When hidden from the light

Chapter 12

I awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I looked up at the clock on the wall and saw it was 4:30 in the morning. I quickly got up and made sure I looked presentable before I opened the door I was wearing the exact same thing as the day before since my bag of clothes was still in my vehicle. A guard walked into my room, it was a different guard then before. The guard looked at me and then told me to follow him. After a few minutes of walking we arrived in front of a door. The guard opened it and I followed him inside. In front of me was a long table, people sat at the table talking but when I entered the room they all quieted down. At the head of the table sat Renée.

"Have a seat." She said.

The guard directed me to a seat at the end of the table and I sat down. I realized I was shaking, not very visibly but just enough for me to notice.

"So everyone, this is Josiah." Renée said.

"He will be the one completing all of our higher up tasks. I have been getting many complaints saying we are working our guards too much so Josiah will make sure the guards won't be overworked by completing those tasks himself."

The members at the table gave me disgusted looks.

"Excuse me, but do we have to have "the boy" working for us? Why can't we just kill him?" One member asked.

I saw others nod their heads in agreement and I clasped my hands to stop them from shaking. That would be a good thing, wasn't it? Wasn't I a monster? Being around Elana had made me believe I was a better person but was that really true? The kids at my school when I was young aren't the only ones who think I'm a monster. They're right aren't they? I'm not human and shouldn't be treated like a human.

"Because, he is of use to us." Renée replied.

"And he knows Barton." She added.

"He knows Barton?" Someone said.

"Yes, it wasn't until after Weston let Josiah escape that we realized we needed Barton, we believe he has some information we need."

"I did not let him escape!" Weston said angrily.

"Whatever you say Weston."

"And anyways, did you really think your way of convincing Josiah was going to work? Just ask him politely and he'll be happy to help?"

There was a brief silence and some of the members laughed quietly.

"Hey, is that boy going to take off his mask or what? It's not like he can hide anything from us, we already know he's not normal." One person said.

I stared at Renée with pleading eyes. Please, it's all I'm asking. Let me keep my mask.

"Josiah, take off the mask." Renée said.

Why? Why do I have to take off the mask? Slowly, I took off my mask and stared at the table.

"Look at me."

I looked up until my eyes and Renée's met. There were a few gasps in the room but Renée continued to look at my eyes. Finally she looked away.

"Give me the mask."

I blinked. Give. Her. The. Mask... No, I couldn't. She wouldn't make me give it to her right? Then I thought of my sister. I didn't have a choice. I slid the mask across the table and Renée took it. She looked at me for just a moment before taking out a knife and cutting the fabric of the mask in half.

My eyes widened in shock. NO. No. She didn't just. Just. I tried to control my emotions. I would not cry over it. Everyone in this room didn't understand the importance of that mask. It was my world. I didn't know how to live without it. I could see the expressions on the members faces. They were laughing at me.

•••

When the meeting was done all the members left one by one. The guard had left sometime in the middle of the meeting so I was left to find my way back to my room. I knew there was no way I could escape. They would find my sister and hurt her if I did and I wouldn't be able to protect my family, this was the best way to protect the ones I cared about. I continued walking until I heard voices and I stopped.

Then I saw a group of about 5 people coming my way. I guessed they weren't guards because they were all wearing fancy suits. They looked to be a few years older then me. One of them saw me and gave me a glare. I quickly looked down, fully aware I no longer had my mask.

"Look guys, it's the ugly little boy."

"Dude, he's even creepier then I thought he'd be."

A tear trickled down my cheek. I hurried past them and ran to my room, shutting the door behind me. There was no lock on the door, hopefully the boys wouldn't follow me.

Hello! How was your day? Hope you enjoyed this chapter!