Chapter 4: Blending In

Clair lay curled up in the venting of the building. Well some of it was really the chutes that led all over
the house. She'd found a large flat area in one space and had chosen that to pretty much call home.
She guessed that this was more of a heating system for the house but the heat wasn't on. Besides who
knew? The house was a maze and full of bizarre things. This felt safe and where she was going to stay.
She wasn't going to share it with no one.

She was staring at the metal wall in front of her. A dim light came up from somewhere below. She
heard a woman scream and didn't even move or flinch. Five days had passed. Five miserable and
terrifying days. Time was starting to become irrelevant now. Now it was just surviving and staying
hidden.

She had a small stash of food here and a few blankets to lay on. She was slowly learning where the
different chutes went to. It was hard to climb them at first. Her muscles sore and hurting, but it was here
or out there somewhere. At least here she could fall into a kind of sleep. The hell hounds couldn't get
into the vents, and she kept to areas that were to small for Isaiah to possibly get in. Though she had a
hard time believing that he would follow into the vents. Who knew?

She'd seen a person torn apart in front of her they other day. Very nearly died herself. It was the small
voice in her head that spoke to her. It said, ‘Run Clair, run or die here.’

She didn't want to die here. When she was forced to leave her safe haven, she would look out the
windows at the deceptive peace out there. Foolishly hoping for a savior to show, but nothing was out
there but wilderness. She was sure the place was shrouded in magic to keep it hidden. Who knew the
world held such things?

It had taken two days before she'd managed to fall asleep too. She didn't know who was left or how
many, and she couldn't really find it to care. She'd come across Laura once in the kitchen and slapped
her across the face before leaving.



She hadn't come across Isaiah again since that first night being here and she was doing her best to not
come across him. She moved around during the day as Gregori had said. It was true, the hell hounds
weren't ever out then, rarely if they did show.

Clair was confused as to how they could just bring people here and not have been found out. They
must be very good at doing this. She'd spoken to Gregori one more time before he'd been killed
yesterday. He'd said that he and a few of his friends had come up here to party. They'd been promised
a good time and plenty to drink along with women.

When they got here there were others as well. They weren't allowed in until they signed. It was claimed
to be a safeguard for all involved. If one was going down, then they all were. Two had refused and
stayed back. He said that once they were inside they heard gunshots and all hell had broken out for
them shortly after.

She came back to reality as she heard running somewhere below, and then a low growl. She just
stayed where she was and closed her eyes. Silent tears came down, she didn't want to make a sound
or draw attention to where she was. She fell asleep like that. Her body tense and tears running down
her face.

When she woke, the world was quiet around her and her muscles were stiff. She stretched and stayed
right where she was, for the rest of the day. Moving every now and then when she felt cramped, and
leaving only twice because she had to use the bathroom. Which was terrifying in itself. She however
had found that one of the chutes led to a bathroom not far from her. Thank god for the small things.

She wasn't sure if the day had really passed or not, but her food supply was low. She needed to use
the bathroom again. She set down her drawing tools. She grabbed them the other day when looking for
food. Her bag randomly sat in the kitchen like it was waiting for her. The only thing that took her from
this place. Whatever, that was the least terrifying thing to happen.



She drew to take up the time and to keep her sanity. She thought that she should look for a way out,
but the thought of what would happen just stopped her. Her bravado from the first night was very nearly
gone. She had just enough light in here from the tap light she had found. She hoped the batteries didn't
die fast. However she needed to go out, food, and the bathroom called.

Clair moved climbing down the chute to her left and then over to the right. She half crawled along this
until she came to where she wanted. The bathroom she used every so often. She tried to keep her
visits to certain rooms sporadic so it couldn't be tracked.

It was hard to maneuver out of it. The angle was ninety degrees and the opening was just big enough
for her to fit through. She'd searched the bathroom the first time that she had used it, and was shocked
to find very ordinary objects in it.

There were several unopened toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash. Towels were folded and
stacked in a rack. In the cabinet below the sink were medical supplies and aspirin, along with different
toiletries.

This was seriously a messed up place. Who would worry about things like that when they were being
hunted down? However Clair looked at the shower and she did long for one. Just to feel human and
alive. Sitting on a shelf inside the ornate clawed bathtub was shampoo and conditioner, along with
soap. Clair smelled herself and touched her hair, gross. Now she wondered if she had strong body
odor. Could the hell hounds smell that better? Shouldn't she kill her scent so she didn't smell as much?

Clair moved to the door, and cracked it open no one was in the hall. All was silent. She didn't know how
such an old house had plumbing or these basic needs. Who was there to even ask, what did it matter?
However she was feeling a bit more alive today. Some strength returned to her that she had lost over
the past week. With her heart beating faster, and her deciding her next moves might be worth the risk,
she left the bathroom.



Clair darted across the hall on bare feet making very little noise and went into the room there. In here
was a bedroom, and she went to the dresser looking to see what was in there. She found a pair of
cotton pants. A bit big but they would do for now. Her clothes were grimy, her hair greasy and she
figured that having a cleaner scent would blend her more into the house. She figured that was a better
bet to go undetected. She didn't want to smell like sweat and grime. It would stand out more.

"If I die, I'm not dying laying in my own filth." She said battling with if this was smart or not. If she was
about to become that horror movie victim for doing something stupid.

The house was beautiful, everything in it was ornate and set up like a museum in a way. It was always
spotless, even the rooms that had damage done to them. You could leave and come back an hour later
and everything would be back in place. Magic, go figure right?

Doors that were cracked or smashed, seemed to replace themselves. Blood stains just seemed to
disappear. Clair pushed the memories away and opened another drawer. She grabbed the yellow shirt
there. It was button up but that was okay and it looked like it belonged to a man. One that was just a bit
bigger than her.

Either way the clothes smelled like the house and that was good. She grabbed a chair in the room and
moved to the door. She glanced out and used her sixth sense to feel around her. She practiced
constantly to get stronger. Now she could feel large areas around her, move larger objects with her
mind. She felt this was going to keep her alive. She did make sure she kept her signature small, or at
least she hoped she was. If Clair was good at anything, it had been fading into the background. The
one skill she excelled at and practiced.

Clair moved into the bathroom and closed the door quietly and put the chair up against the handle.
Then she stripped quickly, she tossed her shirt, pants and underwear down the chute. They could go.
She kept her bra though, and set it with the other clothes. No longer than a few minutes she was going
to do this.



Clair took the shampoo bottle and opened it. She squished a good amount in her hand and then
rubbed it in her hair. It was dry but that was okay. She didn't want to draw attention. She wasn't going to
turn the water on until she was ready and even then she wasn't sure she should.

Clair moved to the sink and turned it on just a little and used that to get a lather on the soap. She did
this a few times and then moved back to the tub, grabbing the conditioner and putting that in her hand
as well.

With that she turned on the shower and gasped at the very cold spray but scrubbed harshly and
quickly. Rinsing her hair and her body. Moving with quick hands and keeping her mind open she felt,
but nothing came to her. She looked like a crazy person scrubbing herself haphazardly.She shut off the
water, her mind timing herself less than four minutes. She was sure that if anyone had been watching
this, it might have looked comical the way that she went about it.

"Let them be in my position and see what they would do." She said to herself and grabbed a towel. Just
as quickly drying herself, and squeezing her hair. The thick mass was a tangle right now but that didn't
matter.

She grabbed the cotton pants, which were a black color and put them on tying the string tighter around
her hips. Then put the yellow shirt on. She'd find a new one as soon as she could. The color wasn't
good for moving around in the dark.

At least it was the middle of the day. She didn't have much to worry about right now. Just Isaiah if he
was up and about. Clair slipped the shirt on. It came to just below her hips. She grabbed the hair brush
and took the chair from the door. She glanced into the hall, no one was there.

Looking back she bit her lip, it felt really good to be clean right now. It made her feel human. Less like
prey and more like a person, she reached over and snatched the toothbrush and paste. She took the
chair with her, as she had thrown the towel down the shoot.



She put the chair back in the room and moved down the hall. She needed to go to the kitchen and get
food. Clair knew a few secret passageways now, and used them to get there quickly.

When Clair arrived at the main kitchen, a man was there grabbing things from the cabinet. He jumped
when she came in and she recognized him as James. She was quick to copy him.

"Still alive huh?" He stated rhetorically to her and she nodded, grabbing a kitchen towel and laying it
down. She tore the package off the toothbrush and put paste on it as she moved through the kitchen
grabbing food. She brushed her teeth as she looked for food. Not a lot was left and James was doing
the same.

"Where did you get that?" He asked her, "Did you shower?" He asked his voice barely a whisper. He
looked shocked, and a longing was on his face.

"Very quickly. A bathroom upstairs has supplies." She said to him and put a few items on the towel.
She spit into the sink and scrubbed a bit more. She spit and took a little water and rinsed.

"Can I have that?" He asked as she set the brush down near the toothpaste.

"Have at it." She grabbed her items and bottled water from the fridge and left the room. She made her
way quickly back to her hiding place and put her items there and ate quickly. She felt refreshed, still
terrified, but refreshed. This was a good day, a really good day. Yet she knew deep in her heart sitting
here meant she was just killing herself slower.


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