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Rome starts to ask a question, but as soon as Thomas sees that we’re all here, he just opens the second door and walks in.
Before I even have the chance to take in the room behind the door, a voice calls out, “Come back for more have you, Silas, you stupid boy? If we haven’t given you what you want by now, what makes you think we’re going to give it to you at all!”
From further back in the large room that strangely enough seems to be set up like a living room, and a reasonably well-furnished one at that, an older man appears along with several more men and women, all of them in their sixties and looking damn good for their ages. However, they all look quite pale, like they haven’t seen the sun for a long time.
“Grandad?” Ace suddenly exclaims, and the tense and dangerous atmosphere suddenly changes completely to one of utter shock.
“Ace, my boy, is that you?” An older gentleman with salt and pepper hair, and a strong build strides forward with a warm smile, engulfing a shocked Ace in his arms and then standing back to get a good look at him like grandparents do.
I watch as, one by one, the guys all recognise their grandparents and greet them with shock.
“What’s going on here?” I ask Thomas quietly, emotion starting to rise as I watch the sheer joy come off the grandparent's faces. I’m in shock; I have no idea what’s going on or how they’re here; as far as we were concerned, they were all dead. Long dead. Have they been here the whole time?
“I’m not entirely sure. I just know that they’ve been here for a long time,” Thomas replies and then adds, “You would be better off asking them. Only they really know.”
I nod with understanding.
“Rome, we were told that you all managed to escape. What are you doing back here? You’re putting yourselves in incredible danger.” The man who first spoke says urgently, clearly worried about his grandson.
“That’s a long story and not one that I feel is important right now,” Rome replies, still sounding shocked as he just stares, his gaze switching between his grandfather and a woman who I’m assuming is his grandmother. She’s smiling at him fondly, her eyes filling with emotions, but there’s a hardness to her that tells of a life full of danger and excitement. She looks like someone I’d like to know, someone I’d like to hear stories from.
Before Rome can say anything else, the twins exclaim together in a show of rare twin likeness, “What the hell are you doing down here?”
Their words make the woman standing near them practically melt as she says, “Oh my goodness, you still do it.”
“Have you been here the whole time?” Rip asks, “We thought you were dead.”
“Let me guess, my deranged and fucked up son told you that?” Rome’s grandfather asks, looking intimidating as he crosses his arms over his chest.
“They told us that it was tradition to kill off the parents so that the heirs can take over,” Rip replies.
“Those fucking idiots,” an elegant older woman says.
While they all talk about the stupidity of their children and ask the guys questions, I take the opportunity to look around the room more thoroughly. We’re in a big space; there are several couches, enough for all of them to sit, facing a TV; a large oriental rug sits on the floor in warm reds and adds a touch of softness to the otherwise cold-seeming room. There are tables with lamps placed everywhere, and it looks like an apartment down here. At the very end of the room, I can even see a full kitchen. It would appear that even though they have been held here against their will, they’ve had all the things they need to live down here. There are even doors along one wall that I assume lead to their bedrooms. What I don’t understand is why they’ve been kept down here. There seems to be no love lost between the grandparents and the guy's parents; that much is obvious simply from the way that Rome’s grandfather has spoken about his dad. Before I can contemplate it anymore, I feel eyes on me, and my gaze connects with a woman who has the same eyes as Rip.
Her eyes widen as they take me in and over the sounds of everyone else speaking, she says, “Hello dear, you look familiar."
Suddenly I am the center of attention as they comment that I look familiar as well.
Rip and Rome share a look, clearly not wanting them to know exactly who I am, or at least who they think I am, most likely because we don’t know enough about them yet, and there’s no way to know what’s going on or whether they pose a threat. Although, if I’m honest, I highly doubt that they pose a threat, and not because they’re in their sixties. I mean, they all look like they could still kick ass and take names easily, but mostly because of their reaction to the guys, they all seemed genuinely pleased to see their grandchildren, and what’s more is that they’re all here there are eight grandparents down here and they’re all getting on like they’re old friends. Mind you; they wouldn’t really have much choice if they’ve been down here for as long as we can assume that they have.
Rome’s voice echoes around the room as he says proudly, “This is our girlfriend.”
You know, I think I’d have preferred that we risk them being a threat to us and told them that, just because I don’t think us all being in a relationship is going to go down very well with them.
The woman who first spoke to me eyes crinkle as she smiles and moves toward me, holding her hand out for me to shake, “It’s lovely to meet you. I hope our boys have been treating you well.”
Through my shock at her easy acceptance, I manage to smile and reply, “Yes, they have, don’t worry.”
“We know better than to mess with Jynx, Grandma. She could kick all of our asses at the same time,” Rip tells her proudly.
Rip’s grandma’s eyes shine with mirth as she says, “Is that so? That’s an impressive skill to have. You know, you do remind me of an old friend of mine. Doesn’t she look like Demi, Ruth?”
Ruth, who is the only name I’ve learned so far, hums, “Oh yes.”
Mason clears his throat, “Maybe you guys should introduce yourselves so that Jynx knows who she’s talking to?”
The women share a look but clearly decide not to ask any more questions as Rome’s grandmother, who is called Ruth, steps forward to introduce everyone. Rome’s grandfather is called Dexter, Ace’s grandparents are called Francis and Cecil, Rip’s grandparents are called Roberta and Hugo, and the twins are called Mason Senior and Lillian.
