Transfusion

Chapter 2

--24 hours earlier--

Being blindfolded was terrifying. It didn't help, to know there were  more than a dozen people blind folded along with me. The weather was chilly outside, and the cold seeped through my thin black t shirt. I hopped around nervously, hoping to get my blood circulated.

 I didn't even know why I was doing this. Did I have a death wish? 

No. I reached into the recesses of my mind in search of an answer. I was...running from someone, something, and this was the only way to keep myself protected, I was sure of it.

 All I know is that I must pass this test. I wasn't really worried, I had a decent chance, given my advantage. At least I hoped so.

There were others beside me, I felt their shoulders graze mine but we don't talk. No one did, it was forbidden. All we could do was wait.

"Welcome, new recruits."

 I know everyone's attention is trained on the voice. It belonged to a female, and it might have been considered friendly if I didn't know what was about to happen.

"I hope you all know what you are getting into, because there is no turning back. This initiation will determine whether you are fit to join a Collective. You will be tested on your strengths, physical and mental, and your will. Use any skills you may possess to aid you." There was a pause. "If you succeed, you will be admitted. No one leaves." She didn't need to say what we were all thinking, what was implied. If you failed, you'd be dead or worse.

"We will assign you to a Collective we see fit, and your leader, known as your Pacesetter will be in charge of you from that point on." There was some murmuring beside me, but it was silenced when the woman began talking once again.

"Some rules: You will be competing against your fellow recruits, however, there will be no cooperation or sabotage. This is an individual effort; unwillingness to follow these rules, will lead to disqualification. The first 10 to obtain the packages, and escape with them unharmed will be admitted. Good luck."

As soon as she finished speaking, strong arms grabbed me and push me forward. I stumbled and followed their lead, the loss of control compounded with the absence of sight filled me with unease. I'm not sure how long we traveled, but finally the arms let go of me and my blindfold was ripped off my face. I blinked.

-----

 I was alone now, standing inside what seemed to be a giant warehouse. It was no warmer in here than it was outside. All around me, it was dark, so I waited for my eyes to adjust. I tried the metal door behind me, and I wasn't surprised when it was locked. 

Boxes upon boxes and heavy metal shelves were stacked up high and set up around the building, almost creating the likeness of a maze stretching out in front of me. They were so high, I couldn't see over any of them and that left me feeling vulnerable. I ran a couple steps into the interior of the maze, because that's where the packages must be hidden, but something told me to be wary of my surroundings. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the movement of a figure clothed in black; like me they were also running. In seconds they disappeared behind a shelf. That must be another recruit, we were spread throughout various points of the warehouse. Quietly, I continued forward, switching directions every so often, and backtracking just in case I was being followed. 

I jumped when I heard the first scream, unsettled by the loud sound piercing the silence around me, and my heart thudded. However, pretty soon, screams of pain and struggle could be heard constantly, the further in I moved. Were those agonized sounds the last they would ever make? I didn't want to know. I also didn't want to know if those gunshots I heard reached their mark. My whole body was on high alert, and my  heart continued pounding in my ears, my breath coming out in pants. I needed to stop focusing on other people and worry about myself.

I froze when I heard an odd tapping sound, and the swishing of cloth. Thinking quickly, I ran behind a rusting metal shelf and squatted down in wait. A male - a little younger than me walked out from behind some stacked boxes, toward the shelf I was hiding behind. I heaved a sigh of relief, it was just another recruit, and they were forbidden to hurt me without risking disqualification. I wouldn't bat an eye if I found out that this place was bugged with security cameras. 

The boy continued walking, while constantly checking over his shoulder, but he didn't notice that his footsteps were much too loud. If I could hear him, so could everyone else. I wanted to warn him, but that was against the rules. My breath caught in my throat when a shadow fell over the male.

 Eyes wide, I watched as a burly man with a mask over his face, reach for the boy. It happened so fast, I would have missed it if I had blinked. 

One second he was standing, the next he was held in a choke hold, his face turning a deep red, and with a loud crack that reverberated around the room, the boy's neck was broken. His body laid crumpled on the floor. 

I didn't dare move, I couldn't, my body was numb. I had just watched a boy being murdered in cold blood. Holding my breath, I waited for what seemed like an eternity while the man checked to see if the boy was indeed dead by giving him a kick. The corpse reacted the way a sack of potatoes would, and I could taste bile in my throat. Finally, finally, the man left. As fast as I could, I ran in the opposite direction, almost forgetting to check my surroundings.

There were only a couple of lights overhead, and many corners of the warehouse were cast in shadows. My eyes had adjusted a bit so I could see, but it was those dark corners that worried me; I wouldn't be able to defend myself properly if I had trouble even locating my enemy.