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The gas? I hadn’t thought about that. It had to be how they’d moved us without us waking up. We’d been too far under to be roused by them carrying us from the bed. My memory of the schematics in the bunker flashed across my mind’s eye, and I recalled where the vents were that pumped them into our rooms. Could I block them? Possibly.
We were almost back to the front door of the mansion when I noticed the sweat coursing down my sides, stomach, and back. The religious robes Sam made us wear were thick and heavy. An idea formed. Was it thick enough? I guessed I’d see.
The day went by in the typical way. Once we got back to the dining room we found hot food ready for us. Another clue that Sam had at least a few people helping him. Nausea from what we’d had to do in the chapel still gurgled in my stomach, but even as I fought back heaves, I couldn't stop thinking of how terrifying it would be to be locked away with nothing to eat again. Knowing that might still be in store, I ate until my stomach hurt. We were then each sent on extended tasks for the rest of the day. I spent the next seven hours in the library reading. Not an entirely unpleasant experience, but as the hours ticked by, I became grateful that I’d filled my stomach at breakfast. Once that particular task ended, it was dinner time, and my stomach gurgled and cramped from hunger.
Our meal was a salad and sandwiches along with what looked like homemade potato chips. Payton had a couple blisters on his fingers, making me think he’d had some trouble with the grease, as he’d been the one sent to cook.
There was no word from Sam that entire day. All directions and orders came through our wrist devices. The group was as quiet as Sam had been. None of us were in the mood to chitchat. Not after the way we’d spent the morning. Even Drake was down and more quiet than normal. On the walk back to our rooms for the night, he barely had enough energy to give me a smile before heading into his room.
Once inside, I ripped the robes off over my head; the heavy fabric had to weigh at least a couple pounds. I’d been miserable all day in it. As nonchalantly as possible, I tossed them aside, right onto the vent that pumped the sleeping gas into our rooms. I didn’t dare look back to see if I’d covered the whole thing. Instead, I acted like I had no care in the world about where the thing had landed.
After brushing my teeth, I crawled into bed and waited. Did I try to stay up all night? I would at least try. When the lights shut off, I stared up into the darkness. Waiting.
In my entire life, I couldn’t think of anything as boring as lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was probably why insomnia was miserable for people. Yeah you were tired, but god it had to be awful lying there doing nothing for hours on end.
Eventually, after what had to have been a couple hours, I heard a faint hissing sound. If I hadn’t been specifically listening for something, I would have missed it. The sound was almost like the airconditioning kicking on, it was that quiet and innocuous.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that as heavy and thick as the robe was, it hadn’t done a thorough job. Dizzy and somewhat groggy, I blinked, trying to throw off the effects. The room spun as I did. The only thing I could liken it to was being drunk. Like I’d had a half dozen beers on an empty stomach.
Fighting to remain conscious, I replayed the murder of Cartwright through my mind. The way he’d screamed and begged. The memory of punishing him sent warm fingers of pleasure tingling up my inner thighs. Roughly ten minutes after the effects of the gas took hold, the entire house went silent. Not the normal quiet that came at night, this was full and total silence. The air conditioning, the hum of fans, the faint, almost imperceptible, drone of electricity. All of it stopped. The journal was correct. There was a power shut down.
This was my chance. Swinging my legs out from under the covers, I put my feet on the ground and waited out another wave of vertigo as the gas slowly wore off. With the vents shut off, I took a few deep breaths to clear my lungs and get my bearings.
Once the worst of the gas had worn off I stood and hurried to the door, not even bothering to put on clothes. Time was short, and I’d wasted too much time already. Panties and a tank top would have to be enough. Padding up the two steps to the door, I tried the handle and found it unlocked. The knob spun easily in my hand. I almost yelped in surprise. I’d hoped, and prayed, but deep down, I hadn’t truly believed it would actually be unlocked.
Standing there with the door half open, fingers clenched around the knob, I tried to figure out what to do next. Time was ticking down, but I was frozen by indecision. Finally, I decided I had to do something.
Almost without thinking, I rushed down the hall to Drake’s room. His door was unlocked as well. Inside, he lay on his back in bed, breathing deeply, mouth partially open.
After taking his arm, I nudged him gently. "Drake? Drake?" The words hissed out of me, but he was dead to the world. Completely knocked out. His eyelids didn’t even twitch when I said his name or moved his body. "Fuck."
Standing, I looked down at his sleeping form then glanced around the room. My night vision was getting better by the second, and at the foot of his bed, I saw his robe. The same heavy and thick item I’d used to block my own vent. In an instant, I made a decision. Now was the only time it would work. With the cameras off, I wouldn’t have to be as careful.
Snatching his robe off the bed, I rushed to the vent and shoved the robe into it. I still made sure to make it look as though it had been casually tossed. I prayed that it would stay where it was. Someone came in each day to straighten our rooms, but that was just the bed and the cleaning of the bathroom. From what I’d noticed this far, no matter where I tossed my clothes in the room they were left for the next day unless they were on the bed or hanging on the shower door. If Sam truly did have a limited staff, they had to work fast, and they were leaving most of the room alone other than the main areas.
After finishing blocking Drake’s vent, I ran up and down the hall, doing the same for the others. The whole time I worked, a demonic imaginary ticking sound clicked inside my mind. Seconds vanishing. I’d have to find a way to talk to everyone the next day. Some time when we weren’t being watched, let them know what I’d found and what I’d done.
Payton’s room was last, once I’d finished I sprinted down the hall to my room. The thought of being caught in the hallway after the power came on sent a prickly sensation up and down my spine. I stepped through my room and latched my door, breathing a small sigh of relief before hurrying over to get in bed. I pulled my covers up and rolled onto my stomach, keeping my face away from the camera. With my face pressed into the pillow and hidden, I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping my face calm and passive like I actually was asleep.
My heart hammered in my chest, sending echoing thuds through my ears. When the power kicked back on a minute later, I gritted my teeth to keep from flinching. The air-conditioning hum and the faint buzz of my fan wasn’t enough to lull me to sleep. Instead, I lay awake all night, staying as still as possible, terrified that everything I’d done had been part of some sort of trap set by Sam.
Chapter 17
DAHLIA
The alarm chimed for us to get up for breakfast. I rolled over, yawned, and stretched, making a good act of waking up before getting out of bed. My body groaned and ached from lying there awake all night. The others would all be getting up too, I had to hurry to catch Drake before he got down the hall.
Yanking on my clothes and not even bothering to tie my shoes, I rushed out my door, almost running into Bri.
She flinched away, preventing me from knocking her over. "God damn," she grunted. "What’s the fucking hurry"
"Uh, sorry," I mumbled as she shuffled sleepily down toward breakfast.
Drake stepped out of his room and smiled when he saw me. Even with everything else I was worrying about, that smile sent butterflies through my stomach. A dirty part of my mind wished there’d been time last night for me to pull his sheets down and have a little fun while he slept.
"Hey," I said, pushing the mental images away.
"Morning," Drake walked with me as we went down the hall.
