Chapter Text
CAILY'S POV
“And why didn’t you tell me immediately?” I whispered, glaring at her.
Cleo lounged against the cell bars. “You were sleeping. It could wait until morning.” She still didn’t seem at all regretful.
“We need to be a team. You should have told me when you stole the ID.” Cleo shrugged. Edgar and Sergei avoided all eye contact. At that moment, I was mad at her.
I couldn’t afford that luxury for much longer.
There was a commotion down the hall. A sudden screeching sound echoed through the building. I held my hands up to cover my ears as Tali started to cry. I groaned. Now I’d have to put her to sleep again.
“And if that BILLY GOAT WON’T PULL, MAMA’S GONNA BUY YOU A CAAART AND BUULL!” someone garbled. Could it be . . . were they attempting to sing?
A guard growled and the noise quieted to a hum.
Cleo smirked. “And I thought I couldn’t sing.”
Several moments later a woman was dumped in the cell beside mine. She was on the chubby side, with curly grey hair and sweatpants.
“I wonder who she killed,” Edgar mused.
“No idea. You heard of a killer grandma?” I asked.
“Grandfather tried to kill me once,” Sergei offered.
“I bet she killed her cat,” Cleo mused.
“I would never!” the lady gasped, sitting bolt upright. “I killed my father, but they don’t know that.”
“Who are you again?” Cleo asked.
“I’m Greta. I can explain, although we don’t have much time.”
“What can you explain?” I asked.
“What’s happening here. Everything that has happened to us in the past few weeks is not a coincidence. This prison is not just any prison.”
“What are we doing here then?” Edgar said.
“This is a staging area for a competition much bigger than us,” Greta explained. “I’m sure they will explain the rules to us soon, since I’m most likely the last one here.”
We all went silent for a minute.
“Three hundred rubles say blonde tramp loses,” said Sergei.
“I’ll take that bet. I think the grey one loses,” I replied. “You’re lucky we’re across the hall, Snarly.”
I heard some fussing from Greta’s cell. I looked over at Tali and wondered if Sergei was right, that I would quickly lose. Then I steeled my nerves and decided that I would not lose. I had to win to get out alive and get back to my life of stealing paints and selling the paintings to make a living. I had to get Tali back to her mother. There was no losing. It wasn’t an option.
We didn’t talk after that although I thought I heard Cleo and Edgar talking. I was on Tali duty for a little while. When it was time to give Tali to Cleo I couldn’t help myself. The anger between us was long forgotten.
“Cleo, if Greta really is right and this is going to be a competition, we need allies in this game. Do you think there are going to be other people that we haven’t met?” I wondered aloud.
“There’s no way to really know until whatever we’ve gotten ourselves into begins. I used to think that this was just another normal prison. No. Something is going on here that is way over our heads.” Cleo never stopped analyzing people. Also a good quality. “But whatever happens, we were all brought here for a reason. I think we could benefit from having Edgar with us.”
“Is he loyal to Sergei? He doesn’t seem to like me at all.” I pondered working with the sarcastic kid. He was very similar to me and seemed trustworthy. He also seemed experienced with danger and that would be helpful. “But other than that, he seems good.”
“Edgar says that Sergei is just his employer. That there is no real loyalty between them,” Cleo said quietly. She sounded confident and she was a very secretive person.
“Alright then. A teens’ alliance. Goodnight Cleo,” I said. I thought I heard Sergei talking with Greta. Tali was babbling as Cleo swaddled her, trying to entertain her without having to sing, which wasn’t working very well.
I let myself drift off for a while. This would be the last time I would sleep soundly for quite a while.