It was completely silent in the car, as we drove our way back to the house. Eerily silent, they didn't kill Kieran for his time; he could have had more than two days on this clock. They killed him because of me, because I didn't listen. I looked down at my wrist, seeing a bruise from having my arm pinned behind my back. How had it gotten this far? How could I last two years in this hell hole? The world was still going round without me, time was still ticking away. My world was collapsing around me. Kidnapped, left my family without me and watched my best friend be murdered. It was as though the world was holding a secret vendetta against me. The car screeched to a halt, and stopped in front of the house. I went to get out but Fortis grabbed my shoulder, holding me back.
"You wait a moment." He said signaling the others to go on. "What have you learned?"
I stayed silent, looking aimlessly out of the window. I wasn't going to dignify him with an answer. He didn't deserve it, he had taken everything from me. My family, friends and my sense of security. I was slapped back into reality when I felt his hand connect with the side of my face.
"Answer me." He said a look of pure evil alive in his eyes.
"To bite my tongue." I said putting my hand up to my face where he had slapped me. He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head slightly.
"You will not try to escape, you will not talk back and if you so much as leave the house when you are ordered to stay inside." His fingers were rubbing at a spot near his temple. "And if you do, so help you god I will tear down this entire town and everything that you love."
"It's one year." I said rudely. "One year and you would kill everyone I love for one year?"
"Get out of the car and into the house now." I stepped out of the car and looked towards the road, a road that would take me to freedom. If I tried to leave, he would kill me. He would kill my family, friends and everything that I had come to love in this filthy world. I turned on my heel and headed towards the house, digging my hands in the bottom the pockets in my sweater. The door opened before I even got a chance to touch the handle. Luckily, I remembered the way to my new room so I headed up the stairs. As I was turning the corner I heard Fortis' egotistical voice come from the door way.
"I think she's learning, or if not and she tries it again we will just teach her another lesson."
"Would you really kill her entire family if she tries to run again?" one of them replied.
"No, we've had girls try to escape fifteen or twenty times. I'm just trying to teach her a lesson." I walked away at that and knocked on the door to the room and slowly walked in. I was still in a daze from the events I just saw take place.
"Stell, what happened?" Jaz said jumping off the floor and grabbing my arm and looking me in the eyes. She knew something had happened and she pulled me into a hug.
"I told you." The oldest girl said standing up, crossing her arms and looking down at me. "Who did they kill?"
I stared down at the wooden floor, not wanting to answer her question. She stated it as if it were nothing. As if watching someone you loved being timed out was nothing.
"Shutup Kota." Jaz said pulling me away into the far corner of the room.
"Kieran." I said staring blankly at a spot on the wall, not wanting to come to terms with the fact that he was gone. Her mouth dropped and she once again pulled me into a hug. We sat there for a few minutes before a bell went off and all the girls stood up. Jaz explained to me that it was dinner time and that everyone was supposed to head towards the kitchen. They all walked out the door and towards the kitchen to sit and eat. I sat down next to Jaz and stared down at the plate before me. I could hear the sounds of all the girls eating around me, and saw Fortis watching from the door way.
"Stella?" he said standing up straight. "Aren't you hungry?"
I continued to stare daggers into the plate, and to be perfectly honest. I couldn't be any less hungry. After all that had happened today, the sight of food made her want to puke. He was slowly walking towards her, the girls around here stunned. Their eyes were wide open and she could see Kota shaking her head from the corner of the table. He placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned towards me.
"Eat." He said tightening his grip.
"No, go to hell." I said quietly.
"Get up, now." He pulled me from the table and towards the entrance way. I wasn't hungry and I wasn't going to eat because he told me to. He was talking to Mahlin, his second in charge. Mahlin was cracking his knuckles and laughing.
"See, Stella. I don't know what to do." Fortis said walking forward and staring into the mirror behind me. "I've given you plenty of chances, and you will do as I say. So, Mahlin here is going to teach you a lesson and if you don't understand by the end of that then we might take a visit to your apartment? How does that sound?"
He walked out of the room, leaving me with Mahlin who was almost as evil as Fortis. He was brutal and looked to be about three times my size. I sat down in the chair next to the window and stared at him from the corner of my eyes.
"Get up." He said pulling me from the chair by my wrist and leading me down the hall into the room I saw the screaming girl go into. I tried to resist, knowing that whatever he had in store would be horrible. As much as I didn't want to rebel, and didn't want to make them mad I couldn't help but doing it. I was rebellious by nature, and that was just how I was. He snapped the door shut and shook his head while laughing at the same time.
"You people never learn." He said coming towards me.
"I will never listen to you or anyone in this place for that matter." I said standing my ground. He pulled his arm back, and hit me in the same place that Fortis slapped me earlier. I doubled over before he punched me in the stomach. "Now go eat. Get one of your friends to fix you when you get back to your room."
I entered the kitchen and received looks of worry from the other girls who had not yet started eating. I sat down in my chair and lifted a fork full of mashed potatoes to my lips. As soon as I did, the others did too. I ate very quickly, emptying my plate of food and waiting for the others to be done. I drained my glass of water and sat back in my chair. My face was throbbing and my ribs were aching. Everyone got up from the table and headed back towards the room. Once the door was shut and locked for the night they all turned towards me. A girl walked over to her bed and from under it pulled a medical kit. She walked over to me and put something around my black eye. I winced at her touch, but she said it would take some of the pain away.