Chosen

1

"Shut the fuck up or this is going in your throat."

The gruffled, raged voice belonged to a fully black-dressed man. He wore a mask but I noticed a twisted smile which twas uncovered from the mask, as he pointed a sharp, edged knife near my neck. He sat opposite me in the air-spaced truck and glanced over to the second man wearing a grey tracksuit with a tight-fitted, white t-shirt who leaned against the trailer which separated us from the driver. He, on the other hand didn't wear a mask. His sturdy arms were crossed and green eyes that blazed darkly, examining me like I was an animal in an experiment. Untwisting his arms, he slowly strides over to where me and the man sat but stood a meter away.  

"She'll be fine, keep the tape on her and we're good," he says, peeking at my mouth, where the black material burned underneath my skin.

Hands tied with a rigid rope, strained in one position as well as my legs compressed together with tape and rope alike, I couldn't move a muscle. It's as if I was plastered to the seat which rumbled beneath me as the truck sped shakingly on the rubble road.

The man opposite me gradually placed the knife to the seat next to him whilst giving me a stern look, warning me as his hand gripped the knife. The other man standing near us had to be his boss, I thought as he walked closer to me and kneeled down to my eye-level. His eyes were cast downwards, locking his hands together as he leaned his elbows on his kneecaps. He managed to balance himself effortlessly on his heels even whilst the lorry was moving at a fast speed. He slowly looked up, eyes flickering over my face, blatantly observing and studying me. Averting his gaze, I stared down at my scorned off trainers.

"Look at me," he beckoned with a steady, deep voice.
I hesitantly pried my eyes to his and silently took a deep breath afraid of what's to come next.

"You will understand everything later once I train you."

He continued despite my forced silence, not caring if I was following.

"You will be of great value to me and to the team. We need you more than ever and I don't want to be let down," he said in a hushed yet tense tone.

Before I could comprehend what he was saying, he reaches out and rapidly strips off the black tape from my mouth, causing a screeching yell from me.
Without an ounce of sympathy, he scrunched the tape in a fist and threw it over to the empty side of the truck.

"I don't want any misbehaving or disobedience to me or Jack," pointing to the man sitting opposite me.

"You listen to what we tell you to do, you got that?", aggressively yelling at me.

Not being able to form a coherent sentence, I nod vigorously, seeking an approval from him as he responds with "good."

Suddenly, the truck begins to slow down as the engine hums quietly and the boss returns to lean on the trucks wall, as if waiting for something.

"We're here!," a voice from the front of the truck shouts, followed by two beeps from the wheel.

The trailer begins to slowly open from the bottom as shimmering light from outside dances over the floor and walls. Then hovers over my eyes, too bright that I turn my head towards the shaded area of the truck. That's when I see the boss and his bodyguard, Jack, I believe whispering to the driver. As I was about to hear what they were saying, Jack snaps his head towards me and angrily strolls to where I was sitting. He grabs large scissors and a knife and immediately rips open the tape wrapped around my arms and feet. After every cut, I release my tight muscles and stretch which was a relief because I was sitting in this position for nearly over 2 hours. Jack hastily seizes my arms and forces me to stand upright.

Hands still grasped tightly around my biceps, he strictly orders me not to move, as he returns to the boss.

A gush of breeze is felt from my upper body as I look towards the open trailer. The outside view displays tall trees filled with spring leaves and an open, empty field. I take small steps towards the trailer to see a white, sculpted mansion sitting on the horizon of the field. It looked beautiful even from a far distance.

Footsteps behind me signalled that I was restricted again as Jack's hands latched onto my arms, forcibly leading me towards the open trailer and out of the truck.

Instantly, I step into fresh green grass and a breeze feathers over my skin.

My white trainers soon started to get mud on the sides from the grass but I couldn't care less because I had no idea where I was or who I was with.

My paranoia started to rise each time we walked closer to the mansion. I was in-between Jack and the towering man, so I had no-where to run. We were waking in a large field with trees surrounded with autumn flowers. They stood on each border of the mansion which was moderately stylish with elegant windows. The windows took up most of the exterior with only polished steel beams to break them into yet more rectangles. The look would have been entirely metallic, like a mini down-town skyscraper had it not been for the cedar beams of the external porch and the matching raised plant beds that contained only white blooms. The balconies were extensive which ran along sides of the mansion.

We stopped at the porch where the front door was metallic and opened with both a key pad and biometric scanner.

The uncovered man raised his thumb and touched it gently to the scanner. After a few seconds, the wide door opened automatically.

Jack hurriedly pushed me inside. I stumbled and my trainers squeaked on the polished, marble floor. It looked so clean that I actually felt guilty my muddy trainers were on this floor.

The ceiling was two stories high and heavily hung was a old-fashioned, yet crystallised chandelier, with finely cut glass of diamonds hanging like a pieces of string. I was distracted by how admirable and shiny it was that Jack shoved me past the hallway to a room on the right of the entry-way.

The fireplace, situated on the interior wall facing east, has a tall mantel of birchwood with turned spindles flanking a rectangular mirror supporting a tapered hood.

"Sit down," the man commanded, locating towards the cushioned, spaced sofas.

I spent no time in sitting down and easing into the softness of the couch as it sinked below me.

Before I could do or say anything, I could hear a huddle of loud footsteps close by to the opening of this room. Undefined and mumbled voices bounced of the walls, as my eyes locked onto the door, patiently waiting.

In came first, a boy who wore grey shorts and a white t-shirt. Behind him walked in a girl, who wore a grey and white dress. Then came a little girl wearing the same attire, holding a girls hand who was beside her. Before I knew it, one by one, young and mature looking young adults and children made their way to stand in front of the boss. The boys wore the same uniform and the girls on the other wore flock dresses. They began to form lines of rows and as they did, their hands would simultaneously tie behind their backs as they all looked at the man who brought me here with diligent respect and utter silence. As the last bundle of people came in and stood where they were suppose to, the boss walked slowly along the line and looked every individual in the eye. As if satisfied with what he sees, he walked back to stand in the middle of the room.

I was seated behind him and sinked even lower in the sofa, not wanting to be seen by many of the people who looked my age.

"This is Nuha," the boss beckoned loudly so everyone could hear him.

He then walked near me to the sofa so everyone could see me clearly.

"I want you all to follow the guided principles on how to treat a new accomplice. You should all already be experienced with this so I don't want to be disappointed with your attempts to school her on the basics. Remember if she resists, what do you do?," he addressed to them.

After a second, all of their voices homogeneously responded loudly, "let you deal with her."

The boss nodded with a look of validation on his face.

Hands in his pockets, he turned to me and smiled with dimples on each side of his cheeks, and triumphantly said, "Welcome to your new home."