Hole'd Up

Chapter 3: A Recipe for Disaster

And here we are. You and I know the same amount about my current situation. Ok well, almost. After the automatic doors opened, Maryellen and Greg took me through a long hallway and down a long set of stairs. The farther I was lead from the world I had always known, the newer everything became. The walls had fewer cracks and dust became less copious. Everything looked newer and more updated like somebody was taking care of this place. As I mentioned earlier, some members from Lynx do stay in the Danger Zone, so I guess they all chip in to help keep this place nice enough to live in.

My mouth was still covered with tape, so even though I couldn't respond, Maryellen talked to me the whole way to my current location. "I hope you aren't afraid of the dark, because for the next week or so, you won't be in the most luxurious accommodations." What do I look like? What self-respecting 19-year-old is still afraid of the dark?

As we walked down a brightly lit hallway, my panic began to set in. Millions of questions ran through my head. Why did they take me? What's going to happen to me? Am I going to die? I quickly dismissed the idea. Lynx do not kill out of cold blood, and even if that's the case then what is really happening here?

I was ripped out of my thoughts by a creak of the rusted metal door in front of us. 

"You're going to have to stay in here for a while," Maryellen said, "so I suggest you get comfortable. You will get two meals a day, there's a bed in the corner, sink, and toilet over there, and someone will be visiting you once a day for as long as we want to keep you," She noticed that I was looking down at my pockets, and added, "and don't even look for your phone. We've already got it. Seriously, what type of a password is 123456? Didn't they teach you about internet safety in school?" Almost on cue, Greg, who for some reason was still tagging along even though he had no power or reason to be in this situation, held up my phone, with a freshly cracked screen, courtesy of the run-in we had at Hole'd Up. 

With that slightly intimidating welcome, Maryellen ripped the tape off of my mouth and hands, pushed me into the dark, cell-like room, tossed an oversized t-shirt at me, and slammed the door. This would have been very scary, except for the fact that after she closed the door, I heard her ask Greg, "Oh, man, I regret that. Was that too rough? We can't scare her too much. She's already been through enough. Greg, console me I feel bad now..." and so on. 

Why don't I describe my cozy one-room/bathroom holding chamber? Well, as Maryellen so lovingly pitched it, there is a bed in the left corner, a toilet and sink sitting side-by-side along the right wall, a lone cobweb chilling in the bottom right corner, and a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, illuminating my new home. I shivered, still wearing the brightly-colored uniform I had fished out of my laundry this morning- was it this morning? The sun still out when we arrived, but I couldn't come up with an accurate guess at how long I'd actually been down here, and there were obviously no windows (because I'm underground) so it seemed like I was going to have to let go of the concept of time while I was down here. It would have been a nice break from the pressures of society if I wasn't constantly wondering what the hell was going on around here.

Obviously, I've had a long day, and I'm guessing I won't be receiving any food for the remainder of the day, so I think I deserve another nap. My slumber in the van didn't quite hit the spot, so I lifted myself off of the floor, dusted off my pants, and walked over to my bed. They were kind enough to provide me with a pillow, a sheet, and a blanket, all neatly folded at the foot of the bed. I'm getting a feeling that these gang members have a knack for cleanliness, and I'm not one to judge. It was almost a step up from my current apartment.

I decided that I would not surrender all of my trust into the jaws of Lynx yet, so I just went to bed in my already-dirty uniform after getting a bit of water to drink from the sink. I'd love to know who their plumber is because I have a few questions for them. One, did they just stumble upon a job request for an entire plumbing system to be installed or was it an inside job, and two, how long did it take? I'm not certain how long Lynx has been active, but it had to have taken forever to clean up and refurbish everything, add plumbing and electricity, and move people in.