Silence. That's the first thing I register the moment I regain consciousness.
That's odd. The sound of cutlery was usually audible by this time.
I shift in discomfort. Something feels off. The material I beneath me was hard. My bed was never this hard.
I try opening my eyes, but my eyelids feels heavy against my skin. Stirring again, I note my sitting position.
My eyes flutters open, twitching at the harshness of the overhead lights.
A wave of drowsiness hits me, nearly dragging me back to sleep. Gripping the arm of the seat, I barely ground myself.
Oh, I slept on the plane.
No, I fell asleep during the flight. I corrected scolding myself.
I turn to the window, a barrage of pain assaults me, spreading relentlessly from my shoulder blades to my lower back.
My lower limbs lay stiff against the floorboards. Ignoring the pain, I plant my feet firmly on the floorboards, slowly leaning my weight against window's frame.
The sun was way past its peak. We were in what looked like an airfield, countless planes of varying sizes perched across the field.
We must've reached Geneva.
How the hell did I sleep through an 18-hour flight? I run my fingers through my hair.
The last thing I remember was…
Talking to that flight attendant…
Yes. The flight attendant. It finally clicks in place. The sneaky flight attendant!
The drink, her persistent gaze, and her cryptic words….
'Sleep tight….' Her words echoes in my ears in frightening clarity.
I still at the thought, a chill running down my spine.
My eyes widen, anger overriding the drowsiness clouding my mind.
Unbuckling the seatbelt clinging at my midis, I grab my luggage heading to the exit of the plane.
It was empty no single person in sight. I descend the boarding stairs, searching frantically across the field for any signs of her.
I find her soon enough. Across the airfield, a group of six gather under the shade, their gaze fixed on me as I approach them.
The sneaky attendant was standing alongside two other women, who wore similar clothing. I spotted Jack in their midst, chatting casually with two other men, dressed in flight suits.
"It was about time." Glancing up from his watch when I approach. He mutters ignoring the rage in my eyes.
Ignoring him entirely, I look to the attendant, holding her gaze.
"You!" A scream ripped through my throat.
She stares back calmly. No guilt whatsoever.
"What did you put in my drink?"
"A sedative that knocked you unconscious for the duration of the journey."
A calm voice cut through the silence before she could answer.
Someone answers before she could.
Jack did.
Watching me with his classic, annoyed look from the side.
I stagger back in disbelief.
He was in on this.
Of course.
"Why?" I ask, voice trembling in disbelief.
"To avoid tantrums. Just like this one." He says flatly. No hesitation, like he was stating simple facts.
My anger fades, the agonizing pain of betrayal taking its place. If anything, Mum trusts him.
Hate to admit but his words left a bitter taste in my mouth. He really did see me as a nuisance.
Still, I couldn't blame him for that.
I've been nothing but a pain in the butt since we met. That, however didn't mean I'd take the blame for any of this.
He walks off, shoes crunching roughly against the gravel disappearing into the distance. No explanation whatsoever.
I shift feeling the weight of their gaze, and embarrassment settles at the pit of my stomach with no intention to budge.
Walking into the shade, my luggage forgotten at the entrance. Each step leaves me quivering, their piercing gaze never leaving me. I hunch to become as small as possible, my eyes to the ground, silently bracing for an onslaught.
After what felt like an eternity, I find a spot to stand. One far from them, my eyes everywhere but where they stood, the silence stretching indefinitely between us.
"If he hadn't done that, the flight would've left you disoriented." A familiar voice speaks from the other end of the shade.
It was the sneaky flight attendant, her words sharp and precise, slicing through the silence, looking right at me.
I wasn't the only one staring. Her words drew everyone's attention.
I looked at her. Really looked at her, eyes soft with something I couldn't quite grasp. The apologetic tone in her words didn't go unnoticed.
Everyone did, it seems. She appeared unbothered by the pair of eyes drilling into her, despite that I caught how her shoulder stiffened at their gaze.
Curious, I finally looked at the others. One attendant froze, fingers hovering above her phone, staring back at her in incomprehensible shock.
They all were. Like, whatever she just did was foolish in the dumbest way.
The older-looking pilot shook his head slowly in resigned disappointment.
A sudden dryness spreads over my mouth, and I swallowed quietly, the sound too loud in the silence that now felt different.
The previous silence dissolving into something new. Sharper and tense.
"It was done from a place of good intentions." She continues, eyes never leaving mine. It felt intimate even with the distance.
The others now composed, barely paid attention.
A stab of guilt, I'd ignored until now plunges deeper into my heart. Lowering my gaze, I shift uncomfortably under her gaze, shifting my weight between my legs, remembering how harshly I spoke to her.
I look up at her sudden silence, her eyes still lock on me, brows furrowing in hesitation
"It wasn't a 18-hour flight." Like a deflated ball, her words blows me off.
"Huh" I mutter, my mind going blank at her words.
Not a 16-hour flight.
What did that even mean?
"It was a cover up. We took 32 hours to reach…." She continues, this time faster like she already made a decision.
She stops before she says it.
This wasn't Geneva.
I stiffen, clutching the metal pole behind me for balance.
My heart thrums against my ribcage so fast it hurt. The betrayal that barely simmered surges back in a torrent knocking off the air from my lungs.
But, this time it was deeper.
Betrayal only hurts when trust existed. This was much worse.
Trust and truth.
They never existed.
Jack lied about everything.
At first, it was just withholding 'classified' information.
Now, nothing was true.
I take in deep breathes, my weight pressed against the pole. A low rumble of a car becomes audible somewhere in the distance, the engine's growl vibrating through the air.
The car drew closer, its silhouette growing larger with every second. The tires screeched softly against the asphalt as the car stops before the shade.
Jack slides out, the door closing behind him with a soft click that sounded sharp in the silence. I watch in quiet fury while he strode down, his jacket flapping slightly against the wind.
He crosses the distance in seconds, stopping at the threshold, his eyes finds mine glaring hatefully at him.
Sighing, his fingers threading through his golden curls in quiet fatigue, I only noticed now.
"The substance you were given was thoroughly reviewed in the contract, every constituent highlighted in great detail. So, stop staring like I tried killing you…"
"Or traffick you." He scolds in his British-like accent, voice clipped in barely concealed annoyance that now had an edge of weariness.
"You lied about everything, didn't you?" Ignoring his tired plea, I question jaws tight in anger.
Surprise flicker in his eyes, a looking of understanding settling almost immediately at the sneaky attendant who bows in silent apology.
"We'll talk on the way." His voice sharp in finality, pulling my luggage with him to the car.
"Thank you for your service." I rasp breathless. Bowing slightly at them, already on my heels behind my liar of a guardian.
They ignored me save for the sneaky attendant, who smiles in appreciation. The thought lingers for a moment longer, as I hurry into the door Jack holds open for me.
We were on the road in no time. It was deserted, if that's the right word.
No signs of habitation.
Not abandoned. No dust on the rails or dirt along the path.
Only the flicker of traffic lights at every intersection.
Well maintained.
We rode in silence. The slight buzz of the air-conditioner barely filling the gap.
He focused on the road. My eyes on him.
I stared. Hard and long. Questions barely held at the tips of my tongue.
"Was that necessary?" I asked, no longer able to hold back. Breaking the silence between us, he turns briefly at my question.
"It was. It's not uncommon for poorly oriented Extern Cadets to be sedated during transits. It's efficient" He stares again.
Narrowing my eyes, I urge him to go on.
…and relatively stress-free." No hesitation. Just fact.
I roll my eyes, slightly surprised at his response. A tiny spark of hope blooming in my chest.
"Where are we?" Leaning closer to his seat, I ask taking my chances.
"You'll find out soon enough." He replies not missing a beat.
"Ugh" I grunt in frustration. Just when I thought he was getting friendly.
The silence envelopes again. This time faster and thicker prickling against my frost-bite limbs.
The car descends slowly down the bridge. The fifth one since we hit the road three hours ago.
I shift in my seat, leaning to the window, letting the view distract the queasiness sinking down the pits of my stomach.
The road winds past us in blurs of gray and white as the car sped through leaving faint shadows behind our trail.
I sigh, my head against the window. My shoulders slumping in quiet defeat.
This feeling of helplessness, being at the mercy of others didn't particularly sit well with me.
Not knowing where in the world I was didn't help. Jack won't tell. If only there was a way to figure it myself…
Wait. Figure it myself. I go still at the thought, moments away from drowning in the ocean of despair I'd sank into.
There is a way. A smile finding it way to my lips.
I slip off the window, reaching for my luggage. Tilting it toward me, I unzip the upper compartment, the zipper whirrs sharply in the silence.
I dip my hands feeling for a gray purse, fading slightly at the edges.
My phone. Relief courses through my veins at the sight of the worn out mobile that laid quietly in purse.
Seconds tick by slowly, my eyes trained on the device that booted too slowly today. I heave in a breathe when it turns on, signal returning to the device. I unlock it with shaky fingers as I navigated to a app I almost never used.
Anticipation and dread rises like a bile in my throat, my fingers gripping the edge of the phone with more force than I would usually dare as the app loaded on the screen.
"I won't do that if I were you." Jacks says over his shoulders, taking a brief peek at me through the rear-view mirror.
My eyes remains fixed on my phone, If he thought I would stop dead track, just because he didn't think it was a good idea, then he really thought too lowly of me.
Swallowing, my body tenses as a map spread across the screen in seconds. I scan through the interface in unfamiliarity searching for something I wasn't even sure I will find.
I find it moments before I slump back into the seat in defeat.
At the top-center of the app's UI was a green triangle reading my current location. My hand moves before my mind catches up.
Another loading begins, I take in deep breaths, reining in my slipping patience. I stare at the time at the top of my screen anchoring myself. After 2 minutes and about forty seconds, an error signs pops up. I look up for network strength before reading it.
My heart stops for a second. The signal strength was strong. The thrumming at my chest follows faster and stronger against my chest.
Your location is not available. Turn on your location setting...
I always enabled my location. This time my heart didn't just skip a beat, it fell into the pit of my stomach.
The phone slips from my hand, crashing onto the carpeted floor.
Of course. My mind knew before I did.
I look up to Jack, who is now silent. His words and the message overlap. I place the phone beside me, slumping in defeat.
The rest of the ride goes by quietly. Jack drives not offering any words of consolation. He did warn me.
I didn't bother asking, no answers will be offered either way.
A huge gate loom ahead in the distance, I straighten up at the change, catching sight of people in the distance.
Armed people. My chest tightens around nothing, I stare at Jack, he was calm as the car slowed under his deft hands, halting beside the company.
They didn't move. A man at their front locked eyes with Jack and nodded, motioning a go ahead with a slight wave of his hand behind him.
The prism shaped bow with a small oval gem-like stone sat at the top of the gates. The stone glowed brightly, sweeping down the car at neck-breaking speed, at an unusual angle. The streak of light bounces on the blank number plate at the mouth of the car. A silvery image of a bird in flight etching slowly against the opaque surface with a ink-like substance.
The double gates swings open afterward, nearly silent except for the slight vibration of its weight against the air.
Staring from the windows, I finally roll down, mouth agape in fascination bordering fear.
Jack drove through almost immediately, the gates closing after us. Resuming at our previous speed, the car ran along the tree-lined road, images of what just transpired playing on loop in my head.
Where the hell were we?
We stopped outside a huge adamantine gate carved with stones into patterns I couldn't decipher.
Expectantly, I sat waiting for an instruction from Jack, who straightens his suit with rapt attention in the mirror, suddenly nervous.
"Go on," He says, finally looking away from the rear mirror.
"Alone!" I look at him, brows knit in disbelief, my voice shaky and unsure.
"Who was so sure she could handle herself at her new school?" He asks lazily, not even bothering to come up with a better excuse for ditching me right now.
I said that, but…
"You never agreed before Mum." I reply, lowering my voice at a knot that made it hard to speak any louder.
"Never said I wouldn't let you have your way either." He eyes me. Amusement dancing in his eyes at the sight of my panic.
I stare, lost for words.
Here, I was worried about him hovering around me, turns out, he had no plans to even fulfil his duty towards me.
"At the point in between the four directions, turn left. Walk straight into the first building directly before you."
He says after a bit, then goes back to ignoring me.
I hop off the car, slamming the door behind me, reaching where he sat.
My jaws lock, fingers gripping the window tight when I meet his gaze.
Completely unbothered and unremorseful about leaving me to my devices.
"Thank you for not being a complete jerk by bringing me here and I hope you run into an accident for doing this to me." I smile sweetly, flashing my pearly white teeth at him.
A dark chuckle rumbles from his throat, as he looks at me in disbelief
"You really suck at this. You should work on that." He laughs, driving off before I can think of a reply.
I flush red at his words, the heat of embarrassment creeping up my neck.
"Your attempt at hostility is critically cute." His words, when I acted up the first time he introduced himself as my guardian echoes in my ears.
It was so embarrassing, whether it was a compliment or an insult, I couldn't tell. Worse, Mum actually laughed at that–turns out she agrees with him.
I did suck at being mean though.
Who am I kidding?
Before him, I've never had a reason to be mean. I sigh, watching the car disappear in the distance.
I turn to the gate, my heart pounding in my chest as I look up at the gates. It was so high, I tilt to see it's jagged top.