9. Discussion

Once Heath, Kai, and Quin finished catching up with Stuart, a sharp, deliberate cough broke the silence.

“Ahem… ahem.”

Edward, Violet, May, Betheny, Soya, Heath, Kai, and Quin all turned their attention toward Stuart. He stood tall, adjusting his fresh gown,

“Hello everyone. Now that we have all eaten and well rested, I would like us to discuss our next plan of action. If anyone has an objection to me being the lead, I am perfectly happy to let them lead the discussion on my behalf; I will gladly follow their lead.”

Betheny and Soya looked at each other, silently weighing the offer before exchanging a firm nod, accepting Stuart’s leadership. Heath, Quin, and Kai didn’t even bother to debate it, nor did they nod in agreement—their silence made it obvious that they had already chosen Stuart to speak for them beforehand.

Glancing past them, Edward noticed Violet remaining entirely silent, offering neither agreement nor disagreement. May just looked around, visibly confused by the sudden political manoeuvring.

Let’s see how this plays out. It’s not like he will lead us straight to hell in a locked basement, Edward thought to himself… He gave a small nod, signalling his compliance for now.

Seeing the collective compliance, Stuart smiled warmly. “Since no one is against it, let us begin.” He paused, letting his eyes sweep the room. “First, we need to determine our exact inventory. Edward, could you give us the final count on our rations?”

Edward nodded, gesturing toward the flattened crates without directly looking at the group. “Fifteen pieces of bread, eleven water pouches, and twenty-one unisex gowns.”

Stuart clenched his fist, tapping it thoughtfully against his chin. “And what about our armaments? What do we have, that can be used as a weapon?”

As if reading from a pre-written script, Heath who was at 1.8 meters with his black hair and eyes, with a bulky body spoke up instantly. “A wooden bat…” He pointed toward the heavy club resting against a crate, then slowly shifted his finger directly toward Violet’s waist. “…and a gun.”

Violet’s golden eyes narrowed sharply at Heath's gesture, but she didn't utter a retort.

Stuart pressed on, posing the core question. “What do you all think we should do? Should we bide our time down here, or should we strike first?”

Right on cue, Heath pointed his left hand toward Kai who was 1.6 meters green hair, small eyes and small chest. and his right hand toward Quin who was1.76 meters with black hair, sharp eyes, “The three of us believe we should attack.”

Hearing this, Violet began to closely observe the group. Edward quietly slid over, taking a spot right beside her.

Before Edward could speak, Betheny who had black hair with a short nose bridge and height at 1.69 m, medium length hair immediately countered Heath.

“No! Why on earth should we attack first? Let them come to us! We will outnumber them. We can hide in the dark, catch them by surprise, and knock them unconscious one by one.”

“They have guns, Betheny,” Heath argued, his voice dropping to a grim, low register.

“This isn't the first time some of us have woken up. Quin, Kai, Stuart, and I have been through this already. The first time we encountered the guards, they caught us completely by surprise. We tried to fight them, but…”

He paused, a heavy shadow crossing his face. “…we didn’t manage to do anything significant, and Rhythm ended up heavily injured. If we wait any longer, the guards upstairs will realize their man down here hasn't returned from his shift. They’ll know we're awake, and they'll know one of their own is dead.”

Betheny recoiled slightly, visibly shaken by the revelation that a kidnapper had was death and one of their own wounded severely. She glanced anxiously at Soya. Soya was a inch small by Bethney, she had brown eyes and a grey strands in her brown hair, not whole but little. A slightly high nose bridge. She looked at Bethney and gave a slow, solemn nod of agreement.

While the debate flickered across the room, Edward leaned closer to Violet, and whispers. “What do you think?”

Violet didn't turn her head. “What?”

Edward shot her a wry glance. “Can’t you just talk normally for a second?”

At that, Violet turned her head just enough to look at Edward's exasperated face, then immediately looked back at the rest of the group. “What is there to think about?”

Edward caught her meaning between the lines… She's right. It doesn't matter what we think. Stuart and the other three men had clearly mapped this entire conversation out before everyone else even opened their eyes. This whole "discussion" was just a performance to make the rest of them feel included.

Edward analysed the room rapidly. Even if he and Violet insisted on waiting, the majority was lost even before the discussion begun properly. Heath had successfully planted enough fear in Betheny and Soya to break their resolve. May was entirely too terrified to resist—it was her first time, after all—and Robert, the only other capable guy he knew, was still sleeping in the corner behind the boxes.

Stuart’s faction held all the cards because of their shared bond from the first failed breakout. Violet clearly recognized the power dynamic; she was too familiar with these types of cutthroat situations. Edward personally preferred a defensive bottleneck—letting the guards come down one by one so they could strip them of more weapons—but that strategy risked alerting the entire compound if a single guard managed to scream or fire a warning shot.

The giant’s shift was over, and a dead man couldn't walk upstairs to report in. Facing the entire enemy force at once or trying to ambush them on their own turf both carried massive risks. Edward couldn't pivot the group’s decision now anyway. Stuart had engineered the narrative perfectly.

No wonder Violet was so against me spilling all the useful information earlier, … Edward realized this, and a faint smile lit on his lips. Well, at least I kept the enchanted bracelet a secret.

Edward ended his silent deliberation with a quiet, “Okay, understood.”

Just as he went to step back to his original seat, Violet caught his hand. Her grip was tight. “Support me,” she whispered, her voice dangerously low.

Edward blinked, not entirely understanding what she meant, but he nodded in agreement anyway.

Violet let go of his hand, and Edward retreated a short distance away to sit down. By the time he settled in, the debate between Heath and Betheny had completely wind down, and May had been brought to their side.

Seeing Edward return to his spot, Stuart shot him a glance before turning his full attention back to Violet. “Ma’am, what do you think? Should we stay, or do we go upstairs?”

Without saying a word, Violet gave a single, firm nod of agreement. Stuart then glanced at Edward purely as a formality. Understanding he had absolutely no leverage to change the outcome, Edward mirrored her nod.

Stuart beamed, his smile returning in full force. “Excellent. It’s settled then—we are going up. Now, let’s decide who will stay behind.”

May blinked in confusion. “Why does someone have to stay here?”

Stuart looked at her kindly. “If the remaining captives wake up while we're gone, someone needs to be here to explain the situation and catch them up on the facts. It’s a necessary precaution. Personally, I vote for you to stay, May.”

May hesitated, her voice trembling slightly. “Me? ...Okay.”

Betheny immediately objected. “Why her? Why not me and Soya?”

Stuart maintained his smooth, unbothered smile. “Because you are confident in your decisions, Betheny. We need that fire upstairs. Besides, we only need one person to handle the arrivals down here; leaving two would be inefficient.”

Now fully aware of Stuart's psychological tactics, Edward translated the speech in his own mind: You're far too easy to manipulate, May. And since Betheny and Soya are birds of a feather, it’s safer to keep them both where we can see them instead of letting them plot together downstairs.

The moment Stuart finished speaking, Kai raised his voice, shattering the polite atmosphere. Standing roughly 1.6 meters tall, sporting messy green hair, small, calculating small eyes, and a small frame. He looked directly at Violet's waist.

“Violet, I think one of us should hold the gun.”

Violet's gaze locked onto the short, green-haired man. Her answer was ice cold. “No.”

Hearing the flat refusal, Quin chimed in. Standing at 1.76 meters with sharp eyes and dark hair, he stepped up to support his ally. “But we’re the ones who are going to be fighting at the front. Don't you think it’s better if one of us holds the revolver so we can make better use of it?”

Violet’s expression didn't even flicker. “I can be the tip of the spear. I don’t have any issue with being in the front.”

Kai let out a mocking smirk, his small eyes openly sizing up her slender frame. “You might be a bit taller than me, sweetheart, but do you honestly think you can knock a grown man unconscious? I highly doubt it.” He glanced sideways. “Stuart, don't you agree?”

Stuart gave a slow, silent nod.

Kai grinned, acting as Stuart's literal mouthpiece. “Don’t be difficult, miss. Just hand it over. We’ll use it carefully.”

Violet seemed to instantly lose her interest in speaking. She maintained a dead, unbothered silence, treating Kai exactly as if he didn't exist.

The utter lack of acknowledgment infuriated him. “Stop stonewalling me!” Kai snapped, his voice rising in anger. “Just give me the damn gun!”

With a aggressive stride, Kai stepped forward to close the distance and tries to snatch it from her hip. Violet didn't hesitate—she bolted to her feet, drew the revolver in a flash, and aimed it directly between Kai's small eyes.

Seeing the barrel levelled at his friend, Heath instantly snapped to his feet, his hand dropping toward the wooden bat.