BEFORE STARTING THIS NOVEL, HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
NARRATIVE STYLES Three different narrative techniques are used in this novel:
1.) External Narration (Author's Voice / Omniscient Perspective): All sentences in this format are written in bold. Events, places, and general conditions are described from an all-seeing, outside point of view.
2.) Inner Voice (Character Thoughts): The character's name is written in bold letters followed by regular narration. These parts reflect the character's thoughts and feelings.
3.) Dialogues (Character Speeches): Character names are written in normal font (not bold). The following lines are verbal dialogues between characters.
CHAPTER 1: ARE WE RUNNING AWAY, OR ARE WE BEING CAUGHT?
Delese — "The hard part wasn't growing up together; it was staying together while growing." Every time I read those words on the framed picture on the wall, I had the habit of throwing my head back to stop the tears in my eyes. Why is this girl always late? As if she lived miles away, in another city. No, she was sitting right across from me.
While I was repeating these words to myself, the doorbell rang. From the sound of footsteps, I could tell it was her; she was stomping her feet so loudly that the ground shook with every step. I chuckled to myself and opened the door.
Kanire: What are you laughing at alone again? Shouldn't you keep those thoughts to yourself?
Delese: I'm not laughing at myself. I'm laughing at your punctuality.
Kanire: Don't act like I'm late, Delese. I took time to enjoy every step—twenty seconds per step. I counted while climbing. What's wrong with that?
Delese: Stop yelling inside the apartment, psycho! They're going to start asking "Who is Delese?" Our fake names have settled so deeply inside us that sometimes I forget our real names.
Kanire: You'll always be just Delese to me. Honestly, I can't even remember your real name.
The girls lived their routine again as they did every day: laughing, having fun, cooking together, then going back to their apartments. Kanire always wanted to live alone no matter what. Maybe it was the fatigue from living for years in a dorm with thirty girls. Or maybe the only place she truly felt free was… home.
Delese: We're going to the bar tonight, right?
Kanire: Of course! What kind of question is that? I'm so excited and totally ready. How about you? Or are you not ready?
Delese: I don't know. I haven't thought about stepping into a place like that for a long time. But… yes, we're going.
Kanire: Don't be so dramatic. It's just a bar. Relax, we're not entering a grave.
I hope you're right Kanire… I really hope so.
The evening passed quickly, and the girls got ready to go out. Kanire, who loved making others wait but hated waiting herself, was already whining at the door.
Kanire: Come on! You're always making me wait!
If she hadn't said that with a smile, Delese's look could have destroyed her.
Delese: Okay, okay, I'm here…
They set off. Kanire's old, battered but still working car crept through the streets. After all, there was no need to rush.
Delese: See? Because of you, I forgot my phone at home. Happy now?
Kanire: Because of me? Oh no, now should I keep an inventory of your stuff, Delese?
Delese: Okay, okay, you're right. But when you said "Let's go," I was still thinking about my phone. So technically… it's still your fault.
Kanire: Absolutely. Dear Delese, from now on, I will give you a verbal checklist before we leave the house.
They arrived at the venue. They were careful; they didn't want anything to go wrong, so they scanned their surroundings, analyzed everyone's behavior, and discussed what kind of people they were. Delese got bored quickly and nudged Kanire. But Kanire said it wasn't time to leave yet and that she shouldn't rush.
Kanire: Have a drink, Delese. I'm sure it will help.
Kanire, unable to resist Delese's persistent pressure, decided to leave and they turned back. At the door, Kanire asked the valet about her car. The valet asked, "Ma'am, you didn't come by car. Are you feeling alright?"
Kanire: Seriously?! We're not drunk enough to forget that we came by car! Where's my car?! What nonsense is this?
Valet: Ma'am, if you had come by car, it would have been parked right in front of you. If you don't see it, that means you didn't drive. This is the first time I'm talking to you; I don't remember you handing over the keys. Please try to stay calm.
Kanire: Are you a scammer?! What are you doing with my old car?! What kind of place is this?!
She screamed with all her might. Usually, Delese was the one who spoke loudly. But this time, it was Kanire.
Delese: Don't worry, we will find your car. Just stop shouting Kanire. No matter what you say, they will keep repeating the same sentence like a parrot.
Delese was also shouting, waving her hands nervously.
Delese: Let's go. Let's walk to the bus stop. Assuming there's a bus at this hour…
And so they started walking. The street was no different than a deserted forest; street lamps were either out or flickering faintly. But they didn't care; they kept their pace. After a while, Delese started scratching her ear. She always did that when stressed. Kanire noticed and gently rubbed her back while keeping her eyes fixed ahead.
Kanire: Do you hear the rustling and footsteps behind us?
Delese: I hear them. But don't you dare look back. Do you hear me? Don't turn around!
Kanire: I won't look. But… doesn't it feel like there are too many people?
Delese: Walk Kanire. Be quiet and keep walking.
The sounds grew step by step. Footsteps mixed with dog howls and rustling leaves. Less than five minutes after this conversation, a group of men blocked their way. They weren't sober enough to count exactly, but there were ten of them. Their faces were hard to distinguish enough to make eye contact. All they could see was a hand and a piece of white cloth covering their mouths.
5 HOURS LATER
Delese slowly opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh of relief. Yes, she sighed because their plan had worked; they were exactly where they wanted to be. The place was called "Wargit." Delese stretched as Kanire woke up and looked around.
Kanire — Finally, we are here... We are at the very heart of the organization we have been after for years. We succeeded, Delese. We really succeeded. The plan worked perfectly. I rubbed my hands. They hadn't tied us up, so they weren't worried about us escaping. There were plates of food in front of us, a window looking outside, and not a single person to protect us. What is going on?
Delese — We have to act smart. We must act scared. If necessary, let's cry. My back itched badly and while scratching it I accidentally winked at Kanire. I knew how dangerous that was. If no one was in the room, they were probably watching us from a camera. I regretted doing it in less than three seconds but I couldn't think of a better way to calm Kanire's horrified look.
Delese: Where are we Kanire? What is this place? I'm very scared.
Less than half a second after speaking, she started crying. During training, they had learned to cry even by closing their eyes without touching, and Delese was very skilled at this.
Kanire: I don't know. The only thing I remember is a white cloth and big burly men. But don't worry, I'll find out what's going on.
Although they knew they were being watched, they played the helpless girls role perfectly. Who could suspect that they were actually agents...?
A few minutes later, the door slowly opened. A tall, dark-haired man with a broken spear tattoo on his arm entered.
CAST2 Member: Our goal is not to scare you. Only we can enter this area. When we see strangers, we have to act immediately.
Yanık stared at him. She couldn't understand why the CAST2 member was explaining things; his only task was to bring the girls to him. Yanık covered his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from exploding. Shortly after, the girls were taken to Yanık, and only Delese, Kanire, and Yanık remained in the room.
Yanık: Sit down first. And don't even think about crying in front of me.
The girls knew very little about the organization but the labyrinth tattoo on the man's arm showed he was a high-ranking member. They listened carefully. Yanık introduced himself, giving only his name and CAST level.
Delese — Each CAST level must have a different tattoo that indicates which group it belongs to without saying a word... So what does CAST 4 mean? If there is a 4, there must be 1, 2, and 3 as well. I need to find out how deep this goes.
Suddenly interrupting, she said:
Delese: What does CAST 4 mean? Just curious, four is my lucky number.
Yanık: I owe you no explanation. My only task right now is to find out why you were at that bar. If you give me a reason, maybe—just maybe—I'll explain.
Although she wished it wasn't like that, Delese spoke again:
Delese: No, some things already make sense. "Yanık" can't be your real name; they gave it to you because half your face is burnt. So, names are given according to physical features. See? I already understood that.
She acted like a naive and curious girl to wear him down, hoping he would make a mistake. She was very good at playing the fool... and maybe part of it was real.
Kanire: Ask what you need to ask and let us go.
Being released was the last thing they wanted. Their mission was to stay no matter what and gather intelligence.
Yanık: What were you doing at our bar?
Kanire: How would we know it was yours? Last week we were at the market three kilometers away. We saw the bar and came for a drink. That's all. We thought it was public; if we knew it was private, we wouldn't have entered.
Yanık: So your only purpose was to drink? Is that all?
Delese: Yes, moreover, we lost our car at that bar and now look at how we are being treated! If it was private, there should have been a security guard at the door!
Yanık looked into Delese's eyes. Delese immediately looked away; she hated eye contact. Yanık noticed and just kept staring at her.
Yanık: I won't let you go until I verify every detail. So write everything; dates, times. Which day you went to the market, which car you went with, why you thought the bar was safe, why you didn't notice there was no alcohol in the drinks, why you left without your car, why you didn't call the police, why you walked to the bus stop instead of taking a taxi? Write everything. I'll be back in half an hour.
Leaving, he didn't fail to glance at Delese once more. He liked to use people's weaknesses. As the girls started writing, they tried to listen to what was going on outside but couldn't understand anything. After thirty minutes, someone else entered instead of Yanık. Mavi—a fellow Cast4 member—was annoyingly blue-eyed, lightly bearded, and much more charismatic than Yanık.
Mavi: Are the papers ready? I came to get them.
Before they could respond, he snatched the pages from their hands.
Delese: But we didn't say we finished! My exam is not over yet.
Mavi laughed, but then there was no smile, only discomfort.
Mavi: We don't babysit. Keep your jokes to yourself!
Delese was secretly excited. That was exactly her goal: playing the fool to annoy them.
Kanire: You're scolding us like we're on interrogation. Every minute a different man comes in with new orders. We don't know who you are or where we are. My friend is joking to avoid panic and you can't even tolerate that. What do you expect us to do? Sit here and cry?
Mavi could have answered every sentence but didn't want to bother. He started reading the pages. It was impossible to tell whether he liked their answers; he was too professional to show emotions. Just as he was about to speak, Kanire heard a very familiar voice from outside. The voice approached... First it became clear, then the girls turned to the door. Kanire couldn't believe it. It couldn't be. He shouldn't be here. Seeing Mavi close the door to block the voice, Kanire broke character for the first time and screamed inside:
Kanire: DON'T CLOSE THAT DOOR!
Delese: My friend is claustrophobic, that's why she's this stressed. We've been stuck here for hours, please understand us. Enough already.
Before she could finish, the voice entered the room.
Karun from CAST4: Mavi, did you read the newspapers? Let me see.
He hadn't noticed the girls at all; he was completely focused on Mavi. He didn't see them. He only saw the papers... and that voice.
Kanire: Father.
END OF CHAPTER 1