Dominion

Chapter 5

"Good morning all, trust you had a wonderful night." a man stands to address us. I subconsciously shiver as memories of last night which practically never happened floods back.
"Are you okay? You've been acting off since last night." Ben leans in to whisper. I meet his worried gaze with a smile. He grabs my hand giving it a light squeeze before letting go. A simple gesture that conveys the words 'i'm here for you. '
"So, having said all that, I use this medium to welcome you officially to DR Troop. I trust your stay here will be fruitful." everyone applause for him as he ends his address giving room to another.
We are in a room that has much resemblance to a conference room. If not for some missing details attached to a conference room, I would mistake it for one.
"Good day everyone, my name is Mathew. The proud founder and leader of DR troops." everyone burst into cheers and applause. A due honor given to the owner of such a great organization.
I tune myself out of what he says thereafter simply taking in my environment. The windows are made of opaque glass such that you can see outside from inside but can't see inside from outside. The place is indeed a sight to behold. The architectural structure of the buildings took my breath away at first sight yesterday. They really knew how to use the beauties of nature to their advantage considering the flowers that outlined every pathway and corners of the building. I remember seeing some carved out plants saying 'DR Troop' at the entrance. Several fountains could be seen at different locations in the camp. The rooms are adequately furnished and set-up you could pass it for a five star hotel room, though they are relatively smaller and not as exquisite. Nevertheless, it has that homey feeling. Lucky enough, we picked our rooms so Ben and I had the benefits of picking ones next to each other.
I look to the front where the man that introduced himself as Mathew still stands speaking, "those are the rules of engagement, follow them and you are sure to guarantee your self an enjoyable stay." I hear him say. Great! We have rules, is there any place I go where there are no rules?
"Any question?" he ask looking around. I do have a few but I don't raise my hand. After a few moments of no-one signifying he or she has a question, he nods is head satisfied.
"Okay, then we meet at the cafeteria in five, where breakfast will be served." he says dismissing us. Conversations erupt among us as soon as we are dismissed. From the corner of my eye I see Mathew and some others whom addressed us exiting the hall.
I pull Ben up to follow me, "I need to catch up with them" I say pointing towards the exit where Mathew stands talking to someone.
"What? Why?" Ben asks following me.
"You will see." I simply tell him. Truthfully, I really have no reason to approach him.
"Good morning sir, my name is Clara and this is Ben." I say once we get to him.
He looks at me warmly and smile, "Good morning Clara, Ben. Call me by name, Mathew." he nods  motioning for me to go on.
I rub my palm against my jeans thinking of what to say. "Well, I...The thought just came to me, I was just wondering the meaning of DR Troop. Surely the DR represents something or is it just DR as in DR?" I rant nervously and chuckle slightly for my own measure. From the corner of my eye I can see Ben Look at me incredulously.
He chuckles nevertheless "Yes you are right. The DR stands for Dominion Revolutionaries."
"Dominion Revolutionaries" I repeat
"Any other question" he asks.
I shake my head. Truth be told, I didn't really have anything to say or ask, just wanted an opportunity to meet him upfront I guess.
Something pops into my head just as he is about to excuse himself. "Yes! I still have a few."
He turns to look at me and then checks the time on his watch. "Well, those are questions I am willing to answer at tea." he says and I get what he means.
I nod and watch him walk out of sight.
Ben comes to stand in front of me, "The next time you want to do something like that, give me heads up." he mutters.
I hit him playfully," I know you love me."
"You know wrong. " he retorts rolling his eyes.
"Come on, let's go. My stomach is rumbling. " he says pulling me out of the hall. People are gradually leaving the hall most likely to the cafeteria.
With the help of the directions along the hallways and pathways, we arrive at the cafeteria. It's almost full with both campers and workers. We join the queue to get our food. Luckily, we find a table yet to be occupied and take our seat. Just as we are about to take a sip of our tea, a man appears at our table. I recognize him from one of the men that addressed us earlier. If I am correct, his name should be Mark.
We look at him questioningly, "Mathew would like to see you both. Come with me." he informs us. I glance at Ben who just shrugs. Carrying our tray of food, we get up follow him. He leads to another side of the cafeteria just beside the kitchen where Mathew sits sipping his tea.
Mathew acknowledges our presence with a subtle nod and gestures for us to have our sit. Mark leaves shortly and Ben and I settle into our seats, our tray of food in front of us. I chose a couple of Chelsea-buns and a cup of the greenish liquid they served as tea. Ben on the other hand preferred going with four slice of toast and a cup of tea.
"You said, you have few more questions for me." Mathew begins.
I nod, bringing my cup to my lips to take a sip of tea. Ben does so too, I place my palm over my mouth to restrain the urge of spitting the liquid out as soon as the taste hits my tongue. Ben looks at the tea in distaste too, at least I am not the only one finding it horrible.
"What the heck is this!?" Ben gripes pushing his cup father from him.
Mathew looks up at us with a quirk eyebrow. "Tea." he replies curtly and continues sipping his tea peacefully.
"More like poison" Ben mumbles. I kick his leg under the table asking him to behave.
I clear my throat placing my cup of tea on my tray. "DR Troop, was does that mean? " I ask.
Mathew looks at me questioningly. "I mean, I understand it stands for Dominion-Revolutionaries Troop but what does it connote generally?" I continue making sure he gets a clear understanding of my question.
He drops his tea on the tray before him and brings out his phone. I can't tell what he is doing but it seems like he his typing a message to someone. While he does so, Ben and I sit there silently eating our food while we wait for him to respond.
When he is done typing, he places his phone on the table and resumes sipping his tea. I look from him to Ben disbelievingly.
"Are you not going to answer my question" I ask perhaps he has forgotten I asked one.
"I know, I will attend to that soon. For now, we drink."
So we do, having only our tea left of our breakfast to consume. We drink savouring in the bitter-sweet taste if the liquid given to us as tea. We drink to our anxiousness and uncertainty of what's to come. We drink without a pause for fear of the horrific taste haunting our tongues. We drink, till there is nothing left in our tea cups.
"I am never drinking that again." I cringe, the after taste of the tea lingering on my tongue.
"Very well then but I assure you it's one of the finest of tea. Purely organic and helps to keep one fit." Mathew explains proudly.
I look at him my lips curved downwards, Ben shares my disinterest in what he said.
"I think I am fit enough." Ben remarks proudly and I smirk. Truly he is and not to forget blessed with a gorgeous face. If we weren't best friends and all he totally passes for the kind of guy I would date.
Mathew chuckles just as Mark approaches our table, perhaps he is the one Mathew messaged earlier on.
"All is set" he informs Mathew who takes that as his cue to get up from his seat.
"Shall we?" Mathew addresses us. Skeptically, we rise from our seats and follow him. He leads us out of the cafeteria to the main building where we've been told the offices are located.
We are greeted by the receptionist as soon as we enter. The inside is just as lovely as the outside. The person who worked out the interior of this place must be really talented at his or her job. We get to the elevator and Mathew presses the button to get it open. Soon, it opens and we step in. I don't see the number of the floor Mathew presses before the elevator starts to move.
Shortly, the ding of the elevator sounds and it opens to allow us step out. Mathew leads us through a row of office to the very last one at the end. We step in, the lady behind a desk with the name Winifred as revealed by her office tag stands to greet us.
"Good morning." She beams.
"Good morning. " we each reply. Mathew leads us into the adjoining office, from the looks of it, his office.
He settles into his seat behind the large desk ,"take a seat" he gestures to us.