LINEAGE: From the Ashes (The Lineage Series ) #Book1

CHAPTER TWO

I awoke to the sound of an engine rumbling. It was dark, everything was dark, my body felt sore, I tried moving my hand to hold my head but I couldn't.
Chains. I felt chains on my wrists.

Everything came back to me. The camps, the guards, no, no, no, no this can't be.

I fumbled with the chains trying to get them off of me, every move I made was painful, I'd gladly welcome pain than death.

"don't bother, it won't work we've all tried, "

A voice at the far end said. I could hear the annoyance in his voice.

I sighed and slouched back on to the metal of the truck's body.
I'd never been inside a transportation vehicle before, I've seen it many times back at the shelters but they only came to carry away the criminals and deliver bodies.

I felt the tears sting my eyes,

Beatrice, Tommy, Shawn. God, I have failed them they must be worried sick about me.

I never got to say sorry to Tommy, I'm never going to keep my promise to them. I'll never see them again.

I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down, I didn't want the rest of these people to hear me cry.

"where are they taking us? "I finally had the courage to ask.
There was silence and then a small laugh, it was so low but I heard it.

" We're going to hell and you're going to die. " someone said. I tried to see who it was but it was so dark I could hardly make out anything.
I felt my heart drop, an early grave wasn't what I imagined for myself. I wanted it all, I'm only sixteen. I wanted to live, I wanted to love and be loved, I wanted a place to call home, I wanted a family, I wanted more, so much more.

"hey ignore him, you won't die,"

a voice to my right hand said as he nudged me, an attempt to reassure me that everything will be okay. A compassionate lie.

"do you know why? " I whispered to him leaning closer towards him. He was silent for a long time clearly contemplating his answer.

"council order. "

We sat in silence for a while neither of us able to talk. What could we say? This was the end.

I let my mind drift back home, at the shelters. I thought of Beatrice's long blond hair, her warm smile, Tommy jumping and running around getting into trouble and Shawn who's head was always somewhere else.

I tried to remember the stolen moments we shared. I was thirteen at the time it had been Beatrice's twenty-second birthday.  Shawn and I had gotten lucky and found two loaves of bread while Tommy got some apples,  he never told us how.  We made a picnic in the forest and spent the rest of the day just playing tag. It was the first time we were truly happy.

There were no people, no guards, no worries, no fear just us. At that moment we had it all.

The truck jolted to a stop and I opened my eyes. Were we there already?

A bright light Tore through the darkness causing me to shield my eyes.
A man stood at the end of the truck

"Out all of you," he commanded.

One by one everyone began to move out of the truck.

There were eight tracks, each filled with people, I took the time to search my surroundings. There was nothing, but shrubs as far as the eye could see, no tree,  no life.   We were in the middle of nowhere.

Was this it? Just leave us here to die? So many thoughts went through my head.
Will they torture us? Is there more to this place? I felt lost.

A tall man got out of a car that was parked in front of us.  He walked towards us. Scanning the crowd. He looked more of a predator sizing up his pray.