In The Shadows

Chapter 1: Where it all began

I bike around the old rundown town. The bitter cold nips at my nose as I pull down my scarf to say a quick greeting to the townsfolk. A normal kid my age would be at school right now. Not me. Ever since we lost our house, things have never been the same. It all feels like a blur. Dad left us, Mom got fired, then, we packed our bags, not prepared for what was to come. For about a year me and Mom lived in an old, rusty, rat infested apartment in Chicago. Then, our life changed.

I remember the date vividly. May 6th 2016, an old man in a suit rang our doorbell. He said he had a job offer, then invited us to his house to learn more. Normally, we wouldn't accept such an offer, but the gun in his pocket and the dark blue seal on his jacket told us he was no normal man. Reluctantly, we followed him, scared of what would happen to us if we didn't.

He led us to a sleek back limbo and motioned for us to get in. The car was clean and the seats were nicely padded. Me and Mom exchanged a concerned glance as we zoomed through the road. We had no idea who this man was or what his intentions were.

After about 20 minutes he stopped. His house was large, about three stories high. It was made of white painted brick and various sports cars sat on both sides of the forked driveway. The centerpiece of the whole place was a large fountain with a finely carved statue of a lion in the center. I had to admit, I was pretty impressed.

A butler dressed in a finely tailored suit escorted us out of the car and led us to the door. I jumped slightly as the old man appeared beside me.

I examined him closely for any other weapons.

He had a pair of shiny black sunglasses and a crinkled navy blue suit and tie. One of his hands rested casually in one of his pockets while the other hung down at his side. He had a large off-white beard that contrasted oddly with the suit, but the one thing that stuck out was a large red scar on his right cheek.

"Welcome to the Houlston residence" he announced in a deep voice. The butler opened the door revealing the lavish inside. My jaw dropped. The old man motioned for us to come inside and lead us to a large living room. The fireplace was about a foot taller than me and the Tv looked more like a cinema screen. The couch was long and soft and beams of wood formed intricate designs on the high vaulted ceiling. The old man chuckled slightly at our reactions. Mom had the same awestruck look on her face. "Feel free to sit down and get comfortable" he said as he plopped down on the couch.

"So from what I've seen, your apartment isn't very nice, rats everywhere, a landlord who doesn't care, and broken appliances just about every week. Well we have an opportunity for you, one that can change your life, make things better and-".

I interrupted him before he could go on "Just cut to the chase already and quit with the dramatic build-up" I spat.

"Nate" My mother warned as she glanced at the gun in his pocket. I took a deep breath and sat back, trying to calm myself. The old man looked at Mom "No need to scold him, I like that attitude, it's exactly what we need in terms of our company". "Wait" Mom said, "You're going to hire him too!?". "Well certainly!" the old man laughed, "He's 16, well old enough to work. In fact, I'm surprised he doesn't have a job already!".

I looked away nervously, my unemployment had always been a sore subject in our house. I'd applied for many jobs before, yet I never was hired. Even the local McDonalds down the street refused to hire me. We never knew what the problem was, whether it was my bold personality, my bad grades, or something else.

"Basically, we're assassins that take care of enemies of the U.S government and we want you to join us".

A/N: It terms of updates, they might take a while, I'm still I'm school and only work when I have free time. Also, feel free to correct my grammar mistakes, I'm only in 6th grade and my language arts grade is at a 94 thanks to my bad grammar :(.