Exterminate [BoyxBoy]

XV: Discipline

XV: Discipline

Cassius woke with his hands chained behind his back and a bright light pointed in his face. He squinted his eyes, too sleepy after his burst of magic and his ill attempt at escaping to keep them open. They closed and opened rapidly as he began to take in the darkly lit room. Above him, the light shone down upon his hunched form and over the cement floor.

He felt a spark within him, a slight flicker of his magic to its normal resting strength. It was broken, beaten down from the night before. The moments flashed before him, showing him images of the blue raging fire, the magic Lucius had used by just looking at him, cutting off his air, and the way Rexton had stepped in to save him. It wasn't saving if he was only going to cage Cassius right after. He was here now, a prisoner again, caught within a web of torture for the government to use him until he was no use to them any longer. It seemed the more he fought the more trouble he landed himself in.

The worst of it all was that he'd been close, close enough to taste the freedom on his tongue. His senses had heightened at that moment where he battled against the ones who had always beaten him down without ever giving him a fair fight. It felt so good to fight back, even if it wasn't much of a fight.

At least, he was trying to do something unlike most of the Mekiah in Xtavia. They were dogs for the Remu and Exteru. They didn't care about themselves or other Mekiah, didn't care if what the Exteru were doing was wrong. The government controlled them, ruled over them like they were cattle.

Cassius closed his eyes, going back to the darkness that always made him feel better. The room was already dark, but the light was too much to bear. It was still there, glowing behind his eyelids, but he did his best to ignore it. His magic fizzled, fought against his hold as he tried to coax it out of hiding.

It shouldn't be like this. After he'd done, after he saved his own life--not by that fucking Remu--it should be better now. He should feel better about himself. His magic was limp inside him. There was no life to it, nothing but a shell, and all the hope he had in the world died. There was no reason to try anymore. The world was cruel, unfair, and horrid. He'd known it since he was a child, but he was finally seeing it without its pretty mask.

Flashes of memories sprung in his head. He was transported back before he was taken to the base, back before he was trained to become a Tracker. The HIVE was warm, bright with color. The bright yellow lights felt like the sun kissing his skin.

He was a young boy again, swirling under the lights as they beamed down on him. His smile stretched across his face and he laughed for there was only joy in him then. The lights were beautiful, radiant, everything he thought his life would be. He was shielded from the horror inside the HIVE, babied by his mother who could only give him a little attention a day, but she tried her best.

He could see that now, looking back to those days, and he didn't know how he'd missed it before.

He was sidelined as a burst of new memories knocked him back.

His mother, young, about thirteen, huddled under the bright yellow lights. She held up her hands, crying, struggling to back away from hands that grabbed her from the front and behind. Her screams were muffled by a loud buzzing noise.

Cassius shook his head and tried to cover his eyes to the scene before him, but it was all in his head. The chains clanked as he struggled. He cried out with his mother. Somehow he knew it was her even though he couldn't remember her face until this day. They held her down. She was crying, tears and snot covering her face. They smothered her into the ground, tore her clothing, and then...

It was quiet.

She was on the ground. The first time was forced. The first time wasn't how it was supposed to be. The second time never came.