𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 | 𝐖.𝐕.

Chapter Four: Decisions, Decisions

The silence within the air consumes me as I begin to get anxious. Miss Venable has not spoken a word since we have been left alone. All I have been doing is looking down at my empty plate scared of her gaze. She then places her finger under my chin and raises my face up. She makes direct eye contact with me and holds her finger under my chin.
"Miss L/N, why did you miss lunch and not to be seen all day?" She asks narrowing her eyes. I swallow hard probably loud enough for her to even hear it.
"I was asleep within my bedroom all day, I'm deeply sorry I did not expect to sleep that much." I respond quickly tapping my foot under the table as worry swallows me. She raises an eyebrow and takes back her hand. She rests her hands intertwined together in front of her.
"Well I would like to speak to you this evening about this." She says finally resting her expression. My nerves become calm and I nod and get up. As I'm about to leave I hear a cane bang upon the floor. I pause and turn back to Miss Venable, who is now standing and facing me.
"I just wanted to let you know.. You will not be rewarded for this behavior." I nod and exit the room, my nerves back on high gear.
I went into the library and sat on the sofa in complete silence. So silent that the only thing heard was the cracking of the fireplace. I sat, quietly and still, staring at the wooden floors. Staring at the covers of the many books that filled this room. Anything really to try and calm my nerves. The thought of having to meet with Miss Venable shook me. I'm not quite sure when she planned on meeting and in my mind I hoped we wouldn't. However, I knew that I would have to at some point. I continued to wait, within this large palace of books, for the time to come. Not daring to go anywhere else, in fear that I would have a larger punishment. As silence fills the room, I hear faint footsteps approach the library.

Miss Venable enters, her cane finally coming to a stop with a loud bang. She waits and looks at you with stern eyes and an eyebrow raised. You take that as a sign that you should get up, in which you do. Once up, she starts to walk back through the corridors, with you right behind. You both travel through the dim halls with silence in the air. She comes to a halt in front of a door near the end of the hall. She takes a key off the chain connected to the side of her dress. You follow behind her as you both enter. The room is about the same size as the average bedroom here. Except this room has a fire place along one of the walls and no bathroom. We sit across from one another with a dark wooden desk that separates us. An uneasy feeling begins to rise as she stares quietly at me.
"Do you know why you are here?" She asks in an emotionless voice. I fiddle with the lace on my dress and shake my head.
"Could you look at me when we are speaking?" She says and I slowly raise my head to make eye contact with her.
"Good. There is no need to be fearful. You are not going to the basement or anything such like that." She says pulling open a drawer and getting out a sheet of paper. Which relieves yet confuses me at the same time. If She said there would be a punishment yet I'm not going to the basement then what was she talking about?
"Then uhm Miss Venable why am I here?" I finally ask feeling less tense. As she grabs a pen from its hold she starts to write.
"You, Miss L/N, are different from the others. They are people consumed by greed and fear. You, however, didn't come here with help of money and do not fear like they do." She said looking down at the paper the whole time. I don't fear like they do? I would say I'm the most fearful here.
"Uhm, I don't think I understand really what you mean?" I ask.
"Well, the others, they don't dare step out of order. They're desperately uncomfortable every second here. I imagine you are as well yet you manage it." She said finally lifting her head to look at me. Well of course I try to manage it I mean damn the world has been destroyed what else could I do. If I didn't manage stress right now shit would hit the fan and nothing positive would happen.
"Miss L/N? I'm telling you this because I want you to become my assistant here at the outpost." She says passing the paper across the desk. There were a bunch of rules and guidelines and a line for my signature at the bottom. The writing was elegant but small. I look back up at her seeing her eyes starting deep within me. The only sound being made is the slight crackle from the fireplace. I read through all the rules trying to make a final decision.
"Okay Ms Venable."