be so naive? Of course, escaping wouldn't be easy..
"Do we need to inject more of that sleep serum into you, or are you going to walk back with us into the house?" He asked, his tone taunting.
I'm... strong...
Ryoma sighed, walking past him and toward her curled up body. "Stop messing with her. She's already hurt." He said, his voice annoyed.
He knelt down before her, a frown on his face. "Ace," He spoke softly. "Can you come with us back to the house?"
She refused to look up at him. "N..no.. P-please.." She uttered in a ragged voice, just loud enough so that only Ryoma could hear.
"I'm sorry." He said, his tone surprisingly gentle. "We can't do that."
She flinched when he suddenly picked her up like she weighed nothing. With his arm underneath her knees and his other arm supporting her back, he began to walk back to the house.
Surprised, she began struggling in a desperate attempt to free herself.
"Don't fight me. You'll only make things worse for yourself." He said, his voice close to her ear.
The way that he said it, though in a quiet tone, sent chills down her spine.
She reluctantly forced herself to stop struggling, complying with his orders.
The feeling of multiple pairs of eyes on her made her skin feel like it was burning. Like something disturbing was crawling just underneath the layers of her skin.
Did she dare open her eyes? Could she afford to take a look at the people who were probably scrutinizing her right now?
Taking a peak, she instantly regretted it.
Allian's dejected posture.
Evan who couldn't even bear to look at her.
Kai's solemn and regretful eyes.
Raiden's amused smirk.
And worst of all, Ryoma's detached expression as he carried her back into her prison.
I'm... am... strong..
I will..
Escape...