[Dining Room/Kitchen] So Fresh to Death [TAG: Everyone]

[Noah Hernandez]

Pain.

Noah should’ve been used to it by now. The headaches. The panic attacks. The mental strain. The stiffness in his bones. The soreness of his muscles. All familiar, and yet everytime it felt worse than before. This time it was added with a sickening feeling of defeat. Of shame. Of regret. Of embarrassment.

How....foolish he was. To believe that that was going to work. Of course, of course she wasn’t going to listen. Of course something that someone said or did was going to make her snap. It’s just how the human brain works. Someone so fresh in their own distraught can not be easily talked down with a simple speech. And he fell for it! Damn him, he feel so hard! He was so focused on that feeling, that feeling of sorrow and relatability. That feeling of familiarity he saw in that woman. But no....no she’s too far gone. She is their fate. Mary is what their kidnapper wanted them to become. Obedient mindless slaves desperate for love. And he couldn’t save her. He couldn’t do anything!

Damn him! Damn his desires! Damn these emotions that have never been any good to him! Damnit all!

In the midst of Noah’s anger and hyperventilating, something within him woke back up to reality. He realized he was still here, in the dinning room. Next to the two blonde young women. They were battered and bruised, but they were alive. And passed out. On the floor was Kim and their kidnapper. He bit his lower lip, hoping the redhead had survived, but he couldn’t tell from the angle he was in. Their kidnapper however....she was definitely dead. The architect could still smell the blood that stained the floor.

As he attempted to get up, he realized quickly that he was still tied down. The architect struggled and moved, but the ropes wouldn’t budge.

“Miss Claudie? Miss Freya, wake up!” He said nudging them as an attempt to get them awake.

[Claudette Hautecourt]

All of it had happened so fast before the gas flowed into the room. The yelling from the woman in white. Her pointing the gun at them and the shots ringing in the air and the bitter smell of the smoke from the gun combined to the metallic scent from the bullets and the blood already pooling around her feet from the fat lady. Then before she knew the woman in white had gone out of the room, the redhead banging on the door and trying to get out. Before going to Freya and freeing her hands just before them all subduing to the gas and passing out.

Her slumber had been very restless, the events that had happened just before playing in her nightmares. The forms of the players of the events before taking on a more distorted shapes in her dreams. She had not thought it possible that Madge Baker could take on a more monstrous form in her dreams, but she did. As her talons wrapped around her throat and then after the shot slumping to the ground and decomposing on the spot into black goo like in so many horror movies. The goo seeping into the floor with such force it shook the room. Or was it her? Well something was rocking her, she felt it.

“Miss Claudie? Miss Freya, wake up!” She heard Noah's voice and she jerked awake with such force she accidentally pulled against her binds to free her hands, only to hurt herself. "Ow..." She winced to the pain and slowly began to become aware of all the pains and kinks she had in her body for falling asleep on the chair and being tied up. The smell in the room that had seeped into her dreams indeed was sickening and not to mention the body that was starting to smell just beside her. She locked eyes with Noah and then noticed Freya was still there too and Kim passed our behind the chair. But at least Freya had her hands free. "Are you alright Noah?" She asked him.

[Freya Alexander]

Searing, unequivocal agony permeated Freya’s body, as though she had been beaten bloody. She realised, quite soon, the pain was similarly in her body as it was in her mind. The glimmer of hope; the crumbling, devastating anguish at the realisation that – no – they were not free from this torment. Perhaps, she thought indignantly, she was already dead. This crumbling artifice was eternal torture, and they would never escape.

Freya awoke with the sound of Noah’s voice, and a nudge against her limp body. Somehow, she was on the floor, her hands unbound from the chair that her companions were similarly strung to. It took a long moment before clarity struck, and Freya’s stiff head turned to Kim, who was twisted in a crumpled heap on the floor next to her, having released Freya before the gas struck them all. God fucking dammit.

Wincing, the girl cried out as she pushed herself to her knees, swaying as she had whilst with Dorian; the emotions; the malnutrition; the gentle aching in her soul all crashed upon her. All she wanted to do was curl up and sob, the guilt permeating her body with venomous insight, knowing all her weaknesses, and her vulnerabilities. Claudie jerked awake so hard her wrists snapped against her bounds painfully, and the girl could almost feel the protest of her skin against such force. Using her previous chair as an anchor, the girl wobbled to her feet, knowing she had to get them free, regardless of whether someone was watching them or not.

“Fuuuuck-” she groaned, the residual aftermath of the drugs in her body still taking their time to seep from her pores. Stumbling slightly, Freya grabbed Kim first as Claudie came-to more effectively, and pulled her into a comfier position. Hours laying crumpled on the floor would have been a killer on her body, and Freya didn’t want her friend to awaken in pain. She pulled her to stretch her out, before turning her on her side (in case she threw up in her sleep); knowing to do such from many-a illicit drinking explorations Freya decided to indulge in.

It was then Freya straightened up, and saw Madge’s body, the knife only a foot away from her limp and bloating form. The girl froze, a searing panic rising up her throat and her muscles stiffening with icy relish. Eyes wide, Freya’s throat tightened, and her jaw gritted tightly, almost painfully. “She’s… dead.” Freya murmured to herself. “She’s dead.” Stepping away from Kim, Freya approached the knife, chanting the phrase over and over, as if seeing her wasn’t convincing enough; as if expecting their villain to rise from her position, blood seeping out of her eyes, with a lust for blood. It was emphatic, but in her state, Freya could barely walk, nevermind achieve rational thinking. Seizing the knife, the girl stumbled back to Claudie first, hitching the rope under the serrated edge and pulling, snapping her bounds swiftly. Not quite meeting the girl’s eyes, Freya hugged her; her own body trembling violently. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, before moving on to Noah. Pausing slightly, the knife limp in her hand, she noticed Noah’s expression, and the emotion behind it. She couldn’t peruse the look behind his eyes, but it was similar to anguish, and Freya suddenly felt very vulnerable in that moment. She stepped forward, unsure, as if expecting him to bark at her like a capricious dog, and then behind him, to undo his bounds.



“Are… are you okay…” she asked, her voice so small, like a child’s. She knew it wasn’t a question, more an acknowledgment. But she allowed him a second to reply, before slicing the rope as she had with Claudie, freeing them both.

[Noah Hernandez]

The two girls stirred awake, Claudie trying to move around in her restraints and Freya getting up off the floor. Apparently she had been freed, though Noah can’t say he was sure how. He slightly remembered Kim saying something to her, but he was so tuned out due to everything that that was happening.

“Are you alright, Noah?” Claudie asked. Her voice wasn’t as raspy as it was before, but she was clearly still recovering.

The architect opened his mouth to reply...but he stopped himself. This is usually the part where he reassures her, and Freya. As to not to worry anyone, to not have them caught up in his issues. That was always what he did. Instead, he turned away, looking down at the floor.

“No....no I’m not,” he said with sorrow in his voice. It was just that feeling of helplessness again, encompassing his entire soul. Nothing was right. Nothing was ok. And why should they be? With everything they’ve gone through, it wasn’t normal to go through any of this!

The architect lifted his head at the sound of a familiar female voice. He saw Freya standing over their kidnapper’s body, shaking with fear and shock. She was muttering something, something he couldn’t make out. From a distance it sounded like the ramblings of a trauma victim, and that’s most likely what it was. The poor blonde girl seemed to take this all the hardest, as if she was so unfamiliar with these feelings that she couldn’t properly process them. Finally, she gained control, picking up the knife and taking it to Claudie.

Noah’s memories shifted a little. While starring at the girl with glasses, he recalled how she reacted to Mary.

“Or are you too stupid to realize that with her dead, we’re free?!”

“I just want to go home! Don’t you!”

And that...that is what set her off.

A burning feeling filled in Noah’s chest, as if....as if he was mad. That he was frustrated. He could see it, he was nearly there at just getting Mary to put down the gun. Why did Freya have to act with such hostility? He didn’t even know the blonde was even capable of saying something like that. But his anger didn’t feel...justified. It felt wrong to him. That wasn’t fair to Freya, she couldn’t know, or even really guess, what Mary has been through. He didn’t know why this was his reaction. It confused him, and it caused him to get even more upset.

“Are...are you ok...”

Noah snapped from his thoughts, seeing the photographer in front of him. The sound of her voice, the look in her eyes, she clearly noticed the distain he was expressing on his face. It appears he wasn’t as good at hiding his feelings after all.

The architect shook his head and took a deep breath, calming down to prevent saying or doing something that might come across as harmful. He opened his eyes, this time a sense of softness coming across, even though he still looked a be strict.

“Miss Freya...I understand you’re scared,” he said, rubbing his wrists as she finished untying him. “But you also must understand that the girl is not unintelligent as you accused her of being.”

[Claudette Hautecourt]

“No....no I’m not,” She heard Noah say and she felt his tone sounded like a child who had gotten lost from his parents in a store. It hurt her too that she couldn't really help him at this moment. Had she been free she would have gone and given him a hug or something. "Noah..." She began but then realized she didn't know what to say really to make him feel better.

Claudie's attention turned over to notice Freya had gotten up and was now observing Freya mumbling "She's dead."  over and over again at the former crazy matchmakers body as she went to get the knife. Somehow seeing the sharp inanimate object on the floor didn't cause her to fear but as soon as it was in Freya's hand the fear stirred in her stomach a little although her brain kept telling herself the woman was an ally. As the young girl went around her back to cut the ties loose she had to bit her lip and repeat in her mind not to worry over the knife. The relief when her hands were finally free, she rubbed her wrists to get the blood flowing and then suddenly felt a pair of arms around herself. It took her by surprise that Freya hugged her and after a moment of gathering herself she wrapped her arms around the younger girl and squeezed her closer. The sudden contact made her emotions overflow and she felt tears wetting her cheeks as she slowly became aware the horrible woman who had been torturing them was dead and how also they had just all survived.

“I’m so sorry,” Claudie shook her head and managed to voice out. "No... Don't... I'm sorry..." She let Freya pull away and began to wipe her eyes and cheeks. Freya went over to free Noah and Claudie took a moment to calm down before she attempted to get out of the chair and away from the body of their tormentor. Gaining her balance was a little bit of a challenge after being confined on that chair for so long, but she managed. Freya had already confirmed Kim was alive so Claudie made sure she didn't disturb the girls sleep. She looked over at the man who had been her father. She would be sad to see him when she woke up, not to mention the bodies were going to go pretty bad pretty soon.

She went over to the door and tried to yank the handle to see if they could get out, but to no avail. "Damn..." She then made her way over to the kitchen entrance and looked in. She noticed it looked a little bit like a professional kitchen so she would assume there was a freezer. Then remembering what Katherine had said about a game where the couple died in the freezer. The thought about it turned her stomach. She wondered if they would be still there or not. She looked back into the dining room and at Freya and Noah. He seemed to be a little upset at her for what she had said to Mary and in a way she understood him. “Miss Freya...I understand you’re scared, But you also must understand that the girl is not unintelligent as you accused her of being.” Claudie was impressed though how he managed to be such a gentleman although he seemed to be very much bothered over the situation. She didn't feel like she should get involved in that unless they would start a physical altercation. And even then she doubted she could do anything except get tossed aside by them like an used toothpick. She decided to clear her throat hoping to catch their attention and pointing towards the kitchen, implying maybe they wanted to investigate with her when they were ready. 

[Freya Alexander]

“Miss Freya...I understand you’re scared,”

Freya froze upon realising that Noah’s malice was – indeed – directed towards her, though he seemed to be trying to conceal it. He took a breath as if holding in something he really wanted to say. As such, Freya’s mouth twitched downwards, a rush of estranged emotion pummelling through her chest, of which even her brain couldn’t quite focus on. “But you also must understand that the girl is not unintelligent as you accused her of being.”

Sympathy? The girl certainly didn’t deserve sympathy for what she had done. They had almost been free, Kim a moment away from untying them and allowing their freedom; and Noah’s blind compassion seemed to dull that factor in his mind. Freya did not know this woman; she had no care for who she was, regardless of what she may have gone through. The cycle of abuse was very much real, and it was not something Freya would feel compassionate towards the perpetrator.

Her body physically snapped back, her face hardened, a look of angered misery across her puffy and tear-tracked eyes. She knew he didn’t mean it, but the condescension in his tone of voice – as if he were speaking to a child – struck her harder than the words he expressed. Claudie cleared her throat, but Freya could only stare at him, so many thoughts swirling in her mind that she could hardly conceal the soft tremble of pained rage.

“But I’m unintelligent… for shouting at her, you mean? You’re saying it’s my fault, aren’t you?” There was no coy gentleness in her voice; no vigilant ‘sweetness’ she herself was used to giving even those that disliked her the most. Her tone of voice was not enraged but dripping with something other than understanding. “Don’t talk to me like that. Not after we were so close to getting out of here. Don’t you dare, Noah.” The knife was by her side, and she had no thought to use it. Instead, hooking it in her belt loop to keep it close, she exhaled, shaking her head, though the tension remained in her shoulders. “After all this, you want to help the wicked little girl that decided to continue what that bitch did to us? Our friends are dead, Noah… Has that never crossed your mind? And you still want to protect her – what – precious feelings? Did Madge deserve sympathy for doing this to us?” She pointed at the witch’s lifeless corpse barely three metres from them.

Freya chuffed in disgust, the tears glazing over her eyes again. She felt cold, and lonely in that room, and the ache in her body grew a frigid numbness. She knuckled the tears away from her eyes, holding back the sobs threatening to tear from her throat. The guilt stabbed into her with malicious intent, and she couldn’t escape from that creeping voice in her head telling her that – if it weren’t for her – they’d have escaped. Freya couldn’t cope with that implication. Grabbing the elastic band from around her wrist, she tied her lengthening hair from out of her eyes, strands of pink sticking to her wet cheeks, before looking Noah directly in his eyes, a vacant anger burning in her own.

[Kim Anderson]

Dizzy.

"My head," the girl mumbled in her sleep unable to break the vail between the world of the living and the nightmare she got trapped in. The neverending nightmare where everybody she loves is dead. Dead because of her. Because there is nothing they could do to stop the clock. All they needed just a little bit more time. Just a little bit more time. Please. Stop the clock. It hurts. Everything hurts. Everything was spiraling. Like a carousel. Out of control. Out of her grip!

"Fuck," she mouthed and shook her head left and right finally coming back to her senses, her fists clenched in defiance. She heard voices. Familiar voices. She grasped onto them as if her life depended on it and whispered: "Freya..."

Judging by the tone of her voice the girl was arguing back with somebody. Who else was there? Where were they? With a deep breath, Kim turned her head to the left only to see a big blob of meat that once served as a body to their captor and just a few inches behind her was...

"Dad," she mouthed as the silent tears streamed down her cheeks. Tears. So many tears. She has never cried as much as now in her life... The easy-going life that she has never appreciated!

Moving her numb limbs was a tedious task but she did care. She wanted to see him. One last time. As the girl stood up from her spot to move closer to him the last bits of hope was shattered upon the reveal. Gregory was long gone, his corpse was already pale and frozen in place: jaw slightly opened, the head tilted to the side as if he has fallen asleep. She gently patted his cold cheek and wiped the tears away, finally accepting her defeat.

"And you still want to protect her – what – precious feelings? Did Madge deserve sympathy for doing this to us?" she heard Freya speak back as her fists shook in rage... and reget. She should have killed her earlier. She should have risked it. Taken a chance. She should have-

"Enough!" Kim's hoarse voice echoed through the empty room, cutting the argument inside her own head short and interrupting the feud. "Please, let's just..." the ginger tried to speak up but the words got lost in a coughing fit; looks like she's gotten sick again.

"Try to find a way out of here," she continued after the coughing and pointed at the freezer door in the kitchen. "There is an exit in the freezer, it-" she let out another cough, "It can be our way out."

If it's not locked from the outside...

[Noah Hernandez]

It took Noah a second to register Freya’s sudden hardened expression over his criticism towards her.

“But I’m unintelligent...for shouting at her you mean? You’re saying this is my fault, aren’t you?” She scowled.

The architect furrowed his eyebrows in both shock and confusion, clearly taken aback by her comment.

“Wha-what? No I-“

“Don’t talk to me like that! Not after we were so close to getting out of here. Don’t you dare, Noah,” The blonde continued.

He quickly went from baffled to offended. He’s never had someone younger than him talk to him like this before. “Miss Alexander-“

“After all this, you want to help the wicked little girl that decided to continue what that bitch did to us? Our friends are dead, Noah… Has that never crossed your mind? And you still want to protect her – what – precious feelings? Did Madge deserve sympathy for doing this to us?”

“FREYA!!!” Noah has never raised his voice. In fact this may have been the first time he’s ever done it. But he had lost his patience. He was not going to argue about this to someone who was clearly emotionally unstable, and he surely wasn’t going to do it when they were in this dire of an environment.

He took a deep breath, calming himself down. “Don’t you assume that I feel sympathy for the person who kidnapped us. Nor should you assume that I accused you of being at fault for this. I was simply making a point that this is much more complicated than you may think.”

The architect’s eyes shifted, trying to avoid Freya’s as they only showed the anger she was exerting towards him. He wanted to put it as delicately as he could. He wasn’t trying to defend Madge or Mary, their actions were inexcusable. But Mary was a victim too. This wasn’t all black and white. Of course, he may only feel this way because he has knowledge most of them don’t have. He’s had contact with her, and he can’t forget that that’s where his own bias comes from.

“The young woman was kidnapped here just like you and me. She is what one likes to call a...worst case scenario. Fully dedicated to our kidnapper’s beliefs and lies as if they ring complete truth. Much like you, Miss Alexander, she is scared and irrational. The only difference is that she’s had months, or even years, of brainwashing assigned to her,” He explained calmly. He didn’t know how much that would help, or if it would even help at all, but he wanted to diffuse the situation as much as possible. 

“Enough!” A hoarse yet familiar voice cut into their argument. Noah turned to see the unconscious Kim slowly rise from her position. She tried to speak more, but was interrupted by a big coughing fit. The architect quickly rushed to her aid and helped her on her feet.

“Try to find a way out of here,” she said still coughing. “There is an exit in the freezer it...it could be our way out.”

“Are you alright, Miss Kim?” Noah asked quietly.

[Claudette Hautecourt]

“But I’m unintelligent… for shouting at her, you mean? You’re saying it’s my fault, aren’t you? Don’t talk to me like that. Not after we were so close to getting out of here. Don’t you dare, Noah. After all this, you want to help the wicked little girl that decided to continue what that bitch did to us? Our friends are dead, Noah… Has that never crossed your mind? And you still want to protect her – what – precious feelings? Did Madge deserve sympathy for doing this to us?” Claudie heard the girl argue against Noah. It didn't feel nice to be ignored by them but she understood that tensions were high right now. She had hoped not to get too much involved into this by having to pick sides but the tears forming into Freya's eyes caused her to move forward on an impulse. She went over to Freya and pulled her into a hug, not paying any mind to the knife at her hip. She drew comforting circles on the girls back to let her know she was not alone. Noah most likely was not happy that she was on Freya's side, and although his plea of not judging Mary too harshly for her part in this seemed reasonable. To her and Freya the woman was on the wrong side of the doors to get their sympathy right now.

“FREYA!!! Don’t you assume that I feel sympathy for the person who kidnapped us. Nor should you assume that I accused you of being at fault for this. I was simply making a point that this is much more complicated than you may think.
The young woman was kidnapped here just like you and me. She is what one likes to call a...worst case scenario. Fully dedicated to our kidnapper’s beliefs and lies as if they ring complete truth. Much like you, Miss Alexander, she is scared and irrational. The only difference is that she’s had months, or even years, of brainwashing assigned to her,” Claudie pulled apart from the hug with Freya and looked at Noah. "Then you can be diplomatic if you so choose. If she stands between us and our freedom you'd better not stand on her side at that point." She said hoping to end this argument but also at least draw some lines in the sand on where she stood and hopefully how others saw it as well.

She then noticed Kim had woken up too. "Enough! Please, let's just... Try to find a way out of here, There is an exit in the freezer, it-It can be our way out." Claudie looked at the redhead and then at the others. Noah was fast to ask Kim if she was alright but Claudie was a little bit more eager to find out if they could get out that way or not. If nothing else they could use the freezer to store the bodies.