Lego House

xx. Afraid

Aleyah's piercing scream angers Irisa, who sits with her eyes shut in her small room, with a scratchy blanket wrapped around her. There is a tray of food by the door that she would love to eat, if only it wasn't from the devil himself. She hears her stomach growl. The mush her father used to make sounds more appealing. She tries not to think too much about her family. About their beautiful smiles and their weird habits. About the bad food her father made and the incredible food her mother made.

A tear slides down her cheek as another scream escaping Aleyah's lips pierces through her wall. It's torture, what they're doing. Jarrett's stupid father is torturing his own seven year old daughter. And for what reason? In frustration, Irisa throws her blanket off of her, embracing the chilly air. She sits by the tray, staring at the mashed potato, meat, peas and gravy over all of it. She stares at the tall glass of water. She licks her lips.

She wonders for a brief moment if it is poisonous. She sighs in realisation that Maust needs her. He doesn't have Roselle to prick and prod. Irisa is one of a kind in this facility. She is necessary. So, she eats – because, really, what else can she do? Secretly, she wishes the food was poisonous. So, maybe she wouldn't have to be going through this. She can't even stab herself with the stupid plastic spoons. She's far too weak.

The door slides open. She looks up, tilting her head to the side at the new face. He's very tall. Maybe that's only because she's sitting on the ground. He has dark skin, even darker hair and nice brown eyes. "Are you..."

"Irisa," she says, standing up. She looks down at the floor, at her unfinished food.

"No, please, continue eating. You are, um, needed in two minutes." He steps out of the doorway, letting the door shut. Strange. She stares at her food, then back at the door. She doesn't know how long she is standing there just staring before it finally opens again.

"Hello, Irisa." She contemplates spitting at him. Then she realises that would be kind of disgusting, and she hasn't had a drink yet. Therefore, she doesn't actually have liquid in her mouth at all. She licks her lips again, but they quickly dry up again. "This is where you return the hello. Or did your parents not teach you anything? Then again, you're still young – maybe they were waiting? Oh, well, I guess they can't teach you anymore." Irisa just stares at him, feeling heart breaking into a million pieces. He cannot speak about her parents in that way. After a short pause he adds, "Just think of me as your new dad. A better dad. I'll teach you manners and how to submit to authority." He stares her down, and she doesn't – she can't – do anything about it. "Come along."

He swivels on his heel and walks forward, not waiting for Irisa, who can't be bothered being a pain. She follows along silently. He leads her into a room with a metal bench three feet from the ground, connected to the ground by a sturdy, thick metal pole. There are straps hanging off of it. She looks around the rest of the room, a mirror on one wall and the rest of the walls are the same colour as the bench. Metallic and boring. The ground is the same. In one corner is a speaker. "Now, there's been a breakthrough on our pure-bred Lyndon experiments." She knows this means Autumn, who she hopes is doing alright. "However, we're pretty sure this won't work for you, yet. We've a long way to go for you."

"What are you doing to Aleyah?" she asks, the only thing she's able to say. The words are firm, though inside she feels like crying. Almost like she's already crying.

"Oh, we're thinking. Jarrett's been quite a good subject so far," he says this coolly, as he paces around her in an almost perfect circle. She stares straight ahead. "However, we would like to see how people of varying ages react to the gas and injections and whatnot."