Page 25 of The Rise

“There was a small group some of our guys caught up with. The kids will be coming in soon,” he tells me.

“And you need all this?” I ask, nodding toward the people.

“It’s better to be prepared for anything.”

“How does it all work here?” I ask, looking back at Hunter as he takes a bite of his food.

“We get them in here. We give them a basic check up, as you saw before. We get them bathed and changed, feed them, and then when the others are ready, we move them to a new locationwhere a doctor will check them over again more thoroughly, and the other guys get in touch with their families.”

“I had no idea you did all that.”

“It’s what we do.”

“And the men?” I ask as I take a bite of my food.

“They’re held in one of the three rooms with cages. We get what we can out of them, and then we handle them whatever way we want.”

“Torture and kill?”

“Mostly, but sometimes we give them options. They can try to fight their way out,” he tells me, but I don’t understand.

“What do you mean?”

“They have the option of fighting one of us to be free. If they kill us, they walk,” he explains with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Has anyone actually killed one of you before?”

“Once.”

“And you let him go?” I ask, shocked by that. I don’t see Hunter letting anyone go.

“I wasn’t around back then when that happened, but no, they didn’t. He thought he was getting out and made it a point to tell them how many more kids he could grab before they shot his ass. I’ve only heard the stories.”

“So, since you’ve been here, no one has beat you guys?”

“Nope. You have to understand our mindsets when we ask for a fight. We’re usually fucked in the head over something else, andthis is our way of taking it on someone who deserves it,” he says, taking another bite. I nod my head and sit quietly, eating my food as I watch the people wander around and get things ready and set up. I didn’t realize they did all this. I know what I saw when I came in, but when they took that little girl from me, I lost it. They threw me in a cage in a different room.

“The little girl I came in with? Is she … was she okay?” Hunter sets his food down and looks at me.

“What made her special?”

“I don’t know. I just felt something when I saw her.”

“She’s okay. She’s back with her mom and dad. She was taken from her bed right out of her own fucking house. They came in her window and just took her. The family has moved someplace else now.”

“How do you know all that?”

“We look into everything. We don’t just say hey, here’s your kid back. We don’t know if the parents willingly gave that kid up, you know?”

“People do that,” I say sadly, knowing that all too well.

“Yeah, they do, and before I let a kid go back to that I make sure that’s not what happened. Your little girl's name was Celia. She was five.” A tear runs down my cheek knowing her name now.

Hunter moves, reaching over the table to wipe my cheek for me.

“It hurts, I know, but they’re home now.” I nod my head as he sits back down and gets back to his food. We don’t talk a whole lot after that as we eat, and I take it all in.

Tables are set up on one side, while chairs are set on the other. I watch the guys work getting ready, and it amazes me just how much time and effort they put into it.

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