Chapter 5-Recognition?

After picking up Anett and Sarah we made our way into the main lounge. The walls were painted in red and orange colors and the carpet was a dark shade of gray. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling right above a single throne like chair. A few couches and pillows were thrown around the room with children and teens sitting on them. I quickly counted them. There were exactly 36 kids if I don't count Sarah, Anett and myself. "Quiet down kidlets, it is time to introduce our new friends!" Daniel called out. When he had the attention he wanted he continued. "As you all know by now, we are going to introduce each one individually to you. Let's start with Anett." he said cheerfully and gestured for Anett to sit in the chair. She did as told without as much as a hesitation. "Anett MacDoris, 17 year old, birth date is May 21th 2001. She is the only daughter of a famous businessman and a doctor. Her favorite color is royal blue, favorite food is calamari. She doesn't like the color green and hates any type of pasta." Daniel read out from a book of some sort. It had black cover and looked rather thick. The kids clapped and after a whispered conversation with Xavier she made her way back to where we were standing. She looked pale, what did they tell her? I frowned with concern as well as suspicion. "Come on.It's your turn." Xavier invited Sarah to sit. After seeing her best friends reaction she was a bit reluctant to go but in the end it didn't matter. Daniel turned a page and started talking again. "Sarah Tumper, 16 year old, birth date is January 8th 2002. Second child of a lawyer and a fashion designer. Favorite color is neon pink, favorite food is quiche. Least favorite color is grey and disliked food is octopus. She plays violin." Pretty much the same thing happened. I gulped as Xavier walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Last but not least." he grinned at me. When will they take the masks off? I huffed and shrugged off his hold. When I sat down Daniel shot me a wicked smile. "Gabrielle Jackson, daughter of a policeman and a theatre actress. She is 16, birth date is 16th November 2001. She likes the colors black and green and loves curry with rice. She has no particular color that she would dislike and she hates mushrooms. She has black belt in karate." Even though I tried to suppress it a shiver ran down my spine. I know that they did a background check and can only hope they didn't find out about my family secret. I stood up feeling a bit scared as Xavier approached his brother and me. "You know what we talked about with your classmates?" asked Xavier. I frowned and spit out the word "No" as icylly as I possibly could. It was a wasted effort as the two just brushed it off. "We told them their greatest fears." Xavier's tone was so dangerous I almost shuddered in fear, though I refused to show them that they had an upper hand so I bit my tongue instead. "But tell us Gaby, what are you afraid of?" Their question caught me off guard. They don't know...? "We looked everywhere, asked everyone, but nobody seemed close to you or even remembered you clearly. The only person who would have a chance to know about it is that boy -what was his name? Oh, yes, Louis, but we couldn't get to him without seeming suspicious so we left it at that." I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. Suddenly Xavier leaned over. "You are hiding something, I just know it. We will find out what your little secret is Gaby. Take my word on that." he whispered into my ear before going to Sarah and Anett. My whole body was frozen on a spot. They didn't know. But that didn't mean they wouldn't find out. Sooner or later they will get to that bit of information. Find a mistake in the fake identities. Now more so than ever I realised how little time I had to escape. The longer I stay in this manor the smaller is the chance I will escape. But if I try too soon I will be tortured. I cursed myself for being stupid and thinking I could escape before. I only made them more wary of me. "Take a seat little Gabrielle, we have a lot of rules to explain." Daniel instructed me. It snapped me out of my trance and I complied. No use fighting now. I will try to do the same thing as I did back home. Try not to get noticed. I sat on the couch next to Anett and Sarah. Xavier and Daniel took a seat on a couch opposite ours. "First of all, don't try to escape, it's pointless and you will see for yourself what the word 'torture' means." said Daniel as he pointedly looked at me. My eyebrow shot up challengingly. He ignored it in favor of continuing. "Second rule, you have to participate in the Age games. Basically, it is a competition between the inhabitants of each floor which is held once a week, usually on Sunday. If you win you get privilege to sit out any game you don't want to participate in. However, if you come last in three games you will spend a day in our special room." he grinned maliciously. I felt faint. Anyone with at least three brain cells would make out what he meant by 'special room'. Basically, you will spend a day being tortured by those two devils. It can't be as bad as when you try to run away but I wouldn't want to try it anyway. But if I am not the last one someone else will be. 'If I try to win I will willingly let some kid be tortured!' I realized with horror. The thoughts of what might happen in this room made me sick. I put my hands on my knees to steady myself. Breathe in and out. After somewhat calming myself I looked up only to be met by Xaviers hand slowly reaching for me. Before I realized what was happening I was behind the couch. "Whoa- Gaby calm down. You looked rather green so I wanted to make sure you didn't need to go to the infirmary again. But you are really fast. You will have no problem winning that kind of games." said Xavier. If I started relaxing a bit at the beginning of his speech I tensed before he ended it. He knew what I was thinking. No way! "I am fine. Must have been sick from the fall before, I hit my head. No need to exaggerate." I mumbled, still feeling terrified. His grin broadened even more if that's possible. "Let's continue. We don't have many more rules to go over." I sat down again. "Well, the third rule is to not have any fights among yourselves. We won't tolerate that. Fourth is that if you feel sick you are to come find Xavier and let him treat you. Even if you think it's insignificant. That means that you are going to stay with Xavier for at least two days Gabrielle. Conclusion isn't something to be treated lightly." said Daniel seriously. I frowned at the thought of staying with Xavier for more time than necessary. "No getting out of it. Also, if the Age game that week is something in which you need to exercise and you are injured you will have another challenge set up for you. Daniel or I will be the opponents for the game you randomly pick. But if you are too stubborn to listen neither of us will try to stop you from entering the Age game. Although, it won't be our responsibility to make sure you get through the game uninjured. If you manage to injure yourself point will be deducted from your total score. For example, if the game was a race and you came first but with a sprained ankle you would be automatically counted as second. If you intentionally injure someone you will be given the last place. Understand?" asked Xavier and we nodded. The next Sunday is in 3 days. I have to compete in the real game. I can't let anyone to be tortured. I have rather high pain tolerance thanks to my fathers training. He made sure that I could get away even with a broken leg. "The last rule. If you try to kill yourself, we will kill everyone you love. Whether they are here or on the other side of the world, it doesn't matter to us." The temperature in the room dropped so low I felt like everything that was in any contact with me got frozen. I could feel my breath catch in my throat. "You can't harm yourself in any way, are we clear?" Daniel demanded and I nodded. From the corner of my eye I saw the girls do the same. "Good. Now, I want you to remember these rules. There is no such thing as saying you forgot them. It's no excuse." said Xavier as he got up from the couch. "Now Gabrielle, I don't want to hear any complains. You are going to stay in my sight for two days. And, like it or not, you are getting crutches." I stared at him with open mouth. He can't be serious! "I am not going to walk around like some injured puppy!" I said before my mind could process what exactly I was saying. "Well, as you wish." he shrugged. I felt a spark of joy. Had I actually managed to talk him out of the stupid idea? "I will just have to carry you then." Xavier grinned and before I knew it I was thrown over his shoulder. "Let me down you jerk!" I pounded my fists onto his back but he only let out a raspy laugh and started walking towards the exit. "I really like your attitude little Gabrielle. You remind me of a kid we once had. Hope you won't end like him though." he said with mirth. My mind was blank all of sudden. He can't mean him... No, that was long time ago, he can't mean that I am exactly like Liam, does he?