by Chloe Gunter
"I won't push you to say it, I know you're not ready for that, but I'm never going to hide how I feel for you. Like I said, Charlie, sometimes you just know."
He brought one of my hands to his mouth and laid a small kiss on my knuckles as I sat there speechless.
I ended up spending the night at Gavin’s and part of Sunday morning before I headed back to my apartment and caught up with Leash. She was enthusiastic about the developments in my personal life and for once I didn’t roll my eyes as she cracked jokes at my expense.
By Monday, my blissful high from the weekend changed into me being on high alert. The following day was when the mysterious cards that I had received indicated something was going down at midnight. I hadn’t found another card since the one from lunch, and I had no indication of where anything was going to happen which left me slightly on edge.
The only reason the day wasn’t a total bust, besides having lunch with Gavin, was that I ended up shaving a whole thirty seconds off my obstacle test, either from the fact that I knew what to expect or from the pent up aggression.
Whatever was going to go down the following day, I wanted to know who kept leaving me the mysterious cards, and just how the fuck they managed it.
I saw Reed crossing the gym at a brisk pace, a massive canvas roll on one of his shoulders. He hefted it onto the table before undoing the ties and spreading out the roll in a dramatic fashion. The black canvas ran the length of the table, harboring various knives and daggers within its holds.
“Welcome to hand-to-hand combat. I’m Reed and assisting me today is José. If you’re in this session, that means you missed the ship on the advanced class and combat isn’t your strong suit. No shame in that, but it is my mission to make sure you are as prepared as you can be before you go on a mission sanctioned by GRAVITAS. This is the major league. Whatever missions or work you did in your careers before now will pale in comparison.”
Gone was the friendly veneer of my close friend and roommate. This wasn’t my Reed. This Reed spoke with a cold and clinical detachment. His eyes scanned the crowd, only pausing for a second on me, before moving on to the rest of the group.
“We’ll start with an even playing field, pairing you up with a partner of your relative size. We’ll work on the basics and then, and only then, if you can prove to me that you can handle yourself, will we move on to these beauties,” Reed called gesturing at his spread roll.
Spreading my legs squarely under my shoulders I turned slightly sideways to face my opponent, an Asian woman with jet black hair that shone under the gym lights. She had introduced herself as Jen and she seemed friendly enough, straightforward and professional.
Mirroring my stance, I caught the slight shift of her weight to her forward foot and moved quickly to the left, dodging her strike. She was quick, I’d give her that.
I lunged quickly, striking a quick jab to her ribs before stepping back out of her reach.
We continued in this manner for what felt like forever, neither one of us gaining the upper ground.
“DeWitt,” a familiar voice called. “Stop dodging her and get in there. Sometimes you need to take a hit to land a bigger one.”
I stepped inside her zone driving in to land another punch before Jen came around and swung into me, throwing me off balance and onto the mat.
Her hips straddled mine as I brought my hands up, guarding my face as she started raining down blows.
“You better move your ass, DeWitt! She’s about to take this one. You’ve got ten seconds to get off that mat before it’s over!”
The words spurred me to action and I planted my feet on the floor, roughly shoving up my hips to buck her off. She listed to the side and I quickly leapt to my feet, and wiped my brow, crouched and ready to spring into action.
I threw a swing as soon as she popped up and it went wide.
“What the hell was that DeWitt? Tuck in your elbows and drive it home. Stop pussyfooting around,” Reed shouted and I felt my blood boil. I would not let myself down.
Jen came at me this time, and landed a close punch. I pulled her closer, absorbing the impact and letting out a grunt before bringing up my knee and driving it into her stomach, knocking the breath from her. As she was hunched over I pulled an uppercut that sent her to the floor.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Reed move onto a different group.
Jen took a second, sitting with her hands across her knees and wiping a drop of blood from her lip. She looked up at me, then she fucking smiled, blood stained teeth and all.
“Looks like we are evenly matched, good job DeWitt,” she offered, raising her hand as I grabbed it and hauled her up off the floor.
“Alright, that’s enough for today. Next session we’ll work on offensive and defense countermeasures that work best when your opponent is of a drastically different size,” Reed called, moving to gather up his things.
I debated for a second whether or not to approach him. He had made it clear with his behavior that he wanted to keep things professional during his seminar. I waited until most of the class had dissipated before I grabbed my stuff and headed towards him.
“Thanks for a great session,” I said diplomatically, offering him the chance to determine the tone of the conversation.
“Thanks Char,” he breathed out, running his hand through his beard. I had discovered it was one of his tells whenever he was unsure or contemplative. “I wasn’t trying to be dismissive of you, you know that right? It's just, I get into a completely different zone when it comes to combat.”
“You don’t have to explain, mountain man. As long as we’re still good,” I said softly. He pulled me in for a hug, once again tucking my chin under his head.
“Are you free for dinner?” I nodded my head in affirmation thinking of how I had already told Gavin I wanted to stay at my place tonight. Which, was all true, I just didn’t want to leave him in the middle of the night and have to explain something that I wasn’t even sure I could explain. I just couldn’t get my mind off of those black cards and what possibly awaited me tonight.
We made our way to the apartment, both breaking apart once we made it inside to go change and freshen up from practice. As soon as I opened my bedroom door my eyes zeroed in on my pillow.
Another black card.
I quickly grabbed it, turning it over to see the last missing piece of information, coordinates. A quick search told me that the location was outside the receiving building I had been shown when I first arrived here. My mind kept racing with how these cards were turning up in the strangest places, all out of the view of others. This BCH group were clearly efficient and highly secretive, able to operate openly and yet undetected, leaving me intrigued.
Whatever this was, it was happening at midnight that night in front of the receiving building, and I was going to be there.
“Are you alright, Char? You’ve seemed distracted tonight,” Reed asked as we cleaned up our dishes from dinner.
“I just have a lot on my mind. This place hasn’t been quite what I was expecting.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” he asked cautiously.
“I don’t think its a bad thing, definitely eye opening, but not bad. I’m glad for all the training, don’t get me wrong, I just miss being out in the field sometimes. I think this place is just pushing me in different ways, some of which I’ve yet to discover,” I said, thinking about the secret meeting that night.
“Well, just know that I’m always here for you, whatever you need, it's yours.”
“Thanks, Reed.” I moved to give him a hug, standing on my tippy-toes to reach his massive shoulders. “I think I’m going to head to bed early and get some rest, that's probably the best thing for me right now.”
“No worries, goodnight,” Reed murmured in my hair before letting me go.
After going to my room, the next few hours dragged by. I probably glanced at my clock around twenty times before it finally read fifteen minutes till midnight. I dressed in a black, lon
g-sleeved tee and my matching pants before slipping my gun into the holster, wanting to be prepared for whatever may come.
Twisting the knob slowly, I scanned the hall for signs of Reed before making it to the front door and slipping out. As soon as I exited the apartment building I breathed easier, away from the majority of people who might be up at this time of night.
Wind whistled through the trees around me as I followed the moonlit path leading to the receiving building. Checking my watch, I realized I still had five minutes until the stroke of midnight. So rather than waiting on the steps of the building, just asking for it, I paused in the darkness of one of the trees blending into the shadows.
Scanning the grounds for whoever might have sent the letters turned up empty. I moved from the tree, deciding to investigate further. Maybe there was another card? I stopped dead center at the foot of the stairs, my eye caught on the strange iridescent shine of the stone in the moonlight.
Suddenly, a vice grip surrounded my limbs making it unable for me to move while a black bag was dragged roughly over my head. A sudden cold, tingling sensation spread through my body leaving me dizzy and disoriented.
And then, I passed out.
I jolted awake with a start, my body tingling with pins and needles, slowly easing from the numb state and barely regaining feeling. The black bag was still over my head while I took gasping breaths against the rough canvas, trying to calm down so I could assess the situation and know what the fuck I was up against.
“You may be feeling disoriented right now, which is perfectly normal. We’ll be removing the bags shortly and all will be explained. We mean you no ill will,” an ominous voice said, cutting through the darkness.
Yeah, fucking, right. I just stupidly got myself kidnapped.
I heard multiple steps echo against the floor, making it more difficult to determine where they were. Slowing down my breath, I steeled myself for whatever was about to happen. I still couldn’t move my arms although I didn’t feel any kind of material or restraint against them. My own damn curiosity had led me here, and despite the circumstances, I was still curious. I disagreed with their methods, but I was willing to hear them out. If I didn't like what I heard, I was willing to put every scrap of Reed's advice to use and do what it might take to get free.
As the bag lifted off my head, my hair fell in a haphazard mess in front of my eyes. I flipped my hair, blowing a huff of air to clear my vision. Quickly, I took stock of the room, cataloguing everything in a quick glance and analyzing the potential threats.
On the concrete ground next to me, were seven more people in similar states spread out in a semicircle. Sitting across from me, on the other end, was none other than Gavin.
He looked pale under the candlelight that glowed from mounted sconces and hanging candelabras, unlike earlier today at lunch. His eyes slid across, looking around until they briefly stopped on me before moving on. Taking his cue, I quickly did the same, not wanting to attract attention to the fact that we knew each other, that he was someone that mattered.
“We are the Ethos Society.” The voice was indistinguishable, lacking gender or any inflections that could help reveal their identity. My eyes widened, trying to take in as much light as possible in the dimly lit space as I scanned for the speaker.
All at once, we were surrounded.
At least ten cloaked figures stepped in unison, forming an outer ring around our loose circle. Just like the voice that had spoken, they weren’t discernible from each other. The same height and width, they looked unnatural, cloned from the same cloth.
"You have been selected from amongst your peers because one of our current members has seen potential in you. They have decided to sponsor you," the voice paused, "which we do not undertake lightly."
It was impossible to tell which one of them was actually speaking. As I looked behind me to the figure closest to me, I noticed that underneath the draped hood was eternal darkness. No depth. No dimension. Just a complete and utter void.
I felt the hairs on my arms start to rise as my fight or flight instincts waged war inside me. I felt like prey, hunted and herded until they had me exactly where they wanted.
“Who are you? I don’t know of an Ethos Society,” the lithe blonde woman spoke up next to me. I hadn’t seen her before, and I wondered if this still had any relation to GRAVITAS.
“Well, we wouldn’t be half as effective if you had heard of us,” a voice mocked coming from a different direction. While it had the same ambiguous sound, I was relieved to find that I could at least discern direction and cadence. Maybe I could use those to my advantage.
“We are the shadows in the night, the thin veil that holds this world together from the next man-made apocalypse. We are the keepers, with flaws and imperfections like anyone else. But what makes us unique, what drives us to make a difference, is that we use those flaws and imperfections to make the world a safer place,” another voice continued.
“The world is under constant attack. Terrorism, warfare, biohazards, environmental dangers... the list is endless. We do more than take on the most ruthless, vicious, and violent threats. We take on the critical events that could drastically change the world. We make a difference.”
“Who are you to determine what’s right and wrong?” I asked suddenly. I wasn’t one to play judge, jury, and executioner, and they were starting to sound like they viewed themselves as slightly omnipotent.
“That is the question isn’t it? We have cells all over the world, in every continent and every major city. Think of it as...risk management. We have the data and we triage the threats based on the levels that would have the most negative impact.”
The same voice continued, “There are things in this world that are beyond your comprehension, dove. Things that would make you do more than just cower in terror or have that constant pit in your stomach. The only difference between nightmares and dreams are what side of the equation you are on.”
Another spoke into the silence that followed that bleak proclamation. “You are now faced with the unique opportunity to become a part of our organization. We are built on the foundations of intelligence, teamwork, and trust. Should you choose to pursue membership, you will be tested in three rigorous Rites, all of which must be successfully completed. They will take you to the very edge then push you off, just to see how gracefully you fall. And trust us, you will fall.”
“So that’s it? You just tell us that you’re the good guys and expect us to accept that? To undergo these supposed Rites, that sound like they’ll be dangerous, to join your merry little band of vigilantes?” Gavin asked, glaring at the hooded figures without a shred of hesitation. I had yet to see how he functioned under pressure and I was slightly taken aback by his visceral reaction.
“9/11, Chechnya, Beirut Barracks, Piazza Fontana, 26/11 Mumbai. Do you know what all these events have in common?”
“Major terrorist attacks of the last century?” the girl next to me offered.
“Major terrorist attacks of the last century that were considered less impactful than the ones our organization handled and neutralized.” I couldn’t tell which one was speaking this time, but the cadence was so sure and steady that I was inclined to believe them.
“We could go around in circles for the rest of the night but frankly, no extended amount of time can prepare you for what you will face should you pursue this path. You will have thirty minutes with your sponsor in which you may ask questions and they will answer you truthfully. I expect you to use this time wisely. After this, you will not be afforded the same opportunity to ask questions and be given true answers until you have successfully completed the rites. If, after your conversation, you choose not to pursue membership, the necessary arrangements will be made and you will be returned back to the coordinates you were given.”
The small alcove I sat in was flushed with more candlelight, casting a glow across the stone bricks and highlighting the cloaked figure who was seated across from me. My arms had regain
ed full movement, and while I was antsy, I was determined to use this half hour wisely and try to discern the intentions of my supposed sponsor.
“So what should I call you?” I asked in a neutral voice.
“You may call me Whistler. If you choose to stay, you will be given a call sign to be used should you undergo the Rites.” While their voice was indistinguishable, the level at which they spoke was welcoming and the rate bordering on lackadaisical, completely at ease.
“Did you undergo them?” I folded my arms deliberately in front of me, wanting to show that I was uncomfortable, to see how he would play into my cues.
“Of course, every member must. There is a reason they’re called the Rites, they are a rite of passage that bind us together.”
I took a moment, trying to think of what I needed to know, what would mean the most to me.
“Why did you decide it was worth it? Why join this organization instead of simply operating with GRAVITAS?” I leaned forward, trying desperately to see what was underneath that hood to no avail.
“First, I should clarify that not all members of our organization are members of GRAVITAS and vice versa. We are but one cell of many. For me personally, it was my time overseas that opened my eyes. I decided that risking my life for the benefit of others would be a worthwhile endeavor. I do that with Ethos, but it’s at another level. For someone like you, who hasn’t even been on their first GRAVITAS mission, I expect it would be hard to imagine.”
“So if I choose not to believe anything you’re saying then I can just go back to my life, attend my seminars and train for missions?” I asked puzzled, surely they would have devised some type of way to keep those who rejected them quiet.
“Yes. Although I do hope that isn’t your decision. There’s a reason that the expression is ‘a leap of faith’. Some of the greatest things in the world are things that you have to take a chance on.”
