The Secret Search

Chapter 1: Tired

I'm tired. There's no other way to describe this feeling in me other than: tired. I've been on at least three tasks in the past month and have had no break time in between whatsoever. I know I shouldn't be complaining, I wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for these tasks I'm assigned, but god, I'm so tired.

"Rizia to Leader One's room ASAP. Rizia to Leader One's room ASAP", is announced on the overhead speakers placed in the dining hall where I'm currently located in. I groan and barely pick myself up before hearing Jamie next to me, "Good luck Rizia, would hate to be you right now". I grunted in agreement and walked down the long corridor to finally arrive at Leader One's room. The corridor was scary in the beginning but after having walked through it countless amounts of times, it began to somehow grow on me. It was calm and secluded whereas everywhere else in this building was swarmed with people like me; individuals needing to vent out their emotions after completing a task that slowly tears us apart physically and emotionally.

I sighed, bracing myself for another task, and opened the door to witness Leader One himself standing in front of his large dark oak wood desk. The desk was piled with binders filled with papers, of murderous stuff no doubt, while the room was naturally very tidy. The room gave off a hospital scent, nothing emotional remained in this building, and the only homely feeling you could get off of Leader One was his one framed picture in the corner of the wall of him and his wife. Leader One motioned for me to sit down in front of his desk and I complied.

When I first arrived at The Search, I was extremely confused. Nothing about this place made sense but as I stayed, the puzzle pieces fell into their right positions. About ten years ago, my mother had left our family of three to go somewhere in Panama or Brazil, so I hear. As cliché as it sounds, my father immediately fell into depression and began to take up drugs, ultimately becoming so poor that we became homeless. After rummaging through trashcans one night, he got into a fight with the local gang and needless to say, lost that fight, leaving me to be an eight year old girl on the streets without food, shelter, or parents. I managed to survive for about two days before this group of men slowly started following my every step. When I had began running away from the secluded street, I ran into this tall mysterious man who pushed me behind him and shot all four of the men who were chasing me. He wore a blank expression and turned around to look at my crying face and changed my entire life when he said, "you're coming with me". Now I knew not to go along with strangers at that age, yet considering the situation I was placed in, I didn't care to be cautious anymore. The man took me in a dark SUV to a building in the middle of nowhere (or it seemed) and told me to get out. We were about four hours away from the city and when I walked into the building, I remember feeling my jaw drop.

The building on the outside looked like a typical large building with what I estimated to be three stories. Yet walking in, everything was different. First of all, I expected the building to be isolated since we were in the middle of nowhere; however, there were crowds here and there inside the building. There seemed to be about five floors attached to a staircase to my right and the main entrance of the building was a huge navy blue circle with an eagle painted on the floor. It looked very government official and the atmosphere itself felt very professional and rushed. Most people in the building looked like young adults and before I could ask this mysterious man what exactly was going on, I was pulled into a smaller room down the hall. I was told to wait silently while another man would come in and explain everything to me.

The man who entered into the room a few minutes after I had walked in introduced himself with his extremely deep voice, "Welcome to The Search. I'm Leader One". After taking in my young and confused face, Leader One sighed and continued.

"Let me explain. You were brought here for some reason. I don't care and don't want to know why. Someone from this building I trust claimed that you were the right one and you are here because of that. Now before I explain everything else, do you want something to eat or drink?"