Chapter Thirteen #2
His appearance can only be described as unmistakable .
Slim and clearly quite tall, even when seated.
Pale skin and dark eyes, with hair as white as snow—though judging by the lines on his face, there’s no way he’s older than fifty.
He’s dressed in a three-piece suit, obviously expensive and tailored to an immaculate fit, yet his collar is loosened casually, sleeves rolled up his forearms.
My first guess is that he’s the Warden, but then this place is an utter shithole, and he looks… Well, far too pristine to even be here.
“I’d like to formally introduce myself.” He continues, tone polite, professional.
Again, not what you’d expect sitting in a room that resembles a slaughterhouse from a Texas Chainsaw movie.
“My name is Manuel Blanco, but you can call me The Ivory. I am the Warden of this lovely establishment we call Alabaster Penitentiary.” He gestures around the room in a subtly mocking fashion, as if he knows it’s foul and he’s being cheeky.
“On behalf of us all, let me welcome you , inmate #102, as our newest arrival.”
I can do nothing more than blink. And stare. And blink… and stare.
Honestly, I’m not certain I’m even breathing.
I’m usually rather well-versed in reading people. It’s something I learned from living on the streets as long as I did. I pride myself on rarely being surprised by the ways in which human beings behave, but this is throwing me for a loop.
Who is this peculiar, eccentric, well-dressed anime villain of a man?? Why is he here, and most importantly, what on earth does he want with me??
The Warden sits back a bit in his chair, crossing his ankle over his knee.
His socks have little birds on them… “I’m sure you have many questions bouncing around in that pretty head of yours.
Trust me, I have some of my own. So let us get the formalities out of the way before we move forward with the juicy bits.
First of all, as I’m sure my men informed you, you are here to stay.
Prisoners are sent to me from far and wide, for various reasons.
But the one thing you all have in common is that you were hand-selected to reside here , as opposed to, say, a federal prison, correctional facility, or rehabilitation center.
“Because of that, you have lost the right to certain freedoms, comforts, protections of the US Constitution, blah blah blah.” He waves his hand in the air flippantly.
“Suffice it to say, living here may be a shock to your system, but I must ask that you accept it. Get onboard, Trevel, or things can get much worse than they need to be.”
Uh… What?!
My lips part to ask him a million questions, but he stares even harder at me, gaze narrowed as his own mouth sets into a firm line. And my voice dries right up.
He tilts his head. “Second of all, please know that I have eyes everywhere, and I don’t just mean the guards.
But speaking of them, you’ll get to know my officers quite well during the course of your time here.
They oversee everything…” His voice trails off, and he gets a contemplative darkness to his features.
“There are rules to be followed, just like everywhere else. But on this island, the most important of them all is that I own you .”
Those last three words come out slowly pronounced.
He owns me??
I think he can tell I want to counter this point, so he uncrosses his legs, sitting up straighter in his seat. “The way you behave has consequences, Trevel. There are repercussions for the things you do… and the people with whom you surround yourself. But I’m sure you’ve already figured that out…”
Who is he referring to? Dr. Love??
“Look, Mr.… Ivory,” I croak, shifting in my seat, the metal from my cuffs clinking behind my back. “I’m not one to claim innocence. In fact, far from it. But—”
The Warden clears his throat, and I stop abruptly.
Both feet planted on the floor, he leans in closer to my face.
“It is not your turn to speak yet, Trevel Fenwick.” I blink and shiver.
“I know you think you’re here because of Dr. Lemuel Love.
And while he was helpful in having you delivered, make no mistake, I could’ve just as easily gotten you here myself. ”
“But why…? ” I manage to croak over the sandpaper in my throat.
He’s so close to me. I feel the warmth of his breath on my lips, see the depths of tenebrosity in his eyes; a cavern of black that feels like it could swallow me whole. This man is utterly terrifying, and my entire body is now sheeted in chills.
“The answer to that question is a complicated one, I’m afraid,” he whispers over my mouth. Eyes never once leaving mine. “But before I get into it, I need you to answer one for me.”
The tingles running through me have seemingly shifted. I can’t explain it, but I’m becoming warm beneath my skin, and my heart is racing at an abnormal rate. Something about how close he is, the chokehold of his irises and the reverberation of his low, raspy voice soaking into me through his mouth…
I gulp and nod. His eyes dip to my lips. Just a split second, but it causes a strange and confusing throb between my legs.
The Warden cocks his head to the side, like a curious animal. “The young lady you were dating…” he starts, quiet and intense. My brow furrows. “She was a twin, yes?” I’m gaping at him. “And her last name was… Alvarez? ”
I’m so thrown off by the trajectory of this conversation, I physically can’t produce words. But he’s staring at me so hard it feels like I’m being strangled.
I nod.
“She had a twin brother…?” he asks, pressing further, voice almost nonexistent. I nod again. “What happened to him?”
My heart is thumping so fast, I’m quaking. I have no idea why he’s asking me this, how he knows these things, or why he seems so very invested. But I know he’s requiring an actual answer on this one, so I manage to cough up the words.
“I killed him.”
The mound in his throat dips. As the only movement in the general vicinity, it catches my attention. But then something else moves… His right hand, squeezing into a fist, visibly tight.
Fuck…
When I glance back up at his face, he’s wearing the most severe look anyone’s ever given me. Agony and rage, anguish and fury, all a breath away from my face. A word away from unleashing.
He looks like he’s hanging on by a thread.
“Tell me his name,” The Ivory commands; the rumble of a deadly creature. One wrong move, and I’ll be torn to shreds. I’m blinking, frozen in baffled mute. He grabs me by the throat and hisses in my face, “ Say it. ”
“A-Andres,” I stutter, practically pissing my pants. “Andres Alvarez.”
His grip on my throat loosens. In the blink of an eye, his wrath has retreated.
He backs up, just an inch or so, but still. I’m no longer staring into the wide-open jaws of a Great White. Releasing a long exhale, his shoulders drop, and he closes his eyes, visible relief washing over him. And I’m simply gawking , even more confused than before.
What in the bloody fuck??
The Ivory’s lips curve into a small grin, and he shakes his head. His long fingers are sort of petting my throat, gently caressing me while he chuckles, “Oh, Trevel… Trevel Trevel Trevel…” He laughs a little more. “Do you have any idea …?”
He’s just laughing to himself now, and I’m gaping in sheer perplexity, needing to understand what on earth is happening. “Any idea of… what?”
“No. No , of course you don’t. How could you?” He jumps up from his seat and begins pacing around me, raking fingers through the silky strands of his white hair. “The universe is… wow. I mean, just…” He pauses to make that mind-exploding motion with his hands. “Such a trip, man.”
“Um… not to step out of line or anything, sir, but am I supposed to understand a word of what you’re saying?” I ask, watching him carefully.
Plopping down on the seat once more, he places his hands on my thighs.
“Trevel, I brought you here to kill you.” He says it so casually, it almost distracts from the threatening nature of that statement.
Paired with how jubilant he looks right now, it’s a complete one-eighty from how he was glaring at me only moments ago.
“Well, eventually, you would’ve died. But believe me, the things I was planning to do to you…
Death would’ve been a kindness!” He cackles, then sighs out his amusement, dipping his chin.
“And you would’ve begged me for it, Trevel.
A plea I would have gleefully disregarded for as long as it felt necessary to me. ”
I swallow a lump in my throat. “So… you were planning to torture me?”
He nods.
“May I ask… why?”
He smiles, a real , bright smile of repose and delight. I don’t know him at all, but I can tell it’s not something he does often. It’s quite pretty… but also rather unnerving.
Giving me a quick once-over, he reaches into his pocket.
I stiffen in fear, until he pulls out a set of keys, using them to unlock my cuffs.
But rather than doing it behind my back, he wraps his arms around me.
An oddly intimate way to remove cuffs. He also smells mouthwatering, and feeling his warm, taut frame surrounding me for even just a few seconds is… interesting.
Once the cuffs are off, I move my arms out of that uncomfortable position, the ease in my muscles allowing me to relax a bit. The Warden takes my wrists in his hands, rubbing them for me. Such a caring gesture…
I swear to God, it’s impossible to get a proper read on this bloke.
“I won’t bore you with the details.” He speaks calmly. “The history and complex, ardent backstory…” Bollocks. That’s what I wanted to hear! “But essentially, it boils down to vengeance.”
“ Vengeance? ” I repeat the word, and he nods.
“ Si .” He shakes his head. “Sorry. Yes .” His dark eyes glide up to mine.
“I heard about your most recent killings. Some misinformation was given to me, and in the heat of the moment…” His words fade and he looks away.
“Long story short, it became clear we had the wrong person after you arrived, but I still had to ask you myself. Just to be one-hundred percent certain. And I take full responsibility for not properly investigating the situation before dragging you here.” Clasping my hands in between his, he locks his eyes onto mine, shimmering to convey full sincerity on this topic.
“But you have to understand, I was out of my mind with rage, Trevel. In fact, I know you , of all people, can empathize.”
“I can…?”
He nods. “Everyone thinks you killed your girlfriend. But you didn’t, did you?”
Furious despair instantly weaves through my extremities at mention of Alice… And what her despicable brother did to her.
“No,” I growl. “I didn’t.”
The Ivory’s eyes are alight with understanding. “You took the lives of the people who did … Didn’t you?”
I nod, jaw clenching. “Simple death was too merciful for them… Especially that fuck Andres. I wish I could bring him back to life just to slaughter him again… over and over and fucking over . For her.”
His lips twist into a knowing smirk. “You do understand.”
Breathing out steadily, I compose myself, focusing once more on the here and now.
So he’s saying he… wanted to kill me? To avenge the death of someone he’d thought I killed?
But who?
He sighs, releasing my hands. “So you see, Trevel, my dear boy… This was all just a big mix-up.” Grinning, he gives me a playful smack on the cheek before sitting back, crossing his ankle over his knee again.
“And to think, we went through all that trouble to get you here…” He huffs and shakes his head some more.
“The parties responsible for winding me up with inaccurate information have been dealt with, don’t worry about that.
And trust me when I tell you, they’ll be fact-checking extra hard the next time they think they hear something about—”
“Wait, if you brought me here by mistake…” My eyes widen, sudden anticipation running through me. “Then I should be free to go!” I gape at him, hopeful and almost pleading with my eyes. He simply cocks his head. “Right…?”
“Trevel…” He pouts, tone patronizing. It’s turning my stomach. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.”
“Why not??” I bark. “You said it yourself; I didn’t do whatever it is you thought I’d done. It was all a misunderstanding!”
“Yes, that’s true…”
“So then why can’t I be set free??”
“Well, even if you hadn’t already seen much of our setup here…” he begins with the excuses, but I cut him off.
“I won’t tell anyone, I swear—”
“It’s a liability I’m not willing to take on.” He shuts me down firmly. “This island is kept secret from the general public for good reason. I can’t simply let people leave …” His eyes grow menacing and he mutters, “I’m dealing with the repercussions of too much of that as it is.”
“Who would listen to me, anyway??” I keep trying, scooting in closer to get my point across. “You clearly know about my life, my history.”
His gaze narrows, as if maybe I’m getting through to him.
“I’m a degenerate! I’m telling you; no one cares about me.”
“Trevel, don’t be silly.” He leans in, putting us nose to nose.
“ I care about you.” Closing my eyes, I breathe out of defeat.
“You’re right, I looked into you quite a bit.
And you know what I found? A fighter. A survivor .
Someone who doesn’t take the evil of the world lying down.
I respect that.” I blink as his head tilts. “In fact, you remind me of someone…”
“So you’re not letting me go…?” I mumble.
He shakes his head, grinning wickedly.
Fantastic. So I don’t belong here, but I can’t leave.
“When you come across an unexpected gift, you don’t simply let it scamper off into the night.
You keep it close. You treasure it.” His face is illuminated with sinister sweetness; a praising malfeasance that has every hair on my body standing on end.
“And you are simply too special to let go.” He smirks, and I flinch when he reaches up to brush his fingers through my hair.
“I have plans for you, Trevel Fenwick. My shiny… new… toy.”