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Chapter Six
Branson
Two Years Later
“Get up, lazy!” A small, shrill voice yells at me. “It’s cleanup time!”
I barely manage to hide the groan as I push myself off the cold floor. My head is pounding, but that is nothing new, and the sound of Mia singing the cleanup song is only making it worse.
I stumble as I stand and make my way over to the doorway where she leans down to unchain my foot. The only time I’m allowed off the ankle chain now is if I have to go to the workroom to clean, and as much as it’s a horrible job, it’s also a sweet relief to get away from the constant chafe of the metal ring. The one on my neck, however, is never removed.
I made the mistake almost a year ago to try to escape with Amelia. At first, it almost seemed like we might succeed until we got part-way through the house and the girl began to panic and scream. Since then, I’ve been in chains.
I lean down and let Amelia click the leash into place and drag my feet down the hall behind her. She is still humming the cleanup song under her breath as she walks me, like a dog, through the gallery and into the workroom. I have to hunch over a bit because she is so small still.
“Ahh, my favorite pet,” Jane says as we enter. “And how are we doing today?”
Jane cackles as though she’s said the wittiest thing, but I say nothing. This last year I’ve learned that it makes no difference if I answer or not, if I’m respectful or rude. The end result is always the same.
“Alright, pet. Chop chop! I want this place spic and span.”
And with that, they leave me to their mess, clicking the door locked behind me.
I sigh and squeeze the bridge of my nose for a moment to try to get rid of the headache before opening my eyes again to see what I’m dealing with today. It doesn’t work, of course, but this also doesn’t surprise me. It smells fresher, at least, so I think this was a shorter kill. Probably one of Mia’s, then. I’ve heard Jane complain the girl has no patience with her kills. As I look down at the mess, I shudder to think of what a long kill would look like.
Without further delay, I make my way over to the cupboard, grab some garbage bags, and start to pick up pieces of bone and flesh.
It takes me a few hours to clean the worst of the mess and now my head is pounding worse from the sickening smell of bleach and blood. I pause for a moment and sit, deciding how to tackle the last of the bloodstains, when Mia walks in.
“Tsk tsk,” she wags a finger at me, “Taking a break? I don’t think Jane would like that much.” Her smile is mischievous, and I narrow my eyes at her. She giggles before her face gets serious and she glances down the hall behind her.
“How are you?” she whispers in a different voice, the real one, not the high-pitched psychotic one that she adopts for Jane. Not the voice of Teddy. I give her a wan smile and nod.
“I’ll be okay, just a headache.”
She nods and looks down the hall again to make sure no one is coming before taking a bottle of water from a pocket in her dress and handing it to me. I grab it and drink it down greedily, ignoring the splashes that rain down on my bare chest.
Mia watches me without judgement and takes the empty bottle when I finish.
“Thank you,” I rasp. She nods before turning and skipping back down the hall. She hums a lullaby as she leaves and I close my eyes for a moment, letting the sounds wash over me, before turning back to my work.
???
It’s a few more days in my room before Bud shows up to bring me to clean the workroom again. As soon as I enter the room, the smell of blood washes over me and I know it’s going to be a long day. My eyes fall over the varying surfaces coated with red. I notice a small shoe print on the floor and know who made this mess.
Swallowing back my judgement, I start to work and let my mind wander to the P encyclopedia I started reading.
Palatine bone. Palm. Palpebral gland.
I hear soft footsteps carry down the corridor and wait to see if another set follows, breathing a sigh of relief when it doesn’t. Mia steps in looking pristine and out of place.
“Sorry about that,” she says, nodding down to the puddle of blood at my feet. “Hit a vein I didn’t mean to. Got all over Jane, though. It was hilarious.”
The corner of my mouth does twitch at the thought, but I don’t say anything, turning back to my mop.
“What’s wrong?” she asks me quietly. I slow my movements while I consider my words. It’s not like I blame ‘Teddy’ for the things she does with Jane, and making her feel shitty about it hardly helps, but I’ve never been able to lie to her. I look at her and sigh.
“How can you do it?” I ask her, and without needing to ask, I can tell she knows what I mean.
