Arthur Barclay Columbus.

Chapter 4: Congratulations! You're a dead man!

My bare feet barely made any sound on the cold, narrow stairs to the basement. There were small patches of brown scattered across the stairs and I knew it was either rust or blood. Or poop, from all the prisoners here that had literally just shat themselves, right there.
"Ah, Arthur, my boy. We need to ask you a couple of questions." My mother's voice was soft and so were her words, yet she managed to make me flinch. "Take a seat, honey."
There was only one chair in the basement and for a moment, I wished I never met my mother. Then all this would've never happened, and I would still be with my father. At least they gave all these criminals the comfort of having armrests, I thought.

When I wouldn't sit down, a rough hand shoved me down, immediately followed by a "Trevor! Careful, now." from my mother. She turned to me, her red curls bouncing just above her shoulder. "You know what happens around here, yes?" I gripped the armrest tight, shaking a little, the cold, rusty metal cutting my palms, before nodding. "Good. We want you nice and prepared. You see, the creature you ran into not half an hour ago-"
"What? I didn't run into anyone. I was in my bed."
"Sure, honey. Look, we usually start training at eighteen, but, since you're old at heart anyway, we decided to speed it up."
"Who's we?"
"Your father and I, honey." She said dismissively, as if it wasn't the first thing I've heard about my father in fifteen years.

"Look, honey, don't get all pissy now. We've talked about this-"
"No, we haven't!"
"Correct. Your father and I have talked about this and we've decided that your training can begin earlier. Congratulations! You're a Huntsman! Your first mission begins..." She checked her golden watch and I was dead silent. I could hear the soft ticks from the watch ticking regularly – in contrast to my heartrate, which was all over the place. "...Now. Yes, that sounds about right. Yes, go- go get 'em, honey!" She raised a pathetic fist into the sky before dropping it quickly.

I was frozen in my chair. "Well, what are you waiting for, honey? Track the creature, capture her and bring her back to us. Of course, if more convenient, you can kill her on the spot."

As if in a dream, I tried running away, up the stairs, but it all felt too slow. My feet were dragging across the floor as an unseen force stopped me from getting the hell out of here. I managed to burst through the door, the loud bang echoing through the empty halls for a moment. My world was spinning, I was spinning until someone hit me on the head and I was back.

"Focus, boy." Drew growled and I shook my head for a moment. My fingers tingled as I took a couple breaths, the cold air feeling awkward in my heated lungs. "Go upstairs, get your shit together and go. This is your only chance to get out. I know how much you want it." Drew's harsh eyes drilled into mine and I swallowed audibly before running to my room.

I violently stuffed clothes into my backpack, but without a clue how long I would be gone and where I would go, it became a jumbled mess of shorts and jumpers. I quickly put on the only clothes within reach and while tying my shoes, my eyes fell on the phone hidden beneath my nightstand. For a moment, I just looked at it, before finishing tying my shoes and standing up, reaching underneath the nightstand and grabbing the cold phone. On an impulse, I turned it on and stared at the message on the screen.
Wanna have dinner sometime? x

The blue light managed to illuminate the entire room as I couldn't find the courage to unlock my phone. Whereas I had just been bursting with bravery, I now found it hard to even imagine replying to this message.
I should definitely tell Mom.
I should probably tell Mom.
I could tell Mom.
If I felt like it.

I put the phone in my pocket before inhaling deeply and opening the door. Here, Drew was waiting for me, expecting me to give him my bag, but instead I threw it over my own shoulder.
"You've become independent all of a sudden, Mr. Columbus."
"Oh, please," I replied with a smile, "It is only a bag."
"I was being sarcastic, sir."
"Right. Me too."

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