Rebranded

My eyelids are heavy as I begin to regain consciousness. It’s difficult to even attempt to open my eyes because my head is pounding. Grogginess fills me, and it is both challenging to shake and claustrophobic. My whole body is numb and I feel like I have been hit by a bus a thousand times over. What has happened?

With sudden strength, I urge my eyes open and immediately am encumbered in the darkness around me. My heart beats out of my chest as I sit up on the cold, hard ground beneath me. Nothing around me is familiar through my blurred vision. A majority of the coloring is grey and all of the objects are currently grouping together in large blobs. It is very dark, with the only source of light coming from the center of the wall directly in front of me. I get a chill and feel the goosebumps rise in the freezing air. The pounding in my head increases with panic as I realize, I can’t remember anything. Not a single thought of what I have done, who I have seen, or where I have been is able to enter my mind.

I am dressed in a black shirt and pants and my dark brown hair is tied in a tight ponytail. Glancing at the white slip-on shoes at my feet, fear speeds through me. Where am I? How did I get here? My breathing speeds up and I can feel the tears welling. I take deep breaths and try to think logically, maybe I am being pranked? Once I have tried to calm myself down, my vision begins to go back to normal. Now with a clear view, I began to scan the room in front of me once more.

I nearly faint when I see him lying next to me. There, sound asleep, is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Lucas Cooke. Star athlete and literal prom king is next to me here in what appears to be a dusty basement. He is wearing the same thing as me, a black shirt and pants, and his dirty blonde hair is ruffled all around. Am I dreaming? What is going on?

I think Lucas senses my gaze since he begins to wake up within seconds. Gasping, he panics when he studies everything in the room, including me. “Sloane?” He coughs violently and rubs his eyes, which I assume are blurry just as mine were.

“Where are we?” I manage to choke.

“Is this some kind of basement? How did we get here?” Panic arises in his voice.

“I don’t remember anything.” I pan the room once more, trying to find some sort of exit or anything.

It would be pretty bizarre for Lucas and me to be alone in the same room together, let alone the same social setting. Even though we both attend Bridgewood High, I haven’t had a direct conversation with him since middle school. Lucas is a cliche, a star athlete with extreme popularity. To say we were in the same friend group would be baffling in itself. I always tend to avoid Lucas’ friends “super parties” because of how fake they always tend to be. Pictures are taken almost every second and actual conversations are never really had. They also always involve pretending to have a good time while plastering everything all over social media.

Lucas goes to get on his feet when my sudden intake of breath stops him. He shoots me a concerned look and opens his mouth to speak. Were they there the entire time?

In one corner of the dark room, lit by a small torch in the center of the wall, is a lady in a black uniform. She is scowling, a gun holster wrapped tightly around her waist. I shudder at the sight and chills shoot up my back. Around here, there are nearly ten teenagers, all inquisitively staring at Lucas and I. Wearing the same outfit like us, they all look intrigued, except for one. He is towards the back, scowling through his dark black hair and as he meets my gaze, his icy glare practically bores through my soul. Lucas studies all of them as well, just as confused.

When we both decide to stand at the same time, the older lady steps forward. Her auburn hair is pulled in a tight bun and her frown lines very evident in her forehead. She wears a black button up shirt with black jeans and combat boots. Why is everyone wearing black?

The teenagers begin to swarm us, all except a few. Their faces are sad and flushed, most of them very visibly anxious. Questions are being asked so quickly my head begins to spin.

“Have you seen me on the news?”

“Where are my parents?”

“Do you know where we are?”

“Where did you guys come from?”

Before I can answer any of them, the older lady’s sharp voice echoes through the room, startling all of us. “Hey! Get back now! If I hear any other questions asking where we are or the status of your families, there will be severe consequences for everyone!”

Clearly shaken, all of them stand behind her again, much more upset than before.

The lady turns to address us again, “Hello, my name is Patricia, first in command to Fabian,” Her snake eyes glance up and down at the both of us as she speaks in a clearly uninterested tone.

“What the hell is going on? How did we get here?” Lucas’ questions are quick and I can sense through the lady’s grumpy demeanor that she has no patience. I even catch a quick eye roll from the moody boy in the back.

“You have been selected to live here. He is giving you the opportunity to learn his knowledge and stay in his home,” her eyes light up at the words, as many teens behind her shift uncomfortably. “This is your new home. While I’m sorry the basement was your first impression, it is just an initiation we like to do. Especially while it wears off.”

By “it” I can only assume we have been drugged. The grogginess I first experienced was never-ending and I can only wonder what substance was used to cause that.

“Fabian?” Lucas’ voice is loud and demanding.

Sighing, Patricia answers, clearly irritated, “Fabian is our leader, he brought you here for a reason. I’m not sure what that reason is, clearly not for the attitude,” she shoots Lucas a glare and he clenches his jaw. “This is your new home and you will show him respect no matter how hard it may be for you.” Lucas rolls his eyes at that.

How did Fabian even get us here? Did he kidnap us? My head spins.

“Did you drug us?” Even my own voice shocks me. I feel Lucas’ worried eyes search for my own.

“It was just a little aid in bringing you here, nothing too serious.” She flashes us another creepy smile before stepping to the side so we have a better view of the people behind her. “So, now that we have established where you are, it’s time for your guides. Sloane Matthews meet Noelle Peterson, she will be giving you your direction and teaching you the rules.”

A girl with a black bun offers me a warm smile and for a second I feel a small spell of relief. Sadly, it really is only for a second. Concern floods through me with the thought of how this lady knows my name. “Lucas Cooke meet Connor Hill, your guide,” Lucas receives a small wave from a boy with sad eyes near the front of the pack.

“Well then, breakfast time. Guides pick up your trainees and let’s go to the cafeteria.” Patricia wastes no time in trying to ease any more of our confusion.

As the big pack begins to file up the stone staircase, the black haired boy meets my eyes a final time. His brown ones are questioning and his expression is cold. I am snapped out of a stare when Noelle bumps into me.

“I know this is probably terrifying right now, but I can explain everything---well, almost everything,” she begins as we file up the dusty staircase, “first, you’ve been kidnapped. We all have.” Her face has fallen into a very serious expression.

“Oh my God,” my voice falters.

Noelle offers me a sympathetic smile before continuing, “Most of us have never actually seen Fabian. Just heard his messages through other people and received his creepy little notes. He really does control everything, though, and he knows everything about all of us.”

My eyes must be questioning because she quickly adds, “make no mistake, he owns all of us and he has people for everything. He knows every dark secret we all have and pits us against one another.”

The staircase leads us to a long hallway, with creepy red floral wallpaper. Pictures cover the walls. All of them appear to be of the people here. When I see a familiar picture on the wall, I stop.

I grimace at the sight of me smiling on my seventeenth birthday. It was only a few months ago and it creeps me out to know that someone acquired that from social media.

I shudder at the sight of my happy memories plastered on a stranger’s wall. It’s violating to have your own pictures stolen for something you had no idea existed. Noelle stops next to me.

“Have you ever tried escaping?” My eyes remain on the cheerful photo.

“I can’t risk it, no one can. He has targets on your family, if you make one wrong move, he’ll hurt them. He’s done it before. Besides, there are sensors all around the perimeter, if you step an inch off of this property, he’ll know.”

The thought of my family being hurt by a psychopath like Fabian makes me want to crawl and hide. Mom, Dad, and Josh don’t deserve anything bad to happen to them. Josh is only in fifth grade. My heart aches as I think of what’s going to happen when they wake up and I’m not there. Have they already noticed? Have they called the police? I hold the tears back. In order to keep them safe, I need to be smart. I need to find a way out of here without getting caught.

“This is insane. He’s done it before?”

“Yes, but it’s not important. Just know, he won’t hesitate to do it again,” she pauses again, “on another note, we wake up at six every day, train, do missions, or tasks, and go to sleep at 10. Free time is from 9-10, we all usually hang out in the lounge. This house is huge, we all have our own rooms, which is kind of a positive. The yard is even bigger, and every day we train out there.” Noelle is rambling, and it takes a second for me to process each bit of information.

“What do you mean train?” This whole thing is crazy, but Noelle seems to be kind of normal.

“We learn how to fight, target practice, and…” she pauses again, carefully choosing her words, “we also do emotional detachment. It’s dark and awful, but you get used to it.”

Emotional detachment? A strange practice, completely losing all of your feelings can be a dangerous road. Why would we ever even need to do that?

“And we’re training for--?”

“Essentially to be his minions, his demented, cold-blooded killers. It’s even worse when you say it out loud.” She makes a disgusted noise, “but, it’s what he wants and we must comply, or--,” she moves her head slightly.

I hesitantly nod, I know she is referring to him killing me or my family and I shut my eyes to take a deep breath.

“He’s also always watching, there are cameras everywhere, but many of which we can’t see. Pattycakes, the rude old lady you met, she’s his most powerful ‘soldier,’ the others are just there to try and scare you and patrol the perimeter.”

“Pattycakes?” I let out a little smirk.

She returns a smile and a little laugh, “it’s just a little nickname we like to call her, it matches her bright personality.”

With that, we both let out a tiny laugh, before remembering the unfortunate circumstances we are in. Sighing, I look down to the floor, unsure of what to do, so many emotions swimming through my mind, too many to process.

“We should probably get in there.”