THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING MORE
"Young man?" A voice called in the darkness. It was rough, obviously an old man, but well mannered. My eyes were closed but I could picture the man talking to me. An elder gentlemen, English no doubt, a small white beard maybe.
"Young Man!?" The voice called again but louder, closer. The third time he called it was right next to my ear, a hand resting on my shoulder. I squirmed slightly at the touch.
"Young man, can you hear me?" I nodded weakly; I was exhausted, and opened my eyes. I closed them immediately though, the sun was directly overhead and I was facing the sky. The light had been overwhelming. I whimpered. I was in a strange alley with a stranger grabbing me by the shoulder; my mind ran through the possibilities. They could be friends of the Bright's. Meaning they'll take me back there. He's to proper seeming to be a perv of some sort um.
I opened my eyes again, more slowly, letting them adjust the best they could. The man was indeed old and English as I had suspected. He looked me over a little as I laid there and stared at him. Finally he spoke again.
"Would you happen to be Mail Jeevas"
Panic soared through me and I backed away a little. My eyes were open wide now and I slowly nodded in confirmation. The worst that could happen now is that I would be returned to that horrible household. I shuddered at the thought.
The man stood then and looked down the alley way. At the entrance a shining black mercury Grand Marque was parked. I stood up and got ready to sprint away.
"This is him, we've found him."
I was too scared to run at that point. Damn it. Well if I couldn't run I'd just have to figure out what was going on and try to think of a way out then.
"Who are you?! Why are you looking for me?!" My voice was quiet but the panic and uncertainty in it were heard.
"My name is Quillish Wammy. Do you know the bright family?"
I knew it, he was going take me back to them. I ran off so my return was going to be welcomed with more than a few lashes.
"Yeah I know em. I suppose you were sent to come get me?" I asked, an uncaring tone in my voice, I already knew the answer so why panic.
"Of course not." Mr. Wammy chuckled.
"Unless you'd like to return to them?"
"NO!" I responded instantly, jumping to my feet, prepared to run if I had to. He simply chuckled in that low voice of his again.
"We have not come to take you back to the Bright's. Instead we are here to take you to an orphanage." I stared at the man like he was insane.
"But, I can't go to an orphanage, I'm not an orphan." I answered quickly. "My parents died in a fire, I'm supposedly up in heaven with them. I don't exist anymore! Mail Jeevas has no place in this world! I can't be adopted!"
"We understand this, and the orphanage we are taking you to will accommodate for all that. You can start over, not as Mail but as someone new, someone of your choosing." I stared at him, my eyes as my mind registered what he was saying. No more Mail Jeevas, no more hacking, no more lying, no more beatings…
"But, should you choose to come with us, I must let you know that this is not a normal orphanage. This orphanage is for gifted students, you have been chosen because we believe that you can and will do great things." The English man glanced down at his watch.
"So are you coming with us or not? We're running behind schedule and really must be going."
"Um, Sir?"
"Yes"
"I'd like to go but I have to ask, why do you keep referring to yourself as we or us when it's only you?"
"Ah, yes. In the back seat of the car you will find another young man. Go sit with him he'll answer any questions you have."
Nodding I walked in the direction of the car. Mr. Wammy followed a few feet behind and opened the door for me. The other man sitting in the car was rather strange. His jet black hair was un-styled and looked as though he had just woken from a nightmare. He looked at me, his gaze was unnerving, he didn't blink and large shadows coated his lower eyelids. It was a gaze that seemed to see through you, right into the depth's of your soul., His hand was pulled up to his face, his thumb resting in-between his cracked lips. The oddest part though was his legs. They were pulled up to his chest, his toes curled around the edge of the leather seat. He reminded me of a vulture, quietly waiting for his prey to finally fall over from exhaustion so he could feast on its remains.
"uh, Hi?" I tried smiling at the older boy, the car lurching forward as I did so.
"Hello." His voice was monotone and unemotional.
"My name is M—"I stopped quickly as Mr. Wammy's words echoed in my head. I could be someone of my choosing, and the first step to that would be my name. Of course it had to start with an M because I'd already started it with that when I had attempted to introduce myself. I puzzled a minute and was given a curious look by the older male. Deciding to go with the first thing that came to mind I thrust my hand forward.
"The names Matt."
"And mine is, Lile." He shook my hand with his pointer finger and his thumb.
"Now that we are acquainted, do you have nay questions for me?" I thought a few moments before deciding on a question, there was a lot I wanted to know but there was on in particular.
"How did you know that I was uh, well 'gifted'?" He made an expression almost like a smirk.
"I thought you would ask that. You know the small market stall across from your house? The family owned one?" I nodded.
"well they have a surveillance camera on the store front that we had been monitoring for a few weeks. Not to long ago it got hit, swiveling the camera and changing its central focus to non other than your living room window. That is where you lived, slept, worked and were given punishments was it not?"
"y-yeah" I grimaced at the memory.
"Well more than once the family left the curtains open, giving us front row seats. We knew what you were doing. And what a task, very illegal as well." I swallowed nervously, I knew it was illegal but it was the only way I could live there.
"We were impressed with your skills and were going to attain you from the Bright's. But you moved before we got there. Luckily you had taken your phone with you, using it's signal we tracked you. Any other questions?"
Thinking a moment I choose another query from the masses in my head.
"Where are we going?"
"Winchester, England. To Wammy's house." I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief and surprise.
"Winchester England!? That's like…A whole nother country!"
"Yes Matt England is another country."
"We'll arrive at the airport in five minutes." Mr. Wammy said suddenly, making me jump slightly.
The airport was bustling and busy, it reminded me of a hive of bee's, but more chaotic. Luckily Mr. Wammy and Lile had some sort of special 'pass' so we got in a back entrance, completely avoiding the masses. The plane we boarded was completely empty besides the three of us. When I asked about he just said something about precautions and regulations, I figured it was something I'd learn about once I got to this 'orphanage'.