Previous:

I went back over to the Red and wondered what his identity was. I didn't find any ID or anything on him, just those few things. I recall making my hands over to his neck slipping my fingers gently underneath his mask slightly lifting before he quickly grabbed both of my hands. I slightly screamed at the sudden action 'wow you can wake up to me barely touching your mask, but you can't wake up when I'm carrying you up two flights of stairs...' I thought to myself at the time. I looked into his eyes they seemed angered but calm. But there was something else behind that mask that was comforting, wow that didn't sound crazy... In that split second of a jump scare my heart rate came down to its normal range. I stared at the man with soft eyes, and let go of his mask, as he slowly did the same with my arms. He didn't leave eye contact, it was sort of intimidating. I guess it took him a while to figure out where he was, because he looked around the building in a panic way before saying.

"Merde."


Continuation:

~{:Chapter 2- The Enrollment:}~

I remember him trying to get up from his position, but cringed from the sharp pain coming from his abdomen. I quickly ran over to assist him patting his shoulder to stay down. I held up my pointer finger trying to get him to wait a second, before he moved anywhere; I think he got the message, as he watched my every move. I turned around over to my bag grabbing the pill bottle out of it. I twisted the lid off the bottle pouring 2 capsules into my hand. I made my way back over holding out the medicine, staring at him to take the pills. He gave me a distrusted look, but eventually took them from my hands, he bobbed his head up swallowing them both whole. Not gonna lie, I was amazed.

"Merci..." he mummbled softly.

I returned a smile to him; sitting back down facing toward him. It was a little awkward I have to admit. Just sitting there kind of looking around the room avoiding eye contact. Through my peripheral vision I could see him still looking at me, eyes burning through my skull, trying to find an emotion. I narrowed my eyes staring right through his sole, if he had one. Finally, and thankfully, he looked away sighing heavily falling asleep. Everything seemed so normal to him, nothing out of the ordinary. Strange. I didn't know what to do. It seemed too sketchy; I mean honestly he just got stabbed near the abdomen, taken into an abandoned shelter by a stranger, and just slept as if it's normal. It just seemed to unreal. I took one last look at 'em before I went to bed. Walking over to the wall beside him I scrunched myself together closing my eyes shut awaiting the morning.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

I awoke to the smell of something burning. I squinted my eyes open feeling the rush of smoke contaminate them. My breathing hitched, leaving me in a full panic mode. The house was on fire, I remember trying to get up but I couldn't. A force was holding me down preventing me from moving. For some reason I could move my head, eyes and mouth. I felt paralyzed from the neck down, a terrible feeling really. A scream came out from the distance, it sounded like it was coming from my sisters room. My neck snapped to the sound, seeing the fire come closer and closer, my head sweating from the torturous heat. I squirmed trying to control my body to move but going nowhere; I started to get flustered. My breaths got faster, but shorter. I wanted to cry, the flames made it impossible sucking the moisture out of me. I then started to feel a new extreme of pain. My flesh felt like it was boiling, my body feeling it was turning inside out. I opened my mouth screaming, no words coming out in the process. This wasn't right, I felt I was in my own hell.

As lifelike as it felt, I was saved by the cold touch of a stranger. An invisible hand touched my shoulder. The stinging stopped, the flames seemed to die down, I started to wake up. I peeked my eyes open feeling the clean air suppress them. My breathing slowed down inhaling the cool oxygen. I felt something wet fall down my cheek, was I crying? My surroundings caught up with me, as I caught up with reality. I sat up looking at the man in Red, who was now by my side touching my shoulder for comfort. It must have still been dark outside, because seeing his face, uh mask, was difficult. I backed away from him timidly, still processing what had happened. I must of had another nightmare. Once I stopped shaking; I looked up at the masked man. He looked at me calm and collective, still bent down on one knee. He raised both of his eyebrows looking at me. He brought out a cigarette placing it between his lips; both hands went toward the stick, one lighting it and the other blocking any draft. I looked at him in question wondering How the heck did he get a cigar-Never mind probably shouldn't even bother. His eyes gazed up on mine, flicking his lighter close sticking it in his pocket. Inhaling the chemicals, the man took a deep breath blowing smoke through his nose. It reminded me of a dragon. He slid his back to the wall, legs crossed over each other on the broken tiled ground.

Still in the same position, sound echoed from his mouth. He was starting a conversation.

"Bad nightmare?"

I nodded confirming his observation.

"Desole, about your parents, it must have been tragic." his eyes seemed tired.

Inhaling chemicals.

I paused. Stiffening in fear, I was afraid this would happen. I assumed he must have heard me talking in my sleep. I closed my eyes gently, a teardrop falling down my face.

Exhale Smoke.

"Sh... Your family would be proud of you cherie. Et seems you know your way around this place very well, you take care of yourself. I saw what you did back there when I was in... trouble. What was zhat martial arts?"

I listened, then nodded my head again.

"You have fascinating skills, ma cherie."

I gave out a little blush and a smile. I haven't had a proper conversation since the last fight I got into at the orphanage. After that my social skills have gone way WAY down.

"Do you like taking risks?" He changed the subject. His body came closer to me; both sitting across from each other face-to-face.

Inhale

I nodded, hesitantly. After all, I did sneak out of an orphanage, stole some supplies, fought to help him, and risked taking care of a stranger.

"Do you trust me?"

It was a simple question; honestly I didn't know how to answer it. It took me a while to answer, and he was patient. In the beginning, where I saw him lying on the ground hopeless, to the time I cleaned him up. Something about him made me feel safe, comfortable. I felt like I could trust him, but I kept my distance for precautions. After all he would have killed me if he really was a complete psycho right? I finally decided on a decision, to trust him. I dipped my head up and down showing him my reply.

Exhale

He gave out a warming smile before getting up and reaching his hand out. I looked at him in question. "Come, follow me." he spoke. I placed my hand on his leather glove, and he pulled me up. "Now let's find a way out of here, shall we?."

I stared at his stomach area trying to figure out how he was going to do anything with an armature wrapped wound. His eyes followed mine smoking the last of his cigarette. "Oh this.. Trust me cherie when I tell you zhat I have been in worst conditions then zhis." He threw his cigarette bud on the ground diminishing its last light; walking over to the empty space in the room.

I pointed my finger telling him to wait. I went over to the water-warn desk and lifted up the rock beneath it. Out, I grabbed all of his things that I stashed away in case anything were to happen. I gave him back his personal belongings entrusting him with his weapon. "Merci." He replied back in acknowledgment. I saw him place his belongings in his left and right pocket. His butterfly knife sat in his right back pocket of his pants. I grabbed my backpack, for emergencies, and showed him the way out of the abandoned safe haven. Once we made it out into the streets I looked around the area to see if I could estimate what time it was. The little black silhouettes on the cement side-walk barely peeked from underneath the buildings. Little rays of orange and red could be seen just above the horizon line. With an educated guess I would say it's almost six in the morning, but then it hit me... The dude has a watch, duh.

I caught up to the man in red, already 10 paces ahead of me, and tapped on my wrist. He looked down at his watch telling me that it was 5:56 a.m. I nodded acknowledging his reply following him down the cold side-walk. I didn't know where the heck we were going, we reached this gas station out of the small town area, into the country side. The place looked like no human existence had touched it since it was first built. The buildings color seemed like it used to have a solid blue banner with the gas stations name encrusted into it. Now the letters seemed to fade, spots of the paint either chipped or peeled away. Overgrown green moss climbed the side of the building, the glass windows shattered probably because of the weather, the gas tanks empty from the years of being abandon. As we both approached closer to the deserted gas station the man went over the telephone implanted into the brick wall. He told me to wait for few, while he called one of his 'friends'. As he picked up the phone and inserted a 25 cent quarter, that he coincidentally found on the ground, into the slot of the machine; I walked over to the stores door and looked through the reflection. I scrunched up my face in disgust seeing how bad I looked. I noticed how much that I've changed, physically at least. I gained some muscle, but looked like a homeless person (duh I was...). I paced back and forth wondering who he was talking too. I didn't even know the mans name. But then again he doesn't even know mine...

He finished talking on the phone; placing it back on the hook of the dial. I looked down at the ground kicking around the gravel rocks around. I heard the crunching sound of the gravel being squished by a heavy vehicle. A white van appeared to be driving up into the gas station. It rushed over near me, I backed up; heart slightly pounding. I backed up into the figure that said I could trust him. I've seen these situations in movies, they never ended well for the victim; I was that victim. I turned around to meet the man standing behind me giving him a worried expression. He gave me a serious face and then nodded that everything was going to be okay. The white looking van parked to the side of me. The door to the car opened and to my surprise a women came out. She was smaller than the man, about the same height as me, maybe just a smidge taller. Black hair, in a bun. Glasses that made her green eyes pop out. I had this weird déjà vu moment that I've seen this woman before. With her silky black hair, glasses, it was all at the top of my head I just couldn't pin point it.

She stood up straight with confidence, it intimidated me. It felt as if all her emotions drained all my confidence making me feel vulnerable. I closed in closer over to the man backing up until I was stopped by his gentle grasp. He turned me around and lowered himself until he was at eye level with me. His voice flowed into my ears like the harmony of a symphony. He placed his right hand on my right shoulder; like when when a supportive father explains something to his child.

"You have to trust me."

Before I could give him any acknowledgment something felt different. You know when you get a bee sting, or get a paper-cut, something like that. You feel a little pain, wait no, a shot; from the doctor. When I was little I would always be so afraid of them, they always felt like a pinch. Anyways, that's the sensation I felt. Through instinct I looked the opposite direction putting my hand were I felt the pain, the back of my neck. Instantly I tried to fight but my body didn't choose to obey, it was ignoring me. My legs felt numb, it was getting harder and harder to stand. I winced from the tingly impression in my neck. I looked at the man in his eyes, I couldn't give him all the emotions I was feeling. Scared, confused, betrayed? My legs gave way; all I can remember from that is losing my balance and falling into arms of support. Then a room of black silence.


It was happening again. The room I was in started to burn, along with my flesh. The smell was intolerable, the scent of death. I felt all my nightmares rush into one dark dream. This dream was different then the others, I was walking down a dark alleyway. It seemed to continue seeming like a never ending hallway. I could hear a cry for help in the distance; the sound familiar to the ears. I started to run as fast as my legs could take me. As I neared to the end of the long alleyway I saw two figures. The same two figures from the night I saved that man. The moonlight seemed to shine just right for me to see both of their suits, but dim enough for me to mistaken their identity. One wore an all blue suit and mask, as it's opposite wore red. The victim in red laid struggling on the ground, as for the other, confidently composed on top. He held up his blade above his head, while using his other to hand to keep his prey still. I tried to run faster, my heart beating out of my chest. I needed to help him, he's just like me; a person just searching for a way out of trouble. Just when I thought I was gaining on them my feet started to slow. My actions started to slow, but time still seemed to go at it's own pace. I saw the blade come down at a regular speed impaling the man in the chest. His cries matched my own; blood slowly seeped into his suit making it a much darker crimson red. I could scarily feel his pain, my heart pounded with every throb of his chest. But then it stopped, his throbbing, my heart, my moments. They all stopped.

A bright white light attacked me as I opened my eyes. I felt cool but it also stung at the same time. My pupils must have dilated because the room started to become more visible. All the walls seemed to be plastered with white padding; like ones of a restraint area in an asylum. A white marble table sat in the center of the room with two chairs sitting across from each other. The white mattress I laid on lye in the corner of the room. Six bright fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling. There looked to be as if no door was there, but it was hidden in the walls. The padding started to move, from behind emerged a women, the same one that came out of the driver seat of the white van. She wore a purple dress, the top half being purple with a white collar and strip going down the from end meeting together with buttons. The bottom half stayed pure black; like the bun of her hair.

"Hi, please have a seat." she insisted.

I looked around the room confused of where I was, let alone what was happening. I remember getting up from the mattress with caution crossing my arms around me. I sat down in the cold pure chair scooting a little closer to the classic table. She put a tan filing folder in front of her; I looked down noticing it had my name on it. Looking back to her eyes she began to ask me questions. I remained silent nodding or shrugging to her questions, getting me practically no where. Before that, she introduced her self.

"You can call me Miss Pauling, I know you may be very scared or confused right now, trust me everything will begin to make sense. All you have to do is answer some questions and we can move on to the next step, do you understand?" Her voice sounding so professional and calm.

I nodded, she did the same but smiled.

She grabbed the file opening it up reviewing the contents it provided. "Your name is Kayla, yes?"

I signaled a yes. She grabbed the pen from the file checking off, probably the question she asked. The lady who claimed to be Miss Pauling continued to ask question, I would answer to the best of my ability; yet I said nothing.

"Alright, I have all I need thank you for being... cooperative. Now that I've asked the questions, it's only fair to answer yours. At the moment you are in a, how would you put it, corporation. There are two companies you should be aware about, R.E.D and B.L.U. The two companies have been fighting each other for the greater good, crazy to believe I know. Here we collect people like you to help us, we call those people mercenaries. We give them a great amount of money, weapons, shelter, food, water, etc. Together each of the teams work, as a family."

A family?

"Look I know this is all hard to process; meeting a strange person; going to a strange place, waking up in one. I can't imagine the confusion you're going through. But we have been watching you ever sense the day you escaped from the fire."

Wait... Did she say she was watching me? Since the fire? Wait a minute.. She's that police officer! My eyes became big, my mouth gaped open in shock. I stood up form the seat causing the chair to slide against the ground in a screech. I remember now. I looked at the ground and then back to her in disbelief. I saw her get up slowly and put a hand to my back. Her words calming me down "Hey.. It's alright, relax." Still in shock I slowly sat down, she's been watching me for that long? If all this is true, then was that man in the red meant to be there, at that time?

"It's okay if you are confused, just let a week roll around and you'll understand the situation a little bit more. We seek people like you, whose lives have already went down the drain needing a second chance. Although, that isn't the only thing we are looking for; skills, mental and physical health, situation, status, survival, all the things that need to meet a certain criteria. Lucky for you, you've met everything single one of them. That's how you got here, how we chose you. All we needed to do was get to you, so what I did was contact both of the bases to get on the case. It's there choice on who to pick to get their new recruit, and by the looks of it both of the Spy's were chosen. It's a 'first come, first serve' kind of operation. Fortunately you just happened to come across the two fighting, ironically you were the one to choose one of them."

Miss Pauling took a form out of the folder and placed it in from of me. At the top were these BIG bolded letters reading "CONTRACT". From what I could read it was just a form stating that I was agreed to join the team suggested to me, same with a class that was well suited, and some other stuff I zoned out from. She placed the pen beside the contract and folded her hands together.

"Here is a contract stating that you agree to joining the RED team, and will take the tests necessary to determine your specific class."

I looked down at the contract staring at the piece of paper. I took my hands from underneath the table placing them on both sides of the paper. Was I a 'chosen one'? Do I even know what I'm getting myself into? How does company even exist, I've never heard of this place. Let alone the work that they supposedly do. Then a weird voice in my conscious came into my mind, it was male. I heard him saying "Do you like taking risks?" That's practically what I did with my life, ran away, took risks, but was this one any worst from all the one's I've done in my past. Just before I could continue my thoughts the woman spoke again. She looked up at me with her bright green eyes and took both of my hands into hers.

"It's going to be okay, you can't run away forever. Your parents would want this for you, to start a new beginning and stop being stuck in the past. It's time to meet your new family." Her smile seemed really convincing with the words she spoke.

I guess it's time to begin another chapter in my world of a life. I picked up the slick black pen and started writing my name in cursive. The ink sunk into the paper like oil on cotton. The letters to my name was now their property. Miss Pauling gave out a happy smile as she collected the signed paper.

"Congratulations, welcome Mann Co."

I smiled from both excitement and nervousness.

"Not much of a talker are you?"

I shrugged again, as usual, for a common reply.

"It's okay you don't have to answer." she paused to write on the file whispering to herself 'traumatized to speak, from past.'

"Now for the next step, class trials."


To be continued...

Honestly I am so grateful to all the people who have followed or favorite and reviewed. I was actually not expecting this, so thank you so much for reaching higher than my expectations. You guys are all so supportive and amazing! Also if there is any grammatical errors, or pronunciations missing it's because im typing this really late at night and I'm tired. I'm just so eager to give you readers something to read, mostly because I have big plans for this story. Again sorry for some misspellings and mistakes. (cliche moment) I'm only human, please enjoy the story. HAVE AN AMAZING NIGHT, MORNING, AFTERNOON, EVENING, ETC.