I took in another deep breath. This wasn't the end of the world, we'd be out in no time, nothing would even happen. Absolutely nothing to worry about.
I closed my fists tighter until my nails bit into my palms and the crescent shaped wounds already there, trying to hide the trembling. If I couldn't believe I was okay, I needed to at least seem like I wasn't losing it. Like sharks after blood in the water, they'd sense my fear of them and strike.
Derrick seemed harmless enough as he shifted his weight and glanced around the group, though his sister Danielle, who stood beside him, was already glaring critically at me.
My heart sunk when I saw Marie beside her, who was glaring at a spot slightly above my head. Marie had been claiming adamantly all week that she'd be throwing the best post-game party Ashley Waters had ever seen at Danielle's house, but I suppose they'd caved in the end. They weren't any competition for Rocky, and had probably slunk along when no one turned up. Stupidly, I'd been counting on her not being there to tattle to mother, but now she definitely would.
There was no way I'd be able to bargain my way out of her telling. I had nothing that Marie wanted, and no power. If I had any dwindling hope of Mother not realising anything out of the usual had happened, it was instantly obliterated. Even if Marie miraculously didn't mention anything when we returned, it was too late. I'd been counting on Mother overlooking my absence in the same way she overlooked my existence usually, but she'd surely tear the house apart when she realised Marie was gone.
Rocky's blue-grey eyes were already fixed on me with a certain gleam that suggested he might actually remember missing out on stealing my first kiss last night, after all. I could barely be thankful that Jay's cold eyes weren't picking me apart when I realised where his frown was fixed, and felt myself stiffen like a mouse playing dead under the watchful gaze of a deadly eagle. Though thankfully his sister Jade's attention was on the group of seven new boys, instead of me, as she twirled a lock of her silky raven hair around a manicured finger.
Even if she didn't seem to realise I was here yet, it made me incredibly nervous to be in a strange house with her without a clear exit strategy. I had to fight not to shift backwards and out of view behind Wil and Karen.
Hanging at the back of the upstairs group were Eric and Greg. The luck I'd had with Jade didn't last, as Greg's eyes were locked directly on me. Greg elbowed Eric to get his attention, then both boys' mouths were moving as they talked quietly between themselves and laughed, watching me with predatory gazes.
The allies I had here were limited to Karen, who still seemed pretty out of it, and possibly Wil, who almost seemed a stranger after so long of not speaking. I knew that possibly six of the people in this room could become in some way violent towards me if so inclined, and that I had to be very careful until everything was sorted out. As nice as Gabe seemed, I didn't know him or his friends. I didn't think they would hurt me, but I couldn't count on their help, either. Not that I would ever consider asking.
Kota stepped into the middle of the hall, immediately directing everyone's eyes to him. The nervous chatter died down as he eyed each person expectantly, waiting for our undivided attention before he spoke.
"Our group woke up downstairs, there are no exits there. Every door or window out of the house is blocked off by reinforced steel," He spoke clearly, pausing for everyone to register this. "Does anyone know where we are, or remember getting here?"
There were shakes of heads, a few answers in the negative. No one had any answers or ideas.
"There are twenty of us, and it seems that the main thing we all have in common is the fact that we attended Rocky's party last night, and are students at Ashley Waters. Does anyone remember leaving the party?"
Again, all answers were in the negative. I shook my head slightly when Kota's attention briefly turned to me, pressing a finger to my lip as I did so.
Kota paused, nudging his glasses up his nose while seeming to think things over, murmuring under his breath. "I suggest we each go to the floor we woke up on, and in those groups, inspect every inch of every room to ensure we haven't missed a way out. Does anyone have their phone?"
There was a flurry of movement as people starting patting their pockets and swearing, coming up with nothing. It seemed that we had all been shocked mostly into silence as Kota spoke, though this development broke the dam, spilling out all the emotions and fear.
"What the fuck, are you saying someone roofied us and stole our shit?" Danielle screeched.
"This happened at your party, man, you plan this as some kind of messed up stunt to brag about around school?" Jer growled at Rocky.
"Hey, you really think he's enough of a dipshit to trap himself as well?" Jay shot back.
Jer threw his hands up in the air, "You said it, not me."
"Alright!" Kota called, "Okay, settle down. We need to keep calm and find out what we can. Let's go back, check everything over again, and regroup in fifteen. Hopefully something will turn up that was overlooked. Let's explore all our options before we start to panic."
There was a lot of grumbling from the upstairs group in particular, but eventually they all filed back up the staircase. The boys started to move towards the stairs to head down, and I felt my stomach clench with unease as the red-head and the giant disappeared downstairs. As the others followed closely on their heels I knew I had to speak quickly, or I'd lose my chance.
"Kota?" I whispered.
Kota turned back immediately, looking surprised that he'd been called on. "Yes, Sang?"
I glanced back at Wil, whose gaze hadn't seemed to waver from me, and Karen who was peering at me through dazed, half-lidded eyes. Mike and Jer had already turned back to their room, so I felt safe enough to speak.
"I know you're new, so you might not know these people yet. If we're trapped here, you and your friends need to be careful. Some of them," I looked pointedly towards the ceiling, "will not tolerate you trying to take charge and will lash out. The only reason they're listening is because they're in shock, and they're scared. Please don't mistake that for acceptance. I saw the bars on my window, but I hope you're wrong about there being no way out, because things will get bad in here."
He looked startled, and the boys beside him - the blonde, and Dark and Broody - each looked concerned by my words.
"Get bad how?" The blonde asked. His tired brown eyes and the dark shadows beneath them were almost startling against his light hair and features.
"Greg and Eric are basically thugs," Wil answered for me. "They'll beat you half to death just for looking at them wrong."
Dark and Broody let out a laugh that managed to sound menacing, "Those junkie fuckers in the back? I'll tear them apart if they lay a finger on anyone here."
"And those girls are evil," Karen blurted, "they all bully Sang."
I winced, shooting Karen a look she entirely missed or simply ignored. Of all the times for them to try to jump in. "It's not that bad-"
"And Rocky's obsessed with her," Wil added.
I frowned at him, before looking at the boys with an apologetic smile that I hope conveyed that my friends were exaggerating. When did this conversation become about me? They were all missing the point-
"The red-head who was man-handling her before? I thought his name was Mike?" Kota asked sternly, looking straight to Wil for answers this time.
Wil sighed, "Mike is just... Mike. He's incorrigible. Rocky's an asshole who thinks Sang belongs to him. He's... territorial."
My eyes flashed to Wil, who looked away quickly, almost guiltily. So Rocky had scared him off, after all.
"Sang, is that all true?" Kota asked quietly.
When I didn't respond straight away, a finger went under my chin to draw back my attention, but I'd been so flustered I hadn't registered him even moving across the hall. Caught off guard, I flinched a little too violently away from him and the boys, noting their wide eyes. Damn it.
"No. I mean, that's not important. I'm just saying you need to be careful, okay? Just don't make yourselves into targets, and especially not for me. I can take care of myself."
"Ten minutes Sang, and we'll be back up. If you need us - ever - shout or come straight down. Nothing is too small." Kota said firmly, before softening his tone. "Thank you for trying to warn us."
I nodded, my hand fluttering to my throat. I couldn't shout, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I felt bad for saying anything, even though I felt they should be warned. The longer I watched the boys the more I realised that I wasn't the only one feeling awful.
Kota's light brown hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat. The wavy-haired boy beside him looked at me with eyes that seemed almost lifeless, they were so dull with pain. Gabe looked just as tired as the blonde he was leaning on, fiddling absently with the black rings in his ear as he stared into space.
Dark and Broody squinted at me for a long while, as though he could tell I wasn't planning on taking them up on the offer. He huffed out a breath, scowling at me before he stomped down the stairs. The blonde shot me a weak smile before he followed, his footsteps almost eerily silent, while Kota just glanced at me with those serious green eyes before following his friends down.
I turned back to Wil, whose eyes were still glued to the floorboards, jaw set in a hard line.
"I understand," I said carefully. "Just forget it Wil, it was a long time ago. Can you help me get Karen back to her room? She needs to lie down."
Wil nodded, not saying anything as I threaded my arm below his across Karen's back. We hefted her back to the door painted with the number 9 and laid her gently on the floor. At some point she'd fallen asleep on her feet, and it was a relief to hear her deep breathing.
Karen's room had an east facing window like mine, and two south facing. I skimmed over all three, finding them barred too close together to try and squeeze through, and certainly too solid to pry off even if we found tools. On the wall beside the door was a massive mirror that seemed almost a part of the wall, built in flush along the length of the skirting boards, and only rising as high as knee level across the entire length of the wall. It was a strange addition, and I couldn't quite puzzle out the purpose for such a low mirror.
I closed Karen's door softly after us, and Wil followed me wordlessly over to my room, where we paused first to look in at a bathroom between the rooms. It had a separated toilet, a sink and a shower. I tried to hide back a wince at the shower, but quickly tamped down any panic. It was crazy to resign myself to even thinking about being here much longer. Someone would find a way out, it wasn't like I'd be here long enough to even need to consider showering here.
Less frantic now, I was able to take in more of the details of my room. The floorboards were a rich mahogany, the cornices decorated with floral depictions throughout the plaster mouldings. The walls were painted a gentle pastel rose colour, whereas Karen's room had been a soft lilac. My room had the same mirror along the wall with the door, again only reaching as high as my knees. There were still only three windows as possible escape routes, all three entirely impenetrable behind their thick metal bars.
Wil and I moved across the hall to his room, marked by the number 10, finding two barred windows and another strange mirror. Mike and Jer were sitting on the floor of their room, their door denoting in the same black paint an 11 above the number 12. They didn't even look up as we walked in, both seeming lost in their own thoughts. The boys' rooms didn't have west-facing windows, though looking out I could see the pale orange and navy blue of impending dusk as it filtered across the northern skies.
Nearly a whole day had passed somehow and we were going on almost twenty-four hours since the party started. A whole night had been stolen from us, and a whole day spent in limbo, disoriented and confused. We must have been drugged. I knew it, but the realisation was still slowly seeping in. From waking to actual functional alertness, hours had passed. Someone had done this to us.
That line of thought was shocking, even though it was the obvious conclusion. We had nothing in common except what Kota mentioned. We were Ashley Waters students who went to Rocky's party. But there were hundreds more like us, and yet only twenty of us here. It had to be something more than that.
Twenty was a nice square number, I supposed. But for a kidnapping? It didn't seem practical. There was no presence, no demands. I wasn't worth anything to anyone. And at least, I didn't think we would be let loose in such a nice house if someone just wanted to pinch our organs or something like that.
Gender? 5 girls, 15 boys. I was in the minority - 25%. I wasn't sure if that percentage matched up to who attended the party, but surely just as many girls had shown up as boys.
Popularity? The new boys were an enigma, unknown to me. They were certainly too fresh to have a reputation. Perhaps Rocky and Jay, or Jade for her notoriety, but the rest of us were unremarkable among the student body. In Greg and Eric's case, even despised.
Age? We were all mostly in the same year, seventeen or eighteen, and the new boys at least seemed a similar age.
Location? I knew I had been secluded in a different part of the house than the others. Did that mean I specifically targeted? The house itself was on a crowded street, attended by probably half of the student body throughout the duration of the night. It was crazy to think of all of the potential witnesses and the sheer logistics of how we had been taken.
Height, intelligence, temperament, socio-economic status? - nothing, no connections.
Three sets of siblings. Marie and I. Danielle and Derrick. Jade and Jay. But was it significant?
My brain rolled on and on like a lottery machine, just waiting for that winning answer that would set everything right again. If there was a logical reason why each of us had been chosen, it was beyond my comprehension.
But could it really be random? Who would care enough to drag twenty teenagers from a house party to lock them in a grand old building like this? Who could even afford to do that? And get away with it?
Our mother might not care one way or the other if I lived from one day to the next, but I was sure she'd notice if Marie never came home. I knew Karen and Wil had rough families, and that Rocky only threw so many parties because his parents were pretty much out of the picture. I wasn't sure about the others, but someone somewhere had to be looking for us.
And yet... almost twenty-four hours. No sign of rescue, and not a hint of anyone in this house apart from us.
I moved to the window, bracing my hand against the cold steel bars, peering out. My breath caught.
Last night the streets of Charleston had been slick with spring rain, the trees and flowers flourishing in full bloom.
Outside, snow covered the ground, frozen into an icy sheen where the sun had melted it partially before being refrozen as darkness fell. Ice clung to the tattered leaves of trees and withered blades of grass, but for the most part the landscape was a barren picture of black and white - snow and shadows as night crept closer.
We weren't in Charleston anymore.
Floor Plan and Room Arrangements