Alessandra Faye

26

It took us several grueling hours to find where Peter was being held. The image of Dylan standing there watching us as we left kept pushing itself into the spotlight. What the heck does he think he was doing? He makes everything so frustrating when he brings things up that doesn't need to be brought up.
"Okay guys we're about to walk into a torture scene so anyone that doesn't like nasty scenes close your eyes." I whisper to everyone.
They nod their heads at me. Allie closes her eyes and places a hand on Isabelle's shoulder so she could lead her. I always forget how old she is. Even though she acts 15 she's only 9 years old. She's the youngest out of everyone. Isabelle is turning 14 in a few days if I remember right and Peter is just 10 years old. Just a year older than Allie. Nathan would be turning 16 today but he's not here so we won't get into that. Then there's me, I'm 16 also but still the oldest of the group with a birthday on October 25, 2001. Yep, I'm a Halloween baby. I was a cute one too.
I brace myself for what I'm about to see. I slowly turn the doorknob and push it open.
"What do you mean?" Peter's yelling at the guard we met in the hallway.
I look at them oddly. This was not what I was expecting. What in the world is going on here. Peter has a black Nike jacket on to cover the snake on his sleeve. He's looking at the guard with a crazy look and his arms are flying all over the place. Then there's the guard who is just standing there taking all of Peter's screaming with what I suppose is a calm face.
"You cannot engage with the initiates. They are here to learn not to make friends."
The guard slaps his hand onto the table that's separating him and Peter. So, all this arguing is over some stupid rule about no talking to initiates. Wow, how low can these people get? I look back at the guys. They're standing there dumbfounded. I don't think they were expecting this either. Allie's taking her hand off her eyes and looking at me confused. I just roll my eyes and mouth to her, "Boys."
She forces back a laugh. I turn my head back around to the fighting boys. I think it's time we break up this catfight.
"Uh hum!" I clear my throat. This gets their attention, Peter looks at me surprised while the guard just looks at us unimpressed.
I hold up my hand at them. "Oh, sorry. I had something in my throat. Continue."
Peter takes his hand off the desk and crosses his arms over his chest. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We're here to get you, of course." I look at him intently.
He nods his head, knowing that it was time to go.
"Well, look at the time." He glances down at his wrist. He doesn't even have a watch on. "I think I'll just go with them and we can pick this up another time, Niall."
He starts to walk towards us quickly.
"Walk faster." I whisper to him.
He mumbles under his breath, "I'm walking as fast as I can. Don't rush me!"
Niall points a finger at Peter. "Hey! Where do you think you're going!"
Peter stops in his tracks. Oh, he was so close. Just a few more inches and he would be close enough for us to grab him and start running. He looks at Niall and then me nervously. Say something Peter! Don't just stand there like a statue. He opens his mouth to say something but someone from behind us beats him to it.
"I don't think they'll be going anywhere."
The whole group whips their heads towards the voice. They step back to let me see who it is. I almost puke at the sight of Dylan.
"Nice to see you, Dylan."
He smiles at me in an evil way. I look him up and down. His outfit is the same as the boys standing behind him. A dark grey short sleeved shirt, black army pants, and black shoes that have a strap that goes around the shoe. He's holding a black slender bow in his hands and a quiver strapped to his back. A knife is in a strap on his left arm, its wooden handle sticking out enough for me to see its beauty. Oh, my goodness! I jerk my head away before the puking started. On his right arm is a scar from a brander used to brand animals. The scar of an owl and as I look at the rest of the boys I notice they have them too.
"The elite guards." Ethan whispers into my ear.
I look at him. "What's that?"
"It's the bosses most powerful soldiers."
I look back into Dylan's blue eyes. How did those eyes get so evil?
"What have you gotten yourself into, Dylan." I look over him sympathetically.
"I've done what most people wouldn't be able to do." He looks at the scar on his arm with an evil grin on his face.
"You've gotten yourself killed. Just look at you, you're not yourself anymore. You need help, Dylan!" I scream at him desperately as I look at him and the others standing behind him.
"I need help, Alessandra? No, I think you're wrong there. You see, I'm stronger now that I realized my true colors. What are you, Alessandra? Oh, I know you're a pathetic, weak little girl looking for attention."
"You're wrong. I'm so much stronger than you mentally and physically."
"That's where you mess up. You don't care about anyone else but you."
"That's not true. I cared about you and the others like you were my own children."
"That's where you become weak." He pulls out an arrow and nocks onto his bow. I watch as he pulls the bow back and aims it straight at my heart.
"When you can block out your weaknesses than that's when you become a true soldier."
He lets the arrow fly. I stand, paralyzed, and watch the arrow come closer with increasing speed.
"No!" I hear Peter yell. Then something knocks into my side, pushing me onto the ground.
I hear the arrow hitting its not meant to be target. The screams of the whole group, Niall, and Ethan echoing in the distance. As I lay there unable to move or say anything. Strong hands pull me up from the ground. I get a glimpse of Peters body. His eyes are still and looking up at the ceiling. The arrow lodged inside his chest and blood streaming from his mouth and onto the floor. Then I feel it, the force of a ton of bricks.
"Augh!" I scream loudly.
Then the tears start to flow. I just killed my brother when I could've prevented it. I bring my hands up to my face and scream as loud as I can. Letting out all my anger that was piled up in me. Why didn't I move? If I had moved Peter would be alive. I remove my hands and ball them into fists. Then I scream some more until my throat is raw. I watch as the others break down before me. Allie's pounding Peter's body and yelling at him to wake up even though she knows he's not going to. Her little brother is gone the only one that truly understood her. Isabelle is collapsed onto the floor cradling herself as she rocks back and forth. Her cries becoming choked and more frequent. Ethan even though he didn't know Peter enough to get emotional he's standing beside Isabelle with his hands on his face. His eyes are starting to get puffy from crying. I look over at the guard, he's still in shock from what just happened. His eyes looking at Peter with his mouth opened wide. Then there's Dylan and his gang of killers. I bring my eyes up to his ugly face. He meets my eyes and then I see a smile creep onto his face. I scream at him the loudest I can, that ugly little traitor killed my brother and he's happy about it. My feet start to move and before I know it I'm on top of him punching his disgusting face. Hands claw at me trying to get me to stop, then arms come under my arms and lifts me up with no effort. I'm still screaming as loud as I can. Kicking at anybody I can get. My eyes wild with anger and my face formed into a scowl at Dylan. I'm breathing heavy, my arms struggling to get out of this person's arms.
"Get off me!" I jerk my arms out trying to break his grip. His hands falter but recover themselves quickly. I can see his eyebrows knit in concentration and his mark stretching with his muscles. Then I look back at Dylan while I scowl at him. He wipes some blood off his mouth with the corner of his hand and looks at me, anger glowing in his eyes.
"You deserve nothing." He looks at me, his eyes narrowed into slits.
What the heck does that mean? I jerk myself again and this time his grip completely breaks. Before he can regain himself, I whip my fist around and plant a deadly force from my fist onto his nose. His nose cracks under the pressure making the corners of my lips turn up. He looks at me, his eyes wide, as he touches his nose. Then his eyes narrow and a scowl plants itself onto his face. He lunges at me with claw like fingers.
"Stop, Soldier!" Dylan's voice stops him in mid-lunge.
His fingers straighten themselves and his lunge becomes a straight form. Hah, even you can't hurt me! Take that you, okay how can I make this friendly, boy! Yeah, I need to work on my roasting skills. Why am I talking to myself? I shake my head in disappointment. My eyes land on Dylan as I turn myself around. He looks at me, a grin on his face. Not a scowl but an actual grin. I look at him weirdly. What made him look like the old Dylan all the sudden?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask him.
He crosses his arms over his chest. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking you'll be a perfect addition to my team."
Without hesitation I feel a needle prick my skin. The knock out medicine flows into my bloodstream making my vision become filled with dark spots.
I hear myself ask, "What did you do to me?"
My voice sounds delayed and groggy. I can feel my knees giving out. Then my head slams onto the floor knocking the breath out of my lungs. I'm struggling to get a breath while my vision keeps getting dark spots. Before I black out completely I see the others being forced onto their knees by Dylan's team and bags shoved onto their heads. I'm sorry guys. This is my fault. I should've never led you all into this. I'm such a bad sister and friend. Then the darkness comes and my thoughts go dormant in my brain.
When I wake up my vision is blurry but no dark spots thankfully. Millions of thoughts race around my mind. Where am I? Where are the others? Are they okay? I feel around for something solid. My hand hits stone wall. Ow, that hurt. I follow the cold wall slowly. My hand suddenly scrapes steel. I turn my head the direction my hand is and try to focus on what's in front of me. It takes a few seconds for the first parts of my vision to come back. I still can't see fully but at least I can see some. In a couple of more seconds a steel door comes into view. Without hesitation I start pounding the door with my fist.
"Let me out!" I yell over and over hoping someone can hear me.
The door pops open with a hiss causing me to jump back. I put a hand to my eyes shielding them from the blinding light. When the light disappears, I can finally put down my hand. Someone's standing inside the doorway. I lean closer trying to figure out who it is.
"Nice to see you're awake."
My face turns to a scowl at Dylan's voice. What is he doing here?
"I'm glad you actually care about me," I say snidely.
He doesn't answer me. His blue eyes staring at the wall behind. The mark still a little red from the brander. A noise behind him catches my attention.
"What's behind you?"
His attention on the wall breaks and lands on me. "I'm here to take you to the boss."
Two of his guards emerge from behind carrying a pair of shackles. I start to back away.
"I'm not going."
"You will if you want the others to live." He pushes a button on the bracelet on his wrist. How come I didn't see that the first time?
A clear image of Allie on her knees with her arms tied behind her. Her face is bruised and one of her eyes are swollen.
"She put up a good fight, as you can see."
I growl at him. "You put another hand on her and I'm going to rip that head off you."
"The next time I put a hand on Allie will be because you didn't cooperate."
I look at the image of Allie. This picture could be a fake but if it isn't than I must go with him. if it is a fake than I'll be making a big mistake. I don't know what to do!
"Are you going to cooperate with us, Alessandra?"
I look at him trying to scope some part of the old Dylan. Failing, I look him straight in the eye. I can't risk another life with my mistake.
"Yes."
He nods his head. I let the two guards approach me, the shackles making music in their hands.
"Get on your knees!" one of them barks at me.
I slowly sink down to my knees.
"If you do anything funny we'll kill Allie and then the rest."
I nod, telling him I understand. He grabs my right arm and twists it behind my back. I wince in pain but don't cry out. He grabs my left arm bringing it down my right. The other guy hands him the pair of shackles. It takes him just a few minutes to get the shackles on and tightened. They force me to my feet. I stumble a little but regain my balance. I stare at Dylan as they march me out the door. He closes the door and joins us.
"Where are you taking me anyways?"
"To the boss."
I glance over my shoulder and look at one of the guards closely. His hair is blonde and his eyes are an ocean blue. I look at the other one. His hair is brown and his eyes are gray.
"What's your all's names?" I ask them.
They both look at me. "That's classified."
"Do you just not know your all's name?"
"That's classified."
"I know my name. You want to know what it is?"
"No."
"Hateful bunch aren't you."
"Shut up and walk." They shove me forward.