Miss Yourself

Elle Endangered

Elle's POV:

So... I'm standing in front of this massive Cabin, I've got tears in my clothes, scars lining my arms, and the world seems like it's turned upside down. I've got no way of knowing if I can trust the man I'm with but considering I'm out of options this is my only way of finding my way out of the long drawn out rabbit hole I've fallen into. Three days ago I was waking up in my Dorm at Callaways. Now I've seen death up close, discovered a harrowing government secret, and traveled to another country to escape the clutches of people who want me for reasons that don't make any sense to me. 

My name is Elle Argent, I'm eighteen years old, and I met the Illuminati. 

The trees all whisper in a sky of silver. Leaves are turning gold here. It's getting rather cold here. 

The door creeks open. 

A man stands there, someone Tommy obviously knows. Both of them know the screen only in different ways. They hug. Both of them wear sweater vests and kahkis, both of them have soft features despite being men, both of them use subtle words. It's clear that this 'Kendall' fellow had no idea where Tommy's been for the last couple nights. 

"I told you." Says Tommy, "I was off to do content in the UK. When I got there, I realized I didn't have my phone on me but the studio said the meet-up was cancelled due to bad weather. I figured I'd do a little digging for your friends while I was there."

Then Kendall looks at me, "Who are you?"

"Elle?" Says a familiar voice. 

I run to him, "Charlie." 

I hold him tightly, he's one of my closest friends. So, Tommy wasn't lying. 

"Have they hurt you?" I ask, "Are they holding you against your will?"

He shakes his head, "No. Nick, Imogen, and I have been living here. What's going on back home." 

I realize the group around me is totally out of the loop. If they do know anything it's not much. I have all the information. I have all the power. So I turn to the one Tommy referred to in the car as 'The Master of the House.'

"I have some demands, if you want me to talk. Trust me, you want me to talk." I say. 

He nods, "Boys, I think perhaps you should go get Imogen."

Nick Nelson, who'd been leering by a group of potted plants, steps into the light of the corridor. He says, "She's not feeling well. Grief has her."

"Grief." I say as I look to him. 

I study these two boys from my friend group. I had just spent the summer with them. We were alive, having fun, full of color. Somehow, in a tropical themed Cabin, they seem ancient. Victorian in a way. Drained of all the happiness the world has to offer. 

"Clare?" Kendall calls out. 

A woman in a maids uniform appears through an archway I hadn't seen before. She's kind and a bit older. I don't see any inappropriateness between the two of them. I see an employer who respects his help. 

"Yes, Mr. Knight?" She says calmly. 

He smiles, "Could you make some tea. We'll be in the dinning hall."

"Yes, Mr. Knight. Perhaps the fireplace could use some stoking? It's gotten rather chilly." She offers. 

"That would be lovely." He nods. 

I fall in behind Kendall and Tommy as the two of them lead me and the boys through the bend and beneath a staircase. Another front room appears and goes like it's a corridor and we enter into a kitchen. It's a nice kitchen, very clean. The dinning room is just beyond the next arch.