CHAPTER FIVE
"Here," a woman rushed towards me, and helped me up.
Melo sniffed loudly as the tears rolled down his face, his lips trembled slightly as he fiddled with his hands. I wiped my mouth quickly and swallowed the pain that seeped down my spine.
It's us against the world.
"Hey, come here," I motioned for him to move closer and pulled him in a hug. He burst out in tears, wetting my shirt, and I pulled him closer.
Not the world against us.
I buried my face in his hair as I let a tear slip out. Jayne was about his age when he died. I still had nightmares about losing him. His voice calling out for me in the abyss to help him but I was too late. And at the end, I'd lost a huge part of me when he died. Mum and I never fully recovered. Jayne's death broke my family, and it was all my fault.
If only I had reached there a second earlier. If only I had gone with him. Maybe he wouldn't have died.
I couldn't save Jayne, but maybe this time, I could save Melo. We could escape from the hell we found ourselves and create a life just for us.
"Are you okay?" Zapphire asked, and I thought I saw a flicker of worry in her eyes.
Amora dragged me up by my shirt, as she stared at me with a malicious look. "Who the hell are you?"
I held my stomach in pain and bit on my lip to keep the painful groans from coming out. Melo's eyes followed my every movement, and I didn't want to make him more worried than he was.
"What are you talking about?" I flashed Melo a painful smile through gritted teeth and glared at Amora.
She paced around me, which made me nervous but I held my head high, refusing to show how much she affected me. "Strange, isn't it?" she stopped in front of me.
"That Dane would kill one of his own men for you? Makes me wonder— who are you to him?" her eyes held mine and I saw something sinister and dangerous behind her them.
The room grew silent, and even Melo stopped crying as they all stared at me. It was the perfect question to ask, one that had been in my mind since Dane had saved me. His eyes haunted me, the dark storm that brew behind those dark menacing orbs.
Why did he look at me like he knew something I didn't?
"I was wondering the same thing myself," Zirconia chirped in and stared at me. But this time, it wasn't an icy stare, it was more curious, as her eyes scanned mine, searching for answers.
Answers I didn't have.
A pin drop silence. Their breaths were caught in their throat, waiting for my response. The atmosphere was tense as seven pairs of eyes gazed at me.
"Amora, you'd think after a year and half of desperation and cheap sex, Dane would finally see as a human being," the woman scoffed.
She glanced at Amora. "But I guess he doesn't."
Chuckles bounced off the walls as they stared at Amora who let go of my shirt and glared at the woman.
"If it isn't the high and haughty Rae Auden," she smirked and kicked the box beside Rae.
"At least I don't clean up after others like a measly slave."
"People I clean up after are at least thankful," she paused and glanced at Amora's neck.
"Dane didn't seem too thankful when he almost choked the life out of you," she smiled.
"Ooh!" the other kids echoed and giggled as they stared at Amora who flushed red with embarrassment and anger.
"Ugh!" she yelled and walked out the door, knocking over a bucket with water on the floor.
I sighed in relief when she was out of sight.
"I'm Rae," the woman's smile was kind, and she grabbed my hand. I pulled away immediately out of instinct.
She chuckled. "I mean no harm, I just want to get you cleaned up," she said.
I winced when she touched my lip gently. "Come on," she urged.
She grabbed the box and walked me to a bed. It squeaked loudly when I sat on it. I felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny.
"Sorry, they are curious about you, but they shouldn't because it's rude to stare at strangers," she gave them a stern look.
"Sorry, but it's not every day I witness a murder," a boy who looked about my age said. His dark eyes pierced into mine and his lips curled up in a smile.
"A Terror being the one murdered at that," a girl with fiery red hair that reminded me of Talle said. It was difficult to read her expression as she studied me.
"Who are you?" she asked in a sharp and biting tone.
Rae opened her mouth slightly in surprise. "Raven!"
"What? Rae, tell me you are not curious too," she raised an eyebrow.
Rae glanced at me and cleared her throat. "Not that I am not, but you could be more subtle about it."
She rubbed the sensitized wool on my lip, and I flinched. "Sorry, it's all we have."
"It's okay," I said.
"I'm Alijah," the boy stepped up to me, the smile still on his face.
"Nice to meet you Elijah, I'm-" Zapphire paused when he held up an arm.
"Oh boy," Raven rolled her eyes and even Rae sighed.
"Alijah. It's pronounced Ah—Li—Jah, not Eh—Li—Jah. With an A, not an E," he explained.
"Potato potahto, who cares?" Raven gave him a thumbs down.
"Okay, I would appreciate it if we don't start fighting in front of the newcomers," Rae interrupted Alijah's outburst, and gave them a pointed look.
Surprisingly, they listened to her and kept quiet. I glanced at Rae; it looked like she was the leader of the room, and they looked up to her. She looked older than I was, possibly in her late twenties.
"Okay, Alijah," Zapphire paused for effect, and he nodded in satisfaction.
"I'm Zapphire, this is my sister Zirconia," she pointed at Zirconia who still had her gaze on me.
"That's Melo over there latching onto um-," she paused.
Her eyes met mine. "Yeah, you haven't told us your name either."
"Suspicious, isn't it?" Zirconia piped up.
I could feel Rae's subtle stare on me as she wrapped the bandages on my waist. Their suspicions went up by the minute as they stared at me, and I realized I was going to have to say something. I didn't trust any of them, but I was going to be stuck with them for a while. I could pry information out of them since they've lived here longer than I. Maybe they knew Dane or how to escape the awful hell we were trapped in.
"My name is Emre," I said.
Rae finished patching me up and put the box away.
"Thank you," I meant it.
"Yeah well, it's gonna hurt a lot for the next few days," she held out a pill. "Take this."
"I don't think so," I wasn't gonna accept drugs from a strange woman, nice as she might be.
"You'd better take it, Rae knows what she's doing. Med school and all that," Alijah said.
"I think I'll pass," I declined.
"Alright, your choice," Rae shrugged and put the pill away.
Melo's stomach rumbled loudly, and I turned to him. He held his stomach and stared at me innocently.
Rae smiled and reached for a cookie in one of the drawers. "Here, eat."
I pulled Melo away from her and stared at the cookie cautiously.
"It's not poisoned, I promise," she said.
I gripped Melo's hand tighter. "How can I be sure of that?"
"Because she just saved your ass, you ungrateful bitch," Raven snapped. I didn't know who annoyed me more; she or Amora.
"Raven," Rae called softly, and shook her head.
"Look, I am sure you are a nice person and all," I paused. "But I'd rather not accept food from a strange woman.
"Strange?" Rae smiled. "I'd like to think eccentric."
She took a bite of the cookie. "See? Not poisoned."
She gasped softly. "Perhaps, we should wait a few minutes, just in case, you know, the poison's festering."
A minute passed by in silence, and when she didn't double over and die, she raised an eyebrow inquisitively at me, and I nodded.
She smiled and held out the cookie to Melo who looked at me.
"Go ahead," I said.
He smiled and took a bite from the cookie. Rae fluffed his hair with a bright smile and wiped his snot.
"I'll take one, please," Zapphire said, and Rae passed her the jar of cookies.
"Zapphire!" Zirconia called.
"What? It's not poisoned," Zapphire said nonchalantly.
"Well, she didn't taste out of that one," she pointed out.
"Great," Raven climbed her bed. "Now there's two of them."
"Look, if I wanted to kill you, I'd just let you starve to death. No blood on my hands, and look, you are dead," Rae said.
"Trust me, she could," Alijah piped up.
"Sorry," Zirconia said.
The smile returned on Rae's face. "It's okay. I understand you are just protecting your sister, it's very admirable."
"Speaking of, is it almost time for dinner? I'm starving," Alijah said.
"Yes, in a few minutes," Rae said.
She pointed to a bunk. "You both can sleep here."
"Dibs on top bunk," the twins echoed.
"Zir, come on, you know how much I like staying on top," Zapphire groaned.
Zirconia rolled her eyes. "Fine, you take it."
"Great, now that that's settled," Rae glanced at me. "You take this bunk, and Melo will take the other one."
"Why can't he stay on the same bunk as me?" I asked.
"That's cause it's taken, those are the only spaces available," Alijah said.
"Melo's staying with me," I insisted.
Raven sat up on the bed and sighed. I had a feeling she was grasping at straws. "No one's gonna eat your brother."
"Cyran might," Alijah piped up.
The name sent a chill down my spine. "Cyran?"
Alijah sighed. "Yeah. He's this douche who think he's the boss around here, but if you do whatever he wants, he leaves you alone."
My eyes blanched. Surely, he couldn't be the same Cyran, could he? I had not laid eyes on him since I escaped from the school, but his name made a bile brew in the pits of my stomach.
Ray saw the horrified look on my face. "Cyran won't disturb you, I'll make sure he behaves."
The Cyran I knew was a rabid dog who couldn't be tamed, so her words did little to aid my worries.
"Rae?" A small voice called out from the corner of the room.
"Oh, she's awake," Alijah said.
"How the hell did she sleep through a gunshot?" Raven asked.
"A gunshot?" the little girl asked. She squeezed her eyes and yawned loudly.
"Raven!" Rae chastised.
The little girl stared at us in confusion, and when her eyes rested on Melo, she smiled.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Melo hid behind me and clutched my shirt.
"We've got new roommates," Rae announced.
"Yeah, more like new prisoners," Raven interjected, and Rae glared at her.
"Hi, I'm Melody, but you can call me Mel," she smiled brightly and waved at Melo who hid in shyness behind me.
"Hello," Zapphire waved back.
"That's Melo, he's gonna be your new bunkmate," Rae said.
Mel gasped in excitement. "Really?"
She walked closer to Melo, who poked his head from behind me.
"Hi," she smiled, and Melo waved back shyly.
She held out her hand to him and he looked at it tentatively. He paused and glanced at me; his doe eyes wide as he looked at me for approval. I glanced at Mel, she seemed harmless enough.
"It's fine," I nodded, and Melo smiled, before joining his hand with Mel's.
"Your brother's gonna be fine. Trust me, he's in good hands," Rae watched the children with a little smile.
"Oh, he's not her brother," Zapphire spoke up.
"What?" Rae asked.
"Interesting," Raven said.
"Isn't it?" Zirconia raised her eyebrow at me.
I knew she was still suspicious of me, but she was starting to get on my nerves.
"Why would you go so far to protect him if he's not your brother?" Alijah asked and I shot him a glare.
"I-if you don't mind me asking," he stuttered.
"I don't know, maybe it's 'cause it is none of your business," I snapped.
"Okay, no need to bite," he bit his lip slightly, looking hurt.
"There are people you want to protect, even though they are not your family," Rae stared at me softly, and I could tell she understood me.
A static came from the speaker in the room. "Dinnertime."
At the same time, the door was unlocked and opened. I saw people stepping out of their rooms as they headed in the same direction. That was the perfect moment to escape. The doors were wide open for fuck's sake. Why weren't they doing anything?
"Don't," Rae said, and I turned to her.
"Don't what?" I eyed her suspiciously.
"I can see the thoughts churning in that head of yours. You can't escape," she said.
My body ran cold as I stared at her. How did she know? She leaned closer.
"If you want a chance to escape from here, all you've gotta do is join the scavenging team," she pulled away. "Otherwise, you're just wasting your time."
The scavenging team? What was that? Did she know of a way to escape?
"How do-," I paused when Alijah passed between us to stay at the door.
"Come on, hurry," he urged.
"Great, I am starving," Raven jumped from the bed.
Rae touched my shoulder gently and smiled. "Let's go eat."
My head spun as the words floated in my mind.
Scavenging team.
If it would create a chance for me to escape with Melo, I had to join it, no matter what.