The Recruits

Chapter 6

The next morning, Matt came down the stairs with a tray, as usual, and something else. Ozzie followed close behind him. Once at the bottom of the stairs, Ozzie passed him, and Matt laid all the food down and puts a black box in the middle. Everyone surrounded it and took up a foil of food.

Davin watched Matt closely and skeptically, and Matt noticed. He smiled and opened the box to reveal a checkered board and a bunch of white and black pieces. There were even two animal pieces, horses. Georgie and Charlie looked down at them in curiosity.

"Ozzie and I picked out a game for you all to keep down here, so it's not too boring."

Davin hummed. Georgie looked over at him. "How do we play?" Davin grunted.

"That's the best part, I'll teach you." he started picking up pieces and assembling them in different positions on opposite ends of the board. After positioning most of them, Matt realized he was missing a piece. He looked up and saw a knight in between Georgie's fingers as he played with it. He frowned and leaned over, snatching the knight from Georgie.

Georgie flinched and whimpered, putting his head down. Matt positioned the piece and looked back at Georgie. "Georgie."

He looked up. "How would you like to help me teach everyone?" he held his hand out to be shaken. Georgie hesitated at the thought of touching Matt-at all. Still, he shook his hand. Matt squeezed it a little. He let go and gathered everyone's attention.

"And those are the playable moves for each piece, got all that?" Georgie and Oz shared confused glances, but Charlie seemed to understand. Davin, however, was disinterested and stayed at his side of the room. He seemed in a huff, but Matt didn't seem to care.

"Uhm...dad?" Georgie whispered, not really wanting him to hear, and feeling disgusted at himself for calling him dad. Matt looked up from the chess board. "Yes kid?"

"I don't get it." he put his fingers together, feeling bad and scared at what Matt might do. Matt shrugged. "You aren't going to get it first try." he rested his head on his hand. Georgie nodded slowly. Matt turned his eyes to Davin.

"Hey Davin." he called out. Davin turned around and glared at him. Matt smirked at him with a glint in his eyes. "What's got you upset?" Davin understood the trick question.

"I'm not upset about anything." he said half-heartedly. Matt chuckled. He took the tray up with one hand and turned to face the stairs. He didn't look at anyone, but he spoke to Georgie, Ozzie and Charlie.

"You three can make up your own rules for the game." he walked up the stairs and closed the door. The chess board was still sitting there, all pieces in place. Charlie went over to where Matt was sitting, which was on the white side, and held out his hand to Georgie. He shook it more confidently than he did Matt's.

They played for a while, not really with an end goal in mind, not getting one. When there were only two white pieces on the board, a knight and a queen, and three black pieces, a bishop, rook and king, they shook hands and ended the game. They put the pieces at the underside of the board and closed it with a low 'thump.'

"That was fun." Georgie smiled at Charlie, who took a moment to smile back. Ozzie had been watching the entire game and taking mental notes. He retreated to his corner once the game was over. Georgie crawled backwards to his mattress. He looked over at Ozzie, who was lying down on his own mattress.

Georgie felt a feeling of dread, similar to a few days ago with Matt. He went over to Ozzie and tapped him. Ozzie looked up at him.

"Sorry about your hand, I didn't mean for you to get in trouble." Georgie choked. Ozzie smiled.

"No hard feelings. I got Charlie in trouble once; he doesn't hold it against me. He said grudges are useless down here." his smile reassures Georgie, and he smiles too. Ozzie continues. "Matt's going to test you soon." Georgie looks at Ozzie with his left brow all the way up his forehead. Ozzie snickers. "To find out what your power is, you said you don't know, right?" he asked. Georgie nodded with a realizing look on his face. "The test isn't violent; he just gives you different tasks to see what happens. It happened to me, that's how I found out my power."

"What if I don't have one?" Georgie looked at Ozzie with an 'I don't believe you' look.

"You do, you have to. Or at least the potential to having a power."

"Potential?" if Georgie didn't believe what Ozzie was saying before, he definitely didn't believe him now. Georgie asked the question with a small smirk, mentally confirming Ozzie as a crazy person.

"You can get a power if put in a certain situation, my mom was a wrestler, and my father had an absorption power. Because of that, I absorbed my mother's ability. Maybe that's why she hated me. Anyway, Charlie called the process 'convoluted', but I don't know what that means."

"What about Charlie and Davin?" Georgie pointed behind him.

"Charlie's mom's a siren and he didn't know his dad. His ability's called 'siren's scream.' Davin's mom was a weather forecaster, and he said he never knew his dad either." Ozzie ticked his tongue. Georgie nodded. "What are your parents?" Ozzie asked.

"My dads a businessman and my mom doesn't have a job, but she's an elf. That makes me an elf hybrid, but I don't have the ears." Ozzie nodded.

"Maybe your power is 'corporal'?" he asks. Georgie makes a 'huh?' sound. "Y'know, the natural born ability to be a leader." Georgie was skeptical. He shrugged.

"It doesn't really matter to me." he lied down next to Ozzie. "We aren't allowed to use them, anyway, are we?" Ozzie shakes his head. "Exactly, so there isn't any reason to make a big deal out of it." Georgie reasoned.

"You're smart for a six-year-old, or you seem to be, anyway. Maybe your ability is 'intelligence.'" Ozzie exclaimed.

"I doubt that. I wouldn't have gotten in a car with a stranger if I was intelligent." Georgie shrugged.

"Fair point."