Joining the Council

Chapter 2

Gavin was sat in a low chair, his chest barely came over the table and the armrests were too high causing Gavin to feel smaller than he was, scrunched in his seat. At the sound of high heels knocking the tile ground Gavin lifted his heavy head to look at the lady from before. She rounded the room and stood at the end of the table, situating herself in another dominant position. The air became heavier and it felt as if the pressure in the room had increased. Gavin gazed over the table to catch a glance of Jenna. She looked breathless to Gavin, and he wondered why. Was she excited or was she frightened.

"Part one has been completed." The lady said with a smile that was so genuine that it caused Gavin's lips to tug into a grin. Across the table Jenna was glowing in excitement, her face was covered with a smile, which made Gavin give into his own smile. It was a different situation, with everyone smiling.

"I expect that you both know very little about how the development is run. Unlike the rest of the citizens you will learn all of the secrets of this council." Her smile fell as she said this, weary of her words.

"Today you will meet Lillian, she will take you through the first analysis." Precise steps were heard as Lillian entered the room as if her shoes were too small and pinching her toes; constricting her steps.

"Hello," She said in a grating voice. "Come with me." Then her meager steps lead the pair out the door and farther into the facility.

The facility covered miles of land and Gavin's feet felt as if he had walked them all, his feet pulsed in pain each step he took, the light canvas sandals that he wore this morning rubbed into his blisters.

"And this is where you will spend most of your time," Lillian continued but Gavin's head was filled with the thought of relieving his feet to even keep listening to Lillian. His eyes wandered to the nearest bed, tucked in the deepest corner of the room. Soon he found himself with his back lain across the sheets, his nose inhaled the smell of generic washing soap that surrounded him as he hit the bed. He closed his eyes and ignored Lillian's complaints soon Jenna was across the room sitting in the bed beside him, feeling the same. His back muscles relaxed and the mattress settled around his shoulders. This bed was the king ruling over his own at home, it felt empty without his family bussing themselves around him. He felt guilty.

Shocked, was what he felt when he felt the pressure of Lillian's hands gripping his shoulders. His eyes ripped open to see her and Jenna looking over him.

"I will come back in an hour to see you to the commanders." She said. Gavin let his eyes follow her out of the room then gaze to the clock above the door, an hour he registered in his mind before falling back into the bed. His eyes barely closed when he opened them to see Lillian's face looking down at him,

"It's time to meet your future workers." She said as Gavin lifted himself of the bed, and following her again around the plain halls of the facility. The walls were covered with pictures, as if there was nowhere else to put them. It made the walls feel crowded, there was so much to look at but it was just blurred together as he walked, not taking in the details.

Finally Lillian stopped and Gavin watched the people behind the door frame she lead them into, these people were different than the ones that Gavin had seen wandering the halls holding notebooks. These people didn't stare at Gavin, they didn't even flinch when Lillian opened the door. They only wrote with their heads were ducked low and much too closed to the papers below, Gavin cloud see their back bones protruding through the black shirts, making his stomach turn. Did they have time to eat he thought? There were 9 people in the room other than people Gavin arrived with. Eight of them sat at their own desk facing the wall, surrounded by a wall on each side of their face, and the ninth person sat in the middle waiting.

All of a sudden the ninth person sat up out of his chair and headed over a woman with her head lifted over the small wall.  Her blood shot eyes beckoned the ninth man over and she handed him a blue folder, to which the ninth man promptly grabbed it from her hands and gave a new set of folders. He held it in his hands and carried it as if it was heavy from one side of the room to the next, a small slot that Gavin hadn't noticed when he walked in was where the folder went. The ninth man pushed it into the slot which took the paper greedily.

Gavin looked over the room to spot that the woman from before was now staring at him, he looked back until his eyes stung from watching.

"These are the commanders." Lillian's voice cut the air, sounding less confident than it had before, and these people controlled her life she had to act in respect. The rest of the group turned their heads towards the door that Gavin stood in, their heads sounded almost rusty as the turned, and bones scraping against bones that never moved. Each person blinked multiple times before Lillian spoke again.

"Well, introduce you selves." She said to Jenna and Gavin. A rough laugh came for one of the commanders, he wheezed when he finished he laugh.

"We know who you are." she said in a Smokey, sending Gavin's heart into a hustle. "You are what you experience. And we made you who you are." Gavin was terrified. These people had so much power, they could twist the population into what they wanted. Together they were a god.

Suddenly the ninth man spoke up while rising to his feet gaining the attention of the room, "I am Tritas, I am the assistant of the Commanders." he continued with pointing to each person in the room. "This is Abraham, he will spend his day with Jenna." Tritas kept rambling on until he reached the last person. "This is Baila," he gestured towards the woman from before. "She will spend her time with Gavin today."

As soon as his name was spoken Gavin's arm was yanked backwards by Baila. She pulled him with all her strength until Gavin fell into step behind her, going willingly.

"This was not my choice, to bring both of you in," she stated, "The Council has never had anyone in charge other than the commanders. You will not overrule us; you are only here for the public eye. You are only a face on a billboard." Gavin was so nervous that Baila must've been able to hear him swallow.

"I didn't ask to come." he retaliated

"And you won't ask about anything else."

Gavin re-entered the room and was handed a paper. Ten names were scribbled across the bottom of the page each with their own style of signature. He looked at the short document, reading the carefully written words. Gavin was the last to sign the paper.