Manburg Underground

New Beginnings

George's hands were bound tightly behind his back and since his vision was a black blur, he assumed he had a cloth covering his eyes and mouth. It was hard to breathe and he tried to slow down his heartbeat, but fear spiked through his chest.

This was not how his evening was meant to have gone. George was supposed to be celebrating his 19th birthday, and instead he was being held hostage somewhere probably far away from his college campus.

A rustling behind him caused his heart beat to spike again and he breathed heavily. George was frantically trying to free his hands from where they were tied behind him but it was to no avail.

"You know," a voice said from behind where George was sitting, "I was in your spot, right in that same chair there, only a few years ago." The voice didn't seem threatening. In fact, whoever was speaking seemed to be genuine.

No. This guy had kidnapped him. He had drugged him and dragged George here to this...place. There couldn't be an ounce of sincerity in this man. "Let me go." George hissed. He wanted to sound brave and demanding, but his voice came out a quiet plead.

"British," the voice whispered , still behind him taking in the information, but as he continued to speak, George could hear him walking around to the other side of the room. "Interesting. It's not up to me to let you go. That's my boss's decision. I'm merely here to keep you company." George didn't need to see his captor, he could hear the smirk in his voice.

"It's hard to talk when you can't see who you're talking to." There was a pause, and then George could hear the man shift closer to him. Instinctively, he tensed up, but then the cold air hit his face and he blinked, eyes adjusting to his surroundings. The room was small, but being tied to a chair, it seemed a lot bigger than it actually was. He stared at the figure standing across from him, leaning casually against the heavy-looking metal door on the opposite side of the room.

He was tall- maybe 6'3" or so- and had on a faded green shirt. His jeans were black and ripped in the knees, but it didn't seem like they had always been like that. Then, George took in his face- or what was covering it. It was a white mask, smeared with dirt, and on its front was a smiley face. The added wear and tear of the mask made it look more menacing than comedic. Sticking out from over the mask were tufts of dirty blonde hair, cut somewhat short, but longer than George's hair.

George didn't know how to feel about this interesting character. He couldn't see a weapon in plain sight, but he didn't know if the man had a gun or knife in his pocket. "Why the dumb mask?" He asked, trying to seem unbothered by his unfortunate predicament. "Are you ugly or something?"

The man scoffed and kicked off the wall, his arms still crossed, and took a few steps closer to George. "For your own safety," he said and adjusted it. "If only you had one," he added on.

George wanted to counter that snide remark, but their conversation was interrupted by the door being thrown open and an older man walked in. George immediately recognized him as his attacker and recoiled in his seat. This was the man who was there- the man who had always been there- following him that day and for his entire first year of university. Professor Schlatt.

"George!" He exclaimed and threw his hands in the air. "Congratulations! You've made it here, In one piece." He laughed, a sickening laugh, and put a finger up when George tried to speak. "Not all of my students pass my class with a 100%. Criminal psychology isn't an easy subject to learn." He was wearing the same suit he always wore to class, but it was wrinkled and ones of his cuffs was splattered with red. George immediately began to look over his body, trying to see if the blood was his. He had a red stain on the side of his white shirt, and now that his mind was focusing on it, he could feel a sharp pain in that location.

"Did-" he tried to say but was interrupted again, this time by the other man.

"It's just a scratch. Nothing too serious-"

"Dream," Schlatt said, and put a finger to his lips. "Go fetch me my supplies."

Dream. That was a strange name, probably not his actual name. Dream exited the room and it was just George and Schlatt alone. "You are a special student of mine, George." Schlatt said and smiled. "Dream is another student of mine. He's the best I've ever taught. Soon you will be where he is now."

What?! "What do you mean- why did you bring me here?" George demanded. "Why the hell am I tied to a chair covered in blood being lectured by my professor?! You can at least answer me that!" He yelled and his breath hitched in his throat.

Schlatt didn't move. Instead he stood still nodding. "I like the fire in you. The minute you stepped into my class, I knew you would be my next perfect student." He laughed again and tapped his foot.

Dream returned to the room pushing a cart. On top of the cart was a single needle and a small flashing capsule, that George could barely see. George gulped. He didn't like needles and he could feel where this was going. "Now," Schlatt said. "This is simply a precaution, although I hope you won't cause too much trouble."

George looked between the needle that was now in Schlatt's hand and Dream standing in the background, arms folded. "What is that?" He inquired.

"A tracker," Schlatt replied, and inserted the capsule into the barrel of the large needle. He moved to George's arm, and George immediately tensed up and moved away.

"It's a requirement," Dream explained, his voice emotionless. His arms were still crossed but he seemed to be uncomfortable. "All of us need it for our safety."

George scowled in Dream's direction and then turned his attention to Schlatt. "Why am I here? What do you want with me?"

"To work. You work for me and in return..." Schlatt paused and inserted the needle into George's arm "in return, you live."

George could feel the small bump underneath the skin on his forearm and it was progressively getting more and more sore. How was this happening? Is this really what he got for acing Schlatt's class? He couldn't wrap his head around the entire situation.

"Dream," Schlatt ordered and Dream immediately stood tall and uncrossed his arms in obedience. "George is your responsibility for the time being. Anything he does is a reflection on you."

"Yes, sir." Dream nodded.

"George," Schlatt took the handcuffs off of George's hands and he held his wrists in pain. "I have a feeling that you will be a good addition to our ranks."

With that, Schlatt left and now George was alone in the room with Dream. There was no point getting up from his seat. There was no way he would be able to escape this place. His life, he feared, was now changed forever.

"George," Dream said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "welcome to Manburg Underground."

A/N: That's the end of chapter one!! I hope you guys liked this intro to the book. Each chapter will hopefully be longer, this one was just short so it could introduce the plot. More updates are soon to come!

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