Coming of Age

Chapter 2

Dan stayed quiet wiping his cheeks on his arms to remove evidence of tears and looked at him. He looked to be at least six feet tall, standing up straight with pride. Unlike Lilith who wore all black, he wore regular blue jeans and a baggy orange button up plaid shirt with the top three buttons undone. His skin was grey and smooth, just like Lilith’s, but his eyes were a dark blue—a shade just lighter than navy, but more intense than any blue he’s ever seen.

“Not much of a talker then?” he tutted walking in a slow circle around him. “I see Lilith has made you at least a little comfortable. Has she offered to put you to sleep?”

“Yes sir, she has,” Dan nodded, looking at his bare feet.

“And you chose to stay awake?” he confirmed.

Dan nodded again but refused to look back up. Though Abraham seemed much more laid-back, by the way Lilith jumped, Dan assumed he was a person to fear. A leader of some sorts. Do cannibals have leaders?

Dan jumped when he felt a cold hand on his chest again and snapped his head up to see Abraham standing just inches away from him. Dan let out a quiet whimper wishing people would stop touching him and just let him go home. Things like this don’t happen in real life; just in movies and books. But this isn’t a movie or a book, this is real life and Dan is chained up in some unfamiliar place with people touching him before they kill him and eat him.

“You’re scared. Don’t be,” Abraham consoled, though it sounded like an order.

“Sorry,” Dan whispered wanting more than anything to obey—but he can’t control his feelings and maybe he wouldn’t be so scared if they didn’t kidnap him while he slept and chain him up.

“He’s shaking,” Abraham told Lilith taking his hand off Dan. “Fetch him a chair.”

Lilith bowed and left quickly. So quickly that if Dan blinked, he would have missed it. She came back literally seconds later with a heavy looking chair with dark ebony cushions that looked like they were made of velvet. The chair itself looked like it hadn’t been sat in for years or was just really well cared for.

“I- I don’t need—” Dan started but was ignored due to Abraham’s loud voice.

“Set it behind him and loosen his chains so he can sit, then fetch him a blanket. I am aware you’re shaking because you are scared, but are you cold, Daniel? The saline solution can do that.”

“Saline solution?” Dan’s voice cracked, looking at the injection site. “You’re injecting me with saline? Why?”

“To keep you hydrated of course! We want you to be healthy,” Abraham replied pushing down on Dan’s shoulders so he fell into the chair. “But when it enters your system, it can make you feel cold and with your lack of clothes I’m not surprised you are.”

Dan’s cheeks heated bright red at the reminder. He tugged at his arms to cover himself, but the chains held strong keeping his arms together and above his head.

“Oh Daniel, the human body is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s actually quite beautiful,” Abraham said, his tone matching Lilith’s in a way—borderline flirtatious. “However, if it makes you feel better, you may keep your final layer of clothing.”

“Thank you,” Dan replied, though he had no reason to.

He shouldn’t be chained up in this warehouse and shouldn’t have to worry about hiding his naked body because he should be fast asleep at home. That’s when it finally hit him. His parents. They’re going to miss him. They’re going to have to grow old and die never quite knowing what happened to their one and only son. It made Dan feel sick to think about them. He wanted to hug them and tell them he loves them one last time.

“What about my parents?” he dared to ask not looking up at Abraham.

“Your parents are fine,” Abraham replied. “And they’re going to stay fine as long as you do what we need you to.”

Dan hung his head wanting to kill them for kidnapping him and threatening his parents. He wanted to kick them and punch them and tell the police so that they’d be locked up forever but instead, he just started to cry.

“Oh Daniel, no, please do not weep. It does sound like a threat, doesn’t it? But your parents are safer than they’ve ever been. No one and nothing is going to hurt them because we have you.”

“What do you mean? They’re going to realize I’m gone.”

“But they won’t. We’ve hypnotized them to still see you just as you were. In a few days, they’re going to get a call from a prestigious boarding school that we created and fund where they’re going to send you so they won’t be hypnotized for long. They’re just safety precautions we take.”

“Hypnotizing my parents?! For whose safety?! Yours? Have you thought maybe I don’t want to be here? Maybe I want to go home and funnily enough, maybe I don’t want to be kidnapped in the middle of the night and chained up—”

“Enough!” Abraham’s voice boomed.

Dan shut his mouth realizing he went too far. He pressed himself as far back into the chair as he could go as Abraham’s face hovered inches away from his.

“For everyone’s safety. You were chosen at birth. Do you think it’s coincidence your mother could only have one child no matter how hard they tried? Do you think it’s coincidence you live in the town you lived in or were taken on a random night? Do you really think that?”

“N-not anym-more,” Dan stuttered.

“I’m putting you to sleep for now,” Abraham decided as Lilith walked around, tucking the warm knitted blanket under Dan’s body.

“No, please don’t,” Dan begged turning his face away.

The thought of being knocked out terrified him. He had no idea what they’d do to him while he was out or if he’d wake up and when. Abraham grabbed onto Dan’s cheeks between his thumb and first finger, turning Dan’s head effortlessly and pressed his fingers back to his forehead.

“No, p-please stop…” Dan pleaded, trying to hold onto consciousness. ”I’ll be good. I promise…I will…”

“Night night Daniel,” Lilith cooed as everything went black.