Silence is Deafening || J.V.

CHAPTER #3 | A Friend

My heart is racing. Why wouldn't it? I'm most likely going to die in here, or worse. Their eyes are still on me, but no one has made a move, which makes it worse. If their going to kill me, get on with already.

"Well hello there." A playful voice says as a guy sits next to me. I don't look up, but from the corner of my eye and by the sound of his voice, he seems young, has pale skin and bright red hair. Ignore it.

"Yoo-hoo." He said, snapping his fingers. He sighed. "Not a talker, eh? Well that's alright, I'll get you talking in no time."

I doubt it.

I can practically feel the energy coming off this kid. He's like a walking beam of color in a black and white movie. The movie being Arkham. "So, no name then, huh. I'll guess I'll have to pick one for you." He said, resting his head on his fist. Now he wasn't looking at me, so I could get a look at him.

The thing that stood out the most was simply his hair. It seemed to be the only thing with color in here. Everyone here was pale and looked completely drained, and the black and white uniforms didn't help, and then there was this creepy guy with the odd smile, bright red hair and playful personality.

"I can feel you staring at me, princess." He said without looking at me. I looked away from him and fought the urge to tell him I wasn't staring at him. When he looked back at me, I was staring at my hands. His smile darkened, making me shift uncomfortably. I couldn't look him in the eyes for more than a second.

He scooted closer to me, his smile never faltering. He was too close, but I was too paralyze to move away.

"Leave the girl alone, Jerome." A female voice said from behind. The boy, Jerome, looked to the ceiling in annoyance. "I was just making conversation," He looked me up and down. "or lack thereof."

The girl raised her eyebrows and Jerome rolled his eyes, gave me a wink and left. The girl moved to the opposite side of the table and sat down across from me. "Ignore him." She said, giving me a smile.

"I'm Penny ." She said, pushing her blonde hair behind her shoulders. I looked at her, but didn't say anything. "Not much of talker?" She said. I took note that those were the same use of words that Jerome had used. She shrugged. "That's fine."

"Could ya at least tell me your name?" She leaned forward a bit. I looked away. Her shoulders fell.

"Well let me give you a little background so you can know who to stay away from." She said, adjusting herself. The pointed to a man, who was chubby with frizzy hair. "That's Greenwood. Ugh, stay as far away from his as possible. He ate some women or whatever, all I know is he's totally gross. If he tries to talk to you, just stab him or something. I'd tell you to yell for me, because I'd love to stab him, but, well, y'know."

Penny pointed to a man wearing glasses and reading a book. "That's Richard. He's rich, so he can get ya stuff. But he's a little pervy." She said, before rolling her eyes in disgust.

"You already met Jerome. He's something else." She laughed. "Killed his mom. I don't see what's so scary about him, but even Richard seems cautious about the kid."

"That's Margie." Penny pointed to an old woman with dull red hair, who was scribbling in a notebook. "She's a real looney. She's super paranoid, thinks there are squirrels living in her brain. She was my old buddy, but you seem like you've actually got some decency." She said. I didn't mind Penny wanting to be my friend. She knows these people and she isn't scared of them. She seemed like she'd protect me, even if it wasn't for me because as she said, she likes to fight. I just hope she doesn't try and fight me.

Penny pointed at a big bald guy, who looked like he was stuck in his own world. "That's Aaron, total sweetheart. He's got the mind of five year old, so just give him a smile and he'll love ya forever. Just treat him like glass, and he won't beat ya head in." She said, like that was supposed to cheer me up, it didn't.

"You've got a pretty face, dolly." She said. "That makes you a target. So be careful and make the right friends." She said seriously, before smiling. "Like me."

Did that make Penny a target? Was she stared at like a piece of meat when she first got here?

I realized I needed to gain at least a little confidence if I didn't want to die. Or worse...