The... 6th? Installment

Natalie was cold and tired-she was shaken by the violent events that had occurred. She seemed desperate to assure herself that she was not a cold-blooded killer, although she had not even fired a weapon. During all the madness that had ensued, she had fled to a vantage point in the corner of the lofty suite, telling herself that, if need be, she could deal with the threats with her strategic oasis. She was still rattled though… The blood, the raw violence and malice and chaos, it was too much for her. She knew that poor Laura was dealing with the news that Johnny was searching for (and finding) them… And the slightest mention of the word “gang” sent her into almost epileptic seizures. Natalie didn’t want to bother her, but she needed to talk to someone, anyone. Jennifer was clearly thinking through a plan, and for everyone’s safety Natalie thought it was best to leave her alone. That left the three other girls, the unexpected party crashers at the drug bust. There was the wounded one, Anna. She seemed, shockingly, to be enjoying herself, or at least pretending to. Even the fact that she was wounded didn’t seem to faze her. There was the one with glasses-she thought her name was Monica, but during the course of all that had happened she couldn’t be sure-though at the time she was busy explaining the anatomy of Anna’s broken shoulder to her, and Natalie didn’t really care to become violently nauseas. That left the one called Nichole. Nichole was busy scanning everyone’s faces, mapping out the threat that each one posed, but at the time Natalie didn’t know that. They made awkward eye contact, and Natalie, whose anxious conscience would not leave her alone, decided to break the silence that had descended upon the group after Mr. Lindsey left the room.

“So… Uh, have you ever killed someone before? Oh god, I’m so sorry!” she checked herself. “That was out of line”.

“No, no, its fine. I, uh… I’ve have never killed someone. I can’t say I’m envious of Monica. Or the other one, is it Laura?”

“Yes, Laura. Ok, so if the cops ever catch us, I would totally go to jail, right? I mean, even though I did not shoot or kill anyone, I’m still an accessory of whatever, right?” Natalie’s breath was rash and irregular. The weight of had happened was still descending upon her. She wished she wasn’t so damned cold.

“Well, don’t count on the cops catching us. If I thought they were that competent, me and Anna and Monica wouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place” Nichole pushed her bangs out of her face.

Natalie was comforted by Nichole’s tired, yet earnest, confidence. She was further assured when Jennifer confirmed the point.

“The only way we’re going to jail is if we refuse Lindsey’s offer-which I really do not recommend we do. Look, I hate being someone’s pawn, but I don’t think we have a choice. Not that our situation is all that bad” Jennifer surveyed the room. Actually, she decided, it wasn’t doing the grand suite justice to call it a “room”. It was huge-there were numerous coffee tables and couches and tables and god knows what. Her only complaint was that there was a suspicious lack of exits… Only one door, and at the moment it was being guarded by a kindly Asian woman with a huge smile. Jennifer thought it best not to cross her.

“Well, here it is. The six of us have been pushed together by extremely unlikely circumstances. I really don’t know you three”-Anna indicated Jennifer, Laura and Natalie- “but I think we should all at least agree to get to know each other to a certain extent… I’m not getting involved in another screw up with people I don’t know”.

The group of girls looked to each other’s faces to see the response. Laura looked up for the first time since Mr. Lindsey had so unkindly brought up her past, and everyone was surprised to hear her speak up, albeit shakily:

“Yeah, I guess that’s a good plan. Goddamn it, I don’t know” The day’s events were having their impact on her, and she could hardly organize her thoughts.

Before anyone else could respond, Mr. Lindsey calmly slid back into the room. All eyes turned to him, malevolent eyes that were the portals to violent thoughts. He, however, was not shaken by the girl’s anger… He had expected much worse, to be completely fair.

“Alright, I am going to assume you all accept my offer, am I correct?” His words were stopped momentarily by Jennifer and Nichole (and everyone else, to different extents) exchanging furious glances, but he resumed when no one cried out- “Ah then, wise decision. You all have separate rooms, as I am you are glad to hear. I suggest you all go to them now. We have a big day tomorrow, ladies, and you need your rest. Adieu” And with that, he left.

The room was completely silent for only a moment, when the sweet lady at the door spoke up. “Hello, I am Uyenie. Please feel free to talk to me if you need it… I think you’ll be seeing a lot of me in the future. Let’s see… Anna, Laura, and Monica, your rooms are over here”-Uyenie motioned to her left- “and Jennifer, Nichole, and Natalie, you’re over here. Have a good night, ladies” Uyenie swished out of the room.

“Ok, I don’t care what that lady Uyenie said, I’m rooming with Jennifer. No way am I being separated from her, and Natalie too, after what just happened” Laura looked incredibly indignant.

“I agree, for the time being. I think we should split up into our previous groups, just for safety’s sake. We’ll all have time to get to know each other later, but, holy shit, I just want a good night’s sleep” Nichole was tired of having to be diplomatic. One more plot twist by Mr. Lindsey or Uyenie, and she would shoot first and ask questions later.

The group dissipated, and each soon realized that their plan was doomed before they had even hatched it. Each room was personalized, and they couldn’t figure out whether Mr. Lindsey was a sadist, or simply had an odd, extremely vast knowledge of their personal lives. All they could do was stand and stare, and they seemed to learn more about their compatriots from the rooms than they ever could have by talking to them.

I volunteer to write the next one as well, since I have a few ideas kicking around. But if anyone else wants to do it, by all means write it!! XD