Secrets Leave Scars [EDITING]

3 - Darkness

Kol leads me to a room in the back of the bar, and up a flight of stairs. "You're lucky it's recruiting season or I would've had to shoot you," he says, jokingly.

"Lucky or the bureau set it up that way," I think to myself. I watch as he lifts his hand up to the door. A green light flashes and scans his hand. "Woah, that's fancy," I comment.

"If you're any good, you'll get to scan your own hand," he says with a wink. The door makes a buzz sound and he holds it open for me. I smile and walk in. In front of me, is another long hallway with more doors lining both sides. Kol approaches me from behind, leading the way.

"Where do all these doors lead?" I ask.

"They're locked for a reason babe," he replies. I smirk at the last word. We walk forward, until we're standing at the last door. This time he scans his thumb print and the same buzz noise sounds out. "Boss likes a challenge and recruits stand in the back," he advises me, before opening the door and running off.

The door bursts open and I walk into the room. There's at least 30 people standing around. A small ring stands in the center of the room, where two people are sparring. They seem experienced, seeing as neither of them have any extensive injuries. I watch as they dodge each other's swings, then look back to the 30 people standing behind the ring. "Those must be the other recruits." I join them and we wait for further instruction. That's when the whispers begin.

"...Marcus Steele's gonna watch of course I'm nervous..."

"...I don't know if I'll do well.."

"...you're going to do fine,"

"...I heard he's really hot..."

Suddenly a large door swings open, revealing Marcus Steele. "Finally." He's wearing a tight black dress shirt and matching black ripped jeans. His eyebrows are furrowed and his expression is an angry one. I notice the outline of a gun in his pocket.

He struts over to the mob of recruits, looking everyone up and down as he goes. I look at the others, who look like they wet themselves. I laugh under my breath, when Marcus clears his throat. "Is something funny recruit?" He asks, glaring in my direction.

"No, sorry," I reply. He looks at me, about to say something, but then moves on.

"You're all here for the same reason," he begins, "but I only take the best of the best. Today, you'll show me your hand combat skills." My confidence grows when I hear that. This is what Shaw trained me for.

I watch as some recruits spar with each other. Marcus doesn't look impressed. I could tell they were going easy, their strikes were slow and predictable. "This is going to be a piece of cake." I tell myself.

"Ok stop, this is just pathetic," Marcus interrupts. The two recruits flinch as he walks up behind them. "You fight like cowards," he spits. "The people you'll be up against won't be as lazy as you're being now," he continues, now speaking to all the recruits. "Is anyone going to put up a real fight?" I glance over at the others who are staring intently at the floor.

"I can try," I call out. The other recruits turn to look at me, shocked. A path clears, leading up to the sparring ring, Marcus standing at the end of it. He watches me as I approach confidently. "If he likes a challenge, I'll give him a challenge," I think to myself.

I climb through the ring and enter it smoothly. The other two recruits scurry away back into the crowd. I look back at Marcus and raise my eyebrow, challenging him. "Well?"

He clears his throat and unbuttons his shirt, revealing a skinny, silver chain hanging around his neck. He swiftly enters the ring and faces me. "Bold of you to challenge the leader," he says.

"Bold or stupid," I reply, smirking. A small grin appears on his face as he swings at me. I just barely duck it and the fight begins.

I take a step back and hold my position. I flash a smile at him through his clenched fists, taunting him. He lunges forward reaching for my neck. I grab his hand and attempt to twist it behind his back, but his force is too strong. His other fist comes crashing down towards me and I dodge it carefully. "My turn," I scoff at him. I swing my arm at him and he catches it. I use my other fist and uppercut him. He barely reacts and grabs my wrist. He yanks my arms behind me and I groan in pain. I hear him chuckle and I swing my leg back, kicking in his knee. He stumbles back, releasing my hands and I sweep kick him to the floor. I sit on top of him, straddling him and holding his hands back. "I win," I smile. He grins back at me and takes a deep breath. He uses his whole body weight and flips me on my back. Now straddling me, he holds my hands down.

"You wish," he replies. His silver chain dangles above me as I grunt, trying to flee from his grasp. Finally, I tilt my head back and smash it into his. Taken aback, he releases his grip and I break free. I knee his abdomen as he takes another deep breath. I step back and walk to the middle of the ring. Out of breath, I wait for him to get back up. Slowly, he rises again, enraged. I swallow hard. We both return to our fighting stance and look deep into each other's eyes. He swings at me fast and I lift my arm to defend myself, leaving my left side completely open. He pulls back his hand and strikes. His fist lands on my jaw and scrapes across my lips. I stumble back to the edge of the ring, my face stinging in pain. My eyes get heavy and I feel weak. Everything goes fuzzy but I still swing back at him. I lose my strength and collapse on him. My eyes shut as my body goes numb. All I see is an endless hole of darkness.