House of the Damned

The Lost Souls

Three
The Lost Souls

On my dresser rests a pile of clothes and a letter addressed to me in Venus’s elegant handwriting.

‘Cassandra,

You have four days from the day that I gave you Michael as a charge to get him to work. By the fifth day I expect him to be at work, fully obedient. Otherwise you will be in serious trouble.’

I sigh and try to figure out how many days I have left. Two? Three? I don’t even know. My schedule has been completely messed up since Michael arrived.

I grab the pile of clothing. It consists of a white button up shirt and a pair of grey pants for a work uniform, a white T-shirt and sweatpants for pajamas, and a slightly nicer white button up shirt with black pants for rare special occasions. Heading back over to the other room I wonder how I’m going to manage to get Michael to put these clothes on. He’s still in the T-shirt and jeans he arrived in and somehow I don’t believe he’ll be very cooperative with me about changing.

As I enter the room, I spot Richard on his way here. I pause and hold the door for him. He nods in thanks.

“Um…how long ago was I put in charge of Michael?” I ask my old friend.

“Twenty-four hours ago, give or take sixty minutes.”

Three days. It’s a lot better than two days, but it still isn’t much.

Richard sets the tray of food (bacon, toast, and two glasses of orange juice) onto the dresser. He turns back to me and asks, “How’re things going so far?”

I shrug. “He didn’t try to kill me.”

He smiles. “You were a very interesting charge, Cassie. Even when you nearly got me killed.”

I flinch. “Sor-”

“Don’t even say it. I’m going to let you in on a secret, my friend. No one ever wants the new kid to break. We all love to see how annoyed Venus gets and the price is worth it. Just to see someone defy her for a bit. So stop apologizing. I wouldn’t change any of it.”

He has a point, I’ll give him that much. I’ll take a beating if it means Michael can irritate Venus, even a little bit.

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

He shrugs. “You weren’t going to understand until you had a charge of your own.”

“Fair enough. Thanks for the food.”

“No problem. I’ve got to get to work. Later, Cass.” He ducks out of the room.

I wake Michael up and bring the food over to him. He doesn’t want any bacon or toast, but he takes the orange juice. I munch on the bacon while I try to figure out how I’m going to have him up and working in three days time.

He tries to sit up and this time, I let him. “Feeling any better?”

“Two important parts of my body were sawed off. I feel like shi-…horrible. I feel horrible.”

I notice that he bit back the swear for me and am grateful. “But do you feel somewhat less horrible?”

His expression tells me that he finds my question annoying. “Not really.”

“Anything I can do?”

“Do you have serious pain killers?”

I sigh and shake my head. We don’t have anything. No ibuprofen, no cough syrup, no medicine of any sort.

“Then there’s not really anything you can do.”

He takes a sip of the orange juice and then grabs a piece of toast. At least he’s eating. While he eats, I take a moment to ponder how my work is getting done. I realize it probably isn’t. This probably should have occurred to me earlier. I run a hand through my hair and wonder how I can get everything done.

“You okay?”

I chuckle a bit. “You’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“Something looks like it’s on your mind.”

“Don’t worry about it. You should lie back down.”

He frowns. “I can’t just stay here! I need to get up and move!”

I shake my head again. “Not yet, Michael. Just wait a few days for your back to heal.”

His eyes narrow at me, suspicious. “I didn’t give you my name.”

“No, you didn’t. Why didn’t you? I gave you mine.”

“I was a little distracted. How do you know my name?”

I gesture at the file over on the dresser. “It contains everything Venus thought I needed to know about you. Which includes your name. Will you please lie back down?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going to hurt yourself.”

He rolls his eyes. “I will not.”

A frustrated sigh escapes my lips. “Yes, you will. Must you argue?”

“Yes, I must, because you’re wrong. I’m not going to hurt myself.”

“You’re a pain and you’re being stubborn. Now, lie down,” I snap, done arguing. I narrow my eyes and fix him with the most intimidating glare I have. I know I’m not scary, being five foot nothing and one hundred and three pounds, but still.

He smiles at my effort and finally lies down. “You’re stubborn too, you know.”

“Not compared to how I used to be. Not at all…” The sentence trails off as I think about how I used to be and how much things have changed over the last year. Has it been a year? I don’t even know anymore.

“What did you used to be like?” he asks me, curiosity returning to his eyes.

“I was…horribly stubborn. Pretty rebellious. A little bit insane. Extremely bitter. Kind of coldhearted. I don’t much care for the person I used to be.” I don’t mention that he rather reminds me of myself back then. Granted, he can’t possibly be half as bitter as I was and I don’t think he’s coldhearted, but that remains to be seen.

“What changed you?” he wonders.

“Part of it was Venus’s doing. The bitterness just sort of left with time. People just sort of change. Which was kind of good for me.” Of course, I didn’t mind being rebellious, stubborn, and insane. It’s a way to stay alive. I didn’t like the bitter, uncaring part of myself. That, I’m glad, is gone.

“If it meant you could be free, would you be that person again?”

I frown as I think about that, think about where I was before Venus brought me here. Think about where I was before Venus ever entered my life. Think about who I was back then. “To have never met Venus in the first place, I would be that person again. To just be turned out on the street now, I wouldn’t want go back to that.”

“Would you really rather be here?”

I nod. “Yes. I really would, insane as it may sound.”

“It sounds completely insane. Like you’ve hit your head too many times.”

A small chuckle escapes my lips. “That’s quite possibly the case, but either way, I’d still rather be here with Em and Richard.”

“Ah,” he says, eyelids drooping. Not much later, he’s fallen asleep again and my own eyes begin to close. It’s been a long twenty-four hours…

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A/N: I plan to update this story twice a week, Wednesdays and weekends. (That's an alliteration! :D) Unless life gets crazy, I should be able to hold to this plan. :3

I'd like to say a quick thank you to GermanSam and to everyone who became my fan after she mentioned me. :D