Will raised his eyebrows and gave me a slight, mocking smile, as if he had anticipated my response. Then, suddenly more serious, he got up from the bed.
"He won't tell you anything." He paused, never taking his eyes off me. "The only person he sometimes reveals information to is Aditya, his best friend and protégé. He's also one of the elders. Simon trusts him; he would never betray his friend. But lately, he seems preoccupied, even though he's doing everything he can to hide it."
I frowned, trying to understand. I remembered Aditya. I had caught a glimpse of him on the day of the visit.
"You think that..." I began, not quite sure how to phrase my question.
Will seemed to understand immediately what I meant and interrupted me before I could finish.
"That Simon told him something disturbing? Something serious enough to upset him?" He nodded, a serious look on his face. "Yes, that's what we think. George is looking into it, and hopefully, we'll know more about this place tomorrow."
My heart raced at the thought that this possibility, however fragile, could be the key. If Simon and Aditya knew more, it could change a lot of things. But I couldn't allow myself to get too excited too quickly. Nothing here was simple.
''Could we find a way to escape?'' I asked, hope slowly returning to me.
Will seemed to think for a moment before answering. When he spoke, there was a mixture of uncertainty and enthusiasm in his voice. It was as if he knew he was giving me hope, but he had no choice but to entertain the idea.
"Yes, we could finally figure out how to get out of here." His smile widened slightly. "It's not just a matter of rushing in headfirst. It's a matter of knowing where to look and who to trust."
Those words resonated deeply with me. Maybe there was a way out after all. To get there, though, I would have to navigate a web of lies and manipulation. Above all, I would have to be careful who I trusted.
I wasn't alone in this quest, but I knew it would take more than a group of allies to survive. It would take more than luck. It would take a plan, a perfect plan.
Night slowly fell over the complex, its shadows spreading their ominous veil over every corner. The smell of food wafted through the corridors, and soon, hunger pulled us all down to the dining hall like a taut rope. The atmosphere was the same as in the morning: noisy and bustling. Laughter rang out and voices mingled in an almost familiar hubbub. But something bothered me: the absence of girls. This space was reserved for boys, and the homogeneity intrigued me more and more. Why? Was it because of our mental disorders? Or was it because we were all around the same age, a deliberate coincidence? What were they trying to accomplish by locking us up here? These questions swirled around in my mind, preventing me from fully concentrating on the present moment.
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Finn!" Simon motioned for me to join him at his table, a smirk on his face.
Intrigued, I got up and approached him. As I got closer, I noticed his tablemates were all staring at me, a mixture of curiosity and suspicion on their faces. It was as if my presence were a rare occurrence, an anomaly.
"I want to introduce you to my other friends," Simon said, gesturing toward me as if he were the master of ceremonies in a place he knew well.
"No need" I replied hesitantly, feeling a bit uncomfortable under the others gaze.
"Come on, don't be shy. They're nice." This is Aslan. He's on the same floor as me." Next to him is Nathaniel, Then there's Elio and Brendon. The youngest is..." Simon paused for a moment to give me time to adjust to the situation. However, one of the guys at the table stood up and interrupted him.
"My name is Aditya. Namaste!" He clasped his hands together in front of him, as if praying.
"Namaste!" I replied with a forced smile spreading across my face. This guy was weird, but in an almost charming way. So he was the Simon's best friend.
Aditya seemed delighted with my response and continued, undeterred by my embarrassment. "I arrived here almost two years ago. At first, it was really strange, but everyone here is nice. You end up adapting. If you want, we can be friends." There's an activity at the book club tomorrow. We could go together..." He punctuated his sentence with a bright smile, as if he had just made me the most tempting offer.
Nathaniel, who had been watching the scene with a disgusted look on his face, then intervened. His sharp voice cut through the air like a knife.
"Aditya, stop. You're going to annoy him. Sorry, he's a little too friendly..." He rolled his eyes as if Aditya's good humor were a nuisance.
I nodded, embarrassed by the exchange.
"I see..."
No sooner had I uttered those words than Nathaniel turned to me, his gaze suddenly turning icy. "Feel free to love or hate this place. I don't care. Personally, if I could kill myself to escape this hell, I would do so without hesitation."
A heavy silence fell over the table, sending a shiver down my spine. The others froze as if the tension had risen a notch. Simon, visibly annoyed, reacted immediately.
"Nathaniel, why did you say that?" His tone was sharp and disapproving.
Nathaniel shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, what? It's the truth." He stared at Nathaniel with cold harshness. "Not everyone wants to spend the rest of their life here, unlike you."
Simon challenged him with his gaze, a smirk stretching his lips. "Don't start," he muttered, clearly ready for a fight.
That's when Nathaniel turned his gaze to me, a dark gleam in his eyes. "You see, new guy, there's no freedom of speech here. We're forced to pretend that everything is fine and that we love this place."
Those words resonated within me like an unwanted warning. The place, the gods' rules, the residents... I still didn't understand any of it, but I was beginning to glimpse the extent of the trap we were all in.
The young boy with Afro-American features stood up abruptly, his expression tinged with frustration. Annoyed, he left the dining hall without looking back, his footsteps echoing loudly on the floor. Silence fell almost immediately after he left, as if the air itself had held its breath. Simon, visibly disappointed, stared at the spot where his friend had disappeared. He hadn't anticipated such a brutal reaction or the rejection of what seemed to be a simple exchange between friends. Disappointment was clear in his eyes, heavier than anger.
"Sorry, Simon. It's my fault!" Aditya apologized, his tone sincere but filled with regret. He seemed uncomfortable, as if an invisible weight were on his shoulders.
Simon shook his head, dispelling the tension building around them. "Forget it. It's nothing. It's not your fault, Aditya." He tried to lighten the mood, but his gaze betrayed his silent discontent.
Aslan, calmer than the others, stood up. "I'll go see how he's doing," he said, taking one last look at Simon. "See you later, Finn!" "
"Okay" I replied, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of the situation.
But then a sharp voice rang out from across the table. "No doubt about it. He's one of those weirdos from the restricted floors," Elio commented cynically, his voice full of contempt.
Simon turned to him immediately, annoyed. "Elio, don't start now"
"What ? It's true. You moved him to another floor, and now you see how his presence, ruining the mood." Elio retorted, the mockery in his voice obvious. Eager to add fuel to the fire, sneered, "He's a fucking murderer."
A burst of laughter from their table made me shudder. I remained motionless, trying to contain my rising anger.
Elio, as sharp as ever, continued, "I feel like I'm talking to a psychopath."
Their laughter rang out like nagging mockery. Simon, clearly at the end of his rope, couldn't take it anymore.
"Stop it; it's not funny" he growled, his eyes flashing with anger at his companions. "Sorry, they didn't mean to be mean." His words sounded like a feeble warning, but he knew the tension wouldn't ease so easily."
"I don't give a fuck. You and I are going to have a discussion about this floor change. Don't think I didn't hear what that motherfucker said" I replied.
Without waiting, I got up and returned to my table. My stomach was in knots and I was far too upset to continue eating. My hands shook slightly, but I tried to hide the overwhelming confusion I felt.
Will and George soon joined me, looking visibly concerned. They watched me, searching for clues about my state of mind. "So, what happened?" Will asked, scrutinizing my face.
I briefly explained the details of the conversation, as well as the insults hidden under the guise of humor and Simon's revelation about the floor change he had made without my knowledge.
Without saying another word, we finished our meal in relative silence before heading up to our dorm rooms. Tension lingered in the hallway. I couldn't shake the feeling that things had just taken a new turn compared to the floor swap. Why? Which floor had I actually been assigned to?
Once I arrived at my dorm, I grabbed a towel and headed to the showers. The hot water running over my skin brought me a sense of temporary relief. My thoughts were elsewhere. I closed my eyes under the stream of water but couldn't shake the bloody image haunting my mind. The water sliding over my skin seemed to turn red, as if stained with my family's blood. It wasn't a regretful memory, but a brutal reminder of my actions.
I had believed myself to be free after committing this act. I thought that by killing them, I would escape this suffering, this prison. But no. I found myself still here, in this building, struggling against something I couldn't understand. This wasn't the first time I had felt this rage, but today it seemed deeper and more intense. I didn't know who was responsible for my imprisonment, but I knew one thing: I would escape this place, no matter the cost. I would find those who had deprived me of my freedom, whether they were men or gods. I would bury them alive, even if they were beyond human comprehension. Nothing and no one would hold me back.
I left the showers, my gaze dark and determined, ready to understand why I was here and put an end to this hellish cycle. The rules, the residents, the threats—none of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was getting out.
My back was still wet from the shower when I stepped out of the bathroom. As soon as I entered my room, I saw the boys gathered there, looking serious as if they were waiting for me. George seemed particularly tense. I was already dressed in my new uniform and continued to dry my hair as I approached them, feeling a little hesitant because I didn't know what to expect.
"What's going on?" I asked, looking at their closed faces.
"Sit down. We need to talk," Will said calmly but authoritatively.
I sensed a heaviness in the air, a growing tension that I didn't yet understand.
"Is everything okay?"
Will hesitated for a moment, glancing furtively at George, whose fists were clenched. Then, in a less confident tone, he replied, "Well..."
Will sighed deeply. "Jacob saw the information in the QR code on your bracelet when Yuxuan scanned it. He works with Yuxuan in the distribution department, supplying uniforms to residents."
I was beginning to see where he was going with this, but I still didn't understand.
"Okay, so?" I replied, feeling the tension rise.
"Earlier, you told us that Simon seemed to have deliberately moved you to another floor for an unknown reason," Will continued, giving me a meaningful look. "Well, now we know why."
I was shocked, but I still wasn't sure what it meant. I stared at my wrists for a moment, my mind racing.
"What's the problem?" I asked. But a seed of doubt had begun to grow inside me.
On the verge of exploding, George spoke in a sharper tone.
"I should have suspected something. Simon planned everything. He probably wanted us to get close to you and reveal all our plan !"
I felt the room closing in around me.
"Don't jump to conclusions!" Will interjected more firmly this time.
But George wouldn't let up. "Come on, it's obvious that Simon wanted to use him to get to us!"
Will shook his head, clearly annoyed by the thought.
"Although we don't share the same ideals, I find it hard to believe that Simon is a manipulator. So stop badmouthing him."
George sighed irritably but didn't respond right away. The silence lingered, heavy with implication. Finally, he exclaimed.
"Whatever! Tell him that from now on, we have nothing to do with him!" His eyes flashed with anger.
Disgust washed over me.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" I replied, feeling my fists clench. I wasn't about to let myself be treated like this for no reason.
"There's no way I'm spending another night on the same floor as a freak !" George yelled, as if in response to my retort.
I didn't know what to say.
"Don't be ridiculous. We hang out with Hugo and Yuxuan all the time, and you never say anything like that."
"You have no idea how scared the others and I are of Yuxuan! We don't know when he might snap and turn on us!" George scoffed and shook his head. "As for Hugo, we're only using him to escape," he spat. His gaze hardened. We do everything he wants because we think he can find a way out of here. But that's not the case with Yuxuan or Finn. Rats like them belong in the attic."
At those words, I had a sudden flashback. I saw myself again: miserable and lying on an old bed in a filthy, stinking attic, dressed in rags. The memory overwhelmed me, and I took a step toward George, ready to hurt him. But the thought of bloodlust disturbed me. Panic instantly consumed me. Like a tornado, I rushed to the wardrobe, grabbed my clothes, and returned to the bathroom. I got dressed in a frenzy and left the room.
Will followed me down the hallway, but I paid no attention to him. I rushed straight to the elevator, not knowing where to go. I stood frozen, my clothes clutched tightly against me. Will got in, too, and pressed the button to close the doors.
Finally, Will broke the silence, his voice soft but firm.
"Listen, if you want my help, you have to be honest with me. Why are you really here?"
I held his gaze, searching for a hint of judgment or fear but finding only sincerity. So, reluctantly, I let the truth out.
"I slaughtered my family. I killed them all."
Will didn't back down, but his expression hardened slightly.
"Did you enjoy doing that?"
"...Just relief."
"What happened to you?"
At first hesitant, I finally opened up, unable to bear the flood of emotions overwhelming me any longer.
"I'm an unwanted child, a miserable child. The one everyone wanted dead. I was the child who was left out, neglected, and despised. I was born to be hated, as if my life were a curse."
"Don't say that. Your life is far from a curse. Please don't ever say that again."
"And yet it's true. My father never wanted me. To him, I was just a burden, a constant source of shame. He couldn't bear the idea of fathering a child he considered defective and incapable of feeling or expressing emotion. In his eyes, I was a mistake, an anomaly. He made it clear every day that I should never have existed. Yet despite his disgust, he had no choice but to tolerate me. But tolerating does not mean loving. I had no way of forcing him to love and accept me other than through the hatred he already felt toward me. My mother did nothing to counterbalance this hostility. She chose to share his contempt, condemning me for a disability I wasn't even aware of at the time."
"I'm so sorry."
"I didn't smile. I didn't laugh. I didn't cry. Nothing seemed to affect me. I was incapable of feeling sadness, joy, fear, or disgust. I was never surprised or shocked. I lived in a state of complete emotional emptiness. They interpreted that emptiness as proof that I wasn't human. Agent Evans was the only one who loved me. He said that I reminded him of his son, who died in a car accident. He promised he would always be there for me. I've held on all these years thanks to him. I owe him my life."
"Finn..." he whispered sadly, his voice breaking.
"That day was just an excuse. I had already been thinking about hurting them for all the suffering they had caused me, but I backed down every time. Not this time. Even after killing my father, I still wasn't at peace. I still didn't feel free. So I killed my mother, then my brothers and sisters. Once it was over, I felt relieved and light as if chains had fallen away. I was finally free."
We stood there face-to-face in silence until he suddenly embraced me and burst into tears. I remained stoic and impassive.
"You didn't feel any pleasure in killing them. You became what you are because of the environment of suffering in which you grew up. They treated you like a monster, and you became one. You are partially sociopathic. You are a resident of the restricted floors."