The Blackout Club: Whitelisted

New Recruits

I huffed as I traversed the small forest, trudging through the muddy dirt with my worn shoes. As I walked towards the path, my phone vibrated lightly, making me pull it out to see the notification. The notification was a text from one of the Blackout Club's other member, Gwen.

It read; "Where are you? Dax and I need to discuss something with you.". After I read it I let out a deep sigh before adjusting my beanie and hood. As I finished adjusting my appearance I texted Gwen back.

"Almost there, be patient." was what I sent to her before continuing my way towards the abandoned train tracks. As soon as I stepped onto the path I wiped my shoes on the rocks, scraping some mud away. Looking ahead, the boxcars were prominent in my view as the forest parted near the entrance. Walking up to the door, I tapped my knuckles on the door in a secret pattern. After a few seconds, faint footsteps were heard on the plated metal of the train before the door slid open by Gwen.

Gwen is a dark-skinned girl with short curly brown hair. She normally wears a dark shirt with a red plaid shirt along with some dark jeans. She stared at me with a blank stare before moving to the side and nodding me inside. As I stepped into the boxcar I noticed three new people wearing blindfolds standing around idly, almost like they were waiting for something. Dax was standing beside them, a noise trap in his hands as he fiddled around with it.

"What do you need?" I asked as I sat up against the wall of the boxcar. Gwen and Dax glanced at each other before untying the blindfolds that sat on the new people's heads. They blinked a few times as they looked around the boxcar before settling on the three of us.

Gwen looked at me before gesturing at the three of them, saying "These will be your new teammates. Dax and I already have a mission for you, we'll text you it when you're in position." I stared at her with a stupendous look on my face. The three newbies looked towards me with small smiles while one had a small frown.

"You remember that I dislike teammates and teamwork altogether, right?" I exclaimed, standing up and facing Gwen. "Remember the last time you set me up in a time with new members, they botched the mission!" Dax stepped forward and held his hand in front of me.

"We know, this whole idea is a risk, but please try. We're setting you guys up with a simple mission, so it won't be like last time, trust me." Dax explained as he stepped between me and Gwen. I grumbled before leaning against the boxcar while crossing my arms. The other members two, excluding Gwen and Dax, were looking unsure now while the one kept his frown.

"Fine, but they listen to me, and if they don't, well, say hi to the shape for me," I responded making Gwen and Dax sigh while the new members were looking at us confused. I turned my head towards the two leaders before speaking again. "You didn't tell them?" I asked the two, which their response was quick and swift as the shook their heads.

Now it was my turn to sigh as a male with brown hair stepped forwards, "Hold on, you didn't tell us what?" I shook my head before pointing towards Gwen and Dax as the other two looked towards the four of us.

"There is more than just the sleepwalkers out there, if you get noticed too much, well one of you will be marked by the Shape. He will hunt you down until he catches you. The result of that; you become a lucid. You alert other sleepers around you of your teammate's position. Of course, if a teammate catches you off guard or gets close to you, they can remove you from the Shapes control." Dax explained as the two newbies became a bit nervous while the other just a distressed frown.

The male with brown hair turned to me and asked "And why would you let us be forced into that? Like please answer honestly, I don't know any reason why." as he finished I stepped forward ready to speak, but the boy with the frown spoke first.

"Better question, why didn't these two tell us about it when they informed us of the situation? We could have lost ourselves to that thing and we would be none the wiser. The only people who would know is these three. They wouldn't have told us. So why? Why would you keep this a secret from us?" I stepped back and leaned against the wall, allowing this to let this sort itself out.

Dax and Gwen glanced at each other before Gwen stepped forward ready to speak. "We thought that since Chris over here was going to be the team leader to inform you. We didn't think he would mention it so soon but it's fine. We can't change what has already happened, so let's just get you guys equipped for the mission. We'll let you tell each other your names. Chris, we expect for all of you to be back ASAP, understood?" I sighed as she finished before nodding my head.

"Good, get yourself acquainted, Dax and I will buy some more supplies from the store, be sure to leave before we get back," Gwen said before hauling the train car door open and hopping out. Dax nodded to me before hopping out after Gwen. I looked towards the trainees as they stepped towards me before introducing themselves.

The brown-haired boy smiled at me before saying "Hi, my name is Zachary Conwell, hope we get along." Next, the boy who had a frown on looked towards me.

"My names Jack Rille." was all he said before looking at his feet, a frown glued to his face.

The last trainee walked forward, a girl with ginger hair, before announcing, "Hi! My names Alice Camson, nice to meet you all!" As they stepped backwards, I took a step forward before speaking.

"As you might know, I'm Chris, or Christopher Collins, your new team leader. Let's get orientation started, shall we?" A small smile upon my face, with my eyes contradicting the smile.