Chapter 5

Renee didn't sleep well that night. Part of it was the unknown dread of whatever 'party' Claude was planning, part of her was afraid he wasn't done with her for the day- that'd he was going to violate her in places that still ached brutally.

She tried not to think about what he had told her- that she wasn't real. Even if it were true, it changed nothing.

I am human, she thought earnestly. Even if I was made.

I still feel. And I have memories...

And if they're all made up?

What will you do when- she refused to think 'if'- you escape?

Try and find the convent.

Yea, try and find a fake place from a fake memory. For all you know, everything in your head is wrong.

What if everyone is like him?

What if there isn't anywhere to go?

She drifted off into an uneasy sleep, broken only once as the sheets tangled around her, in a terrifyingly fixed embrace.

But he wasn't in the room.

She slept.

Claude wasn't at breakfast.

Renee waited for half an hour before she ate, but his seat remained vacant. As the robots cleaned away the dishes, she wondered what she was supposed to do. He hadn't left her any chores, hadn't forbidden her from going outside.

She didn't want to repeat her 'leaving the house' experience.

He's gone. Do what you can.

She left the dining room and began searching the house.

Most of the rooms on the second floor were bedrooms like her own- a bed, wardrobe, and a connected bathroom. There was one chamber devoid of any furniture, but the floor and the walls were padded.

The door next to the empty room was bolted shut.

Renee stared at it for a long while. It could be nothing. Maybe there were just ... valuables, inside.

Yeah. Right.

She suppressed a shiver and moved on

Each and every room was the same. Not even one had a terminal.

She reached the end of the hall and dallied at the foot of the stairs.

Claude's room was up there, she knew. He hadn't expressly forbid her from going to the third floor, and she didn't believe he was home- he would have tormented her earlier. But he would come back, and could find out what she had been doing in his absence. If he knew she was looking for a way out...

She shook the thought out of her head. Fear wasn't going to help her escape.

Renee climbed, freezing at every creak, despite her pep talk. When nothing happened, she grew bolder and ascended quickly.

The third story's hall was shorter, and there were only six doors, as opposed to the countless number below.

They were all locked.

Now what?

She returned to the first floor. She had seen the library, and she had been in the dining room, but that was all.

If there is a place to eat food, there's a place to make it.

The kitchen was much smaller than she had anticipated. There was barely enough space for her to move between the appliances. It was obviously a room not built for humans.

Renee located the dishes the food was served on, and the cutlery as well.

She found the sharp cutting knives.

Her fingers itched to take one- just one- bring it to her bed. And wait.

Not yet.

I'm not a murderer.

Renee abandoned her investigation. If there was a terminal, it was probably in one of the rooms on the third floor. She'd need a key, and it was most assuredly with Claude.

The library was as untouched as it had been when she had arrived. She doubted he ever used it.

The girl uncovered the book she had hidden before; one full of short stories, just in case he decided to destroy it too. She passed the rest of the morning inside the tales, one ear cocked for the sound of the front door.

Renee nearly missed it, the book ensnared her so well. If Claude himself hadn't been preoccupied, she would have been caught.

She appeared at the entranceway as he walked in, and tried to blend into the shadows.

Behind Claude was another man, tall and hawk-nosed. He examined his surroundings almost with the air of one who is never pleased.

"It did look rather larger outside," he said nasally. "Are you certain you have enough room?"

Claude smiled, and it was not a smile she had seen before. It was ... amiable, no hint of cruelty underneath.

"You've barely seen the rest, Henry. Relax."

He sniffed dubiously, but then he spotted Renee.

"That's her?" he asked Claude.

"Yes."

"Hmph. A bit skinny, wouldn't you say?" He strode forward, grasped her breast before she could protest, and gave a experimental squeeze.

Renee lurched back, shocked at his audacity and touch.

The man frowned. "You don't seem to have trained her very well."

"Why do you think I invited everyone?" His smile had an edge to it now. "And you know its more fun when they're still a bit ... feral."

"Hmm." Henry snapped his fingers. Behind him, Renee saw a boy, perhaps her own age, holding a box that looked much too heavy.

He stepped through from the bright portal and glanced at Henry.

"Where do I tell him to put it?" Henry asked Claude.

Claude contacted the computer. A fist-sized bot flew in from the kitchen and hovered before them.

"Follow that," Claude said, but the boy already was.

Renee watched as he struggled up the stairs. He was thin- if he had any muscle, it was not very defined- and both the box and his wavy blond hair conspired to hide his face from hers.

She wanted to ask Claude what was going on, who were these people, but then more arrived.

It was another man, short, with a pronounced widows peak. Claude greeted him like an old friend, and directed the two girls carrying his luggage with another bot. They were younger than her, asian, and identical.

She didn't have long to look. Claude took hold of her shoulder and brought her forward for the new man's appraisal.

This one didn't touch her, but his eyes seemed to see through her clothes, through her mind. She wanted to run away, back to the library, or her room, somewhere away from them, with their probing eyes and prodding fingers.

But Claude held her. More people arrived, and he began directing them- after their degrading assessments- to the dining room for refreshments. Their baggage carriers were sent into a smaller room, connected to it; the door was half hidden in the shadows, and Renee wanted to kick herself for having missed it before.

She noticed one thing.

All of the people Claude greeted, except for one, were men.

Most of the servants were girls. Not women- girls, all around her own age.

Finally, the stream of visitors trickled off. She breathed a sigh of relief when he sent her with the other girls- she had half expected him to put her on display.

Renee walked into the small chamber cautiously. A few groups had formed amongst the assembly, but most of them were standing or sitting by themselves. The two twins she had first seen before were holding hands in a corner, both sets of eyes warily scanning all of the people.

She took a deep breath, found an unoccupied spot of wall, and began walking to it.

So intent she was on remaining cool, she didn't see him until he was right in front of her.

The boy who had come in with the first man.

His curious green eyes met hers.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Simon."

Renee froze.