The Radiants Chronicons : Vol. I & II Of The Radiants Duology Series

Radiant (vol I) - Chapter five

Chapter 5

Mom's dark eyes literarily popped open. "Who told you to make that call? You're just a minor."

Sergeant Chidi said gleefully, the corners of his dimples creasing. "A surprisingly wise one too. Willingly give her to us, so we wouldn't resort to using brutal force."

I turned my head to my parents' direction and gave them a sad smile. "It's okay. I'm going to be fine. Just come back for me when mom gets a job."

Mom frowned. "I'm not a fan of this at all."

"It's not like we have a choice anymore." I tried to keep the confidence in my voice from wavering.

Dad sighed, dropping the golf stick forcefully on the floor. I could see the inner battle in his eyes. He flickered his gaze to the golf stick, as if he was contemplating to pick it up again. He immediately caught the panicked look in mom's eyes and returned her gaze with a slight disheartened glance. The sunken look on his face showed how much hope he had lost.  "It seems you've made up your mind already, Tamar. I don't like this, but be safe. Take your energy pump with you and use it on the way. You look a little taut."

This whole thing DID make me feel exhausted inside and out, but I needed to remain strong for my family. Even though, I really wanted to run away and scream for help, but I knew the consequences. There was nothing else to do.

I nodded to my father and faced the security officers. "Can I at least say my goodbye to my family?"

Sergeant Chidi grunted. "Just make it quick."

And I did just that, as quickly as I could. I wore a brave look and finally made my goodbye to my siblings , despite the confused looks on their faces. I didn't have the heart to tell them what happened and hoped my parents gave them the details of the truth whenever they needed to hear.

Mom's eyes watered. "This is so unfair." I agreed with her on that, but chose to say nothing. I had already accepted my fate. I was ready to go to the refinement facility.

......

They lied to me. They promised to give me my energy pump when I entered the lorry and they failed to do so. They kept me sitting in the bed of the truck. All alone in the darkness as I held my hand against my chest, gasping for air. I could feel the energy levels in my body dropping. That was what I needed my energy pump for and those rascals weren't giving me that.

Mustering all the strength I got, I screamed. "Give me my energy pump. You promised to do so. Where is it?"

I recognized that cold hearted voice with ease . It was Sergeant Paul. He was talking from the front seat. "Shut the hell up. We need you weak enough for the journey"

My eyes widened. "What?"

The other voice. Sergeant Chidi spoke up. "Ignore him. You'll get your energy pump when we get to the Refinement facility."

Exasperated, I said. "What if I died before then? I'm not as strong as the rest of you."

Sergeant Paul's sardonic voice gave a reply. "Wouldn't that be a bonus for the rest of the world? The less of your kind would be a plus to the rest of the society."

I wasn't one to get angry, but this asshole was pissing me off. Did he think I wanted to be born like this? I wanted to be normal, but I had to accept what I was born as, nonetheless. "You piece of shit."

"Watch how you speak to a law enforcement agent. Anything I do to you wouldn't be my fault, but yours. Remember that."

The mere thought of him hurting me had me shivering in fear. I needed to get the hell out of here. I looked around and tried to find any weak spots to force open, but I couldn't find any. The damn place was made of metal. This was much more impossible than I thought.

I tried as much as I could to kick open the steel gate but it was to all avail. Each hit against the door made me weaker and weaker. I fell against the door in defeat. I had no chance of getting out.

That bastard, Sergeant Paul continued to chastise me. "So you could eventually stop wasting your energy? I don't know why you even started when you knew you could never get out. What did you think would happen? That one of us would stupidly leave the door open. This isn't a movie. Wake up."

I hated how right he was. I just didn't want to give up and accept my fate. It seemed like a feeble thing to do. I didn't want that. Cursing at him as loudly as I can, I found myself sprawled on the floor, feeling worn out. My vision began to fade slowly as I began to feel dizziness spring up.

I had never lost so much "energy" in my life and being like this was new to me. My head began to hurt a lot and my whole body ached. I really needed my energy pump right now. What if I ended up dying right now? This was no place to die. I knew I was losing my hearing, due to my energy drain, but was I losing my mind too? Because I could swear that I noticed the lorry coming to a halt. I could also hear muffled voices that I couldn't decipher, coming from outside.

I shook weakly when I heard a gunshot. What the hell was going on outside? I was too feeble to stand up. Too feeble to see clearly. Too feeble to do anything. God, I hated being like this.

Painful gleaming rays of light seared upon my weakening vision when I noticed the door opening. I could barely make out the faces but I felt warm hands around me, drag me up into their embrace. Fighting off from the person's grip seemed futile so I stayed in place in the person's arms and softly inhaled their musky mint scent. Forcing myself to see who was carrying me; all I could make out was sandy brown hair, pale skin and sharp orange eyes. Orange eyes? A radiant like me? Too tired to do anything, I finally let myself drift into exhaustion and shut my eyes.

....
What's our main protagonist gonna do now? Fingers crossed.
Xoxo
Jasmine