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Clearly, Levi had missed something.
“How did you make out last night?” a voice asked from the other side of his door. It sounded like Simone.
Levi pushed himself up off the floor and slowly moved toward the locked door. He peered between the bars and shrugged his shoulders at Simone.
“As good as anyone in this situation,” Levi responded, grabbing hold of the metal bars with both hands. The metal was cool against his skin, but he didn’t care. It meant that he was still alive, and that was what was important.
“You’ll get used to it in no time.”
Levi’s stomach turned. The thought of being locked up in here for the rest of his life made him feel sick.
No. There was no way Chase would ever let him be held captive for that long.
Remembering back to his question from last night—the one that Simone deliberately didn’t answer.
“Can I ask, how long have you been in here?” Levi asked again, taking note of the dark circles and pale complexion of Simone’s face.
Simone glanced up at the wall in his room to calculate.
“Two years and three months.”
“What? And no one’s come looking for you in all that time?” Fear and panic filled him. There was no way he was going to spend two years locked in this cell.
“Oh, they’ve come. They’ve checked, and they’ve spoken, but none of them have been able to find the secret entrance into these quarters,” Simone explained.
“Secret…” Levi’s voice trailed off as he looked down the corridor. Where were they?
“It’s best not to think about it. I gave up hope a long time ago. Some of these other newbies still believe that one day they will be rescued, but I know differently.”
The man looked over at the other cells with such pity in his eyes.
Was it truly possible that he might be held captive for the rest of his life?
No! He refused to think like that. This man may have given up hope, but that was not Levi’s style. Chase and Matteo would never give up on him. They would search the ends of the earth and burn down every fucking building there was until they found him. That was what family did! That was what you did for those who you loved!
“It’s not so bad as long as you follow the rules. He eats dinner with us three nights a week, he eats breakfast with each of us individually once a week, and he always makes sure that we have clean clothes and something to entertain ourselves.”
Levi looked back at Simone. “But why does he keep us captive?”
“Cus he’s crazy and thinks we’re all his friends,” an angry voice said from the cell next to Simone’s. It was a male voice, a deep voice, but from this angle, Levi couldn’t see the person standing in the cell.
“What do you mean?” Levi asked, wondering if perhaps he brought this on himself for being so friendly to Peabody. He looked so lonely and genuinely lit up whenever they hung out. Perhaps he had given Peabody the wrong impression, led him on?
“That’s one of the rules. We have to indulge his fantasies—play along with his games,” Simone added. “He likes to pretend that we’re all close friends who hang out together. He creates scenarios in his head and expects us all to play along with the fantasy.”
“Like sex games?” Levi asked, horrified.
“No. He never touches us sexually. He likes to pretend that we’ve all gone to an art exhibit together or that we’re all going on a ski trip at Christmas,” Simone clarified.
“See? Crazy. The dude is a complete lunatic. He clearly has no friends and has taken us all prisoners to act out some sick as fuck delusion he has in his head,” the guy next to Simone grumbled angrily.
“Chris! Shut your mouth and keep quiet. If Oldridge hears you speak like that, who knows what he’ll do,” Simone warned.
They heard a low rumbling and the sound of a large click.
“Shh, he’s coming,” Simone whispered.
The row fell silent.
