Gracie Weiss- Los Angeles, California

12:30 am PST

The man on the other side of the phone cleared his throat while he shifted in his seat. "Sorry, sorry," he said. "I-I-" He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat some more. "I am an idiot and am nervous about talking to you..."

Gracie bit back a small snort and raised an eyebrow in question, and a look of amusement flashed through her eyes. "Oh?" she asked and cocked her head to the side while she looked at Jim, silently wondering why this man was nervous talking to her. "Why?"

Jim bit back a small smile and shrugged. He didn't say a word, and pain flashed through his eyes while he looked at the young female that he had been trying to protect for as long as he had known her.

"Because you know one of the workers that work for the group that we work for, and you are very comfortable with him," he said with a small hum in his voice, and Gracie had a feeling that he tucked his head closer to his chest. "And I am sure that you will be able to disappear with the help of said worker."

Jim cleared his throat to hide a chuckle, and a look of pain and sadness filled his eyes. "Tell him that I wouldn't do that to the group, Grace," he said with a shake of his head. "I could get into trouble with the others if I did that, and I wouldn't want that, especially if it meant my death if I was ever caught." He shook his head and grimaced, setting his jaw and pressing his lips into a thin line.

Gracie hesitated before she slowly nodded, and her heart broke with pain and sadness filling her body. "Jim said that he wouldn't do that to the group," she said, her voice barely above a whisper before she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "He said that he could get into trouble with the others if he did that, and he didn't want that, especially if it meant his death if he was ever caught."

The man on the phone chuckled, amused. "I am sure that it will be hard to find Jim if he ever decides to leave the group," he said. "He is one of the group's strongest members."

Gracie raised an eyebrow in question, and she cocked her head while she studied Jim, and Jim bit back a small smile and tucked his head closer to his chest. "He is?"

"He is," the man said with a small chuckle in his voice while he nodded. "Now, do you have any questions for me?" he asked, and Gracie had a feeling that he raised an eyebrow in question. "Or are you wanting to save your questions for Jim?"

Gracie didn't say a word and slowly blinked. Her heart skipped a beat before it pounded hard and fast in her chest, and it kept jumping into her throat while she looked at the man, who she respected and trusted with her life.

"I will answer anything that you need from me," Jim said and shook his head with a small smile on his face. "I don't think they will mind if I go into the car with you because we have to go to the same place, anyway."

Gracie hesitated before she slowly nodded, biting back a small sigh of relief. "Do you mind if he goes in the car with me whenever I decide to go back to that place, please?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"He can stay with you for as long as you need him to stay with you," he said, and she had a feeling that he shook his head. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Now, was that the only question for me, or do you have anything else that you want to ask me?"

"Where am I going?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question while she looked at the man that had been someone she had considered to be a father figure in her life. "Or are either of you allowed to tell me that?"

Jim bit back a small smile and shook his head, silently indicating that he wouldn't be able to tell her where she was going. He didn't say a word, and pain and guilt filled his eyes while he stared at her.

The male chuckled softly and shook his head, even though Gracie wasn't able to see him do it. "Unfortunately, I am not able to tell you where you are going for your safety and the safety of the others that you will be meeting eventually," he said.

"And all I have to do is go with these men?" Gracie asked and narrowed her eyes at one of the men besides Jim, and the man smiled and bowed his head in submission. "Is this some sort of cult?"

"No," the man said with a startled laugh in his voice, and she had a feeling he shook his head again. "This is not some sort of a cult. This is something different from a cult, and I am sure that you will be ok with it whenever you come here and find out what is happening to you."

Gracie raised an eyebrow in question while she looked at Jim, and Jim bit back a small smile and shrugged. She didn't say a word and waited for Jim to say something, anything to confirm or deny what the man on the other end of the phone had said.

"It isn't a cult, Grace," Jim said and shook his head. "It is a group of well gifted people and then those that will train them and protect them, but it isn't a cult. There is no kool aid that you will have to drink." He winked teasingly at the young female, and Graice rolled her eyes and scowled playfully.

"You will be protected and will not have to work as hard as you have in the past," the man said with a small hum in his voice. "I hope that you will be comfortable to come with us, and everything will be explained more in depth as soon as you get here with the others that are getting picked up as we speak."

"How many?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper while she silently prayed that he would answer her question. She furrowed her brows and cocked her head to the side with a small frown on her face. "How many people are getting picked up for this thing?"

"Eight," the man said. "Eight people have been given these gifts and are who we need to help so that they are trained, and they can help us in return after they are trained. There are four boys and four girls, and you are included as one of them."

Gracie slowly nodded and pressed her lips into a thin line, praying that what she was doing was the right thing by not asking that many questions and going blindly with them over this. "And whatever questions that I have, Jim can answer if they are within reason?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yes," the man said with a small sigh of relief in his voice while Jim slowly seemed to relax as well, especially since she wasn't going to argue with them. "He will be able to answer any of your questions that you have within reason."

"Then I'll go," she said and nodded. "I'll go and do whatever it is that I need to do to help whoever it is that I need to help."

"And that is all that I ask. Thank you, Miss Weiss."

And with that, the man hung up the phone with a soft click, leaving Gracie to pull the phone away from her ear and stare at the man before her with wide eyes filled with pain and fear but also excitement that something new and exciting was about to happen as soon as she left the safety of her home.

Oh, Gods, keep her safe...