Since being caught and brought back to the house last night, she hadn't bothered to leave her room. Thunder had gone to great lengths to assure her she still had full use of the house and grounds, and that once Dr. Gardner was no longer a threat, she could leave if she wanted to, but she was no longer interested in pretending she had freedom when she didn't really.
Even if she wanted to plan another escape attempt, it seemed pointless.
Thunder had also gone to great lengths to explain in more detail the enhancements they’d received as part of the experimental drug trial run by Dr. Gardner. He’d already explained it to her earlier, when he was trying to assure her she was safe by explaining the situation, but she hadn't really gotten it back then.
She got it now.
Escaping from these men was impossible. They’d actually demonstrated some of their skills for her. Blade could hear the softest whispers from rooms away, Dragon could smell literally anything, Lion could see at great distances, and Steel could rip apart, well, steel with his bare hands. Apparently, Voodoo could heal others and himself.
And Thunder could run faster than she could ever hope to run.
Which made running useless.
There was no way she was getting away from them, so what was the point in even trying?
What was the point of anything?
Inside her mind, that door to her special place that had seemed to grow smaller these last few days was now growing bigger again. So big it was starting to dominate her thoughts. She’d learned to live inside that place once before, it would be easy enough to go back there.
In there, no one could hurt her. Nothing could even touch her. Back then, she’d learned to keep just enough awareness to follow orders and avoid pain, but these people weren’t going to physically abuse her. That meant she could let go completely and not have to worry about keeping a tether to the real world.
“Maya, can we come in?” Rose called from outside her bedroom.
It was weird to have people using her name again. Her name had been one of the first things stripped away from her when she was abducted. In fact, she vividly remembered in those first few days when she hadn't fully grasped what her situation was, and she’d been assigned a number instead of a name, crying and insisting that she was Maya, not one-one-five.
They’d pulled out a hose and doused her with freezing water every time she begged to be called by her name.
Eventually, she’d learned the lesson.
Stopped asking to be called Maya.
Accepted her fate.
“Maya, we’re coming in because we’re worried,” Rose called out again, then the door was opened, and all four of the women walked in.
Anger sparked inside her. Thunder said this was her room for as long as she was there, but that apparently didn't mean she was entitled to any privacy while in it. If she wanted to lock herself away, then that should be respected. She should be left alone.
Worried?
Not for a single second did she believe that they were worried about her. Worried that she hadn't told them anything yet, maybe. Since they hadn't let her escape, she’d been childish. When she got back to her room, she found the list of information about Dr. Gardner that she’d left for them still sitting on the bed. No one had seen it yet, and she’d ripped it up in anger and flushed the pieces down the toilet.
Definitely childish, but there wasn't anything helpful on there anyway, she was sure of it. Master had her so he could use her body. She wasn't an employee, wasn't a guest, and wasn't a friend. He didn't sit around and talk to her. Anything she’d seen or heard was all accidental.
“We brought you something to eat,” Cassandra said, setting a tray of food down on the bed beside her. “You haven’t had anything since breakfast yesterday.”
Turning her head to look at it, Maya found she had absolutely zero appetite.
They didn't understand that in the life she’d been living for the last thirteen years, food was something she’d quickly had to learn to live without. She was fed when someone deemed she deserved something. Hunger pains were such a common occurrence that she could now quite easily block them out. A week of eating normally couldn’t undo that.
“Maya, I know you're angry and hurt, but you have to take care of yourself,” Indigo said, her voice gently insistent.
Did she?
Why?
From where she was standing, she absolutely did not have to take care of herself.
“The guys didn't mean to hurt your feelings,” Whitney added. “Thunder feels so bad about going behind your back to find out your name.”
