They Are Watching

Chapter Nine

“I could use a shower,” he said aloud, drawing her attention to him. He was lounging his long body on one of the couches, tossing the empty water bottle up and down. “I said, I could use a shower!” He yelled that time.

“If you’re trying to get the voice to respond, I doubt it will,” she answered him. He looked over to her, where she was sitting on a couch that she moved to the other side of the room. His ever expressive eyes told her that he was looking for a distraction, something else to focus on rather than the foreboding of their situation.

“Do you see how oily my hair is?” He complained, picking up a piece of hair that was lying limply just past his shoulders, to look at it.

“Well I don’t have that problem,” she smiled slightly, willing to go along with the distraction since she needed one as well. “That’s why I cut all my hair off. Plus, even when it was long I only washed it once a week.”

“I think if I go that long my hair would be pasted to my head,” he laughed, a deep chuckle reverberating from his chest. The sound was warm, welcoming, and it made her wonder why and how was he trapped here? What had he done to gain the attention of whoever was holding them captive? 

“Did you bring any hair ties with you?” She suggested. “I’ll go with you if they are in your room.”

“My hair ties!” He clapped his hands. “I left them by the sink in the bathroom. I can go get them by myself, you conserve your energy.”

“No,” she sat up. “I don’t think either of us should ride that elevator on our own. Just in case it takes us somewhere we are not trying to go.”

It was clear he had not thought of that possibility as he nodded his head in agreement with her, “Do you want to go now then?”

She rose to her feet, feeling an ache in her stomach while waiting for him to do the same. 

Once he was finally walking towards her, she turned to take her first daunting step towards the elevator, whose doors never closed. She put on a brave face, but she could feel fear flooding through her system the closer she got to it. As usual, Adam made sure to look inside and enter first before she followed.

“Here goes nothing,” he mumbled, sliding his keycard into the slot.

“Welcome, Adam. We are happy to have you with us on this journey. WIC is happy to sponsor your vacation, and we know your experiences will be something that will be remembered for a lifetime.”

That voice gave her chills every time she heard it.

She watched as his index finger jab the number ten button and the elevator lurched upward. Even though she called him useless earlier, she was secretly thankful that he was there with her. He always made sure to do the chivalrous thing and check for safety first, even when it was obvious he was just as scared as she was. And the honest facts were, no matter how much strength he had, in this situation, brute strength of any kind seemed useless. She knew that, but she wanted to hurt him anyway.

She supposed that was always her problem.

When things got too hard, too difficult, or required her to take some kind of accountability, she’d always resort to cynical remarks and sarcastic behavior. Anyone who ever loved her, she pushed away because of how mean she’d turn when she became overwhelmed. And she was always overwhelmed.

“The hallway seems the same,” Adam spoke after leaning out the open elevator doors to make sure. “Come on.”

She followed behind him, noticing how he seemed to take up most of the hallway as they walked to his door. It wasn’t the kindest thought, but she supposed if she ever did need to use him as a shield or cover…

“Welcome to my humble abode,” he jokingly said, stepping aside so she could enter. The room looked just like her own, just inverted. She went to sit on the edge of the bed while he went into the bathroom for his hair ties.

“Teresa,” she immediately froze when she heard that voice again, saying her name. “Thank you for participating in our questionnaire. Once again, your experience here is one to be remembered. Your admittance to preferring to watch three loved ones be killed in front of you rather than killing three innocent children has shade insight to all who are interested. Your honesty is appreciated and will be rewarded. On the bedside table is a bottle of water. You may have a drink.”

Her head snapped to the right, seeing the bottle of water sitting where the voice said it would be. That couldn’t have been there when they entered, there was no way. 

Adam’s body immediately reappeared in the doorway, his large, expressive eyes wide at the sound of the automated voice. He actually looked worried for her, which she wasn’t expecting.

Slowly, she moved to grab the water, willing her mind to focus on something else while the automated voice continued on, “Your choice to sacrifice three loved ones rather than to dirty your own hands was a classic decision,” is that what they thought? That she was keeping her own hands clean? “A decision rooted in selfishness. Many people would have made the same choice. To take innocent lives? Innocent children's lives? That is something hard to imagine.”

“I don’t understand why they are forcing us to listen to their opinions,” she said directly to Adam, trying her best to ignore the words that were slicing through her mind. She could see he was shrinking as he listened to the voice.

It’d be best to be strong for the both of them, that was the least she could do.

“Children whose lives have barely begun are now saved because of your choice to get rid of those who made sure you made it out of your own childhood. Who are the three that you love dearly? The three you’re willing to sacrifice to avoid killing?”

She bristled, her resolve weakening as she prepared herself to hear the names the automated voice would list, “Your father who fought to protect you no matter what.” Even with preparation, it hurt to hear the voice start with her father. “He sacrificed everything for you and yet you were willing to sacrifice him for three children you don’t even know. And what about your grandmother who nurtured you, cared for you, and showed you the warmest love? Killed in place of a no-name child-,”

“Stop,” she whispered, the tears were burning her eyes but she refused to let them drop. Adam had moved closer to her, at first she became weary, but she could tell he did so to let her know she wasn’t alone. It was in his eyes. 

“And your sister, barely out of childhood years herself. Gone, because of your choice.”

She opened the cap to her bottle, hands shaking and water spilling over as she tried to remain calm. If she could just have one sip to calm her nerves, “A young girl who still roots for your happiness even after you cursed her presence the last time you saw her. It was certainly an interesting choice you made. One could suppose, sometimes, family doesn’t mean everything.”

She brought the water bottle up to her lips, hand shaking beyond her control. She overcompensated to make sure the water stayed in her mouth, swallowing harshly to keep in command of herself. She wished she could do the same to her nerves, swallow them down and not feel them in her stomach soon afterward.

Her feet carried her past Adam’s stiff frame, giving him a wide berth as she passed to make sure she didn’t accidentally touch him.

She just needed to sit down, just ignore how the voice was making her feel about herself, her choices, her thought processes, the way she really felt about her family.

Why was the voice still talking?

She wanted to scream. But she sat, extremely still on the bed, nearly holding her breath, and waited for the voice to just stop.