Reaper's Word

Chapter 16: Wanted Survivor

Clair opened her eyes, blinking them. She felt really groggy and she took a deep breath. Her lungs hurt, like they'd forgotten how to stretch with the incoming air. She sat up and felt stiff and sore. She was also very hungry. She moved and grabbed some of the canned food and opened it with her can opener.

"Mm, peaches." She said and downed the whole thing. It felt like she hadn't eaten in months. Her stomach growled. There were a few granola bars there that she ate and they were a little hard, still good though. She downed a bottle of water.

What time was it? Day or night? She felt disorientated. The air around her felt stale and old and the air was a little cool. She dropped her head over the edge on the right side. Judging by the color of light she would guess day time.

She pulled her head back as she heard the first scream. She had to use the bathroom really badly. However If there was screaming going on she sure as hell wasn't going out there. There was a lot of running around the halls and doors slamming. It sounded like utter chaos out there.

At one point she heard something tearing down the hall near her home. Then she heard shouts and screams near the wall that was part of her metal one. Something hit it with extreme force and dented it in.

Clair jumped back but didn't cry out. She watched as the minutes passed and nothing else happened. The wall popped back out fixing itself. She could feel Zeta there and she undoubtedly killed someone. After a short bit she was moving away. It was another twenty before Clair decided to move. She felt around and didn't feel anything bad. At least not close so she took her chance to go out and use the bathroom.

She would have used a bottle or something, she had before but she didn't have anything suitable up here. She went up to the top floor and picked a bathroom there to use. She scrubbed her teeth

because her mouth felt absolutely gross and washed up a little. She'd just did her quick shower method the other day and her hair was still clean and she didn't feel all that grimy. Still smelled like the house in her opinion. Not like a scared filthy human living in their own fear and waste.

Clair left the bathroom and moved down the hall, she stopped at a window, putting a hand to it. This window looked out over a rose garden. She knew where she was. It was what she was seeing that stunned her. It made her freeze in place at the sight.

Flowers were in bloom, the sun was out and there was no snow. Judging by what she was seeing she'd guess they'd skipped right over winter. She ran to several other windows just to see if she was wrong but no. It was spring outside.

"How long was I asleep?" She said to herself and got a warm feeling. She instantly felt better not so alone once again. That silent companion there, whether made up or not.

"Morning." She said. "Did...did we sleep through winter?" A warm feeling, she gave a sigh.

"I guess, how would they get up here in the snow to feed him? He'd start tearing chunks out of you." That odd stomach flip came to her and then the warm feeling. She thought that the feeling in her stomach might be humor. They were high in the mountains at the moment, and thinking about it she didn't really know where. It had been a long drive when they'd brought her group here, hours really.

"Are you really alive? Am I crazy?" She said to herself. She got a warm feeling first and then a cool one. "I guess if I was, I'd answer that way." She felt the humor, Clair sighed. Whatever, what was she going to do? If she wanted to survive, she learned she had to roll with the punches.

"Starved for attention hey? Well if it's been months. Then I am out of practice and need to draw." She took off for the studio and got there meeting no one. She smiled, this would help dispel the depression that threatened to come in.

"Well, hello studio." Instant warmth, she sighed. "It's outside today. May I take some things with me?" Warmth. "Thank you." She grabbed a bunch of items and was going to the roof she decided. Maybe it seemed stupid to do what she did, but really what else was she going to do but sit in the wall and wait to die? This kept her sane. She wasn't living in the wall. As long as she kept her mind listening she was okay right?

She moved a bit slower as she moved down a hall that looked like T-Rex had gone down it tearing up the floors and walls. Blood was splattered here and she turned and went a different way. She had a water bottle with her and filled it in a bathroom. She went out into the hall making sure to feel for anyone nearby.

Clair got the feeling of someone around the corner here, but not Isaiah and so she didn't care who it was. She went around the corner and found a light haired man with a light beard growing. He was standing there with a very terrified looking woman. The two of them looked a bit stressed, but who didn't in this house? She couldn't be more than twenty five. A year or so older than Clair.

"Ah, the one that lives." Clair mentally kicked herself, this was Gustav. She'd had yet to meet him, she'd just seen him. Should have thought more about her personal radar. He was one she wanted to stay clear of. Way to go Clair, way to not care and be cocky.

"I'm glad we've met, please have a chat with me." He said pointing to a room they were standing by. Yeah because chats were what they had time for in this house. Well she was drawing so... crazier things had happened. Still she'd rather be alone. It was safer, others were dangerous.

"I think I'm good, I don't like to stay in one spot too long."

"We'd like to know how you do it. Hide from him, you were here before us." He said and she thought that she felt an odd pressure on her mind. Gustav was frowning at her. Was he psychic and trying to

read her mind? That was what she thought might be happening. Didn't look like he could. Good, stay the hell out of it.

"I run the second I think he's coming. I keep to myself and keep things stored for the full moon." She didn't think that he was in his right mind, he felt off. He felt wrong in a way that didn't have anything to do with drugs and things.

"Hope to see you again." She turned to leave them. Which was a lie, she really didn't.

"Wait, where do you stay?"

"Like I'm going to tell you." She responded. What a stupid thing to ask.

"Hence why I'm alive." the door to her right opened and a man came out. He reached for her and she jumped out of the way. Clair pulled out a knife she had slashing at him. It was a good thing she never put her guard down. What could they really want from her? She'd be gone if she had the answers they wanted. Did they think she wasn't trying to escape because she liked it here?

"Stay away from me, I trust no one." She said, Gustav looked at the man, they spoke in a language she didn't know.

"You see, Clair," How did he know her name? She'd never told them her name. "The man that lives here has offered a few of us things if we give him you, or tell him where it is you hide." Clair swallowed, she just bet it irked Isaiah that she kept getting away from him. Control freak. She'd been following him around for weeks, she knew his character alright. She eluded him, she was sure that alone got his attention. Probably bruised his ego. Clearly no one else seemed to do it so well for so long.

"Well the only way you are taking me is dead, so fuck off." She said and edged around the Goliath of a man.

"Grab her Mario." Gustav demanded and Clair moved to run. He caught her by the hair and she turned slashing at him. He didn't make a sound, his eyes were dilated and she thought he might be hyped up on something. Drugs were stupid. It just lowered your chances of survival, but what they did, didn't concern her.

Clair slashed at him as he held her hair. He caught the arm with the knife and twisted holding her still. She had to drop the knife with the hold. Gustav came over and looked at her. She kicked out but missed and Mario had her arm bent behind her and a harsh hold on her hair.

"Don't you take me to him, he'll just kill you anyways."

"He's already made the promise to a few of us. Though he did say only the one that brought you or found you out would get it." Her wrist was staring to burn and her head hurt from being jerked back.

"Just let me go, is it really worth a day?"

"You're very pretty." He said looking at her. Clair narrowed her eyes. Oh he better get his mind out of that gutter and fast. She had a few surprises up her sleeve. She hadn't yet used her talents, because she didn't want others to know. It was the one ace up her sleeve. If she had to though she would.

"Thanks, now let go." Gustav looked at her.

"Just tell us how to avoid him. Clearly you know something we don't." Yeah she had talents they didn't, that help out immensely.

"I told you just now." Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

"You lie, bring her back here. We can force it out of her. Perhaps she knows a way out."

"If I knew that I wouldn't be here!" She shouted. Mario turned her pushing her toward the door, and Gustav slapped her hard.

"Keep your voice down." He snapped, in a tone that said he would not be disobeyed. The only one that could pull that was Isaiah because she was terrified of him. He'd do much worse than they could.

"Let me go!" She said in a louder voice and slammed the door closed with her mind. Those standing there looked around. They clearly thought it was the house or Isaiah with their looks, no one realizing it was her. When Isaiah didn't show they relaxed. She kicked out and got Gustav right in the chest. The woman backed up, moving into the room with the other door still open. Mario slammed Clair's head into the closed door and she felt the burst of pain, and stars formed. Gustav, looked at her.

"Bring her in, we'll make her beg us to take her to that man by the time we are done." Clearly he didn't like being disobeyed or bested.

Clair let out the loudest scream that she could and kept going at it. Thrashing and the doors near her slammed shut and the windows exploded. The air in the hallway got really cold and the house seemed to be reacting to her outburst as well. Mario held her and had let go of her arm. She turned and kneed him right in the crotch and he let go of her. She started to run but Gustav tackled her. All of them were panicking now with all the noise and the fact that it would draw the most unwanted attention.

"We need her if he shows!" He said and Clair felt something sharp slice her arm. The knife just grazed her. She wriggled out from under Gustav and kicked him in the face. Blood erupted from his nose. The woman was suddenly there and racked her nails over the side of Clair's face drawing blood.

Clair shoved her and ran down the hall, entered a trap door and then kept going. She didn't stop until she found the stairs that led to the roof and closed the door. She waited a minute listening but didn't hear anyone and only slightly relaxed. She slid down the door to sit and shook like she was going to cry. Sucking it in, she looked up at the sky and stood up.

Clair marched across the roof and stopped near her supplies. She paced back and forth for a moment. Once she moved to her items, she set them up with harsh jerking movements. She just stood there for a moment radiating anger and stomped her foot into the roof and ground it there for a moment.

Then she stopped and hung her head and started to cry. She tipped her head up to the sky and let out an angry and loud scream. Then she reached down, hating life, hating everything that she now was and had become. Hating this place and what she was forced to do daily. A moment before had reminded her of the reality that was this place.

She let the sun warm her because inside she was dead and cold at the moment. Clair looked at her arm and made an annoyed sound. It was just a long thin scratch and she touched her face, a bit of blood there. Great now they had something to smell. She felt a warmth spreading through her and she gave a sigh.

"Thank you." It faded from her and she felt the strength to go on fighting another day. She looked at her arm, the cut was sealing. At least she had one benefit of befriending the house. She just pushed this from her mind because there was no point in holding on to it.

Clair stepped up to the edge and looked down. She was tapping her pencil to her lip and thinking. She liked the yellow roses growing in the corner of the garden. She also liked climbing vines. She looked at the fountain and conjured an image in her mind.

She drew the fountain, she was going to draw life in the middle of death. Nothing but devastation would surround the flowers and fountain. It would be a barren and ugly landscape. She grabbed her drawing board and sat on the edge of the house.