Chapter One
I open my eyes and all I can see is darkness, I am being carried by two cloaked figures through what I can imagine must be a sewage system; my sense of smell is overpowered by the stench that surrounds us. There is hardly any light coming in, must be a cloudy night. The water of the sewage soaks the skirt of my dress. My head feels like it weighs one thousand pounds and my body is hurting as if a stampede of horses went through it one hundred times.
At the end of the tunnel, I can see three figures, a tall one and two small one at each side; I can only assume one adult and two children. Their cloaks cover their faces, but somehow I know they are smiling enjoying seeing my current state.
“Is it done?” asks the tall figure.
“Yes master.” answer the small figures in unison, there isn't any remorse in their answer, although I have the feeling there should be, instead I hear a small giggle from one of the figures, high pitch, probably a girl.
The tall figure turns his head away from me and looks at somebody that must be behind me, its step are silent even for my hearing.
“You are aware of your orders soldiers.” says the tall figure; it does not sound like a question. It is a statement.
“Yes master.” answers a tenor voice from behind me, I don’t recognize that voice, but the certainty of his voice creates mixed feelings, fear because I am certain I won’t be able to sustain any more pain, and maybe hope, at this point death would be a much better option.
“Only one question master, why me?” his tone is not certain this time, if anything maybe a little bit fearful.
“Your strengths and her weaknesses make you perfect for this job.” the voice of the tall figure sounds a little bit annoyed, good.
The pain in my body is coming back, it feels like knife is being stabbed through my body, fire burning in my head and my extremities, I start to scream, my body is convulsing and the two cloaked figures that are carrying me can’t handle me anymore, my body falls to the pavement and my head hits hard on the concrete, all I wish is death, praying for it to come fast and swiftly.
“Jane darling, please stop, you already had your fun and we don’t want to kill her…yet.” I barely register the words of the tall figure. Suddenly the pain ceases but I am still aching all over.
The tall figure looks back at the male standing behind me.
“Instruct her in the basics of what it means to be one of us and to never reveal who or what she is. Think of her as a newborn.” his voice is clear and severe, no room for any questioning. “We will know if you don’t obey, and you can figure what kind of punishment awaits if you do.” His face turns towards me indicating a similar punishment as the one I am enduring.
The tall figure comes near me, his steps are hesitant, after three he decides to stop, he bends down, I can finally see his face, his eyes are lock on mine, and they are reflecting an internal conflict, somehow I know he is analyzing some pros and cons of my situation, he still has some doubts. Let me help you with the decision, just kill me and stop the pain. I try to communicate this through my eyes. His head snaps up, he has decided, he bends closer to me and whispers in my ears, so low hoping nobody in the audience can hear him.
“Remember, if you can, you brought this upon yourself, too bad you don’t want to be a part of our plans, you would have been an excellent element in our guard, but as always, you are as stubborn as a mule, let’s hope that changes in some years.” I try to raise my hands, somehow I know this is going to help me, but the pain comes back so strong, so unexpected, my body convulses again and then it stops.
The cloaked figure raises in such a graceful way, he turns on his heel and goes back to his original position with no rush. “Alec, Jane, you know what you need to do.” and starts walking through another tunnel, out of sight, leaving me with the three guards and the two little monsters.
I look around from my current position on the floor and I can see that the voice that came from behind me is from a very tall figure, probably taller than the male that just left. His face doesn't even look my way, it’s just staring up front, he is a soldier, his orders have been delivered and he will follow them.
He steps back and the two childlike figures are in front of me. I can see a fog coming closer, reaching me, touching me, and then my senses start to weaken, there is no longer any light, the stench of the sewage disappears, I know that I start to scream, but I can’t hear anything, or feel anything.
I start to recover my sight, the darkness is not as intense as it used to be, the smell of the sewage is not so overpowering, there is a new scent that mixes with it I turn and I can see that the new scent is from the tall soldier. I am no longer screaming. My body is sore but manageable compared to the pain that I am feeling in my wrists. The soldier bends down and picks up my small broken frame, I can finally see his crimson eyes and somehow they can’t seem to leave mine, something just shifted in him, his stare is no longer cold, is warmer, but his orders are clear and he will follow them. The strangest thing is that I don’t want to stop looking at him either, but the pain in my body and head is still strong.
He starts walking through the tunnels, the pain starts to reduce, except in my wrists, I notice a calling in my head at first is really loud, but each step the soldier takes the calling starts to dim; I somehow feel we are not going in the right direction, we should go where the calling was louder. I try to talk but I am too weak, instead I try to point to the right direction, that is when I notice something is really off, I look down at my arms and that’s when it hits me, beyond my wrist there is nothing else. Those monsters have taken away my hands.
The last thing I remember is screaming looking into the soldier’s eyes, but now it is no longer a scream of pain, it is a scream of despair and that is the moment I go into shock.