The Masked Beginner

Families

"Time is about to be over." Destiny stated. "Ten minutes left."

I sighed and got on my feet. Aiden had been sitting under the oak tree for so long that I even forgot he was there with me. He didn't come to me or spoke a word. That made me concerned, but Destiny was a high-quality company. I didn't feel abandoned.

"Your brother and Tyler look bored," She gazed at Aiden. "Call them."

I nodded and waved at Aiden. He seemed was lost in own thoughts, barely noticing me. He kept counting on his fingers and taking deep breaths.

"I believe he is occupied." I said.

"No worries," Destiny smiled as she signaled for Tyler to come along. Tyler did look bored, his smirk had worn off, and he kept tying and untying his laces.

"Hi!" He beamed as he waved his hand at me and Destiny. His left sneaker had untied laces and the right sneaker had tied laces. I wondered how that boy kept himself from tripping over.

"Meet Aubrey and Aiden!" Destiny said, pointing us.

"I am King Tyler! But what happened to your brother? Tyler frowned. "Missed his train?"

"No!" I said in defense. "He is really uneasy!"

"Oh... Hey! Do you know how does a train eat?"

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head.

"It goes Chew-Chew!" He waited for me to giggle or laugh; this guy was retarded in making good jokes. And a train does not eat.

Destiny smiled forcefully, she must have felt embarrassed when I raised my eyebrow. The feeling I got when Aiden did idiotic tricks on the street at night.

Tyler was about to make another corny joke, the metal gate unlocked.

Lionel stood in the front with two beefy men at his sides. They had tattoos all over their arms and neck, which made them look more strong and punk-type.

"Come on, children." Lionel uttered. "You've got a business to do."

Aiden stood up immediately and darted towards me, his forehead had layer of sweat and his eyebrows were furrowed with worry. I clutched his hand, I couldn't concentrate to what Lionel was saying especially when some bulky man keep staring at you for no purpose.

"And do not fret." Lionel affirmed. "These are sentries. No escaping."

They were the guards? Looks like some guys Lionel picked from a bar. I shuddered when Lionel took their names, Fred and Jacob.

Fred pushed each of us inside the dark room again with his muscular tattooed arms. Tyler snorted and made a nasty face, I could knew how he felt. Revolted and Appalled.

Lionel guided us to an elevator. We all got stuffed inside, I couldn't breathe and I knew none of us could. Fred and Jacob engaged most of the space. Lionel punched the button located at the ceiling of the elevator. Demonstration.

The bell rung and the elevator flung open. I shut my eyes as I could only hear Aiden gasp. I was too anxious and terrified, but I had to hold my fears. I opened them slowly and steadily, it was all blur at first. But then I could see why Aiden gasped. The land beneath our feet was pebbly and rocky; there was sand all over the place. It wasn't a pretty garden or a room. We were in the middle of a desert. The sand flew over my face as I rubbed it off. My feet dug into the ground as I sauntered along with the others.

Lionel stopped walking and smirked.

"This is it, kiddos." He said. "Say good-bye to your families."

I flinched. Families? What was going on? My head started to ache again. The landscape dissolved; there was a moment of dead silence. I trembled; it was challenging to keep myself from falling.

Suddenly, the scenery changed. We were standing near a huge cliff, carved on the edge were the stairs. I noticed a bridge joining another cliff with this one. And beneath the bridge was a pit, it was murky and shallow. I couldn't clearly see what was inside. I gazed around, colossal plants and hills were present. It looked more like a forest.

"For the family piece," Lionel continued. "Here you go."

Out of nowhere, a force field covered us, the jungle trapped us inside. I could hear the screaming outside, it made me shiver. It was hard to keep a poker face.

"Good-bye!" A voice yelled.

"Stay alive!" Another voice screamed, carrying on with sobbing.

"You can just whisper your bye-byes. They can't hear." Lionel smiled.

I was infuriated with Lionel right now. I thought he was better than most of us, I was wrong. The yelling and crying split my ears and flood of tears was about to fill my eyes.

"Mother, I am sorry. It's confusing! Please help me God." I whimpered.

Aiden looked as if he was going to murder Lionel this instant. I agreed with his opinion, Lionel was doing wrong but since he was the boss... We hate to pay attention.

The voices paused but the force field was still there.

"Now, you're confused, no?" Lionel shook his head. "The rules are—"