Lucy's Point of View

"You're a liar," he snarled and to a step, towering me. Anthony was at least twenty feet taller than me. I was so small compared to him. So small and insignificant. "You're a liar, Lucy, and I hate you."

I grabbed his foot in mercy, but he recoiled and sat spat on me.

"Filthy, worthless, bitch. Cant' believe I ever had feelings for~"

~The phone rang in the room as loud as a bell. My body jolted upright out the uncomfortable sleep. Sweat drenched down my bruised back and forehead. Phone…the phone's ringing. I reached to my left for it, but as I lifted myself off the bed, my eyes rolled. I fainted and collapsed to the floor, catching myself with my wrists.

The phone stopped ringing, and so did my ears. Reality flooded back, along with the blood to my head. This wasn't my room. Where…where was I?

Red satin sheets drooped over the bed I just fell out of. The rest of the room beautifully reflected the colors, and textures. It was welcoming, homey, and clean. On the table, there were alcohol glasses on dollies. Next to that was a 'Do Not Disturb' sign conveniently placed for the guests' comfort. A…hotel room?

Opening every drawer I could find, I started to search furiously for something that could give the hotels' name, address, anything away, showing where I was.

The blare of the phone echoed through the room once more. I gasped, spun around out of my trance, and lunged toward the phone. "Hello? Hello?!"

"Room 630, this is your 3:30 A.M. wake-up call for your meeting."

Right! The meeting! Now's my chance! "Yeah, that! Listen, I need~!"

"They asked me to mention that you will meet Him tonight. He will be dressed in a black suit with a red tie, in the hotel lounge bar."

"No!" I yelled. "Please you have to listen to me! I need help, I've been~!"

"He looks forward to your arrival. There is a red dress placed at the end of your dresser for you to wear. Good-bye."

"Wait! Please!"

But he was gone. I slammed the phone down and redialed the hotel desk, which rang and rang, but no one picked up. Eventually, I faced defeat and put the phone down gingerly. He's on their side, isn't he?

My answer was yes. When I found the red dress, it was folded nicely with grey heels laid across. I picked it up and the beautiful evening gown cascaded down the floor, along with a note I hadn't noticed. On the hotel's stationary, this was written:

Make yourself presentable and meet Him in the bar's lounge at 4'o clock precisely.

Do not be late.

Do not talk to anyone who does not talk to you first.

Do not try to communicate with anyone

Because we are watching.

Go.

I was right. They have this whole place under their control. I don't know who I can trust, and I'm sure they are watching me.

There's nothing I can do. I'm completely alone.

"And the only way I can get out, is to go in." I whispered aloud. "I have to cooperate, I have to be good. But I also must be smart. I can't let them manipulate me because they know I'm scared. I'll be solemn and emotionless. Overall, I'll be very, very brave."

Two of them escorted me downstairs at 3:55. The dress swished as I walked tall and proud, my curled hair draping down the open back of the dress. They were also dressed up, the high class of the hotel explaining why. The high ceiling was decorated with gold and beige curtains, and a classical piano played in the corner of the grand lobby.

We passed the door, where I looked longingly, and entered the bar. One lightly took my inner elbow and turned me toward my table. They saw I spotted him and simply left. I exhaled as I sat down, slowing my heart rate. He never looked up from his menu until I was situated. Once he believed I was ready, he met my eyes, almost with a smile. He dressed well and…he seemed normal.

"Ms. Lylles. Thank you for joining me. Can I get you anything?"

Solemn, I declined politely with no emotion, yet he waved drinks our way. Scotch glasses arrived. His was filled with alcohol, and mine with…

"Water," he explained, as if he knew what I was thinking. "One must always obey the laws, even if they are as silly as the drinking age."

He took a polite sip of his drink and I stared back in misbelief. "But that doesn't apply to you, does it? Murder, kidnapping? It's all the same, really."

Through my peripherals, I tried to spot people turning in my direction by the sound of those chilling words. But no one did. Every man and women kept their voices low in the bar. Everyone kept to themselves and no one paid any attention to me. I was one of them.

"It is deemed…unruly, I suppose. According to worldly laws, at least. But I have a different way of doing things. We are the exception."

The way he said "we" make me shiver in my seat. His eyebrows raised. "It's chilly," I covered. "This dress, you see."

"Ah, yes," he nodded, "Excuse that, if you must. This is a five-star hotel. I'd rather keep to standards, thank you. What you were wearing wasn't quite…appropriate for the occasion."

"You're right," I smirked, "My apologies. I must say I hadn't planning accordingly. The plan I had for tonight didn't involve being abducted and placed in a hotel with the head of the Illuminati."

Got him. This time, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? And how did you figure that out?"

"I already knew about the Illuminati from what I overheard earlier at the school. By the looks of the panic I caused, the members needed someone who could officially solve the problem. Since the Illuminati is, in fact, a cult, I figured it would be the one they put their entire trust into. As shown by your dress and where you choose to meet, it seems you have enough money to live high class. Someone, or some people pay you well. You're composure, you're high standards…it all comes together. You are the head of the Illuminati."

This didn't make him happy, I could tell. He quickly returned a smile to his face, however, and nervously chuckled. "We prefer the term 'society' to cult, I thank you. But, bravo, Ms. Lylles. I must say I'm impressed. No one has been able to deduce so much from so little."

"Well as you see from all that I've done, I'm not an ordinary girl."

"You certainly aren't," he agreed with a smirk, "But not for the reasons you believe, which brings us to why you are here." He removed his hands from his scotch and folded them. "I was called in to –how can I put this?- discuss the problem we've face and discover a solution.

Let me explain the importance of our society. Perhaps you will understand then.

"The Illuminati is a society founded by Adam Weishaput, who modeled after the Freemasons. Its purpose? To protect and to secure the true freedoms of the modern world and people. Today, we keep those efforts running, continuing traditions and requirements that were necessary some 200 years ago."

"What would some of these include?"

He listed a few off the top of his head. "A detachment of the worldly evils of society, ultimate intelligence, an ability to give up yourself for the greater good."

"Meaning you?" My tone was cold.

"Yes," he replied warmly, "The greater good. We discovered soon, however, that it was not good enough. We have enough people involved, however. People picked as carefully as the disciples of Jesus Christ."

"Quite the ironic statement. You are Satanists, aren't you?"

"Some might say. In my most humble opinion, I believe it is a reformed form of Luciferianism. We don't worship the devil; we simply believe the other side of the story of Lucifer's banishment to Hell."

Unable to find a response, I let him continue.

"Like I was saying, right now we have enough force to take the greater good forward. It's time to spread our boarders, and accomplish what our founder set out to do."

I gulped. What could that be?

"A World Order."

I leaned my head in. "A…a what?"

"A World Order," he repeated. Just the sound of the word made him close his eyes and lean to the back of his chair in solitude. "A world free from the sinful possessions and beings. A totalitarianist, Freemasoned world where conspiracy overcame reality. The world would be run by the Gifted, people who have followed the Illuminati from the beginning. All others would follow the new form of society. Those who choose to resist will be erased. Those who are not deemed worthy of Its power will be gone.

"Erased?" I asked with sweaty palms. "Like Ziegler?"

"Precisely. The Gifted included our friend Adam Ziegler, or at least we thought. See, just like any one, unfortunately, we make mistakes. Unlike everyone, we fix those mistakes, permanently. Once the nonbelievers and terminated, only the mighty will remain."

"Mass genocide?" I had to hold back a laugh. "That's how to you plan to achieve it? Kill off anyone who chooses not to follow?'

"No kill, remove. Remove from the equation." He glared at me, and I just knew it was me who he was talking about. "If that is a large amount of people, then let it be.

"Therefore, according to you, I'm one of those mistakes." Although I denied it, I could feel my face turn pale.

"Not necessarily." He smiled at me, as if my comment was something a small child would cutely say. "You see, you're different, Ms. Lylles. You are the first person in all these years to uncover one our eliminations. And to that, I congratulate you. Normally, we would eliminate you like all the others for your great achievement. That was the plan, at least, until you spoke. What part of England are you from, may I ask?"

No response came from me as I stared back. My mother's face flashed into my mind. It was of her having to endure what I was. That was NOT going to happen.

"Well then. I guess that's a no." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. It took all my might to stop myself from backing away. "Listen closely, Lucy Lylles. I control this entire operation. A plan that will be successful despite all of your previous actions. I know government secrets; I know security defects that could drive this country into to the ground. Do you really think I couldn't figure out where you live with the snap of my fingers? The fact is I could, and I can commit any crime with a blind eye turned instantly. The reason I'm saying this is because there is no point for you resisting me. I have total control and will stay in total control until the end of time. You can count on that."

Vomit edged in my throat, and I was barely able to swallow it down. I whispered which city I lived in.

"Manchester. I see." The joy of breaking me emerged by the smirk on his face. "Lovely place; I like the city, don't you?"

"What are you going to do with me?"

"Ah yes. That." He took a sip of his drink and let out a sigh as the alcohol dripped down his throat. "By your accent, we discovered you are foreign, which is quite...inconvenient for us. Once someone discovered your body, the police would find out you were from England on an exchange program. This would create a catastrophe involving two nations and way too much media involvement. Too many people would know about it, people would grow suspicious, and the situation would be worse than it needed to be. So, we needed to find a way to get rid of you without killing." I gulped. "So we have proposition for you."

I stood straight up with a deep breath, "And that would be?"

"You stay quiet." He said simply. "That's the plan."

I furrowed my brow. "Excuse me?"

"If you stay quiet," The man explained, "meaning you keep everything that happened here and wherever, to yourself, all problems will be solved." He looked at me expectantly, as if he thought I would go with this quietly.

My mouth hung open, speechless. After everything, he thought if I just kept my mouth shut and forget this all happened, it would all go away? I didn't think so! So I told him that. This was his response:

Firstly, he wasn't particularly happy with my disagreement. He had had it with me. This time, he slammed his hands on the table and glared at me straight in the eyes. "After everything that's happened, you simply choose to disagree? Do you not see the power I control? Do you not understand what I can do, what mercy I've had on you that I've showed no one else? You chose to defy me? Fine. Look here."

He snapped his fingers behind his head, and instantaneously a small wooden package was given to him by a busy waiter. The man threw it to my empty plate. "Open it." He commanded. I did as he said.

There must have been some sort of seal on the box, because when I obediently opened it, the stench that I had not sensed before overwhelmed my nose. I coughed but turned to see what made it stink so bad.

I held back vomit and instantly slammed it shut when I saw the only content. It was Mr. Sievers severed finger placed on straw.

"He was still alive when we caught it off, as I'm sure you could deduce from the blood all over the appendage, meaning he bleed while it was cut from his still beating heart. It's not beating anymore, though. As you can now hopefully see, Sievers lied and didn't follow regulation here. And he paid the ultimate price for it." The man placed his cold hand onto mine in sympathy, though I could not tell if it was fake or not. "We like you, Lucy, we really do. So don't make us do the same you, okay?" He leaned back to his chair and grinned evilly. "Or your friends...Ian and Anthony, is it?"

My heart dropped when he said their names. Dear god, please don't make them hurt from my stupid mistake. I promised myself no one else would get hurt. And I'll do whatever I can to make that happen.

I broke and obliged. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just...shush. Don't mention anything that happened, from you finding Ziegler, to discovering who erased him, to you coming here. Understood?"

"If I stay quiet, no one, and I mean no one, gets hurt?"

"As long as this little predicament is never spoken of again."

"Deal?"

He nodded and sighed, happy the meeting was over. Raising his glass, the man asked for a toast. "To us? To the world?"

I lifted mine as well "To the prosperity of the world." I spoke hoarsely through chapped and pale lips.

Our glasses clinked and we simultaneously took a sip.

As the drink touched my lips and I tasted it, I spit it out across the table. I felt the chemicals sting my tongue and knew instantly what it was. Tuning my head, I vomited violently out the highly toxic liquid.

"Hydrogen peroxide," He commented, wiping his hands on a white napkin and standing up to leave, as every other person in the bar did.

I've been set up. He's planned this entire meeting from beginning to end. For once in my life, I've been outsmarted. I fell to the ground as my vision grew fuzzy and my insides caught on fire.

"Looks just like normal tap water with no scent, but it is secretly highly toxic and dangerous. In large quantities, though. A few millimeters like we added will only cause one to lose consciousness. We always are one step ahead, my dear. Remember that."

I threw up once more and drool dribbled down my lips as my paralyzed body laid on the carpeted floor. Lifting my face to meet his, a cold and heartless hand grabbed my cheek and I met his eyes with rolling ones.

"And remember this, Lucy. I don't have, and don't plan to make, time to repeat myself." He finished. Men began to surround me once more, but this time I wasn't even able to fight back. Hands encompassed my numb skin, and after all this time, after all this suffering and putting on my brave face in the face of danger, I finally, finally gave in.

"Where do we put her?...still alive..." One swerve to the left, then three turns to the right.

"Yeah...close to school...back to normal..." Stoplight, followed by a turn signal clicking.

"Drive quick...almost dawn."

The van accelerated.