"Things will never be the same again."
Gneiss Underwood never thought that he could have a shot of a normal life.
Growing up in an environment where everything defied sanity, guns and loneliness were his normal companions, if not danger and Death h...
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"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Number Ten
It was dark.
Rael was locked inside a room somewhere after being beaten badly by his buyers. The place was hotter than a furnace and it reeked of rust and dirt and decay. He threw up twice.
He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but by the ache at the back of his head, it wasn't long enough. His throat was parched from all the shouting and pleading he did, clearly to no avail. His eyes were prickly after all the tears he shed, begging the strangers to let him go. He felt weak, helpless and vulnerable, a hapless prey amidst a den of predators.
They only sneered at him and laughed derisively, a sadistic sound that made him realize that it was time for him to die. Before he could even think of hitting his head bloody against the floor or the wall, one man was quick enough to tie him up to a metallic rod and placed piles of clothes around him. He even chained him in a way that he could only move his head and nothing more.
"Why?" Rael asked hoarsely. "Why would you do this?"
The man was smaller than the menacing bulls that brought him in. His face wouldn't register in Rael's head; it was average, the kind of face you often see in a mob of crowd. He only knew that the man was older than him by at least a decade. And that the man had curly hair. The voice that came with it was gentle, reasoning. "We need you here Rafaello. You are an ally."
"Liar," he whimpered against the pain digging in his wrists. "I'm a prisoner here. Liar..."
His soft-spoken captor shook his head. "We want you to understand the pain we've been through. We need you to see the light first that's why you're tied up. You're going to join us and then you'll be free."
"No," he hissed pathetically. "Let me go."
"Don't fight us, Rafaello," the man whispered in a sickeningly calm voice. "You are one of us, and we must work together to bring them down."
"What do you –?"
"Rest yourself. Tomorrow, we're going to talk and you'll join us. There is no other choice for you. We must stand together to purge the core of evil in this world."
"What are you –?"
The man beamed at him, his dark eyes wrinkled with satisfaction. "We must get rid of Creed, the ultimate shame of mankind. And you will help us in this endeavor."
Creed. His father had once mentioned that word. Fearfully, as if the name alone was taboo even in the middle of the forest. His father, who had the same capabilities as him, who suddenly disappeared without a word.
