Different - chapter two

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Chapter Two - The youth in the box

Twister pranced around the space joyfully. "Our room!" she said, her voice high with anticipation.

Eli blinked. Overwhelming, she thought, repressing a slight snigger.

Twister immediately reached for the tall pile of stuffed animals at the end of the room. "We're back," she announced. The bright pink walls seemed longer than the ceiling in the rest of the house, yet the pile nearly reached it.

Eli tried to keep her gaze firmly at the ground. Don't laugh, she instructed herself, but that was proving rather hard to manage. The white tiles of the floor looked like the same strange substance as the room before… Examining them, Eli took an approving step forward.

"We're glad you like it!" Twister squeaked from somewhere in the room.

Eli mumbled something incoherent. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a huge mirror hanging on the wall. Eli raised her head a fraction. At the corner was a queen sized bed with vivid blue covers. She pressed her lips in a tight line to refrain from laughing. All this for a kid?

Elijah snickered at Eli's expression. "Surprised?" he asked.

Eli nodded mutely as she stared at the ridiculously big room. "You… They got that for you?" she managed.

Twister twirled around the pile of dolls, swinging her hands randomly. Her hair flew around her in a whirl of red in the wind. Watching her, Elijah answered. "Not really." He scowled. "But if a person can warp the consistency of space and time, why bother with rules?"

Twister landed on the wide bed with a giggle. "Elijah made it for us," she qualified.

Eli disguised a gasp as a cough. "Oh, that's… impressive," she said lamely.

Twister shot up from the bed again, a new spark in her eyes. "Oh, Elijah!" she called. "Why won't Eli stay with us?"

Elijah put his right hand on his chin, as if thinking it over. "Well," he began.

"I'd love to," Eli promised. The wide room made her feel at ease – in size, it was a lot like Uncle Benjamin's study. Eli's stomach turned. She didn't want to think about Uncle Benjamin – not yet.

"It is kind of a burden to make another room," Elijah said, grimacing. "All righty, then," he agreed. "Twit, go get ready for dinner."

Twister jumped on the bed, pouting. "But we want to stay and play with Eli some more!" She folded her hands across her chest angrily.

"No," Elijah said sternly. "Shower. Now."

Twister shot up off the bed. She sighed, still pouting. "Nanny doesn't like you right now," she said with a hard voice.

Elijah kept his face stern, though a slight tension added to them. "Well, I'm sure Nanny can just live with me for a while longer," he said and ushered the small girl to the door. She looked a bit more reconciled as she closed the door behind her back. As soon as she was out of the doorstep, Eli turned to face him.

"Nanny?" she asked with a raised brow.

A slight shiver ran up Elijah's spine. "I'm not sure if she's referring to one of the dolls or the voices." He shuddered again.

Eli stopped in her tracks. "Voices?"

"Hmm," Elijah hummed reluctantly. "I told you she's unique."

"Yeah, but she's okay, right?" Eli asked uncomfortably. "She won't be… hurt because of it or anything, would she?"

Elijah could only shrug. "I've been raising that girl since infancy. She's sane, swear on my life." His eyebrows pulled down in a disturbed expression. He seemed too deep in thought to be bothered, so Eli settled down and listened carefully. "But… maybe it's her escape, you know? In order to keep sane, she must be – at least on conscious level – insane." Then he shook his head, the dark hair swinging around. He looked completely comfortable in the room, though everything was fluffy and pink, utterly mismatching with his appearance. Eli fought another surprising snicker.

He smiled at Eli, misinterpreting her expression. "I'm speaking nonsense." He clanked his head with his fist. "You don't mind living with her, do you?" he hurried to ask.

Eli ran a finger on the pink walls. They felt strange; rough. "Sure." She shrugged. "I've never lived with a girl before, but this place reminds me…" Her throat clogged up. "Um, anyway, what other places do you have here?"

"Oh." Elijah blinked at the change of subject. "As many places as I want there to be. But right now, about… nine."

Eli gasped, this time not trying to disguise it. "Nine rooms?"

Elijah raised his pale hands, lifting up long fingers, counting them off. "Kitchen, dining room, Zi's room, Leila the annoying brat's room, my room, Twit's room, play room, guys' bathroom, girls' bathroom, oh, and Nick's room." He scratched his head. "More than I thought. Huh."

Eli coughed in surprise. "Who's Nick?" Her stomach twisted at the thought of meeting another person.

Elijah rolled his eyes. "Don't get worked up. That guy's been here longer than any of us… I'm not really sure how old he is, either. He's just… weird." He sat on the wide bed, settling in with a puff. Eli's feet were starting to hurt, so she took timid steps in his direction, watching warily for his response. "He doesn't go out in public much," Elijah continued as Eli settled on the bed next to him.

"Why not?" she asked with true curiosity, relieved that he didn't seem to take special notice to the little gesture.

"No one knows," Elijah said in an ominous tone. After a second of quiet he leapt to his feet, much like Twister, Eli noticed happily. "Dinner's gonna be served," he explained as he paced to the corridor from which he took Eli to before.

"Sounds good," Eli said, her voice rough. She cleared her throat.

"I'll let Leila show you around the girl's area." Elijah nodded thoughtfully.

Eli risked a tiny smile. "Thank you," she said in a small voice. Somehow… this place was proving more comfortable than any place outside.

In the white hallway with the ten doors, they walked forward, until finally Elijah held out a hand to stop Eli. "It's here," he said and pushed the door open.

Leila's angry face was the first thing Eli saw. Her eyes weren't puffed anymore, but her curls were slightly disorganized. Instead of puffy, her brown eyes were turned into slits. "You were showing off," she accused. It took Eli one frantic moment to realize she wasn't the one being spoken to.

"Not really," Elijah said with ease, slipping through the door. Eli followed shyly. It seemed like a normal room, the walls a neutral grey color, a bright picture of a lake at the corner. A long table was set with different foods; there were hamburgers and pizzas, fruits slices and vegetables, baked potatoes and rice. Eli even thought she smelled stew somewhere in there. Just from the sight, her mouth started watering.

"Come on, Elijah! You know how moving rooms makes me sea sick!" Leila complained in the background.

"Then why don't you just not be in them," Elijah suggested with a grin.

With an annoyed 'tsk', Leila turned sharply and sat next to Zi, who was focusing on a bowl of cereal.

As she moved forward, something burnt reached Eli's nostrils. She clogged her nose, the same way Leila did.

"What is that smell?" she asked, her eyes tearing.

It took Elijah a moment before he raised his head and burst into wild laughter.

"He's no use," Leila said irately. She walked over to the doorway herself, but before she could open it, Twister did. Her long red hair was twisted, her face smudged in a curious green and brown in places. Her sweatshirt was completely stained.

Eli turned to look at Elijah. He did his best to stop laughing. "Twister… tried to make dinner," he explained in a hushed voice.

The two of them followed her silently, leaving a rather furious looking Leila and a busy looking Zi in the room. They walked three doors down before Twister opened the door. "We're sorry," she whispered. "Don't be mad, okay?"

The kitchen, grey like the dining room, was filled with the smell of coals and rotting vegetables. It looked even worse. Eli restrained a giggle. From the corner of her eye, she saw Elijah was having similar thoughts.

Twister hung her head guiltily, her blue eyes watering. "We tried," she sniffled. "Honest, we did."

Elijah controlled a snicker as he patted her hair. "Uh-huh," he said in a strained voice, "We know."

Eli pressed her lips tightly together. "Yeah," she said brightly. "You did your best."

One of the lumps from the tall pile in the sink fell down with a soft thud.

"I didn't remember having so many!" Twister yelled. She stared at the rest of the room, her eyes more guilt stricken as she continued. "All I tried to do was make a cake, an' maybe some veggies, too," the little girl sobbed.

"Which vegetables did you take?" Elijah asked, turning to look at the brown substance on the floor. Twister followed his gaze.

"I tried the ones the government gave us," she said in a mild voice.

Elijah groaned. "Those are out of date, Twit. We didn't order any new ones for about two years now."

Eli patted the girl's back as she burst into tears.

Elijah's features softened. "You should always listen to me, see?' he asked quietly. He pulled her up to his arms with trained hands. "Come on now," he said and guided her out of the room. Eli followed them in silence, trudging slowly. Uncle Benjamin had said the same to her when she was a little girl…

"Eli," Twister called, her voice desperate. Eli's head shot up instantly. "We want you to come with us, too! You'll be hungry if you don't eat."

Eli managed a smile. "I'm coming," she promised.

"Do we need to clean this?" Eli asked when most of the plates were empty.

Elijah whistled. "No sink to use, remember?" From her place next to Eli, Twister grimaced. Childishly, Elijah stuck his tongue at her.

"We'll work something out tomorrow," Zi announced. He stretched his arms. "See you later guys, good night."

Leila stared at her plate numbly. "I think I'm going to hit the sack too," she said through a yawn.

Twister nodded. "We're tired too." Eli shrugged. She didn't feel tired at all – she felt keyed up, excited.

Zi and Leila left first. Twister tugged on Eli's hand loosely. "Shower?" she asked jadedly. Eli nodded apologetically. "Righ' next to the last door in the hallway," the little girl explained. The smudges on her clothes and face and her twisted hair remained visible.

Elijah smiled fondly. "I guess she'll take a shower tomorrow," he said while supporting the little girl. "You'll find it," he reassured Eli one last time before leaving.

Eli dragged her legs across the hallway. New people. Not bad people, but still new. Like. They were nice. Familiar in a way... Loneliness… Everything was new.

Absentmindedly, Eli twisted the knob of the door. Of all the strange things I've been through today, Eli thought in slight desperation. A youth was staring at her from the floor, sitting inside a beaten up cardboard box, legs pulled into his chest. Eli gasped. They youth, on the other hand, kept quiet.

"Why are you in a box?" Eli finally asked.

He shrugged. "I can't get out."

His voice was nice but weak. His structure was too thin, too. Eli walked into the room hesitantly. It was white, empty but the youth in the box. "Should I help you up?"

"No." The youth shook his head, light brown hair swinging. "I can't get out because they're out there."

Eli nodded. Another someone like Twister. "Oh, all right then." She paused in her place. "This isn't the bathroom, is it?"

The youth shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. It looked strained, as if he was not used to it. "No. Two doors down."

Eli nodded again. "Nice meeting you," she said politely before turning to the door.

Behind her back, Nick said, "Nice to meet you, too, Eli."

She shivered just slightly. He knew her name… The chilly feeling did not disappear until she was under the hot water of the luxurious tub. She rubbed away the day, fighting to get out of the tub. Eli hissed. Ew, water.

In her hurry, she slipped on the floor. Her leg hurt now, but she pulled on her clothes and walked back to the room she assumed was Twister's. Inside, there was another queen sized bed, on the far end of the room. Eli walked over to it hesitantly. It had comfortable looking lacy purple covers. There was also a pajama made of a wide T shirt and a pair of thick red sweats. The lights were off, and on her bed, Twister was deep in sleep, covered by her blanket all the way up.

Hurriedly, Eli dressed. She climbed into bed unsteadily, her leg beating along with her heart. Sleep, she thought in desperation. I don't want to think about the youth in the box, about this strange house, about Uncle Benjamin, about anything.

Not just yet.