For the past half hour, Lucas was peeling off paint lid's. His dad didn't seem to mind the process, nor how much money it affected them whenever a new victim showed up. They usually looked through their belongings for cash or credit cards.
There was unopened boxes sitting on the table, the contents consisted of black lights, several lights bulbs, a few tools he'd have to inventory later when he was finished with the paint. Several weeks now he covered most of the floors with a white tarp, taping it to the walls. His parents no longer minded that he secluded himself in the barn. They didn't need the space since they were focused mainly on Evelina and Mia.
Lucas dragged Mia down in the basement in the guest house a few weeks prior. They said nothing about how Lucas drugged her after she started screaming and clawing at the walls, sometimes branding a knife and trying to attack his parents and Zoe. To his surprise, Eveline did nor said anything once Lucas wound the chain around the bars.
At first he was afraid she might 'punish' him for hurting her 'mommy' . After awhile, he noticed Eveline went to visit Mia in the cell. Talking to her quietly, only for Mia to become violent again. Tearing at the walls and screaming about 'containing an outbreak' . Lucas guessed what she was talking about and kept it to himself.
He didn't go back for awhile when he told Zoe to take care of her. Except Zoe decided to piss their mother off and now she was banned from meeting with Mia. He only sneered at his sister who glowered back at him before stomping to her trailer and shutting herself away.
Her hope would eventually diminish sometime soon. Knowing Zoe, she'd try again eventually, once she had the opportunity.
"Paint's not working," Zoe said from the doorway of the room. She wore a loose shirt that bared her arms, her hair cut short and her eyes were dark from a lack of sleep.
Lucas narrowed his eyes, frowning. "Go away." He dumped some of the paint into a tray and grabbed a roller. He rose to his knees and rolled the paint on and stood.
Zoe wandered in, her gaze flitting to one end of the room to the other. "There's some in the hall."
Lucas grunted, he rolled the paint on the wall, smoothing it out to get that nice white coat. "Mind dumping some paint on it."
"She hasn't said anything?" Zoe asked, continuing to ignore his demands.
"She comes and goes," Lucas replies, rolling more paint on the roller and moving to the side to cover the rest of the wall. He noted some of the black mold had grown along the walls, it looked somewhat wet and had a musky smell. He figured the paint would somehow mask it, but it only helped with the mold he did manage to paint over.
"Have you fed Mia?" Zoe asked.
Lucas wanted to say nothing, he wanted to stay in the barn and paint, then open the boxes and start on the black lights. There was a lot he wanted to do, and not one of them was feeding poor little bitchy Mia.
He wouldn't say it out loud, of course. He only glared at the wall before coating the roller with more paint.
"Mom hasn't forgiven you about sneaking up to her precious room yet?" Lucas asked, grinning at Zoe. She crossed her arms and visibly shuddered. Serves her right for wearing a tank top during the night.
"She's ignoring me," Zoe replied, glaring at the wall. "Is this really necessary, Lucas? It's not like you have any friends to show off too."
For a moment, she sounded like their mother before they became what they were. The voice of disapproval rang through Zoe's and he almost growled at her because their own mother sounded the exact same way when he made a certain decision. Either about school, or the inventions he was focused on than the normal aspects of life. Like dating.
"I'm working on something and I don't want to spoil it," he said, growing increasingly annoyed. "It's not like you ever tried to show off to your friends."
Zoe rolled her eyes, her fingers digging into her biceps. She stepped closer, and for a moment, Lucas wondered if she was really cold and was too pissed to admit it. He took a step away from her and smiled.
"You and mom and dad ate most of them," she retorted.
The smile fell from his lips. "Mom and dad eat people, I don't."
She scoffed as Lucas went back to painting the wall. "I'm not blind, Lucas."
"Apparently you are. If you ever saw me pick up some dead person's severed bottom lip or right ear, it was only to express my interest in the newest victim."
"By eating them?"
"No. Throwing it at them."
"Bullshit."
"I grab supplies, remember, at the store. You were there once when I grabbed a lot of canned food."
"That was months ago."
"And yet we're as thin as paper. It's a good ruse."
Zoe sighed, shaking her head. "Mia will die if you don't feed her. And if Mia dies…" She gave a pointed look at Lucas.
Lucas's shoulders sagged, he set the paint roller down and walked over to the table with the boxes. "Can you take these out while I visit her?"
Zoe nodded, she looked at them, her brows pinched together before smiling. "You bought speakers too?"
"I have to hook them up," Lucas replied, not bothering to mention the cameras. "There's a blanket somewhere around here. I'll be back soon. Don't break anything." He walked past Zoe and headed out of the room through the halls, noting the mold layering the walls and floor. He grimaced, wondering how much more paint he'll need to cover it up.
Mia's waiting.
Lucas swallowed, he wasn't sure where Eveline was, but she was close by. He opened the last door and looked around the porch, this was where he wanted to set up the black lights once he was finished hooking them.
Eveline stood before the staircase. Her dark dress and long hair made her look ominous in the low light. She giggled before her body flickered out from where she stood.
He still had to act like he was influenced by her, that her demands made sense for him to follow when in truth, he'd be as crazy as his parents.
The gate that lead to the guest house was locked. He made sure that he had the spare. His dad wasn't as demanding to keep everything closed when they didn't have a guest over, and maneuvering around was easy enough when Eveline didn't complain.
Lucas unlocked the gate and headed down the path to the guest house. It was dark, colder than he thought it'd be. No wonder Zoe was shivering, his own sweater wasn't even helping. He blamed the lack of food he ate, but he tried his hardest not to complain about that when he knew if he did, Eveline would eventually figure something wasn't right with him.
The house was colder, emptier as he walked inside. The wood creaked under his weight and the doors screeched when opened. He descended into the basement, past the first room and into another hall that lead deeper to Mia's cell. There was a tight squeeze since he didn't want anyone to find Mia in case someone made it into the basement.
Lucas wrinkled his nose at the bloody old gurney and the sacks of bodies lying on the floor in the corner. He found a shelf with several canned food and tore it open as he made his way to the cell. He glanced inside and Mia was lying unconscious on the bed.
The same way he left her several weeks ago.
She's waiting.
Mia's body turned, she blinked at Lucas who was rattling the chains, unlocking it and walked inside. He pushed her legs over so he could sit down with the canned food.
"What happened to your blanket?" he asked her as she sat up.
Mia shrugged, staring at the food in his hand. "Is that m-mine?"
"Yeah. I come here to eat in front of you and visit out of my spare time—of course it's yours, stupid." He passed her the food and stood, ready to head back to the barn.
Mia reached for his wrist, tugging him back down on the bed. Lucas was shocked, but aware of her strength since he and his family held the same type of gift Eveline bestowed on them. "When are you letting me out?"
"Who said I was going too?" he glanced toward the entrance where Eveline stood, she was smiling.
"Mommy." She hugged Mia who looked confused by her presence.
Lucas gritted his teeth, wrenching his hand from Mia's "Well.. I'm going, I have things to build and a cake to bake."
" You know how to bake a cake?" Mia asked, smoothing her fingers through Eveline's hair.
Lucas smiled, locking the cell door. "If my mother had full reign of teaching me how to bake a cake, it wouldn't be a cake."
He headed back upstairs to the main floor of the guest house. The floorboards creaked along with the doors he closed behind him. He locked the front and sauntered toward the gate.
The process was annoying, even when he tensed from the cold wind. Locking everything up, he glanced toward the house where his parents were and wondered what they were doing. Cleaning up wasn't on their list of taking care of Eveline, the little girl didn't seem to realize that the house was beginning to decay under the weight of the mold.
Lucas entered the barn, ambling back to the room where he left Zoe and found her sitting on the floor with several boxes on one side of her, while the black lights on the other. She looked up, a blanket covered her shoulders and hugged her sides.
He dropped something in her lap as he sat down. Picking up a box with the bulbs and ripping it open.
Zoe arched a brow at Lucas. "Fruit."
"Just because mom and dad don't shop for food anymore, doesn't mean we can't eat healthy stuff for once."
"You didn't get any for yourself."
He shrugged, focused on opening the other boxes. "I'll eat when I'm finished."
"To you, that could mean weeks, months," Zoe said, pulling out a sliced peach and eating it.
"Whatever it takes to get everything set up." He set the bulbs down and looked at her, at the curve of her jawline, her sunken eyes and cheeks, her pale skin no longer looked sun kissed, but sickly, her eyes were hollow and her hair stringy.
How long will they last?
"Do you know how to bake a cake?"
Notes: I noticed something about the paint and curtains in Lucas's barn. He's trying to cover up the mold, but it keeps showing up. I'm also curious about his relationship with Zoe, since they didn't interact with one another besides talk about each other when the other wasn't around.
The same goes for Mia, and the Happy Birthday cake looked home made. So Lucas baked a cake, twice. lol.
Oh, the title, I had no idea so I just wrote whatever..
I also have this on my Archive.
Reviews are appreciated. No flames or bashing please.