Having worn beat up jeans and a baggy jumper for as long as she could remember, Thea couldn’t stand without fidgeting now that she was in a short skirt and a shirt tied at the front. The skirt was a little big in the waist and swivelled whenever she turned too suddenly. The shirt was a small men’s size and at least it didn’t show off much of her chest, however her midriff was out for all to see.
Insisting that Marcus would be drawn in by her pretty face and not her small body Jessica had pulled her frizzy brown curls out of her face and tied them high on her head. Not having her hair falling around her face made her feel even more exposed. It was like her face was naked for the first time and she had nothing to hide behind. Thankfully the girls hadn’t had any shoes in her size, so she got to stick with her sneakers that looked old enough to turn to dust soon. Apart from anything else, they were the perfect shoes if she needed to run for any reason. Like if the evil monster she was going to meet tonight took a disliking to her.
The group were dressed in their various party outfits. Freddie seemed to only have changed to a new shirt that he still wore open. Sharron was in black jeans and a red crop top, showing her narrow waist and flat chest. Both Jessica and Cora had managed to find old dresses. Although Jessica had to tie a belt around her middle to make it look like it fit, they both managed to somehow look like they had come from a runway.
They went down one of the side streets as the sun started to set. The sky went from a deep orange to red and then to an inky black. By this time there was the steady thump of music from up ahead. Thea kept thinking they would turn a corner and find it there but the further they went on the louder it got. When they did get to the source it was so loud that her ears were ringing. Yet she hardly noticed it when she spotted the scene that awaited them. Massive lights stood around the place, beams and blocks of bright colours. Speakers big enough to shake the ground were stationed around the rectangle marked by stones from ruins of some building. The area was packed with people and alcohol bottles were being passed from one person to the next, each taking a gulp. The booming of many pairs of feet hitting the ground at the same time blended together with the party tunes.
Thea had never seen anything like it and her mouth ran dry at the thought of entering the hiving crowd. She hadn’t noticed that she had stopped walking until Jessica called back to her. Blinking, she forced herself to walk into the crowd. At the edge of the line of people Freddie was waiting and draped his arm over her shoulders. He was sticky with sweat but Thea did dare move him in case he left her to deal with this new experience alone.
“Welcome to the wild side. Drink?” Freddie snatched a passing bottle of some rich smelling amber liquid.
Thea shook her head.
Freddie smirked. “Not much of a drinker? You are probably right. When Marcus gets here he isn’t going to like a girl who is falling over herself drunk.”
Thea didn’t feel the need to mention that she wasn’t inclined to try and impress anyone. It was so loud that Freddie had to shout to be heard.
“Maybe some dancing then?” He held out his hand palm up, as if asking a lady to accompany him and not asking Thea to squeeze into a sweaty mass of people she doesn’t even know. She was tempted. She had never experienced anything like this before and given the state of the world she might not get the chance again. But no, she had to keep her head in the game. This wasn’t a vacation it was a mission. Pressing her lips together she shook her head.
“I’m just going to hang out here for a while.”
Pushing out his bottom lip in a pout he sighed dramatically. “Seems a shame to leave a pretty girl standing all alone.”
“She isn’t alone.”
Thea turned to see Sharron standing to her right with a bottle in her hand. She hadn’t even heard the other girl approach. Freddie threw up his hands and vanished into the crowd, whooping all the way.
A silence extended between Thea and Sharron. Thea was pretty sure that the other girl didn’t care for her given how she didn’t even want to take the time to learn her name. Therefore, she was grateful for the quiet.
“Why are you here?” Sharron asked. She was speaking in a low tone and Thea pretended not to hear her to buy some time. What did she mean by that? Jessica had told everyone that she had found Thea wandering in the wilds and taken her in to somewhere safer. None of that needed explaining.
Sharron leaned close to Thea’s ear and repeated her question again, this time louder. There was no hiding that she heard her this time.
“I wanted somewhere safe to stay. I was struggling to keep going by myself on the outside.” It sounded likely to Thea, and she couldn’t think why Sharron was doubting her.
Sharron watched her without blinking. Though Thea wasn’t looking at the other girl she spotted her narrowed eyes out of the corner of her eye. What the hell was her problem?
Before she could say another word the crowd started to cheer frantically, making Thea cringe. People were bouncing and waving at someone the other end of the clearing. The music had died down and Thea stood on her tiptoes to try and get a glimpse. How she resented being small at moments like this. Her neck hurt with straining to see.
“Marcus is here,” Sharron said, taking a sloppy gulp of her pale drink.
Thea was baffled. The people were cheering like he was some kind of celebrity. Didn’t they know what he and his siblings had done to the world? She even spotted one girl weeping and squealing.
“How nice it is to see all of you here again!” The voice boomed over the speakers, so loud that it echoed inside Thea’s head. “I don’t have much to tell you today. Things are good. So, let’s party like it’s the end of the world.”
Thea felt sick at the round of applause this statement elicited. It was the end of the world but none of these people seemed to care. How could they be so carefree?
“Hey! Girl!”
Thea turned to face the voice and found it was Jimmy. The grizzled man was waving her over. It was almost funny to see him in his guard uniform among all the party guests and Thea might have laughed if the whole party didn’t make her sick to the stomach.
She followed him like a robot, not seeing or feeling much. All she could think was that she didn’t want to be here. The image of the boy who died in her arms played over and over in her mind. If she closed her eyes she saw the dance floor but instead of it being full of dancers it was strew with the bodies of the dead.
She was led through the clearing, Jimmy waiting for her whenever she got stuck on dancers and left behind. Eventually they exited the party area off to the side. There was a line of men and women dressed the same as Jimmy. They didn’t look at Thea as she shimmed past them. Behind a line of tall lights was a wooden shelter, like the kind that used to be in the middle of parks. Four benches sat around the edges of the raised inside and the wide roof was patched in places with various kinds of wood. In the centre of this shelter was a chaise lounge with a high back. To one side of this was a frosted glass end table with a bowl of chocolates on it.
Yet the main thing in the room that caught her eye was the man on the chaise lounge. At least he looked like a man, but Thea knew that underneath his charming exterior he was one of the monsters who ripped apart their world.
His chestnut hair was tousled and long on the top. His skin was tanned and his eyes a deep amber. Overall, he looked warm, like caramel and tea on a rainy day. He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers. It was only once she was done appraising him that she noticed he was watching her with a smirk.
Refusing to blush or show any sigh of the embarrassment and discomfort she felt, Thea met his eyes and clasped her hands in front of her to stop them from shaking.
Jimmy bowed quickly and motioned to Thea. “Boss, this is the new girl you asked to see.”
Marcus waved his hand and sat up from his reclined position, gesturing to the seat now available next to him. Jimmy left and Thea badly wanted to follow after him. It was hard enough to remain where she was never mind move over and sit next to Marcus. Its your job to get close to him and find out if he will turn against his sister, a voice in her head reminded her, besides you will never find out his weaknesses from far away.
Swallowing hard she shuffled over and lowered into the seat next to him. This close she could feel the heat from his body as he gave her the once over.
“You certainly look the part to stay here.” His voice was deep and pleasant sounding.
“The part?” Thea hoped he didn’t notice the tremor at the end of her voice.
He nodded. “I only let hot people in here. No one wants to look at an ugly person all day.”
Thea’s hands clenched where they rested in her lap. Silvia let humans live if they worked or entertained and this guy only let them live if he liked how they looked.
“My guard tells me that you came from outside the wall with a girl I know well,” he said, never taking his eyes off her face.
Here we go. “Yes. I was surviving out there for as long as I could but eventually I needed help. I was running out of supplies and the other survivors I ran into were not friendly.”
“Other survivors?” He mulled it over. “I suppose there must still be some of you running around unaccounted for.”
Thea had to physically bite her tongue to stop from calling him out on how none of them needed to be accounted for. This was their home.
“There are a few,” she ground out.
His smile widened. “You look like you have something to say.”
Thea held her breath. He was baiting her. If she spoke her mind he could have her shot in five seconds flat. But why was he bothering playing with her like this? Maybe he was just that sick that he liked to mess with humans, like a cat playing with a mouse.
Though her neck muscles ached with tension Thea managed to shake her head.
“No?” He quirked an eyebrow, “My mistake then.” He smiled fondly at her and took a long minute simply to look at her. She squirmed before she could stop herself.
“I make you nervous.” He laughed. Arrogant ass actually thought she was attracted to him. It would take more than a pretty face for Thea to forget who he was. “But you don’t look at me like the other women here.”
Thea froze. Was there something in her face that gave away her thoughts? She didn’t think she had rolled her eyes no matter how tempted she had been, and she had a placid look pasted to her face for their entire exchange.
“Usually, women are blushing and giggling when they have been talking to me for this long.” Folding his arms behind his head he leaned back into the chair and winked at her.
Thea couldn’t help it; she rolled her eyes. It was only then that she realised this could be considered rude. Terror rampaged through her; he was going to kick her out at the very least for disrespecting him. She had failed the mission.
Chuckling he tilted his head at her, his hair flopping over his forehead. “I see it is going to take more to impress you.”
She managed a tight smile and sent out a silent thank you to whatever divine being had prevented him from being offended.
“You don’t say much but I hope you will answer one question for me.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice, as if what he was about to say was for her ears only. “If you were running out of supplies and scared of dying, why didn’t you come to one of the regions on your own?”
Panic made her throat close and for a horrible minute she couldn’t find a single word. She had to say something, or it looked strange but what could she say. If she told the truth, that she hated him and his rotten family and thought the regions were prisons then he might have her thrown out. But what other reason was there for not going to somewhere where she would have had food and shelter when she needed it? Thea was acutely aware of the fact that the silence was going on for too long.
“I was scared of what might become of me.” Deciding to go for it she started to build the persona she needed for him to lower his guard. “I’m not a fighter, and I don’t have anyone to look out for me. I was scared that if I left the area I knew then I might get lost or attacked. Plus, I heard horror stories about people who tried to get into the regions and was denied access. People said they were killed or…” She trailed off and wrung her fingers together, dropping her eyes. Please let him fall for it, please let him think I am just a damsel in destress, she prayed.
The creaking of the chair was her only indication that he had moved. Without warning he took her chin in his fingers gently. The sudden contact made her jump, and she was only glad it sold her performance more. It was surprising how carefully he touched her, raising her face slowly. His fingertips were warm against her clammy skin.
When she met his eyes again he was still smiling but the cocky edge was gone.
“The world is a scary place,” he said, sighing, “I understand why some girls are scared to be alone.” Thea let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. He bought it.
“But,” he continued, making Thea’s heart jump into her throat, “You are not one of those girls. One of those girls doesn’t stare down a man who could have her killed and she certainly doesn’t roll her eyes at him.”
Her pulse got loud enough to drown out all other sounds. Now that he didn’t believe her what was she supposed to do. Panic laced through her as she realised she was going to die. Lungs contracting painfully and body drenched in sweat, she reeled away from his touch and glanced around for an escape route. There were guards all around and even if she did get past them then she would have to scale the walls surrounding the region. But she couldn’t just wait here to die.
“You know what I think,” Marcus said, standing, “I think that someone wanted to come in here and get a man to look after her. Someone she could manipulate and use for protection and food. She would pretend she needed him and then take him for everything he is worth. I just happened to be the best target.”
He thought she was a gold-digger and a thief. Not the best first impression but it was better than the alternative. He was watching her intently and she didn’t like the height difference and he looked giant while he stood over her.
Giving him a hard look she decided to roll with it. “You got me. I was hoping to take everything you had and get out of here to make a place of my own. Seems you are brighter than I gave you credit for.” Speaking to someone like him in this manner made her want to vomit. One word too far and he would end her.
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