My mind reels when I think of past events. First, my friends are kidnapped, then I join a gang. Something I never thought I would do, not after what happened to my parents. And now I'm sleeping in the headquarters of the Black Bones. Or at least I would be sleeping if I could clear my mind.
Hours pass until I finally fall asleep more hours pass until I hear a loud knock on my door. "Miss Auralia? Are you awake?"
I run to the door and open it. Outside is a young boy holding a suit matching the one I saw my escort wearing yesterday. "Is that for me?"
"Yes. You can come to the dining hall for breakfast, I'll wait for you outside!" He chirps and closes the door.
I can't help but wonder why someone as young as him, no older than 11 would be a gang member. I sigh and shrug on the suit, as I put it on I realize it's a little different than the one the girl I saw yesterday was wearing. This is a black blazer with a gray shirt under it and a black tie with bones on it. The pants, though, match the other girls.
I click my earpiece to turn it on and hear Z's voice, So you're finally up. Eat something and then we'll talk.
Walking out of the room I pull my hair into a ponytail and tap the boy on the shoulder to get his attention. He lights up and pulls my hand towards the stairs. "This way!" And down the stairs, we go.
Should I eat? I wonder, There's supposed to be some poison in it so what should I do? I'm really hungry though... As if reading my mind from across town Z answers in my earpiece, You can eat the food and drink the water but don't use the "salt" packet. It has a sort of sedative-hypnotic mixture in it that makes you into a zombie-like person.
I click the earpiece off and make a mental note to turn it on after my meal. I follow the boy into the big dining hall and am pleasantly surprised by what I see. First, are several shiny wooden tables with 6 ornately carved dining chairs per table. Layered on each table is a linen table cloth decorated by a rose and paisley design. The room's walls are covered in paintings that look priceless and I stop to wonder where they got that much money from. And finally, the roof of the hall had one dazzling chandelier. After looking around at everything I found that the dining hall looked more like a ballroom than a gang's cafeteria.
The quiet breathy voice of a certain gang leader breaks through my awe, "Auralia! Here," he hands me a tray and I see a small ''salt" packet on the side of the main dish, something I can't quite make out. Eggs? Cheese? Potatoes? Or maybe a mix, all I know is that it'll probably be bland without any salt. "Make sure to use the salt. I can't exactly vouch for the abilities of our chefs." He's trying to get me under this poison's spell like everyone else here. Little does he know his words won't work on me.
"Yeah, I'll probably have to use it," I say trying to smile though I bet it looks more like a grimace. "I'll just uh- sit here. So you can go back to your gang work." Just go already!
"Oh, right. Ha! How could I forget about that?" He laughs seemingly embarrassed but before he finally leaves me alone he says, " After you finish breakfast come to the mission hall. Little Tyler (A/N- Twenty One Pilots fans unite!) can take you there." I nod and guess he's referring to the little boy that showed me to the cafeteria and gave me my new clothes. As of now, I can't find the boy but I'll figure that out later. For now, I need to talk to Z about a plan or rather listen. I don't know how this thing in my ear works.
I find an empty table and tap the earpiece. So anything new? And without giving me a chance to speak (which I didn't know I could do with device) he says, Just kidding I already know. A mission right? I'll have to give you some preparation.
"What type of mission am I preparing for? You may not know this but I would never be able to kill someone!" I whisper-yell. I'm sure I probably look crazy whispering to myself but it's not like I need the approval of these people.
Don't worry, in my letter of recommendation I said even though you can fight you're much better with appraising antiques.
"Wait how did you know about that?"
...
"Never mind, I did a few classes on appraising antiques but I'm in no way an expert! What if he finds out that I'm not who I'm supposed to be?!"
Sorry, Auralia but you knew what you were getting into. There's always going to be a chance he'll find out. Plus this is the best mission you could get, it has to do with money so if you do well you could find out why he wanted Ayda to get all of those weapons. You'll be fine but there are a few rules to follow: 1)Don't be scared of people in masks. With jobs like these, no one wants to show their face. The Black Bones have their people in these cool skeleton masks. 2) Quick reactions are key. If you feel someone's presence behind you, strike. You never know who wants to hurt you. 3) Trust your guts. Instincts are important on the job. If someone doesn't seem right you run out of there. 4)Don't believe anyone. Almost all gang members are liars so question everything. And finally 5) Mask it. If you're scared pretend your not. There's no pity in gangs.
"Okay I think I'm ready" And then I click off the earpiece, find Tyler by the door and we head to the mission hall.
YOU ARE READING
The Silent Gate (Book 2 of The Quiet Key series)
Misterio / Suspenso-"Oh, just stop it already!" Zinari is waving his arms around as if it might get me to stop, "You can't fight against me and win!" I almost laugh. Winning has never been very important to me but fighting? Of course, it was. He was asking me to give...
