Chapter Fifteen

Three came back to visit two more times.

Of course, nothing happened. No rape, no assault, no arguing.

Strangely enough, all we did was talk.

"He absolutely loved it," I found myself telling Three, who leaned against the wall by the door as he listened, "Cheeseburgers are probably his new favorite thing." Three stared at me, his arms folded over his chest to create a wall between us, but there was a hope in his eyes that gleamed whenever I told him about Six experiencing the outside world.

"He always hated food," Three admitted with a frown now, "He would skip his daily meal to train instead."

"He told me he only eats once a day," I murmured. Three nodded.

"He's a little fatter than the rest of us, so he needs to lose some weight, that's all. He hit an ideal weight when he was thirteen, but ever since then, all he has to do is look at an apple and he gains weight," he explained. I grimaced at that. An apple? That was their comparison? And weight? What weight? Six was perfect. He was thick, he was muscular, he was sexy. I couldn't imagine anyone looking at him and thinking he needed to lose weight.

"He's not fat," I said. Three frowned.

"Of course he is. He's at least thirty over what he should weigh."

"Who said?"

"Our doctors."

"And you believe them?"

"He's... I mean, he's not skinny."

"No."

"He's muscular."

"Yes. That's not the same as fat, and even if he was fat, who cares?" I demanded. Three scowled.

"Have you ever seen a fat guy win a fist fight?"

"Yes, actually."

"Well, I sure as fuck haven't. Fat gets you killed around here," Three said, "Just ask Seven. The little brat was a chunky ass kid and always got his ass whooped."

"He got his ass whooped because he was ganged up on by kids who were eating better diets and allowed to train more appropriately. He wouldn't have stood a chance, fat or not. Fat doesn't make you weak and it doesn't make you worthless."

"I never said Six was worthless," Three said angrily, "I just said he was fat."

"Yeah, but you're saying it like it's a bad thing."

"It is if it gets you killed."

"But it won't."

"God, your way of thinking is so fucking weird," Three snorted, "You glorify unhealthy body standards and encourage eating weirdly named foods. And tell me that people actually eat sheep. That's insane. It sounds like a made up game you're using to trick me."

"It's not a game and it's not a trick," I said, "Ask Six. He loved the outside world. Why do you think he spent so much time in it?" Three glared.

"Because of you," he responded coldly. I fell silent at that. I didn't know what to say. It was partially a compliment in my eyes, because it meant Six loved me enough to go out and see me every chance he had, but it was also an insult from Three's point of view.

"We need to set the record straight," I said, making Three narrow his eyes, "I love Six. He's beautiful in every sense of the word, from his perfect skin to his little smile to the way his eyes light up when he tries something new. He's strong and resilient, because he spent years married to someone who abused him." Three stiffened.

"I did not abuse him," he said. I stared at him.

"He came to me one night with a broken nose, all bruised and bloody."

"We got into a fight."

"Couples don't fight like that."

"Absolutely they do, especially when you know your husband's running around with another male."

"Not male."

"Well, then, whatever the fuck you are. Doesn't matter. We fought over it," he said, then paused for a long time and I just glared at him before he looked up, annoyed, "We fight sometimes. All couples fight."

"Couples don't beat the living shit out of each other. That's not healthy."

"How do you know? You've probably never been in a real relationship."

"No, but I have plenty of relationships all around me. That are loving and caring and affectionate. I've not once seen you behave that way toward Six. In fact, I watched you fucking backhand him so hard he was knocked unconscious. Doesn't that bother you? Doesn't it scare you that you've hurt the person you supposedly love?" I demanded. Three was quiet now. He looked down at the floor, tightening his arms over his chest, his muscles bulging.

"I know you love Six," I said after a moment, making Three glance up, "As twisted and as confused as your concept of love is, I know that deep down you love him. And you don't want him to get hurt. And if that's the case, then you'll get him out of here. You'll get him to safety."

"What the hell is safety? A home with strangers who claim to be our parents? You think they're gonna let us into their world when ours is so fucked, as you so claim?" Three demanded. I frowned.

"If your parents are who I think they are, they won't hurt you. They'll love you and care for you and give you everything you could have ever wanted."

"Like cheeseburgers?"

"Absolutely."

Three looked down at his feet. He glanced up at the cameras, then shook his head and pushed off the wall.

"I gotta head. Time for mealtime," he muttered. I frowned.

"Any word about Six yet?" I asked. Three shook his head.

"No one's saying a word. Not even my contact in the guardianship. He's at this compound, though. I know it. I can feel it," he said under his breath, then looked up, "But I did manage to find out where Four is."

"Where?"

"He's here at this compound. This compound has higher security than most since the Mother currently lives here. And I did ask around about the, ah, bait that you talked about."

"And?"

"He's also at this compound. The Mother takes him with her no matter what compound she goes to. But I don't get why you give a shit about his location or how you even know him."

"Seven talked about him. He's clearly an abused artificial with the wrong genetics."

"So he should be put out of his misery," Three snorted, "But whatever. I'm starving. Talk to you later." He headed out of the room and left me alone to sit in silence. I glanced at the cameras.

According to Three, they didn't have audio, only visual so that meant we were safe to discuss our plans. I'd find that suspicious, except that Three was actually discussing plots to escape. If someone heard him talking like that, they'd surely lock him up and find me another breeding partner. At the same time, it could all be a trick... except the way Three listened to me talk about Six.

That was genuine. He genuinely enjoyed my stories about Six. He liked the idea of Six being happy. So there was some sort of truth to what was happening between us.

But sooner or later, the Mother would get impatient. She was going to realize it wasn't going to work with Three and she was going to get someone else to take his place and something told me the next possible partner wasn't going to be as, well, tolerable as Three.

We needed to escape, and soon, but how? Three mentioned that the security here was higher than the other compounds because the Mother currently lived here. That meant it was going to be harder to find, harder to break into it, and harder for Hades to rescue us. He was going to need help locating this place, and help getting as many people out as possible without hurting the artificials who planned to escape with us.

So far, I decided Six was coming with me for sure. Something told me Four was going to be more than happy to leave considering what they'd done to him. Three would only leave because Six left, which was fine by me. Whatever got him out of here. Then there was Bait, who sounded like he'd also jump on the bandwagon pretty quick. No doubt Five would also join us in escaping, if she was even at this location. According to Three, she was still in the field, which could be a good thing.

If Five knew about my kidnapping, she'd tell Lumen. No hesitation. Lumen would run and tell Hades and the Cousins. They would be on their way here as soon as they located us.

But how could they locate us?

There had to be a way to get a signal or a message out there.

I decided to wait for Three to come back to ask. He eventually returned, but it was only a quick visit to tell me that the security was abruptly ramped up. Which would only make Hades getting in harder. I rolled my eyes and ended up going to bed and waited for the next morning. After breakfast and another round against Chloe about getting properly clothed, I paced the room until Three arrived.

"Took you long enough," I muttered as he opened the door and stepped inside. He shot me a dirty look before he leaned back against the wall, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose.

"We have several problems," he said, making me frown, "Starting with the fact that there was a blip in our security. It means someone got past it and is within the perimeters. The good news is, yay, someone came to rescue you. The bad news is, they probably won't make it to this point. Not with the security measures in place. I hope whoever it is turns back now before they get killed."

"It's probably Hades," I said dryly, "And I'm not worried. Hades will get to me just fine."

"It's not Hades," Three said, making me raise an eyebrow, "If it was Hades, we would know. We'd feel that level of power present on the island."

"Island?" I asked. Three cursed and wiped his hands down his face.

"Jesus Christ, they're gonna kill me."

"We're on an island? Where?"

"Doesn't matter. No one can find us."

"A vanishing isle," I realized, making Three groan loudly.

Vanishing isles were islands that existed in any realm. They could be in one place in one moment, and gone to another location the next. They could even travel through time and space. That explained why it was so hard to locate this particular compound. Vanishing isles were extremely difficult to trace. It explained why Hades was taking so long to find me.

"What's the name of this island?" I asked. Three glared at me.

"None of your business."

"That's an odd name for an island."

"Shut up. I've already said too much," Three muttered. I gave him a droll stare.

"We're trying to escape."

"You're trying to escape. I'm trying not to get killed."

"By escaping. That's the only way you and Six and the other artificials can find freedom. Find life. Is by getting the fuck out of this crazy place," I explained. Three ground his teeth together, but didn't say anything. He folded his arms over his chest. I studied him for a moment before speaking.

"What's your favorite thing about Six?" I asked. Three blinked and looked up. He stared at me for a moment, then cocked his head.

"His eyes," he murmured, "His fucking eyes..." I smiled at that.

"Yes. His eyes are beautiful. What else?"

"I like it when he sneaks into bed," Three admitted, looking down at his feet now, "He used to get home late from work and he'd try and be quiet when he got into bed, but he's not exactly the most graceful guy. He'll always bang his toe or knee on something, the bed will creak when he gets in, and he'll shift forever before he gets comfortable. He thinks he's being sneaky, but that shit ain't sneaky. Hilarious considering his ability."

"His ability to hide his presence," I said, "He's like a chameleon." Three nodded.

"He's had the ability since he was four. I remember, because he went missing for days. The guardians were all running all over the place, Five was crying, and I just... Anyway, after three days, we found him playing on the floor with pots and pans in the kitchen. When he was asked where he was, he told them he'd been here the whole time, but whenever someone came in, he just stood against the wall and pretended he was invisible, and it worked; no one saw him."

"That's how he learned how to use his ability. He just wanted to play."

"Yeah, but the guardians were pissed. He got in so much trouble. After that, they went hardcore on him, trying to teach him how to use his ability and when not to use it. They were so strict about it... But that's how shit is around here. You don't get to hide from the Mother. That's not how things work."

"Yeah, well, it won't last," I assured, watching Three's expression become doubtful, "It won't. We're getting out of here. Now, is there anything you can tell me about the break in? Who it might be? What they look like? Anything?" Three shook his head.

"All we have is a blip. Literally just someone appeared outside the perimeter of the island and suddenly disappeared. We don't even know if they're still here, if they're heading to the compound, or what. Just that they appeared and disappeared so fast, we nearly missed it."
"So whoever it is isn't here anymore."

"We don't know. They could be masking their presence from our security system. They're frantically trying to get more information, but they're limited to what they can do."

"You said it wasn't Hades. You seemed to know for sure," I said. Three nodded.

"Hades would give off way too much power. This is something with a smaller presence, but strong enough to set off our warning system," he responded. I thought about it for a moment before realization dawned on me.

"One blip?" I asked. Three frowned.

"One blip."

"Does that mean one presence or multiple?"

"It was in one spot, so we assumed it was one person. Why? What are you thinking?"

"My Cousins," I said, rising to my feet and watching Three's eyes widen, "I think it was my cousins. They're the only ones who know about my location, so far. I figured they would've said something to Hades by now, but I guess they decided to take matters into their own hands."

"Yeah, good luck," Three snorted, "The Mother will take them down on her own if she has to. And she's no weakling, believe me."

"I don't doubt that, but my cousins aren't to be trifled with either. They're a lot stronger than people give them credit for. They might be chaotic and disorganized, but so are storms, and storms can cause quite a bit of damage," I responded. Three seemed to consider that.

Abruptly, a cell phone rang and Three scowled, taking it out to study the screen before he looked up.

"Duty calls," he said, tucking his phone away, "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Rest of the day is going to be spent trying to figure out who broke into our island and then finding and killing the intruder," Three said, making me frown, "So I'll see you tomorrow." I watched him go, exasperated.

I couldn't tell where Three's head was at. He seemed open to leaving every so often, but then it was like he caught himself and shut it down real quick and went back to pretending everything was normal. I wasn't sure if I could rely on him or not. I trusted his love for Six, but would he be reliable enough to help me escape in the end? It was difficult to gauge.

I reluctantly just went back to sleep. There was nothing more for me to do. I ended up skipping my two other meals and just slept until it was the next day. I felt shitty for sleeping so much, but it didn't matter. The more rest right now, the better.

I paced as I waited for Three to come back. He usually came right after lunch, but he was late that day. I paced and kept glancing at the camera, frowning and cocking my head as I watched the little light blink. I turned back to the door just as it opened. I immediately stepped back as a male who was not Three entered the room. He shut the door behind him and twisted the lock into place before he turned to face me.

He was massive. Very tall, even taller than me, which was quite a feat, with long brown hair he had partially pulled up into a ponytail, several days worth of beard on his jaw and upper lip, his baby blue eyes gleaming with interest the moment they landed on me. He was dressed in black BDUs similar to Three's.

"Who are you?" I asked immediately. He smirked.

"You don't get to ask questions," he replied, making me narrow my eyes, "Now, be a good boy, and get on the bed."

"First of all, I am not a male. Second of all, where is Three?" I demanded. The male snorted and sauntered over. I immediately backed up and put the bed between us, tightening my grip on the weapon hidden in my sleeve.

"From where I'm standing, you have a cock, therefore you are male," he said, making me roll my eyes at a common response, "And, Three is where he belongs now. You don't need to worry your pretty head about him at all."

"Who the fuck are you?" I repeated.
"River," he answered smoothly as he approached the bed and bent over to pat on it, "And I'm your new mate, so have a seat. Let's get to know each other."

"Not interested. You can leave."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," River replied as he leaned on the bedpost, "I was told that I am not allowed to leave until you spread your legs."

"Then I'm going to the bathroom," I decided, heading for the door, but River darted out and blocked my path and I reared back quickly to avoid touching him.

"Ah, ah," River warned, stalking toward me now, "I don't think that's a good idea. I think you should just lay down and take it like a male so we can get this over with."

"I'm not letting you touch me," I told him sternly, "I would rather die than have you anywhere near me."

"Welp, sucks to be you then," River said, then lunged for me. I took a few steps back, then lunged forward to meet him in a bodyslam, the weapon clutched tight in my fist as I drove it right up into his chest cavity. River gasped, looking startled as he looked down between us, then jerked his head up to stare at me in disbelief. I ground the toothbrush knife up into his chest, gave it a good twist, then jerked it out and slammed it up again.

Blood bubbled up past his lips and he reached for me, but this time, I jerked the weapon out and stepped back. River growled and stumbled for me, reaching blindly. I swung the knife forward again and slammed it into his gut before ripping it upwards, cutting a massive hole in his gut. Innards came spilling out onto the floor in a hot heap and River gurgled before he slumped down to the floor.

I narrowed my eyes and turned to look at the camera that continued to blink at me. They weren't able to hear me, so I held my finger up at the camera as a pleasant fuck you. I stepped back as I heard the locks clanking on the door. I looked up as Tricho and Blake came in, pulling up short to stare at the mess I'd made of my former mate on the floor.

"Goddamn son of a bitch," Blake cursed. Tricho looked at me.

"Daaamn," he whistled, like he was impressed. Blake punched his arm, then turned to glare at me.

"Say goodnight," he said, then pulled a pipe out of his holster and blew into it and a second later, something sharp pinched into my chest.

I cursed and reached up, snatching it out and throwing it aside, but it was too late. I felt the heaviness in my arms and legs, saw the blurriness, heard the rushing of blood in my ears. I stumbled and dropped my knife, collapsing to my knees, slipping in the blood on the floor from River's corpse. I moaned and fell flat on the floor a second later.