Stay Awhile
Prologue
CLASSIFIED COORDINATES, 25 YEARS AGO... WHERE SHADOWS ARE BORN.
“File in! Don’t step a toe out of line,” the tall woman with the crooked nose yelled.
I tried not to stare as I followed directions. This was the usual for me, being treated as a number and not a person. My eyes wandered around at the high concrete pillars and banners that seemed to have mottos imprinted on them. This place seemed a lot worse than the last. It just held a fancy front, while the other orphanages I had been in didn’t care.
I had been in my fair share of terrible places. The last place I lived didn’t even take the time to place our mattresses on frames. So I steeled my shoulders and prepared for my next version of hell. I was so enthralled with my surroundings, I didn’t notice that everyone had stopped walking. I walked straight into the back of the boy with the sandy brown hair in front of me.
He turned around with a deep frown. He had little dots all over his nose and a little on his cheek. I took a couple of steps back from him and dropped my arms to my side. I steeled my expression, preparing for anything. He never got the chance to say a word before the tall woman came over with a long ruler.
She flung it out, popping the boy in front of me on his back. I tuned up my face because I knew it wasn’t his fault and he didn’t deserve that. I puffed my chest out, then pointed my finger up at the woman bigger than me.
“You didn’t have to hit him! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” I yelled at her.
Her brows raised, then furrowed. She looked around at the other adults in the room who held wide expressions. I saw one man against the wall with a smirk. She nodded, then looked down at me once more, before gripping the front of my dirty T-shirt.
The older woman dragged me to the front of the room, then turned me to face the other kids, who held flat and wide expressions. I turned to look up at her, then back at everyone else with a shake of my head.
“How original?” I asked sarcastically.
She looked down at me, then swatted my shoulder with the ruler. The instant sting was one I was already familiar with, so I didn’t flinch or bat an eye to give a reaction for the kids in front of me. I stood immovable, waiting for her to do her worst.
“Children, take it from me. If you want to make it alive here, don’t do this! I will not tolerate disrespect or any other instructors here. You all don’t mean a thing to us or anyone else in the world, which is why you’re here. You will have one job and one job only. Eliminate,” she instructed.
Everyone stood quietly. I guess I was enough of an example to not push forward or maybe it was the speech about us meaning nothing to the world. We didn’t need another reminder. She continued with her spiel about what was expected of us. Then she grouped people up into groups of two to a room. She saved me and the boy who I had stood up for as last.
He had a scowl on his face. I was sure pissed that he was in this shit with me. Not to mention, it looked like now we would be roommates, and after this start, it didn’t look like friends were on the menu. But I couldn’t care less. At least that was what I continued to remind myself. I called myself making friends when I was younger, but at every turn, they would leave me behind. No one stayed.
The older woman, who we had learned through her spiels, name was Ms. Vlad. Supposedly, she had been in someone’s army based on the medals on her jacket she wore. She walked from the position she held behind me and walked in front of me to step in front of the other boy, whose name I hadn’t gotten.
“Well, aren’t you lucky to be the chosen ones? What’s your name?” she asked him.
He looked around her at me with flat eyes, then back up at her. “VC.”
Ms. Vlad nodded and then turned to face me before pointing to the guards. I glanced over at the two burly men who stood on both sides of me, then took hold of my arms. I steeled myself for what was to come.
“His mouth has earned him fifty lashes, but we will give him only twenty-five if you decide to take the other half,” she told VC.
I looked down at the ground, prepared to accept my fifty lashes because I didn’t know him and dang sure didn’t expect him to take a beating for my mistake. I was shocked when he cleared his throat and spoke up.
“I’ll take the other twenty-five.”
My head snapped up with wide eyes.
“That’s what I like to hear, since your life will now forever be tied to him. But now both of you will get fifty! Welcome to the Void, boys. You’re going to learn who is truly in charge here.”
This day was only the beginning.