Crayons

Chapter 22

The sound of someone coming down the stairs wakes me from my sleep. I try to stretch, if only a little, to release the strain on my muscles. My butt feels numb from sitting for so long, though luckily I'm not sitting in a puddle of urine. David makes his way all the way down the stairs, throwing a bottled water on one of the only tables not holding faces. The bottle rolls until it stops against the blade of a saw. I swallow back the bubbling fear in the back of my throat.

He sits himself back into his chair from yesterday, a bag of chips in his hand. He takes one out, crunching on it noisily. My stomach growls, pining for the food, "Is this your plan? Taunt me with water and food in order to get your answers?"

He doesn't wait until he has swallowed to answer, tiny bits of chip flying out of his mouth as he says, "I'm not a bad person, Willow. Of course I'll keep you hydrated and fed." He bends in his chair, offering me a chip. I bite my lip, shaking my head fiercely. "Suit yourself," he tosses the salty treat into his mouth, crunching it between his teeth. "We'll come back to the question from yesterday at a later time."

"I'm not answering shit," I spit out.

He chuckles, "Oh, but you will." He sets the bag aside, a smirk on his despicable face, "Especially if you want to know more about your family tree." My eyes grow wide, my lips parting to speak. "How about we make a deal Willow, you answer my questions and I'll answer yours." When I don't respond he continues on, "How long have you Crayons been roaming this planet?"

"We aren't aliens," I whisper.

"That's not answering my question."

I let out a sigh, "At least many centuries. Probably ever since regular people have been." He nods. "How would you know anything about my birth parents?"

"I have connections who know things," he says simply. He adjusts his position, "Does your 'Council' or whatever have regulations for the rest of you?"

"A few, I suppose." He nods, waiting for my question, "Why are you doing this?"

He raises a brow, "Why are you asking me that, don't you wish to know more about these parents of yours?"

"They haven't been around for more than a decade, I don't need parents."

"You're a funny one, Willow Gray. Asking about me instead of your parents you didn't even realize you had." He chuckles some more.

"Answer my question."

"Oh yes, why I'm doing what I am doing?" I nod, waiting and biting my lip. "I guess you could say that your people took something precious from me. And I'm not a forgive and forget type of person."

"What could we have done to you?" I question.

He makes a tsk noise, "It's my turn to ask a question Willow. Wait your turn." He taps his fingers annoyingly on the chair, "What color surrounds me right now?"

I inspect David's aura, "Orange."

He cocks his head to the side, "Refresh my memory on that color exactly."

I shake my head, "Now it's my turn."

"Very well then, go on."

"Who was it that told you about Crayons?"

His smile disappears, his eyes becoming a dark and scary green again, "My wife, she was also a Crayon."

I try to blink away the shock, but I still can't believe his words, "If your wife is a Crayon, why do you want to ruin us?"

His voice raises, "What the hell do you think your stupid Council took from me?" He pushes himself off his chair, walking around the multiple tables, inspecting the photos and tools laid out, "She just wanted to be normal, and because of that she was killed." For a moment I think he's going to cry, but he quickly turns it into anger. His fingers graze a collection of knives, "Where is the Council located?"