Unnatural

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Two days had passed and we remained in the sewer apartment. At first I spoke to him a lot, but he seemed to get irritated with it so I dialed it back some. Other than that he seemed to indulge me quite a bit. Of course, this is coming from a girl who’d been locked up for years.

He didn’t mind that he had to replenish the full bottle of shampoo and bubbles so soon either. I hadn’t had a bath in five years so I’d taken at least six within these last two days. I noticed that he got a different smelling kind of bubbles though. Grape must have been getting to him. Personally, I didn’t mind grape, I just liked smelling like something refreshing. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be too keen on bubblegum either though. He’d figure it out eventually.

Tasteless food was another thing of the past. Left over Chicagoan pizza got better with every bite. Lucky for me Kaden didn’t eat much. And eggs that didn’t come from a powder were divine. He was a surprisingly good cook. He knew American English well enough, but his cooking was world class.

Walking out of the bathroom I darted for the kitchen when I heard the clang of pots and pans. With a white towel wrapped around my neck I let the droplets of my wet hair get soaked up. “What is that?” I cried out as I sniffed the air. “Is that... it is! You’re making-chocolate.”

He didn’t respond. I was used to that, but when I dramatically tiptoed closer to him to get a better whiff I saw the gentle lift of his mouth curling into a half smile. I mimicked his half smile back at him and sighed happily. “I’ve died and gone to heaven. I’m so gonna eat this all. Chocolate was a delicacy at that place.”

“No. It’s for my men.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. “Um, what?”

It wasn’t the chocolate that made it sink. It was the word ‘men’. I hadn’t thought much about the future. I’d just been freed less than forty-eight hours ago. I was being fed pizza, but mostly homemade stuff from Kaden. Had no clue what most of it was called, but it was good. It’s all I’d cared about. I was being fed, clothed, and I could take as many hot bubble baths as I wanted. I hadn’t been this happy since-well-since before. But now with the talks of other people coming... it just kind of ruined everything. Shattered the illusion of ‘safe, sound, and happy’ in one sentence.

“Men?”

“My soldiers.”

I was so confused. “Y-you’re an army guy? Well that’s cool. No wonder you saved me then. You know, I don’t think I ever really thanked you.”

“Don’t,” he said.

“Sorry?”

“Don’t thank me.”

Under different circumstances I would’ve been ecstatic that he was talking to me so much. It was in his tone when he said it though... that I really shouldn’t thank him.

"Why?” I asked.

This time he turned towards me, his face as blank as ever. “You’ll find out soon.”

“You aren’t going to hurt me are you?”

 I wanted to be afraid when he didn’t answer, but I’d learned that any fear in regards to him had been stripped away that day he teleported me out of the institution. “Hey, did you do something to me? Something to make me not afraid of you? Because I feel right now that I should be afraid of you, but it’s like-it’s like stuck and I—Kaden, should I be afraid of you?”

“Yes, I made it so you can’t be afraid of me.”

I nodded. That part I knew. “Should I be afraid of you?”

“Yes.”

I backed away from him. He hadn’t even hesitated. In that moment I knew why he was indulging me with all these small things. It was his way in taking way the guilt. Kaden was going to hurt me. Maybe even kill me. And I couldn’t even be afraid of it.

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The rest of the week passed and his men never came, but he didn’t seem worried. He offered me the chocolate truffles he’d made, but I declined. I couldn’t be afraid of him, but I sure in the hell could be mad at him.

He frowned, his brow furrowing into a scowl as I pushed the plate away. I wasn’t starving myself, I didn’t have that much will power, but he’d definitely noticed my lack of appetite. I wanted to eat as little of his cooking as possible. I limited myself to one bath a day and used very little bubbles. Denying myself these things that I’ve enjoyed after such a long dry spell seemed stupid, especially if I was going to die, but I wanted him to know that I wasn’t a puppy.

He couldn’t just play with me this way. He couldn’t play house with me, make me feel this way, and then tell me to be afraid of him. Feeling safe with him, almost like I belonged was all a lie. He’d made me feel that way and I’d asked him to take whatever it is he did to me off, but he refused the first time.

The second time I asked his response was a little more drastic. That double layered wall he’d put around my mind had been protecting me. I hadn’t known at the time what that gray fuzzy thing at the edge of my thoughts had been.  I found out when the wall morphed into a waving dusty red haze and noise I’d so easily forgotten about in only a few days came rushing in.

He left me curled and crying on the floor of the kitchen, but not before I saw a regretful twinge in his eyes. I needed to cling to that knowledge. He didn’t want to hurt me. How can I make it so he can’t hurt me?

I stayed on the floor, wrapped around myself, for a while. Thinking and thinking some more. My cheek rested on my forearm, tear tracks dried on my face, and the cold from the tile seeped into my skin, making me shiver. I don’t know how long I was on the floor, but when Kaden paused as he walked into the kitchen I figured it was about dinner time. Eight hours and still I’d thought of nothing.

In the movies people resorted to love as a form of entrapment, but in this world love was a commodity and unconditional love just didn’t exist. Besides, sometimes love was a double edged sword. At best she could try to make him like her more, make it harder for him to do whatever it was he was going to do, but it wouldn’t stop him. It hadn’t stopped her parents. So why would it stop a complete stranger?

Information was what I needed. Something he didn’t want anyone to know and the only way to do that was to mentally chisel at the wall he’d wrapped around my mind. I had a lot of work to do, especially if I was going to try something potentially dangerous. Getting into his thoughts unnoticed wouldn’t be easy.

Kaden’s knee clad blue jeans filled my vision as he kneeled down in front of me. Touching my shoulder to get my attention, I glanced up before pulling my shoulder from his touch and sliding to my feet. He heaved a sigh, but stood and walked over to the refrigerator.

I knew what dinner was this time. Nothing fancy, just a PB and J. “Slacker,” I said under my breath. Gourmet meals for a week and then he gives me peanut butter and jelly. “Pft.”

Plopping down in the kitchen chair I glared at the brown crust. I was surprised when he sat across from me. He’d never taken a seat at the table when I ate. He’d never eaten with me either, but I knew he could consume human food. He’d enjoyed the pizza for sure, even if it wasn’t that much.

“You need to understand the situation.”

The white bread of the sandwich was just touching my lips as he spoke. He’d never initiated the conversation. I lifted my head, making eye contact with him as I pulled the bite away from my mouth and dropped it on the ceramic white plate. I brushed my hands together, cleaning the crumbs off, and leaned forward, resting my forearms on the table. “And what is the situation?”

Because clearly I didn’t understand.

“You’ve gone from one cage to another. If you try to leave or escape you will be damaged.”

I scoffed and settled back into the chair. For the first time I really wanted to know what my reaction would be if he gave me my fear back. Would I be one of those helpless blubbering girls, begging him to let me go? Or would I be scheming and brave? I sort of felt like that now. Fearless. “What makes you think I would leave or try to escape?”

He tilted his head, but his expression remained blank. “I hurt you. Once it got to that point with the others they all tried even without their fear.”

Others? Whoa. Not what I expected at all. “So you’ve done this before?”

He nodded.

“H-how many more times?”

“Six. You’re the last.”

I swallowed and pushed at my plate. No way could I eat now. “Why am I the last?”

He shrugged. “I only needed seven.”

“Seven? Seven people?”

“Seven powers.”

“Powers? My telepathy? Well I’m all to happy to give it away. You can have. You don’t have to hurt me to get it.”

“I appreciate you willing to cooperate. In order to get your telepathy I need to hurt you.”

I resisted the urge to bite my lip. He had to see it trembling. As sucky as my life had been, I still didn’t want to die. “Am I some kind of sacrifice?”

Kaden seemed to be contemplating his next answer. It was rare to see expressions on his face, so when it happened it took me by surprise. He was talking, but he was being careful. He didn’t want me to know too much. Now that— that I could work with that.

“In a way. Yes.”

I inhaled a shaky breath. That was something I could feel fear about. After all, me dying had nothing to do with him. “Are you gonna kill me?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Wh-what do you want from me?” I could hear the hint of hysteria edging in my voice.

“You’re eyes. I want your eyes.”