The Traitor (The Third Wheel's spin-off)

Chapter One: The Island of The Culprits

"You may go forward, young man"

Once only a few meters are separating me from them, I respectfully bow, making sure to keep my eyes on the ground. 

"Alright" the old lady starts - I guess she must be the chief or something. " We have seen your resumé. It's good enough for us. You are young and seem capable enough. You'll start by doing simple tasks, mainly gardening and assisting our waiters, then we'll give you more difficult missions to handle, if you prove yourself good enough."

"Yes, Mistress" I simply reply. 

"Another boneless human, kill me now" Malik whispers in the ear of his older brother. 

My lower lip twitches, the only sign, almost imperceptible, that the guy is already getting on my nerves. It's a good thing I've trained myself for years not to let my emotions show on the surface, because this vampire seems like a real pain in the a*s.

I'm not sure I will ever be able to call this guy 'Master'.

"I suppose that before you came here, you've done some research and that you know who we are, and what we ask from our servants" the older guy suddenly speaks. 

"I do, Master"

"You can look at me"

I look up, and find him looking back, a satisfied expression on his face. At least one of them doesn't look too disappointed in me. He resumes:

"You seem very respectful. It's good, as it is not a virtue many humans seem to possess nowadays. Now, I want to make sure you understand what you're getting yourself into. All of our servants have a dark past. They want to forget about it, which is perfectly understandable. They want to forgive themselves. That's what we give to them. We alter their memories, so that they no longer remember their pasts. This way, they can start a new life. In exchange, we demand absolute obedience."

They all look at him in awe, except for Malik, who looks bored and maybe even slightly disgusted. 

I wonder if they truly believe in their bullshit. They are not trying to help people. They are controlling them. Creating puppets with no memories, and in consequence no ambitions, no purposes or whatsoever. 

It doesn't matter, though. Although it probably won't work on me, I want to try it. I want to become empty. Coming here was a good idea. This way, I won't be tempted to go out and find Kyle, Darren and Nate. There's no point trying to explain myself, Darren will probably kill me before I open my mouth. 

This is where I will live the rest of my life. In a stylished version of a retirement home.

"I understand" I declare solemnly. "And I accept your conditions. All of them."

They all relax - I'm pretty sure they would have killed me if I had refused. Nobody leaves the Island, after all.

"Okay, then, let's start with the incantation"

They all close their eyes, raising their arms in my direction.

Don't laugh. Don't laugh. 

" You will be as innocent as an newborn.

As pure as the driven snow

So that the Wrong will be undone

And you won't reap what you sow"

That's a joke! What's next? Edith Piaf song's "Je ne regrette rien"  ?   (I don't regret anything)

Eventually, I start feeling something, small tingles of magic enveloping my body, so I close my eyes, and I pray. I pray that somehow this magic, intended to work on humans' minds, will work on me as well. I pray for oblivion, because oblivion would mean the end of pain. The end of a never-ending spiral of contempt for myself. 

My conscience fades, but only for a few seconds. 

However, God must be fair because I'm not allowed peace of mind that easily, as the memory of Kyle's incredulous expression is the first thing to comes to my mind, as always. It is his face that I see when I wake up at dawn, and the last thing I see before my exausted mind  finally drift off.

 I understand, Lord above. It's only fair that I have to live with the memory of what I have done - tried to do, for the rest of my life. 

It was inconsiderate of me to even hope for that. 

"What is your name? Just give me your first name, your real name. I highly doubt Bran is your real name. I won't ask for more. Like Jordan said, we don't care about your past, here." the young man - Malik suddenly asks. 

He keeps looking at me with a bored expression and I can't help but feel slightly offended. I don't look like much, I get it. No need to be rude, Mister. I don't like you, either. Good looks aren't everything. 

"My name is Kyle."

I regret those words as soon as I let them out, because I have no rights to take the name of my former best friend, the one I betrayed. I'm Alex the Traitor, not the strong, beautiful Kyle. 

Malik can't detect my lies, though, because he only nods before declaring: 

"Alright. Welcome to the Huserdown's family, Kyle."

I'm going to hell, and there's no going back. 

Hey! Hope it wasn't too boring, but I wanted to set the décor... Anyway, it actually feels good to be back! Hope to hear from you all, at any time! I'll update soon I promise x