Separation

You open the door as quietly as you can, and check the hallway. The coast seems clear...

So you step out. Cautiously at first, like the ground might swallow you if you aren't careful. Once you're out, you wave to the others.

Safi is with you, and the black boy is named Dwight. You couldn't get a name out of the asian girl, since she doesn't speak a word of english. Which is fine, since introductions are not high on your to-do list.

First and foremost on that list is finding where the exit is. Second is getting to it. Third is getting through it.

Those are your priorities. In that order. Now how in the Guardian's name do you find the exit?

You walk at the head of the group, leading them around as you search for an exit.  But you have no idea where you are.

The hallway that you're leading the others through is lavish. Fluffy red carpet makes up the center of the floor, with marble lining the outside. The walls are staggered with inset pillars and the occasional painting. There are curtains, but no windows.

Luckily the carpet muffles your footsteps, but that's the only good thing about this place. Everything else feels... wrong.

"Saif" Safi says. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"No! Why would I know where I'm going?" You ask.

"We're lost?" Dwight asks.

"No" You say. "We're searching. The exit has got to be arou-" You stop as a chill goes down your spine. Your body tenses up as a strange warmth fills you.

"Saif what's... wrooong..." Safi lazily stumbles around before collapsing. You catch her, but Dwight and the asian girl stumble and fall in confusion as well.

"Odd, that usually works" An unfamiliar voice says.

You turn to face the speaker, and see a boy. He's a little older than you, with grey eyes, black hair, and white skin. In his hand is an orb like the one in the room with the chairs. It gives you bad vibes, but it isn't blanking you like it did before...

"What did you do?" You ask, making no attempt to cover your hostility.
"This" He says, holding up the orb. After a second, the light it emits flares up and your whole body shakes. But if he was trying to make you keel over, he isn't succeeding.

You can't see him through the light of the orb, which means he can't see you. So you gently lay your sister down and run at him. The carpet muffles your steps, and by the time he realizes you're attacking him it's too late.

You knee him square in the gut and wrench the orb from his hand. He scrambles to his feet, but he's not fast enough.

"Don't!" He shouts.

Again, too late. You reel your arm back and whip the orb at the wall, where it explodes and sends you flying. You hit the opposite wall and crumple to the floor, then you struggle to get back to your feet.

"You IDIOT!" The boy screams. "Do you have any idea how much work was put into that?"
"Not enough to make it sturdier" You say.

He laughs. "You're a funny guy" He says. "But if the orb didn't effect you, then you must have awakened. Which makes you expendable"

His foot slams into your back, once, twice, three times, but that's it. Everything around you turns red, and the next stomp doesn't come. So you roll out from under his foot. When you look back at him, his foot is moving in slow motion as a surprised expression forms on his face.

The redness fades out, and his foot falls.

"What was-"

You stop him mid-sentence by breaking his nose with a swift punch. Brother Faz taught you how to do that, and he told you only to do it when you had to.

Well... you didn't really have to here... but damn did you ever want to.

You run back to where Safi and the others fell, and you pull Safi up into a sitting position. "Hey!" You say, giving her a little shake. "HEY!"

Safi's eyelids flutter and open. "Saif?" She asks. "What happened?"
"You don't... Nevermind. It's done, we need to go!" You say.
"We're still lost" Safi says.

You look up to the wall at where the orb exploded. It opened up a sizeable hole. A sizeable hole that leads outside into the rain...

You and Safi wake Dwight and the asian girl, then the four of you run through the hole in the hopes that somewhere out there is an exit.

You run for almost five minutes before you finally see it.

"Hey guys! I see the... exit..." You say. But when you turn back, Safi and Dwight aren't with you.

You stop running and grab the asian girl's arm to pull her in and keep her close.

"Ahh... I had hoped to snatch the others without you noticing" An older man says as he steps out of the shadows with Safi and Dwight in tow.

The older man is dressed in a suit, with slick black hair and a goatee. Everyone else is soaking wet at this point, but the rain doesn't seem to touch him. Standing at either side of him are Safi and Dwight, both staring out into space with vacant expressions.

"Who are you?" You demand.
"Boy, you are not in a position to be asking... questions" He says, holding a hand out. You feel a strange buzzing in your head, and the asian girl's face goes blank like the others. She then tries to walk over to the man.

You hold tight to the asian girl's arm and pull her back to you, as you fix the man with a glare. "I won't ask again" You say.

He laughs. "Look around you, boy. Whose territory do you think you're in?" He asks. "Tell you what. Since you're so spirited, I'll make you a deal"

"What kind of deal?" You ask, as the asian girl starts to struggle against your grip.

"Allow me to take your mind without a fight, and you can join my wonderful little family. In return..." He says, lifting Safi up as though she were his child. Your blood boils at the sight. "... I'll let you live, and you can stay with your dear sister. How does that sound?"

The asian girl start prying at your fingers. "Hanashiteyo!" She says.

You grit your teeth. In the trees and bushes around you, you can hear movement. If you refuse, you die. If you accept, you may as well be dead...

Your pulse quickens, and you lock Safi's blank eyes on yours. "I'm sorry" You say. "I'll come back. I promise"

Then you turn, and you run. The asian girl stumbles as you drag her, and you hear loud popping sounds erupt around you.

"You imbeciles! Hold your fire! We want the girl alive!" The man shouts.

The footsteps follow you, and you quickly realize that you aren't going to outrun them. Until the world turns red, and the footsteps fade away. The girl becomes harder to drag, but you put your back into it and pull her along.

The gate at the exit is destroyed, so you run right through. But as you cross the threshold, you stumble as a wave of coldness pours through you.

Things are being taken from you.

You keep running at full tilt as the stones of memory that used to make up your mind crumble. You try to grasp at each of them, but they turn to sand in your hands and slip through your fingers.

Your mother, your father, your brother, your village... You try as hard as you can to hold on to them, but it fails each time.

You forget the mountain, and desperately you cling to Safi.

You can't forget her.

You promised to come back. How can you come back if you can't... remember... who?

You stop running to try and catch your breath.

Why were you running?

Who is this girl?

Why are you so cold?

Where are you?

You fall on your back, and the other girl falls next to you. Your chest hurts, like you're sad but you don't know why.

You hear footsteps against the wet ground.

"Call it in. Tell Mr. Hart that we've found them" A voice says.
"Is good weather tonight, don't you think?" Another person with a thick accent asks.

"Identify yourself!" Another voice calls.
"People call me Boss" The accented man says.
"What are you doing here?" The other voice asks.

"I like to take strolls in the rain" He says. "But in rain, you should be careful not to accidentally drown"
"Bah, rain never drowned anyone. Kill hi-"

The other voices stop, replaces my muffled 'glubbing'

"Silly me. Always forget that is never accident when man drowns in rain" The accented man says. You hear him walk up, and he looms over you.

"Lost?" He asks.
You stare at him, blinking from the rain.

"You have names?" He asks.
"S-saif" You say.
"And you?" He asks the girl.
The girl stares at him in confusion.

"I don't think she speaks english" You say.

The big man nods, and lifts you both to your feet. "This is not good place for children" He says. "How did you get here?"

"I... I don't know..." You say. Tears start to form in your eyes.
"You have family?" He asks.
"I don't know..." You say.

The big man shrugs. "I keep telling myself not to get involved in things, but lonely children in the street I cannot ignore"

You eye the man strangely, and pull the girl close to you.

"Don't be afraid" He says. "People call me Boss, and I have a deal for you..."