set of dazzling white teeth.
“Oh. Do you have a name?”
“A name?”
He actually looks dumfounded that I’ve asked him this.
“Yes, you know that thing people call you and identify you by?”
“Oh, yes, a name. Edge.”
“Edge? That’s your name? Like the edge of a cliff?”
“It is my name, yes.”
“Hello, Edge, I’m …”
“Serena Callahan. Yes, I am aware.”
“I suppose you are. Yes, well, do you have anything to eat around here? I’m starving.”
Edge appears a bit annoyed with me, but who else am I to ask? He quickly glances around to the other men, but they are busy doing other things.
“Come with me.”
We go back through the door I came in and he takes me into another room. “You’ll find everything you need in here. It’s our kitchen.” Then he’s gone before I even have a chance to thank him.
When I check the place out, I recognize nothing. No microwave, no stove, no oven, no coffee maker, not a damn thing. There isn’t even a refrigerator. How the hell am I supposed to find something to eat in here? There are a few cabinets so I rummage through them, hoping to find something. My dreams of an Eggo with butter and syrup quickly fade away. There are a few items in here, but I don’t have any idea what they are. The packages have writing on them but in a language I can’t read, exactly like the toothbrush I found. There is some kind of strange machine standing next to the sink, so I check it out. It’s large, about the size of a refrigerator, and has a number of different looking panels with glass buttons on it. I don’t know what they say, because again, they’re in that foreign language. It looks Greek to me. Who the hell are these people? I hunt around for a glass so I can at least get a drink of water, but I can’t put my hands on one of those either.
Now I’m aggravated on top of being super hungry. I keep checking out that machine. Maybe I should just take a stab at some of those buttons and see what happens. So I give it a try, and nothing. There are several panels in groups, so I tap out a series of things on each of the panels. Again, nothing. I probably should go back out there and ask that Edge guy. But then he said I wasn’t supposed to be in there. All I want is a damn waffle. So I yell at it.
“Can you just give me a fucking waffle with butter on it and syrup? Please?”
And then I point my finger and really poke those buttons. Suddenly, the thing starts making a loud buzzing noise. Stuff starts shooting out of this hidden door, which I didn’t see because it was hidden, of course, and I don’t know how to get it to stop. It’s a full-fledged five-alarm disaster now. The room fills up with seven men as they try to get the damn thing to shut up while it still spews goop all over the place. Someone finally shuts off the power, and then all sets of eyes turn to me accompanied by accusatory scowls. I know they’re going to give me hell.
“I didn’t know how it works. I was hungry. All I wanted was a damn Eggo.”
Sabin gets in my face and asks, “Who brought you in here?”
I learned early on that pointing fingers only makes enemies. There is no way I’m getting anyone in trouble and have them hate me even more than they already do.
“No one. I stumbled upon it myself.”
His glare burns through me. “And you didn’t think to ask anyone how to operate the damn thing?” he asks in a scathing tone.
“I thought I could figure it out. I’m not stupid.” Well, most of the time, anyway.
Edge steps forward and says, “She’s lying. I brought her in here. She woke up and came into the sec center. She said she was hungry so I brought her here and left her. Clearly, I was not thinking.”
Now his burning glare is redirected on Edge. “Clearly.” He turns to the others and says, “Get back to work. I’ll handle this.”
Then to me, he says, “Henceforth, you will no doubt discover there are certain things you are unfamiliar with. Please ask
“Oh. Do you have a name?”
“A name?”
He actually looks dumfounded that I’ve asked him this.
“Yes, you know that thing people call you and identify you by?”
“Oh, yes, a name. Edge.”
“Edge? That’s your name? Like the edge of a cliff?”
“It is my name, yes.”
“Hello, Edge, I’m …”
“Serena Callahan. Yes, I am aware.”
“I suppose you are. Yes, well, do you have anything to eat around here? I’m starving.”
Edge appears a bit annoyed with me, but who else am I to ask? He quickly glances around to the other men, but they are busy doing other things.
“Come with me.”
We go back through the door I came in and he takes me into another room. “You’ll find everything you need in here. It’s our kitchen.” Then he’s gone before I even have a chance to thank him.
When I check the place out, I recognize nothing. No microwave, no stove, no oven, no coffee maker, not a damn thing. There isn’t even a refrigerator. How the hell am I supposed to find something to eat in here? There are a few cabinets so I rummage through them, hoping to find something. My dreams of an Eggo with butter and syrup quickly fade away. There are a few items in here, but I don’t have any idea what they are. The packages have writing on them but in a language I can’t read, exactly like the toothbrush I found. There is some kind of strange machine standing next to the sink, so I check it out. It’s large, about the size of a refrigerator, and has a number of different looking panels with glass buttons on it. I don’t know what they say, because again, they’re in that foreign language. It looks Greek to me. Who the hell are these people? I hunt around for a glass so I can at least get a drink of water, but I can’t put my hands on one of those either.
Now I’m aggravated on top of being super hungry. I keep checking out that machine. Maybe I should just take a stab at some of those buttons and see what happens. So I give it a try, and nothing. There are several panels in groups, so I tap out a series of things on each of the panels. Again, nothing. I probably should go back out there and ask that Edge guy. But then he said I wasn’t supposed to be in there. All I want is a damn waffle. So I yell at it.
“Can you just give me a fucking waffle with butter on it and syrup? Please?”
And then I point my finger and really poke those buttons. Suddenly, the thing starts making a loud buzzing noise. Stuff starts shooting out of this hidden door, which I didn’t see because it was hidden, of course, and I don’t know how to get it to stop. It’s a full-fledged five-alarm disaster now. The room fills up with seven men as they try to get the damn thing to shut up while it still spews goop all over the place. Someone finally shuts off the power, and then all sets of eyes turn to me accompanied by accusatory scowls. I know they’re going to give me hell.
“I didn’t know how it works. I was hungry. All I wanted was a damn Eggo.”
Sabin gets in my face and asks, “Who brought you in here?”
I learned early on that pointing fingers only makes enemies. There is no way I’m getting anyone in trouble and have them hate me even more than they already do.
“No one. I stumbled upon it myself.”
His glare burns through me. “And you didn’t think to ask anyone how to operate the damn thing?” he asks in a scathing tone.
“I thought I could figure it out. I’m not stupid.” Well, most of the time, anyway.
Edge steps forward and says, “She’s lying. I brought her in here. She woke up and came into the sec center. She said she was hungry so I brought her here and left her. Clearly, I was not thinking.”
Now his burning glare is redirected on Edge. “Clearly.” He turns to the others and says, “Get back to work. I’ll handle this.”
Then to me, he says, “Henceforth, you will no doubt discover there are certain things you are unfamiliar with. Please ask
Similar Books
