A Family Perfected

Day One

Chapter 3: Day one

"And this is where the pots and pans are kept. If you use them you have to make sure that they are as clean as they are now, and they must be stacked in the exact same way," the blonde girl stated pointing to the silverware under the cabinet.

After this girl had pulled me into the other room, I began hysterically sobbing. The other kids didn't follow us into the dining room, I didn't know why and I didn't care; I was relieved honestly. The girl began wiping my tears from my eyes and then brushed my hair behind my ear and held my hand. She didn't try to comfort me; perhaps because she knew there wasn't any hope for the situation, all she could do was give a helping hand.

"My names Caitlyn," she softly spoke to me. I quieted my sobbing and focused on my breathing; in and out. I needed to clear my head; I wasn't going to figure this out if I was freaking out. I needed to get a good idea of what was going on here, why these other people where here and how I could find a way out. I didn't understand why this was happening.

During my silence Caitlyn had tried to distract me by talking about a normal day in what was called 'the manor'. As she talked she began walking me through the dining room into the kitchen. The day would start at nine am and five of us would have half an hour to shower, and get ready for the day. In the morning we would make breakfast together, working together to prepare and cook the meal. Then we will all sat around a table and eat together as a 'family'. After breakfast we will tidy up the kitchen, doing dishes and deep cleaning till it is spotless.

From noon until three we would get assigned different tasks for the day; cleaning different parts of the manor or working on the yard in the back. Caitlyn began telling me about how a year ago Father didn't like us being bored or sad in our down time, so he made a space behind the house and bought all the supplies for gardening. She raved about how much it helped her being here, how it gives the others a chance to be able to go outside and get fresh air.

"The only bad thing about the yard was the wall that is built around it. Thirteen feet tall with electric wire on top," she explained. Great, no way out.

She continued, after the chores were done we had to prepare lunch and clean again afterwards. The times spent between lunch and dinner we were allowed free time to wander the halls, go to the library, and tend to the garden if we desired. We could even visit each other in our rooms, however, we were not allowed to sleep in each other's rooms or be in the rooms past ten.

She went on to explain that while we could never leave, we did get privileges'. There was a room upstairs that houses a TV and a gaming station; our own little cave she joked. The shows were only basic cable and the games had disabled internet connection so we couldn't talk to anyone or hear from any other gamers. She told me that Father would often buy new games for us each month. It was mostly the guys who wanted to play the games however. Occasionally she and Alice would play, but it wasn't often. Alice was the other girl in the manor, the one with glasses and brown hair.

The guy with blonde hair was Caleb, he was twenty years old. Although he was the oldest of the four, he had only recently arrived about six months ago. The other guy was Easton, he had been here for about a year now, and it was almost his eighteenth birthday; it was only a few days later that Alice arrived. She was eighteen as well.

"I was the first; I've been here two years. Tomorrow is actually my seventeenth birthday," she spoke looking down to the floor. I felt my heart breaking for her. She was so strong and she held herself together so well. I haven't seen her interact with the other kids, but I could tell she was their rock and she was there to be stronger for them, even when she might've been breaking inside as well. I reached out to her and held her hand. She looked up and smiled at me and squeezed my hand.