Chapter 4: Blending In


    iry curled up in the venting of the building. Well some of it was really the chutes that led all over


    the house. She''d found arge t area in one space and had chosen that to pretty much call home.


    She guessed that this was more of a heating system for the house but the heat wasn''t on. Besides who


    knew? The house was a maze and full of bizarre things. This felt safe and where she was going to stay.


    She wasn''t going to share it with no one.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    She was staring at the metal wall in front of her. A dim light came up from somewhere below. She


    heard a woman scream and didn''t even move or flinch. Five days had passed. Five miserable and


    terrifying days. Time was starting to be irrelevant now. Now it was just surviving and staying


    hidden.


    She had a small stash of food here and a few nkets toy on. She was slowly learning where the


    different chutes went to. It was hard to climb them at first. Her muscles sore and hurting, but it was here


    or out there somewhere. At least here she could fall into a kind of sleep. The hell hounds couldn''t get


    into the vents, and she kept to areas that were to small for Isaiah to possibly get in. Though she had a


    hard time believing that he would follow into the vents. Who knew?


    She''d seen a person torn apart in front of her they other day. Very nearly died herself. It was the small


    voice in her head that spoke to her. It said, ‘Run ir, run or die here.’


    She didn''t want to die here. When she was forced to leave her safe haven, she would look out the


    windows at the deceptive peace out there. Foolishly hoping for a savior to show, but nothing was out


    there but wilderness. She was sure the ce was shrouded in magic to keep it hidden. Who knew the


    world held such things?


    It had taken two days before she''d managed to fall asleep too. She didn''t know who was left or how


    many, and she couldn''t really find it to care. She''de across Laura once in the kitchen and pped


    her across the face before leaving.


    She hadn''te across Isaiah again since that first night being here and she was doing her best to not


    come across him. She moved around during the day as Gregori had said. It was true, the hell hounds


    weren''t ever out then, rarely if they did show.


    ir was confused as to how they could just bring people here and not have been found out. They


    must be very good at doing this. She''d spoken to Gregori one more time before he''d been killed


    yesterday. He''d said that he and a few of his friends hade up here to party. They''d been promised


    a good time and plenty to drink along with women.


    When they got here there were others as well. They weren''t allowed in until they signed. It was imed


    to be a safeguard for all involved. If one was going down, then they all were. Two had refused and


    stayed back. He said that once they were inside they heard gunshots and all hell had broken out for


    them shortly after.


    She came back to reality as she heard running somewhere below, and then a low growl. She just


    stayed where she was and closed her eyes. Silent tears came down, she didn''t want to make a sound


    or draw attention to where she was. She fell asleep like that. Her body tense and tears running down


    her face.


    When she woke, the world was quiet around her and her muscles were stiff. She stretched and stayed


    right where she was, for the rest of the day. Moving every now and then when she felt cramped, and


    leaving only twice because she had to use the bathroom. Which was terrifying in itself. She however


    had found that one of the chutes led to a bathroom not far from her. Thank god for the small things.


    She wasn''t sure if the day had really passed or not, but her food supply was low. She needed to use


    the bathroom again. She set down her drawing tools. She grabbed them the other day when looking for


    food. Her bag randomly sat in the kitchen like it was waiting for her. The only thing that took her from


    this ce. Whatever, that was the least terrifying thing to happen.


    She drew to take up the time and to keep her sanity. She thought that she should look for a way out,


    but the thought of what would happen just stopped her. Her bravado from the first night was very nearly


    gone. She had just enough light in here from the tap light she had found. She hoped the batteries didn''t


    die fast. However she needed to go out, food, and the bathroom called.


    ir moved climbing down the chute to her left and then over to the right. She half crawled along this


    until she came to where she wanted. The bathroom she used every so often. She tried to keep her


    visits to certain rooms sporadic so it couldn''t be tracked.


    It was hard to maneuver out of it. The angle was ny degrees and the opening was just big enough


    for her to fit through. She''d searched the bathroom the first time that she had used it, and was shocked


    to find very ordinary objects in it.


    There were several unopened toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash. Towels were folded and


    stacked in a rack. In the cab below the sink were medical supplies and aspirin, along with different


    toiletries.


    This was seriously a messed up ce. Who would worry about things like that when they were being


    hunted down? However ir looked at the shower and she did long for one. Just to feel human and


    alive. Sitting on a shelf inside the ornate wed bathtub was shampoo and conditioner, along with


    soap. ir smelled herself and touched her hair, gross. Now she wondered if she had strong body


    odor. Could the hell hounds smell that better? Shouldn''t she kill her scent so she didn''t smell as much?


    ir moved to the door, and cracked it open no one was in the hall. All was silent. She didn''t know how


    such an old house had plumbing or these basic needs. Who was there to even ask, what did it matter?


    However she was feeling a bit more alive today. Some strength returned to her that she had lost over


    the past week. With her heart beating faster, and her deciding her next moves might be worth the risk,


    she left the bathroom.


    ir darted across the hall on bare feet making very little noise and went into the room there. In here


    was a bedroom, and she went to the dresser looking to see what was in there. She found a pair of


    cotton pants. A bit big but they would do for now. Her clothes were grimy, her hair greasy and she


    figured that having a cleaner scent would blend her more into the house. She figured that was a better


    bet to go undetected. She didn''t want to smell like sweat and grime. It would stand out more.


    "If I die, I''m not dyingying in my own filth." She said battling with if this was smart or not. If she was


    about to be that horror movie victim for doing something stupid.


    The house was beautiful, everything in it was ornate and set up like a museum in a way. It was always


    spotless, even the rooms that had damage done to them. You could leave ande back an hourter


    and everything would be back in ce. Magic, go figure right?


    Doors that were cracked or smashed, seemed to rece themselves. Blood stains just seemed to


    disappear. ir pushed the memories away and opened another drawer. She grabbed the yellow shirt


    there. It was button up but that was okay and it looked like it belonged to a man. One that was just a bit


    bigger than her.


    Either way the clothes smelled like the house and that was good. She grabbed a chair in the room and


    moved to the door. She nced out and used her sixth sense to feel around her. She practiced


    constantly to get stronger. Now she could feelrge areas around her, moverger objects with her


    mind. She felt this was going to keep her alive. She did make sure she kept her signature small, or at


    least she hoped she was. If ir was good at anything, it had been fading into the background. The


    one skill she excelled at and practiced.


    ir moved into the bathroom and closed the door quietly and put the chair up against the handle.


    Then she stripped quickly, she tossed her shirt, pants and underwear down the chute. They could go.


    She kept her bra though, and set it with the other clothes. No longer than a few minutes she was going


    to do this.


    ir took the shampoo bottle and opened it. She squished a good amount in her hand and then


    rubbed it in her hair. It was dry but that was okay. She didn''t want to draw attention. She wasn''t going to


    turn the water on until she was ready and even then she wasn''t sure she should.


    ir moved to the sink and turned it on just a little and used that to get ather on the soap. She did


    this a few times and then moved back to the tub, grabbing the conditioner and putting that in her hand


    as well.


    With that she turned on the shower and gasped at the very cold spray but scrubbed harshly and


    quickly. Rinsing her hair and her body. Moving with quick hands and keeping her mind open she felt,


    but nothing came to her. She looked like a crazy person scrubbing herself haphazardly.She shut off the


    water, her mind timing herself less than four minutes. She was sure that if anyone had been watching


    this, it might have lookedical the way that she went about it.


    "Let them be in my position and see what they would do." She said to herself and grabbed a towel. Just


    as quickly drying herself, and squeezing her hair. The thick mass was a tangle right now but that didn''t


    matter.


    She grabbed the cotton pants, which were a ck color and put them on tying the string tighter around


    her hips. Then put the yellow shirt on. She''d find a new one as soon as she could. The color wasn''t


    good for moving around in the dark.


    At least it was the middle of the day. She didn''t have much to worry about right now. Just Isaiah if he


    was up and about. ir slipped the shirt on. It came to just below her hips. She grabbed the hair brush


    and took the chair from the door. She nced into the hall, no one was there.


    Looking back she bit her lip, it felt really good to be clean right now. It made her feel human. Less like


    prey and more like a person, she reached over and snatched the toothbrush and paste. She took the


    chair with her, as she had thrown the towel down the shoot.


    She put the chair back in the room and moved down the hall. She needed to go to the kitchen and get


    food. ir knew a few secret passageways now, and used them to get there quickly.


    When ir arrived at the main kitchen, a man was there grabbing things from the cab. He jumped


    when she came in and she recognized him as James. She was quick to copy him.


    "Still alive huh?" He stated rhetorically to her and she nodded, grabbing a kitchen towel andying it


    down. She tore the package off the toothbrush and put paste on it as she moved through the kitchen


    grabbing food. She brushed her teeth as she looked for food. Not a lot was left and James was doing


    the same.


    "Where did you get that?" He asked her, "Did you shower?" He asked his voice barely a whisper. He


    looked shocked, and a longing was on his face.


    "Very quickly. A bathroom upstairs has supplies." She said to him and put a few items on the towel.


    She spit into the sink and scrubbed a bit more. She spit and took a little water and rinsed.


    "Can I have that?" He asked as she set the brush down near the toothpaste.


    "Have at it." She grabbed her items and bottled water from the fridge and left the room. She made her


    way quickly back to her hiding ce and put her items there and ate quickly. She felt refreshed, still


    terrified, but refreshed. This was a good day, a really good day. Yet she knew deep in her heart sitting


    here meant she was just killing herself slower.