It was a few hours after they had locked him in his room when Drake heard footsteps approaching his door. He quickly straightened up and wiped his eyes. The lock on the door clicked open. He did not know what was going to happen or if he should just sit there staring straight ahead not moving an inch of his body. When the door opened it was just one of the followers carrying fresh clothing alongside a tray of weird meat and fresh fruits that looked delicious. They sat the food down on the table, immediately left and locked the door without saying a single word to him. When the coast was clear he made his way to the tray of food he picked up the meat and gave it a sniff to make sure it wasn't poisoned, it did not seem to be, but it smell like something he had never eaten before and when he tasted it was bitter, chewy with no flavor.The fruit on the other hand was juicy and sweet that he devoured them like a starved man. He picked up the new clothing that was sitting right beside the food. The material that they used to make it, wasn't from his time and neither was the mask that was painted in the color of the Crimson color. He began to change from his old ripped jeans and into the new clothes. Once changed he just sat on his bed staring at the ceiling thinking about his wife and that he would soon be reunited with her again.
It was about halfway to midnight when Drake heard footsteps approaching his room,but this time there were more guards than before. They bound his hands with iron chains in case he would try to get the idea of running away. After that they walked for what seemed like forever, to Drake it felt like an hour to the leaders chambers. The leader was looking at papers and books that at first glance seemed to be very old.
“Ah Mr. Drake please come in” said the leader of the group and motioned for the guards to remove the chains from his hands. Drake just stood tall and firm, not letting the leader read any of his emotions.
"Drake you have a lot of talent in you and we can use your help, but one thing is for sure, if we are going to trust you you will be in temporary confinement. This means you will be watched 24/7, and I will be informed of your progress, from there I will decide your fate. I see that you know a few things about poisons and chemicals. The first job we have for you will be to look at our shipment of drugs and determine if we are able to turn them into something more useful" the leader explained his situation clearly. He now knew he was left alive because he was required and if he did not do as he was asked he would also be put to death. He just nodded his head in acknowledgement that in order to live he must investigate the shipment of deadly poisons that were arriving today.
“And I am sure your wife would want you to live wouldn’t she”?asked the leader.
With anger out of his eyes he began to get furious and without even thinking he spoke in anger.
“How would you know you bastard you butchered her infront of me and you expect me to go on without remorse or hesitation,so don’t you dare tell me what my wife would want.” When he stopped speaking his face contorted into an angry scowl.
“I understand that you are angry with me but your wife did not die in vain. We needed her sacrifice for the people and we made a statue in her memory. Do not dare to question me,judge me or speak without my consent,” the leader said in a more aggressive manner. “So you will be watched under my guards to see if you are worthy to live or die. Your assignment will begin tomorrow. You may go back to your room,” said the leader of the group. The guards put the chains back on his wrists and walked him back to his door. They pushed him into his room and locked the door.
He was filled with anger and hate for this group. I mean how could he work for this cult,but he had no choice. It was either work to stay alive or be put to death by the leader. When he was alone he replayed the conversation in his head and couldn’t help but notice that the leader's voice was no longer a man but a woman, she sounded an awful lot like Anna. He shook his head, she was dead there was no way he must be imagining it, he told himself.
The next morning he was disturbed from his sleep by the sound of gunshots, he quickly climbed out of bed and went to the door. There was a small window and he looked out to see who or what had been shot, unfortunately he was unable to see from his tiny little window. After a short time waiting at the door he saw two guards dragging someone on the floor. The person who had been shot looked like the tour guide Be Rodgers. If this was the tour guide being dragged past the door, Drake wondered what he would have done in order to get himself shot. He heard some commotion in the hall, coming from the direction of the leaders headquarters. She did not sound happy, she was yelling at her guards to bring him in. He could only assume this meant he was being dragged back to the office. Knowing the drill he quickly sat back down on his bed.
They unlocked the door and they got him ready to be dragged back to the leader as per usual. The chains were heavy and getting more uncomfortable every time they put them on him. When he started dragging his feet they would push him forward with their staffs that were sharpened to a point and with enough pressure they would make a deep wound. Once they reached the leaders room she was pacing around the room nervously, Drake concluded that she must be very angry or upset, this is how Anna used to act when she was upset. The thought brought tears to his eyes which he quickly tried to hide.
“Set him right there on the chair," she said angrily. Angry, he thought as they roughly shoved him into the chair. The guards left the room to stand guard while she and him were going to have a discussion, Drake knew it would probably be more like arguing with him. He just sat there looking at the floor not paying any attention to her. She was pacing around the room collecting scrolls and setting them on the table along with some old documents that were very fragile. Her pacing around went on for hours before she finally stopped. When she was done she sat in her seat and looked at him quizzically tilting her head to the side. She shook it off before she started talking.
“Ok I see that you do not have anything to say to me. The only way to make it out of here alive is if you give me your full attention and I will see about getting you some real food and out of those handcuffs,” she said. He slowly lifted up his head and looked right at her with a look that said I am listening. She was not putting up any of his mood today as she was already in a mood of her own.
“I assume you heard all of the ruckus that was coming from the hallway, and wondering who has been killed. Not that it is any of your business but it was Be Rodgers that got shot. He was caught making a phone call to the police department giving the names of the people who have been sacrificed. My guard reacted and shot him. I need to know if you had any part in this. If you did, the punishment is death by fire or poison. Your choice. Did you have any part in this police contact?” she asked him.
“No, why would I conspire against you when I am trying to survive and get out of this hell-hole? And I’ve been locked in that dog box of a room since the sacrifices, how would I be able to talk to him?" he said with a glare in his eyes.
“I Know that you hate me, that you do not like it here but I am doing this for the needs of the many that were here before and those to still come. No matter how hard you wish to ignore the truth it will only prolong the pain and the hurt that you have been through. In order to survive you must accept the truth and bear the pain of the past,” she sounded almost concerned for him.
“For the last time you do not know me or what I have been through! Do not patronize me, it will just make me angrier with you!" he angrily stated.
"And for the last time I am telling you I am not the enemy!” She shouted back at him “unless you make me an enemy, but you do not want me as one trust me. I can and will be very unforgiving. You have chosen to add to my anger. Choose your words wisely, the time will come for me to tell you the whole truth but for now you must be kept under watch,” she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wSdZWESI1
It has been two months locked away in that room being summoned when needed, Drake was still being treated like a criminal. He wondered constantly about this truth she promised to tell him one day and figured that day would never come. All those times he could hear the leader’s voice and it definitely sounded a lot like his dead wife but if that was a trick then it sure was a good one. It however was not a trick for Anna was really alive. Though she had not told Drake of this yet, choosing to keep him in the dark till he could be released from his confinement. Questions had been piling up one after the other about the leader and why she always had her hood up covering her face. No matter how much he tried to answer them it would all just keep on filling up with more questions than answers. It was another big feast of the reign of her rule and terror, everyone was preparing for the greatest feast. Except Drake for he was still a prisoner locked in his room just wanting to be let go. It had been so long since he had seen the sunlight or felt it on his skin. His health had been slowly deteriorating as he was not eating very much, only when they came in and dropped the same food, it still had the weird meat and since the first day that he ate it, he hasn’t eaten it since. Sometimes he was lucky enough they would bring him some cheese with a cup of juice. If they continued on this way it would only be a matter of minutes before he began to die. When the guards came to do their daily check-ins Drake fell off the edge of his bed while trying to sit up. They rushed over and immediately brought him to the medic hall.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqCJ2r6mk6
“Someone go get the Master right now,”said one of the guards. One of the guards immediately rushed to the hall and knocked on the door of the Masters room.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFXBurzAT8
“Come in”, she said the door opened and she looked up from reading one of the files on her desk.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08CZ4GvcdB
“Master, we need you at the medic hall right now,”said the guard as he gave her a look that told her it was urgent that she dropped the file on the table and they both took off to the medic room. When they got there she could not believe how thin and pale he was looking. She immediately began to panic and she rushed to his side.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3ilHNhnaW
“Who is in charge of bringing food to him? She asked, glaring at each of them if looks could kill they would all be dead. “If no one answers then you will all pay the price so I am going to ask again. I would answer me right this moment or risk me finding out in a different way, who is in charge of bringing food into his room?” She asked them again. One of the guards stepped forward with his face lowered to the ground not saying anything in remorse for his actions.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4xcJGjUyW
“How much food have you been giving him?" she asked sternly while looking at Drake who was barely breathing and had two glucose bags hung up and being given to him through a drip. “Do not make me ask again Martin,” she growled. He did not answer, he was still looking at the ground not even flinching one bit. He chanced a glance at her and he could see the anger rising, red flushing her cheeks. “I said how much food have you been giving him Martin,” she shouted so loudly that it echoed around the room. 153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6Dsjk6E32
“Only one small meal a day master cause we are in a food crisis and we barely have enough to spare,"he said with a quiver in his voice.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UrQJhvwgH
“I do not care about the food shortage I will make sure we have food every day, but letting a person starve for your greedy self is a crime punishable by starvation, just like he has been starved!” She shouted furiously at him. "I will not forgive this Martin. You are hereby sentenced to solitary confinement with one small meal per day with nothing more until you die of starvation," she concluded. She nodded to her other men to take him away.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfSIxye8C1
The two guards put the chains around him, led him into one of the small rooms inside the place and locked the door. In the meantime she waited by Drake's side day and night having most of her daily tasks brought to her only leaving when she had to. It had been a couple of weeks and still he had not woken up, Anna had started to lose hope and slipped back into her usual routine, though she still stayed with him all day and night. Early in the morning a few weeks after he was put in the emergency room he was regaining consciousness, still too weak to properly open his eyes, but he managed to catch a small glimpse of what seemed to be his wife sitting next to his bed. He couldn't really tell because he was still recovering and unsure if his mind was playing tricks on him. He began drifting back to sleep. Anna only left to make sure that the food was accounted for, she also made sure that he was taken outside twice a day to get some sun and fresh air. A couple of weeks later Anna noticed a change and thought he might wake up properly soon, not like he had been, fleetingly before drifting back to unconsciousness. She decided she needed to get back to her duties, no more sitting in this room waiting for him to be okay. That Sunday afternoon he woke up and he was fully able to see and to sit up by himself. He looked around to see if he could find her in the room but she wasn't there. She had gone back to her chambers a few days before and began to do other duties.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriC63Fciyu
"Master, he is awake and sitting up in bed, he will need some rehabilitation to get his muscles back so he can walk properly again," reported the doctor that had been looking after him.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QkBScJILo
"Please bring him in. I want to see for myself that he is okay," she said in a quiet tone.
The guard went to fetch Drake and brought him to the chambers in a wheelchair. Anna had chosen to forgo her robes and mask believing he had probably seen her when he was in and out of consciousness in his bed. He looked up at her in disbelief, he knew he had seen her multiple times next to his bed, but he was still not able to grasp the concept of his wife still being alive. She had been planning on telling him, but she could see that he wasn't ready to hear the truth. She could also feel that it could not wait, as they needed to move on from this place and she needed an answer from him.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pxiOxK8oP
“Drake” she said tenderly, “I need to explain, please” she almost begged, tears filling her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Drake did not know what to say for he has been deceived by her for so long. He started to cry because he wasn't sure to whom he was speaking to his wife or the person who put him in holding.
"How long have you been alive and why have I been in the dark for so long?" he asked with the tears coming down his face . 153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kmNf2TUwG
"Please, you must understand that what I did was for your safety, until you were ready to know the truth about what's really going on in the world," she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdKaFDglIP
"I understand that the person I love has been lying to me this whole time and you just expect me to listen to you," he said while tears were rolling down his cheeks.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgMC6hfCM3
"You must know that everything I have done was to keep you from getting in the wrong hands. If they had gotten you things would be in a terrible situation. but please listen, I will tell you the whole truth of what's really going on. You can then decide if you want to join us or if you want to leave. I will respect your choice," she said. Anna sat down in the chair across from him, they sat quietly for a few minutes. Drake sat up straight with his shoulders back which meant that he was ready to hear the story.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeq2QmUKcEb
"You know that my past was complicated, I told you my parents weren't always around for me. They always told me stories that seemed fake," she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYmYM7BMbw
"Where is this going?" asked Drake with a scowl on his face, meaning he was not patient enough to listen to a long story.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZ9ZutQyaI
"Well when I was older and in college my parents said that the government are forcing people to go on this trip and that they are being used as test subjects. I never believed them, I was still young and had my own problems to deal with at that time. I completely dismissed it," she tried to explain, though his face said she was not making much sense. She got up from her seat, went over to the book shelves and grabbed maps and books that had information and locations of several government agencies. These agency locations were being used as camps to drug and experiment on people. “These are what my parents were searching for,” she said, placing them on the table in front of Drake. 153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfu8zFanmK
“And that's not all when they met you for the first time, did you know what they said to me?”she asked him with pride in her voice.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe75OCH4Yl2
Drake shook his head and his eyes met hers and he knew that this was something very important to her so with great intentions he began to straighten his back up against the chair. 153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6DL4xDpXx
“What did they tell you?”he asked with a quiver in his tone as he tried not to show any signs of weakness.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCCcVbReN8
“They pulled me aside and said Anna he's the one who can help save millions he is the one that will rise to greatness,all you gotta do is make sure he does not get into the wrong hands,and make sure he believes in his purpose for everything will be that the Order of the Bear will come to an end,”she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q4NMwrDb4
“What is the Order of the Bear and what do you mean that I can help save a million lives? Am I just a normal person?”he said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHuO94jr4g
“The Order of the Bear is a secret society that restores peace and balance and protecting those who have fallen into the hands of the government, this was founded by my parents and I was later brought in to do my part by protecting you and those who are willing to stand up for what is right,and you are one of the special ones that poses one of the things the government can't take away from you and that is a golden heart .153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVL1NDgdMe
“A golden heart, what does it really mean?" he asked with a puzzled expression on his face.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qSIYPQw2x
“It means no matter what you always want to help those in need no matter the price,and your heart is made out of love and gold that can't be stolen by anyone or else a bright light will shine forth that protects you from danger “she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8v9WD7eMt
“And what happens if they do get a hold of my special heart?" he asked.
“Let's say you will never be the same again. There are people That i have known who had such hearts like you but once they got into the wrong hands they were not themselves, it's like not having a soul but much worse than that a heart,”she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLUMSt86Sv
She walked over to the bookshelf and put out an album that was very old and torn that contained pictures of the people that once had a golden heart and she put them in front of Drake And she sat back down in her seat.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIBUDBr5CT
He leaned over and picked up the photos one by one. He looked at each picture that was so disturbing to the stomach that he took a deep breath and set them back on the table.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5a69E7eMit
“Now you know what the government is doing to poor people who they think have such a heart of gold,but their others like that are in hiding,we need to get to them before the government do,so I ask you do you want to join the mission and become the person who were meant to be or do you want to end up like those people in the pictures and become a zombie with no heart ,the choice is yours completely,”she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkbkaOg4VT
“May I have a few moments to myself to think about it?” Drake asked.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQG2VZylux
"Yes but we do not have long we will move at first light cause their camps are always changing she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9KhnTFwYQ
She walked out of the room,and walked down the hall to see if they were already to move to the next location and to pack the last of the luggage that needed to be put in the back of the vehicle.When all was put in the back of the vehicle she walked back to her study to see if Drake had made a decision about becoming one of them or becoming a zombie with no heart.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGc7F9ZvjfG
“Well, have you come to a decision?" she asked with a worried tone in her voice.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrG9gMhFpg
“Yes I have, I will join this so-called Bear of the Order of the Bear or the Crimson Gang,but this still does not mean I forgive you for keeping me in the dark and for lying to me,I am doing this for the people that need my help,that's all ,” Drake said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmg9jKM9Li
“LIke I said I did what I had to do to keep you safe. If I did not care about you I would have let the government take you and let them rip your heart out a long time ago,and I am not your enemy like I told you before,”she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXw2fzgWRq
"Well it doesn't matter now so what's next asked Drake?"153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaVYyiqt1d
"Next we do the final step, the Initiation or the easy way to say it the Final ceremony where we make you one of us but unlike the beginning instead of the Red altar it's going to be white,"she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQoeMQlgPO
"That's it I thought there was going to be more than just that?"said Drake.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE89tnG2Ph8
"You will see but for nowI will send someone to send you to the dressing room so you can change into your new ceremony clothes," she said.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanqKoqBBF5
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