Derek

The first memory I had of Mosseigh was the frigid cold. I would soon learn that no other place in that wretched country shared that particular quality, as most of its climate was perhaps warmer than desireable. None the less, I felt it then, and so it was forever etched in my mind much like drill in stone.

I shivered and shifted onto my side, eyes still closed. The dirt floor left its signature upon my cheek. Dirt? Where was I?

This place reeked of age, like a book sitting on a shelf for far too long; neglected by the world of its sole purpose in life. To be read, to captivate a willing pioneer with its own story.

But this story inside this room, I feared was all too dark for my liking.

A heavy tap on my shoulder awoke me out of my half-asleep state. That’s it. It’s your mom waking you up for Sunday pancakes. You were just imagining the smell, the dirt smeared across your face, it was sheerly a dream, a nightmare even.

“My name’s Elthered Miney, what’s yours?” A scrawny little boy, no older than myself presented himself before me. His thin, pale hand outstretched towards mine. I accepted this offering of peace, thankful for an acquaintance.

“D-Derek,” I stuttered. What was going on? “Where are we?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, good sir.” Elthered spoke with a downright spurious English accent accompanied by a certain faux charm.

“Do you know what’s happening? Why are we here?”

Elthered grinned, “By golly, you’re a persistent fellow, aren’t you?” he pointed to a stocky man in BMX pants. “That’s Peter. He says he woke up first and everyone was just in here sleeping.”

“That’s so weird,” I whispered.

“No kidding. I bet we were all drugged er something,” he responded.

As soon as my eyes laid upon Peter’s overly square head, I could not stand him. Every aspect of his appearance radiated a sense of arrogance to the extreme point of a fool. I watched him, blabbering to some other teenager. Did they realize how utterly full of s**t he was? Of course not.

I attempted to stand up, only to be forcefully pushed down my the pain of my throbbing head. My face grew pale, and I propped myself against the wall. My hands shook like a smoker’s. What was going on?

A man in cerulean robes and a black scarf entered through a door hidden amongst the wood  paneled walls. Like the walls, it was a glazed hickory.

The man had an exaggeratedly large nose, so much so that it reminded me of my old uncle Ermaldo. He was a character, that one, with a beak just as large as his personality.

He grasped some poor boy with acne’s arm and the pair struggled in a stumbling fashion back through the door. The process may not have smooth, but it was speedy in such a manner that provided evidence of its previous repetition.

“What was that?” I inquired, trying to push past the nausea.

“Oh yes, how bloody stupid of me. I forgot to mention that,” Elthered explained, “I call him Snout.”

“How many has he taken like that?”
“I’d say about thirty. According to Peter there were ninety of us here to start.”

“And not a single one has returned,” he added.

Trying to change the subject, I asked him where he was when all of this-whatever it was- happened.

“I was walking home from the grocery store. My mum needed worcestershire sauce for the barbequed chicken we were having for dinner. She told me that we were going to pretend it was summer,” his eyes widened, “I wonder if she noticed I was missing yet.”

“Listen,” I said, looking directly into his big brown eyes. They hid his suffering behind a layer of simplicity. He was a beaten dog, with only a layer of fur to cover the scars. But the deepest wounds always show through regardless. “You said there were ninety people here?”

He solemnly nodded.

“Don’t you think that they’ll notice that we’re missing? Don’t you think the police will look for us? I bet we’re all out of here by tomorrow morning.” I managed to speak with some confidence.

“You really think that?”

No way, kid.

Once again, Snout appeared. This time I was determined to receive some answers.

I stood up and rushed over to where he was standing in the direct center of the room. I felt the bile building up in my throat. My head spun and my legs felt as if they were about to collapse right under me.

I studied him, from his combat style boots all the way up to his scarf. I couldn’t find a single weapon besides a small pocket blade tucked into his left boot. No gun? Let’s do this.

I approached him with all the friendliness I could muster.

“Hello, sir. Could you please explain what’s happening to us?”

For a millisecond, the entire room held their breath. Did those words just come out of my mouth? Did I just ask a man who possibly kidnapped ninety teenagers, and might be some sort of insane serial killer that is keeping us in his basement, what was happening? This is it. This is how I’m going to die.

Snout slowly spun around, facing me.

I gulped. Snout’s eyebrow lifted.

“Uh. No.” He spoke with a thick accent, and he did not seem to quite understand my language.

He turned back around. I stared at his back for a bit, determining my next move.

“Could you please just tell us where we are?”

He grumbled, his rather flat rump still facing me.

Once again, I spoke, my heart thumping in my throat. “Please. Could you just answer me?”

He whipped around so fast it created a gust of wind which sent a chill through my Pacsun tanktop.

Before I could even flinch, he snatched the blade out of his boot and swung his arm around my neck, placing his knife to it. I could feel its edge penetrating my skin.

Once again, the room fell silent.

“YOU SEE THIS” Snout shouted, “YOU SEE THIS YOU FILTHY AMERICANS? YOU AREN’T IN CHARGE HERE. YOU TAKE ORDERS. YOU ASK NO QUESTIONS.” His snake voice boomed through the stale air.
Snout released the death grip and promptly left.

Elthered helped me up and over to the wall. Blood drizzled out of my neck. It stung, but I would be fine.

“Are you alright?” he whispered. His eyes were glassy.

“Yeah, I’m just fine. Don’t worry about me, he’ll get his later.” I winked.

This got him to chuckle, and for the first time, I saw his smile.

A new man returned this time, his face made of stone. He was obviously above Snout in the hierarchy of guards. His uniform was decorated heavily with small jewels, multi color strings, and an assortment of medals. He held a death grip on my arm, and we were on our way.

The corridor was no different from that room: bland, wood paneled walls and a cold dirt floor.

We trudged on, the hall getting dimmer with every step.

A dusty grey door on the left interrupted the wall’s constant, unchanging pattern. The man halted. Part of me still hoped that behind that door where my parents and that this was all part of a game show.

Inside was yet-you guessed it- another dull room. This one was even colder than the others. In the center sat a man at a rectangular table shuffling stacks of papers. I was guided to a seat across from him. His hair was cut short revealing all of the little bumps and imperfections on his skull. Maybe everyone’s looked like that without hair to cover it, but it just made his appearance more intimidating.

He spoke with a thick accent, but it was clear he knew English much better than the others.

“Name?” he didn’t question but stated.

“Where am I? What’s going on?” I demanded. His jaw clenched.

“Name,” he repeated, looking up for the first time. His eyes were a cardinal red. Oh holy Saint Francis I hope those are contacts.

“D-Derek Waid,” I stuttered. I noticed that there was dried blood on his hands and on the table. Did they torture people here?

“Thank you.” His eyes returned to the paper he was scribbling on.

Great. He was a polite psychopath.

“Birthday date.”

“Um, November 18th, 2000.”

Once again his eyes lifted from the paper, this time with his brow crinkled. “Age?”

How thick skulled was this guy? I was born in 2000, the year is 2015, couldn’t he do the math?

I replied that I was fifteen.

He was most certainly confused. “You are Gargon.”

“No,” I said, “My name is Derek.”

“Gargon,” he scoffed, “ No more Derek. You are Gargon.” He dragged his unclipped nails across my cut, “What is this?”

Trying not to cringe I replied, “Uh, the man in the blue...”

“Oh,” he interrupted You are the trouble maker they tell me about, eh?” he chuckled. His teeth, or should I call them fangs, were dark yellow and filed down to points. “You don’t get any more warnings here.”

He analyzed my a drop blood that hand landed on his index finger. “Earth blood,” he spat in my face with disgust.

With that I was handed a small burlap sack filled with some sort of clothing and escorted down the hall to another similar room. This one did not have a table, but a single black chair and a man in an apron.

I squeezed my eyes shut until I heard that familiar crunch. I felt my head get lighter and locks of hair fall on my shoulders. A slap across my back signified the conclusion of the haircut. Stone face stood by the door and waved me to follow him.

I dragged my palms across my newly shaven head. Maybe I looked like Red Eyes now.

After a quick stroll down the hall, we walked out of that dim space. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the noon (I guessed) sun. Ahead of me was a plain of sand. Off in the distance I could see the silhouettes of buildings. Was that a city? Smoke billowed from one of the buildings; so there were others here?

Behind us was the single black structure from which we had just emerged. What shocked me the most was its sheer size. It extended off into the distance passed my sights and rose up about seven stories. This place was a fortress for giants, a neverending asylum.

Stone face gestured to one of the fifteen tents lined up in two rows right out the door. Two number ones were painted black on its red material. I trudged over through the yellow sand and opened the door flap. The material was coarse against my fingers. Inside I was greeted by Niall, Peter, and three other boys all approximately the same age. They sat around a circle of small trinkets, a deck of cards, some photographs, and a necklace, bartering amongst themselves.

“Glad you could join us, whiny b***h,” Peter smirked.