Tag, You're It

Chapter 5

"We can't be in here!" Makayla hisses as Trisha walks into the library boldly, claiming the room as her prize.

"Why not?" She smirks. I frown at her boldness. It was a dangerous move to come into the library, one of the only two rooms we weren't allowed in. Yet, Trisha's question was valid. There must be a reason we weren't allowed in the library, and perhaps that reason was valuable.

"He said-" Makayla begins but Trisha's glare silences her.

"If you start listening to everything Alec says you'll become a psychopath yourself." Trisha's words are harsh, but they make Makayla shut up. Part of me wants to defend Makayla, but part of me wants to just let Trisha take charge.

I stare at the vast amount of books in the large room. The shelves went up to the high ceiling and each shelf was packed full of books. There was not a place where anything could be added or taken away without ruining the precision of it. I saw a couch on the far left corner of the room and a desk next to it. The person occupying the desk would see the door open before the person entering ever knew they were there. It would be with great caution that you would enter this room when you were unwanted.

"Austen, I don't think we should be here. Who knows what kind of things he could do to us if he found out that we..." Makayla's voice trails off and I take heed of her warning. We were at the end of the hallway, and if Alec came walking down to enter this room while we were in here, there would be no way we could escape without a proper warning.

"Makayla, is it?" Trisha begins. I watch Trisha closely as she looks Makayla over. "You watch the end of the hallway will you? Tell me if Alec is coming." Trisha starts searching the book shelves without caring if Makayla was actually listening. I think part of her expected Makayla to listen to her.

"Will you stand at the end of the hallway? If you see Alec coming, start walking away. I'll watch for the signal and that way you won't be associated with us if we get caught. Pretend you're just walking around." Makayla relaxes at my words and she nods.

"Don't stay too long." She whispers. I nod in response.

"You think you can save her?" Trisha snides when Makayla walks away. I don't respond because she won't listen anyways. "Even if you do, you'd have to die and then she would end up dying at the end. There's no way she would pass the final test if she needed help the whole way. You'll have to let her go eventually." Trisha stops talking and pulls out a book. "I read this when I was younger." She puts it back on the shelf and I look down the hallway to see Makayla pacing nervously. "You do know she's going to die, right?"

"Is there a reason you brought me here?" I ask, changing the subject. Trisha grins.

"You shouldn't get too attached to her. It will only make it worse when-"

"If you're only here to be a negative nancy I'm going to leave." I snap. Trisha rolls her eyes.

"I chose you because you're the only one who would actually carry on an intelligent conversation with me about how to get out of this. And seeming as you've got Alec wrapped around your little finger, I would be putting myself at an advantage to be your friend." Trisha smiles charmingly and I frown.

"You're not off to a great start." I grumble.

"Something tells me you would have left if you truly didn't want to talk to me."

"I'm simply here because I want to know why you're stupid enough to be in his library. This was one of the only two places that-" Trisha grins, a cheshire cat grin, and leans against the bookcase.

"You want to know why he doesn't want us down here?" Her smile is cold and yet her eyes are sparkling. "Have you noticed there aren't any cameras? It's in a secluded area of the house, and if someone were here, he could catch them with ease." Trisha begins her search again. "Now, you do realize that you being his favorite isn't truly an advantage right?"