Bertha glanced out the limo as it graced the tarred floor of the road leading away from the airport.
It was one wierd place.
There was only one road leading to, and another road leading fro the city. They were in separate locations and intersected at the airport.
The first few miles they drove, the road was bare and winding, mostly surrounded by mountains and lots of land with greenery.
The men didn't bother her as they busied themselves with other things, namely electronic devices.
They had just entered the residential parts of the city when Annie stirred.
Her joints felt so stiff she suddenly understood how those frozen chickens usually felt after being in a freezer for long even though they were dead.
She blinked her eyes severally to adjust them to the light.
She looked around her.
Apparently, she was in some sort of enclosed space on wheels and she was in motion.
It took her a while to register.
She was in a limo. Then the events of the night before, leading to this point came rushing back to her memory.
She attempted to move her limbs, they were still securely tied.
Her gaze went back up to her captors.
The five of them were no longer dressed in black and she had a good glance at what they looked like.
Like this, it was difficult to know who was who as they'd looked different and at the same time, looked the same with their masks and black outfit on.
There were five men sitting in the limo and she glanced at each of their faces even if she knew it might be the last time she'd set eyes on them.
Surprisingly, one of the men was no more than a teenager though he looked muscular and tall.
Annie could tell from his long legs.
She turned to her brother when she felt him stir he was just coming around and he stretched his sore muscles also, before checking out his surroundings, just like she did.
The landscape outside was unfamiliar to her. One thing was certain, they were no longer in San Jose.
Jon eyed the guy with the big scar on his face. He didn't need anyone to inform him the guy was Chondria. He glared at the man. He wouldn't be this sore and aching all over if the idiot hadn't decided to send him into a forceful slumber.
Jon couldn't hurt the man physically, so he decided to think of all the possible colourful ways he could deal with the guy.
He had quite an imagination.
Just when Jon was seeing the man in his mind's eye begging for mercy, the man decided to look up from his tab.
Jon quickly found something else to look at that wasn't the man's face.
Chondria let a slow predatory smile play across his face.
He was extremely enjoying the boys discomfort.
People did tend to do that when ever he took off his mask and they set eyes on his scar.
The scar had been given to him by the woman he loved.
They'd had a disagreement one afternoon that he would like to term forever as unfortunate. She'd bid her time and waited for him to fall asleep, then she made sure to heat up a pot of hot oil that till this day, he still swore it was above normal temperature.
While he was deep in slumber, she'd emptied the entire pot of hot oil directly on his face.
He'd screamed his lungs out that day and he'd spent weeks in the hospital.
By the time he got out of the hospital, she was gone, with half of his valuables and the bank account they'd shared was empty. He'd never set eyes on her till this day and his face did eventually heal, but it left a scar on his face, running from the left side, across his nose and lips to the right cheek. The scar was the shape of a mitochondria.
The name started as a jab at first and it angered him to hear people call him that and the first person who called him that landed in a hospital but eventually, he grew into it, like that annoying acne you just couldn't get rid of no matter how hard you tried.
Only his boss and few of his friends were permitted to call him that name.
Whenever an outsider mentioned it, his mind flashed back to the woman.
The kid even went too far by mocking it!
What nerve!
Well he was a child anyway, so putting him to sleep seemed like the only plausible thing to prevent the kid from angering him further.
Kids did tend to be funny. Who knew what he could have done next.
They passed a colony of similar looking houses before entering another road that led to the finer part of town.
Houses with well trimmed lawns, some even had high gates that ensured whatever occured inside, stayed inside.
Before long, they were driving along a lonely road surrounded by nothing but thick growth and trees, save for the tarred road they were driving through.
Annie noticed the change in scenery and asked no one in particular.
"where are you taking us"
"you'll see" replied the tall boy she'd stared the most at since she woke up.
She didn't like the odds one bit.
There were 5 of them and just she, Jon and Bertha.
It anything were to occur right at this moment on this road, there would be no one to tell the story.
No matter how much she enjoyed the cool air-conditioning which her brain didn't fail to remind her that she'd missed for days, and her comfort of the fine limo, she was feeling really jittery.
Well it wasn't everyday a person got to be kidnapped and taken to another country.
Oh now they were really in soup she thought.
Annie began to wish she were back in that dilapidated building where they had peace and they'd been happy at least and there were no strong men she felt were trying to get her kidneys.
Her anxiety didn't lessen when the limo arrived at a tall see through black gate and yes there were more dressed in black men, patrolling the grounds.
Her eyes darted from left to right as they were waved through the massive gates.
She would have enjoyed the clean view and it's manicured gardens if she wasn't so anxious.
The youngest one among the five men watched her with interest, amusement dancing in his eyes. He could see just how nervous and jittery she was.
"hey I know what you're thinking kid... don't worry, we're not going to hurt you"
Annie would have laughed if she wasn't so nervous.
Who was he calling kid? Heck they could even be the same age.
"who are you calling kid" Annie asked him.
"we should be about the same age if you weren't lifting iron bro... apparently, your muscles are decieving you" she said, rolling her eyes.
The other men eyed each other for a moment then they released a bout of laughter.
The young man in question felt a flush rise up his neck.
He totally wasn't expecting that kind of retort from the girl.
He quickly averted his gaze to anywhere else but her.
The limo was waved through the last gate.
There were 4 in total.
Just how big was this place? Annie wondered.
The moment the limo screeched to a halt, the five men jumped out and brought the kids out.
"don't try anything stupid girl" Chondria said, as he cut the blinds on Jon and Bertha before standing in front of her.
Annie gave him no reply and only glared at him.
She wasn't stupid. They'd passed through four heavily guarded gates to get here.
Apparently the damn place was a fortress and she didn't have a death wish.
She had no plans of dying first before getting the chance of figuring out what really happened to their parents because from then up till this moment, their lives were just one big endless knot that kept on leading to dead ends. Nothing really made any sense.
Even if she wanted to escape, she'd be caught the moment she stepped her feet off the white stairs which was in front of her, that led into the main mansion.
There were security cams in every direction she turned. Nope, she had to figure out where she was first then survive, if at all she wanted to attempt an escape.
Chondria cut the binds on her wrist with a sharp knife and she flexed her wrists while massaging them.
The youngest one had already bounced up the stairs as though he owned the damn place.
Chondria moved to stand behind her.
Annie glanced at her siblings and found them quiet, Jon drinking in his surroundings.
She decided to do the same.
As she walked, she took note of the be fountain in the middle of the driveway, and noticed the land stretched bare for miles as far as she could see on her left, and on the right, there were buildings in the distance, not so far from the main mansion. Men routinely patrolled the grounds, dressed in the same black attire the men had been wearing.