predatoryminds

[predatoryminds]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!! THIS HAS HEAVY THEMES AND INTENSE GORE AND THOROUGHLY DISTURBING SCENES, AND POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING TOPICS!!!! THIS SERIES WAS STARTED BY ME WHEN IN 2010, AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IT SINCE THEN, SO, WELL, PLEASE BE NICE TvT. ALSO, PLEASE READ WITH A CAREFUL AND OPEN MIND EACH CHARACTER HAS A VERY SPECIFIC BACKGROUND, AND A GOOD MAJORITY OF THEIR PAST AND CURRENT LIFESTYLE ATTRIBUTES TO THE STORY AND IS ACTUALLY VERY IMPORTANT. MOST OF THEM HAVE A REASON FOR THEIR PARTICULAR LIVES, SO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHILE READING⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠

Prologue

I knew we were running out of time. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant me, not we. I was all alone, wasn't I...

I struggled against the leather that bound my skin to this ungodly stone table, rubbing it red. It all made it real, too real.

What made me be here? 

Why in god's name did I agree to this again?!

Spitting out a thick crimson wad of spit, a spluttering wheeze of a cough erupted from deep within my chest and I cursed out at the gods. 

If they were listening, which is the way I acted, they'd have turned a blind eye at such a foolish child.

'You entered the arena of the men who wish to play god, willingly, might I add,' A rather shady looking god appeared in my mind as the hallucinogens' had been administered an hour prior. 'You might as well have chosen death, kid'

The drugs had burned so bad, but I guess it was better than feeling what they were going to do to me.

I was hot with shame, fear, and pain. Why was I chosen, what would I pose to them?

But this is the result of my own greed, isn’t it, I thought, spitting out a curse, body jerking upward with the sharp pain in my ribs and spine. This is why I didn’t trust people, why would I do this to myself?

Had I gone crazy, stupid, delirious?

God, I should have listened to him... he was right all along, and now he's gone too...

My head was killing me with a throbbing headache, at this point, I'd give anything for some anesthetics.

I knew I could die here, the other children's corpses told me that and the pungent smell of fear and blood. I wanted to gag, shuddering frequently. Despite my discomfort, I didn't speak anymore than to howl a foul word or two when the pain was unbearable.

I would watch and wait the best I could. What else could I do, really?

I mean, I was strapped down to a table, literally. I had, under my own free will, signed the papers. Even if I hadn't, A) Who would believe me that the famous, world renowned, Arrowsmith, would do this behind closed doors, and B) I was a street rat, how the heck could I afford a lawyer to stab the man who cut me?

I had nothing to lose (since I gave up on the value of my life) and yet all that I had to gain conflicted me.

Was the money really worth it?

Even if I desperately needed it, all the crap I had to endure throughout this ordeal was horrible. 

Terrible. 

Inhumane.

With each passing second, I wondered if I was really alive.

Maybe this was hell? Maybe I had already died, and this was the punishment I had to endure for the many sins and grievances I had caused.

My pills stared at me on the silver tray, the white was tainted with splatters of crimson. 

What I was fed was insanity in the form of powder collected into small round disks.

The flavors were like acid, yet my body craved the searing pain. Shivers washed over me with each spasm that lurched me.

How many had I had to twist my mind to the point I believed in something I usually laughed at? I hadn’t prayed in years, but I was beginning to utter the words to an old hymn I learnt as a child.

To a passerby, it would have sounded like I’d lost my mind. I couldn’t form much more than babbling nonsense and sharp wheezy noises, like the notes a cat would shriek.

No, hell would be a vacation compared to this, it’s the drugs talking, I lifted my head up, letting the growing weight fall back with a sharp thud. It was stupid, but it let me think a little straighter with drugs clouding my mind.

The shooting pain and growing headache let me think a little clearer than before.

I needed my wits about me, my only two assets I could use in this situation really were my wits and sanity. It was all I had left. Speedy short breaths followed for the pain, yet my eyes focused a little better.

Wait, but I don't want to see this room, I groaned in my mind, lacking the strength to argue with myself. I couldn’t muster a self motivating speech, nor did I really want to.

The way our bodies were torn apart and put back together, how they treated us like ragdolls made me enraged. Yet, I couldn't do a thing, I had agreed to this…

Rolling my head to the side, I blinked slow, chest heaving. 

I was tired, yet I had to remain strong, in mind if not body, I couldn't give up. Mental determination was my best trait! I lived on the streets, I could survive some freaky experiment, right?

Focusing hazy eyes, my gaze met the table a couple feet away from my own.

The boy on the table to my left was either unconscious or dead.

I hadn't seen his chest move, it seemed as if he hadn't breathed at all for the last 30 minutes. Well, it felt like that long, it was hard to read the clock with my brain clouded. I assumed that he was dead, not that it concerned me, all I needed was to make sure I was going to leave alive and be paid for my efforts.

Turning my head back, I stared at the ceiling, looking for the cracks to focus my mind. I lay there, pondering over my life choices, over what I felt and what I had seen in my short time on this earth. Had I made the most of life?

No.

I was an ant in this world, nothing I said or did mattered, society just wanted to squish me, grind me in the dust, and leave me to rot. The only remanint would be my burned, mud ridden skeleton, because that's what society did to you. The man burned you, scorned you, forced you to work until you were nothing but brittle bones left in the earth, hidden from the world to be forgotten. No one cared, that was clear as day to me.

Fair enough, I guess, I mean, what am I? Just a thief, a lost boy on the streets to be betrayed and disregarded. If I had enough strength left, I would have laughed, yet the tightening feeling in my scarred chest seared, burning a gaping hole in my lungs. The most I could muster was a hoarse chuckle.

Would I be missed?

Wait, do I even have anyone to miss me? Green eyes relaxed, hoping the next drug would stop the throbbing in my veins that felt like bursting.

Would Damian miss me?

I shook my head, letting out a sigh as I tried to relax and ignore the pain. He left, so probably not, especially after what I did, tearing us apart....

Maybe they’ll put me out of my misery now, I mean what else do I have to live for?

I chuckled to myself with closed eyes. My death would be covered up more than likely, it was humorous to me. I had fantasied regularly about my demise, I would have preferred to die in a more comfortable place, sure, but I guess it could have been worse, I could be rotting on a spike, bleeding, and discontent.

Well, not that they did that in real life anymore, this wasn't the 18th century.

Beggars can't be choosers, I huffed, licking my chapped lips, though it was a futile effort since my whole mouth felt rather lacking in the fluid department.

Was this my punishment for my disregard of the law?

I let out even, deep breaths, in and out. The longer I was here, the more I felt at peace.

I was almost falling asleep when a loud shriek burst out, I almost had a heart attack.

If I wasn't restrained to the table, I probably would have fallen over in shock.

The boy on the table next to me, drenched in his own blood, began to thrash about, screaming in some language I couldn't comprehend as I stared at the sight, ears ringing.

It took a few minutes, but his shrieking was soon joined by the chorus of footsteps thrumming against the thick tiles as a hoard of people in hazmat suits poured in.

They surrounded the dripping boy, blood and sweat mixing as his eyes darted around the room, pupils blown wide. The saliva running down his face, and ruffled jett black hair made him look rather feral, like a wild animal.

I could read the fear, confusion, and pain in his unique blue orbs and twisted expression. I was mesmerized, never having seen such a beautiful, nor unique color in a person's eyes before. He felt what I was feeling, only escalated, he was trapped in the same cage as I, only he was suffering more. It made me wonder when my turn would come as I shrunk back into the table.

I was too tired to wonder how he was still alive, neck cracking and aching at the strain as I watched.

Then, what I assumed to be some forms of scientists, poked and prodded at him in excitement, chattering away in yet another language I didn't understand.

The boy cast me a fearful and outraged glance, spitting at the closest scientist.

I was promised money, I was promised that this would help me. That I would feel better after this, but were they going to do that to me?

I needed this money, I needed a better chance at life. Heck, I needed a new life, one where I would be born into a proper family, one that loved and kept me. Where I could have at least one proper meal a day, maybe a dog to run around in the backyard with.

I wasn’t asking for much!

This was, as they had said, ‘The opportunity of a lifetime!’

Opportunity my ass! What sort of messed up lifetime do they have, because I was frightened of dying here and now on this table!

I squirmed, biting my lip in frustration at the strain on my body and the chafing burn on my skin.

The group turned my way as they pulled an inoculate mask over the boy, who fought the best he could until he was knocked out.

In their hands were shiny scalping knives, goggles glowing in the dark room.

I glared, hissing out a threat, a curse, spitting out a mixture of blood and spit.

They approached slowly, murmuring in fast succession.

And I prayed.

Goodbye, don’t remember me.

" ‘re’s no ‘n left, ‘nyway."

******************

********

***

*

Blood splattered around each and every surface. My heart and chest thumped rapidly, the beginnings of smoke streamed about and sirens rung through my ears, bouncing about my ribcage all the way down my legs.

Where was I?

What happened?

My eyes couldn't focus, everything was too much. I was too overwhelmed.

Burning paper and crunching black wood fell all around me, and a single figure stood.

It was a boy, he couldn't be much older than I.

I couldn't make out his features, I was too weak to focus.

He stood amongst the chaos, turned away from me.

Despite the roaring flames a few steps away from him, he shivered.

Hugging himself, rough, cold wind lashed his skin, shaking the leaf boy.

Then he fell.

The smoke, the breeze, the sirens, it all hurt my head. Nothing was making sense, it was all out of order, and it made a hot trail down my cheek.

The salt tears stung, yet they wouldn’t stop.

Breathing became too difficult, and my head throbbed to the point I couldn't take it anymore. I was tired, in pain, dazed and confused.

But I wasn’t scared.

The last thing I saw was the gleam of a pair of thin rectangle glasses perched upon a sharp face.

*

**

****

******

Blinking, the boy sat up, whipping his head about, he searched for smoke, for flames, for anything.

It was so real, He thought, gripping his bed sheets. Too real...

Chapter one - Dull office makes for dumb days!

I watched shapes fly by in a blur outside the car window, music blocking out everyone and everything. My headphones sat tight over my ears, tangled in amongst my wavy length. As irritating as it was, I put up with it.

Every movement I made, a hair would get caught and I’d feel a sharp tug at my scalp, but I just ignored it.

I could feel Father’s gaze turn back to me every few minutes, dark blue eyes trying to figure me out, wanting to know what I was thinking, what I was feeling.

Subtly, I pushed my round glasses up and kept quiet, not going to feel obliged to respond to these desperate attempts of futile bonding, it wasn’t worth the hassle.

It never was.

Just focus on something else, anything else. That was what I told myself, and that was what I would stick with.

Mother, on the other hand, was too occupied with the road ahead to bother with an attempt at conversation.

I was thankful for this, if they both had been on my case, then I would have been doomed.

As sweet and innocent as she seemed, the woman was pretty damn persuasive.

Keep on acting as if I don't know, The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. Should I be offended you think I'm so stupid, or be 'grateful' since we haven't had the 'Divorce' talk yet...

Pretending everything was alright was stressful for all parties involved, besides, as a government official's child, appearances obviously had to be kept up.

Scrolling through my phone, I smiled at the pictures from the party I had DJ'd the other night, not that anyone knew it was me under the helmet.

I could feel fathers gaze continuously turn back to me every few seconds. He wasn't subtle, bluntness and making things clear was both his biggest strength, and yet also his biggest flaw. I kept quiet, focusing on my phone, on the music, on something else, anything else. But either way, I was drawn back to my awkward and hurtful reality.

When green orbs met blue, Father turned away, bearing the same burden known as awkwardness. That was one of the few things we had in common. We both were rather uncomfortable people. Father looked out his window, thoughts wrinkling his face almost to the point of a scowl. Huffing, he placed his hand turned over next-to mother's.

It was a desperate attempt to appear calm and 'happy'. Mother let out a humm of surprise, but then smiled, enterwining her fingers with his.

She pulled off a cheerful and eager look better than my dear old dad did, yet there was always some sort of telltale sign I could find in the image.

This time, gazing just beyond her seat, I could see her hand on the wheel slightly grip. I didn't like feeling anger, and frustration, but the more they delayed telling me that they wanted to split up, the more I wanted to throw things, throw a tantrum, cry, scream. Anything to show them how it affected everyone in our house.

They might not think it, but for me, they both were easy to read. It was so obvious to tell the mood they were in. The little habits they had, like Mother tended to clean when she was stressed, and Father baked when he was anxious and needed to relax, and he brushed his hair back alot when he overthinks. That's probably why his hair was so greasy.

Stop trying so hard, Rolling my eyes, I chewed the inside of my cheek to at least try to calm down my stomach. I know you're forcing it...

My parents were obsessed with public image, or rather to seem together. They weren't even close to being the happy family people thought we were. They argued, threatened divorce and worse, as if I'd turned deaf, like I couldn't hear them. It happened almost everyday, and made the atmosphere so incredibly uncomfortable.

It was painful to watch, even just hearing it put a strain on my already fragile heart. But, I'm used to this, they've been doing this for almost two years now. I kind of felt guilty, like it was my fault. I mean, why else would they stay together if they hate eachother so much, if not to take care of me?

They must feel guilty, so it's to the point they go through a whole grin and bear it routine.

Well, it's that, or they did it for their job.

I mean, if someone can't keep their marriage together, how could they hold such an important government jobs?

After driving for what felt like hours, we finally entered the cage of a forest, making our way to what I called ' The safe hold.'

The New Hampshire Divisional Covert Facility, or, if you’re lazy, the N.H.D.C.F.

It was really out the way of any people, off the grid, deep within the thick dense forest to a far off clearing. I had wondered many times how my parents even had landed this job, but I never asked.

I never expected a reply.

I had no clue what they actually did in their 'very important job's' but whatever it was, it was extremely top secret, or something like that.

After a excruciatingly long bumpy drive through the rather unstable road, I tried to suppress the strange chill coursing through my body, and the feeling my heart had taken a trip to my throat. Unease washed over me, and I had the strangest feeling something was wrong.

Oh so very wrong.

Pulling my red and black flannel shirt closer to my body, I focused on my breathing as we pulled up to the gate.

It's ok, Bridget, everything is fine, I reassured myself, wondering what this sense of dread was. It's probably just the atmosphere in the car!

Perking up, I watched the road ahead, pausing my music. I had been here before, but it wasn't too often I came with my family to the facility. Usually I would be at school, or when they traveled overseas, I'd go with them (Which happened a lot). They did tend to work most weekends, not that they complained, if anything, they both were rather passionate about their jobs. But on weekends, I'd stay home, so I couldn't understand why today was different.

The only conclusion that my already strained mind could comprehend was that it must be 'the day'.

The day they finally talk to me, and tell me 'We are getting a divorce'.

My thoughts only could line up to that, maybe it was because I constantly was preparing myself for the conversation. I mean we'd be in a professional environment, I'd have to be just that, professional. No way could I have a tantrum, or cry out here.

But then and again, whenever I came here, they'd send me to another room to wait while they did work. And today was going to be a special day, since I wouldn't be alone. Some of our international representatives would be visiting with some of their kids, so I'd have them for company.

Oooh, they want to socialize me, and that way by being around others, I still can't cry! Very clever, I narrowed my eyes, swallowing a whimper as I felt tears pricking my eyes. My overthinking was getting the better of me.

I didn't notice we had pulled up to the front security box as I buised myself with wiping away tears, hiding my look of despair.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, just breathe, I repeated the mantra, avoiding the obvious gaze of a curious old man sitting in his booth.

"Afternoon, Henry"

"Afternoon, Ma'am, Sir"

Something about the crickity old man always set me off into a spiral of bad vibes. He made me rather uncomfortable, and he always stared so intently at me, like he was expecting something.

As we pulled up to the car park, I could just feel the sentence coming as I slipped out of the car hastily.

"You--"

"Need to stay in the room, follow the rules, etc. etc, we've been through this, I got it," I muttered curtly, abnormally harshly. Despite my tone not being appreciated, Father nodded.

"Let's go, team!" Mother cheered, almost skipping as we walked into the building. The overpowering smell of Kleenex  stung my nose as I scrunched up my face. As always, the N.H.D.C.F was impossibly ugly. Mismatched colors, and dieing plants. It was rather warm as well, and it blasted you in the face when you entered the building. It was never appreciated and the heat carried all sorts of smells that made you feel delirious.

I hated it, I mean, how could anyone work in such an environment?!

The Michaels trio were uniform, falling into the usual line.

Mother in the lead, head high, chest puffed out as she walked with a cheery confidence. People tended to double take when they saw her in the facility. She had soft youthful features, and a childish quality to her. She was full of life and playful, yet set and determined, always fixated on the task ahead. She had persistence on her side, and could get anything accomplished if she tried.

Father followed precisely 4 steps behind her, standing up straight, shoulders taught, gaze clouded with a diligent seriousness and a whole universe worth of crunching numbers flowing from his mind. Almost everything the tall man did was meticulously planned out, he was set in his ways, and had a no nonsense attitude.

And then there was me, meekly taking the rear of the line, lagging almost 12 steps behind, spine curved reflexively forward, nose glued to my phone as I tugged my headphones around my neck.

I was a teenager, was what most would think, but it was actually a form of coping with the stress of meeting expectations. If I engaged or looked like I wanted to interact with others, I'd have to be all 'Adult-y'. I hated that, and the staff members of this place always asked the most awkward questions.

Quickly pressing a tight hug to my mother and a mild bow to my father, we headed off our separate ways.

When I was finally alone, I let out a groan at the scenery around me.

The halls stunk of a mixture of unsavory air fresheners, markers and cleaning products and the colors were so dull and bland.

My sneakers squeaked relentlessly on the sticky marble floors.

"I guess this is the place where all creativity comes to die" I murmured to myself, mildly amused. I always had some form of witty criticism about this place. It wouldn't be the same without a snarky remark about how utterly dead and ugly this place was.

The dull grey and blues made me want to be sick, being the visually driven person I was.

"If only they'd let me fix this place up" Breathing a sigh, I chuckled to myself, flicking through a few of my Pinterest boards, ideas flowing through my mind.

It made me miss my room.

Shutting off my phone, I stopped in front of a door. It muffled cries of anguish and mockery, despite being 'Sound-proof'.

An familier and rather high pitched 'SHUT-UP!' could be heard, electing a grimace and the tightening of my shoulders as I prepared for a head-ache.

Flinching at the impact of cold steel in my palm, I pulled the door open wide.

Warmth and sunlight hit me in waves of jubilation, and my world exploded with color.

Red velvet furniture, couches, purples, black and white walls, colored glass panes.

Everything looked and felt so inviting, I was in awe.

This place had looked so distasteful and honestly kind of tacky the last time I had been here, they must have done some serious renovations since then.

The first thing you saw when you walked in was a huge, clear window spanning from the floor to the roof that had to be at least 3 meters long and 4 meters tall.

We were on the 5th floor, so you had a beautiful view of the forest-scape and a far away lake, all set up with a rosy sun shining in the background.

A boy sunken in a giant purple bean bag sat by his lonesome in front of the window, facing away from me. Shifting from foot to foot nervously, I noticed he was reading a thick book on Quantum Mechanics and Physics.

Despite soaking up the rays, he wore very formal, and layered clothing.

Long black trench coat, high waisted triple button jeans, a tucked in white button up, and a setesdalsgenser lay seated beside him.

His pale skin gave off the illusion that he was glowing in the sun.

Shifting my gaze, I turned to an argumentative pair, the girl in which being the voice I heard before.

Without a door muffling her, she made me want to cover my ears, her voice echoing across the room and into the depths of the hall.

She was a petite girl, thin, with almost a doll-like regal quality to her, though she was shorter by several inches.

She had a childish quality to her, and yet a mature look as she clenched her fists, poking her tongue at her counterpart, who leant against the kitchen counter, grinning lazily, "Am I bothering you, Mulan?~"

I hesitated, edging forward, then backwards.

What should I do?

"Could you two please act more civilized, in case you hadn't noticed, there is someone at the door"

The beanbag boy's voice was sharp, yet dancing with the notes of a usually gentle foreign tone. His please was laced with poison, and he acted as if his 'civilized' mannerisms were met by aliens. To him, he was talking to the unruly wildlife and the seemingly illiterate. Or at least that was what I read in the glint in his eyes.

"The door?" The girl repeated with a naïve innocence radiating as she tilted her head.

"You know, that piece of wood with metal sticking out of it that you had to open to get in this very room" Bean Bag-boy muttered sarcastically.

A chuckle on the couch alerted me to the figure lounging on the red velvet couch.

"Easy now, she is just distracted by her 'best friend' "

A gorgeous tan figure lounging on the couch piped up, stifling a yawn. He had a genuine smile written all over him and a relaxed, calm manner.

In the sun, his eyes glowed, beconing me forward. Taking a few more hesitant steps, I edged closer into the room.

Beanbag boy scoffed quietly, dark blue eyes flicking back to me briefly, yet he never turned around, muttering a string of incoherent sentences into his book.

"..." Swallowing, I looked to the ground for comfort, feeling a tad unwelcome.

"Sorry about him, he's a little intense " The boy on the couch ran his fingers sleepily through his hair, standing up good mannerdly.

I didn't even have a chance to respond as I was tackled in a hug, "BRIDGETTTTTTT"

Glaring, Beanbag boy had somehow gotten up without our realization, and kicked the door shut, electing a yelp out of me and my petite friend.

He stalked back to his seat, muttering something along the lines of, 'Raised in a barn, I swear'

"H-Heya Jai--"

The smaller girl nuzzled into my shoulder affectionately, giggling like a mad woman. Long, gorgeous brown- black hair loosely tied back with thin red, blue and black silk ribbons rubbed against my skin, frizzing up from the casual display of affection.

Bound in tight, yet beautiful traditional Chinese clothing, her posture was rather tense and unnaturally straight.

"You know 'Her Highness'?" The Russian with whom she had previously been arguing with loomed over us, curiously bright. Mainly it was because of his large build, but I couldn't help but shrink down. It was hard to describe the feeling, but he at the same time, was and wasn't intimidating.

"She's my best friend!"

"Heyyyy, I thought I was your best friend"

"In your dreams!"

"You dream about me?~"

"Shut up!"

"Very persuasive argument"

"I said shut up"

"Wow, your vocabulary of insults is just  soo fascinating, isn't it, so extensive, so broad" Beanbag boy piped up sarcastically. He wanted to start something.

Maybe it was his only source of entertainment.

"Extens-wat? What does that even mean?!"

Jai lee turned back to beanbag-boy, starting a mini argument over his words. I was admittedly surprised the stoic (and stuck up) boy indulged her nonsense. He must have been incredibly bored.

"You must be the illustrious Dimitri Ivanov, i've heard so much about you" My words felt awkward, and I could only guess how anti-social I was coming across as.

"That I am, I cannot however say I am aware of who you are, дорогой друг (dear friend)"

He was tall, with a thick Russian accent, yet he had a rather soft voice. Set amongst pale skin was the most eye-catching deep-set blue orbs, with the most unique shade of blue I'd ever seen in a person's eyes.

They were dark and light at the same time, purple dancing in between a thin line of grey and a dash of green.

It was strangely hypnotic.

"I--"

Cut off by a loud hiss, sounding scarily like a pair of feral cats, my head whipped around, eyes blown wide in surprise. Covering my ears, Dimitri leant against a counter, amused, "They should call her, 'Your Loudness' rather than highness"

"Oh shut up" Jai lee rolled her eyes moodily, fists clenched.

She stalked away from Beanbag boy, clearly through with whatever he had said to her.

The said boy grimaced, gritting his teeth in an ill tempered manner.

"I'm Bridget Michaels" I tried again, introducing myself nervously.

"Lovino Ricci '' The Italian on the couch smiled lightly.

Lovino was nice. Well, he seemed nice. There was a certain genuinity to him. Then and again, I couldn't judge a book by its cover.

Or could I? I mean, I was assuming the best in him, so this was the exception, wasn't it?

"You already know i'm Jai lee, and this is Dimitri, aka the most annoying man in the world" Jai lee's words were basically rushed and incomprehensible due to the fact she was acting like a child high on caffeine, bouncing about and babbling nonsense.

Glancing over my shoulder, I gazed at the boy on the beanbag.

"Oi, introduce yourself!" Jai lee snapped at him. "Stop being rude, jerk!"

Could have sworn I saw a vein protruding from his temple, and he tried to ignore us by holding his book up higher.

Jai lee won't let this go....

"I won't stop nagging you, what's your name, what's your name, what's your name--"

"ANDERS BORJA" Anders slammed shut his book, looked over his shoulder and literally threw his book in her direction. I barely had time to react as Dimitri became a blur, snatching the book up before it hit the floor.

"You know this book is important to you, what have we said about throwing your belongings when 'Her Highness' is being annoying?" Dimitri purred, sounding like an adult talking to a small child.

Anders rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, moodily he slowly took his heavy book off the Russian.

Sitting down at the table, Jai lee and Lovino joined me.

***********************************************************************************************************************************

"What subjects do you like in school?" Lovino asked curiously, glancing up briefly from his drawing.

"...Math(?)" I sounded more like a question rather than an answer, but I was substantially more relaxed than when I first arrived. Green eyes smiled at me, clearly pleased with my answer, yet I knew no matter what I would have said, he would have smiled.

In the few hours I had known him, I could tell he was a kind soul who cared about those around him, no matter who you were.

"Yessss!" Jai lee cheered, throwing her hands up in the air, knocking pencils to the tiled floor with an echoing clatter.

Lovino rested an elbow idly on the table, delicately shading his drawing while continuing the conversation, "I love math as well, i'm not very good at many other subjects admittedly"

"Really?!"

The moment it came out of my mouth, I immediately slapped a hand to my mouth, "I'MSORRYTHATWASRUDEOFME--"

Light, musical laughter sounded from his mouth, and in the corner of my eye I saw a sickly dark blue glare.

"It's ok, I never really spent much time in school anyway, I was usually out at photoshoot's, so I tended to miss a lot of school," Lovino shrugged. "I tried to fit some studying in between, but the work never really clicked with me because I was mostly self taught, and I rarely had time for a  tutor... my parents never really pressured me to do better either, so learning was kind of hard for me... only math, Italian and english stuck"

I had learnt that Lovino had become a young model in his pre-teen years, and was rather well known in Italy for some of his work. Made sense based on his looks and style.

"Math was fun for me, it always made sense, well, actually no, a lot of questions were weird... like the sentences they'd be written in" Jai lee piped picking up the pencils from the floor.

"You mean the context that'd be given~" Dimitri singsonged.

"Ah yes, math, the only time where people buy inconspicuous amounts of sh*t and NOONE thinks to ask why. One of the many mysteries in life" Anders rolled his eyes with biting sarcasm. He lay bored in the sun, book skewed on the floor on top of his neatly folded jacket.

Jai lee poked her tongue out at him, to which he responded with a lazy raised middle finger without opening his eyes.

Another half hour passed and everyone was growing bored. Many topics had been issued and the conversation was beginning to drown out. General chatter and questions about each other had been asked. It was interesting to find that everyone in the room knew at least one person in the room in some way.

I knew Jai lee, Jai lee knew Dimitri, Dimitri knew Anders, and Anders knew Lovino.

It felt a little coincidental, but then and again, with the line of work out parents were in, I shrugged the thought away. Dimitri had long since abandoned his strange looking phone, a very D.I.Y looking piece of technology that rested for an eternity in his hand as he typed away with speedy thumbs, walking circles around the table whilst he chatted eagerly with the recipient.

Lovino was drawing picture after picture, it seemed he had a real artistic talent, and Jai lee...

Well, Jai lee had taken to rolling around the floor since she was bored of raiding the pantry, and Anders had threatened to break her hand if she poked him again.

She offered me to join her, to which I politely declined the princesses offer.

Yes, she was my best friend, however 'rolling about the floor was best suited for the professionals', as Dimitri had stated. It was, however, nice to be in the same room with my best friend. It wasn't too often we got to meet in person, due to the whole 'living in different countries' thing.

Scrunched up bundles of paper that littered the floor all ended up in Dimitri's hands eventually and would make a swift course to the back of Anders head.

The Norwegian refused to acknowledge the constant cycle, but it was clear he was getting irritated if his growling meant anything.

"You're really good at art" I complimented, to which I earned a stunning smile.

"Thank you, I spend alot of my time drawing, so I appreciate the compliment"

"Yeah, actually Lovino here designed my tattoo" Dimitri pulled down the corner of his shirt's neckline, revealing a black bird mid-flight with a blue flower in its beak. Underneath the tail feathers lay four stars.

A blush covered my olive skin at the amount of flesh he was showing, shoulders tucking into my body.

Chuckling, Dimitri let the fabric run backup to its original position.

"I got it a few years ago, to commemorate my mother's... passing"

My heart twinged, Jai lee looked away, and Lovino dipped his head in respect, whispering a small prayer.

Gazing at the inside of his right forearm, I noticed another tattoo.

"What's that one?" I asked, Jai lee rolling over to us from her spot on the floor, clutching his arm curiously to inspect the black markings up his arm.

"血で血を洗う。(Washing blood with blood), a Japanese proverb" Dimitri translated.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jai lee asked confused, running a dainty finger along the markings. "I don't remember this one

"I got it recently, it's to do with family, I would explain it, but it will just go over your head" Dimitri pat her head, ruffling her hair. "Family is the most important thing in the world to me"

Jai lee, though irritated she was being undermined, sat back, mentally trying to work out what it meant.

How can you wash blood with blood?

You could practically see the confusion written all over her face. Humming, Dimitri swiftly made a paper plane, setting its course for the back of Anders head.

True to his aim, it hit its mark.

It was like setting off a bomb.

Or, at least that's what I visualized with that short temper of his.

"That's it," He stood up, shoved his book in his bag and made his way to the door. "F*ck you, f*ck this place, f*ck--"

He cut himself off to curse some more in his language, teeth grit, fists clenched.

He seemed rather unsettled, like something was bothering him outside of the room.

The whole time we were here, he kept glancing back at the door with a dark gaze. It wasn't irritation, but like he was expecting something bad to happen.

The anticipation had him on edge, his nerves were getting to him.

"W-wait, we aren't supposed to leave the r--" I shrunk back at his seething glare, letting out an involuntary squeak of distress. Shrinking down, I shifted closer to Lovino and Jai lee, swallowing nervously.

"Oi! You don't talk to my best friend like that!" Jai lee's words were thrown over everyones head as the pale boy scoffed, silencing any words from his mouth with a look Lovino sent his way.

"Hm..." Dimitri leant against his knuckle, a thoughtful smile lighting up his features, along with an inquisitive, knowing likeness in his eyes.

"Bridget has a point, Anders, we aren't supposed to leave the room, what if we get caught?" Lovino stood up, placing a hand lightly on his friend's shoulder. The next words to come out of his mouth were much more quiet, and felt rather personal. "Look, don't get me wrong, I know what you think about them..."

"After all we researched, I need physical proof, Lovi" Anders whispered back, eyes meeting Dimitri.

The Russian blinked slowly, giving nothing away except a flicker of agreement.

"I wanna explore too!!!" Jai lee jumped about cheerfully.

Turning to me, Lovino sighed, "It seems we are two to two...."

Biting my inner cheek, I felt the soft plush flesh slide between my teeth. It was to calm my racing nerves. I didn't want to disappoint my father, but why did I have the feeling something more was going on?

Something didn't feel right.

Ever since we entered the forest, I could feel something was off. The atmosphere, my instincts screaming to run, and that weird pulsing feeling in my throat.

All that topped off by Anders behaviour unsettled me, I felt like something bigger was going on.

Am I missing something? I wondered anxiously.

Lovino and I communicated with our eyes, gazes turning from doubt, to concern to something that said, 'I need to tell you something...'

"Umm, Bridget, there's something--"

Turning away, we came to the realization that we were the only ones in the room.

"Come on," Rubbing his temples, Lovino sighed, used to Anders' stubborn nature. "Looks like it's up to us to keep them in check...."

[predatoryminds]

What is Predatory Minds? 

Well, Predatory Minds is one of the few book series I have been working on, and it is my longest running series. I’ve been working on this series for over Eight years, and it is my most important series out of all of the books i’ve been writing. Predatory Minds is a mixed first person P.O.V series covering the adventures of a few unfortunate teenagers who have been unknowingly experimented on by the famous company which is basically this world’s Amazon,  who has been working (and buying) it’s way into the central intelligence and governments of the world, Arrowsmith.  Bridget Michaels is struggling with her parent’s inevitable divorce, no matter how hard (or not) they try to hide it from her. Secret DJ, otherwise she does moderately ok in school, keeps more to herself, and struggles with acceptance and self-esteem.  In other words, yes, she is your stereotypical main character. With both her parents working for the United State’s government, they decide to take Bridget with them to the secret office in New Hampshire (where they live) after giving some lame excuses why she can’t stay home, initiating a tense car ride.  This alone is uncharacteristic, since this office is top secret, and very few know of this location. So, Bridget expects this is probably where she will be getting the talk.  Well, turns out it’s not the talk she was expecting....  She meet’s a few other unique individuals, all of which belong to families with some form of government ties.   Her best (and only real) friend, Jai lee Yang the Third of the Yang Dynasty, (AKA: the Future empress of The People’s Republic of China and Kazakhstan.) a childish and pouty, yet loveable chatter mouth with Daddy issues, and a distaste for the marriage her father keeps trying to set up for her.  Lovino Lacino Ricci, a small-time gorgeous Italian model with a heart of gold that puts everyone ahead of himself, and feels rather objectified by his rather questionable family ties. He is also the voice of reason for the group, and the only one who really can tolerate his fiery best friend, Anders.  Anders Borja, the sharp tongued snarky, short tempered genius, and traumatized jerk of the group. A conspirest, and the only one seemingly with knowledge of a certain event that they all supposedly were a part of and the first to voice his mistrust towards Arrowsmith.  And last, but not least, the fan favorite, Dimitri Udalyat’ Ivanov. A mysterious, impossible to read psychopath with calm, and suave mannerisms. Everything he says is meticulously planned, and he is always smiling. He is the Cheshire cat waiting to strike. And, the so-called 'best-friend' of Jai lee (Who denies it at all costs).  What's even stranger, is the fact the four teens of a similar age are brought together, rather than being kept in their separate accommodation after the long flight from their home countries.  As each interaction reveals secret after secret, Anders suspicions are spoken aloud by a set of rash decisions, and a set of codes entangling these teenagers' fates.  What exactly are these black numbers branded onto their skin, what do they mean? And what actually happened all those years ago when it all started?  So, with that description, I hope you look forward to the series, and feel free to ask any questions! Some early art and well concept designs of some characters might eventually be released and teaser chapters will be posted on the official Tumblr. With Predatory Minds, there will be the main series, and after the final issue is dropped, I have been working on many mini series and spin offs of the main characters and side characters highlighting aftermath events, backstory’s pre-dating the main series, and snippet’s from other characters during different events the main few were not a part of.  The series, despite involving abilities, is focused on being as realistic as possible in many aspects, and I am trying my best, so I honestly do hope you enjoy it!!! Honestly, this series is my love, and the characters my babies. I really do hope you enjoy this. However, this series will have rather grotesque scenes, and a fair amount of gore. I do not condone the use of violence in real life, and this entire series is fictional!!! Please don't try to reenact any of this in real life if it is not legal, or something a functioning member of society would do. And, no, please do not think that the actions of my characters reflect my personal beliefs or opinions. THIS IS FICTION.

[predatoryminds]

Subject notes: A calm, and almost innocent young man. No complaints to treatment and well mannered. Observation period was rather pleasant, and he reacted well to treatment.

Griffon Wilks Waer Nicknames: ⦁ Griff (Luca, Dimitri) ⦁ Griffy (Dimitri) ⦁ Gif (Siblings) ⦁ Sunboy (Siblings, Leo, few others) (Most used nickname) ⦁ Mythic jerk/ Incredible dumb*ss *accompanied constantly by an exasperated sigh* (Anders)

Ability: Draw in energy from objects/ elements and exert it in fine beams in focused parts of his body (Like a laser)or a potential blast that is dangerous and possibly detrimental to himself (SPOILER) Coding and placement: Thigh, 817245 Age: 17 Sex: Male Gender: Male Place of Birth: File not found Birthday: 17th April Currently living in: A mansion in the Netherlands, location undisclosed (About 11,410 square feet of living space with 10 bedrooms, foyer with double staircase, multiple living rooms, formal dining room, kitchen, greenhouse and more) Species/Race: ⦁ (Formerly) Human ⦁ (Currently) Rovesciare (SPOILERS) Ethnicity: ½ Danish, ½ Spanish Blood Type: ⦁ (Formerly) O+ ⦁ (Currently) AB- Occupation: Student, Millionaire's Child/ Poster child Social Status: Upper class (Top few) Relationship Status: Single

Appearance Body Build: Broad in chest and shoulders, slim. Height: 5’9 Weight: 65 kg Skin color: Olive- tan skin, caramelly Hairstyle: Fluffy mess that somehow looks neat Hair color: Rusty ginger (So not ginger-ginger, but brown ginger) Short hair

Eye color: Soft green eyes Preferred Clothing: Fancy clothing, suits, posh clothing

Health General health: Healthy (Based on media reports) Posture: Straight, very good, rarely slouches, unless he is trying for a more suave look Any physical illnesses?: None Any mental illnesses?: Moderate anxiety (Noted from observation period) Take drugs?: No Smoke?: Tried once, never done again Mental/Emotional State Archetype: The lover/ The caregiver Mental age: 25 (Very mature) Act before thinking/Think before acting?: In-between, usually thinks first however Emotion-wise, generally: Quite emotional, usually a bit smug, but very grown up and brotherly

Conversation Way of speaking: Dutch, little bit of Spanish and French, English

Hobbies Strengths: Elegance, grace, basic and extensive life skills like sewing, cooking, childcare, ect. Weakness: He can be a bit of a jerk at times, will try go out of his way to look good Education: Excellent

Secrets Fears Dreams/Goals Views/Opinions on... Government: He doesn’t care about them, not his concern, he just likes that they provide him and his family with money Religion: Agnostic Technology: He doesn’t agree with technology, he feels the younger generation is too reliant on it and he fears for what may happen if they go kaput Favorite Food: Vegan Burgers and Cupcakes Color: Mauve Animal: Czechoslovak Wolfdog Number: 67 Holiday: Koningsdag/ King's Day Season: Spring Time of day: Noon Thing to watch: Paint dry Movie: The Notebook Show: Anything romantic Type of art: Painting (mainly scenery) Genre of music: Country Genre of literature: Romance Genre of shows: Romance, Comedy Genre of movies: Romance, Comedy

History Relationships: Unknown Girl (deceased) Family: No blood siblings, or family, (All adopted) Robin Waer (Female, 7), Heather Waer (Female, 10), Amity Waer (Female, 6), Anastasia Waer (Female, 11), Ciara Waer (Female, 7), Silver Waer (Female, 9), Ariana Waer (Female, 6), Lizana Waer (Female, 9) Consider’s Luca and Leonardo as brothers. Adopted parent: Malthe Wilks Waer Love interest: Unknown Friends/Allies: Unknown Enemies: Arrowsmith Quotes: None Trivia: ⦁ His family owns 3 dogs, a Czechoslovak Wolfdog, Utonagan, and a Keeshond ⦁ Griffon has been to over 12 countries ⦁ Griffon’s has a surprising Iron deficiency, and has to eat a lot of gummies to compensate ⦁ His favorite sibling is Anastasia ⦁ He was almost assassinated by Dimitri and has a slight grudge against him, enjoying being an ass towards him, trying to use him sly, ‘peaceful’ charm to aggrivate the Russian ⦁ He is one of the weakest of the main cast ⦁ His nickname Sunboy is for his love of sunbathing in the sleeping chair out in his backyard and his constant need to shine brightly above others, that he sometimes burns them

[predatoryminds]

(ALL BIO'S WILL CONTAIN SMALL SPOILERS, SO BE CAUTIOUS READING THEM. SPOILERS WILL HAVE (SPOILER)  NEXT TO THEM)

Surveyor's notes: Staff members have noted that the subject in question is rather unstable and impossible to predict, other than the fact that he is always smiling. He is rather intelligent, however seems to be both unstable and manipulative. Proceed with caution, do not provoke or challenge. Try at all cost to keep the conversation in your favor and keep the subject entertained interested, otherwise whatever happens will result in some form of negative impact.

Full Name: Dimitri Udalyat' Ivanov Nicknames: ⦁ Dimi (Various) ⦁ Ivanov ⦁ Eskimo Ability: Pyrokinesis (SPOILER) Coding and placement: Right side of his abdomen, 734053 Age: 19 Sex: Male Gender: Male Place of Birth: Yakutsk Якутск Sakha Republic Russia Birthday: 11th, January Currently living in: File not found Species/Race: ⦁ (Formerly) Human ⦁ (Currently) Rovesciare (SPOILER) Ethnicity: Russian, ¼ German Blood Type: ⦁ A+ (Former) ⦁ AB- (Currently) Occupation: ⦁ Hitman/ Assassin/ Spy Social Status: Unknown, assumed to be upper-class Relationship Status: Single, Past relationships unknown

Appearance Body Build: Well muscled but not over the top, body all in portion, about medium build Height: 6'2 Weight: Unknown Skin colour: Pale/ White Hair color: Silver, Grey, Black, White Eye color: Rare/ Unique Pale blue eyes with bits of green, grey and purple in them, identical to Kaida-acacia Distinguishing Features: Tattoo of a Bird around a few stars with a rose in it’s mouth in commemoration of his dead mother on his chest, and some Japanese characters along inner arm. Preferred Clothing: Unknown Accessories: None

Health General health: Very fit and extremely healthy Posture: Good, he has a relaxed- upright posture so he isn't straining himself, but doesn’t damage his spine either Any physical illnesses?: None Any mental illnesses?: File not found. Patient is thought to be mentally ill, and excitable through the prospect of violence, monitors have stated. Take drugs?: File not found. Smoke?: File not found.

Conversation Way of speaking: Smooth, calm. Observers noted he is almost always in control of the conversation and can sway others easily

Hobbies Habits Strengths/Weaknesses Strengths: Unknown Weakness: Unknown.

Secrets Fears Dreams/Goals Views/Opinions on… Government: Unknown Religion: Unknown Economy: Unknown Technology: Carries an untraceable self made phone Favourites Food: Unknown Color: Unknown Animal: Possibly Owls, however there is no evidence to back up this claim Number: Unknown Holiday: Unknown Season: Winter Time of day: Potentially Night, however unknown

History Personality: File not found Relationships: None Family: File not found Parent: File not found Love interest: None Friends/Allies: Alignment is uncertain Enemies: Multiple unnamed Quotes: 'There is nothing sweeter than the sight of everything crumbling around you, knowing that you could both start and end the world at anytime you please'

[predatoryminds]

(ALL BIO'S WILL CONTAIN SMALL SPOILERS, SO BE CAUTIOUS READING THEM. SPOILERS WILL HAVE (SPOILER)  NEXT TO THEM)

Anders Borja Nicknames: If you have a death wish, I implore you to give him a nickname, I dare you, see if you live to tell the tale afterwards and regret this decision. Ability: Electrokinesis (SPOILER) Coding and placement: 810023, just below the back of his neck Age: 19 Sex: Male Gender: Male Place of Birth: Norway, Tromsø Birthday: 17th June Currently living in: ⦁ Norway, Tromsø Species/Race: ⦁ (Former) Human ⦁ (Currently) Rovesciare (SPOILER) Ethnicity: Norwegian Blood Type: ⦁ (Former) B+ ⦁ (Current) AB- Occupation: Scholar-Student Social Status: Middle class Relationship Status: Single

Appearance Body Build: Slim, really nice figure, not thin-thin, a nice slim, ice dancer body Height: 5’9 Weight: 54.5 kg Skin color: Snow- white, pale Hairstyle: Soft part, slightly straying ends he has to occasionally brush out of his face, shaved ends/ undercut Hair color: Medium Brown - Ash brown Eye color: Dark blue Distinguishing Features: Sharp eyes (not Asian, just sharp because he glares a lot and is rather serious), really nice figure, slim hips, cuts scatteres about his, face, especially on his right cheek, and one above his eyebrow) Preferred Clothing: Black, Trench coats, high collars, polar necks, warm yet dark clothing, that cover all his wounds. Accessories: 1 lobe piercing (Wears emerald-colored stud), 1 helix piercing, 1 orbital (Helix and orbital he wears cuffs)

Health General health: Quite healthy, though has been through a few surgeries since car-crash, mainly on leg Posture: Good, slightly bent at times though from tiredness, occasionally slumps, slight curve in the spine at times Any physical illnesses?: Injured left leg, gone through surgery, slight limp Any mental illnesses?: Depression, mental trauma, PTSD Take drugs?: Prescribed by a doctor, Venlafaxine (Effexor XR), doesn’t always take them unless forced Smoke?: No

Conversation Way of speaking: Norwegian, English, (eventually) Russian Swears?: Yes, regularly

Streangths weaknesses: Strengths: He is very smart, great at science, general knowledge, astronomy, good cook Weakness: Easily irritated, stubborn and naturally argumentative Education: Scholar student IQ: In the high 180+

Secrets Fears Dreams/Goals Views/Opinions on... Government: He doesn’t trust them one bit Religion: Formerly Christian Technology: He is very good at researching and good with tech Favourites Food: Mash potatoes, sweet yet spicy soup Color: Grey Animal: Wolf, or any for of dog/ dog species Number: 12 Holiday: None Season: He doesn’t care about trivial things like this Time of day: Anytime he can escape Dimitri, Jai lee, Leo, and basically anyone Thing to watch: He likes mystery shows with dark twists Movie: None Show: Dark (2017 Netflix) Type of art: Oil painting's Genre of music: He doesn’t have a preference Genre of literature: Murder, Mystery, Romance, Thriller Genre of shows: Murder, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Victorian Genre of movies: Murder, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

History Personality: Moody, soft spot for rare particular people (Aka: Only known people so far is Lovino and Kaida), usually harsh, gruff, grumpy, salty, serious, smart, sarcastic, a grouch, pessimistic, will insult others even if he doesn't know the answer himself, is provocative, if rolling eyes is a personality , then that's his Relationships: ⦁ Turid Strommen (Former girlfriend) Family: ⦁ Jay (Younger brother) ⦁ Shane (Older brother/ Deceased) (SPOILER) ⦁ Mother and Father (Unnamed) (Deceased) (SPOILER) ⦁ Parental figure: Aunt (SPOILER) Love interest: Kaida- Acacia Higanbana Ivanov Friends/Allies: ⦁ The main Rovesciare (SPOILER) ⦁ Enemies: Voxx, the US government, Arrowsmith, the British Monarch (SPOILER) Quotes: “And why try, why, if everyone will just abandon you, I am useless, and so are you. My brain is big, unlike yours however…” (SPOILER) Trivia: ⦁ Right-handed ⦁ Has an awesome sweater collection ⦁ One of the smartest characters along with Dimitri ⦁ Likes History and Science

[predatoryminds]

Chapter one - Dull office makes for dumb days! I watched shapes fly by in a blur outside the car window, music blocking out everyone and everything. My headphones sat tight over my ears, tangled in amongst my wavy length. As irritating as it was, I put up with it. Every movement I made, a hair would get caught and I’d feel a sharp tug at my scalp, but I just ignored it. I could feel Father’s gaze turn back to me every few minutes, dark blue eyes trying to figure me out, wanting to know what I was thinking, what I was feeling. Subtly, I pushed my round glasses up and kept quiet, not going to feel obliged to respond to these desperate attempts of futile bonding, it wasn’t worth the hassle. It never was. Just focus on something else, anything else. That was what I told myself, and that was what I would stick with. Mother, on the other hand, was too occupied with the road ahead to bother with an attempt at conversation. I was thankful for this, if they both had been on my case, then I would have been doomed. As sweet and innocent as she seemed, the woman was pretty damn persuasive. Keep on acting as if I don't know, The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. Should I be offended you think I'm so stupid, or be 'grateful' since we haven't had the 'Divorce' talk yet... Pretending everything was alright was stressful for all parties involved, besides, as a government official's child, appearances obviously had to be kept up. Scrolling through my phone, I smiled at the pictures from the party I had DJ'd the other night, not that anyone knew it was me under the helmet. I could feel fathers gaze continuously turn back to me every few seconds, He wasn't subtle, bluntness and making things clear was both his biggest strength, and yet also his biggest flaw. I kept quiet, focusing on my phone, on the music, on something else, anything else. But either way, I was drawn back to my awkward and hurtful reality. When green orbs met blue, Father turned away, bearing the same burden known as awkwardness. That was one of the few things we had in common. We both were rather uncomfortable people. Father looked out his window, thoughts crinkling his face almost to the point of a scowl. Huffing, he placed his hand turned over next-to mother's. It was a desperate attempt to apear calm and 'happy'. Mother let out a humm of surprise, but then smiled, enterwining her fingers with his. She pulled off a cheerful and egar look better than my dear old dad did, yet there was always some sort of telltale sign I could find in the image. This time, gazing just beyond her seat, I could see her hand on the wheel slightly grip. I didn't like feeling anger, and frusteration, but the more they delayed telling me that they wanted to split up, the more I wanted to throw things, throw a tantrum, cry, scream. Anythign to show them how it effected everyone in our house. They might not think it, but for me, they both were easy to read. It was so obvious to tell the mood they were in. The little habits they had, like Mother tended to clean when she was stressed, and Father baked when he was anxious and needed to relax, and he brushed his hair back alot when he overthinks. That's probably why his hair was so greasy. Stop trying so hard, Rolling my eyes, I chewed the inside of my cheek to at least try to calm down my stomach. I know you're forcing it... My parent's were obsessed with public image, or rather to seem togeather. They wern't even close to being the happy family people thought we were. They argued, threatened divorce and worse, as if i'd turned deaf, like I couldn't hear them. It happened almost everyday, and made the atmosphere so incredibly uncomfortable. It was painful to watch, even just hearing it put a strain on my already fragile heart. But, i'm used to this, they've been doing this for almost two years now. I kind of felt guilty, like it was my fault. I mean, why else would they stay togeather if they hate eachother so much, if not to taking care of me? They must feel guilty, so it's to the point they go through a whole grin and bear it routine. Well, it's that, or they did it for their job. I mean, if someone can't keep their marrage togeather, how could they hold such an important government job's? After driving for what felt like hours, we finally entered the cage of a forest, making our way to what I called ' The safe hold.' The New Hampshire Divisional Covert Facillity, or, if you prefer're lazy, the N.H.D.C.F. It was really out the way of any people, off the grid, deep within the thick dense forest to a far off clearing. I had wondered many a time how my parents even had landed this job, but I never asked. I never expected a reply. I had no clue what they actually did in their 'very important job's' but whatever it was, it was extremely top secret, or something like that. After a excrutiatingly long bumpy drive through the rather unstable road, I tried to surpress the strange chill coursing through my body, and the feeling my heart had taken a trip to my throat. Unease washed over me, and I had the strangest feeling something was wrong. Oh so very wrong. Pulling my red and black flannel shirt closer to my body, I focused on my breathing as we pulled up to the gate. It's ok, Bridget, everything is fine, I reassured myself, wondering what this sense of dread was. It's probably just the atmosphere in the car! Perking up, I watched the road ahead, pausing my music. I had been here before, but it wasn't too often I came with my family to the facillity. Usually I would be at school, or when they travelled overseas, i'd go with them (Which happened alot). They did tend to work most weekends, not that they complained, if anything, they both were rather passionate about their jobs. But on weekends, i'd stay home, so I couldn't understand why today was different. The only conclusion that my already strained mind could comprehend, was that it must be 'the day'. The day they finally talk to me, and tell me 'We are getting a divorce'. My thoughts only could line up to that, maybe it was because I constantly was preparing myself for the conversation. I mean we'd be in a professional enviroment, i'd have to be just that, professional. No way could I have a tantrum, or cry out here. But then and again, whenever I came here, they'd send me to another room to wait while they did work. And today was going to be a special day, since I wouldn't be alone. Some of our interational representatives would be visiting with some of their kids, so i'd have them for company. Oooh, they want to socialize me, and that way by being around others, I still can't cry! Very clever, I narrowed my eyes, swallowing a whimper as I felt tears pricking my eyes. My overthinking was getting the better of me. I didn't notice we had pulled up to the front security box as I buised myself with wiping away tears, hiding my look of dispair. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, just breath, I repeated the mantra, avoiding the obvious gaze of a curious old man sitting in his booth. "Afternoon, Henry" "Afternoon, Ma'am, Sir" Something about the crickity old man always set me off into a spiral of bad vibes. He made me rather uncomfortable, and he always stared so intently at me, like he was expecting something. As we pulled up to the car park, I could just feel the sentence coming as I slipped out of the car hastily. "You--" "Need to stay in the room, follow the rules, etc. etc, we've been through this, I got it" I muttered curtly, abnormally harsh. Despite my tone not being appreciated, Father nodded. "Let's go, team!" Mother cheered, almost skipping as we walked into the building. The overpowering smell of Cleanex  stung my nose as I scrunched up my face. As always, the N.H.D.C.F was impossibly ugly. Mismatched colors, and dieing plants. It was rather warm as well, and it blasted you in the face when you entered the building. It was never appreciated and the heat carried all sorts of smells that made you feel delirious. I hated it, I mean, how could anyone work in such an enviroment?! The Michaels trio were uniform, falling into the usual line. Mother in the lead, head high, chest puffed out as she walked with a cheery confidence. People tended to double take when they saw her in the facillity. She had soft youthful features, and a childish quallity to her. She was full of life and playful, yet set and determined, always fixated on the task ahead. She had persistance on her side, and could get anything acomplished if she tried. Father followed percisely 4 steps behind her, standing up straight, shoulders taught, gaze clouded with a dilligant seriousness and a whole universe worth of crunching numbers flowing from his mind. Almost everything the tall man did was maticulously planned out, he was set in his ways, and had a no nonsence attitude. And then there was me, meekly taking the rear of the line, lagging almost 12 stes behind, spine curved reflexively forward, nose glued to my phone as I tugged my headphones around my neck. I was a teenager, was what most would think, but it was actually a form of coping with the stress of meeting expectations. If I engaged or looked like I wanted to interact with others, I'd have to be all 'Adult-y'. I hated that, and the staff members of this place always asked the most awkward questions. Quickly pressing a tight hug to my mother and a mild bow to my father, we headed off our seperate ways. When I was finally alone, I let out a groan at the secenery around me. The halls stunk of a mixture of unsavoury air freshners, markers and cleaning products and the colors were so dull and bland. My sneakers squeaked relentlessly on the sticky marble floors. "I guess this is the place where all creativity comes to die" I murmered to myself, mildly amused. I always had some form of witty critisism about this place. It wouldn't be the same without a snarky remark about how utterly dead and ugly this place was. The dull grey and blues made me want to be sick, being the visually driven person I was. "If only they'd let me fix this place up" Breathing a sigh, I chuckled to myself, flicking through a few of my Pinterest boards, ideas flowing through my mind. It made me miss my room. Shutting off my phone, I stopped in front of a door. It muffled cries of anguish and mockery, despite being 'Sound-proof'. An familier and rather high pitched 'SHUT-UP!' could be heard, illicting a grimace and the tightening of my shoulders as I prepared for a head-ache. Flinching at the impact of cold steel in my palm, I pulled the door open wide. Warmth and sunlight hit me in waves of jubilation, and my world exploded with color. Red velvet furniture, couches, purples, black and white walls, colored glass panes. Everything looked and felt so inviting, I was in awe. This place had look so distasteful and honestly kind of tacky the last time I had been here, they must have done some serious renevations since then. The first thing you saw when you walked in was a huge, clear window spanning from the floor to the roof that had to be at least 3 meters long and 4 meters tall. We were on the 5th floor, so you had a beautiful view of the forest-scape and a far away lake, all set up with a rosy sun shining in the background. A boy sunken in a giant purple beanbag sat by his lonesome infront of the window, facing away from me. Shifting from foot to foot nervously, I noticed he was reading a thick book on Quantum Mechanics and Physics. Despite soaking up the rays, he wore very formal, and layered clothing. Long black trench coat, high waisted triple button jeans, a tucked in white button up, and a setesdalsgenser lay seated beside him. His pale skin gave off the illusion that he was glowing in the sun. Shifting my gaze, I turned to an argumentative pair, the girl in which being the voice I heard before. Without a door muffling her, she made me want to cover my ears, her voice echoing across the room and into the depths of the hall. She was a petite girl, thin, with almost a doll-like regal quallity to her, though she was shorter by several inches. She had a childish quallity to her, and yet a mature look as she clenched her fists, poking her tongue at her counterpart, who leant against the kitchen counter, grinning lazily, "Am I bothering you, Mulan?~" I hesitated, edging forward, then backwards. What should I do? "Could you two please act more civilized, in case you hadn't noticed, there is someone at the door" The beanbag boy's voice was sharp, yet dancing with the notes of a usually gentle forgien tone. His please was laced with poision, and he acted as if his 'civilized' mannerisms were met by ailens. To him, he was talking to the unruly wildlife and the seemingly illiterate. Or at least that was I read in the glint in his eyes. "The door?" The girl repeated with a naïve innocence radiating as she tilted her head. "You know, that peice of wood with metal sticking out of it that you had to open to get in this very room" Beanbag-boy mutterred sarcastically. A chuckle on the couch allerted me to the figure lounging on the red velvet couch. "Easy now, she is just distracted by her 'best friend' " A gorgous tan figure lounging on the couch piped up, stiffling a yawn. He had a genuine smile written all over him and a relaxed, calm manner. In the sun, his eyes glowed, beconing me forward. Taking a few more hesitant steps, I edged closer into the room. Beanbag boy scoffed quietly, dark blue eyes flicking back to me briefly, yet he never turned around, muttering a string of incoherent sentences into his book. "..." Swallowing, I looked to the ground for comfort, feeling a tad unwellcome. "Sorry about him, he's a little intense " The boy on the couch ran his fingers sleepily through his hair, standing up good mannerdly. I didn't even have a chance to respond as I was tackled in a hug, "BRIDGETTTTTTT" Glaring, Beanbag boy had somehow gotten up without our realization, and kicked the door shut illicting a yelp out of me and my petite friend. He stalked back to his seat, muttering something along the lines of, 'Raised in a barn, I swear' "H-Heya Jai--" The smaller girl nuzzled into my shoulder affectionatly, giggling like a mad woman. Long, gorgous brown- black hair loosely tied back with thin red, blue and black silk ribbons rubbed against my skin, frizzing up from the casual display of affection. Bound in tight, yet beautiful traditional chinese clothing, her posture was rather tense and unaturally straight. "You know 'Her Highness'?" The Russian with whom she had previously been arguing with loomed over us, curiously bright. Mainly it was because of his large build, but I couldn't help but shrink down. It was hard to describe the feeling, but he at the same time, was and wasn't intimadating. "She's my bestfriend!" "Heyyyy, I thought I was your best friend" "In your dreams!" "You dream about me?~" "Shut up!" "Very persuasive argument" "I said shut up" "Wow, your vocabulary of insults is just  soo fascinating, isn't it, so extensive, so broad" Beanbag boy piped up sarcastically. He wanted to start something. Maybe it was his only source of entertainment. "Extens-wat? What does that even mean?!" Jai lee turned back to beanbag-boy, starting a mini argument over his words. I was admittedly surprised the stoic (and stuck up) boy indulged her nonsense. He must have been incredibly bored. "You must be the illustrious Dimitri Ivanov, i've heard so much about you" My words felt awkward, and I could only guess how anti-social I was coming across as. "That I am, I cannot however say I am aware of who you are, дорогой друг (dear friend)" He was tall, Russian accent thick, yet he had a rather soft voice. Set amongst pale skin was the most eye catching deep-set blue orbs, with the most unique shade of blue i'd ever seen in a persons eyes. They were dark and light at the same time, purple dancing inbetween a thin line of grey and a dash of green. It was strangely hypnotic. "I--" Cut off by a loud hiss, sounding scarily like a pair of feral cats, my head whipped around, eyes blown wide in surprise. Covering my ears, Dimitri leant against a counter, amused, "They should call her, 'Your Loudness' rather than highness" "Oh shut up" Jai lee rolled her eyes moodily, fists clenched. She stalked away from Beanbag boy, clearly through with whatever he had said to her. The said boy grimaced, gritting his teeth in an ill tempered manner. "I'm Bridget Michaels" I tried again, introducing myself nurvously. "Lovino Ricci" The Itallian on the couch smiled lightly. Lovino was nice. Well, he seemed nice. There was a certian genuinuity to him. Then and again, I couldn't judge a book by it's cover. Or could I? I mean, I was assuming the best in him, so this was the exception, wasn't it? "You already know i'm Jai lee, and this is Dimitri, aka the most annoying man in the world" Jai lee's words were basically rushed and incomprehensible due to the fact she was acting like child high on caffiene, bouncing about and babbling nonsence. Glancing over my shoulder, I gazed at the boy on the beanbag. "Oi, introduce yourself!" Jai lee snapped at him. "Stop being rude, jerk!" Could have sworn I saw a vein protruding from his temple, and he tried to ignore us by holding his book up higher. Jai lee won't let this go.... "I won't stop nagging you, what's your name, what's your name, what's your name--" "ANDERS BORJA" Anders slammed shut his book, looked over his shoulder and literally threw his book in her direction. I barely had time to react as Dimitri became a blur, snatching the book up before it hit the floor. "You know this book is important to you, what have we said about throwing your belongings when 'Her Highness' is being annoying?" Dimitri purred, sounding like an adult talking to a small child. Anders rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, moodily he slowely took his heavy book off the Russian. Sitting down at the table, Jai lee and Lovino joined me. *********************************************************************************************************************************** "What subject's do you like in school?" Lovino asked curiously, glancing up briefly from his drawing. "...Math(?)" I sounded more like a question rather than an answer, but I was subsenituatlly more relaxed than when I first arrived. Green eyes smiled at me, clearly pleased with my answer, yet I knew no matter what I would have said, he would have smiled. In the few hours I had known him, I could tell he was a kind soul who cared about those around him, no matter who you were. "Yessss!" Jai lee cheered, throwing her hands up in the air, knocking pencils to the tiled floor with a echoing clatter. Lovino rested an elbow idily on the table, delicatly shading his drawing while continueing the conversation, "I love math as well, i'm not very good at many other subjects admittedly" "Really?!" The moment it came out of my mouth, I immediatly slapped a hand to my mouth, "I'MSORRYTHATWASRUDEOFME--" Light, musical laughter sounded from his mouth, and in the corner of my eye I saw a sickly dark blue glare. "It's ok, I never really spent much time in school anyway, I was usually out at photoshoot's, so I tended to miss alot of school," Lovino shrugged. "I tried to fit some studdying in between, but the work never really clicked with me because I was mostly self taught, and I rarely had time for a  tutor... my parents never really pressured me to do better either, so learning was kind of hard for me... only math, Itallian and english stuck" I had learnt that Lovino had become a young model in his pre-teen years, and was rather well know in Italy for some of his work. Made sense based off his looks and style. "Math was fun for me, it always made sense, well, actually no, alot of questions were weird... like the sentences they'd be written in" Jai lee piped picking up the pencils from the floor. "You mean context that'd be given~" Dimitri singsonged. "Ah yes, math, the only time where people buy inconspicuous amounts of sh*t and NOONE thinks to ask why. One of the many mysteries in life" Anders rolled his eyes with biting sarcasm. He lay bored in the sun, book skewed on the floor ontop of his neatly folded jacket. Jai lee poked her tongue out at him, to which he responded with a lazy raised middle finger without opening his eyes. Another half hour passed and everyone was growing bored. Many topics had be issued and the conversation was beginning to drown out. General chatter and questions about eachother had been asked. It was interesting to find that everyone in the room knew at least one person in the room in some way. I knew Jai lee, Jai lee knew Dimitri, Dimitri knew Anders, and Anders knew Lovino. It felt a little coincodental, but then and again, with the line of work out parents were in, I shrugged the thought away. Dimitri had long since abadoned his strange looking phone, a very D.I.Y looking piece of technology that rested for an eternity in his had as he typed away with speedy thumbs, walking circles around the table whilst he chatted egarly with the recipiant. Lovino was drawing picture after picture, it seemed he had a real artistic tallent, and Jai lee... Well, Jai lee had taken to rolling around the floor since she was bored of raiding the pantry, and Anders had threatened to break her hand if she poked him again. She offered me to join her, to which I politely declined the princesses offer. Yes, she was my best friend, however 'rolling about the floor was best suited for the professionals', as Dimitri had stated. It was, however, nice to be in the same room with my best friend. It wasn't too often we got to meet in person, due to the whole 'living in different countries' thing. Scrunched up bundles of paper that littered the floor all ended up in Dimitri's hands eventually and would make a swift course to the back of Anders head. The Norwegian refused to aknowledge the constant cycle, but it was clear he was getting irritated if his growling meant anything. "You're really good at art" I complimented, to which I earned a stunning smile. "Thank you, I spend alot of my time drawing, so I appreciate the compliment" "Yeah, actually Lovino here designed my tattoo" Dimitri pulled down the corner of his shirts neckline, revealing a black bird mid-flight with a blue flower in it's beak. Underneath the tail feathers lay four stars. A blush covered my olive skin at the amount of flesh he was showing, shoulders tucking in to my body. Chuckling, Dimitri let the fabric run back up to it's original position. "I got it a few years ago, to commemorate my mother's... passing" My heart twinged, Jai lee looked away, and Lovino dipped his head in respect, whispering a small prayer. Gazing at the inside of his right forearm, I noticed another tattoo. "What's that one?" I asked, Jai lee rolling over to us from her spot on the floor, clutching his arm curiously to inspect the black markings up his arm. "血で血を洗う。(Washing blood with blood), a Japanese proverb" Dimitri translated. "What's that supposed to mean?" Jai lee asked confused, running a dainty finger along the markings. "I don't remember this one "I got it recently, it's to do with family, I would explain it, but it will just go over your head" Dimitri pat her head, ruffling her hair. "Family is the most important thing in the world to me" Jai lee, though irritated she was being undermined, sat back, mentally trying to work out what it meant. How can you wash blood with blood? You could practically see the confusion written all over her face. Humming, Dimitri swiftly made a paper plane, setting it's course for the back of Anders head. True to his aim, it hit it's mark. It was like setting off a bomb. Or, at least that's what I visualized with that short tempter of his. "That's it," He stood up, shoved his book in his bag and made his way for the door. "F*ck you, f*ck this place, f*ck--" He cut himself off to curse some more in his language, teeth grit, fists clenched. He seemed rather unsettled, like something was bothering him outside of the room. The whole time we were here, he kept glancing back at the door with a dark gaze. It wasn't irritation, but like he was expecting something bad to happen. The anticipation had him on edge, his nerves were getting to him. "W-wait, we aren't supposed to leave the r--" I shrunk back at his seething glare, letting out an involuntary squeak of distress. Shrinking down, I shifted closer to Lovino and Jai lee, swallowing nervously. "Oi! You don't talk to my best friend like that!" Jai lee's words were thrown over everyone's head as the pale boy scoffed, silencing any words from his mouth with a look Lovino sent his way. "Hm..." Dimitri leant against his knuckle, a thoughtful smile lighting up his features, along with an inquisitive, knowing likeness in his eyes. "Bridget has a point, Anders, we aren't supposed to leave the room, what if we get caught?" Lovino stood up, placing a hand lightly on his friends shoulder. The next words to come out of his mouth were much more quiet, and felt rather personal. "Look, don't get me wrong, I know what you think about them..." "After all we researched, I need physical proof, Lovi" Anders whispered back, eyes meeting Dimitri. The Russian blinked slow, giving nothing away except a flicker of agreement. "I wanna explore too!!!" Jai lee jumped about cheerfully. Turning to me, Lovino sighed, "It seems we are two to two...." Biting my inner cheek, I felt the soft plush flesh slide between my teeth. It was to calm my racing nerves. I didn't want to disappoint my father, but why did I have the feeling something more was going on? Something didn't feel right. Ever since we entered the forest, I could feel something was off. The atmosphere, my instincts screaming to run, and that weird pulsing feeling in my throat. All that topped off by Anders behavior unsettled me, I felt like something bigger was going on. Am I missing something? I wondered anxiously. Lovino and I communicated with our eyes, gazes turning from doubt, to concern to something that said, 'I need to tell you something...' "Umm, Bridget, there's something--" Turning away, we came to the realization that we were the only ones in the room. "Come on," Rubbing his temples, Lovino sighed, used to Anders stubborn nature. "Looks like it's up to us to keep them in check...."

[predatoryminds]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!! THIS HAS HEAVY THEMES AND INTENSE GORE AND THOROUGHLY DISTURBING SCENES, AND POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING TOPICS!!!! THIS SERIES WAS STARTED BY ME WHEN IN 2010, AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IT SINCE THEN, SO, WELL, PLEASE BE NICE TvT. ALSO, PLEASE READ WITH A CAREFUL AND OPEN MIND EACH CHARATER HAS A VERY SPECIFIC BACKGROUND, AND A GOOD MAJORITY OF THEIR PAST AND CURRENT LIFESTYLE ATTRIBUTES TO THE STORY AND IS ACTUALLY VERY IMPORTANT. MOST OF THEM HAVE A REASON FOR THEIR PARTICULAR LIVES, SO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHILE READING⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠ ⚠

Prologue I knew we were running out of time. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant me, not we. I was all alone, wasn't I... I struggled against the leather that bound my skin to this ungodly stone table, rubbing it red. It all made it real, too real. What made me be here? 

Why in gods name did I agree to this again?! Spitting out a thick crimson wad of spit, a spluttering wheeze of a cough erupted from deep within my chest and I cursed out at the gods. 

If they were listening, which the way I acted, they'd have turned a blind eye at such a foolish child. 'You entered the arena of the men who wish to play god, willingly, might I add,' A rather shady looking god appeared in my mind as the hallucinogens' had been administered an hour prior. 'You might as well have chosen death, kid' The drugs had burned so bad, but I guess it was better than feeling what they were going to do to me. I was hot with shame, fear, and pain. Why was I chosen, what would I pose to them? But this is the result of my own greed, isn’t it, I thought, spitting out a curse, body jerking upward with the sharp pain in my ribs and spine. This is why I didn’t trust people, why would I do this to myself? Had I gone crazy, stupid, delirious? God, I should have listened to him... he was right all along, and now he's gone too... My head was killing me with a throbbing headache, at this point, I'd give anything for some anesthetics. I knew I could die here, the other children's corpses told me that and the pungent smell of fear and blood. I wanted to gag, shuddering frequently. Despite my discomfort, I didn't speak anymore than to howl a foul word or two when the pain was unbearable. I would watch and wait the best I could. What else could I do, really? I mean, I was strapped down to a table, literally. I had, under my own free will, signed the papers. Even if I hadn't, A) Who would believe me that the famous, world renound, Arrowsmith, would do this behind closed doors, and B) I was a street rat, how the heck could I afford a lawyer to stab the man who cut me? I had nothing to lose (since I gave up on the value of my life) and yet all that I had to gain conflicted me. Was the money really worth it? Even if I desperately needed it, all the crap I had to endure throughout this ordeal was horrible. 

Terrible. 

Inhumane. With each passing second, I wondered if I was really alive. Maybe this was hell? Maybe I had already died, and this was the punishment I had to endure for the many sins and grievances I had caused. My pills stared at me on the silver tray, the white was tainted with splatters of crimson.  What I was fed was insanity in the form of powder collected into small round disks. The flavors were like acid, yet my body craved the searing pain. Shivers washed over me with each spasm that lurched me. How many had I had to twist my mind to the point I believed in something I usually laughed at? I hadn’t prayed in years, but I was beginning to utter the words to an old hymn I learnt as a child.

To a passerby, it would have sounded like I’d lost my mind. I couldn’t form much more than babbling nonsense and sharp wheezy noises, like the notes a cat would shriek. No, hell would a vacation compared to this, it’s the drugs talking, I lifted my head up, letting the growing weight fall back with a sharp thud. It was stupid, but it let me think a little straighter with drugs clouding my mind.

The shooting pain and growing headache let me think a little clearer than before. I needed my wits about me, my only two assets I could use in this situation really were my wits and sanity. It was all I had left. Speedy short breathes followed for the pain, yet my eyes focused a little better. Wait, but I don't want to see this room, I groaned in my mind, lacking the strength to argue with myself. I couldn’t muster a self motivating speech, nor did I really want to. The way our bodies were torn apart and put back together, how they treated us like ragdolls made me enraged. Yet, I couldn't do a thing, I had agreed to this… Rolling my head to it's side, I blinked slow, chest heaving. 

I was tired, yet I had to remain strong, in mind if not body, I couldn't give up. Mental determination was my best trait! I lived on the streets, I could survive some freaky experiment, right? Focusing hazy eyes, my gaze met the table a couple feet away from my own. The boy on the table to my left was either unconscious or dead. I hadn't seen his chest move, it seemed as if he hadn't breathed at all for the last 30 minutes. Well, it felt like that long, it was hard to read the clock with my brain clouded. I assumed that he was dead, not that it concerned me, all I needed was to make sure I was going to leave alive and be paid for my efforts. Turning my head back, I stared at the ceiling, looking for the cracks to focus my mind. I lay there, pondering over my life choices, over what I felt and what I had seen in my short time on this earth. Had I made the most of life? No. I was an ant in this world, nothing I said or did mattered, society just wanted to squish me, grind me in the dust, and leave me to rot. The only remanint would be my burned, mud ridden skeleton, because that's what society did to you. The man burned you, scorned you, forced you to work until you were nothing but brittle bones left in the earth, hidden from the world to be forgotten. No one cared, that was clear as day to me. Fair enough, I guess, I mean, what am I? Just a thief, a lost boy on the streets to be betrayed and disregarded. If I had enough strength left, I would have laughed, yet the tightening feeling in my scarred chest seared, burning a gaping hole in my lugs. The most I could muster was a hoarse chuckle. Would I be missed? Wait, do I even have anyone to miss me? Green eyes relaxed, hoping the next drug would stop the throbbing in my veins that felt like bursting. Would Damian miss me? I shook my head, letting out a sigh as I tried to relax and ignore the pain. He left, so probably not, especially after what I did, tearing us apart.... Maybe they’ll put me out of my misery now, I mean what else do I have to live for? I chuckled to myself with closed eyes. My death would be covered up more than likely, it was humorous to me. I had fantasied regularly about my demise, I would have preferred to die in a more comfortable place, sure, but I guess it could have been worse, I could be rotting on a spike, bleeding, and discontent. Well, not that they did that in real life anymore, this wasn't the 18th centaury. Beggars can't be choosers, I huffed, licking my chapped lips, though it was a futile effort since my whole mouth felt rather lacking in the fluid department. Was this my punishment for my disregard of the law? I let out even, deep breaths, in and out. The longer I was here, the more I felt at peace. I was almost falling asleep when a loud shriek burst out, I almost had a heart attack. If I wasn't restrained to the table, I probably would have fallen over in shock. The boy on the table next to me, drenched in his own blood, began to thrash about, screaming in some language I couldn't comprehend as I stared at the sight, ears ringing. It took a few minutes, but his shrieking was soon joined by the chorus of footsteps thrumming against the thick tiles as a hoard of people in hazmat suits poured in. They surrounded the dripping boy, blood and sweat mixing as his eyes darted around the room, pupils blown wide. The saliva running down his face, and ruffled jett black hair made him look rather feral, like a wild animal. I could read the fear, confusion, and pain in his unique blue orbs and twisted expression. I was mesmerized, never having seen such a beautiful, nor unique color in a persons eyes before. He felt what I was feeling, only escalated, he was trapped in the same cage as I, only he was suffering more. It made me wonder when my turn would come as I shrunk back into the table. I was too tired to wonder how he was still alive, neck creaking and aching at the strain as I watched. Then, what I assumed to be some forms of scientists, poked and prodded at him in excitement, chattering away in yet another language I didn't understand. The boy cast me a fearful and outraged glance, spitting at the closest scientist. I was promised money, I was promised that this would help me. That I would feel better after this, but were they going to do that to me? I needed this money, I needed a better chance at life. Heck, I needed a new life, one where I would be born into a proper family, one that loved and kept me. Where I could have at least one proper meal a day, maybe a dog to run around in the backyard with. I wasn’t asking for much! This was, as they had said, ‘The opportunity of a lifetime!’ Opportunity my ass! What sort of messed up lifetime do they have, because I was frightened of dying here and now on this table! I squirmed, biting my lip in frustration at the strain on my body and the chaffing burn on my skin. The group turned my way as they pulled an inoculate mask over the boy, who fought the best he could until he was knocked out. In their hands were shiny scalping knives, goggles glowing in the dark room. I glared, hissing out a threat, a curse, spitting out a mixture of blood and spit. They approached slowly, murmuring in fast succession. And I prayed. Goodbye, don’t remember me. " ‘re’s no ‘n left, ‘nyway." ****************** ******** *** * Blood splattered around each and every surface. My heart and chest thumped rapidly, the beginnings of smoke streamed about and sirens rung through my ears, bouncing about my ribcage all the way down my legs. Where was I? What happened? My eyes couldn't focus, everything was too much. I was too overwhelmed. Burning paper and crunching black wood fell all around me, and a single figure stood.

It was a boy, he couldn't be much older than I.

I couldn't make out his features, I was too weak to focus.

He stood amongst the chaos, turned away from me.

Despite the roaring flames a few steps away from him, he shivered.

Hugging himself, rough, cold wind lashed his skin, shaking the leaf boy. Then he fell. The smoke, the breeze, the sirens, it all hurt my head. Nothing was making sense, it was all out of order, and it made a hot trail down my cheek.

The salt tears stung, yet they wouldn’t stop.

Breathing became too difficult, and my head throbbed to the point I couldn't take it anymore. I was tired, in pain, dazed and confused.

But I wasn’t scared. The last thing I saw, was the gleam of a pair of thin rectangle glasses perched upon a sharp face.

*

**

****

******

Blinking, the boy sat up, whipping his head about, he searched for smoke, for flames, for anything.

It was so real, He thought, gripping his bed sheets. Too real...

[predatoryminds]

Flaw’s with the Main Predatory Minds (Main series) cast, because no-one’s perfect: Part One

- Leonardo is the worst person to go out to dinner with (Pre-War), like if you honestly want a slow, agonizing death, go out to eat with him. Since he grew up poor, he is used to having food poisoning, like he frequently got food poisoning growing up. He is shockingly indecisive, and will sit for hours staring at the menu, and you may think it’s to mess with you, but no. He is being serious. But a plus side is he has phenomenal cooking skills since as a kid he would always watch street vendors cook, and he picked up quite a few skills. He is strict on food, but when he hasn’t got the luxury he will eat anything really, but not without grumbling and muttering under his breath about it. Leonardo, as we all know, is a flirt, but he will never flirt with anyone around Kaida. That being said, he flirts ALOT. Like winks, sly comments, thing’s that can get him into trouble. Leo has a fighting instinct, and despite his one sided rivalry with Dimitri (Which he always looses every challenge he sends towards the Russian), he challenges mostly everyone and picks fights because he is cocky, over confident and smug.

- Anders can and will lecture you about how his dog is better than you, and how dog’s are better than people (ah yes, my baby has people skills). Anders is grumpy, as we all know, and he has a bit of a short temper. Yep. Flaw. His short temper get’s in the way, and he is not really a people person.

- Jay, poor baby, literally is the definition of anxiety. He is jumpy, and anxious. Sweet, but lacks confidence and needs approval of others, also spaces out a lot

- Dimitri gets emotional withdrawals a lot due to his line of work, and tends to space out and get disinterested easily. As an certified killer/ assassin he is always on the job, always focused, on mark, concentrated and prepared, so when he knows he is ‘safe’, or well, not off on a job, he tends to feel tired

- Kaida-acacia is a little over analytic at times, a lot like Dimitri, and she always feel’s on edge. Also her extreme empathy can be an issue, and she feels like she can help everyone

- Luca, a lot like Jay is nervous, but he is calmer, and Luca is an overthinker

- Griffon, well, ironically, he is great with kids, however, he is extremely nervous to have his own, so the topic makes him anxious. He is a bit smug sometimes. Not as bad as Leo though

- Bridget extreme over thinker, lacks confidence, and doubts herself entirely, and she tends to feel apart and different from everyone, so she gives up on social interaction

- Jai lee is bad with reading the room and peoples boundaries, and she is overly dramatic and clingy, which her close friends are used to, but it can be a downside with others, and she is stubborn and pouty, and childish, which can irritate people. She’s also a bit inconsiderate and quick to judge when irritated

 - (Spoiler, sort of?) Geila has a Kaida complex since he feels eternally loyal to her for what she did for him

- Hyde finds it hard to trust everyone, and he shut’s himself off from others. He also feels guilt a lot, and has bad social anxiety

- (Spoiler) Lexi is a rather strong character, however she tends to falter and second guess herself, especially after her betrayal towards Dimitri

- Lovino feels objectified by his parents, and his feelings are hard for him to tolerate sometimes since he is an emotional and heartfelt character

(Part two will include more on these guys, and more post’s will cover the ones from the other series.)