Standing In The Rain

Passed

"Okay. His name is, something like Jake, I can't really remember. I only heard him mention it once, but it wasn't Jake, it was weird sounding. I swear!" I was so scared!

"Good. Now we are getting somewhere. And, where are we?"

"Somewhere underground the City. Other than that, I don't know, honestly." I said.

"All right. Get up. Your done." He commands. He smiles.

"What?" I exclaim.

The strict-looking woman I had seen from the room before comes in, doesn't look at me, but only faces the main guy. "Follow. Now." And she quickly spins around and exits.

"Do I-" I begin to ask. "Yes, hurry up, too. She doesn't like waiting. And she'll make your life living hell if you make her." He grins but his expression also implies, "but seriously, I'm not joking."

I sorely get up, exit the room and we all take a seat. The man introduces himself and Zak, and in proper light and without too much fear I see he isn't that old. Maybe 20? The other three are all similar in age also, I guess anyways from their size and looks.

"I saw the whole thing from a one-sided mirror in the wall. And Mack, you really need to work on how hard you punch our members. You were supposed to punch lightly, just hard enough to make a sick sound. But thank you for your enthusiasm." The woman said, looking at the biggest of the three guys that had beat Jae.

Speaking of Jae, he was sitting on a couch in the corner that I hadn't noticed when we first came in. He had several icepacks, one over his eye, a large one over his stomach, and one on the shin that Neil had kicked. And he grunted when the woman mentioned Mack hitting him too hard.

"I don't understand." I say.

"What isn't there to understand?" The woman inquired.

"So, this isn't real? I mean, Jae and I weren't mugged or something?" I asked.

"No. But we can't just let anyone come in here, can we? You are in the first of many levels underground that make up our secret society. So, we train member-wannabes to see if the are committed. Then we bring them here if they seem to be remarkable, reliable, or worth our organization. Here we 'interrogate' them to see if they would break information about the MUTTS if under pressure. If so, we put them in a brainwashing room where they forget all about the MUTTS. If they pass though, we evaluate their strengths and weakness to see what occupation they should have, what House to which they will belong, etc."

"So what about hitting me in the stomach? Aren't you not supposed to hit girls?"

"We do not hand out favoritism in any form here. Not for popularity, clothes, money, gender or race. Understood?" She commanded. It wasn't really a question. "Yes Ma'am."

"One more question." I ask. "Only one?" She raises an eyebrow, somehow she know I have way more than just one.
"Well only one that I need answered right now." I say.
"Yes?"
"Did I, you know, uh- pass?" I ask. I'm scared she'll say 'no'.
"Yes, you endured pain, evaded questions as long as possible, helped another hostage escape risking yourself. Passed all right, and with bright colors I may add." She actually cracked a smile!

"thank you." I'm so grateful! Though my stomach does still hurt. A lot.

"And by the way, did you know that, even in dangerous situations, you give the same amount of facial expression as Kristen Stewart in her Twilight movies? Maybe as much as a plank of wood?" Her smile beams.

"Thank you?"

"Here take this, it has answers." She threw me a pamphlet and Jaeze slowly got up to lead me back home.