The room was dark, almost pitch black but you could see some of it. It smelt like old blood but someone tried to get rid of the foul Oder because the room had a faint smell of oranges. The floor was supposed to be bleach white but was stained with the dark red liquid that the room smelt off. The only light that in the hell like room was a swinging light, flickering above a girl tied to a chair.
-----?-----
I don't know where I am… or how I got here. I also don't know who I am. All I can remember is two people, a man and a woman. They smile at me with so much joy in their faces. Wet cold tears started flowing from my eyes and into my mouth the salty taste made me crinkle up my nose but at least it was something to drink even if did not quench my deep thirst.
Why was I crying? Why did this man and this woman make me sad? Or where these tears of joy? Why was I crying over people I don't know when I should be upset about the fact I don't know what's going on around me?
No. This is not the time to think of such stupid questions and cry. I need to figure out where I was, who I was and why I was here.
----Narrator prov---
Not far from the dark room past many rooms in the dark pastey grey hall there was a meeting going on about what to do about the girl.
The meeting room was a sickly grey colour, much like the grey in the hall but darker. The smell of stale bread hung about the air as 10 people sat around the long wooden table in the middle of the room.
At the top end of the table there was a man. He looked around 50 years old and had hair as white and snow but wore a suit as black as night. He also had the number '01' tattooed on his large pale forehead.
The opposite end of the table held a man very different from the man at the top of the table. He was 16 with dark oak brown hair and dirty blue eyes. He sat leaned back on his chair with a slight slouch, obviously to say he would have wanted to be anywhere else right now. He did not have a number on his body that could be shown but he had a badge with the number '38' pinned against his blue blazer that also held a school badge.
"So Number 1, what are you planning to do with Number 39?" The boy asked yawning and rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes.
"Number 38 we-," Number 1 began but he was soon cut off by the tired teen.
"Please sir, call me Jasper. It's better than the stupid number," he said with a small smirk on his face.
Number 1's face almost turned purple with rage, this made Jasper smile more so he calmed down quickly. Suppressing his anger of the boy who opposed god's name in his court by throwing away his number.
"Fine then, Jasper, Number 39's memory was erased when we captured her so you are going to have to teach her the way of the Apostle like the way we taught you. So you and number 10 will take her in teach her everything she needs to know," Number 1 said loudly hoping not the get an argument out of this.
"What?! Why me?" Jasper asked confusion in his voice, "I mean really, I'm the second newest, if you don't include Number 39, I have just learned to control my power how am I supposed to teach her?! I hardly know my school time table!" The stress in the young boy's voice made Number 1 smile.
"I am so sorry Number- I mean Jasper. It has to be you because her power links in with you and number 38.5," Number 1 spoke, trying to hide the laughter in his voice and still sound as wise as possible, "Her name is Marie and since she will be your sister her last name will be Howard. No buts she is ready and waiting."
----Jasper's Prov----
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! Ok so I have to teach a little brat, pretend she is my sister, make up a story on why I never mentioned her before to my friends and I have to study for my Maths exam!
I'm pretty sure I was stomping down the hall past numbers I hadn't seen in a long time. Then I came to the door.
"39," I murmured to myself and I ran my fingers along the 3 before pushing open the heavy door. I glared into the darkness and I saw sitting under the small light, the girl.
"WH-Who's there?!" the girl stuttered and shook as she spoke; the fear in her voice was loud and clear. Maybe it was just the fact I had been here before but I couldn't help feeling sorry for her, I too sat in the chair tied up with little hope in my fragile heart praying for someone to rescue me.
"Number 39, I am Number 38 but please call me Jasper, I'm here to get you out of here," I stayed calm, hoping she wouldn't pick up the slight aggravation in my voice.
"Number 39?" she said as I untied her from the chair and lead her to the hall.
"Yes but I'm just going to call you Marie, I hate the number names." I turned around to look at her and now in the blinding light of the hall I could see her whole face. Beautiful, no that wouldn't even begin to describe her. Her copper red hair curled slightly and fell from her head down to her mid back, her emerald green eyes twinkled in the bright light and she was in pretty good shape as well. I blushed slightly and shook my head.
----Marie's Prov----
Number 38, or Jasper as he said, saved me from the darkness and the loneliness but there was something odd about him. I had to admit he was quite good looking; dirty blond hair gleaming blue eyes and I could see he wasn't too muscly but who am I to judge?
He gestured for me to follow him and obviously I followed him.
"What's going on here?" I asked looking around at all the numbered doors.
"You are in the church or castle, to be honest I don't know what it is but it's a church inside a castle and we kind of start our number lives here" he replied.
"That doesn't answer my question; I asked what's going on here?"
"I'm taking you home with me so I can teach you to control your powers though we don't know what that is yet."
"Ok, why do you keep talking about numbers?"
"The numbers mean…. Well I actually don't know but we are God's Apostles, we are created by God to do his wishes and rid the world of evil."
"Ok, so where are we going?"
"Like I said, I'm taking you home so I can teach you how to control you power."
"I see." The rest of the walk we were silent, he led me outside and I simply followed like a little sheep following a big sheep or a baby bear following its mother.
----Narrator's Prov----
The pair set off from the dark castle down a large hill to the main road were a large black jeep a waited them. The woman driving the jeep flipped her copper red hair out of her face when she saw the two teens walking down the hill. Her blue eyes twinkled when she saw Marie.
Marie walked to the jeep with caution. 'Not another strange person,' Marie thought to herself and she looked at the back of Jasper's head, 'well a stranger did get me out of there.'
----Marie's Prov----
I saw Jasper wave slightly to the woman in the Jeep. Maybe since Jasper knew her then she would be a nice person. I took one look at her arm and I could tell what she was. It was hard to miss the large black 10 on her arm because wearing a tank top wouldn't let anyone miss it. She was another number.
"Hurry the hell up Jasper!!! It's getting dark!" she yelled out the window to Jasper who just nodded and picked up his pace. I did the same, I didn't want to fall behind and risk getting shouted at as well.
We quickly arrived at the jeep and the women smiled at me, you could tell she was going to make a joke.
"Who's this Jasper? Your new girlfriend? Number 38.5 won't be happy," she said before bursting out with laughter.
"Linda! This is number 39 or Marie. I have to train her," Jasper said with a deep bitterness in his voice.
"Don't be so bitter! She is a beautiful young lady be lucky she is staying with us and not and not anyone else," Linda smiled sweetly at me, "now get in the car I want to get home before it's too dark."
----Narrator's Prov----
After a long drive the Jeep began to slow and Marie looked out the window. They were in a large town with lots of shops and people wandering in and out of those shops mindlessly.
Marie stared out the window in amazement giggling at the strange people wandering in and out of shops and some of them going back into the same shops several times.
Jasper caught Marie staring out the window and smiled, 'She's like a child seeing the world for the first time'
----Marie's prov----
I turned around hearing Jasper's voice.
"Did you say something?" I asked him when he turned to look at me.
"No. Why is something wrong?" he tilted his head slightly in confusion.
"No I just thought I heard something." I turned back to gaze out the window. I swear I heard him speak.
After a little while longer the car came to a stop outside a large house smack bang in the middle of a long never ending street of houses. The houses where all different colours sizes and shapes.
The house we were parked outside of was power white with a sky blue door. There were four windows that could be seen which all had brown frames. Marie looked at the flat topped roof and looked around the street, as far as her eyes could see she this house was the only one with a flat roof.
As we got out of the car something caught my eye. It was a girl; she was sitting on the front step half asleep. What stood out most about her was the bright yellow cardigan that she wore, it matched her eyes perfectly. There was also an old man beside her wearing a butlers' suit. He stood up straight and tapped her on the shoulder lightly.
The girl sat up and gazed around sleepily but woke up straight away when she saw Jasper walk around the car. She stood up and ran over to him for a hug.
"There you are! What took you so long?" she said leaping slightly at him as she wrapped her harms around his neck and smiled.
"Gah! Zara you gave me a fright," Jasper said smiling, "I was talking to the old man; you know how he likes to talk." Jasper lent down slightly and gave her a kiss. When I saw the kiss my heart sank.
"Who's this?" Zara said looking at me.
"This is Number 39 or Marie, I have to teach her," Jasper said and I could hear the bitterness in his voice again.
"I see well I'm Number 38.5 but please call me Zara," she said bowing slightly, "and that over there is my butler," the gestured to the old man and he bowed.
"Miss we have to go it is getting dark," the butler said returning to his straight standing position.
"Aww ok, see you tomorrow," and with that Zara skipped down the street with her butler close behind her.
"Come on you two inside we'll order Pizza and then go to bed," Linda said going inside the house.