There were 3 other boys already down there. There was also a lamp in the corner that dimly lit the room. One of the boys had pink hair and was lying down on a mattress in the corner. The two other people were at the other end of the room. One was a shorter boy with brown hair, and he was sleeping on the other's lap. The only awake child had black hair and stared at Georgie as he came down the steps.
He seemed upset and glared at Mathew as he gestured Georgie to a mattress in the middle of the room with his name on it. He was a little confused by that but got on it anyway. Mathew smiled and turned mischievously to the black-haired boy, who glared back.
"You don't mind telling your little brother how things work around here, do you Davin?" he smirked, chuckling to himself. Davin clutched the bare mattress he was on top of but sighed. He nodded slowly and looked down at the boy in his lap. Mathew smiled and turned around, walking to the stairs. He held onto the stair railing before turning back.
"You'll do great here, Georgie, I can already tell." he said in an unsettlingly upbeat tone and strode up the stairs. Georgie was still in tears and was sniffling a lot. Davin had crawled over to him and pat his head.
"It'll be fine, just please don't cry." his voice was depressing, and his eyes were grey and not vey assuring. Nevertheless, Georgie nodded with one last sniffle and hugged Davin tightly. Tears rolled down his face quicker and he started bawling. Davin was shocked for a moment but hugged back.
"W-why am I here?" Georgie whined through sobs.
"That, I don't know. But please quiet down, he'll come back down if you aren't." he warned.
Georgie sniffled and nodded, wiping his face with his forearm. Davin sighed and sat back, looking back at the brown-haired boy, who was laying on his own mattress. Davin turned back to Georgie with a serious expression.
"Alright listen." he let out a large sigh as he spoke. Georgie squinted up at him.
"It's my job to tell you the rules before he comes back, so prepare yourself. There isn't a lot but still." he crossed his legs and leaned back, relying on his hands for support. Georgie nodded and crossed his legs as well.
"First, the guy that brought you in here is your dad now, you have to call him that. Nothing else, to his face anyway." Georgie nodded.
"Second, we aren't allowed to share unless we're told to." Georgie rose his brow but nodded.
"Third, we have to go to bed an hour after eating dinner, well approximately. If we're all 'good' we can stay up until dad says to sleep, but other than that the former, alright?" Georgie was already used to that rule, and a little earlier too! He nodded. He wandered how they were supposed to tell, but didn't bother asking.
"Fourth, no talking back. Or talking at all, when he's around, unless he's talking to you." Georgie started feeling uneasy. He nodded.
"Fifth, no interfering when someone else is being punished. You aren't allowed to treat their bruises or help in any way unless instructed. You also can't make any noise, at all." Georgie whimpered at the idea of being physically 'punished.'
"Sixth, no bullying. Dad says we should always be civil with each other, no matter what." Georgie didn't like hearing Davin calling Mathew 'dad', it wasn't very comforting.
"Seven, don't bother trying to escape. No one has ever tried, and you shouldn't either. Dad says it'll end horribly, obviously." Georgie nodded.
"Eight, don't ask for anything, ever. You'll be given what dad thinks you deserve. You aren't entitled to anything, okay?" Georgie nodded.
"Nine, no cursing or complaining. It isn't very respectful." Georgie nodded, and Davin laid back. Georgie took it as a sign Davin was done talking. He crawled on top of Davin and lied down. Davin jumped and looked at his belly. He saw the boy curled up at his chest and smiled, laying his head back down.
Julissa was excitedly humming as she swept the living room floor. Timothy was reading the newspaper with his feet propped on the coffee table. He had a brown beard growing from his sideburns that his wife played in sometimes. She, meanwhile, had a stereotypical ginger look. She had freckles under her eyes and green eyes. She was wearing a simple blue dress, and he wore his business suit, having just come from work.
The time was 5:00 on the dot and Georgie would be home any moment. Julissa was so happy that he took the bus himself. The other mothers had been calling her too 'codling' for taking the bus with him. She was so proud of herself and him. She was making his favorite for dinner tonight, lasagna.
It was now 5:47 and Julissa was starting to worry. School ends at 4:30 for 2nd graders, doesn't it? She got up from her husband's side, who was also worried, and called the school. She knew if she told this story to the neighborhood women they would tease her, but she didn't care. She was scared. She dialed the number on the landline.
It rang for a bit before a female picked up. She seemed to be rushing, maybe she was about to leave?
"You have ten minutes." the rude woman said. Julissa was shocked at the disrespect but persisted.
"My son hasn't come home yet, is school over?" she questioned timidly.
"Yes ma'am. School has been over since 4:30." the woman said in an exaggeratedly tired voice.
"Uhm...can you check if my son has left yet? His name is Georgie Tomlinson." she asked as kindly as she could. The woman said 'mhm' and there was a silent pause before the woman spoke again.
"It says here your son didn't show up today." she stated in an accusatory manner.
"He didn't show up?" Timothy's attention turned to his wife. Her voice was starting to tremble a little.
"He was marked absent on his classes register." Julissa's heart skipped a beat as she held her stomach. Timothy got up and helped his wife stand straight. She started to get that motherly feeling when you know something's wrong.
"T-thank you." she stammered before hanging up swiftly. She fell down, taking Tim with her.
"I saw him go on the bus, we waved to him?" she questioned herself, recounting her day. "What if he skipped?"
"He wouldn't do that, and you know it. How about we go searching for him. Maybe he's lost." Tim shrugged and helped Julissa up. She nodded and grabbed their coats off the rack near the staircase. Tim put his on, helped her with hers and he took his keys and they left.
YOU ARE READING
The Recruits
Misteri / Thriller'Everyone seems normal, but we all have secrets.' The year was 1986. All Georgie wanted to do was get to school, but he never made it. Instead, he was kidnapped and forced to live out the rest of his years in a basement surrounded by people with sim...
