28. Levi

Time seemed to stand still as he lay there, staring up at the ceiling. He had no idea what time it was or how long he had been lying on his bed waiting for something… anything… to happen.

Chase still hadn't come to rescue him. Levi was beginning to wonder if he ever would. To go from being surrounded by so many people and so much life to suddenly being forced to sit alone in darkness and silence was making him become a bit stir-crazy. Levi was a social creature, and not being able to speak or interact with anyone was beginning to wear on him.

How long had it been? A day? A week? Time held no meaning when there was nothing to compare it to.

He blinked and turned his head when he heard the sound of a key being pushed into his cell door. From between the bars, he saw the face of his captor—the man he thought was just a shy and lonely man.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Peabody said as he entered the cell.

He dropped some fresh clothing on the dresser, then stared down at Levi, who was still lying on the bed.

"It's time for you to change and join us for a little mixer."

"Us?" Levi asked, sitting up on the twin-sized mattress. His interest was suddenly piqued.

"Yes, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to the rest of our gang. Get you familiarized with how we do things around here. Plus, we are planning our big Christmas getaway, so you will want to be a part of that discussion," Peabody explained. His face lit up when he mentioned the outing.

Was this what Simone was talking about when he mentioned playing along with Peabody's fantasies?

Levi reached for the folded Ralph Lauren shirt and stopped when he realized that Peabody was still staring at him.

"Oh! Sorry, I'll turn around." Peabody quickly turned and continued talking as Levi quickly changed outfits. "I can't tell you how excited I am to finally have you as part of my group. I never thought this would ever happen."

The man could barely contain his excitement. Like his lifelong dream had suddenly come true.

When Levi was done changing, he tapped Peabody on the shoulder. "All done."

"Oh, perfect! Here, I brought you a glass of wine. I know how much you enjoy red." Peabody passed Levi the glass of wine he held and took a step back.

"Thank you. That's very sweet of you."

"Shall we?" Peabody extended his arm, waiting for Levi to link with his.

Levi downed half his glass of wine, then took Peabody's arm.

Let the games begin.

Together, they left the cell and walked down the long corridor until they came to a set of fancy double doors.

Peabody unlinked their arms, then smiled before pushing open the doors.

Inside was one of the fanciest parlors Levi had ever seen. All around the room, tables of food were laid out. Slices of roast, potatoes, little sandwiches, even macarons and pastries were all set out. Levi couldn't believe his eyes. All this was located just steps away from their cells of torture.

Huddled toward the back of the room stood eight men and women, each nicely dressed and staring at them.

An older gentleman with light gray hair smiled as they both approached.

"Levi, I would like to introduce you to my closest friends," Peabody said, motioning to the group of people standing before them, each enjoying a glass of wine. He made his way through the introductions before ending with the gray-haired gentlemen. "And this here is Simone. He's your neighbor from across the hall."

Neighbor? Across the hall?Were they living in a condo building now? It's funny how a few choice words can change the feeling of any conversation.

"Nice to meet everybody," Levi noted with a slight nod.

"So, what do you do for a living?" the woman introduced as Frida asked.

Levi stared around at everyone. He wasn't sure what Peabody had said to them about him.

"Umm, well, I'm a dancer at a gentlemen's club."

The room stood silent.

Peabody chuckled and put his hand on Levi's shoulder. "Hun, here you can be anything you want to be. Your old life is gone, so you can create any life you want down here."

Peabody's pale blue eyes took in all of Levi.

"Take me for example. In my old life, I was a history professor, but down here, I am a retired poet. I still write the occasional sonnet but no longer sell my songs to the masses. Paolo, here is a sports agent for the French polo team. Henrick, over there, is a bioengineer. Right now, he's currently working on a new polymer that can be shaped and designed to act as replacement limbs. The polymer solidifies and almost feels like real cartilage. Fascinating stuff, really," Peabody explained before walking off toward the table of food.

Staring after him, Levi wondered how it was that one man could create and live a total fantasy life.

"He creates personalities and backstories for each one of us. Then we all must play along and feed into his delusions in order to keep him happy," the man introduced as Alik explained.

"I don't get it. Why would he want to live like this?" Levi asked, watching as their captor filled a plate with food from the banquet set out.

"He's rich and lonely. He fell in love with something unique inside each one of us. For me, it was my sense of adventure, climbing mountains and diving with sharks. With Frida, he fell in love with her ability to dance the tango and other Latin dances. With Simone, it was his knowledge of history and events of the past. Each one of us fills some sort of void in his life. Something he wishes that he had. My guess is that since he cannot maintain actual relationships in his real life, he has taken to making us his own personal dolls, which he can play with whenever he wants."

Levi glanced over his shoulder at the open double doors across the room.

"I don't get it. The doors open—why is no one trying to escape?" Levi asked, prepared to run at any moment.

"He offered you a glass of wine, didn't he?" Simone asked.

Levi nodded.

A grim look crossed Simone's face. "He laces our drinks with a poison that takes effect after four hours. At the end of each dinner or party, he gives us each the antidote so that the poison doesn't kill us. This is his way of maintaining control over us and ensuring that we don't run off."

Levi's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe that anyone could be so cruel, especially someone he always thought was a quiet, sweet man.

"Having the doors open creates the illusion of being free. He knows that he has us all on chains, so he's not worried about us taking off or escaping," Simone added.

"Why don't you guys just refuse to drink the wine?"

They all shared a pained look.

"The last man that tried that ended up with a bullet between the eyes," Simone explained.

"He makes sure that we drink the wine before he lets us out of our cages," Chris added.

Levi glared at Peabody. He was starting to wonder if all that shyness in the past was just a ruse. Peabody appeared to be a chameleon, a talented actor capable of adapting his personality to his environment.

They continued to mingle over the next few hours, indulging in Peabody's fantasies and playing along with every scenario the demented man created. The man was clearly mentally unstable, choosing to live in a fantasy, than actually trying to make friends.

The one thing that concerned Levi was Peabody's ability to change personalities on a whim. He could go from a stumbling, shy man to an angry control freak in an instant. Was he a talented actor, or was he just mentally unstable?

One such glimpse occurred when one of the captives accidentally used an incorrect piece of information from one of their back stories. Apparently, Chris was supposed to have two brothers instead of three—an easy mistake to make, considering Chris didn't actually have any brothers in real life. But not sticking to the backstory that Peabody fabricated in his mind was unacceptable, and Chris got thrown back in his cell without any food.

Knowing that their captor was so unpredictable gave Levi cause for concern. This meant that anything was possible, including being murdered by the unhinged man.

Focusing, he tried to concentrate on the conversations being had, the stories people told. He didn't want to do or say anything that might upset the host of their cocktail party.