Drowning

Chapter 10

Arianna woke up slowly in the unfamiliar place. For a split second she could not recall where she was. She then remembered she was in the last place she wanted to be. Slender Mansion.

The room was nearly pitch black but it could not have been earlier than ten in the morning. She was reluctant to leave the surprisingly comfortable bed, but she did. Turns out the lengthy black curtains were black-outs, so no light was allowed in. Arianna angrily yanked open the curtains, and took in the room with new light. It was still dark and eerie, and yet extremely beautiful. She eyes the liquor in the corner of the room thoughtfully, but then figured it was best to be sober when the time came to face her demons; otherwise known as the creepy pasta serial killers. It took her a second to realize that the door to her bedroom was open, and an insanely creepy little girl was watching her. She staggered backwards in shock. The little girl giggled and ran away. Arianna waited a second before running to June's room an banging on her door with such a force that would have most definitely awoken her. Arianna heard scuffles from behind the door, and the dead bolt being unbolted. June's door swung open and her tired face appeared.

"What do you want in this ungodly hour." She groaned.

Arianna rolled her eyes. "June it's 10:30 and I just saw a freaky little girl staring at me. You have an obligation to protect me here, considering your bitch ass brought me here."

June sighed, grabbed her friend's arms and pulled her into her room. Her room was just the same as Arianna's, with exception of a few pictures carelessly pined to the wall, and clothes scattered everywhere.

June opened the curtains slowly and yawned. "That cute lil' girl you saw was Sally. A suggestion, don't get on her bad side."

"So she's one of...you?" Arianna asked.

"Yeppers."

"I still can't believe you're actually one of them." She said quietly. "Have you....killed anyone yet?"

"No I haven't, and I don't plan on it anytime soon, so let's just not talk about it." June snapped, angering Arianna.

"Hold up. Don't you dare get pissy with me. You along with your lackeys dragged me into this mess, and you have no right to get mad at me for asking questions."

June looked away and said, "Of course you're right." She looked at her friend again. "I'm sorry. Ask away."

Arianna rubbed her forehead. "Maybe later. I've got a migraine, and I need clothes. Also, I think we left my phone at home."

"Shit. I wouldn't want Ben to touch that. I'll make sure Jeff gets it for you."

"Jeff's the one with the nightmare of a face right?" Arianna asked.

"Be nice. He's been through hell." June murmured.

Arianna was shocked. "You're actually standing up for someone who tried to kill you."

"There is such thing as forgiveness you know. And if you're going last in this household you're going to need to learn it."

"I shouldn't have too." Arianna said resentfully.

"Okay I get it, you're in a shit situation, but you can't blame me! Isn't it kind of a good thing you have me here instead of you being all alone? So just cut the crap with me."

If Arianna knew where she was she would have stormed out of the house, but instead she was forced to settle the argument. "I'm just incredibly pissed off. Wouldn't you be too if three of your closest friends didn't even know who you were, another friend was dying in the hospital, and yet another was becoming a killer. And quite frankly-"

June cut Arianna off and said, "Don't you think I understand. They're my friends too! And they think I'm dead!"

"Are you sure they're your friends June? Because apparently you didn't put Maxie on the list of people to protect. Care to explain?" Arianna asked.

"She's a heinous bitch that's why." June answered shortly.

Arianna stared at her friend dumbfounded. "What?"

"I don't want to talk about it." June glared at her. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. Let's go get some food."

"No, don't change the subject! Tell me what the hell you meant by that."

"I said I don't want to talk about it therefore I'm not going to talk about it." June replied.

She stood up from the bed and made her way to the door. Arianna waited a few moments and followed. Maybe she was being a bit selfish, but that was no excuse for June to be secretive about this. June navigated the house well. It was shocking to Arianna because of the enormity of the house. The tension was so strong you could almost feel it. She knew June was pissed, but couldn't bring herself to care. How peculiar.

Downstairs was nearly vacant. Except for the little girl Arianna had seen earlier that day. The child stared at Arianna with a curious gaze that made her uncomfortable. A staticky sound erupted from the rustic radio in the corner of the room Arianna found herself in. It looked as if it were an old parlor. She recognized the static sound and rolled her eyes as Ben appeared out of nowhere.

"Sally it's not nice to stare." Ben said.

Sally looked away from Arianna and towards Ben.

"Is she nice?" Sally asked.

Ben frowned. "Ask her yourself."

"You're not supposed to talk to strangers."

"She's not going to be a stranger for much longer." Ben replied

Sally looked to Arianna before leaving without a word.

"She'll get used to you. Don't worry." Ben apologized.

Arianna scoffed. "Doesn't bother me."

Ben shook his head. "You'll come to love us eventually."

"You make me sick."

He chuckled. "I doubt that."

"Leave me alone."

"Never."

Arianna picked up a random book from the coffee table and threw it at him. He caught it one handed. She glared at him with a death stare. He found it amusing.

"Follow me." He indicated towards another dark hallway.

"Why?"

"I'm going to show you to the training room."