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I carried them to the bathroom. If I was going to be stuck in this purgatory for fuck all only knew how long, I’d take whatever small comforts I could get. Once the water was almost scalding, I got in and stood under the spray. For a solid five minutes, I let the water cascade over my head, down my face and across my body.
A quick glance told me that even two days of hearty food had already helped me look healthier. I didn’t have a lot of extra meat on my bones yet, but my pallor was less sickly and the emaciated bags under my eyes had faded. It would take longer to erase the years of living on so little nutritious food, but I no longer looked like I was in the late stages of an eating disorder.
Nothing made sense anymore. I was in a living hell, but I was more rested and better fed than I’d been in years. I was used to living on a thousand calories, sleeping only four to five hours, and working anywhere from ten to eighteen hours a day. All that had taken a toll on my body, even at a young age. Being here, I was actually feeling revitalized. The stress couldn’t be good, though. Knowing that at any minute Sam might tell one of my housemates to stab me or shock me, or I’d be asked to do something equally awful.
After the shower, I slipped on my new pajamas. I had to force myself not to sigh in pleasure as the buttery soft material slid down my body. They were so comfortable, but I wasn’t tired. Earlier, I’d been mentally and physically exhausted. Now I was wired. My brain was going a mile a minute, and I couldn’t get it to shut down.
Not wanting to be shocked or punished, I climbed into bed as soon as the lights dimmed. I lay there for over an hour, eyes staring into the darkness. Whatever gas he’d used on me last night never came. I could only assume that it was because I’d gotten into bed of my own volition. I considered calling out and asking for help, but no. Probably best not to bring attention to myself.
For a few hours, my mind was busy with images of scissors, hot oil, and rubber bands. There were the curses, wails, and whimpers of agony. As much as my therapist had done to help me, nothing had made any inroads to healing like hurting the man who’d debased and molested me. Hearing him scream and beg had done more for me than a hundred sessions ever could.
As my eyes finally slipped closed, something tickled at my mind. Something I’d forgotten. The haze of drowsiness obscured what it was, but it seemed important. Though, once sleep finally came, it was like a steel vault, slamming shut. In seconds, darkness enveloped me, and the thought vanished behind dreams.
My thoughts from the night had been scrubbed clean by sleep. When my alarm went off, all I could think about was how tired I was. Groggily, I stumbled out of bed to pee. From the way I felt, I must’ve been up much later than I’d thought. My eyes had that sleepy, gritty feel to them I hated. Still, I managed to get dressed for the day and went to breakfast when I was bonged. The meal was blessedly uneventful, another quiet and subdued affair like the night before. Once I was back in my room, I received my orders for the morning activity.
Bong. “Dahlia. You are going to the gym. You will be taking part in physical training and exercise this morning. Follow the directions I’ve sent to your cuff,” Sam intoned.
Exercise? I couldn’t remember the last time I’d exercised, besides just walking to and from work. Maybe during recess when I was a little kid.
Working out was for people who either had the time or money to be able to do it for fun, or people who had enough food to be overweight and needed to do it. It was almost like the guy in charge of this place was trying to make us into… something else? Someone else.
After a bit of consideration, I realized that all of the others were in good shape. Drake’s arms rippled with muscle. Elise and Bri both looked athletic. Had they become that way by being here? The imposed diet, lack of snacks, forced exercise, and the never ending dread of the unexpected. Could all that be some twisted game to make us into what he wanted? Meh, I was probably overthinking it. Regardless, when my door clicked open, I followed the directions and headed to the gym.
It was my third day there, and I was a little more comfortable with my surroundings. On the walk, I again tried to look through open doors to see if I could find some type of escape route. From what I could tell, none of the rooms had any exits. The few that had windows weren’t what they appeared. Glass and frames placed over lifelike paintings to make an approximation of an outdoor view.
I’d read somewhere, a long time ago, that underground military bases did something similar. They would put faux windows in rooms and along hallways to help the psyche of the staff and soldiers. If you were locked up in a windowless space for long enough depression and other mental health issues could arise. It seemed unlikely this enormous mansion-like house could be underground, but I was beginning to think what I knew to be rational and likely in fact wasn’t.
My steps quickened. I’d been going too slow in my search for an escape, and I was in danger of getting a warning, or even worse, being late. If not for the name plates bolted above each room, I definitely would have been late. A few seconds later, I stepped into a room I’d never been in or seen. It was a gym of sorts. It had to be the biggest room of the building. Along the outside edge of the room was a short running track. On the walls, racks of weights and barbells. In the center of the running track there were stationary bikes, rowing machines, weighted medicine balls, and jump ropes.
My perusal of the room stopped when I saw who else was there. Drake sat on the hard rubber flooring stretching his legs. The burn on his arm from the day before was freshly bandaged. Beside him stood Liam and Elise. If they were all here with me, then Bri was somewhere else in the house. I had a moment of fear for her but shrugged it off. Even if I worried myself to death about what she might be going through or doing, it wouldn’t help her. Whatever she had ahead of her today, she’d have to face on her own. I needed to worry about myself and staying alive.
Drake nodded but kept his face impassive. Was that so the others didn’t find out what we’d done to each other the day before, or maybe he’d already done it with the two other girls. The pressure and stress of being kept here had to force everyone to release the emotions some way or another. Maybe that was what was going on. He’d already been around the block with how long he’d been here, but I reminded myself that he hadn’t come on to me. I’d been the aggressor yesterday, not him.
Power.
“‘Sup, new chick,” Liam said as he stretched his arm across his chest. He was only a few days out from a knife wound. He had to still be hurting.
“I’m not new anymore,” I shot back, glaring at him.
He held his hands up in surrender. “Damn, all right. Chill.”
Sam interrupted anything I might have said in response. I’d overreacted a bit, and if given the chance, I would’ve at least mumbled sorry.
“Good morning, dolls. Today you will test your limits physically. The track is two-hundred meters in circumference. Eight laps will be roughly one mile. This morning you have thirty minutes to complete the following task. You will use the rowing machines to row two-hundred meters. As soon as that is complete you will sprint on the track one full circuit. You will do this eight times until you reach sixteen-hundred meters on both. Following that, you will need to complete one hundred burpees before the time runs out. Please choose your rower and prepare for the countdown.
A mile of running and a mile of rowing? Plus a hundred burpees? All in half an hour? Holy fuck, there was no way. No way at all. I’d die first. I would drop down dead of a heart attack right here in this room.
“The not new chick looks panicked,” Liam said as he sat on a rower.
Drake pointed to the machine next to him. “It’s okay, Dahlia. You’ll do fine.”
I tried to take his words to heart, but I had no idea how I was going to do this. I also wondered what kind of punishment would come when I didn’t.
As though she could hear my worried thoughts, Elise said, “You don’t want to know what happens if you don’t finish. Trust me on that.”
“Thanks,” Liam said. “I really need to be reminded of that with my fucking leg. Really great.”
Elise shrugged. “Sorry.”
