Free Make Willing the Prey (Dreams by Streetlight) by Luna Lindsey

she really did
have a plan.
    Jina rifled through her gym bag
and pulled out two thin metal rods.  She inserted them into the keyhole.
    “Do you know what you’re doing?”
    “Yep.  Remember Nat?”
    “One of your jerks?  Yes.”
    “He taught me how to do this.  I
never told you because I knew you’d bug me about it.”  Jina played with the
lock and got a frustrated look on her face.  “Of course, I wasn’t very good at
it, but these kinds of locks are easy.”
    Lewis scrambled to Jina’s side.  “We
can’t get out,” he whispered into her ear.
    “Nonsense.  I may be rusty at
this, but it’ll work.  Hey, Sand, can you get him a shirt out of my bag?”
    Sandy did as directed, and wasn’t
surprised to find a couple of shirts that would fit Lewis well.  They were both
shirts from former boyfriends that Jina had claimed as spoils of war.  She
chose one.
    “You don’t get it,” Lewis
interjected.  “We can’t leave this house unless he lets us out.  It’s
his game, and he has control.”
    “So maybe this is part of his
game?  We have to at least keep trying.  We can’t just sit in here and wait for
nothing.”  Jina continued to twist the lock picks.  Her look of frustration
turned to an expression of relief when she heard a click.
    “Got it.  Put that shirt on, and
let’s go.”
     
     

     
    T he
hallway smelled of vanilla.  As they walked, the scent intensified, until they
came to an open door on the opposite side of the hall.  The doorway framed a
view of thousands of books.  An inviting fire blazed in a brick fireplace. 
Jina entered the library.
    Sandy reached out her arm to stop
her.
    “S.A. wants us to go in there. 
Let’s try doing what he doesn’t want us to do.”
    But Lewis barged through.  With
animal haste, he knelt at the coffee table in front of the fire and started
vigorously filling his mouth with the pastries that covered the table.  Three
cups of coffee silently steamed next to the array of food.
    Jina paused with Sandy, until
Lewis motioned for them to enter.  The food and comfortable environment seemed
to transform him into a new person, relaxed and even energetic.  Jina shrugged
and joined Lewis, sitting on one of the stuffed sofas and delicately nibbling
at a cherry turnover.
    Sandy sat next to her and
whispered into her ear.  “You know what happens every time we eat something of
his…”
    “We hallucinate?  Since we’ve
been here we haven’t had to eat to see shit,” Jina whispered back.
    “Don’t worry,” Lewis said with a
mouth full.  “I eat here all the time.  Sometimes it turns into beetles before
I finish, but it’s good until then.  Sometimes I get hungry enough I go ahead
and eat the beetles.  Or maggots.  You’d best eat while you can.”  He stuffed
another half of éclair into his mouth. 
    “No thanks, I just ate.”
    “It’s been days since he’s given
me anything,” Lewis said when he had swallowed enough of his bite to speak.  “This
is a reward.  We did something right.  No telling what, though.  Maybe it’s for
you guys for rescuing me.”  He made a hoarse sound that could have been a
laugh.  “Or for me, for rescuing you,” he added before stuffing his mouth
again.
    Sandy browsed over the titles on
the shelves. Lewis finished quickly and then made himself comfortable on the
couch.

“Anyways, as I was saying, we
aren’t getting outta here unless he lets us.  I’ve been looking for the door
for weeks.  Or has it only been a day?  I can’t tell.  I only found an outside
door once.  The back door.  It was locked.  More than locked.  It was nailed
shut.  While I was pulling on it, an arrow flew out of nowhere.  I felt air
when it passed my head.  I took the hint, and left the door alone.  Which
really sucks, because I’m sure I missed my final.”  Lewis scratched his head
and closed his eyes.
    “We’ve heard of you, Lewis,” Jina
said calmly, sitting beside him.  “They’ve been