"So, did you hear about what happened during a dinner date this weekend?" Reena asks as we take our seats with our food. "I assume you haven't because you were so sick."
"What happened?" I ask as I nod a 'thank you' to the server who pours us some glasses of water. He gives a small bow to us both as he steps away and walks towards another table.
She looks over her shoulders and leans in towards me. "Okay, so apparently there was a fight that broke out between two of the guys!" My fork slips out of my hand and splatters into the salad with a clink. Her head snaps towards me and I quickly look up towards her. Well poop, what can I say to make her think it was not them?
"Sorry, I am just so surprised the tension is already this high because the fights haven't started yet." I say as I fish my fork out of the salad and almost immediatly, a new set is brought to me. "Oh, thank you." They bow as they take my old fork. I unwrap the new one and glance at her. "Anyways, do they know who it was?" So far so good... I think.
She glances to my salad then back up at me as she purses her lips together. Okay, maybe I am not doing as good as I thought. "No idea," She sighs as stabs her salad. "There are, like, five girls claiming it to be their guys." She jabs at a slivered almond that is evading her fork. "I don't believe any of them."
"Oh?" I ask as I stab a piece of chicken and dangle the fork right in front of my mouth. "Who do you think it is then?" I meet her gaze and immediately regret asking her. In her golden eyes, she has an intense look that almost screams "I know it was two of your guys". I fight off the shiver that wants to run through my body and bite the salad of my fork. Keep it cool.
"I don't really know." She sighs as she finally gets that piece of almond. Her eyes glimmer and she gives a creepy looking smirk. "All I know is that someone must have some guys who really like them." She bites her salad, her eyes never stop piercing my own. Well, she definitely suspects it was my guys, but she is totally wrong about why it happened. For the remainder of the lunch, we eat in relative silence.
I walk down the stairs with McQueen and Bronson in tow. The outfit is rather differrent than any other I have worn so far. It is a pair of pants and a top that are pretty much sewn together into one outfit. Cora had to help me get in to it much to my dislike. The sleeves are ruffled, and a ribbon like belt is tied very tightly-- also Cora-- around my waist. The bottom of the pants reach to right above my angle. My shoes are simply a pair of small black heels like make a thunk noise as opposed to the normal click most heels have.
"Do you know where we are going?" I ask as we make a turn and beging climbing down the next set of stairs.
"No, not really." Bronson replied with a huff as he kicks out one leg and gives it a quick shake. His knee makes an atrocious pop before he continues to descend the steps. I glance over in time to see a rather digusted look from McQueen. "All I know is that we are to meet at the front gates at 11:30." Frowning, I look towards McQueen who slowly raises his hands in a denfensive way.
"Do. Not. Look. At. Me. I. Have. No. I.dea." He adds a shaking of his head and I turn away with a sigh. Well, at least we are all in the dark.
Once at the last spot, we make our way to the fron of the place I have been living in for the past month-and-a-half. My heart thunders in my chest slightly as Bronson leads me to a place that I have never been before. We walk and take a few turns until we make it to large white double doors guarded by four large men. As we approach, Bronson and McQueen step ahead of me and begin talking with the men guarding the doors. After a brief interaction, Bronson and McQueen hold out their arms and two of the guards hover a thin piece of blue tinted pipe above their forearms. At once, the guards slam in the pipes down and Bronson and McQueen arch their backs in pain. I stare at the place where the pipe hit. There, the pipe is practically imbedded into their skin. It resembles a permanent bracelet that has been burned in.
"Hand please." I turn to see one of the guards near me. He holds him palm towards me. "Give me your hand please." I oblige in a slight haze. He takes my right hand and grabs my pointer finger. I spread my fingers out and in a fluid motion, he slips on a small ring that is that same blue.
The band tightens around my finger and a sensation like my finger is going to be ripped off erupts from it. I want to scream, but the pain is so bad that no sound escapes. My vision blurrs as the searing heat intensifies an an aching feeling rolls from my finger to my wrist. My breath it hitched as I try to breathe through the pressure. Slowly, the burn subsides, but I am still left with an aching feeling in my wrist. Slowly I glance down and sure enough, the same thing that happened to Bronson and McQueen has happened to me.
The little blue ring has burned inself around my finger. The skin around it is swollen and seems to have almost bubbled around the ring. My hand shakes as I hold it up to stare at it. Why on earth would they do this?
"Are. You. All. Right. Miss. Burks?" McQueen says as he walks over seeming to be completely unphased by his own arm. If it felt like that to me on my finger, how must that have felt to him?
"Y-yes. I am fine." He nods as I look back down at my hand. "Why did they do this?"
"It is your tracker." The guard who put the band on me says. I look towards him and he nods. "This date is going to be outside of this place from 11:30 until 15:30. That tracker on your hand has a time limit as well. When the date is coming near to an end, it will begin to burn again and will continue to do so until you make it back onto this site."
"What happens when we get on sight?" I ask and he rolls his eyes like this is the least exciting event of his life. Honestly, it probably is.
"The band breaks off and you are fine."
"And if we aren't back on time?" I counter and he narrows his eyes.
"Let's just say if you were barely able to handle the pain of it being put on then you will not be able to handle to pain if you break the curfew." He narrows his eyes at both Bronson and McQueen. "Don't be late." He marches back towards the door as McQueen buttons the buttons of his shirt around his wrist.
"He. Is. As. Char.ming. As. E.ver." Muttering, he continues to fix his shirt and jacket until everything is done. Once both he and Bronson have their shirts fixed, they lead me to stand in front of the door.
The guard who put my band on waves to the others and they each walk towards the door. Each guard walks up to one of the four silver knobs on the door. They stand in front of the knob until a large red light immluminates from the bottom of the knob. Each guard sticks their left palm underneath the knob and into that light. After a few seconds the light illuminates grean. In one, synchronous motion, the men flick their hands to the top of the knob and that knob turns without them touching it. A thundering grind and four clicks ring out from the door. Once the grinding stops, the men grab the knobs and give a slight pull. Slowly, the doors collaspe slightly and fold outward until the doorway is completely open.
The bright sunlight from outside floods into the room. It seeps onto the dark, hard floor of the entry way, but stops just short of where I am standing. I glance towards the doorway and my eyes immediatly squint for protection. They won't adjust well to the light ahead of me as I try to clear my vision with various blinks. Bronson and McQueen share a look and a nod before looking to me.
"Are you ready Miss Burks?" Bronson calls and I shrug my shoulders.
"As ready as I will ever be I suppose." I say and he nods as he begins walking in front of me. We begin walking by the guards before the one calls out.
"15:30. Remember that or you will probably lose a finger." He calls and my stomach swims at the thought. Something tells me he is not joking.
***
Thank you all for reading! I am so sorry that it is such a short chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you next time!
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The Afflicted Hearts (The Unwanted Bride Series: Book Two)
Teen FictionAfter being told that she will have to endure the rest of the season with three not to thrilled bachelors, Juniper continues her journey through the Marriage Process. Every week, she finds herself in the company of people who seem to wish her gone...
