The Burning Girl

Chapter 9 - A R R A N

My head is pounding and my mouth tastes like something died in it.

I slowly open my eyes and take a good look at my surroundings. I am sitting against a wall and ... gah my head hurt.

Once the room stops spinning, I glance up again. I must be in a cellar I think absently. The room is dingy, only natural light gave me any thing to see by. It crept in the room from the ivy covered windows.

Wait ... daylight? How long was I out for?

With any luck, that question should be answered soon. I hear dull footsteps shuffling outside the door with low whispers. I hear a thud and someone swearing.

The door opens, creepily slowly. I can only see a silhouette, but I'm pretty sure it's Tom.

"Wakey wakey pretty boy," He mocks. I can hear the glint of malice in his voice. Hear the grinding of his teeth.

He yanks at my wrists, which I hadn't noticed until now that they were tied, on a piece of rope that was tied to a ring in the wall.

"Stand up," He growls. I try to but find that I am too weak to support my weight.

Again that small thought sneaks it's way into my mind. How long have I been out for?

"GET UP!" Tom yells. He punches me in the head, once, twice, three times.

I try again, determined not to collapse again. I shuffle forward with Tom gripping tight to the rope encircling my wrists.

He frogmarches me out of the cellar and leads me upstairs, pushing me, until we reach a large black door. This is just about the only thing in this house that isn't falling apart. High gloss paint covers it and I can see my worried expression reflected in it. Schooling my features into a neutral look, I walk into the room.

He pushes me into a comfortable office chair, ties the rope to the desk leg, and leaves. I lean back into the chair and try to compose my thoughts into something less of a tangle.

Behind the desk, there is a large bay window from wall to wall, flooding the room with light. Behind I can see the pond, no more of a lake, which I had seen when I first arrived.

I glance round the room and my eyes flicker across the walls. I can see multiple news reports detailing the events of bank robberies, bombings, riots and protest marches. They are pinned to huge notice boards from floor to ceiling and on both walls, to my left and right.

Finally my eyes land on the clock on the desk. It's digital numbers flashing at me. I check the date and am surprised to find that it says the 2nd of February.

"I've been out for two days?" I whisper incredulously.

After a while, my patience is stretched thin. Finally, I hear voices outside the room, the deep timbre of Tom's sets me on edge as my face is still throbbing from his attack. The other voice is younger and is nowhere near the deep growl of Tom's.

The two men walk in and my eyes instinctively flicker between the two faces with suspicion. The other man, I notice, is younger and looks roughly the same age as me. He is tall, well muscled and has dark hair and dark eyes. A tattoo of a snake crawls up his left arm, with frightening authenticity. He also has a small tattoo on the inside of his wrist, of a small circle inside a larger circle, no bigger than a two pence piece. I notice the same tattoo on Tom's wrist, which I hadn't noticed before. His eyes are kinder, with a soft expression on his face. He is very much the polar opposite to Tom, who is still radiating anger.

I glare at Tom and ask him why I am tied up when he was the one who brought him here in the first place.

"Safety procedures," Tom says, "You were found trespassing."

"How was I trespassing when you knew I was here?" I ask, my temper rising.

"I told you. Safety procedures." Tom ground out.

"That is not a valid reason for holding me captive, in a cellar, FOR TWO DAYS! Where is my uncle!" I ask. "The only reason I agreed to any of this is because he is forcing me!"

I was reeling from what I said. Never had I thought that I would consciously ask for my uncle to appear. But I suppose that at the moment I hate him considerably less than I do Tom.

"Hold on one minute there sparky," I hear Snake Tattoo say. He has an american accent, slightly drawling, but I don't know if he's doing this for effect.

"You'll only get to see your uncle when you have finished your time here." I glare at him.

"My name's Alto Davis, short for Anthony. This place is a training facility for... new recruits let's say."

Oh yeah, I silently curse myself.

"What's it training people for?" I ask, slightly dubious that his answer will be anything but good. Not if Jim runs it.

"It's a training facility for a group of freedom fighters who believe that this country needs saving."

I see something flash across his eyes, the pulse at his neck quicken, and I know he is lying to me. I decide to play along.

"Ok then, well why don't you start by giving me a bit more information, seeing as my uncle seems like he's a key figure in all this."

Alto laughs, a deep rumbling laugh that seems to travel through his body. "Why? And give the whole thing away? Come on now sparky lets get those hands untied. We'll show you around."

Tom grumbles but reluctantly unties my hands. I rub my wrists trying to bring some blood back into my hands. They blindfold me, I assume so that I don't know where the exit is, and take me through the house and outside.

Blindfold off, I can see that they are leading me to a large barn that I hadn't noticed the night before, as it is tucked away behind some trees.

We enter and I notice that the entire floor is covered in crash mats. The walls are lined with various weapons; AK47's, 9mm pistols, handguns, guns small enough to fit in your palm. Katanas line the walls, butterfly knives, throwing daggers, and hunting knives. The list went on but so many of the weapons I hardly recognised. Punch bags lined another wall, with a firing range tucked away somewhere. The only indication I have of it's existence, is the persistent pop pop pop the guns make. At the far end I notice two boys practising back flips on the springboard floor, messing around and laughing at the other failing. They stop as soon as they see us come in, and go back to sparring with each other.

"Alto will be training you in the basics. Self-defence, gun skills, how to get out of handcuffs, and combat skills. This part of your training will take a week. After this is done you will be allowed back home, but must swear not to say a word. Then you will go back to your assignment that your uncle set you." Tom says.

I make a small noise of annoyance but am greeted with a sharp slap to the face. I cringe away from Tom as he says, "You will not act like that with your orders from High Command. You are one of us now Arran. You have been recruited to work in The Inner Circle."

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AN: Oh no what has Arran got himself into?

I hope you are enjoying my story! Please don't forget to vote or comment if you are!

Tolly xxxx 🔥