Genesis | Book One, The Genesis Series

THREE

Bianca blinked rapidly as her vision struggled to focus. She opened her eyes, looking around at her fellow students as she hyperventilated. She could hardly make out their faces through the bleak, haunting darkness that barely obscured their features.

What happened?

She felt a jolt-all of them did, realizing that they were in some type of vehicle, presumably a van or truck of some sort. A chorus of heavy breaths was heard throughout the vehicle, followed by someone yelling at them to quiet down.

Kai jolted awake, panting as sweat ran down his chiseled features. As he gazed into Bianca's grass-colored eyes, he attempted to move his arms as he looked downward at his wrists-which were now handcuffed. All seven of the teens were.

It was becoming abundantly clear to him that they were no longer on the school bus.

The sharp edge of the metal began softly cutting his wrists as he attempted to squirm out of them. It was to no avail. These weren't typical handcuffs. They were black, with a red, glowing slot in the middle-presumably the keyhole. It felt as if they were tightening around his wrists more and more every second. There was no way he was getting out of them without cutting his hands off.

"Don't bother." He heard a faint whisper beside him as his eyes met Troy's. "I already tried."

"Where the hell are we?" Kai whispered, trying not to alert their captors.

"Don't know." Troy quietly replied. His voice was a tad bit deeper than Kai's, and his speech boasted a slight touch of a Brooklyn accent. He was the oldest of the seven, merely a few weeks older than Kai. "All I know is that whoever took us definitely ain't friendly."

Kai looked at Bianca as tears engulfed her eyes, streaking down her cheeks shortly after. If it weren't for those cuffs restraining him, he'd be beating the driver of the truck senseless at the moment. He then noticed Dylo on the floor, hyperventilating faster than ever.

While everyone seemed to be freaking out and devolving into crisis mode, Kai himself was as calm as ever. His father had trained him for this when he was younger. Instead of having a surprise party for his birthday, his dad had instead given him a surprise hostage scenario. He'd been taught that the most important rule of survival was to stay calm.

Any other kid would've loathed having that sort of upbringing, and Kai did too sometimes, but right now, he wouldn't trade that experience for the world.

"Guys, we gotta get outta here-" Dylo frantically began yelling, before being cut off by a barrage of shushes. Kai couldn't blame the kid, as he often acted on impulse, never stopping to think about what consequences the future might hold. But he needed to chill if he wanted to make it out of here alive.

"Cool it, Dy. Everyone just stay calm, and do what they say." Kai advised. Though it seemed to work on Amber and Adam, Dylo and Bianca were still visibly shaken. Troy was still angry-as always. Leo didn't say anything, as usual. The guy really was a mystery.

"He's right. We'll get through this if we just stick together." Amber whispered, gazing around at each of each of her classmates as Bianca rolled her eyes. Of course it would be up to Amber to say something like that. Always optimistic.

Adam peered out the foggy window curiously, trying to find anything he could use to identify where they were-or where they were being taken. He'd been daydreaming for a few minutes, as he often did, but he wasn't particularly fond of dying in a car full of strangers. The vehicle soon began to slow down, eventually coming to a complete stop shortly after.

The door on Adam's left slid open violently as a man in an armored suit fiercely ordered him and the others to exit the vehicle. He had no problem complying.