The House

Chapter 23 Traitor

I felt the shackles on my wrists and neck before I opened my eyes.

Every single bone in my body hurt, and I felt like I had a thousand needles all over me. My throat was dry and my stomach wouldn't stop rumbling. I don't remember waking up before this, but I must've been like this for a while to be this hungry.

The last thing I remember is the car crash and Christ's crying face. He'd asked me to forgive him and back then I didn't understand why he was saying that, but now I know. He had betrayed us. I'm sure Nathan is behind this, but I can't help feeling anger. I'm back at square one, Ryan warned me and I should've listened to him.

I looked around me and saw nothing but pure white. The floor, the walls, even the ceiling was made of small white tiles. I was wearing a white robe too, like the ones you'd get in a hospital. The shackles were brown and rusty and they were raising my arms. My neck was connected to the walls, just like my arms, so I could only go that far.

"Well, seems like somebody is back," I heard a voice from a speaker in the room I couldn't see, but I knew that voice and who it belonged to.

In front of me was a large, rectangular window that showed me another room identical to mine. After I heard the voice two men came into the other room. One of them was walking, the other one was sitting on a wheelchair with his head down.

Nathan, the one walking, positioned the wheelchair so the person sitting could face me. He was wearing a black suit now with a blue tie. The person on the wheelchair was wearing a robe just like mine.

"Had fun?" Asked Nathan. It was weird now to see and hear him at the same time, it felt as if something was wrong, but it felt even weirder to see Ryan's face and feel so much anger. "I must admit, that plan of yours was quite the trip, but I'm very disappointed. Did you really think it would work? That you'd run away and I would never find you? Really?"

I didn't want to say that I did, so I remained silent.

He sighed. "Anyway, if it hadn't been for this gentleman over here you would've had a head start, I'll give you that."

Nathan grabbed the other guy by his hair and pulled his head up. I gasped.

"C-Christ..." his face was covered in cuts, stitches, and bruises. He was unconscious but slowly started to wake up.

When his eyes were fully opened and he saw me he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. He avoided making eye contact with me and tried to break loose from the wheelchair, making me realize he was tied to it.

Suddenly, I remembered Ronald's and August's hanging bodies in the car. "W-Where are Ronald and August? How are they?"

"Dead," Nathan said bluntly. "Both died in the impact," he patted Christ on the back.

Christ stopped moving and stared at the ground.

"No...!" I cried. I remembered Ronald's warm hugs and August's jokes. My mind went back to the accident and I could see the glass and blood and me trying to wake them up. It hurt to know now that they were already dead by then.

"I know how you're feeling..." said Nathan. "Actually, no, I don't. You should be used to betrayals by now."

I looked up at him. No matter how much I tried I couldn't not see Ryan. I knew they were supposed to look the same, but my mind was telling me that there had never been two of them, that I was fooled. Maybe it was just the same person playing with me.

Nathan looked like a cleaner version of Ryan with his brown hair combed backwards and bright blue eyes staring back at me, but his face didn't have a single bruise or scar.