18 Months -- Michael Langdon x Reader

Part Thirteen

Gallant placed his hand on your thigh, pulling you out of the trance you'd been captivated in. Anger flashed in the man's eyes, before he began to prowl behind the couch, his hands clasped behind his back. He kept his gaze on you for only another moment, before they were focusing on his true target: Ms. Venable. Gallant squeezed your thigh as he swiveled his head around, following the man's every move, until he came to a stop near Venable. She smiled at him, her hands wrapped around the top of her cane, but slowly, her smile began to falter. The man made no move to stand beside her, so with a look full of humiliation, she stepped aside, allowing him to take control of the room.

The man stood right in front of the fireplace, gazing out at each of you. "My name is Langdon, and I represent The Cooperative." An icy feeling formed in your throat at the reveal of the man's name, but as soon it was there, it was gone. "I won't sugarcoat the situation. Humanity is on the brink of failure. My arrival here was crucial to the survival of civilized life on Earth. The three other compounds in Syracuse, New York, Beckley, West Virginia, and San Angelo, Texas have all been overrun and destroyed. We've had no contact from the six international outposts, but we are assuming that they, too, have been eliminated-"

"What happened to the people inside?" Timothy interrupted, worry lining his face. Up until this point, there seemed to have been an unspoken rule regarding Langdon's power, hence the silence and lack of interruption.

Langdon tilted his head in the direction of Timothy, a sickly-sweet smile on his face. "Massacred. The same fate that will befall almost all of you."

"Almost all?" Mallory piped up, only to shrink back due to the look she was given by Coco.

"In the knowledge that this very moment might occur, we built as failsafe- The Sanctuary," Michael said, disregarding Mallory. "The Sanctuary is unique. It was built by the best, and has certain security measures the will prevent overrun."

"The best? Why does this place have those measures, but we don't?" you questioned loudly, standing up so the attention would be drawn to you. Gallant tried to yank you back down by the back of your dress, but you were unmoving. "18 months of hell, when there was a better solution all along?"

"That's classified," Langdon said, hesitating while he stared at you. "All that matters is that The Sanctuary, will survive, so the people populating it will survive, so humanity will survive," he smiled, waving his hand around elegantly.

The movement nearly hypnotized you into silence, but you shook yourself out of it. "Who's going to be populating it?" you hummed, crossing your arms and tilting your head to the side.

A brief smirk crossed over Langdon's face, before his eyes were narrowing. "Also, classified. However, I have been sent to determine if any of you are worthy and fit to join us," he smiled. Murmuring broke out across the room, and with one last glance at the man, you sat back down beside Gallant.

"You have got to stop interrupting the guy," Gallant harshly whispered. You waved your hand at him, shaking your head in dismissal.

"The Cooperative has developed a particular and rigorous questioning technique we like to call 'Cooperating'. I will then use the information gained to determine if you belong," Langdon explained, silencing the room.

"What is this, The Hunger Games? This is bullshit, I paid my way in here and that is the only cooperating I plan on doing," Coco snarked, causing you to bite your lip in order to hold back a laugh.

"You don't have to sit for questioning," Langdon hummed.

"What happens if we choose not to?" Andre spoke up, a solemn tone to his words.