Superior

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Caleb

"Hey! Hey, you!" The rough discordance of a shout pried my eyes open. "Get the hell up!" My vision swam for a moment before focusing on the stubbly chin of a guard who I'd heard called Elias. He glared down at me, his proximity much too close for comfort.

"Hurry!" he shouted, grabbing the neckline of my t-shirt and hauling me to my feet. "We don't have all day." He snapped a pair of handcuffs over my wrists, securing them behind my back.

I glanced around quickly. We were still inside the plane, in the main seating compartment. It must have landed while I was asleep, because I no longer felt the weightless quality of being in the air. The door leading out of the small aircraft was open, with a ridged metal ramp extending from the body.

"Are you deaf?" Elias snarled into my ear. "I said we're going." He grabbed my arm and dragged me after him so suddenly that I couldn't help but stumble on my way down the ramp.

Trai was waiting outside, looking pensive as a wiry, younger guard gripped his shoulder. He too was restrained by handcuffs. I wondered, at first, why he was so submissive; Trai had taken martial arts since we were really young, and he could kick some serious butt. The guy holding him didn't seem like he'd be much of a problem. But then I looked up, just to his left, and saw a serious figure in a pinstriped suit, his arms crossed and dark glasses shielding his eyes.

Oh.

The Superior flicked his wrist as a signal to follow, and I was presently shoved forward, across what appeared to be a large hangar, though several gray vans similar to the ones we had ridden in before also occupied the space.

We approached an open doorway and the guard yanked me through it roughly. I stumbled into a narrow hallway, simultaneously stubbing my toe on the ground.

"I have feet, you know," I snapped automatically. "I don't need your help to walk." An angry growl escape the Elias' lips, and he shoved me violently into the wall. I grunted as air rushed out of my lungs, filling my chest with pain.

"Watch yourself," he warned. I gritted my teeth but refused show any signs of giving in, despite the fiery stabs lancing through my torso. The guard, who gripped my arms tightly behind my back, didn't seem to be exerting much pressure. Yet it felt like there was an iron weight crushing my ribs against the wall.

"Let him go, Elias," said the Superior, sounding bored. Though the side of my face was pressed against the wall, I saw the man smirk as we made brief eye contact. "I think he understands."

I understood, all right. With that small act of violence, I understood the nature of the Superiors and their underlings on a whole new level. And in those brief seconds that I was pinned against the wall, I realized that if I were to ever escape the situation in one piece, resisting with force would not be an option.