Prologue

When a boy wakes up in a room full of children, he wonders how he got there and how long have the rest been locked away.

Prologue

The room was barely lit by a dim tube light, that hovered above the boy’s head. It barely uncovered the faces of the others. Their features were drenched in shadow, making them seem distorted and almost alien. The boy stood scanning, his eyes flashing through the numerous profiles. They were huddled together in groups and lay on the cushioned floor, unmoving before him. Some of them seemed almost lifeless. A faint but torturous hum from the bulb, rang through his ears. It sat protected in its tube casing, unchanging in its consistent gloom.

 

The room was tiny and overcrowded. By the way the walls were padded, it was more of an asylum opposed to a prison. There was a single padded security door with an observation slot, which the boy figured would surely be locked. Most of the inhabitants were in their mid-teens like him, but a few were younger. A couple it seemed were much older and decrepit. There was a mixture of girls and boys. But the number of males, certainly outnumbered the females. He had counted perhaps twelve bodies in total, including himself. Some of them, looked frail and dirtier than the rest. They had all been here for days by the looks of it, if not weeks. The boy was simply the newest addition.

 

Two plastic buckets sat in a corner. The prisoners of this small space seemed to be giving them a wide birth. Not that it made a difference. A potent stench of faeces and urine had imbedded itself, into the soft padded walls. It filled his nostrils with its lingering foulness. An odour that was making his eyes water to the point of tears. Perhaps, they were actual tears. They had been streaming down his face for the past ten minutes and had come, at the realization of his current predicament.  The canvas layered with rubber walls, were no longer white or cream, or however they had begun. But covered with brown, grey, and yellow. The colours of dried blood, sweat stains and piss.

 

He had no idea how he had got here, or even where he was. There was a strong doubt that none of the others knew either, festering inside his mind. What the boy did know, was that when he had opened his eyes; he had been sprawled across the padded floor of this room. A few of the younger boys had been standing over him when he had awoken. They hastily scuttled away like cockroaches as he came around. This was of course when it became blatantly apparent, he had regained consciousness.

Perhaps, they were the ones to question.

Surely, no one could keep so many minors locked in a room somewhere forever. Not without someone looking for them, or the authorities becoming aware.

 

The boy spotted a three of the teens chatting in a corner of the room, they all looked to be no older than junior high. The boy wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve and took a deep breath. He approached them with cautious steps, tip toeing around the bodies that rest between them. His eyes stayed fixed on the group, as if they were his prey and him the predator about to strike. Then a slender girl with long braids, turned to meet his gaze in an instant as he came within a couple of feet of them.

“Can I help you?” She spat, folding her arms whilst glaring down upon him. He stopped in his tracks, now noticing how pretty she was. Even beneath the weak light her skin was flawless. She was stunning, and tall as well. All this was now clearly noticeable, despite her face being screwed up into a scowl.  

 

Before he could answer, the sound of the door being unlocked trumpeted through the room. It caused his new cellmates to congregate into a large group. They backed themselves against the wall, furthest away from the opening door. A herd mentality was what it seemed like. But there was always safety in numbers. This was a proven fact of the wild. The boy followed promptly, deciding that standing out would probably be a dangerous idea. In fact, he was sure it would.

 

Two heavily armed men, holding assault rifles entered the room slowly.  The bright light from the hallway behind them was blinding, only pure white could be seen beyond the opening. They halted within a few steps of the doorway, ensuring no one could sneak by them. Their faces were hidden behind black balaclavas, with heavy duty helmets strapped beneath their chins and sitting atop of their heads. The boy saw their eyes moving with the scope of their rifles. It was in perfect synchronization, as they studied every child, teen, and elderly person in the room. An impending feeling, that the captives were about to be the victims of an execution by a firing squad quickly dawned upon the boy. He swallowed the saliva in his mouth, recalling his lessons with Mr. Hart on the Cuban revolution at East Ebony High. The horror he had felt hearing of the political executions, had turned his stomach at the time. He now felt that nausea once again, thinking of the potential outcome.

 

“You” one of the armed men sneered, stepping closer and gesturing his rifle towards a young teenage boy. He was about thirteen, give or take a year. There was a fear on this boy’s face that was apparent to anyone. Yet he edged forward, trembling all over with fear.

“Me?”

“Of course, you. What are you deaf as well as ugly?”

The second armed man slid forward. He was shorter than the first, but stockier with wide set shoulders.

“Calm down Jeff” He sung, his shoulders moving in time to his words.

His voice sounded softer and less harsh than his accomplice.

“He’s just a kid man, there ain’t no need for the insults”

The tall armed man called Jeff turned abruptly to his colleague, he stared at him for a moment before turning back to the boy.

“They ain’t kids Larry. Their abominations, low level mutts that bottom feed from society. Their a drain on hardworking people, like you and me. Don’t get attached. If you need a mutt, I suggest you get a golden retriever”

 

Larry stepped back defeated. His shoulders drooped a little, as he turned to stare into the corner where the s**t buckets perched. Jeff lunged forward seizing the young boy by the top of his arm, keeping his rifle on the rest of the group as he did this. The young teen wailed out in pain, before bursting into tears. In a flash, the girl with long braids shot to the side of the crying teen.

 

“Why don’t you stop man handling a kid, you big bully” She screamed, pointing her finger at the armoured Jeff’s face whilst glaring at him. “If you have to take someone, then…… just take me”

Jeff seemed taken back, that she would even dare speak in his presence. Even Larry reacted like he had just seen something spectacular. But the initial shock wore off almost instantly. Jeff then struck her so hard, she flew a few feet away from where she had stood.

“Next time you stand up to me like that, you won’t be standing at all. Don’t worry you will all get your opportunity” Jeff hissed.

“Anyway, let me get out of this shithole. It stinks like s**t, piss and wet dog in here”

 

The young teen had now stopped crying, but he was still trembling as the armoured bully escorted him from the room. He made sure his grip was a vice on the boy’s arm, till they disappeared through the open door. Larry slunk after them slowly, turning to look at the girl who was still sat up on the floor. She was rubbing her face where Jeff’s blow had landed. Although his face was hidden, there was something apologetic in his movements. He stopped outside the doorway before turning to throw in 4 bags, that landed with a soft thud on the padded floor.

“Chicken, bread and water. I’m �" ……. well goodnight” Larry mumbled, before closing the door.

 

It was few minutes after the door had been locked, and Larry’s footsteps had faded away before anyone dared to move. Everyone shifted away from the girl still sat on the floor. It was as if they thought, her pain and the abuse she had suffered was contagious. The boy was the only one to approach her. Seizing his moment to comfort her, in exchange for answers. It did not matter she had initially been rude towards him. In this moment as she sat there, her face beginning to swell and her braids now looking a mess; she seemed vulnerable.

 

“You good?” The boy asked, holding out his hand to help the girl up. She once again glared up at him with disgust, and immediately ceased from rubbing her cheek.

“I’m good, are you?”

“You ain’t got to do that with me. That looks like it hurts” He purred, gesturing towards her swollen cheek.

“Not really, dude hits softer than my little sister”

She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up to her feet, quickly glancing around the room as she did.

 

“So, what’s yo’ name newbie?”

“Jordan Brookes, what’s yours?”

“Mimi, make sure you watch old man Ville. He’s the one who hands out the food and water” Mimi quipped, giving a loud chuckle as she finished.

“Where did they take that boy?” Jordan questioned, ignoring the comment about old man Ville.

Mimi ignored him for a second, gently prodding at her cheek and flinching every time her finger contacted the swollen area.

“I don’t know, but they usually come for people twice. I’ve been once, they just took some blood and hair. It’s no biggie. But the second time they come for you, that’s when you ain’t coming back. This was the kid’s second time”

Jordan felt a chill run down his spine, was Mimi implying what he thought she was. Was he now along with the rest of his cellmates, heading towards certain death?

 

“Why ain’t no one tried to overpower them? I mean, we outnumber them”

“We outnumber the two that come in here you mean. We don’t know how many of ‘em be out there. They give us enough food to keep us alive, but not enough that we have strength. No one can manage to switch either. Plus, there is the fact they are definitely packing silver rounds” Jordan glanced around taking in everyone’s appearance. They were skinny or slim, their clothes hung off them looking as if they were a size too big. The way she had said it in such a matter-of-fact manner, made Jordan begin to feel hot in his face. He had guessed from the scent of everyone, but Mimi had confirmed it. They were all like him. Was it possible he would not be able to transform in here? What would cause that?

 

 He had never imagined his night could go so terribly wrong. When he and his friends had set out to hang around Moranzano Park, this was far from what he would have expected. The rest had all escaped of course. Only he had been caught, by a group of masked men in black. How could he be the only one to have been caught. He had been track champion of the hundred meters in East Ebony High, for his freshman year. This morning his life had been full of opportunity. He had finally made the school’s basketball team and gathered up the courage, to speak to Elizabeth Archer. She was a girl he had liked for eight years. Now he was only sure of one thing. Whether it was days, weeks, or months, he was going to die. He was not the first to have been abducted, nor would he be the last.

Author's Note

This is a first draft

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very strong introduction. You danced on questions, mystery and possibility. I hope to read more. It is good to tempt the reader. You did. Thank you for sharing the strong introduction.
Coyote