Sofia whirled around, glaring at John furiously, “Is this true?!”

                John didn’t answer. A smirk played across his lips. He kept his eyes down, avoiding contact with us.

                Sofia glanced between us, her expression hard to read.

                “So what’s it going to be, Sophe?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.  I held back the anger that I usually had if John was around.

                She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

                I waited patiently for an answer.

                Sofia looked at me, her eyes wide. “I… I don’t even know, Clay. I’m so confused. I just…”

                I crossed my arms, frowning. “Is it really that hard, Sofia? He used and tricked one of your own. I think eliminating him in the number one option at this point.”

                She bit her lip, “But Cassie…”

                “Her memory can be tampered with, can’t it?” I pushed, “You’re smart enough. You’d only need to mess with it a little. John couldn’t have been on this side more than a month.”

                “I don’t know…”

                “Don’t tell me he’s getting to you to!” I roared.

                John chuckled darkly. I glared at him, daring him to speak. No one wanted him here. Why couldn’t Sofia see reason behind his lies? He was better off dead.

                “Just give it some time. A few days. Once we get back, we can discuss this then.” Sofia offered. I narrowed my eyes, contemplating what she was saying. “Or we can set them free.”

                “You’ll be punished too if they catch you.”

                “I can manage to find a way to free myself if the situation calls for. You, on the other hand, cannot.” She warned.

                I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. I tilted my head back, breathing out slowly. She was right. “Alright. Three days. And then he’s dead.”

                “We’ll see about that.” Sofia mumbled under her breath.

                It was silent for a moment. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to calm myself down. She was a hassle at times. Ellie was never this resistant to my ideas when she was alive. Sofia was much harder to handle.

                “So what time are we getting back?” John asked.

                “Don’t talk.” I ordered.

                Sofia ignored me, answering, “Soon.”

                “How soon is ‘soon’?” John ignored me.

                I shot him a look.

                “Soon.” She repeated. I shot her a look to which she ignored, her eyes focused on the screen before her.

                ~*~

                “Clayton.” A soft voice whispered in my ear.

                I groaned, waving the voice off.

                She laughed, nudging my body gently, “Wake up, Clayton. We’re back at my house.”

                I forced my eyes open, pushing past the sleep barrier. Sitting upright, I glanced around, taking in the surroundings.

                John and Cassie were asleep on the bench, still glued together thanks to the cuffs placed around them. I had a gut feeling that John wasn’t actually asleep. Sofia was crouched before me on the floor, her hands gently resting on my upper arm.

                She smiled gently, pulling her hands back. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

                “I fell asleep?” I asked, confused.

                She nodded, “You were watching the window for a while and then next thing I knew, you were curled up on the floor passed out.”

                I blinked, “I don’t recall…”

                She giggled, standing up. Sofia held a hand out for me to which I grabbed gratefully. We stood up, staring at the two prisoners before us.

                “What do we do now?”

                “We have to take them in.” I mumbled. “How do you want to do this?”

                Sofia thought for a moment, “I say you drag them and I’ll hold a gun on them so that they don’t try anything funny.”

                I rolled my eyes, “Give me the hard part.”

                “I’m not strong enough to hold them both back.” She said, “Think of it as a compliment. You’re stronger than me.”

                “We already knew this.”

                She rolled her eyes, “Come on. We have prisoners to bring into my house. Oh, and try not to let anyone see you. I don’t need anymore judgmental neighbors.”

                “Anymore?”

                She shook her head, telling me to drop it.

                “Alright, let’s get this over with.” I sighed.

                Sofia grabbed a gun hidden under the dashboard. I watched as she cocked the gun, turning the safety off. It charged up, a faint humming sound ringing through the silence of the Craft.

                I turned towards the two bastards. Walking over, I stood before John, roughly nudging them both with my foot.

                “Get the hell up.” I growled.

                Sofia didn’t say anything, understanding the need for my harsh tone in this situation.  I was glad that she understood.

                Cassie’s eyes flickered open, widening in fear. “W-what are you doing?”

                “Just shut up and stand up.” I ordered.

                She poked John, ‘waking’ him up. He opened his eyes, unsurprised to see me standing before him.

                “Can I help you?” The sarcastic son of a Leech asked.

                “Get up.”

                “What’s the magic word?”

                “Get up or we’re shooting your face off.” Sofia said, stepping around me. She held the gun aimed at John’s forehead. The little red laser pointed right between his eyes, forcing them to cross as he stared at it.

                He gulped silently.

                Together, they managed to stand up with few stumbles. I got behind, grabbing the backs of their necks. Their bodies arched as I squeezed on the pressure points as tightly as I dared to. A small smirk crossed my lips as I spoke.

                “Listen up.” I whispered between their heads, “We’re going to walk in. You make a nose, we’ll kill you on the spot. You both need to cooperate with us. We’re not afraid to shoot you. John, you’re all too aware of rash killing, aren’t you?”

                He didn’t say anything.

                I released their necks after getting a warning look from Sofia. I nodded my head towards the exit of the Craft, giving the two Leeches a shove in that direction.

                “Move. Nice and slowly.” I instructed.

                Sofia stood next to me as we walked, the gun aimed at John’s lower back. I was sure to keep out of the way of the beam so that I wasn’t accidentally killed.

                Sunlight struck our bodies, the warmth spreading through. It was one of those rare days where it was Hell to be inside.

                Nonetheless, I forced the captives up to the door. Sofia opened it for us as I led them inside. She pointed to a door.

                “That’s the cellar. Take them there. Don’t uncuff them.” She instructed, closing the door behind us.

                I shoved them forward, “You heard the lady. Move.”

                As I walked down into the cellar, I recalled the memories of being trapped there only a few days previously. I led John and Cassie into a corner opposite of the one I had declared my own. I forced them down, standing before them with my arms crossed.

                I wasn’t sure what to do now. I couldn’t leave them unguarded down here, but I didn’t know if Sofia was coming back.

                A few seconds later, my worries were answered.

                Sofia’s soft footsteps echoed as she walked down the stairs, a beam of light from above falling into the darkness.                

                She followed the faint glow from the cuffs on John and Cassie over to where we were positioned. Sofia took a stand next to me, crossing her arms over her body like I had done. She leaned on one hip, brushing her hair to the side.

                “You should do something about the equipment down here.” I warned under my breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

                She nodded slightly, “I’ll do that soon.”

                “What are you going to do with us?” Cassie asked, almost in hysterics.

                I glanced over at her, noticing her wide eyes. They glimmered of the faint light in the cellar, water filling the edges.

                I opened my mouth to speak, when Sofia cut me off.

                “Keep talking about you’ll find out.” She growled.

                Cassie’s mouth closed quickly.

                I glanced at Sofia, noticing the authority in her voice. She glanced at me for a moment before back at the other two.

                Without warning, she turned on her heel, walking away. I hesitantly followed after her, lightly running up the stairs to catch up.

                She closed the door behind me, crossing her arms.

                “I know what we’re going to do.”

                “And what is that?”

                “We’re going to interrogate them.” She said, “And if they don’t cooperate, we’ll use pain in this to get the answers.”           

                “Answers for what?”

                “Questions that I have.”

                I raised an eyebrow, “I thought I was supposed to be the one in favor of hurting them, not the other way around.”

                She avoided my eyes, “Yeah, well, Cassie brings unrealistically strong feelings out of me. I can’t stand her.”

                “Why?”

                “She’s pathetic. To not only let a boy into her house live, but to have sex with him too?” She took a deep breath, calming herself down. I noticed that she was developing some of the habits I had “It’s a disgrace to my race.”

                “So is John.” I said, “Why can’t we just kill them?”

                “Trust me, at this point, I’m considering it.” She mumbled quietly. I had a feeling I wasn’t supposed to hear that. I made no comment, letting her think otherwise. Her eyes moved to mine, holding my gaze. “I want to ask them a few questions about everything that has happened before we do anything.”

                “Questions about what?”

                “Just... questions.” She shrugged, running a hand through her hair.

                I frowned hesitantly, not entirely trusting her on that.

                Nonetheless, I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning against the wall. My stomach growled softly, giving away my secret.

                Sofia’s eyes flickered down to my stomach before back to my face with a smirk, “Come on. I’ll go get you something to eat.”

                She turned around, about to walk off into the kitchen when another voice called out.

                “Sofia? Dondé estas?” [where are you?] A shrill voice called.

                Sofia’s eyes widened in fear as she glanced at me. “On second thought, get your ass back down there and don’t make a sound!”               

                “Wh-”

                She opened the door, giving me a shove in that direction. “Go!”

                I hesitantly walked down onto the first two stairs. Sofia slammed the door, mumbling a few cuss words under her breath. She stood right outside of it, answering.

                “Mimi? Is that you?” She asked.

                “Si, Sofia. Have you returned from your trip?” A higher voice called.

                “I have. Why are you here?” Sofia hid the nervousness in her voice very well. If I hadn’t been me, I wouldn’t have suspected a thing.

                “I decided to come visit, but Missy told me that you weren’t here after I arrived.” The strange girl said, “She said you were headed home, so I decided to wait.”

                “How long have you been here?”

                “Only a day.”

                I felt my heartbeat speed up. That meant there was a possibility she knew that there were two boys and a captive girl in her house.

                I crossed my fingers with hopes that she didn’t know.

                “Mimi, I would really love a visit from you, but now isn’t the best time.” Sofia said softly. I had to really strain my ears to listen.

                “And why not?” The girl I took to be Mimi sounded offended.

                “Because I’m simply not feeling the best today and I don’t want to get you sick or anything.” Sofia lied smoothly.

                I could only hope her face didn’t give anything away.

                Mimi sighed, “Oh well. I get sick, it’s my fault. I’ve come to visit my cousin!”

                My eyebrows rose.

                Cousins?

                How big of a family did Sofia have?

                I’d never met any cousins of mine. On the Boys’ Side, it wasn’t common for you to be reunited with your biological family. Most of the time, even if you ran into him, it was a rare chance that either of you knew you were related.

                For all I knew, John was my cousin.

                I shook my head, pushing that thought away.

                It was physically impossible for us to be related. The genetics alone were enough to prove it. Let alone the personalities involved.

                That was such a foolish thought.

                I forced myself to focus on the conversation between the two women on the other side of the door.

                “Yeah, cousin.” Sofia sighed, “I’d feel tremendously guilty of I did get you sick though… really Mimi, it’s no big deal if you don’t want to stay.”

                “Nonsense!” Mimi ignored her hints.

                Sofia was silent for a moment before speaking again, “Well, since we’re here, do you want something to eat?”

                “Nah, I’ve been pigging out in your kitchen ever since I arrived. I’m not hungry anymore.” The girl laughed.

                Sofia sighed angrily.

                The girl didn’t notice the negativity involved in that release of hair.

                “Alright, we’ll I’m starving.” Sofia said, “I’m going to grab something to eat, check on some of my… experiments, and be back up to socialize soon.”

                “Alright, want any help at all?” She offered. My heart skipped a beat in fear that the girl would come down and discover us.

                Sofia must’ve had that same fear inside of her, because she quickly answered the girl, “No thank you, Mimi, I’m good.”

                “Alright…” The girl said hesitantly.

                Their voices faded as they walked away. I waited until I couldn’t hear anything before quietly walking down the stairs.

                John and Cassie were mumbling softly to each other. I didn’t want to think about what it was about, I just knew it couldn’t be good.

                “Shut up.” I growled, standing before them. I crossed my arms over my chest intimidating, to which John smirked at.

                Cassie’s mouth closed instantly.

                Sofia must’ve scared her more than anyone had anticipated for that was a fairly automatic reaction.

                I stood guard, watching over the two prisoners. After a few moments of silence, the door opened, light falling into the cellar.

                I turned my head to see Sofia walking down the stairs, a tray of food in her hand. My stomach growled at the sight, something to which I found my face flushing in embarrassment from. I kept my eyes away to keep the growling at a minimum.

                She walked over to us, setting the tray on the ground. “This is for those two.”

                “And for me?” I asked, slightly offended that they got more food than I did.

                Sofia smirked deviously, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out something wrapped in plastic, setting it into my hand. She held my gaze, not letting me look down to see what it was that she had placed in my hand.

                “It’s better than that shit they’re eating.”

                “It better be.” I teased, winking.

                She rolled her eyes, giving me a slight hug, “I didn’t know Mimi was here. I’m so sorry, Clay. I’ll try to get rid of her as quickly as possible.”

                I nodded, unsure of what to say.

                Yes, please make your cousin leave?

                Or, no it’s perfectly fine to have someone in your house that could possibly have all four of us killed?

                Neither sounded like good options to me.

                Sofia smiled gently before walking over to the stairs, “I’ll be down soon!”

****

Hey guys so I know a few of you asked if you could borrow my idea and regardless of what I said, I'm asking that you don't. Because this is the one thing I'm amazingly proud of& I would really appreciate if I kept it mine. Thanks. :)

                I didn’t say anything, watching her walk away.