Sorry for the delay in updating!
I've noticed that there's no break where I've made a new paragraph so from now on, I'll be using lines.

CHAPTER TWENTY

It's dark. It's so dark I can't see a thing. It feels like the darkness is closing in around me. I'm getting claustrophobic. I can't breathe.

What was the last thing I did?

How did I even get here?

Did Iain send me here?

Where is everyone?

"Caim?" I whispered. My brother always comes for me. He beats up the bad people, the bad people who bully me.

I was surrounded in darkness. He wasn't coming. There was no sign and no signal.

"Caim!" I shouted. Maybe he didn't hear me. Again, nothing.

"Iain? Mattie?" I continued to yell.

Shit. Am I alone?

"Mattie!" I got desperate. Panic bubbled away in my stomach, "Where the fuck are you?"

But then I hear dripping in this darkness. It mingled with the sound of my loud breathing.

Where's it coming from? There's only me here.

Me?

I looked at my hands. They were covered in blood.

What the fuck? Is it mine?

I stared at them. I swallowed. I ran a finger down my other hand.

It's not mine. Whose blood is it?

"Alice!"

I woke with a startle. Was I awake? The surroundings were just as dark.

Beside me was Cindy with a concerned look on her face. James, who was just behind her (as she was sat between us), was still on his phone but wasn't tapping or scrolling. I caught him looking at me from the corner of his eyes. He quickly continued with whatever he was doing on it.

We were still in the car. Shit, did I say something weird?

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I breathed. Ran my fingers over my face and hair and took a few breaths in the process. They were damp. "Where are… we?"

We were in a tunnel with that dim lighting on the ceiling that shone a deep orange. Many branches passed us. Sometimes Mariah, who was driving, would turn left, right then straight on for a length of time before turning again. It all looked the same even though we were moving.

How long was I sleeping for?

"It's been nearly three hours." Mariah said, looking in the mirror at us.

Three hours? What the fuck?

"How long does it normally take to get to Paper?" I asked.

"About eight. Nine if we have any wrong turns."

Well, shit.

A huge vault door greeted us when we arrived. Mariah slowed the car to a stop and I was finally glad to get the chance to stretch out my legs.

Looking back just gave me the view I was staring at for hours.

I felt a clap on my back. "Stop looking back." It was James. He faced forward as if he was giving me a pep talk. "It's too late for that. If you want to return, move forward on your own feet."

He was right. There was only one way now.

There was a small scanner next to this vault. As soon as Mariah got out of the car she headed toward it. She placed her hand on the scanner and after some confirmation, clicks could be heard coming from the vault.

I couldn't see what was on the other side immediately. But it was bright. White light flooded the tunnel floor and we all stood back as if it got on us, we'd be hurt. Or something like that.

Halfway open, the scene before me was breathtaking.

The smell was immediate. Grass, not just fake grass like at Rose, but real grass. I don't know I just found it weird that real grass would grow underground with artificial light.

It was a field under the light of a bright and clear day. The type of scenery you'd expect on a photograph.

But right in the middle, a little ways away from the vault and seated in what looked like a dip in the field of grass, was a glass building. It looked circular but I couldn't see really see as the reflections of the glass blinded me.

"Welcome to Paper, Rose. I hope your stay here is a happy one."

Paper's history is a bit sketchy. Rose's archives say that it existed before Mattie founded Rose.

It feels weird. Mattie founding Rose. One moment I'll forget it and in the next moment, I'll be shocked that he did.

There was also next to nothing about it.

It looked modern. Far more modern than Rose with its floor to ceiling glass walls. You could see everything, the people talking, people walking about, some with books, folders, even cases.

As we headed closer I could see the structure. Paper's entire building was buried below the level of the grass field.

No one said anything. Maybe they were just as awestruck like I was.

Mariah took us inside where the structure of Paper became clearer. It was a doughnut.

Hanging in the centre of Paper were silver diamond shaped ornaments that doubled as lights. Some people, humans, stared at us as we walked past, some nodded toward Mariah but they didn't talk directly to her. I barely recognised anyone as being vampires. Paper is built up of humans?

I could see below me several floors. Right at the bottom I could see even more people walking around. Noises of them talking among themselves echoed around Paper along with the faint sound of lift music playing in the background.

Leaning against the railing of the inner circumference, Mariah turned to address us.

"There is no reception here at Paper so there's no need to check in or anything like that." Wow, straight to the point. "This floor is called the 'Observation deck', for obvious reasons." She extended a hand to indicate the view below. "The first five floors below the Observation deck are apartments. Below that are the various labs and offices and right at the very bottom is where we keep the archives. The floor that you can see is actually the ceiling."

Okay, remember this!

"I'll show you to your rooms soon." Mariah continued but was interrupted by Cindy who raised her hand.

"What will we be doing here?"

Mariah faced her and eyed her like she had grew another head. "Nothing. This is an appearance to Rose to show that we're following the terms of our sisterly bond which is ruled by Gold."

I stood staring at her in shock. You tore me away from Mattie and Iain to do nothing for six months? How dare you!

The shock subsided to be replaced by anger, upset then some other feelings took over like despair.

But James's words kept me sane. "If you want to return, move forward."

"Why don't we reword that?" I said. "What do you expect us to do?" Because if you say 'nothing', I think I might explode?

But then another thought passed through my mind. They specifically asked for me. Don't they have something for me?

"There's quite a few things we need to check and we can only do that with Rose members." Mariah nodded toward James and Cindy. "You'll get info on that in a few days. Most of it has to do with decisions on the field and combat." James frowned.

Something wrong, James?

Cindy wrapped her arms around me. Not knowing what to do, I smiled and put an arm around her. Cindy seemed to attach herself to me more so now we were here.

"As for you, Alice," Mariah nodded at me. "We need to verify some personal details with you."

What the fuck does that mean?

I stared at her with a face that I hope said, 'what'. But she didn't seem to read it.

"I'll show you to your room. Since there isn't a set reason why you're here other than following Gold's word, it's up to you to understand what's expected of you by being at Paper and to keep yourselves busy."

Mariah took us to a set of glass lifts that ran down the inner circumference. Two ran alongside each other. Two ran on the opposite side.

On the second floor under the Observation deck, the fourteenth door on our left was a door that opened to our home for the next six months.

The main room opened to the living room. The back wall was completely glass that gave a fantastic view of the field around Paper. The light that flooded into the room showed a white modern corner sofa with a small wooden table just in front with a small plastic flower pot. A flat screen TV hung on the wall to our right with a small fireplace that looked like it ran on electric. Paintings of landscapes hung on the wall opposite the TV to fill the empty space.

To our left was a kitchen and worktop that doubled as a dining table with the look of the stools under it. A small hallway lead to two rooms either side of each other. On closer inspection they were bedrooms. Next to the kitchen was the bathroom. A small table with a flower vase on it.

James put a hand on my shoulder with a finger on his lips. Narrowing his eyes, he froze like he was trying to gauge what I was going to do. After a few moments he leaned back saying, "we're okay. No one bugged the room."

Of course, we're in Paper's territory now. It should've been one of the first things I should take note of, so why didn't I?

Cindy ran around the room like a kid with a bag of sweets. "Looks like even the people here are like vampires - they like their privacy."

"Like vampires?" I asked.

"Because we have increased hearing, it's very hard to not know what the people around us are doing. It's why almost all of Rose is soundproof." She headed to the window. "Humans here like their privacy. I can tell the moment I… we-" Cindy indicated toward James, "stepped into Paper. I'd assume because Paper is predominantly a researching facility, they're pretty tight on what kind of information they give out."

I nodded. It made sense.

"So…" Cindy peered over at me. "Since you seem to be in the leadership position, what do you suggest we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

James sat round on one of the seats, spreading his arms. I half imagined him to cross his legs and try to explain to Cindy that it was actually his leadership position, but he didn't. "We noticed Iain Wright's impression of you, which is understandable. But I can't help but feel you'll have an advantage over us in terms of information."

My mind raced. What's he saying? Vampires know everything right? Is he suggesting I know something about Mattie? Iain said something to only me? Does he want me to be more transparent with them?

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. Even if I said Iain didn't tell me anything, James might say, "I don't believe you" or "That's bullshit." What can I say to make him think that was not the case?

Nothing.

Cindy put her hands on her hips. "It's already the first day and you're scaring Alice. What kind of man are you?"

James shrugged. "I'm just voicing out my concerns. They should be yours too, Cindy. But tell me, why are you so attached to Alice now that your manager is away?"

Now it was Cindy's turn to hesitate. I held up my hands.

"Okay, there's no need to start arguing. Let's just take the rest of the day off, away from each other if need be." I was going to add 'It's been a long trip for everyone' but that sounded generic.

"I'm going to sleep, okay? And James-" I paused to look at him, "thank you for pointing out that our apartment is a safe place to talk."

The look on his face was of shock. It was a slight glimpse into how hard vampires kept a neutral expression on their face. I was still trying to read Mattie's face but I know that look was an honest one.

I laid in a single bed in the dark bedroom, darker yet with the curtains drawn. I was going to sleep but some thoughts held it back.

I don't know what James is thinking. Was he deliberately trying to split everyone up? Did he have strong opinions of what Cindy and I do in our private time?

I don't know.

I just know I'm tired.

I need to sleep.

I'll get an answer tomorrow.