He looked at her with new light.
"You really love 'em?" He said almost more to himself than to her.
"Yeah. They're the only family I have." She gave a quiet answer.
"I never really had family. I was always alone since I can remember," he began and she smirked again. Her plan had worked,he was opening up.
"Being a street urchin came with a lot of setbacks,one of 'em being alone. No one really wants to associate with someone like me." He added sourly.
She pilled herself of the bed and down to where he lay. She sat on the cold floor beside his bed.
"That seems really tough." She finally speculated after settling down. Her body didn't hurt as much as it did.
"It is, but you gotta survive..." He purposely left it hanging not wanting to talk to more about it.
"How long have you been here?" She changed the topic after getting the hint that he didn't want to keep talking about it.
"This should be my second day." He answered honestly.
"Was your blood taken too?"
"Yeah. It was not pleasant." He stated angrily." But the food's good."
"You had food? How lucky!" She wondered childishly.
He couldn't help but smile. She looked so adorable as her eyes sparkled on hearing food.
"Yeah. We had all kinds of food. You were allowed to eat until you were completely stuffed." He teased slyly.
"Really? At what time do eat?" She inquired.
"I'm not sure."
"Well, it's still very early so It can't be any time soon." She concluded.
"How sure are you that it's morning? The lights are always on." He wondered curiously.
" I have an in built clock up here. I ca tell what time it is,or at least make an almost accurate approximation." She explained tapping her head gently.
" If you say so." Greg agreed.
" Now that we're officially introduced to each other, do you even have an idea what they want to do to us?" She asked seriously.
He didn't quite understand why she added the first statement. It didn't make any proper sense to put it there. But he still answered.
" I don't know what they're planning but I did overhear some of the men saying they need to finish everything before the full moon." He whispered not wanting anyone else to hear him. The walls did have ears after all.
But what does the moon have to do with anything.
" That means everything should be done by tomorrow." She stated worriedly.
She knew the blood moon was only two days away. She loved the sky and all it held. Happy birthday to me. She retorted sarcastically in here mind.
Greg brought in a different topic after observing how tense she had become. They chatted for a while and Devon looked at the dark eyed, brown haired guy with a new fondness. He was funny and optimistic even though things could go absolutely wrong in a second. He was a great person to have around.
Her sisters finally awoke and were greeted by a big warm hug from their older sister. She introduced them to Greg and the two were delighted to find they had a nice roommate. Maddie was particularly pleased by Greg. It was long since she'd seen her older sister interacting with anyone,ever since Miles disappeared. This was good for her.
Two hours passed and a line of men marched in hushing their stories. The cells were opened and all those who were asleep were awakened. They had chains and handcuffs with them. Annah instantly felt petrified. To her the men looked scary and they wanted to harm them.
Devon stood and the others followed her lead. She now saw that Greg was just around her height. She turned to them and she could see the palpable fear they radiated.
"Everything is going to be okay. I need you to be strong for me." She comforted.
This seemed to make Greg a bit relaxed too.
"We're family,we will overcome this." She turned to Greg." That includes you too."
He was instantly taken aback. He didn't expect to be regarded, let alone as family. He looked at them and saw their honest smiles. They were really serious. Who in their right senses think of someone they just met as family, let alone someone like me.
"Are you okay? I'm not part of your family." He objected angrily. He felt as if he was being mocked. Why are they so insensitive.
She just smirked. That cursed smirk of hers.
"We don't have to be blood related to be family. We live together in one cell,we have no grudge against each other,we get along just fine and I honestly wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to you. So in a twisted kind of sense,we are family." She paused before touching his shoulder.
She brought her face closer to his.
" And if you think for one second that we don't care about you,or that you're going to give up. I'm gonna break all the bones in your body. Understand."
Her deep blue eyes were cold as ice. He had met really bad people in his time, that was for sure, but none of them had that look in their eyes. It didn't spell death or suffering just shear disappointment if not obeyed. That was the worst thing he could possibly experience. Disappointing the one person who seemed to treat him humanely.
"Yes ma'am." He joked trying to push back tears.
The men stood in front of the cells and handcuffed everyone. The handcuffs were chained together. The four didn't resist, there was simply no point. Greg was first,then Maddie, followed by Devon and then lastly Annah.
They were dragged out of the cells and led up a flight of stairs to the next floor. Some fell from the strain they were putting on their bodies, others from severe exhaustion. An average human has six litres of blood and they had drained almost an entire litre or less. They hadn't had anything to eat to replenish the lost blood but they still had them walk.
The men lifted those who fell back to their feet, letting them rest for a second or two before continuing. It wasn't that there were a lot of stairs, there were just too many tired kids being forced to move against gravity.