What Could've Been

Chapter 4

     I make my way to my apartment, unlock the door, and step inside. I set down my groceries in the kitchen, and come back into the living room. I turn on the lights, and see a completely dark figure sitting on my couch.

    "Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my house?!" I yell, reaching for the nearest weapon, a glass vase. The figure pulls out a taser.

    "Now, you are coming with me. Would you like to do so willingly?" the figure asks in a deep voice, taunting me. I respond by simply throwing the vase at him. The next thing I feel is electricity coursing through my body as the floor flies towards my face. I shake uncontrollably as whatever strange man is in my apartment picks me up, blindfolds me, and carries me out the door. I hear a car door open, and I desperately try to struggle, but my muscles are jello and I can't do anything.

    "Just in case," I hear as he ties my hands behind my back. I turn to where I hear the voice and spit in that general direction. I smirk as a string of cuss words spew from the strange man's mouth, telling me I hit my mark.

    "You're lucky we need you to cooperate or else you'd be in a world of trouble right now," he snarls in my ear before slamming the door behind me. I feel around with my legs, it seems like I'm in the back of a van, plenty of empty space. I hear a door open then slam as the van shakes a little.

    "I'd tell you to buckle up, but, heh, you can't, now can you?" He snickers from the front of the van. I don't give him the satisfaction of an answer. I feel the vehicle lurch forward, throwing me backwards. I spend most of the ride trying not to puke from the sudden movements. After about 4 hours of silence and sharp turns, the presumed van finally stops.

    "Well, I'd bet you'd like to stretch your legs, huh? I know I would. Oh, and you're about to meet a loooot of people," He says, exiting the van. I hear a door open somewhere to my right. How much had I been slammed around? I hear him step into the vehicle, and feel strong hands wrap around my biceps. As I'm being lifted up, I hear many voices outside, a mix of feminine and masculine. The voices quiet as I get pulled out of the back of the vehicle.

    "Sargent Alpha. Why is our guest blindfolded and tied up?" a feminine voice asks from my left.

    "I was told to use any force necessary, Commander," the barely familiar voice responds. Sargent Alpha, huh?

    "Did you even tell her the situation? Did you ask her for help? Or did you just do things your way?" The Commander asks. Sargent Alpha doesn't respond, but I can practically feel the smirk. I hear some footsteps, and then feel my blindfold fall off of my face as the sun blinds me. I squint, looking at the fifteen-ish figures around me. The bindings on my wrist come off next. I move my hands in front of me, rubbing the red lines on my wrists where the rope had been digging into them. I study the people around me. The man on my right, presumably Sargent Alpha, was in all black from head to toe, even his face covered by a black veil. He was tall, yet all telling features were completely covered. The woman on my left, the Commander, was shorter than Sargent Alpha, yet still taller than me. Her dark brown hair with silver streaks was pulled into a tight bun on the back of her head, her piercing blue eyes staring into my soul, and she was wearing a black suit. As for the rest of the people surrounding us, they were all wearing Marine uniforms.

    "Can somebody please tell me what's going on?" I ask, terrified. What's happened, have I done something?

    "You've done nothing," Commander says, showing a slight smile, "Here, come inside and we'll explain everything." I look up to the ginormous building that's right in front of me. It's tall, covered in mirrored windows. There's no other buildings around us, no sign telling us what the building is, no indication of where we are.

    We begin to make our way inside, the shadow of the looming building blocking out the bright sun. As we step in the door, a rush of cool air hits us and it looks like a relatively normal office building, aside from the military personnel everywhere. I get led over to an elevator, and it's large enough to fit me, Commander, Sargent Alpha, and four of the Marines. One of them steps in front of me, and I hear a combination of buttons being pressed before the elevator starts moving. I'd thought we would go up, yet we begin to go down, down, down, until it finally stops and the doors open. We step into what looks like an interrogation room. A singular chair in the center of the room, with a desk and office chair in the corner. I hesitate to move forward, and two of the Marines gently lead me forward.

    "I know what this looks like, and I promise we aren't here to interrogate you, however this is the most secure place for us to have our conversation," Commander says, smiling at me. I turn my head when I hear Sargent Alpha sigh.

    "We'd get information a lot easier that way," he states with a bored voice. I shuffle away from him a tiny bit. The Marines lead me to the chair, and I sit. Two of them stand at my back, while the other two follow Commander to the desk. Sargent Alpha is somewhere behind me, which puts me at an unease.

    "So, um, what's going on? Why was I kidnapped? I'm so confused and scared and I really need answers," I admit, starting to shake.

    "Well, Melody," Commander looks at me, "this is about Darrek."