Finally giving up, I headed back into the kitchen. I opened the fridge, shivering a bit at the chill. The shelves were filled with fruit and vegetables. I grabbed a banana and a bottle of water, then searched every drawer and cupboard. No knives in sight, and I rolled my eyes. No telephone in sight either. I made my way into a room that came off the kitchen. My stomach knotted with anticipation of finding Vepar secrets. In the room I found a King-sized bed perfectly made with black bedding. I padded over to the wardrobe and pulled it open to discover neatly hung clothes. Tailored pants, suits, shirts...This had to be Derrial’s room. The room had that tidy, perfectly organized feel to it, and I got the urge to mess something up just to see if he would notice. I controlled myself.
There were no bedside tables or anything else in this room and of course the windows were unopenable, so I took another bite of my banana and rushed into another room, dropping off the peel onto the kitchen counter as I passed through it. I found an in-house gym, filled with weights, and I quickly moved onto the next room as I had no interest in exercising. Another bedroom, simple again with a large bed, tidy once again. The closet held jeans, tees, shirts and a couple of suits only. I fingered the leather jacket, smiling. Okay, someone had taste. The bedside drawers were empty. What the hell… it was as if these men didn’t actually live here. Where were their gadgets or anything about their planet... or anything at all? The next room sat empty, and I found no other doors downstairs or even a basement entrance.
Gulping down several mouthfuls of chilled water, I headed upstairs. The bedroom I woke up in lay ahead, the door open, and bright light poured in through the windows. To my right sat two doors. The first one was a bathroom with the largest tub I’d ever seen, possible for three people to share comfortably. The feet were gold just like the small touches on the sink. Opening the cabinets showed nothing but packaged toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and an array of toiletries, plus towels. Everything was expensive, brands that I had only heard of in celebrity magazines but never imagined being able to use on myself. Nothing that could help me to escape or defend myself in any way, however.
The next door sat locked, and I stiffened, then tried the handle a few more times.
“Maybe this is the secret room of mystery.” I placed my ear to the door and swore I heard a soft whirring sound as if someone left a fan running. What was in there? Maybe it was where they kept the chocolate and television. I laughed at how unlikely that was, but wishful thinking on my part. I bet they had a telephone in there.
A quick check in the last room had me gasping. Shelves covered three fourths of the room, filled to the brim with books. It was like something out of Beauty and the Beast complete with a window seat that had a cushion, inviting me to sit there and soak in the sun while reading. In the middle sat a round table and three chairs, and I pictured the three Vepar sitting here, discussing new things they found in these books. I hurried inside, forgetting everything else, and ran my hands over the spines of the books, on various topics from governments, inventions, space exploration, and even one on the best slow cooked meals. Interesting. I assumed that belonged to the lady I’d seen earlier making my bed.
Back in the bedroom, I found a pile of clean clothes waiting for me in the closet. Jeans and a frilly blue buttoned-up shirt, which was strange, but they looked about my size. A silky pair of underwear fell out from the shirt and I picked it up, noting how tiny the thong was, and heat crawled up my cheeks, thinking of the men picking this out for me. Had they been planning to bring me here all along, so they bought me clothes? Or was this from another girl who they’d kept a prisoner and she just happened to be my size? If that was the case, what happened to the women once they fell out of favor with these Vepar?
I collected my clothes and marched into the bathroom, needing a shower and non-transparent clothes for when the Vepar returned. One way or another I was going to find out exactly what they wanted from me. And I wasn’t taking no for an answer.