CHAPTER 2 BECAUSE IT’S YOU ISN’T IT?

Meeting someone this way was unimaginable.

Sure people can meet through gatherings, and kidnappings, but that was only in movies, at least that's what Peter thought. Running from guards, Peter couldn't help but look back to at least twenty minutes ago, before all of this happened.

*20 minutes ago*

"This is what we'll do," began Jojo.

Everyone leaned forward as they listened to Jojo as he explained the plan. In this organization, people steal to survive. A person is either taken in or they come here to have a place to live. To get involved completely, the organization changes their name, gives them shelter, and feeds them, but in return, one has to train to go on steal missions. The people known as the Elders are the leaders of this organization. They have real jobs but what they earn can't maintain all 100 of them.

There are jobs, requests from people not in the organization, the jobs are posted on paper with a price and requested to certain organizations. These jobs can be a call for help, or steal missions. The world is dangerous, people sometimes take dangerous quests for money, and die, while others choose to live it safe and choose a quest that's not so hard, but has a smaller pay.

Organizations go by alphabet and numbers, of course everything is ranked. The "K's" have the lead now, the request board is filled with flyers to choose from. They are in the top tier for holding the most power, and skilled people at requests. The way to know which organization a person is from is by their name. The letter of their organization is always the third letter in their last name. Some people have two last names to keep this a secret, it can be dangerous to let someone know their name.

"Are there any questions?" Jojo asked everyone who was listening. "Are we all ready?"

They all nodded and were about to get ready when Rachel turned to the direction of Peter. Her friend group stood like an arrow pointing at Peter, Monica looked at him with disdainful eyes but there was something else. He was sitting at the bar drinking a milkshake, his back facing Jojo and all the other people in the meeting. He wasn't paying attention to a word that Jojo had said, this was a perfect time to get him out of here for good. Immediately Peter got chills, and he knew what was coming.

"Yeah everyone except Immoral over there," she said looking in Peter's direction.

Loud slurping noises indicated that Peter was almost done with his drink. Everyone sighed as they looked at him, it was the troubled kid, nobody knew why the elders gave him a second chance, and some didn't even want to find out, just kick him out. Whose turn was it to talk to Peter? With fear in their eyes, the crowd of people looked at the list, it was Neal's turn. Some sighed with relief while others, quickly walked away and began to leave for the mission. Everybody gave him a sympathetic look as he approached Peter as if he was a ticking bomb.

"I um, I mean we, we're going to--"

"I know," Peter said.

Sliding the milkshake over to the bartender Jess, he said a quiet thank you and gave her a small smile. Slowly Peter got up, paused, took a deep breath and walked away. Jess nodded in return, although she was the new bartender, she just couldn't understand why she out of all people was put up to that position. What had happened to the old one? And why doesn't anybody speak to Peter? She had heard the rumours about him, but so far, he hasn't done a single thing to her. What exactly did Peter do to deserve this?

After entering the facility known as Dynadem, Peter and the others began to disperse once again. He walked around and looked at items that could be worth a fortune. Coming across a lab, Peter looked at the name tag with disgust. His two steel blue eyes stared, and were ready to turn to anger. If he had known they would come here, he would have been off to the edge Luscomb's Point. Then again if you made him go to this place, you might as well have taken him to Hoia-Baciu Forest.

Echoing footsteps jounced from wall to wall, Peter slowly turned to look back, Monica. She watched as Peter looked at the name tag and retrospectively his eyes stared off.

Slowly she sauntered forward, and without hesitance, she wrapped her arms around his waist, he flinched and stood tense. Peter didn't dare look back, she'd probably slap him and keep slapping him until his cheek is the size of a red bouncy rubber ball. She squeezed him, he flinched again, Monica turned him to look her into her peacock like eyes, her arms not letting go of his waist. Peter's face turned pale, and her jade eyes turned to anger. She slapped him hard, she slapped him again.

"Why didn't you tell me you got hurt?!" She yelled. "How long have you been hurt?" She bombarded him with questions. "Did this happen during that request? I told you not to take it! How did it happen?"

Peter opened his mouth, in a quick second, Monica had his hoodie and T-shirt raised up with one hand as she inspected his waist with the other. She tapped, he flinched, his face scrunched up and his eyes were shut close, she moved her hand to his torso, she tapped again, right as she was about to tap his ribcage, he winced, quickly, Peter grabbed her hand tightly, he opened eyes, they had been touched by a sea storm, his emotions were hidden in the currents, but the tide couldn't keep some of his feelings in. Monica stared into his blue-green hue as they turned grey and dull. Something had happened while at the job, and it was bothering him.

"Peter! You--"

A bright light shone on them, they both let go, Peter high-fived the air to stop the light from shining in his eyes, Monica did the same. From behind the light, Jojo's left eyebrow twitched, this was no time for canoodling! Rachel's face twisted, "Disgusting! Monica and Peter, just disgusting!" is what her face basically expressed. Rachel began to yell, her face twisted with every word.

"Rachel you're being too loud--" Jojo was interrupted.

A sudden blare, and bright red light alerted everyone, they had been caught. Alarms resounded through the whole building and everybody recoiled like a spring. A monotone voice said, "Put your hands in the air, do not move, place put all weapons on the floor. I repeat, put your hands in the air, do not move, place all weapons on the floor."

The ants of this ant hill tried to escape to safety, Peter grabbed Monica's hand and ran through the maze of artifacts, having to stop constantly to not bump into anything was taking his breath away. His hand suddenly flung freely in the air.

Twitch

His glasses at the bridge of his nose blurring his sight.

Twitch

Monica was out of his arms length and into security's. His eyebrow twitched even more. Should he run? But Monica! The waves of emotions clashed against each other as his eyes stared. Before he could decide what to even do, a loud "CLACK!" was heard, and Monica had been knocked out. The presence behind him indicated, it was his turn.

His pupils dilated as they tried to collect the blinding white light. Was he dead? Was God finally coming to get him? A loud bang, and scream brought him back, he shut his eyes and opened them, but that didn't seem to stop the room from spinning. Where was he? Another loud bang, the questions in his head made him dizzy. Instead of a scream he heard his name, that voice kinda sounded like… Jojo! Whatever was going on made his head hurt, he shut his eyes,

"Peter," someone said as they slapped his right cheek. "Peter! Hey, wake up!"

It seemed that the government was interviewing him, by the way the room was "decorated". A grey metal chair in front of him along with the typical grey metal table, his hands were tied behind his back, and his neck ached from the way his head had been hanging. Slowly everything came back, a girl with ruby like hair sat in the chair across from Peter, blue formal suit didn't go with her but she seemed to have chose it anyway.

"Hello Peter. My name is Alister Mcstell and I have kidnapped you," she said with dull eyes and a dead voice.

Peter looked around and gained his focus, she seemed like a lawyer, but what was a lawyer doing here, and did she say kidnapped? Where were the others? And what was going to happen to him? It's not like he's of any value, his breath was taken away, Monica!

"Where's Monica?" He asked with uncertain eyes, "...and the others."

"You're Peter Miklept?" She said with a sharp tone.

He didn't answer, nor did he move, just stared, it was raining in those eyes of his. She took some sort of file out of her briefcase, and showed him pictures, files, and profiles. —"The eye of a tiger can only grow wider." Peters grandpa would say— this time the eye of Peter grew wider. Never knowing what that meant was one of his regrets, and what was in this file, just became another.

"Why are you showing me this?" Peter's hoarse voice asked.

"Because it's you isn't it? Peter Miklept, or should I say—"

"That's enough," he said with a deadly glare. "What do you want?"

"Nothing honey, just know that this is the end of your life," she said slowly as she walked away, "...on Earth..."

He was taken outside of the room, into white halls, there were white doors everywhere. Was this a psychiatric hospital? A lady dressed in white scrubs passed him with an eerie smile. While she walked down the hall she twisted her head to look at him, until she was out of sight. He suddenly took a few steps forward forcefully, looking back he saw the same lady in the scrubs. Her smile was more sinister than before, she kept pushing him, with light taps on the back. He then let her lead, as he followed he looked through the windows on the doors. Some people were standing in the corner staring at the wall, while others laid on the bed doing nothing.

Peter began to slow down, where was she taking him? The lady looked back, her smile grew larger, she grabbed Peter's wrist and began to run. Door after door, scream after scream, there was something in this place that made Peter nauseous. Peter looked back, what were they running from? A black phantom, slowly morphing into a stranger, a boy, bleached hair and steel blue eyes. The phantom looked as it had been put into a mold, and he was in a new body, a girl, lilac hair and jade eyes; again and again it turned into four more people, before he stared into his window to the soul, it was him from the mole on his left cheek to the tiny scar above his left eyebrow. Peter's arm fell back to his side, his head looked ahead, the lady was gone, he was left at a black door with no window.

Slowly he looked back and the phantom was gone, his replica was gone. The sound of his beating heart echoed in the lonely white halls. He faced the door once again, this should be the exit, the neon green sign hanging from the ceiling told him that. He reached for the door, his heart calming down, it was locked. Of course it was locked, but he wanted out of here, so he kicked the door knob. It didn't go flying like in the movies, instead immense pain was shot from the balls of his feet, up his spine, and once again back to his toes.

"CLICK"

The door had been unlocked, his heart raced once again as he reached for the knob, he only tapped it before it fell off, he was pushed in and the door slammed behind him. It was dark, but that didn't stop the clocks from ticking, every one second there was a tick, pause, tock, tick, pause, tock. He felt trapped, his breathing got rigid, he looked back to where the door should have been and fel around the walls, all he felt was the round smoothness of the clocks; both ancient and modern, victorian and middle ages. He stood up but then dropped again, this room was spacious but that didn't stop his anxiety and claustrophobia from acting up.

Tick

The lights turned on.

Pause

In a chair in the center of the room was a girl. She was in a white nightgown, with messy hair, and slowly she raised her head.

Tock

The chains around her feet, wrists, and neck jingled as she moved

Tick

The lights turned off.

Pause

Peter crawled over to the center of the room. He felt around for the chair, he felt the chains as he stood up with the help of the arms of the chair. The girls head followed him. The lights turned back on.

Tock

"...Peter?"