Not Freaking Out Who: Lennon and Kiley Where: the theater, third floor When: afternoon
Lennon had thought about going to explore in town, but to be honest, he wasn’t feeling up to the walk. Tons better than the day before, but he didn’t really have his usual energy back yet. So he was currently doing some more exploring of the house, which he hadn’t done on his way downstairs earlier because he’d been set on getting to the kitchen and finding some food. Really, he was aware that he should be more concerned about whatever was going on here and how he’d come to be abducted and brought to this strange place with a random bunch of people, but he didn’t have what it took today. So he had decided to be his snarky,witty self and pretend he was off for an exotic weekend someplace. With a handy dandy ID bracelet with a weird number on it. Whatever.
Lennon was in the theater across the hall from his bedroom, his flip flops kicked off against one of the walls, standing in his bare feet and drooling over the enormous, massive selection of DVDs. There was every obscure movie he’d ever heard of and a ton he hadn’t. Suddenly the thought of picking something out and curling up on one of the couch seats seemed very appealing.
After breakfast, Kiley found herself wandering the mansion. She wasn't the only one. There was a lot to see, it seemed like. And it appeared as though whoever had abducted them wanted to make sure they didn't get bored. Still, she had to wonder how long it would be before they all started really freaking out. Not only at their abductors, but each other. The house was large, sure, but not so much when you're in a stressful situation with a bunch of strangers, right?
At some point, Kiley found her way to a room that, once she stepped inside, looked like a home theater. Something only super rich people could afford. Kind of like the rest of the house. Kiley hadn't taken more than two steps inside when she spotted the guy. He was looking over the enormous collection of movies. Kiley approached, not at all turned off by someone having already been in the room.
"I guess they want to make sure we're entertained before they kill us off, one by one, right? I think there was a horror movie or two that started out like this, right?"
Lennon turned his head and gave the girl a mischievous smile, pleased to have company. He knew there were people here, because he’d talked to them on the network, but this was only his second face to face meeting with anyone. “A lot of horror movies start out like that, yeah,” he said affably. “Or you touch a cursed heirloom and doom descends. We might have to worry about that in this place. Or you go outside to investigate a strange noise… by yourself.” His eyebrows lifted. “Talk about stupid. Or anybody who fucks someone else is bound to die. Ooooh, Paranormal Activity.” He grabbed the DVD case and waved it around. “Do you like horror movies?”
“So I can’t touch anything, or go outside alone, or fuck anyone. This vacation is going to be hella boring,” Kiley said, walking over to stand in front of the movie collection. There were so many, and of every genre. Placing her hands on her hips, she studied some of the titles, many of which she had never seen, or even heard of. Glancing at the boy, Kiley arched a dark brow, her smirk deepening. “We’re in a huge mansion with a ton of rooms and places to explore, and you want to watch a movie? Well, at least you’re not freaking out like some people. I kind of feel like I should be freaking out too, but then I think that’s what they want us to do.” Kiley looked up, scanning the ceiling and corners of the room for more cameras.
“I’m not gonna be able to keep to all those myself, if we’re here long enough,” Lennon admitted. He wasn’t that great at resisting temptation in the best of circumstances. After flipping the DVD from hand to hand, he put it back in its slot on the shelf. “I’ve explored some already,” he pointed out. “I’m tired. Did you know heavy fucking tranq like what they gave us in those IVs makes some people sick as death? I’m here to tell you that’s a thing.” He watched her as she looked around for cameras, wondering if he’d suddenly start freaking out soon. He wasn’t feeling it right now, but who knew? “Nothing I can do about any of this, so why freak out? I’m Lennon, by the way.”
If they were here long enough. What an ominous, yet intriguing thought. It was their second day and no one had any idea what they were doing there. Nothing had happened so far but for a message on a computer. What would happen tomorrow? Or the day after? Was it all downhill from here? “Kiley,” she replied. Lennon. She was quickly memorizing people’s names to their faces, which was kind of odd as it usually took her awhile to remember people. But these were a different set of circumstances, right? “The message on the computer today said escape was impossible. Just the way it was worded sort of freaks me out. Like, imagine it in a deep, scary voice.” A voice in which she immediately attempted. “Escape is impossible.” Kiley shook her head. “It’s going to be like, The Hunger Games in here, just wait. Do you think if we do something boringly normal like watching a movie, they’ll leave us alone and pick on the others?”
Lennon had felt too terrible yesterday to even worry about how he’d come to be here, but he was thinking about it today. In a club, on the way to the bathroom, of all damn things, and bam. Complete nothingness. How had somebody gotten him out of a place as big and crowded as the Boom Boom Room without causing a scene? Nobody in the entire place had noticed that shit? And yeah, it was freaky to find a message like that to read first thing. He grinned at her dramatic interpretation of the message. “I guess if we see somebody shaggin’ their asses around with bows and arrows we better be worried,” he said. Stretching to reach, he pulled another couple of DVD cases off an upper shelf and then turned to glance at her. “Maybe we’ll be seen as well-behaved and they’ll cut us a break or two,” he suggested. Nobody he knew had ever viewed him in that light, but there was a first time for everything.
"Or they'll think we're not freaking out enough and torture us first," Kiley said. "But hey, it's either chill out for awhile or totally panic and go nuts here." Honestly, she was panicking. She was just doing a good job at hiding it. A part of Kiley was sure she would wake up and find this had all been a dream. It just hadn't happened yet. "So what are we going to watch then?" She had a feeling it would be more like background noise. She was curious about the people she was stuck with. It all seemed so random to her, so maybe one of them had a clue as to what was going on and they just weren't telling.
Hopefully she wasn’t serious about the notion of being tortured. Maybe she had the same kind of snarky sense of humor he did; that would be fun. Lennon glanced at the DVDs he’d pulled down, as if weighing them somehow, then stuck one back on the shelf and brandished the other one. “The original Halloween,” he declared. “Ch-ch-ch-ahh-ahh-ahh.” He waggled his eyebrows. “It’ll take our minds off things. If you get scared later you can come sleep in my bed.” He didn’t wait for her approval or disapproval but took off to handle putting the DVD in, finding a remote and dimming the lights. The way he watched movies was to talk right through them, so he wouldn’t be bothered by conversation at all.
Kiley wasn't completely serious about being tortured. But she still thought it was totally a possibility, considering the circumstances. There was just no way to look at what was happening and believe anything good could come of it. However, she couldn't help be amused by Lennon's thought that a slasher flick would take their minds off of their own scary situation. It was the kind of morbid humor she could appreciate. His comment about sleeping in his bed prompted Kiley to raise a brow as she followed him over to one of the soft theater chairs lined up in front of the large screen. "I don't know. Your bed may be scarier than the movie," she said, flopping down to get comfortable. "I should be totally running for the hills and screaming right now. But I'm watching a movie. I wonder if they gave us mind altering drugs when they knocked us out."
Lennon snorted laughter at Kiley’s remark. “Well, I dunno,” he drawled, settling himself on the chair next to her. “Guess that depends on what kinda stuff scares you, little lady.” He got comfortable, curling up and squirming around until the soft seat and cushions felt just right, then punched the button to start the DVD. He propped his head on one hand as he sat half-turned facing her. “Now that’s something I didn’t think of,” he mused. “Just the knockout stuff was bad enough. Even drinkin’ ‘til my face nearly falls off doesn’t do that to me.” What had happened to all of them aside, it wasn’t that bad in here. Maybe they were being lulled into complacency, into a trap, whatever, but he didn’t care right then.
“I’m pretty much unscareable,” Kiley boasted, even though that was a total lie. “That was like, a tranquilizer they gave us. Probably enough to knock out horses. I was taken on the thirteenth, but someone else said it was sixteenth. I still don’t even know what day it is today.” She stuck out her tongue briefly. “This place is so nice, and there’s stuff to do, and things to eat. A freaking heated pool? Just wait. This will get bad super fast.” She was speaking as though her words weren’t ominous, but the meaning was there. She was sort of thinking the creepers that were watching them wanted to see them panicked and crying, and she refused to give them the satisfaction.
“Last day I remember was the nineteenth… I think. It was like 2 a.m. on a Saturday morning,” Lennon said. “I don’t know how much time passed between then and when I woke up.” If he allowed himself to think about it, that was the part that would frighten him a little, the notion that someone could take him and keep him under for an undetermined amount of time. Nope, that didn’t sit well at all. He lowered his voice slightly without realizing he was doing it as he said, “Yeah, it’s nice, but I’d sure be able to get behind a toothbrush and a change of clothes, you know? If I get a million cavities, I’m suing someone.” He wondered what Kiley was expecting when she said it would get bad here. Torture, like she’d joked about earlier?
"So, what, that's like... six days difference," Kiley said with a frown. Had she been knocked out for that long? Longer, even, depending on the day today. Kiley was chewing on her lip when Lennon spoke and she looked at him, her frown easing away into a slight grin. "Oh yeah, we're all going to need some clothes soon, huh. And definitely toothbrushes. Do they really want to foul up this nice place with our stink? Besides, I really doubt you'd need cavities to sue whoever did this. This is like, human rights violations!" Kiley looked up at the camera in the corner of the ceiling. "You know that? Human rights! That shit is serious!" Huffing out a breath, Kiley looked at Lennon again. "So yeah, no bed sharing until we get some basic oral hygiene supplies, no matter how scary this movie is."
“There must be somewhere to wash clothes,” Lennon said. “But I don’t wanna go around every day looking like I’m about to be up in the club, right?” The jeans alone would cut off his circulation if he had to wear them every day without a break. In front of them the DVD played, but it was more an ambience thing; he’d seen it a million times anyway. Most of the fun of watching a movie with someone else was the conversations, in his opinion. He smirked as Kiley talked to the camera and then nodded to the bit about oral hygiene. “Agreed,” he said. “Hey, I wonder if there’s some baking soda in the kitchen somewhere? You can brush your teeth with that. I’ve done it with soda and a finger when I was at someone’s house and didn’t have my toothbrush.” It beat nothing, for damn sure.
Kiley laughed. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe that's their brand of torture. They're going to make you live in ridiculously tight jeans for the rest of your life. I would think that you'd want to wear clothes that are easier to take off when you hit the clubs, in case of random hook ups." The thought of brushing her teeth with baking soda had Kiley wrinkling her nose. "I guess it couldn't hurt to look. Maybe you've just outwitted them there." She eyed him curiously. "How old are you, anyway? And who told you that jersey was a good idea?"
“I just wanted to dance,” Lennon said of his jeans selection. “It’s fun to have a bunch of people looking at your ass.” He was fairly free and easy with himself, but a lot of the patrons who hit Coco’s weren’t anyone he’d want to fuck without double-bagging or even blow without a condom handy. He watched her right back, not breaking eye contact, liking her curiosity. To him that was a good trait in a person. “Twenty-three,” he said. “And nobody did. I just like it for club nights.” He hadn’t been trying for a high fashion look, more a hot, slightly seedy one. “How old are you?” He figured he could ask because she had.
Raising a brow, Kiley found herself amused. Did guys really like going to club in tight jeans to have their asses ogled? Maybe he was gay. “I’m twenty four,” she said. “I guess you’ll be able to show off your ass here for awhile, if you’re stuck with those things.” She motioned to the jeans. “Maybe they have clothes in town or something. So you were at a club when they took you? That seems weird. Weren’t you surrounded by a ton of people?”
Lennon classified himself as ‘experimental’. He could have fun with a girl or a guy but wasn’t that sure which he liked best, or if he did. That was fine with him, really. “Somehow I don’t imagine people here will be thinkin’ about my ass, with everything else going on.” Not like they were playing Temptation Island or anything. “Well, yeah, I was,” he said of being surrounded by people. “Just not right at that second. I was walking down the hall to the bathroom, and there wasn’t anyone else there. It was almost closing time, and about half the people who were there had left already, I guess.” He pulled his arm down and pillowed his head on the back of his seat. “Where were you?”
She nearly laughed, but merely smiled. Yeah, scary circumstances did not make for a horny bunch of people, so she could agree with him there. Kiley had noted how attractive some of the people in the house were, but her thoughts hadn't drifted beyond that. She sort of felt like sex had gotten her here in the first place. If she hadn't gone off with Trevor, she would still be home in Chicago, and probably safe. Kiley glanced at the movie playing, but didn't give it much mind. It was nothing but background noise in that moment. "I was in Missouri at a bus station trying to get home. My uncle was supposed to call and buy me a new pass. I went outside to have a smoke and that's all I remember. It was late too, but there were people in the station, you know? I don't know if anyone saw what happened or not."
“The whole abduction thing was so like a horror movie,” Lennon remarked. “We went off by ourselves for a hot minute and got picked off.” It was freaking weird, he thought. How had whomever had taken them chosen just that moment? At any given second someone else could have walked into view and seen it all. “I dunno if anyone saw me get taken either. It was just that fast.” He snapped his fingers as if to illustrate how fast it had been. Another thought hit him, and he chewed at his lip briefly. “Wonder if they’d do something to anyone who saw?” Anyone who would go around kidnapping people would do just about anything, was his opinion.
"I don't know." Kiley shrugged. "But some people here have families and stuff who will notice they're gone. So..." Whether or not that meant anything, she didn't know. Maybe these people hurt their families. Maybe they've covered it up really well. Maybe there will be like, twenty something new missing people cases popping up across the country. Or world, she thought, thinking of Reginald. "Do you?" she asked, glancing at Lennon. "Have family? Do you think they'll look for you?"
“Yeah, I’ve got family,” Lennon said. “Mom and dad, siblings. But I have an apartment with a couple of friends, so it’ll take at least a few days before people really notice.” Because a lot of adult children didn’t talk to their families every day. Lennon’s average was a couple times a week, but sometimes if he got busy, it might be longer than that. “When I didn’t meet up with my roomies at the end of the night, they woulda thought I went home with someone. If they don’t see me at all for like, three days, they’ll check with the fam and it’ll go from there, I guess.” He hated the thought of his adoptive family thinking something had happened to him, but he didn’t suppose there was any help for it. “Will your uncle look for you?” he asked her.
"Yeah. I mean, maybe." Kiley shrugged. "If I don't get off the bus, he may just assume I hooked back up with Trevor and took off again. So it may take him awhile of not hearing from me, you know? Maybe I'll be home again by then. Or dead, whichever. I feel a little bit better knowing I'm not the only one here, though. It would have been worse waking up totally alone. Is it weird that I'm morbidly curious about what we're doing here? I don't think it's a good reason, but I kind of hope we get some answers soon, even if they're vague and creepy."
Lennon was assuming that Trevor must have been her boyfriend, but he didn’t ask questions about that. Sometimes relationships were sore subjects, and even he was able to keep his big mouth shut once in a while. Occasionally. He also didn’t comment on the possibility of ending up dead, which he knew could happen. He didn’t want to get one of his anxiety reactions right now, not in front of someone else. “Yeah,” he said, nodding once. “I don’t think somebody decided to be our fairy godmothers and take us away from our lives to spoil us here. If they did they would’ve at least have given us a damn toothbrush.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted answers or not, but what he-- or any of them-- wanted probably didn’t matter.
“Baking soda and your finger, remember?” Kiley laughed lightly. “We’re like… pilgrims. Except in a freaking mansion with a heated pool. Your fairy godmother would have at least given you some other clothes to wear too. Honestly, they’re probably going to mess with us. I mean, locking our doors until we figure out to post something on the computer? That’s super fucked up. Like, what if I couldn’t read or something? I’d still be in there, wasting away. None of us are prepared for this at all. “ Kiley paused and groaned. “This is cheery conversation, isn’t it?”
“And no turkey, unless there’s one in a freezer somewhere.” Lennon was the king of random conversations. He loved them, and it was nice to know that at least one other person here didn’t mind rambling about everything and nothing. He sighed at what she said next. “Course they’re gonna mess with us. It’d be stupid to think anything else.” One side of his mouth turned up in a half smile. “If you couldn’t read, you’d have to pick one corner to use as your bathroom because they’d never let you out, I guess.” It was ridiculous, all of it, and Lennon had to tell himself to act like it was all a joke, some new fun thing the world had come up with to throw at him, or he might actually freak out.
“Yeah, it really is,” he said to the turn of the conversation. “Let’s talk about something else.”
It was rather random, and that was okay. Kiley figured it was better than thinking about what was going on, or what would happen to her. She shrugged when he suggested talking about something else. Her eyes stayed on the movie for a few, quiet moments before she glanced at him. "What did you do? I mean, what do you do? Like, for a living. Did you have a job?" That was another question Kiley had. She had been unemployed, but what about the people here with legit jobs? Would they get fired? Would their co-workers care enough to check in on them and find them missing?
Lennon had glanced at the screen as well, but he turned back to Kiley when she spoke again. “I was between jobs,” he said. “Professional slacker, at your service. I’ve been a waiter, a cashier, a bank teller, a file clerk. You name it.” It wasn’t that impressive, but luckily for Lennon he never cared about shit like that. He liked to think he had other ways of winning people over than what he did for a living. “I was thinkin’ about training to be a bartender, then this happened.” He’d had a college education, but he didn’t usually let that factor in to his career choices. Lennon did his thing. “How ‘bout you?” he asked.
Her brow raised and Kiley smirked softly as he listed off his various jobs. That sounded a little familiar, didn't it? At least she wasn't the only one here without steady employment. "Well, there's a bar here," she pointed out. "You have plenty of time to practice now, huh? My uncle owns a bar in Chicago, so I worked for him off and on. I had quit to take a trip with my boyfriend when all this happened. Honestly, I don't really know what kind of job I want, so... I guess you could say I'm a slacker too? Doesn't sound like we'll be very useful here."
“I sat at that damn bar yesterday and didn’t even think to check out the booze,” Lennon said. “Wonder if it’s poisoned?” That was probably ridiculous, because thus far he hadn’t heard about anyone being poisoned from the other food and drinks available. He brightened when she said she’d worked at a bar before. “Hey, maybe you can teach me a few things. You know, if you wanted. Could be fun.” It was a normal sort of thing to do, and he thought they might be in need of those if they were here too much longer. He snorted at her assessment of their usefulness. “I don’t think people are more or less useful because of what kind of job they have. Unless maybe they’re a brain surgeon or something.”
Kiley had wondered the same thing about the alcohol, but she felt as if she were safe, as she didn't drink anyway. Let someone else find out. "I'm not a bartender," she warned him, "but I grew up watching my uncle serve people, so I could show you a few things, yeah. If that's something you really want to do. And we get super bored here. And I think people are useful based on their skills, at least. I don't have many of those. Sounds like you do, though." It might not matter at all, in the end. But it would probably help to have some people in this house who know how to do stuff. Like, a doctor, or plumber or some super genius.
“Yeah, it’d be cool,” Lennon said. “I like hanging out with you.” He was all about making friends in this place, whatever it was. For obvious reasons as well as the possibility that he could end up needing allies. They all might. He snickered when she said people were useful based on their skills and, in a deadpan voice, launched into, “Skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls only like guys who have great skills.” Thank you, Napoleon Dynamite. One of the dumbest movies in existence but he still loved it.
Grinning, Kiley found the distraction here nice. They would part ways eventually and she would start freaking out again, no doubt, so she wasn't going to feel bad about ignoring reality for a few moments. "Yeah, I am pretty awesome. You got lucky that I found you in here." She shook her head and stretched her legs out in front of her. "I have no idea what movie you just quoted, but it was funny, so I'll let it go." Kiley sighed, her eyes back on the movie. "Do you think they abducted any serial killers? Maybe this is one big game of real life Clue."
“Napoleon Dynamite!” Lennon exclaimed. “We’ll watch it sometime. It’s hysterical.” He shifted his position as well, stretching as he did and then settling back into the cushions. Talking about serial killers made this seem like a movie, not quite real… although she had a point. There could be serial killers here. “Maybe they are serial killers on a larger scale,” he said. “Talk about cheery conversation.”
Despite the topic of conversation, Kiley burst into laughter. "I guess it's too hard to get away from the morbid, considering where we are. Might as well embrace it. I mean, we're watching a slasher flick for fuck's sake." She motioned to the television. "Anyone passes by and they're going to think we're both nuts." Not that she really cared. At risk of sounding like a reality show contestant, Kiley wasn't there to make friends. She didn't know why she was there.
“Maybe I am nuts,” Lennon said, only half-joking. “Look, look, we gotta watch this part. It’s super creepy.” Somehow it felt okay to be watching a horror movie, because it was just a movie. Whatever might happen to them could be pretty damn bad, but for the moment they were safe. He had company and he was chilling in a room that was like a private movie theater in someone super rich’s house, and he could be content with that for now.