Raised By Wolves

Chapter Twenty Seven | Oliver's Story

Limping down the corridor, May and Caleb stuck together like two sheep being herded to their doom. The fact Oliver was one of the guards directing them through the maze that made up the compound they were trapped in did little to settle their nerves and as the walls gave way to glass panels, May closed her eyes. She didn't want to see what was being put on display, her mind damaged enough and as the door beeped open, the smells that greeted her had her stomach churning.

"Help yourselves." Oliver's muffled voice instructed and May took a peek.

The buffet that was spread out along one side of the room made her mouth water and Caleb inhaled deeply, a tiny flicker of a smile appearing for a few seconds before he looked down at her.

"Nothing." He whispered.

She knew what that meant - it wasn't poisoned, but it did nothing to stop the doubts that plagued her mind. Just because he couldn't smell it, didn't mean something else wasn't in there. The last act of kindness had ended with her being used as some assholes punching bag and despite the urge to go and shove as much of the food as she could into her mouth, she made no move towards it.

"You have ten minutes." Oliver warned them. "No tricks."

May glared at him, while the smell of roast chicken was too much for Caleb and he literally sprinted towards the warmer, not even bothering with a plate as he bit into a drumstick - grabbing another in his free hand. The sounds of pure delight coming from him had May inching closer, only she couldn't stop herself from constantly checking behind them, waiting for someone to come and ruin this.

"Why?" She demanded.

"Doctor Brown thought it might do you both some good to have a decent meal."

"May, eat!" Caleb urged, too lost in the moment to think it through.

"Why, what does he have planned for us next?" She snapped at Oliver, ignoring Caleb.

Oliver shrugged. "He'll be here soon, ask him yourself."

Even if May could eat like Caleb, those words had her losing her appetite and sitting at the table, she didn't move. Her bruises were angry and purple, still painful enough to make even just sitting there uncomfortable and the only reminder she needed that nothing here was without a price. She looked for cutlery, and the small display opposite her only had flimsy looking spoons and forks - no knives, no protection. Even the plates were paper, and Caleb dumped one that he'd loaded up in front of her, while hovering over his own as his mouth didn't stop moving as he chewed. Being so close to the assortment of meats had saliva pooling in the corners of her mouth, and her stomach demanded to be fed even though her nerves held the promise of simply throwing it all back up.

It was as she stared at her plate, half expecting the meat to turn into something else that could attack her, Oliver came over and ignoring the growls from Caleb knelt beside May.

"It's safe. Nothing there will hurt you."

"It's not the food I'm worried about." She admitted. "Why do we suddenly have access to a buffet?"

"Our boss is coming next week. Brown needs to make sure you look as though you've been getting taken care of." He sighed before motioning towards the mark on her arm. "That, won't be happening again. At least not anytime soon."

"Why us? There are cells of others that need this more."

"Because he is coming to see you two, not them. Doubt he'd care much anyway." Oliver stood back up. "Try not to piss him off today either."

A few minutes went by and May hesitantly picked up a piece of steak. It was cold now, the natural juices pooling on the plate so that it went soggy and stuck to the table. Unable to stop herself, she tore a strip off and savoured the tenderness that remained.