3.

Ren was not one to be self -conscious. Not that he was full of himself, but he knew what looked good on him and what didn't. And tattered jeans, worn sneakers, and a overly worn sweatshirt did not look good on him.

It wasn't the attire one wore to a family dinner.

It was something he lounged around his apartment in back home. A place where others wouldn't see him, unless it was of course his friends. Granted he was comfortable, but he felt too under dressed. And when he finally gathered up the courage to ring the doorbell the point was further proven.

Piper opened the door, her smile dropping almost immediately once she realized it was him.

"Uh hey…?" Was all Ren could manage.

"Hello Ren." Piper spoke through her teeth and a forced smile. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Uh Holly invited me over some days ago." It sounded better than saying the day they first met. For some reason the latter seemed to make it even more awkward.

"Did she now?" If she seemed annoyed by the other woman Ren wouldn't have known because her pleasant smile returned as she stepped aside for him to enter. "Well in that case, come in."

Ren murmured a thank you and entered into the lavish home. If he didn't know any better he would say it reminded him of the homes of his father's friends he used to visit as a child. Ornately decorated and stuffy.

"Sorry I'm not dressed for the occasion. I haven't had the time to go shopping."

Ren eyed the simple navy blue dress that Piper wore, the velvet material sculpted to her curvy frame and accented it nicely.

"It's fine, think nothing of it." She waved it off as she motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen.

"Oh, Ren! You came!" Holly beamed as she tossed a salad. "I was worried you wouldn't make it. I figured I was too forward asking you here so soon. Brenda from the hotel said she hadn't seen you or your friends in days. I told her she needed to leave you guys alone. You all needed some time to yourselves to adjust after arriving. How are you feeling?"

After leaving Piper's office a few days prior she had a few choice words for him before sending him on his way. Ren wondered his way mindlessly around town for god knows how long until he stumbled across the police station. He found out shortly after that his faith was misplaced and that him and his friends truly were just as screwed as the rest of the town.

The sheriff and his so called help did little to nothing in helping him locate his and the others things. Just because they can't leave (or so Piper said), didn't mean he couldn't have his personals. They even suggested that Ren was still suffering from his injuries and was out of it. Even if he was still getting over all of the bruises and contusions, he still needed to contact someone to let them know where he was and to come help.

His friends had the same right.

Ren decided to keep what he'd been told so far a secret until he had all the information he needed. Hopefully dinner with Piper wouldn't be a complete waste of his time.

XXX

"So Ren, how are you enjoying out little town so far?" Benjamin Smith asked as he passed his wife a serving of peas.

The picture from Piper's office barely did the man any justice, he was even larger in person. He obviously favored one parent over the other, for while Piper was pale with golden hair, his skin was fair and his hair sandy.

"It's alright." Ren shrugged. He had lost track of how long he had been picking at a leaf of lettuce. He was never a fan of leafy foods, his mother had to bribe him as a child just to eat them.

"Well I assure you things will be so much better once you're out of that dank hotel. No offense to Brenda." Benjamin chuckled lightly. "We've never had to prepare so many homes at once before so please be patient with us. You will be in your new home shortly."

"New home?" Ren coughed. "I already have a home, and if it's all the same toy you I'd like to go back."

The three hosts grew silent for a brief moment, exchanging cautious looks before Holly smiled and spoke up again.

"Oh dear, it seems you've spilt a little dressing on your sweatshirt. Ben should have something around here you can borrow. Would you come with me, please?" She got up from the table calmly, urging the boy to come along.

Ren glanced back at Piper, who stared back at him blankly.

He supposed he shouldn't look to her for help, her hands were just as tied as his were.

Ren followed Holly into a small room that housed their washer and dryer.

"I'm sorry, I think I broke one of your town's psychotic rules."

"You damn right you did." Holly snapped. "So as long as you're here you better not do it again. You'll blow all of our covers and get us killed. Take that off and put this on." She handed him a lightly used cotton tee shirt.

"Ok listen kid, Piper told me she told you the basics. Like she said, if you wanna live you have to listen and follow directions. Unless you manage to figure out where the cameras and mics are hidden, you have to stay alert and smile."

"Who is always watching?" Questioned Ren as he slowly changed. "And who made those stupid rules?"

"His name is Shining Saotome and supposedly he was a great scientist. People who have heard of him in this town view him as a hero, some type of god, and others… not so much. Everything in this town is here because of him, including us. We are group B, and this is the year 4032. Saotome predicted the demise of the human race and began to prepare though people mocked him and called him crazy. He selected everyone here, including you and your friends, to be part of the preservation of our species. Doctors, lawyers, architects, regular people, he felt everyone had a purpose in the so called new world. Apparently him and his colleagues found a defective gene in the human genome sequence that would eventually mutate a person, and when it happened the world went to shit. But because Saotome was prepared we slept through it all, all of us cryogenically frozen in time. Group A were the first people woken up to inhabit Wayward Pines. Saotome told them the truth, that their homes, old lives, and loved ones were long gone- 2,000 years in the past. They didn't handle it well, needless to say. Some rebelled (some of the people volunteered to be here, others weren't given much of a choice), others killed themselves. After the failure of Group A, Saotome and the remaining volunteers of his group agreed that the new group should follow a set of rules designed to not talk about the truth. Rules that would and should never be questioned. People who break them receive a strike, a warning, and if they got three they are reckoned in public. It might take some time, but you and your friends must come to terms that this is it. This is the new reality, that the life you once had is gone. Your life is now Wayward Pines and there is nothing outside those walls but destruction and death."

"You… you don't seriously expect me to believe all that." Ren failed to contain how skeptical he was.

"I don't, I didn't at first. But all of it, us being the last of humanity, the abbies-"

"What are abbies?"

"It's short of aberration. When Saotome noticed that the human DNA was starting to mutate that's when he started to prepare and gather people. As the years went by a process of evolution mutated the humans that weren't saved into the aberrations, predators designed to endure the most hostile environments. They took over everything. In 4014 some of the people from Group A found abbies roaming through the forest and managed to get a picture of one. A few months later an abby attacked the group. To avoid further attacks Saotome and several others built the electric fence that surrounds the town to keep them out. Shortly after Ben and Piper were woken up, I took them in under my care, and informed them. A few friends of mine tried to escape, one of them managed to get the wall door open. Not even a second later an abby snatched him. I still have nightmares where I hear him screaming. We may not like it but we're a hell of a lot safer in here than we are out there."

Ren's head was spinning as he made his way back to the table, sliding back into his seat without a word. The rest of the evening seemed to pass in a blur of murmurs and fake laughs, the seemingly perfect people before him going about their lives like an overrated game of dress up.

It made him sick.

"I think I'm gonna head back to the hotel." Ren suddenly said.

"Aw, so soon? You haven't had dessert yet. Sandy Johnson brough over one of her cobblers."

"Yeah, I'm not feeling too good."

"I hope it wasn't her cooking." Benjamin joked.

"No dinner was delicious. Best home cooked meal I've had in a long time. I'm just a little tired and my head hurts. Probably pushed myself too hard."

"That's right, this was most likely your first real outing since your accident." Piper rationed.

Ren had to try his damndest not to scoff, accident?

What accident?

Now that he knew the truth, he saw through all the bullshit set up to keep everything a secret.

To keep the peace.

He felt conflicted, wanting to be sad and then not. It wasn't like he was close to the remaining members of his family. His mother had no siblings and her parents died when he was too young to remember. So all Ren had left were his father's relatives and they were no better than he was. Everyone was cut off when he left home, so why? Why was he suddenly weighed down with guilt? Should he even mourn and it's already been 2,000 years?

"Well it was a pleasure having you over, hopefully you will join us again next week. And your friends are welcomed too. Speaking of, I made you some plates to take back to them. Ben, could you be a dear and help me in the kitchen?"

"Certainly, love."

There was a moments pause before Piper cleared her throat, getting the boy's attention.

"Next time you're invited to something, can you please do me the favor of telling me?"

"What? You don't want me around anymore?"

"Once again," She completely ignored him. "A head's up would be nice."

"Alright, next time I will." Said Ren.

"Please don't let there be a next time." She groaned.

"Oh but I just love Holly's coking. And I like the little annoyed crease that sets in your brow every time you see me now." Ren couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

Though it wouldn't be a lie if he said he enjoyed her company. It was nice to be in the presence of someone who didn't want to jump his bones.

It was refreshing.

"Ok, I'm ready for you to go now." Piper said as she stood from the table.

Ren smirked as he got up too, trotting casually behind the blonde. A faint blush in her cheeks.