3 Chapter 3: Who Are You?

Ella woke up the next morning feeling absolutely terrible. She had only eaten one meal the day before and she was starving. Ella didn't want to open up her spy food yet because there were better options around the hotel and she could probably use the dried food later when she needed it more. Ella put on her clothes and walked down to the first floor to find a map. Apparently, there was a breakfast buffet near the entrance that was open from 8:00 - 10:00. It was currently 8:45. Ella walked down the hall to the buffet. When she arrived, she was completely stunned. Shocked. Without words. What lay before her was even better than the bunker. The tables were made of red wood and were covered in lace tablecloths. The food itself was laid out on a quartz countertop on silver platters. Even in all the delicacies laid before her, the only thing Ella could see were the bagels. Toasted sesame bagels with cream cheese and salmon, with a side of red onion. There is nothing quite as good as a bagel with cream cheese, salmon, and red onion. While she was looking at the food, Ella failed to see the baffled looks on the other guests faces as they watched the youngster gaping at the buffet. The hotel was mainly a getaway for adults from their children. And fancy adults at that. Ella was dressed plainly and looked no more than 7 years old (she was short for her age). Ella served herself and thanked the cooks. They had been informed of this rich child and knew not to question her. Ella sat down at a table and began shoveling food into her mouth. She heard a clink at the end of her table. Ella looked up. There sat a stunning young woman, looking curiously at her. Code red, suspicious adult. Ella swallowed and put on her best little kid voice. Her plan was to distract the lady with her intelligence so she would forget to ask her about why she was there."Hello little girl, my name is Ava. What's your name?" The lady smiled at her.

"Ermm... My name is Erica."

"I was just wondering -"

Ella interrupted her instantly, sensing what she was about to say.

"Ms. Ava, I just wanted to ask if you had any books you like to read. I finished all mine at home, do you have any suggestions?"

The lady looked a bit surprised, but smiled again. "Well, what books do you enjoy reading?"

"I liked Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen."

As expected, Ava's eyes widened and she looked amazed. "Another good one is Sense and Sensibility. I would like to ask you something. What grade are you in?"

"I am a freshman in high school."

"And how old are you?"

"I am 8 years old." The woman pursed her lips and was silent. But instead of looking completely confused as Ella had expected, she looked thoughtful, and not at all surprised. This is when Ella began to become suspicious. A woman comes up to her, asks her a few questions, and starts examining her as if she was some sort of specimen. Something was off about her.

"Erica, would you like to come and talk to me in private?" Ella froze. That was definitely suspicious. Ella quickly weighed her options. She could stay where she was and perhaps attract even more attention from the strange woman, or she could go with her and hear what she had to say. If Ella went, she could most likely cry out if anything happened, and since the hotel was packed someone would come and help her. So Ella decided to follow. If she is bad, I might be able to interrogate her for clues about my parents. Best case scenario she's an ally and I could use some help right now. Ella nodded and followed Ava out of the kitchen and into the hallway near the lobby.

"So, Erica, I am wondering -" She was cut off by the appearance of another person - they wore a hood and stood behind Ella. She felt a hand on her head and opened her mouth to scream. But before she could, Ella found herself in a different place entirely. She looked around wildly, and saw her capturer sitting on an armchair on the other side of a living room. 3 other people were present as well. A girl around 16 with a blind fold over her eyes, a boy with a hat who looked 20 on the couch, and a bulky man who was around 7 feet tall. And Ella panicked. She was normally a very calm and sensible person, but being abducted by people twice her age and being calm at the same time was a trait she lacked. Ella was on her feet and running towards the door before any of them noticed she was going. The muscly man grabbed her shoulder, picked her up, and carried her over to the couch.

"Calm down. We aren't going to hurt you." The blind folded girl looked at her. "Go to bed. We'll explain everything in the morning." The person in a hood touched her head again. She was in a bedroom now. There was a bed, a desk and a rug. Other than that, it was pretty empty. And she was alone. Calm down, panicking doesn't help anyone. Ella took a shaky breath. They didn't seem like regular kidnappers. They hadn't hurt her, interrogated her, or been hostile in any way. That was odd. And Ella knew exactly how to deal with odd things. Eavesdropping. She stepped out of the doorway and tiptoed through the hallway. She then listened for their voices. First door on my right. Ella dropped to her hands and knees and crawled under a couch to listen.

"-she's only 8 years old!"

"Yeah, but she's one of us."

"What about we wait until breakfast and explain then? Everything is better with food."

"Yuki, how do we know that she'll believe us?"

"We don't. We just have to hope."

Ella slipped back to her room and counted slowly to ten in her head. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.