Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chloe slowly made her way into the bathroom and then took a shower, even though the man hadn't told her to. She needed to wash off, to relax, to think. The water was cold, but it didn't bother Chloe; she liked it this way. After a few minutes, a knock hit the door. She didn't make a peep, neither did the person on the other side of the door. They gave up and walked away shortly after.

"What are you doing?" The man whispered into her ear through the ear piece. The water felt colder, a trick of the mind, on her skin.

"I'm taking a shower," Chloe replied. "I'm living my life."

The voice didn't respond, and Chloe finished her shower without another thought. She joined the others sitting in the living room; the five of them stared at the TV screen together in silence. It was going to be a long day, nine o'clock was going to take forever to come. For once, Chloe actually had something to say, but she couldn't tell them about the key. It wasn't safe for them to know, danger was hiding behind every corner.

After lunch, the five of them each entered their rooms alone, following the orders the man pulling the strings gave them. Chloe gave Melanie one last longing glance before shutting her bedroom door behind her and sitting on the floor, leaning against her bed, staring at the wall in front of her, waiting for whatever was to come next. Why were they ordered to go to their rooms? It didn't make sense, not at a random time like this.

It started as a low hum at first, and then it got louder and louder, until Chloe's ears felt like they were going to burst. She ran to her door and jiggled the knob, but it wouldn't budge, locked while being unlocked at the same time. This was his doing. Chloe twisted the lock, this way and that way, but nothing changed. The door still wouldn't open, and the noise was still getting louder.

She jumped onto her bed and held a pillow over her ears, praying for the noise to stop. "Please," Chloe begged. "I'll do anything." The noise stopped at once, here on moment and then gone the next. Chloe sat up and looked around before leaving her room. First, she checked on Melanie; she was still curled up into a ball in the corner of her room. Clearly beaten up over the screeching sound which had obviously terrorized her as well. The others must've thought it wasn't safe to come out yet.

Chloe opened each of their doors, checking to make sure they were all still in their rooms. No one was missing, so far nothing had changed. She raced down the stairs and stumbled on the last step, face planted onto the floor, and then looked up. Everything was the same, everything except a large box placed just inside the front door. She climbed to her feet just as the others made their way down the stairs.

"What is it?" Margaret asked, looking back and forth between Chloe and the box as if she the answer.

"It's a present," Chloe answered; she approached the box and grabbed the card placed on top. It read:

Chloe

"Who's it for?" Melanie asked, joining Chloe's side, staring down at the open card in her hand. She gasped, then kicked the box. It flew up and hit the wall before bouncing back in front of the two girls.

"Whatever it is, it's light," David said; he entered the room and picked the box up. Then he took it to the kitchen and carefully placed it on the table. "Do you mind if we open it together?"

"No," Chloe replied, following him into the kitchen to see what the gift was. She grabbed a knife from one of the drawers and slid it through the creases. "We all need to see this."

The other three joined them in the kitchen and stood around the table. Chloe and Jacob each grabbed a flap, pulled them back, revealed the contents of the box. Packing peanuts filled the box to the top. David reached in and grabbed a handful, removed them from the box, and then returned for another take at it. Each of them took turns removing the peanuts handful by handful until there were none left.

A small pink shoebox, just like the one in her closet, was left at the bottom. Chloe stared down at it; Jacob looked to her. "It's for you," He said. "You should be the one to open it."

Melanie and Margaret nodded in agreement, David wasn't so sure, but he went along with the plan anyways. Chloe removed the shoebox from the package, and then Jacob removed the larger box off the tabletop, placing it underneath the wood in between the five of them on the floor. She carefully flipped the lid over.

A VCR tape with a small sticky note which read: watch me, was inside.

Chloe looked to the others and waited for their suggestions. Melanie and David shrugged their shoulders, but Margaret and Jacob stared at the tape with wonder. What was on it? They all wanted to know. The only question was, did they really want to know or was their curiosity killing the cat?

"I say we watch it," Someone said, and then Chloe realized it was her that had spoken. Sometimes thoughts had a mind of their own, and apparently, this was one of those thoughts. It demanded to be heard. The others nodded before entering the living room. Chloe carried the tape and placed it into the newly arrived VCR player, sitting on top of the TV set. A flash of white light flashed bright into the room and then a title appeared cross the screen.

The Family

Jacob came onto screen, he was in his room, peeling his shirt off of his skin. He took his pants off and then turned to the corner of his room, to the camera, threw his shirt on top of it. The screen went blank; then Rachel appeared. A red X appeared over the screen before she was gone.

Chloe sat on the couch in between Jacob and Melanie, waiting for the next part to play. It was sick and twisted, but she wanted to see it as much as she wanted to breathe the air around her. She needed to know what was on the tape.

On the TV, Margaret washed the dishes and David sat at the table reading the newspaper. Chloe appeared on screen, in the shower, fully exposed. She jumped up and turned the TV off. An arm wrapped around her shoulder, and she turned to find Jacob there. He was always there.

"You forgot to cover the camera."

"I wasn't thinking clearly," Chloe admitted before removing the tape from the VCR. Jacob took it from her and handed it to David who entered the kitchen and smashed it with a can opener. She watched as he struck down on it with enough force to shatter the table, but it didn't even wobble.

Jacob pulled Chloe into a hug, and she stayed there, even though she wanted nothing more than to pull away. To run away, from him and everybody else. She wasn't safe, none of them were.

"We should eat dinner soon," David called to them, staring at the clock in the kitchen. Margaret joined him and started removing ingredients from the fridge and cabinets, preparing to make whatever their hearts desired.

Melanie reached Jacob and Chloe; they huddled together in the living room in front of the TV. A small blow of fresh cold air hit their faces, but the door hadn't opened. The AC had kicked on at the perfect moment. She hadn't even seen vents anywhere, but there was no mistaking the wind like breeze for something else.

"What are we going to do?" Melanie whispered. Chloe examined the bruise on her face, it wasn't as bad as it had been earlier.

"We need to get out of here," Chloe said softly. "And we need to do it soon."

The five of them ate dinner in silence and then waited at the table for nine p.m. to come, for the power to go out, for the perfect time to consult one another. After the clock changed to nine o'clock, after the lights finally went out, Chloe was the first one to speak. "We all need to earn a strike."

"Are you crazy?" Jacob almost shouted, but then lowered his voice even though he couldn't hear us. It was best to stay quiet, to stay calm, just in case. "Are you crazy?" He whispered this time.

"Do you have a better idea?" Chloe asked. No one answered. The slight sound of a door opening and closing made them all glance up at the ceiling. Someone was in the house, and they were upstairs.