Split

Patricia

Patricia was already standing over me when I woke up, she had a habit of creeping about while I was asleep, and had the usual tray of food in her hands. She didn't greet me with her normal friendly smile, just set the tray next to me and cleared her throat, "Dennis has informed me that you wish to stay under our supervision. He also told me that you are very strongly against the path we are taking and that may be a problem. I must warn you that all the time you are fighting against us, it is going to be more difficult to keep you here. You know what that means, don't you?"
I nodded.
"Good, we can't have this mix up ruin our plans. You are going to have to live by our rules-Dennis and I have talked this through and we have decided to give you some privileges to make your stay more comfortable, but you have to agree to our terms. You will be allowed to walk around this section of the building, supervised at first until we can trust you, and you can have access to food when you like. You can listen to music and use the computer, but no contact is to be made to the outside world. There is no Internet on the computer so you can't do much, it's mainly for amusement. You will be treated with respect if you show us the same courtesy. If anything upsets you, you come to me. If you feel uncomfortable with something that Dennis or Hedwig have done then you come straight to me. Do you understand?"
I nodded, certain that she was the last person I'd want to go to for help.
"Okay. I also have to warn you that if you are a threat to us then we will have no choice but to kill you," she gave a patronising smile, "and no one wants that, do they?"
I shook my head and she gestured to the tray of food, "eat. I've made you something special as a... a kind of peace offering."
She went to the door, "I'll be around for the next few hours so I'll leave your door open. Enjoy your meal."

I looked at the tray when she'd left and saw that she'd prepared a colourful looking pasta with vegetables and new potatoes, a small dish by the side with sponge cake and custard. I forgot that I was worried about the new situation I was being put in and grabbed the tray. When had I last eaten?
It was delicious and I probably finished it in record time then, leaving the tray by the door, I peered out into the next room. The computer was on and the outside door was open. It was an odd feeling, being able to walk out of the room, and I was certain that I would be punished for stepping outside and that it had all been some cruel trick. I took a step out and glanced at the vast amount of clothes hanging to my left. I walked over and studied the pole they were hung on-the clothes were all in sections labeled for different people who, I could only imagine, were others hidden inside this 'Kevin' guy's body.

I left the room and walked to the kitchen where I'd been once before where Patricia was perched on a chair drinking tea.
"Hello dear, would you like something to drink?"

"I'm good, thanks," I smiled politely.

"Please, sit."
I sat opposite her and watched her sip from the cup. She looked a little fed up, maybe not wanting my company, and offered a half hearted smile, "you know, Dennis was very upset after he'd spoken to you the other day. It took a lot of convincing to get him to continue our work," she set the cup on the table, "that's a very dangerous game to play... Casey, was it?"
I nodded once and she continued, "you know, that man acts as though he's the boss, but he's weak. I should have known better than to trust him with this responsibility. I will be handling things from now on and I don't expect he'll be talking to you again. I've already told him that he shouldn't be spending time with any of the girls, he's... not exactly a gentleman. You shouldn't be talking to him at all, let alone trying to talk him out of something so important."

"Aren't you worried? About any of this?" I asked hesitantly, worried that I'd make her angry.

She smiled as if it was a silly question, "no, I'm not worried. I know what the beast is capable of. I know he will protect us... and maybe if you put your faith in him, he'll protect you too."

"I can protect myself."

"I'm sure you can... to some extent. I admire your courage, Casey, but it will get you nowhere with us."

I looked at the table in defeat, "I know."

"Are you sure you don't want something to drink?"

"No, thank you."

We sat quietly for a while after that, I was just enjoying being out of that room and I think she was enjoying the peace and quiet. I started to think over my next move... I was safe here, for a while at least, and with no family or friends that I missed outside of this place, I could afford to stay for a while. So maybe I could help by changing their minds. Maybe I could get them to see reason, befriend them and talk some sense into them. Hedwig would be easy to scare, and Dennis had already been shaken... maybe if I spoke to him again I could get a better understanding on how much more I'd have to convince him to stop this.
Patricia was going to be a lot harder-she was positive that the plan was a good idea and wasn't budging, she'd even managed to talk Dennis out of quitting, and he would have surely told her why he was having doubts. She would be a lot lot harder...