Numbers

Oz woke up from the feeling of something wet trickling down his back. Jolted awake would be more accurate. He opened his eyes.

He was in a dark room. There was one small window through which a sliver of silver light peeked in. The room smelled cold but nostalgic, almost like a Home Depot. He was lying on a cold stone floor, to his surprise, not restrained by anything. He thought that was a bit odd since he was kidnapped and brought to a basement.

He felt people there. He couldn't see them or hear them, but his body felt their presence. There were five of them. Five of these so-called shadow children.

Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching. As the person got closer, the more Oz could discern his features.

"Yo! So you're finally awake?"

The voice was gruff but comforting, Oz felt as if he had heard it somewhere before. It belonged to a tall boy, Oz could tell he was slightly taller than Amar. The boy looked to be around Oz's age, maybe a few years older. 20 at the most Oz would say. The boy wore baggy overalls that bunched up at his feet, only one side buttoned for what Oz assumed was a fashion statement. Under the overalls was a ripped up tee shit with the name of some underground punk band that Oz didn't recognize. The shirt was at least two sizes too big for the boy and covered in dust. To top of this look, the boy wore a neon orange beanie that complemented his green eyes and pale skin, but looked awful against his strawberry blonde hair.

"Watcha staring at? We kidnapped you remember? Watch yourself." The boy grumbled. Oz hadn't realized he was staring. He quickly averted his eyes, moving to sit up in a more comfortable position.

Oz was terrified, but he was curious. "Why did you bring me here? Is there a reason you needed me? I'm not that powerful yet so I won't be of much use..."

"Don't worry. You're of plenty use to us. We need to see what it is you are capable of before we let you go. So, we're going to test you."

"Test me?" Oz was confused. "I can tell you what I can do, but why does it matter if I can't do it well?"

The boy chuckled. "With more practice, you'll get better don't worry. When you get better, that's when we'll need you. So we need to see firsthand what you can do."

"Need me?"

A female voice from the corner of the room spoke up. "It's not that hard, dumbass. Bottom line is, we need your help and we're desperate. Desperate enough to kidnap you."

The woman stepped out of the corner, only to be much younger than she sounded. She looked about 13, in a tattered purple dress with ripped stockings and lines of cried out mascara on her face.

Oz looked up at her. "Where are the rest of you? I can feel there's more."

The boy smirked. "You can feel us, huh? That's good to know. Come on out guys!"

Out of the shadows of the dark room came a group of three. Oz was shocked that these were the people he was scared of. The trio was an unlikely match. A girl stood in the middle, pulling her leather jacket closer to her body. She had on black lipstick and her hair was slicked into a neat, tight, bun resting atop her head. She seemed no younger than 19. On her right was a boy, about 16. He was wearing shorts and a graphic tee shirt, a simple outfit, but one that allowed Oz to see his personality. His hair was in a messy shoulder length cut that was tied loosely behind his head. To the left of the girl in leather was another boy. He was more timid than the rest. He had on glasses and a large hooded sweatshirt that hid most of his body. He seemed no older than the girl in the purple dress.

The boy in the overalls stretched his arms out to them. "This is all of us! We are an organization of Shadow Children that is currently fighting against a Disciple of the Sun. I'm sure you know him since he works under your girlfriend. Metatron?"

Oz shook his head. "I don't know anyone who works for Reena. I haven't even seen her in months. But I can't help if you're fighting her."

"But he's a bad guy! We need your help moon girl."

Oz hesitated, then he replied. "I'm not a girl. I'll help if you fill me in on why he's such a bad guy."

The boy looked startled. "You're a guy? Huh. Well no matter. You can still help us. You will, right?"

"Yeah." Oz said weakly, overwhelmed by the boy's upbeat attitude. "Wait, first tell me your names."

The boy laughed. "To tell you the truth, we don't know each other's names. I can't share the names of my peers with you." He said sheepishly scratching his head. "We work underground, so we go by numbers. I can tell you those."

"That works." Oz replies.

"Okay well I'm obviously One. Glasses boy over there is Four. The guy with the dumb shorts is Two, my right hand man. Little Miss Leather here is Five and purple princess is Three. It's a fairly easy way to remember everybody. Anyways, you know our names so you'll help us right?"

"I already said yes." Oz sighed.

"Since you know our names, don't you think you should tell us yours, moon boy?"

(sorry for the irregular chapter updates i'll try to post every other day ive been swamped with standardized testing. :( thanks for reading!!)