I can feel my body trembling. My palms are clammy and any knees are shaky. My heart is racing so fast – I've never had to go to the bathroom this bad before. I begin pacing in front of the closed wooden door.
I've called Alister's name for at least three minutes straight and no reply – not even from Sawyer or Eleanor. No one seems to hear me. I'm not quiet though, I attempted to scream but my throat is scratchy from being awoken by the cry of my bladder so suddenly, just minutes ago.
I suppose the bottle of water I got from the closet before bed raced through my body. I let out a huff as I grab the handle. No, stop it Julianne – don't do that. I swallow the lump in my throat. My mother told me to always trust my gut – and right now is one of those times. If I get caught by Alister or Eleanor I know they will greatly understand that the need to use the bathroom is a serious thing.
Before I even realized it, I flicked on the dim light in the room and turned the knob of the door. It creaks lightly I as pull it open. I peek through the small crack and see that the hallway is lite like it was earlier – the lights on one side and then they fade out into the darkness on the other. I gulp gently at the fear of the hallway, God please let me survive the walk across the wide hallway.
I need to stay composed though, I can't make too much noise and lead to any suspicious. I open the door a little more, thanking the great man above that it didn't make any sounds at the moment. I poke my head out and look towards the light. I can sort of tell that it's perhaps a kitchen or at least a dinner room. Suddenly I see a shadow in the room far down the hall and I gulp.
Since my body was still in the room, I don't hesitate to run my hand up the wall, trying to find the light switch. The less extra light anyone can see, the better camouflage for me. Besides, I'm pretty sure if they see any light that is never on they will investigate it – these people basically live in the darkness.
I turn the light off in the bedroom. I glance down at the floor and notice my shadow is gone, so I should be okay for now. My bladder is aching and it's causing everything around it to hurt as well. I hold my breath as I step into the hallway and gently shut the door behind me. The door isn't quite directly across from mine, so I have to go closer to the dark end of the creepy hallway – alone this time.
My heart nearly stops as I keep my breath tight in my lungs, not letting it escape. I take soft steps on the floor and realize it isn't so bad, as long as I don't think about the spooky darkness just beside me. Stop! Don't mention it, just relax and go use the bathroom. Stick to the plan, don't get distracted.
Suddenly I run into something hard and warm – I know good and well it's not a wall. A large hand comes from nowhere and pushes my shoulder back – I fall to the floor from the impact. I gasp as I see a pair of dirty boots stepping out of the dark. I bite the inside of my cheek, God only knows what's about to happen. My heart jumps as a tall, broad man appears form the light – his dark eyes staring down at me. I push myself further back only a few inches – he looks like one of those who kill for the thrill of it all. A big lump is forming in my throat and I can't do or say anything to stop this moment from continuing.
"Can't follow rules?" He asks bluntly, his bushy eyebrows furrowed tightly. "Julianne!" Alister's voice fills the air and I look over my shoulder to see him running towards me from the room at the end. I look back up at the figure in front of me – wearing all black, expect for his shoes. "What the hell are you doing out here!" Alister asks, not quite a question though. My lips part as I attempt to reply to him, but nothing comes from my mouth.
"If she can't fucking do what she's told.. then she doesn't belong here." The man says with a stern tone. Alister falls to his knees and gathers my shocked body in his arms. "Look down." He mumbles in my ear, but for some reason I can't look away. "She better be careful. It's easy to die around here." He adds, his eyes burning holes right through mine. Alister pulls my body to his and he forces me on my knees facing him, his arms tight around my back.
But my eyes stay attached to the stranger staring down at me.
"Fuckin' bitch can't follow a god damn rule! You clearly aren't fuckin' appreciative of what we've done for you!" He snaps suddenly, his yell making me jump in my skin. Alister begins to say little things in my ear, trying to get my attention but nothing is working. "Just close your eyes, I'm warning you Julianne." Alister begs as he places his hand on the back of my head, trying to push it against his shoulder but I'm not letting him.
Just as I thought I had seen it all, he does the most horrifying thing I've seen so far in this place. His dark eyes start to glow a light golden color and my jaw drops to the floor. "Nathaniel! Stop!" Eleanor's screaming voice invades the hard silence and out of nowhere she runs past me and Alister and pushes the man back into the dark hallway. Madeline rushes by us, following Eleanor down the hallway.
My forehead drops to Alister's shoulder and my eyes seal shut. I feel the small tear drops drip from the corners of my eyes but I don't care anymore – my heart is pumping so fast and my mind is racing in circles. What the hell just happened? No, better yet, where the hell am I?
//Alister//
I allow myself to sigh gently as I sat down on the edge of the bed. Julianne has been crying her eyes out for nearly half an hour. She's so torn up about doing what she did – but honestly right now I can't give any blame to her. She said she had been calling my name, and even attempted to summon Ryder but nothing worked. I guess I wasn't back when she started to call for any of us.
Madeline convinced her to put a new shirt on since her tears stained the one she was wearing. When she took her shirt off, Madeline saw a very big bruise on Julianne's shoulder. Her pale skin now has a blue and purplish, almost a hint of black in the middle, spot on it. Poor thing, she said it hurts so bad. She won't even let me look at it.
The door opens and Eleanor steps into the room. Julianne picks her head up off her hands and lets out a deep breath when she notices that it's Eleanor. "Hey sweetie. Feeling any better?" She asks her with the bag of ice in her hand.
Julianne gives her a shake of her head as Eleanor reaches her. "I got you some ice. It should ease the pain. You can sleep with it." Eleanor tells her with a gentle smile. I stand from the bed and pull the covers back. I give her a gesture to come lay down but she stands still in her place.
Julianne bites her lip hard as her eyes hit the floor. "Eleanor, can we have a minute?" I ask with a gulp as I start the distance to them. "Yeah, I'm about to go on to bed anyway. See you guys in the morning." She nods as she pecks Julianne's cheek before turning on her heel and walking towards the door.
I reach Julianne just as the door shuts gently. I reach out and grab her hand from her side. She flinches lightly as I get about an inch away from her. "Hey.. why are you acting so afraid of me, love?" I question as I give her hand a firm squeeze. She only shrugs her shoulders as her eyes glance up at mine, but they don't stay for long. "If you think I'm going to hurt you.. well, I'm not." I sigh out, not even sure what's suddenly gotten into her.
"Who.. who was.. th-that?" She asks in a mutter, her hand returning a grip. "That was Nathaniel. He's um.. he doesn't really prefer to.. socialize. And uh.. he got upset because.. you went against what we told you. I'm sorry, we're all sorry.. that he.. lashed out like that." I say as I pull her hand and lead her to the bed. Julianne releases my hand and climbs onto the mattress, sliding her legs under the cover.
I grab the hem of the blankets and pull them up to her chin. Her teary eyes lock with mine and she gives me a slight frown. "I wish I could say it won't happen again.. but I can't." I whisper softly as I lean down and press my lips against her forehead. She sighs gently as I lean up from her.
"Goodnight, get some sleep." I say as I leave her side and go over to the door. "Goodnight." She mumbles back. I look over my shoulder to see her getting situated, turning on her side not to face the door. She lays the bag of ice on her shoulder.
All I wish is to tell her, but I know I can't do that..