Unknown

Chapter 4

"Where did you learn to throw like that?" Hank says when he approaches me.

"I don't know."

"Come on!" He looks happy. Like excited. "What is your name?"

"Anna." I choke a little. "Anna Lumber."

"Well, Miss Lumber," he leans in a little to close. "Listen to what I say and you'll be just fine."

He turns and walks away.

"Really?" Jay is mad. "Teacher's pet! That's your new name."

"Shut up, Tea Party guest." I get mad and upset. "Let's get back to work."

I take the gun again, aim, and I shoot. Bulls eye.

Jay starts up again, under his breath, "Teacher's pet. Teacher's pet. Anna's a teacher's pet."

"Shut up Jay!" I say so loud enough to quite the room. "What?"

Hank walks over. "What is going on?"

"Nothing." I say so fast I'm surprised I didn't get slapped.

"Ok then." Hank walks away shaking his head. He stops mid step. "No more practice." No one stops.

"I said stop!" He screams so loud, it makes my ears ring.

Everyone stops on a dime. The room goes silent.

"Line up. Alphabetical."

We do as he says.

"It's break time." He looks up and down the line until he stops on me. "Lumber. You get to come with me. Rest of you. 10 minutes."

My fellow peers leave us. There is just Hank and I left.

"Follow me." His low voice nearly silence startles me.

He starts for the door, exiting quickly, and taking me to a staircase leading down into who knows where. We descend quicker than I thought. Hank leads me to a metal door, but stops before we go in.

"Right here is where I must inform you of who I am. There are no cameras watching you at every second. There are no microphones to hear what you say."

Blah blah blah. I start to let my mind wonder on the little things. There is like no light down here. There is creepy unknown bugs crawling in that little corner.

"Lumber!" Hank snaps his fingers right in front of my face. "Listen to me. What was the last thing you heard me say?"

"Microphones. No microphones."

"Oh please. Why you? Why you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You are the person we have been wanting. No. You are the person we've been needing. You are a very important role in this."

As he finishes those words he opens the door to reveal a room full of computers, generators, weird looking smaller computers, microphones, cameras, and TVs. Lots of everything. And all of it is working!

"This is the beginnings of something amazing." Hank finally states after a moment.

"What is it?"

"Can't inform you yet." He pauses. Briefly. "Attention. Attention everyone."

At my amazement, everyone stops what they are doing, turns toward us, and their expressions tell me that there is something really good about me.

"Anna Lumber! Child! Heaven's Girl! Beautiful! She's here!" All of those words starts to whisper through the large room of people.

"Please hush!" Hank waits for everyone to silence. "You all know why I brought her here. We don't have much time. We have 5 minutes left until we must return. Operation WW4 commence!"

At Hanks command, everyone suddenly starts touching their gadgets. Lights go on and off like crazy. Computers flicker. TV screens flash. I hear noises everywhere.

Then, in a half a second everything stops. The lights flicker for 3 seconds. They come back on and everyone screams, hoots, and hollers.

I turn to Hank. "What is going on, Hank?"

"Please, take this-" He fumbles in a drawer. "Where is letter 101?"

A smallish female, who looks just a little older than I, approaches.

"C9L4D35, sir." She states soft, I can barely hear her.

"Where?"

"Compartment 9, Level 4, Document 35." She says louder.

"Thank you! What is your name?"

"Liddy." She says quietly.

Hank hesitates. "Lindy?"

"Liddy."

"Liddy, you are to be given wrist watch 51. Good day." He puts up his hand, she does the same, and they solute.

Hank walks over to a file cabinet looking structure. He counts to 9, looks for the cubby labeled 4, and opens it. Hank fumbles through the documents and pulls out a folder labeled with a big 35 on the outside. He takes out the only sheet inside.

"Take this with you. This is for your eyes, and your eyes only. Look at me."

I meet his eyes. They look cold, like an icy blue.

"This is important and very top secret. Don't share with anyone. Got it?"

"Yes, but what is all of this?"

"The letter will explain." He says all too quickly. "We must go. Now."

He take me, picks me up by the knees and back, and runs me out the door and up the stairs. He sets me down a few steps from the top. He stops on a dime, and he turns to me.

He whispers "remember, no one must know." In my ear and pushes me through a door.

Training room door.