Chapter 6 Ch 6

The first thing Lee subjected me to was a shower. After leading me into one of the hotel rooms on the third floor, she ushered me into the bathroom with a towel.

"Scrub up!" she cheered. "I'll be out here when you finish."

I looked around the bathroom to take everything in. It was ornate with tan tiles and marbled glass for windows that, unfortunately, did not open. My first instinct was to leave, to escape what felt like prison, but I had to consider things seriously.

Lee didn't seem to have any interest in hurting me. I was assuming she was a werewolf because of how she hung around with Basileus and his Beta, but she didn't feel like a werewolf. She felt very human. Perhaps that was why I felt compelled to trust her.

So after much indecisiveness, I ultimately decided I should just go along with things until I had a good opportunity to do something. Something being either strangling Basileus—which seemed unlikely—or running. That didn't seem so likely either.

My soiled clothes dropped to the floor in a stiff mass. The stench of my unwashed body infiltrated my nostrils with shocking force. I lifted my head and caught my reflection in the mirror. Two weeks ago, my skin was a pale sheet of freckles and blotchiness. Now I was two shades darker—almost the color of my freckles themselves. I wished I could blame it on the sun, but I'd been hiding. It was all grime, sweat, and dead skin cells.

The urge to scrub me became overwhelming, so I stuffed myself into the shower and got to business. Two thorough washes of soap later made me feel somewhat decent again. Though I wanted to stay in the comfort of hot water, I got out and toweled off, running my hands through the knotty damp strands of hair. When was the last time I even brushed it?

I checked myself in the mirror again and felt my self-esteem go up a notch. There were my father's denim eyes I had missed so much. They didn't sparkle, but they no longer were hidden under my filth.

When I peeked into the bedroom, I found it empty. A set of clothes waited for me on the bed with a note. I dried off my hand on the towel before picking up the little square of hotel paper.

Went out to get food. Be back in a few, so don't run away please. -Lee

Damn. I crumpled up the note and tossed it in the waste bin by the desk. Then I shuffled over to the door to lock it. Regardless of who the hell it was, I didn't want anyone walking in on me naked. I tossed the towel before sliding on the sweatpants and baggy t-shirt. No panties or bra. After wearing the same clothes for so long, I was not about to complain.

Sighing, I plopped down onto the bed. The fatigue and stress of the day we're finally settling onto my shoulders. A nap sounded nice. As soon as my head hit the pillow, my stomach unleashed a very unladylike bellow.

I intended to ignore my stomach's complaints and take a cat nap but was interrupted by a knock at the door. At my reluctant silence, there was another knock. I huffed and got up to answer it. Lee stepped in with a worried look that faded when her eyes landed on me.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "I wasn't sure if you were . . ." Clearing her throat, she came into the room with a grocery bag hanging off her wrist. "Anyway, I found you some food. It's not much but we have someone working on a hot meal."

Cupping my hollow belly, I sat up in the bed and accepted the bag. She took the end of the mattress and watched me sift through my options. There was a shit ton of crackers, cookies, and one bag of veggie straws. I plucked out that bag and ripped it open.

"You like those, huh?" Lee asked.

"Hardly," I replied. "If I was picky about what I wanted to eat, I would be dead by now."

Her eyes widened. Way to have a conversation, Anna, I thought sarcastically. Good job, dumbass.

"There's something I think we need to talk about," she told me.

I felt the squeeze of discomfort in my chest. This sounded like the conversation my best friend from college gave me when she revealed her apparent distaste for my boyfriend at the time. Anytime someone prefaces a conversation that 'needs' to happen, it always ends up being a bad thing. From personal experience, at least.

Lee stared at me another moment before saying, "What do you think about Basileus?"

Swallowing awkwardly, I tried to think of all the ways to divert this conversation. Any response I gave would probably lead to the expedition of my impending death.

"I'm not expecting it to be good," she clarified. "I want your honest opinion on all of this."

"Why?"

Her face folded in a stern look. In those two seconds, it felt like I was sitting with my mother. My mother who had probably died along with everyone else.

"Answer the question, Anna. Please."

Lowering the bag of veggie straws into my lap, I pushed my damp hair from my face. "I think he's a genocidal tyrant. I hate him. In case you forgot, Peter took me under his wing to help him essentially kill Basileus. So my 'honest opinion' is that I would kill him if I thought I had the chance."

She didn't seem fazed by my outburst, which bothered me. My skin flushed with anger. I wanted her to feel the rage simmering in my cells, the rage I had to carry for every life lost.

"You have every right to feel that way," she said.

"Hell yeah, I do!"

The bag of fake health food went flying across the room, littering the bed and the floor in little green and yellow prisms. Lee remained seated calmly on the bed as I jumped to my feet. Everything came pouring out.

"He killed everyone I know and care about! You are no fucking different. No. Fucking. Different. All you beasts do is destroy and murder!"

I stood there, glaring down at her, while my chest rose and fell in chaotic pants. She wasn't yelling back. She wasn't trying to restrain me.

"I agree with you," Lee spoke.

My breath caught in surprise. That was when I realized I liked this girl. She was going to be my ally.

"Please, Anna, sit back down."

My legs carried me back to the bed, where I folded my long thick legs under me. I picked at the clean sheets with restless hands.

"Basileus has made mistakes." Her eyes twinkled green and earnest in the lamplight from the desk. There was something ethereal about her that I'd never noticed before. Maybe her honey blonde hair that fell all around her, uncontrolled and tangled, or the ruddy hue of her cheeks. "He set out to control the human population. His intentions were to take back a world that he believed had become ruined by human hands, and the only way to redeem the cycle of life was by destroying life. But he did not set out to kill everyone. What happened here...it was a mistake, Anna."

"What—what do you mean?"

Sucking down a deep breath, she looked away. Her face filled with anguish I hadn't expected. The following words from her tongue were warbled with emotion.

"I mean," she forced out, "you were not supposed to be left alone here, to hide out in fear of death."

Now we looked at one another. The air felt dense with grief. She could feel the burden I carried, and I admired her. The thousands butchered for their set of chromosomes weren't even her kind. Still, she understood.

"The local Alpha misinterpreted the orders. You weren't all supposed to die. Basileus ordered that criminals convicted of a certain penalty were to be destroyed and anyone in political power. Not everyone. Anna, do you understand me?"

I became mute. A blank stare.

Misinterpreted.

"My friend is an oracle," she whispered. "She says . . . she says this was not merely a mistake. Nature needed a survivor, and that was you. Anna, do you understand?"

Each syllable was a hollow echo. All I could see, hear, and feel were their deaths. Needless, hapless murder.

"You have been chosen."