Wherever it takes us.

Man's Sin or Reward?

"What do you think of the view?" The woman and I sat outside. After her confession, stating she and I had business to attend to. We sat poised outside the house on two wooden chairs, our sights set on the beautiful setting sun, well mine exactly wasn't. "Start talking." I spat out. Ever since her words, it was almost as if my body had a mind of its own: My heart rate was racing, and I could feel my heartbeat banging in my ears.

'What if it's a trick.' CX asked, his voice coming off as concerning as my knuckles slowly turned white, grasping the handholds of the chair. Honestly surprised I haven't snapped them yet. 'A ruse to give you an incentive to stay or something?' He said, for once being the literal voice of reason. 'Let's find out then.' I replied, slowing down my breathing as veins raged across my arms.

"Let's start from the beginning; what do you know about individuals?" She asked me, her view still on the orange setting sun. I slowly released the handles from my grip. 'I'll deal with this pent-up frustration later.' I concluded with a sigh. "Less than I should," I responded slowly, ensuring that no outward appearance gave off my true intentions; I couldn't give her the upper hand that easily.

The silence held for what felt like a minute before she responded. "Do you believe in destiny?" She asked me, her tone sounding eager for my input.

I took some time to reflect on the question before responding. " I believe things happen for reasons, not exactly destiny, but not far off either," I said, my voice sharp and concise.

She turned towards me, a little smirk present. "I agree as well; that's what all this is." She held her arms out wide on both sides; her aura seemed happy, well as happy as a twisted woman can be if I'm to be sincere.

"Let me give you a brief rundown." She stated, opening the palm of her right hand. They looked pale and scaly. "On the same day of your tragic birthday, reports came from the five main kingdoms about some foreign magic. Including you, we have about thirty estimated individuals." She went on, her voice holding an edge of sympathy minuscule as it was: it was still something. "Twenty-five of them were in the age gap of eight to twenty; the rest didn't seem to have a pattern, so we decided to gather some of you... safekeeping." To emphasize this, she slowly gestured her hands shut.

"So, prisoners?" I asked her, "How could you possibly plan on keeping people with powers of who knows what in check?" None of this made a drop of sense to me as I waited for a response.

"Ah, about that, let me weave you a tale." She responded with a smile that could make the devil's skin crawl. "A little boy was given the job to take down a man, which people had rumored to be a giant. Yet with an enormous disadvantage of size, skill, and strength, how do you think he managed to pull off such an impossible feat?"

I already knew this tale. "David and Goliath, with the help of a slingshot and God, the giant fell."

"So, what type of slingshot do you think I've got?" She mused out loud.

"An efficient one, no doubt," I replied. My answer caused a smile to emerge once more. "Exactly, Jason. This place..." She gestures towards the cabin, "...is a slingshot. Nobody can leave here even if they wanted to, of course."

I mulled over her words while recalling how everyone reacted to her appearance, frightened all except Maya. "There's more to it; what's the catch?" The question seemed to have thrown her off guard as she beckoned me to go on, "How about for those who you've got nothing on them mentally; where's their leash?" She sat silent, seemingly thinking over what I had said.

"Well, my liege, there is no escape. Not every prison requires a wall." She said, "Look around you; what do you see?"

I paused to glance, now given the time to scour my surroundings.