Daily Writing Prompt Thread Thingy It'll Be Fun

[Eroica]

Okay here goes!

Bit of an explanation: I'm going to attempt to connect all my stories. Same characters, each story is consecutive to the last one (the next chapter in the book basically), stuff like that. I wanna make it a book. This is about half the next chapter - you get to see the MC's softer side here I'll do the other half another day, when I can think.





"Vespera?" Sloane's voice rang through the corridor and my garage. Well, it's actually a hangar, but the helicopter doesn't mind having cars for company.

"Yeah?" I called back from under my Corvette. "What is it?"

Sloane dashed in, panting. I could hear his heart pounding - he must have run all the way out here. "Where are you?!"
"Corvette!" I shouted.

His footsteps came closer and stopped beside me. I sensed what he was going to do a split second before it happened, but I was too slow to move away from him before he grabbed my feet and pulled me out from under the car. I glared up at him, but couldn't help laughing at the mischievous look in his eyes.
"Boys never grow up, do they." I remarked sarcastically as I stood up and wiped the oil off my hands. Sloane pretended to think about it. "Hmm... Guess not."

"Now, seriously. What did you want?" I called over my shoulder as I put away all the tools I'd dragged out.

"Drop team is ready for tonight. But... I... uh..." He faltered, clearly unsure.

"Spit it out, Sloane, what's the problem?"

"Come with me." He turned and headed towards the house. Confused, I followed him. He ran inside and stopped in my office. I stepped in, and five heads snapped towards me. I paused to study the people Sloane had chosen.

Alira, American werewolf. Agile, intelligent and an adrenaline junkie. She's perfect for this mission.
Thorne, English manticore. Extremely good with his magic, but likes to shift to his true form for no reason to freak out the humans. Gonna have to keep an eye on him.
Nikolai, Russian half-demon. This'll be his first mission - he'll need guidance, but it's a good one for him to start with.
Vela, American half-valkyrie. She can kill with a look and loves doing dangerous stuff that could get us killed... another perfect choice.
And Sloane himself. American... there's not really a word for him. He's half-angel, half-demon. That's a long story.

I looked back at Sloane. "Great choices. You're getting good at this."
He smiled. "Thanks. But I, uh... I wanted to ask if... I could go on this one?" He looked at me like a hopeful puppy begging for a treat.

I sighed. "Sloane..."

He knew I was going to say no. Dejected, he turned away. "I understand... It's fine." It clearly was not fine.
I looked at the other four. "Dismissed, everyone." They stood and left, each nodding to me as they passed.
I turned back to Sloane. "The truth is..." He looked up, hope dawning in his face. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, pacing the room as I tried to figure out how to say this. "The truth is, I try to protect you... I'm fine with being the reason I get my own self killed. But you... I try to keep you safe." My eyes softened as I stepped closer to him. "I... I don't want you on this one... But I need you. So you're going this time."

His eyes lit up. Literally - they were glowing bright orange. That happens sometimes when he gets excited. I smiled and kept talking. "You know it's you that brings me back here." It was true - after our leader died, I took his place, but I'd never really liked working with others. Even now I longed to strike out on my own. But Sloane and I had formed a bond forged in blood and chaos, one that grounded me here and kept me at least a little satisfied to stay in one place. "I may need you on this mission... But I need you more. So don't get yourself killed, alright?"

A faint smile turned his mouth up at the corners. "Uh-huh. Sure."

I smiled back softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good. Let's go get things ready."

Well done! I like your writing style.

 

[BackroadGirl57]

Well done! I like your writing style.

Thanks!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Alright!
Yet another dialogue prompt.

“I don’t want to know what’s driving you to do this.” Her voice wavered, “but I know it’s not me. And it never has been.”

"I don't want to know what's driving you to do this," her voice wavered, "but I know it's not me. And it never has been."
"You're right, baby," I stared at the off-white wall, its ridges turning into patterns and codes. I swung around with my arms wide like I was asking for a big hug. "It's the organization! The leaders! The, the, the," I snapped my fingers. Words, please.
"The criminals," I walked over to Clawra's chair and spun her to me. "The criminals, Clawra," I couldn't help but smile, "we'll be able to stop them all. Just think of that!"
Her eyes sparkled and her mouth fell open only a little. Well, maybe an inch, or two, but who's measuring? She closed it with her hand and forced her seat away from me. "It's still impossible," she said.
"Impossible!" I lifted my hands to my temples and turned away, "Impossible shouldn't even be a word!" I held my fist to my mouth, tapped it twice, and spun back to her.
"Impossible," I lifted my index finger, "is convicting these criminals without getting this level of evidence against them. I mean just think about it. How many ships are out there and how many are involved in both piracy and the IST, huh? If I can get this little piece of data on every person who is at sea, then I can better track who is being legal or not. And the ones who are involved in either of those things, we won't have to work so hard for evidence to convict them because we'll already have it!"
Clawra's fingers worked at the keyboard in a steady hum. "I still think it's impossible." She looked above the monitor and her fingers stopped. "And dangerous," she hinged her chair back in my direction. "Like how are you even going to begin to get any of that without getting killed? You've never even stepped foot off of one of our ships before, let alone one full of pirates!"
I tapped my fingers together. Oh, I could feel my smile getting bigger already! "That- my friend, is where the 'ol pirate fellow will come in."
"Liam Contour?"
"Yes," I intertwined my fingers, my indexes forming a steeple. I released them and gripped them firmly behind my back. "He'll know those ships better than any of us," I walked across the room, "and with his past that he's trying to erase, he'll be willing to do anything to ensure my safety."
"But what if he gets killed?" Clawra's concern was not mine.
"Then the organization won't have to worry about him anymore!" I swerved back to her. "He's disposable, remember? If something bad happens to him, then no concern of ours. We'll file the paperwork, convict his killers, and be done with him. Ha," Why hadn't I thought of this before? "We'd be taking care of two problems at once!"
"Yeah," Clawra turned back to her computer and resumed her typing.
I leaned against a wall and sighed. All I had to do now was get the leaders to agree to it. And why wouldn't they? Tracking the criminals and possibly getting Liam killed on the job? How could they say no?

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

I’m happy to report that I’m back to normal now so I’ll have some time to write after my violin lesson this afternoon.
I’m excited.
My spoiled self absorbed brain has had like three days to wallow in its own self pity, confining me to my bed and throwing my sleep schedule into oblivion.
It’s time for it to do something useful now.
It has no excuse.

 

[NC_Quail]

"I don't want to know what's driving you to do this," her voice wavered, "but I know it's not me. And it never has been."
"You're right, baby," I stared at the off-white wall, its ridges turning into patterns and codes. I swung around with my arms wide like I was asking for a big hug. "It's the organization! The leaders! The, the, the," I snapped my fingers. Words, please.
"The criminals," I walked over to Clawra's chair and spun her to me. "The criminals, Clawra," I couldn't help but smile, "we'll be able to stop them all. Just think of that!"
Her eyes sparkled and her mouth fell open only a little. Well, maybe an inch, or two, but who's measuring? She closed it with her hand and forced her seat away from me. "It's still impossible," she said.
"Impossible!" I lifted my hands to my temples and turned away, "Impossible shouldn't even be a word!" I held my fist to my mouth, tapped it twice, and spun back to her.
"Impossible," I lifted my index finger, "is convicting these criminals without getting this level of evidence against them. I mean just think about it. How many ships are out there and how many are involved in both piracy and the IST, huh? If I can get this little piece of data on every person who is at sea, then I can better track who is being legal or not. And the ones who are involved in either of those things, we won't have to work so hard for evidence to convict them because we'll already have it!"
Clawra's fingers worked at the keyboard in a steady hum. "I still think it's impossible." She looked above the monitor and her fingers stopped. "And dangerous," she hinged her chair back in my direction. "Like how are you even going to begin to get any of that without getting killed? You've never even stepped foot off of one of our ships before, let alone one full of pirates!"
I tapped my fingers together. Oh, I could feel my smile getting bigger already! "That- my friend, is where the 'ol pirate fellow will come in."
"Liam Contour?"
"Yes," I intertwined my fingers, my indexes forming a steeple. I released them and gripped them firmly behind my back. "He'll know those ships better than any of us," I walked across the room, "and with his past that he's trying to erase, he'll be willing to do anything to ensure my safety."
"But what if he gets killed?" Clawra's concern was not mine.
"Then the organization won't have to worry about him anymore!" I swerved back to her. "He's disposable, remember? If something bad happens to him, then no concern of ours. We'll file the paperwork, convict his killers, and be done with him. Ha," Why hadn't I thought of this before? "We'd be taking care of two problems at once!"
"Yeah," Clawra turned back to her computer and resumed her typing.
I leaned against a wall and sighed. All I had to do now was get the leaders to agree to it. And why wouldn't they? Tracking the criminals and possibly getting Liam killed on the job? How could they say no?

I love the body language in this scene!

 

[NC_Quail]

I’m happy to report that I’m back to normal now so I’ll have some time to write after my violin lesson this afternoon.
I’m excited.
My spoiled self absorbed brain has had like three days to wallow in its own self pity, confining me to my bed and throwing my sleep schedule into oblivion.
It’s time for it to do something useful now.
It has no excuse.

Glad you’re doing better. Unfortunately I won’t have time to write this week because I’ve got two tests and then a camping trip. I’ll be reading everyone’s posts though!

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Alright!
Yet another dialogue prompt.

“I don’t want to know what’s driving you to do this.” Her voice wavered, “but I know it’s not me. And it never has been.”

Willow twirled the little spherical gem through her fingers. It's deep blackness seemed to absorb light. She stared absently at the surface of the lake that stretched before her.

A black unicorn appeared beside her. Eclipse was always quiet, even after spending years alone with her, Willow could never hear her approaching.

Eclipse glanced towards her. “I don't want to know what's driving you to do this.” Her voice wavered, “but I know it's not me. And it never has been.”

Willow's hand froze. The cold obsidian against her skin. What was driving her to do this? This wasn't necessarily her fight...

Or was it? And why was she asking this? Surely the creature with the ability to see the future understood what was happening better than anyone else.

“Isn't this what I’m supposed to do? Isn't this the one thing I was meant to do? She placed this on me, she made me a Guardian when I was a child and I didn't even know it.”

Eclipse dipped her head in a sigh. “You're still a child, you all are.” She whispered.

Willow stared at her. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with the unicorn's black mane. “You're worried," She said concerned, "Why? Is something going to happen?”

Eclipse was silent for a moment that seemed to drag on.

“Truth is, I don't know. I can see nothing but a overwhelming darkness.”

 

[MamaPoult]

Sorry it took me so long guys. I haven't been able to get on the internet for several days. I think a tower's down. I hope you all like this! Btw, I NEVER write in the first person, so this all new lol!


Here goes nothing...



My name is Charlotte. Always has been, always will be, and this is the story of how the worst day of my life turned into something so grand you'll think it's straight out of a story. It's a testimant to how there's always a plan for you even when you can't see it, and let me tell you what.....you'll never make fun of that clich'e "Nothing is ever as it seems" again as long as you live. Keep on weary traveler and never lose your cool. Know there's a plan and embrace it. Keep on reading now, I'm sure your eager to and let this story envelope you in it's surprising depths.



A man looked into my eyes. Into my soul more like. He was tall and wide with fierce eyes and tight lips. He stood close to me, he was so large and strong his body nearly blocked the pale sunlight from even coming close to warming my face. "I told you I don't know!" I yelped. He grabbed my throat in his clammy hand. His grip was looser and I realized he didn't want to hurt me too bad, just scare me. I scowled at him hardheadedly. His eye twitched mechanically and I thought they looked empty for a moment. I leaned in closer to his face. His grip didn't tighten as expected.
"Ahh," I took a breath, for whatever reason my next realization gave me minimal comfort knowing that I wasn't actually dealing with a person, though, it shouldn't of. "You're not even human!"
His eyes clouded over "I may not be human, but I'm not stupid either. Don't lie to me!" His grip went from 0-100 in a half second and before I knew it I was choking then everything went black. I woke up in a warm bed with posh blankets and fuzzy pillows. My heart sprang into my throat which was now severely bruised. I swung my legs onto the pink carpet that matched the rest of the room. I wore a knee high sun dress now instead of my normal jeans and t-shirt. A new person came into my room. He was likely just a year older than me, 16 or therebouts with kind brown eyes and dark hair. He was fully human no doubt. His eyes sparkled with understanding. I analyzed him carefully. No one was to be trusted. I looked at the ridiculous high heals near the bed and kicked them out of sight. First this dress and now high heals? I looked into the mirror and didn't recognize my face caked with make- up. While I used the cup of water carefully set on the dresser to scrub the ridiculous make up off I looked at the boy questioningly. His face held a whisper of a commical smile. I sat on the edge of the bed with a huff.
"Well," he said trying to rid a smile off his face."First off you're probably wondering where you are," he took a step closer. "This is our sanctuary! Lady Lane started this for children who need an intervention. You were chosen!" He seemed genuinely happy and rushed on as I sat there idiotically staring at him. "When you're recruited you're given a new name, new back story and a new.......persona, stigma, whatever you wanna call it. Oh, and you are assigned a job! My job is a greeter for the new comers," He set a light hand on my shoulder. "You'll love it here Gretchen," his face was gentle and caring, but I shook my head. "My name is Charlotte! Get me out of here," the tears started involuntarily flowing. "What was with the robot guy who was asking me where my parents were?" I stared at him terror stricken. "Oh Bob, yeah he's harmless! He was an experiment gone wrong but still serves a purpose, sorry he choked you out. When we recruit we usually give the parents a warning first but they weren't home so he grilled you instead and lost his temper," I stared at him experiment?........? "They were at some lawyers office filing for divorce," I said bitterly. "I wasn't sure exactly where they were. Harmless huh?" I rubbed my neck and looked past him. "What's your name?"
"Roger," he was so quick to answer.
"No, like your real God given name," I stood up now moving closer to him and stared into his eyes.
"I don't go by that anymore," his eyes narrowed into a menacing stare. My expression softened.
"Please," I whispered
"Daniel," he said begrudgingly "I used to go by Daniel," his faced twisted into something I couldn't quite place. Pain? Sadness? Anger? No......shame. I caught him by the forearm and leaned closer looking into his eyes trying to sort out what he felt. "Why are you so ashamed?" I whispered. He looked at me bitterly "Because, that name means God is my judge. The foolish belief that God is a real person is NOT condoned here. That name is as foolish as I used to be," he looked away from me then before I could answer, he rushed out of the door through the wide hallway and I heard his light foot steps hurry down a set of stairs. That day I snuck out of my room and padded my way around the building. Apparently you are given a week to become accustomed to your new surroundings before your "job" starts. I smiled and nodded at everyone but rushed on past them if they stopped to talk. The building was huge with plenty of windows that over looked a large yard that was surrounded by massively tall iron fences. It took me over 3 hours to finally find a room named "office" in the still very nice basement. After dodging the one lazy security guard, I gently opened the door and slipped inside. Filing cabinets were littered everywhere. I searched through them all until I found Daniel (Roger's) file. His picture was pasted to the front cover of the folder. He looked young, maybe 10, and scared. I sat perched on a small desk and read his file. I found out that he used to go to church every Sunday with his two loving parents until they were taken by a car accident when Daniel was at a friend's house. His life fell apart and so did his faith. He was recruited by this place and had been happily living there for the past 6 years. I looked at the pictures taken at the time of the crash caught by the security camera. A driver in a large truck t-boned the parents in their small suv. They were both pronounced dead on the scene while the other responsible driver was never found. I looked closer at each photo analyzing them carefully when I saw it. Something you don't know about me is that I've always been gifted at seeing things others don't. An old woman in that large truck barely able to be seen but there, most definitely there. I looked up at the mostly barren walls and saw a memorial crookedly pasted to the wall. In a few steps I reached it. "In loving memory of Lady Veronica Lane" pronounced dead just 3 years ago. My gears turned. A laptop sat there opened to the internet just waiting to be used. Gosh this is too easy! I shook my head. The internet, a powerful tool, revealed to me that Lady Lane was married for 3 years at ages 25-28 then divorced, never had any children due to the fact that she was unable to conceive and unfortunately unable to adopt because of a lingering medical condition that in fact "impaired her logic". Apparently her estranged relatives were quoted saying that they have been trying to get Veronica into an asylum for most of her life but failed to do so because she was always on the run. One uncle said that after she came to the conclusion she could not conceive she "went crazier", divorced her husband, threatened multiple peoples lives and wouldn't stop saying "I will have children". She had evaded the law and family members her whole life and everyone pretty much forgot about her until her memorial came up in which they all said they were quite relieved. She, at the age of 93, died due to natural causes. I tapped my fingers on the wooden desk thinking. This "sanctuary" had roughly 1,000 members ranging from all different ages. I started going through random files. They each contained pictures of the children additional information like age, gender etc. But the most important things were official police reports. "Leslie Anderson, parents died from mysterious house fire. Child gone." "John Bond, kidnapped from school, yet to be found." "Gordon Haul, legal guardian murdered while on a hike. Child gone" "Merissa loughten, taken from own home." I gasped. Each file had a common denominator "responsible party yet to be found" and "Child gone". These children didn't just have unfortunate upbringings, this was all planned, and I know who facilitated it all. That unmistakable dangley grey hair in Lady Lane's memorial photo was the same hair the woman driving the truck had. Lady Lane.........murdered and kidnapped all these children herself. She had children alright, just not the conventional way. But then Daniel's folder caught my eye again as it re-surfaced from my stacks of already read folders. I re opened it and looked at the picture of his Mom and Dad, they had such kind eyes- like him. His Mom looked so beautiful and especially kind. I guessed she was probably late 20's in the photo. I scowered it once more and another picture of just his Mother this time seemed to come out of no where. Under it in neat hand writing was written Ella Lane. My breath caught in my throat, her maiden name's Lane? Further it said she was one of 10 siblings and it offered a black and white family picture. I recognized that same stringy haired girl sitting with her arm around Daniel's Mother only much younger. This woman even killed her own baby sister and kidnapped her nephew just for what?! To have one more child before she passed? I shook my head, oh Daniel...... It all started coming clear then. Lady Lane was determined to have children so she stole them. The robot guy was the new recruitor created by Lady Lane carrying on her legacy. So that means Daniel lied to me.....the thought stung a bit. Or, maybe he was pursuaded that his God believing home life was bad and he truly needed recruited. I hoped that was the case. I also learned that this was Lady Lane's room herself. No one had entered since her death. The memorial said she had died a "happy death" in her chair while on her computor- that's why it was left open I guess. A few hours later I left the office and made my way back to my room, not without temporarily borrowing some files of course. I saw Daniel in the hallway, he looked grim and purposely avoided my eyes. I stepped in front of him blocking him from passing. He took a sharp breath and looked at the floor. "I get you don't want to talk to me right now Daniel, but I have some information you need to know," I said in a low voice. "Please meet me in my room after dinner at 7 tonight. I swear I'm not jerking you around man," With that I walked back to my room in that still ridiculous dress and prayed he would show. My room was comfy, I must admit, and I found a pair of black sweat pants along with a faded t-shirt which I was stoked about. Dinner was surprisingly delightful for just a few teenage girls cooking. They were truly gifted. I watched Daniel from across the huge dining room. The building was set up a lot like a 5 star hotel. It was insanely huge compared to my family's crappy duplex. I couldn't get my parents off my mind all day, I hoped they were alright. I finished dinner at 6:30 and tossed Daniel a pleading look across the room in which he returned with scowl. 7pm came and went, then 8, 8:30 and 9. I layed on my back on my bed staring at the smooth ceiling. A light tap came to my door and I practically leaped out of bed and cracked the door. He stood there leaned up against the jam. His face held an indistinguishable expression. I couldn't help but smile, he came. I opened the door and ushered him in. He looked apprehensive at first but slowly became more willing to listen. I told him everything and watched his eyes widen. He was speechless for several minutes just staring at me. "Good gosh, I never knew," he just shook his head. "Go to bed, we'll talk in the morning," I smiled and he walked out the door stunned. The next day came and Daniel and I broke out. He suffered a bullet to the shoulder as the guard shot at him. They knew if we got out so would their secret. We found our way to the hospital in record time however, and I sat with him through the whole thing. My parents ended up not divorcing and nearly had a heart attack when I showed up on the door step with a stitched up Daniel dutifully at my side. He was actually adopted by my Mother's best friend and worked with her husband for many years as a carpenter. When he turned 18 we were officially legal to take our experience to the police and we both gave our full testimonies to the police who made several arrests, found loving homes for all the children and teenagers, decided to de-activate Bob and also found several graves of children who tried to escape but were murdered, which made me cry. Daniel and I started officailly dating and spent every spare minute together. He proposed when I was 20. We've been married for 50 years now and have 6 children, 3 quarky dogs and a lot of loving grandchildren. He is as close to God as ever with a rock solid faith. We still talk about that day I came to the sanctuary and laugh about it now. He's a good man and I thank God for him daily. My parents are gone now but we spent many happier days together after I came home. Daniel and I still keep in touch with the other sanctuary recruits to this day.

So that's it!! That's my story. Thanks for reading and remember, there's always a plan for you even if it doesn't seem like it. God bless.

 

[MamaPoult]

Sorry it took me so long guys. I haven't been able to get on the internet for several days. I think a tower's down. I hope you all like this! Btw, I NEVER write in the first person, so this all new lol!


Here goes nothing...



My name is Charlotte. Always has been, always will be, and this is the story of how the worst day of my life turned into something so grand you'll think it's straight out of a story. It's a testimant to how there's always a plan for you even when you can't see it, and let me tell you what.....you'll never make fun of that clich'e "Nothing is ever as it seems" again as long as you live. Keep on weary traveler and never lose your cool. Know there's a plan and embrace it. Keep on reading now, I'm sure your eager to and let this story envelope you in it's surprising depths.



A man looked into my eyes. Into my soul more like. He was tall and wide with fierce eyes and tight lips. He stood close to me, he was so large and strong his body nearly blocked the pale sunlight from even coming close to warming my face. "I told you I don't know!" I yelped. He grabbed my throat in his clammy hand. His grip was looser and I realized he didn't want to hurt me too bad, just scare me. I scowled at him hardheadedly. His eye twitched mechanically and I thought they looked empty for a moment. I leaned in closer to his face. His grip didn't tighten as expected.
"Ahh," I took a breath, for whatever reason my next realization gave me minimal comfort knowing that I wasn't actually dealing with a person, though, it shouldn't of. "You're not even human!"
His eyes clouded over "I may not be human, but I'm not stupid either. Don't lie to me!" His grip went from 0-100 in a half second and before I knew it I was choking then everything went black. I woke up in a warm bed with posh blankets and fuzzy pillows. My heart sprang into my throat which was now severely bruised. I swung my legs onto the pink carpet that matched the rest of the room. I wore a knee high sun dress now instead of my normal jeans and t-shirt. A new person came into my room. He was likely just a year older than me, 16 or therebouts with kind brown eyes and dark hair. He was fully human no doubt. His eyes sparkled with understanding. I analyzed him carefully. No one was to be trusted. I looked at the ridiculous high heals near the bed and kicked them out of sight. First this dress and now high heals? I looked into the mirror and didn't recognize my face caked with make- up. While I used the cup of water carefully set on the dresser to scrub the ridiculous make up off I looked at the boy questioningly. His face held a whisper of a commical smile. I sat on the edge of the bed with a huff.
"Well," he said trying to rid a smile off his face."First off you're probably wondering where you are," he took a step closer. "This is our sanctuary! Lady Lane started this for children who need an intervention. You were chosen!" He seemed genuinely happy and rushed on as I sat there idiotically staring at him. "When you're recruited you're given a new name, new back story and a new.......persona, stigma, whatever you wanna call it. Oh, and you are assigned a job! My job is a greeter for the new comers," He set a light hand on my shoulder. "You'll love it here Gretchen," his face was gentle and caring, but I shook my head. "My name is Charlotte! Get me out of here," the tears started involuntarily flowing. "What was with the robot guy who was asking me where my parents were?" I stared at him terror stricken. "Oh Bob, yeah he's harmless! He was an experiment gone wrong but still serves a purpose, sorry he choked you out. When we recruit we usually give the parents a warning first but they weren't home so he grilled you instead and lost his temper," I stared at him experiment?........? "They were at some lawyers office filing for divorce," I said bitterly. "I wasn't sure exactly where they were. Harmless huh?" I rubbed my neck and looked past him. "What's your name?"
"Roger," he was so quick to answer.
"No, like your real God given name," I stood up now moving closer to him and stared into his eyes.
"I don't go by that anymore," his eyes narrowed into a menacing stare. My expression softened.
"Please," I whispered
"Daniel," he said begrudgingly "I used to go by Daniel," his faced twisted into something I couldn't quite place. Pain? Sadness? Anger? No......shame. I caught him by the forearm and leaned closer looking into his eyes trying to sort out what he felt. "Why are you so ashamed?" I whispered. He looked at me bitterly "Because, that name means God is my judge. The foolish belief that God is a real person is NOT condoned here. That name is as foolish as I used to be," he looked away from me then before I could answer, he rushed out of the door through the wide hallway and I heard his light foot steps hurry down a set of stairs. That day I snuck out of my room and padded my way around the building. Apparently you are given a week to become accustomed to your new surroundings before your "job" starts. I smiled and nodded at everyone but rushed on past them if they stopped to talk. The building was huge with plenty of windows that over looked a large yard that was surrounded by massively tall iron fences. It took me over 3 hours to finally find a room named "office" in the still very nice basement. After dodging the one lazy security guard, I gently opened the door and slipped inside. Filing cabinets were littered everywhere. I searched through them all until I found Daniel (Roger's) file. His picture was pasted to the front cover of the folder. He looked young, maybe 10, and scared. I sat perched on a small desk and read his file. I found out that he used to go to church every Sunday with his two loving parents until they were taken by a car accident when Daniel was at a friend's house. His life fell apart and so did his faith. He was recruited by this place and had been happily living there for the past 6 years. I looked at the pictures taken at the time of the crash caught by the security camera. A driver in a large truck t-boned the parents in their small suv. They were both pronounced dead on the scene while the other responsible driver was never found. I looked closer at each photo analyzing them carefully when I saw it. Something you don't know about me is that I've always been gifted at seeing things others don't. An old woman in that large truck barely able to be seen but there, most definitely there. I looked up at the mostly barren walls and saw a memorial crookedly pasted to the wall. In a few steps I reached it. "In loving memory of Lady Veronica Lane" pronounced dead just 3 years ago. My gears turned. A laptop sat there opened to the internet just waiting to be used. Gosh this is too easy! I shook my head. The internet, a powerful tool, revealed to me that Lady Lane was married for 3 years at ages 25-28 then divorced, never had any children due to the fact that she was unable to conceive and unfortunately unable to adopt because of a lingering medical condition that in fact "impaired her logic". Apparently her estranged relatives were quoted saying that they have been trying to get Veronica into an asylum for most of her life but failed to do so because she was always on the run. One uncle said that after she came to the conclusion she could not conceive she "went crazier", divorced her husband, threatened multiple peoples lives and wouldn't stop saying "I will have children". She had evaded the law and family members her whole life and everyone pretty much forgot about her until her memorial came up in which they all said they were quite relieved. She, at the age of 93, died due to natural causes. I tapped my fingers on the wooden desk thinking. This "sanctuary" had roughly 1,000 members ranging from all different ages. I started going through random files. They each contained pictures of the children additional information like age, gender etc. But the most important things were official police reports. "Leslie Anderson, parents died from mysterious house fire. Child gone." "John Bond, kidnapped from school, yet to be found." "Gordon Haul, legal guardian murdered while on a hike. Child gone" "Merissa loughten, taken from own home." I gasped. Each file had a common denominator "responsible party yet to be found" and "Child gone". These children didn't just have unfortunate upbringings, this was all planned, and I know who facilitated it all. That unmistakable dangley grey hair in Lady Lane's memorial photo was the same hair the woman driving the truck had. Lady Lane.........murdered and kidnapped all these children herself. She had children alright, just not the conventional way. But then Daniel's folder caught my eye again as it re-surfaced from my stacks of already read folders. I re opened it and looked at the picture of his Mom and Dad, they had such kind eyes- like him. His Mom looked so beautiful and especially kind. I guessed she was probably late 20's in the photo. I scowered it once more and another picture of just his Mother this time seemed to come out of no where. Under it in neat hand writing was written Ella Lane. My breath caught in my throat, her maiden name's Lane? Further it said she was one of 10 siblings and it offered a black and white family picture. I recognized that same stringy haired girl sitting with her arm around Daniel's Mother only much younger. This woman even killed her own baby sister and kidnapped her nephew just for what?! To have one more child before she passed? I shook my head, oh Daniel...... It all started coming clear then. Lady Lane was determined to have children so she stole them. The robot guy was the new recruitor created by Lady Lane carrying on her legacy. So that means Daniel lied to me.....the thought stung a bit. Or, maybe he was pursuaded that his God believing home life was bad and he truly needed recruited. I hoped that was the case. I also learned that this was Lady Lane's room herself. No one had entered since her death. The memorial said she had died a "happy death" in her chair while on her computor- that's why it was left open I guess. A few hours later I left the office and made my way back to my room, not without temporarily borrowing some files of course. I saw Daniel in the hallway, he looked grim and purposely avoided my eyes. I stepped in front of him blocking him from passing. He took a sharp breath and looked at the floor. "I get you don't want to talk to me right now Daniel, but I have some information you need to know," I said in a low voice. "Please meet me in my room after dinner at 7 tonight. I swear I'm not jerking you around man," With that I walked back to my room in that still ridiculous dress and prayed he would show. My room was comfy, I must admit, and I found a pair of black sweat pants along with a faded t-shirt which I was stoked about. Dinner was surprisingly delightful for just a few teenage girls cooking. They were truly gifted. I watched Daniel from across the huge dining room. The building was set up a lot like a 5 star hotel. It was insanely huge compared to my family's crappy duplex. I couldn't get my parents off my mind all day, I hoped they were alright. I finished dinner at 6:30 and tossed Daniel a pleading look across the room in which he returned with scowl. 7pm came and went, then 8, 8:30 and 9. I layed on my back on my bed staring at the smooth ceiling. A light tap came to my door and I practically leaped out of bed and cracked the door. He stood there leaned up against the jam. His face held an indistinguishable expression. I couldn't help but smile, he came. I opened the door and ushered him in. He looked apprehensive at first but slowly became more willing to listen. I told him everything and watched his eyes widen. He was speechless for several minutes just staring at me. "Good gosh, I never knew," he just shook his head. "Go to bed, we'll talk in the morning," I smiled and he walked out the door stunned. The next day came and Daniel and I broke out. He suffered a bullet to the shoulder as the guard shot at him. They knew if we got out so would their secret. We found our way to the hospital in record time however, and I sat with him through the whole thing. My parents ended up not divorcing and nearly had a heart attack when I showed up on the door step with a stitched up Daniel dutifully at my side. He was actually adopted by my Mother's best friend and worked with her husband for many years as a carpenter. When he turned 18 we were officially legal to take our experience to the police and we both gave our full testimonies to the police who made several arrests, found loving homes for all the children and teenagers, decided to de-activate Bob and also found several graves of children who tried to escape but were murdered, which made me cry. Daniel and I started officailly dating and spent every spare minute together. He proposed when I was 20. We've been married for 50 years now and have 6 children, 3 quarky dogs and a lot of loving grandchildren. He is as close to God as ever with a rock solid faith. We still talk about that day I came to the sanctuary and laugh about it now. He's a good man and I thank God for him daily. My parents are gone now but we spent many happier days together after I came home. Daniel and I still keep in touch with the other sanctuary recruits to this day.

So that's it!! That's my story. Thanks for reading and remember, there's always a plan for you even if it doesn't seem like it. God bless.

AHH i HIT THE WRONG SPOILER

 

[Eroica]

AHH i HIT THE WRONG SPOILER

It's still a lovely story! What would be nice is if it could be expanded upon I love the happy ending!