I knew this was bad idea. This was the worst idea Arnold could’ve came up with. I thought he was smarter, but I guess the opportunity to step out of the House clouded his other way wise mind. I’m finally close enough to stairs to get downstairs, hopefully unnoticed by intruders. My leg hurts as hell, my head is not better, but I just need to get out. Just few more steps and I’ll be there, but no such luck for me today. Sharp pain runs through my spine and I finally feel no pain and no fear.

---

I roll out of my bed around twelve and I’m surprised. How did I manage to sleep that long! Maybe it has something to do with late night talks at bar. Anyways, this was the best sleep I’ve got in a long time. I already fell asleep at bar and when I finally got back to my room I passed out the moment I was done with my fight with blankets. These things just don’t want to cooperate.

Despite my amazing night’s sleep Arnold manages to ruin my day the moment my feet leaves the last step.

“Looks like someone slept well. You know you start your work tomorrow, right?” I just nod still feeling sleepy, “You start tomorrow at ten, your first will be Jake for an hour then at one you’ll have Pete and…”

“Okay, I don’t care who I have, but how many?”

“Four,” he reads from his journal.

“Great and at what time is the last one?”

“At 7pm, another hour.”

My day just couldn’t start any better. To keep that up I need to make my own breakfast, because our cook is sick and I’m late for breakfast anyway. But seriously, how do you make this thing! How! I’ve never done that, like ever! I stand in this empty kitchen and just stare at empty pans and bowls and some food, which by the way is not prepared for eating. I need to do that! In the end I end up with two sandwiches, little cut in my finger and a cup of tea. I hope it is tea not some flavoring. By the smell it seems to be a tea so let’s hope it is.

Following that, I need to clean my room. No one hasn’t been there in the past few weeks, besides me and Jack and believe me, I would lose all my clients, if I brought them to that room. Sheets are obviously dirty, dirty clothes are scattered around room, most of my clothes are dirty. I started to run out of clean shirts few days ago and I should’ve noticed by then that I need to do something, but the real problem I saw only this morning when I opened my drawer and find only one old, but thankfully, clean shirt. So I have a long day ahead and unfortunately without Jack. Not like he would've helped, but that would help emotionally, just knowing that he’ll come would help me. But no such luck for me today. Ha!

I finish my gorgeous breakfast at my room, cursing at myself for being so stupid to bring up a cup and a plate. I’ll need to bring back down and again I’ll be the one who will need to wash them, because probably I’ll be late again.

I start with changing dirty sheets, throwing them on floor to join my dirty clothes. I put on the clean ones and pick up all the dirty things from floor. I hate doing this. That’s why my room looks so bad, because I hate doing this. We should get a maid. Or I should get a maid. I need to suggest this to Arnold. Why can’t we have one? She don’t need to be here every day. Once in a week would be just fine for me.

When I’m finally done it’s almost seven and I’m already dreaming of my bed again. That doesn’t matter that I slept till twelve, I still need some sleep. After all I’ve done today it’s only normal, but I’m not ready to give up so easily. I will get some normal food today and to get it I need to be downstairs at 8pm and I will be there and I will get this food! How long do you want a grown man to survive with just two sandwiches and a cup of tea?

At 8:10 I’m sitting at the bar having little talk with some waitress and enjoying my first real meal today, which is way more better than my breakfast. For a moment I forget how shitty my day was, I don’t know if this has something to do because of the food or the company. I missed people while being up in my room all day. Like I’ve said before, it’s not good for me to be alone for too long. Different thoughts will interrupt my mind and I don’t like it.

“Hey, you’ll want something to drink too?” my favorite bartender comes up to us.

“No, thanks. I’m good.”

“Something is wrong with you, you used to come for a drink almost every night, but now… Who are you and what have you done to Alex?”

I can’t help, but laugh at his words,

“Why do you think there’s something wrong. Maybe, finally there’s nothing wrong?”

“Hmm, I haven’t thought about that,” He brushes his fingers over his chin, “Where’s Barakat? Haven’t seen him today.”

“He has a name and he have some family things to do with his father or something. I don’t know.”

Some man around his late forties comes to the counter to order some drink. I don’t like him, the way he stares at everyone, like a hungry wolf or something. I haven’t seen him here either, but this can’t mean anything. I haven’t spent my nights down here the past few weeks so a lot of things could’ve changed.

“I need to get this,” the bartender says, before turning around.

“Whatever, I’m leaving anyways,” I wave to the waitress I’ve been talking to previously and leave. I need to put my shirts back, some of them should be dry by now so I still have things to do. Only hope for me – it’s not going to take too much time. Most of them probably will still be wet.

And I’m right! Only two shirts are dry. But that’s a good thing, less job for me and it’s not like I’ll need some clothes tomorrow anyway. Oh god, I need to stop this. I’m getting old for this. Just few more years and I can move to live in the country.

As I put the second and the last shirt in the drawer I hear something that is not normal to be heard at this hour. Horses. They are not just neighing, that sounds more like screaming. I know horses don’t scream, but these panicked sounds coming from outside sounds just like that. Stable is on the other side of the House so I can’t see what’s happening from my window.

I practically run out of my room, across the hall and inside of Owen’s room.

“The fuck Alex?” I don’t blame him, my reaction would be the same if someone would run into my room like that.

“Don’t say that you can’t hear horses and that I’m crazy,” I walk across his room to window.

“Well, yeah I can hear them, but that…”

“Fuck,” whisper. I’m not capable of any other sound to come from me.

“What?” he walks over to the window to see what I’m looking at.

Whole stable is on fire, doors closed and most of the horses trapped inside, making these heart breaking sounds. Some of the horses that were lucky enough to still be outside are still here by house, pushing each other and trying to get away from fire, but not knowing where to go. And then there’s people, but even in the dark I can see that they’re not from the House. People from House would go to the stable and try and get horses out, but these are coming from the stable without any intention to get them out.

“Why’s no one going out there? They can’t just be left in there to burn,” I turn away from window ready to go out there, I believe my horse is in there too. No one lets him out besides me and I didn’t do that today so he must be still in there.

“Alex, don’t. Arnold is not an idiot, there’s the reason why no one is going out,” he says blankly.

“What do you mean?” I return to window able to see these people closer now, some of them are just few steps away from the doors, some of them are carrying something with them. Something distracts me from our guests, but I wish I hadn’t looked at it. Someone was stupid enough to run out of the House and the next thing is loud shot and he falls to the ground, dark bloods soaking his white shirt.

“Shit,” I don’t want to see who it is and now it is clear why Arnold hasn’t sent anyone out to save the horses.

“Don’t worry, he’s not from House. They shot their own guy.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter, sinking down to the ground and pulling my hair till the point it hurts.

“Alex, calm down. This won’t help.”

“The only way out is through the kitchen, right?” I try to speak, but my throat is dry.

“Yeah, if they don’t know about it, then this is our only way out now,” he answers quietly.

Suddenly I realize that the whole House is quiet, quieter than it was yesterday when there were just us. It sound like everyone would already be dead and it would be just me and Owen left in here. Stop it, Alex! Stop thinking too far! They’re still outside and all of our guys are still in here! Unless they’ve left through the kitchen.

“Come on, we need to get out,” I stand up and pull Owen. He tears his gaze away from the window and I see what I don’t want to see. He was the one to tell me ‘calm down’ and now I see fears in his eyes that is not what I need now. He looks deep in my eyes and, I guess, finds something that makes his fears to disappear. At least from his eyes. I feel his fingers trembling as he lets me to pull him out of his room.

Loud creaking noise echoes through the quiet house and then it is filled with voices and yells, bringing in sounds of still panicked horses. And then there’s two shots and two cut screams.

“No, no, no,” I stop just outside Owens room.

“You go in there, the rest goes upstairs! You three stay here, if someone tries to get out just shoot them,” some voice yells from downstairs.

I turn around to get back in Owen’s room, but he grabs me by my shoulders,

“Alex, we’ll be trapped in there!” he whispers, “There’s some tree close to your window?”

“What? Why do you…”

“We can’t get downstairs by using stairs if they’re standing there. Only way out is through the window.”

“You want to kill us? We’ll be dead by jumping out of the window!”

“I’m better dead because of jumping myself than letting them to shot me.”

“You’ve been in my room you know there’s no trees. Not so close anyway…”

Voices are coming closer and so are their steps on stairs and then there’s another loud bang from downstairs and I start to panic again, pushing Owen back in his room, but he’s stronger pushing me across the hall in my room. Another loud bang, louder than previous one and I feel like my stomach will climb out through my mouth followed by lungs and something else down there, but that’s before I see Owen.

I’ve been too busy looking around to see who they were shooting to actually see that. When I finally look at the place where Owen was standing I find nothing. My gaze falls down and my stomach does so many flips, that I need to puke. All my great dinner leaves me from the sight of Owen’s head. At least it used to be his head, now lying in the puddle of blood, brain and, as I assume, some parts of skull.

“Hey there pretty boy,” some voice purrs above me and I don’t even have a chance to look up as I feel his fist meeting my chin. Thank God, I was still coughing after puking, letting him get some of the vomit on his hand.

“Oh!!! Shit!!!! That is so gross!!”

If I wouldn’t be scared to death I’ll be smirking now, but not now. I take a chance to push him away and run out of my room, feeling warmth on my chin. Probably blood, but my adrenaline is too high and I can’t feel a thing.

Somehow it is hot here or maybe it’s because of my fear. I bump into someone and fall down, hitting my head on the floor.

“Oh shit, sorry, I…Alex? Come on, get up! You can’t stay here!” I look at the person who grabs my hand and pulls me up to my feet. Mark. I don’t know if I hate him right now or not. He’s here, which means he came with them, but he’s helping me, which means…

“What are you doing with him?”

“I was just…” he wasn’t ready for that and I wasn’t ready for that either as someone pulls me back by my hair and pushes me against the wall with so much force that it hits all of the air out of my lungs. I take a quick look at his face and that’s the man from the bar today. He was already here! I knew I didn’t like him.

His one hand keeps me by my neck pinned against the wall while other hits me in every place where he can reach. I feel blood running down my cheek and my chin, I feel my ribs aching and my stomach burning, I feel my legs getting weak and then he releases me, letting me hit the floor.

“I’m not a killer. Let’s hope someone else will find you and do the job,” he spits and leaves grabbing Mark by shoulder and pulling away.

I need to get away! I need to get out! I need to get some horse! Some of them must be still outside, I just need to get out! I push myself up. My ribs and stomach protests and my throat hurts, my legs still weak, but only way to survive is to get out. Come one, Alex! You lived on the streets for almost six months! You can do this!

It’s hot and I’m sure something somewhere is burning. I spot my neighbor running away from some guy, tripping after every few steps and then I see why he’s tripping. There’s a hole in his pants and I can see blood. Nothing more and nothing less. Just red. He locks his panicked eyes with mine before falling down for the last time. The guy who run after him laughs some maniacal laugh before grabbing him by his hair and slamming his head against the floor way too many times.

He don’t need to see me. He’s crazy! If he’ll see me, my head will be the next thing he will smash and I don’t want this! No one wants this! I would better volunteer to be shot! One bullet in your head and you’re done!

Someone bumps into me, but leaves me alone. Someone runs, but falls and someone hits and kicks. Someone has a knife and he stabs someone with a sick smile on his lips, leaving even more blood on the floor. Who will clean all this stuff? It’s so hard to clean blood stains and now there’s only blood on this floor. And someone will need to get out the dead bodies and clean everything after them. The ones who killed won’t do this, they’re here only to kill. Oh my God, Alex, seriously? You think about cleaning? Focus on the thing! You need to get out! Move!

I guess that’s what happens in situations like this, your brains just shuts down. They can’t take everything that’s happening so they think of something else, something better in this situation. It’s like they can’t focus on the thing anymore so they create another picture out of what they see. In this case – cleaning. My brain turns killing into cleaning. In some sick way it really is. They came here to get rid of us. They think that they’re cleaning society this way. Way to go Alex, you’re genius, but now Move!!!

Just screams and yells and some shooting and then it hurts like hell. It takes me few minutes to realize that the last bullet got me. It hurts and my pants start to stick to my leg. I don’t look down, I don’t want to see that. It’s enough for me to feel the pain and warm blood and know that someone shot me. Still, just one thought in my head – I need to get out! I need to get to the stairs and out!

They’re probably here because of the theater. It must be that. We haven’t done anything else but that. All the time they were just fine with us living here, but now so suddenly this! This must be because of theater.

I knew this was bad idea. This was the worst idea Arnold could’ve came up with. I thought he was smarter, but I guess the opportunity to step out of the House clouded his other way wise mind. I’m finally close enough to stairs to get downstairs, hopefully unnoticed by intruders. My leg hurts as hell, my head is not better, but I just need to get out. Just few more steps and I’ll be there, but no such luck for me today. Sharp pain runs through my spine and I finally feel no pain and no fear.

Notes

oh god, that was hard, but I hope it's good...well, as good as something like this can be ;D