Cute! Agony After Party

After Party

CHAPTER IV
After Party
(Beaumont)

Ethelred is nervously speaking to me, trembling with anxiety. "This wasn't part of the plan. There are so many things we don't know yet!" he says in a high-pitched voice. I shush him, reminding him not to make too much noise. "Let's sort this out while we have someone new around. When will we ever have such a distracted fool again?" I repeat the same sentence for the fiftieth time. "Look, the anxiety fairies have taken over you right now. Sit down and count to ten while taking deep breaths," I say, trying to calm him, and I continue looking through the boxes under the shelter. And finally, I found it.

(Lucy)

As John empties himself into me for the third time in missionary position, I moan, my mind buzzing with sensation. He finishes with me, our bodies trembling together. I close my eyes. There's a warmth on my face, a wetness. Before ! can open my eyes, he collapses on top of me. Now, the same warmth and wetness spreads across my chest. There are two people in the room, one holding a silenced gun. When I glance down at John, whose head rests against my chest, I realize he's been shot. He's dead. I scream as loud as I can. They scream along with me.
The man bolts from the room. The short woman goes silent, dropping the gun on the floor and raising her hands. "When you're ready, come downstairs, and we can talk. We're from the same world, don't worry, we're not here to hurt you," she says before leaving the room.
What the hell is happening? Is this some kind of joke? I push John's lifeless body off me and rush to the bathroom, jumping into the shower. I start to think.

The strangest part is, how am I not scared through all this insanity? The man who claimed to have created me was murdered while he was fucking me. And here I am, taking a shower, about to go downstairs to face his killers. And the only thing on my mind is how much I want a whiskey sour.
I step out of the shower, quickly rifling through the clothes John bought me in his closet. I grab the first white t-shirt I find, slip it on, and pair it with a black mini-shorts. Wrapping a towel around my hair, I leave the room.
As I reach the top of the stairs, I hear them talking below. As I descend, I see them-the woman who killed John and the other man. The man is hyperventilating into a paper bag, while the woman stands. The villa's lower level is massive, sparsely furnished. The kitchen and living area blend together, all walls are glass, and we're surrounded by a vast green plain. I suddenly notice-when did it get so light outside? It feels like night to me. What the hell am I even thinking? It's like the saying goes-while the neighborhood burns, the whore lights a cigarette.

"Listen, that guy was a fucking lunatic. I saved all of us. The maniac kidnapped us and controlled our minds with some weird drugs," the killer woman says, walking towards me.
They begin telling me everything. The woman's name is Beaumont, and the man's is Ethelred. Ethel is a drag queen by profession. Anyway, that's beside the point. They were both brought here by John because they were 'cute' in the simulation.
"What do you mean, you've never left this house?" | ask. They shake their heads.
"Were you held captive?" | ask.
"No, we were free," Bea says.
"What do you mean? You weren't captives, but you never left the house? When did you arrive?"

"Last week," Ethel says. I straighten up in surprise. "So, you weren't held captive, this guy never physically harmed you, and yet you decided to kill him because he kidnapped us and used some magical science to manipulate us, even though you've only been here since last week?" | ask.
"Yes, but time here works weirdly," they reply. Ugh, everything is so absurd.
"Is there anything to drink?" I ask.
They exchange glances and laugh.

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

The kitchen island is covered with all sorts of drugs and alcohol. "Feels like we're in a Rihanna music video for 'We Found Love'"," | say. Ethelred hands me a blue pill. "Here, this doesn't even exist in our world, John told me," he says. We all swallow the blue pills together.

I have no idea how long l've been dancing, but my cold sweat and trembling legs tell me it's time to sit down. I throw myself onto the beige couch. Ethel and Bea join me. Ethel excuses himself to use the bathroom. It's not long before we hear his voice.
"Girls!!" His voice renews itself, a bit panicked. "What?" Bea yells back.
"Come here."
We get up and walk down the corridor, finding him waiting at the bathroom entrance. Turning to us in shock, he says,
"Hermione Granger."
Bea and I exchange looks. Hermione?
What the hell?