The Prey

Meet Dane

I slowly sit down on the hard mat, trying as hard as I can not to show any emotions. I take deep breaths and straighten my back calmly.

"You ok?" Says the tall boy, surprised at the sudden kind words I stare at him. He has a peculiar shade of hair: a brown/black colour, his eyes deceive his tough demeanour since they're a nice sky blue colour, his nose is slightly crooked but apart from that perfect, his cheek bones are strong and his thin lips slightly curl into a warming smile.

I realise that I've been staring at him for a while and I quickly answer "Splendid." He casually strides over to me and slumps down beside me. I move away from him timidly and stroll towards the cleanest looking corner in the room.

"You can talk to me." He says as if he expects me to blurt out all my emotions, but (much to his displeasure) I conceal them.

"Oh yeah?" I ask.

"If you want." He says with an almost innocent smile.

"Not really." I retort. "Who is he?"

Knowing exactly who I'm talking about, the boy answers "The scary, Canadian, bossy dude? That's Mitch. But, he wouldn't want you to call him that. He prefers to be called Boss by sparks like us."

"Sparks?" I ask. Weird thing to call yourself.

"Well," he starts "this super secret organisation that plan to murder all of your friends is the Phoenix. The Phoenix is the top of the food chain, then there's people like Mitch who are flames, the there's sparks: the people like us who are forced to work for pheonix to protect the people who are at the bottom of the food chain. Your friends are at the bottom of the food chain, they are the ash, since they're disposable and basically pointless."

"Phoenix," I say "little dramatic, don't you think?"

"Yeah," he chuckles lightly "now I think of it, it does sound like so something from some spy movie. Anyways, Lisa, you gonna open up? Or are you gonna show no emotions like a robot?"

"No, I'm gonna tell you all my secrets to a stranger who works for a man I despise." I say sarcastically.

"Ahhhh," he exclaims "you think I'm a slave for Phoenix, don't you? You think I'm one of them?"

"No, not at all. I can tell from the way you dragged me away when Mitch asked that you are totally on my side." I say with even more sarcasm. Before the tall boy can object the devil himself, Mitch, skips into the room enthusiastically.

"I'm guessing you and MD14 have been making friends." He smiles and looks over his shoulder at a, kind of, sad looking MD14. Why MD14? Am I going to get an assigned name?

Looking at my obviously confused face MD14 explains "M for male, D for Dane and 14 for..." he pauses as if the next thing is to heart breaking to bear "14 for the age I was taken in." With that he rushes out of the door quickly.

"Bless him." Mitch says jokingly "So, your name is going to be FL17. Such a pretty name for such a pretty face." He lifts a hand to stroke my cheek, but before he can lay a finger on me I kick him in the shins, force him against the wall and press my forearm hard against his throat.

"Don't touch me." I growl.

"Ooh," he laughs "you're good. Very good. Did you know, you're the first girl to be a spark? I'm sure Dane informed you about the terms we use for different groups in the Phoenix.The only girls that were allowed in the Phoenix were the ash, that was until we realised that some old... Friends had raised the perfect fighter. You!"

"There is plenty more where that came from." I snarl.

"I'm sure there is! I can see you being a great flame one day!" He replies excitedly, even though he's gasping desperately for air "I'm sure you're not going to test your abilities on me, though." He puts his fingers in the shape of a gun and presses it to his head. Knowing what he could do, I release my arm from where it leaves a red mark. He drops to his knees and inhales in massive gasps until he can stand again.

"When can I see them?" I ask without making eye contact.

"All in good time, sweety. But, for now I think it would be wise if you rested. That drug can have some nasty affects on people who are sleep deprived." From out of his oversized pocket, Mitch throws me a pair of black leggings and a vest of the same colour to use as pyjamas. Even though I hate to do what the swine says, I'm absolutely exhausted. So after he turns and leaves I get change and drift to sleep on the uncomfortable, makeshift bed.