The truck rolled through the outskirts of the city, past rusted fences and forgotten factories, until it reached a compound surrounded by barbed wire and silence. It looked abandoned from the outside, but inside, it pulsed with a strange energy-like something waiting to be awakened.
August sat between two trembling girls, her eyes scanning every detail: the guards at the gate, the cameras hidden in the trees, the way the robbers—now her captors and unwitting allies—moved with practiced ease. She wasn't afraid. She was calculating.
The man who had recruited her —jumped down from the truck and barked orders. "Inside. No talking. No crying. You'll be told what to do."
The children were herded into a large hall with peeling paint and rows of metal beds. August didn't speak. She watched. She memorized faces, exits, patterns. She was building something in her mind—a blueprint for control.
That night, Rafel pulled her aside.
"You said you wanted to be useful," he said, arms crossed. "Now's your chance."
August nodded. "Tell me what you need."
He smirked. "We place kids in rich neighborhoods. They get adopted. They listen, learn, report back. We find out who's vulnerable. Who's got money. Who's got daughters."
August's stomach turned, but her face remained calm. "And then?"
"Then we take what we want."
She nodded slowly. "I can do more than listen. I can lead."
Rafe laughed. "You're five."
"I'm five," August said, "and I already know how to make people trust me. You need someone who can organize the others. Keep them quiet. Keep them sharp."
Rafel studied her. "You want to be in charge?"
"I want to be useful," she repeated. "But I choose how."
"I'll think about it... I have to inform the others.. Who knows maybe you also can't be trusted.."Rafel said giving her a deadly stare.
The Compound Routine
The next morning, the children were divided into groups. Each group was assigned a "handler"- a robber turned trainer. The activities were brutal and manipulative:
August watched it al and endured more than the other girls.. She played her part. She smiled when told. She cried on cue. But behind her eyes, something else was forming.
She began whispering to the others at night. Not all-just the ones who still had fire in them. She told them stories of escape, of power, of turning the game on its head. She taught them how to lie convincingly, how to fake obedience, how to gather intel not for the robbers—but for her.
She called them her "ghosts."
This was not going to be easy especially trying to be a leader im a man's world.. With her age her greatest strength was her brain.. Manipulating her way to the top was her only option she had to...
"this week we start with the placement of most girls, I've spoken with Pearl we will use her orphanage" Jocker.. The other second in command said.
"guess we have work to do.. And we have to be careful with who we give freedom to... Their loyalty has to be tested first" Rafel added..
They were really being worried about the wrong girls...
"August we also placing you in a family... "! Rafel said without sparing a second glance at her..
How was she supposed to lead if she was also being adopted...
"okay.?" that's all she could say with a gentle smile.
... Which did not sit well with Rafel and his crew... August is not one to agree easily, her saying okay was unsettling...
Second thought.. This is the much needed freedom she wanted to have... Operating from outside meant crashing them all and never coming back to this compound ever..
"let's do it.. When do we begin" August said now with a blank face...
"well...