Worlds Together

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I would love to start this by saying that the bed is comfier than it looks, but that would be a lie. It’s not. It, like its surroundings, is full of sharp edges and hard surfaces. I’d have been just as well to sleep on the glass table, or the floor. I roll out of bed and onto the floor to wake myself up, then stand upright, remembering to grab the bar at the end of the bed early this time. I then make my way to the far wall where the door was to try and find a light switch of some kind. It feels like I have shuffled along the whole length of the wall two or three times over when I feel a huge steel grip cover each of my hands, rendering them entirely useless. I feel hot breath on my cheek, and then a deep voice in my ear. “Going somewhere?”

Not bothering to turn round, I lean my head against the wall and answer in a dry voice. “Yes, I was planning on opening the locked doors at either end of the corridor, making it out of the warehouse full of people, and escaping into an unknown city, especially since I have no idea where I am.” Using my wrists in a way unknown to me, he flips me round to face him so that I can see my own dry humour reflected in his eyes. It’s only at this point that I feel how little space there is between us, even though I can tell he’s a good six inches taller than I am. His height is undeniably intimidating, even though I can’t see him, considering I don’t have full use of my limbs. He raises an eyebrow, waiting for my serious answer. With a small smile, I finally reveal the secret to my actions. “I was trying to find the light switch.” It’s ironic really – he literally doesn’t have to move his feet, just reach out to the left and flick the switch.

Now that we can actually see, it really hits home how close we are, and he scoots away awkwardly, and sits down in the cushy chair in the corner. Seeing his face, I realise I recognise his face from when I first met the charming bunch of guys (and girls) who are keeping me hostage. “Porter or Orbell?” I demand, both of them names I heard from the doc himself on the first day. I get a confused look from the unnamed man across the room from me, but something obviously clicks, because he smirks suddenly.

“Orbell. Kale Orbell.”

“Well you know who I am, so-”

“Actually I don’t.”

My eyebrows scrunch together. “Doctor Frankenstein didn’t clue you in, then?”

“Nope.”

“I’m Becca Roche.” After that slightly awkward introduction, I scratch around the room for a while, until something occurs to me. “How long have you been sitting there?”

“About ten seconds.” I should have expected some sarcasm back, after my comments earlier.

“Before you got up and pinned me to the wall for trying to find the light switch, which, by the way, I would have found if you’d attacked me a second or two later.”

“Long enough.” This place is all about the riddles, isn’t it...

“So...?”

“Long enough to hear you talking in your sleep, then fall out of bed, then spend hours trying to find the light switch, so long, in fact, that I thought you were trying some ridiculous escape plan.”

“What did I say?”

“Names. A few names. Mostly the same ones repeated, though. Tyler. Eliza. Russ. Bella. Then mum and dad...” I was frozen from the first name the said, but each one breaks another little piece off of my heart. “Who are they?”  He waits for a moment, and when I don’t answer he adds hastily “Sorry. That was personal.”

“Don't worry,” I say with a shake of my head. “They’re my family and friends from back home.” Pause. “When can I go home?”

He sighs, and puts his head in his hands. “I don’t know. To be honest, they won’t even tell most of us why you’re here.”

Now thoroughly confused, I voice another question that’s been circling my mind. “Are you allowed to talk to me?”

“Nope.” He says brightly, popping the ‘p’. “We’ve been specifically instructed not to talk to you under any circumstances, not even if you talk to use first. Some of us seem to be taking it more seriously than others...”

“So I’ve noticed. Your friend who brought me here, Thompson, he wouldn’t communicate past nodding.”

“Not gonna lie, a few of us have noticed that. He’s not usually one of the ones who sticks to the rules like glue. That’s usually Reigner.”

“The girl?”

“Mm-hmm, never really became ‘one of the boys’, if you know what I mean.” I smile, taking in the contradiction of what he’s saying, but knowing exactly what he means.

“Are all the other guys more like you or Thompson?”

“What d’you mean?”

“Chatty or antisocial?”

“I think more of them will be chatty. Don’t get me wrong, Dylan’s a great guy; I don’t know what’s gotten into him since you arrived.” In response to my face, which is full of confusion by now, he adds “Thompson, I mean.”

“Are you blaming his distantness on me?!” I ask in mock anger.

“Nah, I don’t think so. He just acts weird now you’re here.” He pauses, and a worrying mischievous glint appears in his eyes. “Do you want guess?”

“I don’t know... Do I want to know?”

“I think he fancies you.”

I send him a dry look. “He doesn’t even know me. He refuses to speak to me, and helped doc try to kill me.”

“I heard he also saved your life when doc tried to kill you,” he adds with a smug smile.

“That was just one human saving another.”

“You really believe that, don’t you?” He states in disbelief, eyes slightly narrowed, as if he’s trying to figure it out. I guess he just hasn’t got it yet – there’s nothing to figure out.

“Yes I do.” By this point I'm starting to get a little irritated; so what if this guy ‘fancies’ me?

“We’ll see.”

“Look, Kale, can we just talk about something else?” I have literally just finished that sentence when none other than Dylan Thompson himself walks in. This should be interesting.

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three in one go... arent you all lucky :)