Page 44 of Hysteria Rises
“Good job, Jett. That’s my boy.” Surprise registers as Kiefer reaches out, scrubbing a hand through the boy’s hair with his gaze pinned on his mini replica. I study them carefully, noting that the child also looks like Malakai. Brothers? Half brothers? My gaze flicks to the woman, who might be around twenty-five or so. I can’t help but wonder if she’s the mother of one or more of these children.
As the mean bastard strolls away, my head fills to overflowing with even more questions, but there is no one I can ask for answers. The woman gives the children a quiet smile, then gestures that they should finish up.
As she stands, our eyes briefly connect. I’m struck by how pretty hers are. But then, her expression morphs, her lips turning downward and her brow pinching before giving a sharp jerk of her head and looking away.
I let out a ragged sigh. No help to be had from that corner, that’s for fucking sure. My gaze shifts to Sixteen, and I simply watch her nimble fingers work the needle as she fixes holes insocks.
A few minutes later, the younger children are still dawdling over their food when a few older kids enter the room, serve themselves a bowl of something from a big pot, and line up on a bench on the far side of the table. Once they’re all seated, but before anyone picks up a spoon, they swiftly mumble, “For the nourishment of our bodies.”
I blink, not sure what to make of this ritual. It’s not too different from giving thanks before consuming food, but it still feels… off. Or maybe it’s simply that everything about this place is fucking weird. In particular, I can’t stop puzzling over the fact that every single child in this place ismale.There’s not a female in sight that is under the age of… well, nineteen.Me.I covertly study the boys from under my lashes and find it mildly disconcerting that they’re watchingmelike I’ve been put here for their amusement.
A shuffling sound from the direction of a long hallway across the room catches my attention, but no one else seems bothered enough to look. It’s yet another woman approaching … and she’s moving awfully slowly. Her dark hair is braided, and because her dress is loose, kinda like a sack, it’s not until she turns to the side that I realize why she’s walking funny. My eyes bug out. She’s pregnant, her complexion bordering on green. She looks miserable.
As I digest this information, all sorts of thoughts begin to whip around in my head. Is that woman married to one of these men—or with one willingly at the very least? How does this bizarre society work?They’ve clearly built it up over the course of many years. Does anyone even know they’re here?
I’ve never been more thankful that my mother forced me to get an IUD, no matter that her reasoning was ridiculous and flawed.
Thoughts of what goes on in this place with these women, not to mention what previous ones might have gone through before they got away is just one more reason I’ll lie awake at night.
After a while, the pregnant one and the other who was helping the little ones earlier take the children to a single room. I assume it’s bedtime, and though I can’t see much from where I am, from the sound of it, there must be bunks for all of them.
Once they’re settled, the women serve themselves from a pot on the stovetop, so I follow suit. I’ve never felt more alone in a group of people. There’s none of the familiar camaraderie I would expect from women who live in close quarters. They don’t really even give each other any attention at all. But maybe that has more to do with the rules set forth by the Collective—whoever the fuck they are.
I finish serving myself and find a place at the table. I’m inches from listening to the rumbling of my stomach and picking up my spoon when all at once, they quietly murmur, “For the nourishment of our bodies.”
And then… they freeze in place, staring at me like I’ve committed a horrible sin.
Beside me, Sixteen slaps her hand on the table, then peers at me, giving me an urgent look.
I stare right back, then drag in a ragged breath. Here we fucking go. All four women wear pinched expressions until I finally parrot what they’ve said. “For the nourishment of our bodies.”
The second I do, they dig in, eating as quickly as they possibly can. I’m no stranger to this sort of mentality. In fact, when I stayed at the home, it was eat fast or risk having your food taken away. I force one spoonful of a hearty stew after another into my mouth.
I can’t quite place what meat it is that I’m eating. It doesn’t matter. The second it passes my lips, I hungrily devour everything in the bowl, letting it fill all the long-empty spaces in my stomach.
And just like that, dinner is over. I follow Eight’s lead and help with the dishes. She washes while I dry and peek at her out of the corner of my eye. She doesn’t make any mention of that day when she came to tell me to be quiet. There’s no acknowledgment of me at all, except when we complete our task.
She crooks a finger and motions with her hand that I should come with her, and she takes me down a hallway lined with doors and opens the first one on the left.
When it swings inward, I gawk, completely surprised because there’s a bed. And holy shit… a pillow. Granted, it’s flat and has definitely seen better days, but it’s more than I was expecting.
Haltingly, I enter the room, then when I turn toward Eight, she raises a brow at me and points in a determined fashion at a book at the foot of the bed. Frowning, I inwardly shrug, figuring I’ll check it out after she’s gone, but she jabs her pointer finger at it again, widening her eyes. She definitely wants me to read the leather-bound tome sooner rather than later. Jutting her chin at it—for good measure, I guess—she turns on her heel.
“Wait!” I whisper-shout. Maybe she’ll answer a question. I should at least try. “Can you tell me?—”
But before I can even finish asking where the hell we are, she vigorously shakes her head. A second later, she puts her tongueless chasm on full display for me, once again.
Caught off guard, I suck in a startled breath and stumble backward, then watch with wild eyes as she slams the door, shutting me inside the dark room by myself.
TWENTY-FOUR
MALAKAI
Dear fucking god.Arrow has been moaning in his bunk for the better part of five hours now. It’s been like this day and night ever since his correction was administered. He’s clearly in a world of pain, so I can’t blame him. But let’s get real. How are we going to be capable of doing anything if we’re getting next to no sleep? I sigh, tucking an arm behind my head.Has it really only been three days since that all went down?
It’s fucking cruel of Nolan to deny him pain medication when I’m positive he has it on hand. There’s not much of anything that the Collective isn’t prepared for. They’re better than a troop of fucking Boy Scouts in that regard.
I’ve gotta finish up working on the framing of the rooms for our new quarters, and because Arrow is down for the count, the rest of us are picking up the slack. Not to mention, we’ve all got extra work comingour way soon when the Collective decides we’re ready to start reconstructing the bridge.
