“The kid went down there! Follow him!”
“Find that brat!”
Gotta hide. Where?
They’re after me!
Zak turned down the alleyway and crouched behind a bin and tried not to make a sound as he heard the Guards run past. Their footsteps faded away and when he decided it was safe to come out, Zak crept into the streets.
He’d only wanted to eat, only wanted to take a small piece of fruit without being caught. Oh, he was caught alright. He’d run from East Town, through North Town then back to South Town.
The 10 year old boy walked sadly into a park and sat down on a swing, gently swaying to and fro. He watched the children who played happily with the other children, with their sisters, brothers, their parents.
Zak felt that jealous pang of sadness. He didn’t know his parents, didn’t know if he had any. Never had brothers or sisters. He was alone.
“Hey, kid! Get off the swing!”
Zak looked up to three boys glaring down at him. He ignored them and averted his gazed to his lap.
“Are you thick or something? We want to go on the swing! You need to get off!”
“I was here first…” Zak said quietly.
“Tough! OFF!!!” The oldest, tallest boy shoved Zak’s shoulder and Zak tumbled backwards, off the swing into the dirt, his legs still hooked on the seat.
“Hey! Leave him alone! Mom, Ezra’s being nasty again!” a new voice joined in. It was a girl’s voice.
“Oh leave off Detroit…you’re so stupid, you know?!” the tallest boy, Ezra, jeered at the girl. His little sister.
Zak scrambled upwards to look at the girl who’d come to his rescue. She was about his age, about his height. Soft shoulder length wavy hair and green eyes. She wore a white shirt and bleached overalls and knee high lace-up boots.
“Don’t call me stupid Ezra! You’re nothing but a big mean bully! Besides, Mom wants to see you…,”
Detroit stood with hands on her hips defiantly, a little smirk of triumph on her little cheeky face.
She turned to look at Zak and grinned, holding out a hand.
“Ignore Ezra. He’s my dumb big brother. I have a twin, called Roux! Are you okay? Ezra didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No…” Zak mumbled, dusting himself off, then he turned and began to walk away.
“Hey wait! I’m Detroit! What’s your name?!” she called after him.
“It’s Zak…and what do you care?” he said, without looking back at her.
“Meet me here again tomorrow! These exact swings, 2pm!”
Zak swung round to find the girl smiling at him, her eyes shining. Was she serious? She wanted to be his friend?
“You mean….we’re friends now?”
“Of course, silly! I mean, if you want to be!” she said cheerily, running up to him and taking his hand. Zak gasped, looked down, then back up at Detroit. He then smiled slightly too.
“I-I’d like that…”
“Great! Oops, looks like I gotta go now. But same time tomorrow, same place. I’ll be here, wait for me!” Detroit called over her shoulder as she ran after her brothers and her Mom.
That night, as Zak curled up underneath a pile of sacks in an alleyway…he didn’t feel alone. He had a friend. A real friend.
——
YEEEAHHHH!!! I’m actually enjoying writing this….alright, just to clear a few things up…
Zak, Detroit and Roux are 10 years old
Ezra is 12…and picks on little kids. LOL. He really is a big mean bully :3
Comment<3
The next morning came quickly and Zak ran into trouble.
He was mooching about the markets, when he was cornered by several boys, all older than he was.
“Hey, kid! Give us your money!”
“I-I-I don’t have any money…” Zak stammered, pressing his back against the wall.
“Lies! You have money! Now give it to us you little brat!”
“I told you! I have no money! Leave me alone, please!” Zak squeaked as the boys pinned him against the wall, kicked him, then threw him on the floor.
Their laughter echoed in his ears, resounding off the walls, taunting him, mocking him, reminding him he was worthless, useless.
That’s when he felt it. The anger, pulsating at his fingertips, his forehead. That power, overwhelming.
“LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!!!” Zak shrieked suddenly. He lashed out and instead of short nails, there was long, claws, shredding three of the boys limb from limb.
“What the heck…scramble, boys!!!”
Sadly, this new found anger made Zak run faster than the boys ever could. The other four were dead in a matter of minutes. And the Guard was alerted.
Zak ran, ran until he couldn’t run anymore. He collapsed in an alleyway, sinking to his knees in the mud. He looked at his hands. Had he just dreamed it all? The claws weren’t there…but the anger still throbbed in his veins….
2pm….the weather was cold, freezing, and it was raining. But still, Jak waited. And waited. And waited. The park was empty.
“What if she’s not coming?”
He waited more….and more.
Zak stood up. He was freezing cold and soaked to the skin. The rain had washed away the blood on his face and clothes. He turned to leave, but then…the rain stopped. There was an umbrella above his head.
“Sorry I’m so late! I couldn’t get out because….,” Detroit gasped suddenly and her voice turned to a sudden hushed whisper “Mom says there’s a killer on the loose and there’s also a kid missing! She didn’t want me to go out, so I’m in so much trouble when I get back! Anyway….look at you! You must be freezing cold. Come on, let’s get a cocoa, it’s on me!” she said, tapping her pocket.
Zak fidgeted uncomfortably in the cafe. Everybody seemed to be talking about the murder in East Town this afternoon. He felt like everyone knew it was him, everyone was staring. He was mildly distracted when Detroit put a cup of hot cocoa down in front of him.
“Drink it! It’s nice and it’ll make you feel warm!”
Zak took a sip, and then nodded in agreement. It was nice.
“Hey….you still look cold so Roux very nicely let me have one of his jumpers to give to you….” Detroit said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a soft indigo jumper.
Sat in the warm, quiet cafe, wearing the warm jumper and drinking a lovely creamy hot drink, Zak smiled and tears began to slip down his cheeks.
“Eh? What’s wrong Zak? Did you burn your tongue?”
“No…,” Zak sniffled and smiled at a very confused Detroit
“I’ve….just never known this much kindness ever in my whole entire life…there’s been so much awfulness in my life…and this…you….have shown me that the world is not as bad as it seems…” the young boy continued, wiping his tears away.
“Oh! Okay! Well, if you ever need anything, I’m always here for you! Just ask!”
——————-
Yeahhhh! 
Zak kills for the first time, and poor Detroit knows nothing of it xD
“Breaking News: The killer is still on the loose and has authorities concerned for the safety of the public. Since the murder of the seven boys in the marketplace as the disappearance of a young boy, the council has urged everyone to stay inside their homes at night and not to make any unnecessary trips into a deserted place during the day…”
Zak exited the shower, rubbing his hair dry and trying not to look at the three dead bodies on the floor. He’d killed a family just so he could stay in their home for a while. And strangely…he didn’t feel guilty about it.
The house did well for a few days, until there was a firm thudding on the door and a deep voice called out
“Guards! Open the door!”
The police beat the door down and the first thing they saw was the blood in the hall and main room, the three dead bodies, limbs everywhere. Then, they saw Zak cowering in the corner, tears streaming down his cheeks, covered top to toe in blood.
“Are you okay, little boy?” one Guard asked, kneeling in front of the boy.
The boy continued to snivel and whine.
“Is the murderer still here?”
The boy nodded
“Where is he?” the Guard asked, picking up the little boy and standing up, stepping lightly over the knocked over furniture and bodies. He stood still as a smile crept across the boy’s face. The boy pointed first round the room, then at himself.
“The monster…is here”
The Guard gasped and choked as the little boy grew claws and slashed his throat.
Five more bodies heaped beside the three already on the floor.
—-
“Zak?! What happened to you? Quickly, come in, come in!” Mrs Stark, Detroit’s Mom, was surprised to see the boy stood on her doorstep, covered in blood and dirt.
“Detroit is out at the market with her brother. She’ll be back soon” Mrs Stark told Zak as she bathed him. Zak said nothing, just let Mrs Stark clean him, combing his unruly dirty blonde hair.
He still said nothing when Mrs Stark dressed him in Roux’s clothes and sat him in the kitchen.
“Mom, we’re home!” Roux called, dancing into the kitchen and throwing grocery bags onto the table.
“Oh, hello Roux. You remember Zak don’t you? He got into a bit of trouble and his clothes are extremely mucky, so I lent him yours. Is that okay?”
“Yes Mom! I like helping people!” Roux said, giving Zak a genuine smile. Up until now, Zak hadn’t ever really got to look at Roux. And he looked exactly like Detroit, except for the fact Detroit face was more sharp, and her skin more pale. Roux looked plumper and more tanned. But the likeness was still there.
“Hey, Zak! Oh, what’s up?” Detroit said, walking in and putting more grocery bags on the table.
“I need to speak to you Detroit…” he mumbled, staring up at her
“Anything at all Zak. Mom, can I go out for a walk so I can speak to Zak…in private?”
“Yes. Sure. Roux, come over here and help me prepare dinner. Detroit, bring Zak back for dinner. He can stay with us tonight”
“Aw right!” Detroit pumped the air with her fist. Zak didn’t smile. He said nothing.
“What is it Zak?” Detroit asked, sitting on the steps that led down to the beach. The very top step had a beautiful view of the ocean, and Detroit found comfort in the sunset that glimmered off the waves.
“Detroit….you know the children, the Guards, the families that have been killed?”
“Yes….what are you getting at Zak? Are you worried? Is that it?!”
“The killer is….it’s me…”
“What? Don’t be silly. Don’t take the blame for this Zak…”
“You’re. Not. LISTENING TO ME!!!” Zak screeched. He flew forward, pinning Detroit to the concrete, a hand raised in the air, ready to swing down and slash her throat.
Detroit closed her eyes and waited….the blow never came.
She opened her eyes to find Zak sat hunched over, long blonde hair shrouding his face. He was shaking.
“Detroit….you know you said you’d do anything for me…anything at all?”
“Yes, Zak…?”
“Detroit, if I can’t find a way of stopping myself from killing people….I want you to…to…”
Zak couldn’t say it. He felt the tears sting his eyes, the lump form in his throat. A hand slid into his and he began to cry.
“What do you want me to do Zak…?”
“I want you to kill me…”
—–
I love this chapter. I really do :3 Shame all the chapter’s after it will be like….. D:
xThreeDaysGracex
Six years. It had been so long.
Six years ago Zak had told Detroit to kill him. Detroit couldn’t bring herself to ever do that to her friend, so she vowed to keep him safe, to keep him happy so he wouldn’t kill ever again.
It was easier said than done.
Detroit, Roux and Zak too, when all of them turned sixteen, moved away from their hometown into an apartment up in the forests.
They’d moved away because it was closer to their new high school
And with a new school came trying to fit in.
“I don’t like the look of those guys over there, Dee…”
“Roux, what have I told you about calling me Dee?”
“Sorry sis….but seriously, they keep STARING at us and it’s driving me insane…”
“What?! I’ll sort them out, seriously….ARGH!” Zak was all ready to go over across the courtyard to teach those “cool kids” a lesson…but had his breathing cut off by Detroit grabbing his scarf and hauling him away.
“Leave it, Zak….just try and act….normal. Okay? You can go insane when we get home, just please don’t do it here!”
“Welcome, class! We have three new students today, Detroit, Roux and Zak…I want you ALL to make them feel welcome, as they’ve moved up here from the city…”
One of the kids muttered a crass remark about Detroit’s hair, which had seemed to become incredibly frizzy within a space of 5 minutes. The rest of the class laughed and Zak growled as he took his seat beside Detroit and Roux.
“So, does anybody know the answer to this question…?” the professor asked, turning round from the board. He frowned a little when he saw nobody had their hands up.
“Zak,” the professor called on the boy.
Zak’s head shot upwards from his book in mild shock.
“Do you know the answer to this question?”
Zak shook his head fiercely.
“Come on, Zak, you must know. Did they not teach you this at your old school?”
There was silence, apart from the sound of chairs shuffling backwards and Detroit and Roux sunk lower into their seats, just waiting for the storm to come.
Rule Number One about Zak: If you value your life, you WILL NOT, under any circumstances, ask Zak about his childhood. It’s just far too risky.
It never came, however. Thankfully, the professor just tutted under his breath and picked on one of the other students.
At the end of the day, the bell rang and there was the usual stampede of students rushing to get home.
“Hey, freak! This school was meant for humans, not creeps like you. What’s wrong with you anyways?” a group of popular kids jeered as Zak left his classroom and went to go and wait for Detroit and Roux in the courtyard. The students followed Zak out there, forever taunting him, poking him.
“Ah! Gotcha bag! What are you gonna do about it?”
“Give it back! Now!” Zak said in a quiet voice, clenching his fists, vowing the claws to stay in their place.
“Oooh, creepy boy getting upset over his bag!”
“For goodness sake, Carl, just give Zak his bag back…” Zak turned and saw Detroit and Roux walking across the grounds.
“What are YOU going to do about it, Detroit?”
“Shut it, Caitlin. Just give the bag BACK,” Detroit tugged it from Carl’s hands and handed it over to Zak “and you lot just go home”
“Woah, don’t you DARE tell me to shut up. Do you wanna start something, cause I’ll freakin’ start something, girl!” Caitlin snapped, placing her hand on one hip and using the other to illustrate her point.
The three ignored her and walked away, through the gates and back up the road.
“You should’ve let me take ‘em!”
“No, Roux”
“Aw, why? Nobody speaks to my sister like that and gets away with…” Roux tailed off as he saw Detroit’s expression. It was a “I’m tired and I’m not in the mood for arguing so shut up and keep walking before I punch you” face.
—
Okay….so, maybe I like this chapter….no idea.
Roux, believe it or not, is being very out of character (OOC) in this story. In all my others, he’s usually very quiet and Detroit does all the speaking for him. Ah well, Roux was just an addition in my very long story “Hero” because I needed him to be there because he gets killed in front of Detroit and that’s gotta emotionally scar Detroit and affect her whole personality in the story…whew. So, for that reason, I never really ever got to know Roux like I did Detroit. Roux was just one of the background characters, but I’m starting to like him.
LOL EPIC GROWN-UP SPEECH RIGHT THERE^
Special Mention for raqshan. Thanks for commenting on all of the series (: Makes me feel special .>3<
Go check out “A Chance Of Hope” It’s awesomely awesome and very well written :D
Roux was awoken by a very loud scream. He checked his clock
“Who watches horror movies at 6 in the morning?” he groaned, standing up. Because they’d only just moved in, the three hadn’t had time to invest in proper beds, and so, were sleeping on the floor. And it made Roux and Detroit wake up aching all over. Zak was used to sleeping on hard ground, and so it didn’t bother him.
Roux raced into Zak’s bedroom to find the boy stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection, wide eyed in shock horror.
“What’s the matter with you…WOAH!!”
“Roux this better be important…I am aware we have to get up for school in about an hour but….”
“Ssh! It’s unbelievably important, quick, come to Zak’s room”
“Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming…” Detroit stumbled down the hallway sleepily. She looked at Zak, then at his head…and wondered if she was just dreaming.
Two cat-like ears twitched freely.
“I just woke up and they were there!!!” Zak explained, tugging them to show they weren’t fake.
“Ha, you’re a neko!” Roux sniggered. He left the room to get dressed for school, singing “Neko Ni Naritai” under his breath.
“I’m not going to school like this…” Zak said, collapsing onto his mattress and hiding his head under his pillow.
“Wear a hoodie. Zak we’ve got to go…tell you what, at lunch we’ll go to the library and do some research. When we were kids I remember seeing an article about a race of….no, never mind…”
Detroit left the room, with a curious Zak on her heels.
“A race of what? Detroit, tell me!!”
On the walk to school, Zak kept reaching up to touch his new ears. They were quite soft, bigger than a cat’s usually ears. About the size of a lynx’s.
“Stop fussing with them…”
“They feel weird!”
“Keep your hood up, or else you’ll be zipped off to quarantine…”
“Q-quarantine?”
Their search in the library proved to be a fail. There was only ten minutes left of their lunch break and they still hadn’t found the article.
“It’s useless…I’m stuck wearing a hoodie forever!” Zak wailed.
“Aha! I found it! 16 years ago, a group of children were born as part of a mutated race. Zak, you’re one of them, obviously…these children are born with divine powers. Some can become invisible, others can levitate items. Some can run faster than the average human being or even deflect bullets. All of the children are born with claws which only appear during combat. As they mature in age, cat-like ears start to grow and are fully visible around the age of 16 or 17”
“Great, just great…”
“It gets worse Zak. You’re in so much danger…”
“What?”
“Children who are found to have this ‘disease’ and pose a threat to the rest of mankind are immediately killed…..”
—-
OKAY! I like this chapter too…sorry for the “cat-reference” there…it was all part of my plan ^_-
By the way “Neko Ni Naritai” is a song by Hatsune Miku and in English it means “I want to be a cat” XD
Every day, more information about the mutated race began to emerge.
“Where do you think the ‘others’ are? Surely I can’t be the only one in this city?”
“Research has said that at least three inhabit every city, but unfortunately two of the three are found and killed before their 5th birthday…sad huh?” Roux said, reading information from the computer screen.
Zak began stepping up and down the hallway by the front door in pure anxiety. Detroit was out collecting groceries from the marketplace, and for some unknown reason Zak needed her beside him to stop him from going insane.
He wasn’t ever going to admit it, but he’d started to have feelings for this girl, for his best friend…no matter how many times he tried to ignore it, that feeling was still there.
“Roux?” he called out.
“Yeah, Zak?”
“What would happen if…I don’t know, a person with the “disease” were to fall in love with someone who did not have the “disease”, someone like…Detroit?” Zak said, as casually as was possible, sticking his hands in his pockets in a valiant attempt to look cool and collected.
“Well….for a start, if the couple was ever found out, they’d both be sent to a institute on a remote island. And if they did have a kid…? The child would be killed. Not worth risking it Zak, not with Detroit anyway. I’d hate you for the rest of my life if Detroit ever got taken away from me. She’s my sister.”
Roux smiled smugly without even turning to look at Zak.
“Hi….oof!” Detroit opened the door and tripped up over her own shoelaces. Luckily, Zak was there in a flash. She landed in his arms, awkwardly.
“Uh….you gotta be more careful!” Zak said, standing her upright and turning away quickly.
“Nah, you gotta be more careful than her Zak. She’s not the one in danger…” Roux called from the living room.
“Huh? Why?” Detroit leant over her twin’s shoulder, her green eyes flicking left to right as she read the notes Roux had typed out.
“Sad….really it is”
“We’re just gonna have to keep Zak undercover….”
Later that week, at school, however…
Zak got into a scrap with Carl over the spilt milk on his backpack…and Carl pulled Zak’s hoodie down to reveal the soft cat ears.
“O…M…G…Are those things freakin’ real?!” Caitlin gasped, reaching out and tugging one. When Zak yowled, she retreated quickly.
“Miss Fowler!!! There’s a cat boy!!!”
There was a wail of police sirens in the distance, getting louder and louder as they came closer to the school.
“Run!” Roux hissed, grabbing Zak’s wrist and tugging him out the gates. He let go and both of them began running full tilt down the hill to their home.
“There they are! After them!”
“There was a girl! There definitely is a girl still hiding somewhere!”
“Leave the girl! We just want the cat-boy…”
The two hid in the back room of their apartment, sat in the dark.
“I wonder if Detroit’s okay…” Zak wondered aloud. He didn’t like the silence or the dark. It reminded him of his days when he was a kid, sleeping on the streets. Reminded him of the dustbin that he was abandoned in as a baby.
“She’ll be fine. The Stark twins never go down without a fight….”
—-
Finally! xThreeDaysGracex is back….
Got the flu, laptop is broken and is just BARELY managing to stay on…..need a new charger. Now.
So, here’s Chapter Six. Ignore the lame title. I had the “Life Starts Now” Album on repeat >_<
Ugh. Flu makes my writing worse than it already should be.
Hope you’re all healthy(:
Smile, Troubled Soul – Chapter 6.5 – Chaos
“She’ll be fine…the Stark twins never go down without a fight”
It was the last thing cast out onto the air before there was a deafening, terrifying sound of the door falling down.
The back room door was flung open and Guards stood there, glaring, their eyes cold and ruthless.
“35….you’re coming with us!” They made a grab at Zak, seizing his arms.
The monster that rested deep inside Zak decided It didn’t like that. It didn’t like these men.
There were at least five guards, and more waited outside, ready.
Roux darted into the living room, flung himself underneath the table, curled up, hands over his ears. He felt like a failure. He’d gone down without a fight; he’d surrendered his best friend over to these men who were going to take him to the institute to be destroyed. That guilt sat there in his stomach, gnawing at him.
Meanwhile, in the hall, the fight raged on. Clawed hands lashed out and tore skin, feet flung wildly at things, knocking them over, the contents of the table crashing onto the hardwood floor. Zak was getting tired by now, but he wasn’t going to stop. Not now. Not ever.
Two Guards fell to the floor dead. Three dragged Zak to the doorway.
More Guards rushed in from outside.
Zak felt pain explode in the back of his head. He dropped to his knees, and watched….as the
world…..slowed…..down.
He lifted his head groggily. Where was he?
He looked at his surroundings. White clean rooms, white corridors. Bright white lights.
Zak felt a sharp twinge in his left arm. He looked over.
A red number was tattooed into his skin.
“35,” Zak read quietly. He breathed out suddenly in anger and frustration. How DARE they label him with a number, as if he were not a human being?
“This school was meant for humans! Not creeps like you…”
The harsh words and echoing laughter mocked him, reminding him how pathetic he really was. Underneath the tough front he put up, he was still a little boy, lost and alone.
He wasn’t human. He wasn’t one of them. He was some freak, locked up here because society didn’t welcome him.
But eventually, it dawned on him. He couldn’t move, and cold metal dug into his hands. He looked left, looked right. He was chained to the wall. He tugged with all his might, as if the chains would somehow snap and he could escape. It was futile, and he hung his head low. He didn’t have the energy any more. He wanted it over with. He didn’t care.
“Glad to see you’re awake, 35…we’re going to play a little game”
So… ALoose Avian wanted a little 6.5 chapter about the fight at the apartment and what state Zak was in…I hope you like it. The beginning is a LITTLE rough (lol, a little XD Who am I kidding, it’s awful) but I’m in love with the ending of this. I left it on a cliff-hanger :3
Chapter Eight
“Detroit…..are you sure this will work?” Roux asked as he settled down to go to sleep for the night. Detroit was stood in the doorway, staring blankly into space and biting her knuckle. She nodded slowly.
“It will….go to sleep. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Wake up at 6am, refreshed and ready to go…Damn, are you going to need that energy”
Sleep refused to come to Detroit until the early hours of the morning. She was up all night, sat at the window, staring out, across the sea, staring at the lights on in the institute.
And she’d convinced herself she could hear Zak screaming.
Zak raised his head to glare up at this new intruder. It was a young man, dressed in a formal blue suit, his eyes covered by reflective shades.
“Who…are you? And what do you want with me?!” he hissed. The young man chuckled and knelt down so he was on Zak’s level.
“I’m Dr. Xavier. And you’re 35, the dangerous Zak that everybody’s so afraid of…?”
“Damn you…let me out of here!”
“You don’t scare me, 35. And the more you resist, the more painful it’ll be. Now, me and my colleagues know that there are two main witnesses who you grew up with during your childhood…we need those witnesses”
“I don’t know ANY witnesses. I’m alone. And why, why do you need witnesses. You’ve got me, now, haven’t you?”
“Well, we can’t have those two running around in public, especially the girl..”
“Detroit…?”
Ah! Dr. Xavier had Zak right where he wanted him. He couldn’t back-track now. Just the boy’s name would be needed.
“So, you do know these two…?”
“I’m not giving them up to you. Never, ever. Do what you want with me. I won’t speak”
Zak looked Dr. Xavier firmly in the eye…or, at his own reflection, rather.
“Fine. Let’s continue this game…and see if we can change your mind…”
“Keenan, take 35 to the Shock Room. Don’t do anything until I meet you there too…”
Zak stumbled along through the white corridors. He heard screams, shouts, and people hurling themselves against doors in futile attempts to escape.
A door at the end was suddenly flung open and a young girl rushed out. She couldn’t have been more than 14. She had very tiny ears, barely noticeable underneath her wild mane of blonde hair. She stared at Zak for a minute, then, a gunshot rang out and she fell to the floor. The white corridor was stained crimson and two scientists dragged the body away.
Zak was shoved into a room at the far end of the corridor. It was white, just like all the others. At one end of the room there was a small room with a window, and three scientists stood there, chatting quietly, tapping at computer screens. At the other end, there were chains, attached to a wall, which was stained with blood and what looked like burn marks.
Zak fought bitterly as Keenan chained him to the wall. He was elbowed in his shoulder for his trouble. Keenan walked away, to the room at the far end.
“35…above you is a tazer. We will ask you questions regarding the witnesses….you fail to answer them, and each time the tazer will shock you…” Dr. Xavier spoke over a microphone.
“…Please! Stop! I don’t want to do this anymore…!”
—
Damn, this chapter is so long. T^T I’m super sorry. I guess it makes up for the fact that after this chapter, the rest is going to come really really slowly. I’m back at school….and I have awful writer’s block. And I want to get this story finished, but I am not going to rush it
Hope you like(:
xThreeDaysGracex
PS: I got lazy with names….you can tell cant you? I mean….Shock Room….uhh, writer’s block is…..a…um… jellyfish toaster strudel :3
Before I start, this story is going to be a little more upsetting from here to the end. Character death will be happening too D:
Anyway…enjoy(:
“Detroit, are you going to wake up or not?”
“Uh…yeah…ughhh” Detroit lifted herself up on her elbows, then collapsed back down again.
“TWINNNY…GET UP NOW!” Roux yelled through a megaphone, kicking her in her ribs.
“Alright…”
On the boat to the institute, Detroit woke herself up by splashing freezing cold water on her face. Roux was at the top of the boat, arms spread wide, eyes closed.
“Look, Jack, I’m flying!” Detroit muttered darkly as she walked past him.
“You ain’t got a romantic bone in your body, you know that right?”
—-
Zak felt as if his body was on fire. They’d shocked him to the point where everything started to feel like ice was rushing through his body.
“We’ll ask you again, 35….where….are….the twins?!”
Zak grinned and spat on the floor, raising his head to glare at them.
“As if I’ll ever tell you…”
It was the wrong answer. Zak knew it way before they turned the tazer on again and shocked him. His body thrashed wildly, the burning pain surging throughout his body at the speed of light. He screamed, loudly. The scream went on and on for about five minutes, and eventually, turned into a ragged war cry.
Dr. Xavier stood up, took his glasses off and threw them to the floor in exasperation.
“That’s enough for today. Take him back to his cell. Tests continue at 6am tomorrow”
When the chains were taken away from his wrists, Zak fell to his knees, collapsing face first to the floor. Strength, faith, hope. Everything was gone. Years of being abused, feared, called names, kicked around. It now started to take its toll on the boy. Hours of being subjected to that shock stuff…just made him snap. He gave up.
In his cell, he dreamt. It was a nightmare. They seemed to be more frequent now.
“Poor boy”
“Doesn’t know he is….or where he’s going”
“Someone should kill him”
“Put him out his misery”
Zak looked around. He was stood in a vast room, so large he couldn’t see the four walls or ceiling. It was startlingly white and clean.
Voices echoed around him, echoing forever, in his ears. They were soft adults voices. Then, children’s giggling started up.
“Freak!”
“Cat-boy!”
“Orphan!”
Zak whirled round. There was nobody about. He was alone, except for two child-like figures stood in the corner. Holding hands, their faces covered by bandages. As Zak approached, the bandages fell away to reveal the faces of Roux and Detroit, both of them children. Their faces were scarred, both of them wearing black blindfolds.
“Detroit? Roux?” Zak said quietly, reaching out to touch them. They couldn’t be real…
They disappeared in a swirl of grey smoke, their laughter taunting him, echoing around him.
“Stupid boy. You really thought I liked you?”
“But…I thought we were…”
“Friends? As if I’d ever be friends with a freak like you…”
“He’s losing his mind
He’s fallen behind
He can’t find his place”
Zak began to run, towards the door that had suddenly appeared at the end. He didn’t care where it led to. He wanted out of here! The laughter around him echoed, louder and louder until his head hurt.
He’s losing his faith
He’s falling from grace
He’s all over the place…”
Zak yanked the door open and fell. Down, down…around him, scenes of his life replayed before his eyes. The dustbin he was abandoned in, the orphanage, the bullies, meeting Detroit, the murders, school…falling…he couldn’t stop…and all around, the laughter continued.
——–
I love writing dreams. I really do. The creepier, the better. So, while writing the dream sequence I had “Nobody’s Home” by Avril Lavigne playing. It got to that EXACT bit in the song….and I had to chuck it in(: Of course, I changed the lyrics a bit to make it match. But hey. Full credit goes to Avril(:
xThreeDaysGracex
(A/N: It’s REALLY long…..I’ve got to squeeze a lot into this: 3 Enjoy)
“Right….so here we are, this institute. Now what? Detroit, we’re sticking out like this. They’re all dressed in these clean white lab coats. We look like we’ve just come up from the sewer”
“Find a coat. Put it on. Shutup. Find Zak. Get out of here. Seems reasonable enough, doesn’t it?”
“I only asked…”
“Sorry Roux….I’m just tired…and worried sick about Zak”
Roux softened then. 24/7, the twins drove each other mad, but when it was an emergency, they got along, sticking together to the bitter end.
“Hey. We’ll find him”
“Hopefully before it’s too late”
The search for Zak proved to be tough. The institute was the size of the island. Massive, huge, extravagant. Whatever you want to call it.
Roux ran into a few people, but none of them paid him any attention as he called Out “Zak” over and over again. Until he ran into Keenan, that is.
“You looking for Zak? His new name 35. He this way. Follow me” Keenan told Roux in a heavy European accent. He turned on his heel and walked down the corridor, Roux following close behind him.
Keenan stopped at a door and led Roux inside the small room that was situated in the Shock Room. He pointed through a window at Zak, chained to the wall again, thrashing. Dr. Xavier turned round and eyed Roux suspiciously.
“And you are?”
“Zak’s friend. Roux”
–
Detroit felt a shiver go through her body. Something had happened to Roux. She knew it. There was many superstitions about twins. One could be in pain and the other could feel it, no matter where they were. That certainly was true with Roux. The two of them had grown up practically joined at the hip. So in tune with each other.
She turned and ran full tilt down the corridor, screaming Roux’s name.
She tripped up and sprawled on the floor, hardly making an effort to get up. She heard footsteps stop beside her. Two pairs of footsteps.
“Well…what have we here?”
“DETROIT!”
“Ah! The girl!”
Dr. Xavier hauled Detroit up and took her and Roux into a small room with a table, three chairs and a lamp hanging from the ceiling. The twins sat in the chairs, Dr Xavier in the other, leant against the table.
“What do you want with us….with him?” Roux pounded the tabletop with his fists
“Zak is part of the mutated race of….”
“Yes, we know all that already. But WHAT makes Zak so dangerous? He’s so sweet now, wouldn’t hurt another living soul…”
“Sweet? My, Detroit, you really are blind to his actions. 35 is dangerous. He’s going to kill you, sooner or later. He’ll go insane, and you two will be the first people he’ll slaughter…I’ll show you”
Detroit and Roux followed Xavier to Zak’s cell, where he was prowling around, growling softly, hair covering his eyes. He suddenly seemed to sense somebody at the window, and hurled himself against it, growling. Blood dripped from his mouth.
“Zak?” Detroit whispered, placing her hand against the glass. Zak seemed to sense that too, and growled even more, eventually breaking out in a loud scream of anger and sadness.
“You see, sweetheart? If we kill Zak, 35, whatever…he doesn’t have chance to kill you. You won’t have to worry. It’ll be quick and painless…”
“No. There’s still some Zak left in that…that…monster in there. He’s fallen, down a long black hole and needs help getting out…I’ll show you all” Detroit said, her voice shaking. She unlocked the door and walked in, slowly.
“Is she insane? She’ll be killed…” Dr. Xavier muttered, watching this with pure curiousity.
“She’d rather die than see her friend be killed…you just watch. There is some hope still left”
“You two are insane. Fine. Die. I don’t care. We’ll still kill 35, after he’s killed that stupid girl in there”
Zak whipped his head round to see who’d come in. Who’d dared venture in to see him, to possibly stick another needle in him or something?
This girl. He recognised her. Yes. The one who’d let him down. Who hadn’t come to rescue him before he went insane? It was her fault. Her fault. All her fault.
—–
TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY….Pfft, I love you guys XD
Wrote this while listening to all sorts of music….hence the weirdness…..
I’m not too sure about this chapter….really I’m not XD It’s like Marmite…love it or hate it :3
xThreeDaysGracex
“Hey Zak…..it’s me”
“Get lost”
“Zak….I need you to return to normal…they’re going to kill you”
“I don’t care. Leave me alone”
“Zak…!”
“I said LEAVE ME ALONE!!!”
He leapt at her, and missed completely as she moved fast.
“Zak! Please!” she pleaded, pinning him against the floor suddenly, sat on top of him, staring into his eyes, tears filling her own.
“Stop! Please! No more, you can stop!”
“Detroit…?”
Detroit felt a hand rest on her cheek and opened her eyes to see Zak…back to his normal self. The mist had cleared from his eyes, the colour returned to his cheeks.
“I was so worried…I thought I’d lost you…” she said, sweeping him into a giant, friendly hug.
“Well, isn’t this nice…?” there was the click of a gun and the two teenagers looked up to see Xavier stood above them, a firm grip on Roux’s arm, the gun pressed against his head. Roux was trying not to look afraid….but it was failing miserably. Tears stabbed his eyes, eyelashes spiky, face red.
“Let him go…” Zak growled, standing up, hand clutching Detroit’s tightly.
Xavier laughed a little.
“I’ll let Roux go…IF you stay here Zak, like a good little boy…”
“No…let us ALL go…let everyone go”
“This mutated race are dangerous, you stupid girl. Releasing them will plunge the whole of humankind into danger” Xavier spat.
“This race aren’t bad people. They’ve been treated badly. I believe they’re just as normal as the rest of us…” Roux spoke up, trying to break away from Xavier’s tight grip.
There was another click of a gun and everyone looked round to see Keenan stood there, gun pointed at Xavier’s head.
“Let them go…” he muttered darkly.
“Keenan! Put that thing down, you don’t how to use it!”
“Sick of you. You telling me what to do uncle…I can’t take anymore. Let these people go, they have done no wrong…or else I’ll kill you”
Xavier loosened the grip on Roux’s arm and put his hands up in what seemed to be defeat.
“You three. Run. Out. Now” Keenan said, jerking his head towards the door.
Detroit seized Roux’s hand, and the three of them ran, down the corridor, towards the stairs. There was a loud gunshot and it echoed throughout the institute. Xavier was dead. The three knew it and they smiled at each other. Keenan wasn’t so bad. He had just been doing his job as the doctor’s nephew.
There was a much louder gunshot and Roux suddenly fell, dragging Detroit down with him.
“Roux!” Detroit knelt beside him. There was a gun wound in his shoulder, and Roux was losing a lot of blood. Too much to be saved. It soaked into the white coat he’d borrowed, dying it a crimson shade. It dripped onto the floor in a crimson river, forming a depressing puddle on the white floor.
“Xavier…” Zak whispered, staring down the corridor, wide eyed. Dr. Xavier stood at the end of the corridor, slowly walking towards them. There was blood on his hands, spattered on his coat. The blood of his nephew. The blood of an innocent boy.
“Thought you could escape so easily…stupid, stupid, stupid”
“Go…I won’t make it. Detroit, look after Mom for me…Zak, look after Detroit. She’s the best thing in the world…”
“Roux…” Detroit’s voice started to crack. She didn’t want him to die. She couldn’t bear it. Within a millisecond their lives flashed before her eyes. Their birthdays, learning to ride their bikes, school, the park, the house they grew up in. They were inseperable, always learning together. Detroit couldn’t bear to say goodbye to everything, to every memory. “I don’t want to say goodbye to yesterday…”
“Please…I wish you both the best…”
“Goodbye Roux…you were like a brother to me”
—–
D: I’m awful!
The beginning of this is awful too….so rushed TT^TT Well, seems like it…I spent an hour and a half on this chapter D:
This is probably the second to last chapter. Next chapter will be in first person(:
Dr Xavier stood at the window of the watch tower, hands clasped behind his back as he watched the two teens run, climb onto the boat and sail back to the mainland. He decided he didn’t quite care. He’d get 35 back, one way or another.
He heard the door open and turned to see three Guards stood there, a group of scientists and patients behind them. The Guard at the front of the group held a gun, and was pointing it at Xavier’s head.
“Your rule is over. We’re sick of you telling us what to do. These people, they are no danger. In your stupidity and blindness you killed two innocents boys and tore apart a family. You can’t hurt anyone…anymore”
“No…wait!”
BANG
Roux’s room. I haven’t been in here since I moved back to the old house. It’s just as he left it. Trophy’s on the shelf, tiny terrapins crawling along in their tank, the old stuffed giraffe with the lollopy neck sat on his bed.
On the particular day I had gone into his room, the sun streamed through the window, and dust particles danced in the sunbeams.
I love days like these. If I sit on his window seat and daydream for a while, I can almost feel Roux gracing me with his presence, so warm and welcoming.
I miss him a lot, but with each day that passes it becomes a little less painful.
Dr Xavier is dead now. The hospital was shut down and the patients sent to real places that could help them return to society normally.
Zak went away too. I’m not entirely sure where he is. He stayed for a few weeks, then one morning I woke up and he was gone. A note left on his bed.
“Hey Detroit.
I’ve left. Don’t ask me where I’ve gone, and don’t come looking for me either. It’s something us “cat-freaks” do. Like real stray cats, we very often leave. Guess we should’ve seen that coming, eh? Anyways…I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Without you, showing me that the world isn’t as bad as it seems, I would’ve gone insane long ago.
Perhaps we’ll see each other again someday? And we can start over again. I promise I’ll never forget you, or Roux. I just want you to never forget me(:”
“Someday out of the blue
In a crowded street, or a deserted square
I’ll turn and I’ll see you, as if we always knew
Maybe we could start again someday soon…”
I treasure that letter to this day. Very often I’ll be walking in the big city and I swear I see Zak. But it is just a glimpse. A streak of wild dark blonde hair, two soft cat ears disappearing into a crowd of people. Sometimes, the glances last longer, and I see Zak, stood at the end of the street, a great grin all over his face, waving manically.
And then he’s gone, just a ghost of a smile still lingering in my mind.
—————————————
OMG trip down nostalgia lane :’) I LOVE “Someday Out Of The Blue” by Elton John. I love the Road To El Dorado. It brings back so many happy memories of when I was eight years old, when things were simple. 5 years on and it’s still my favourite movie(:
I may write a short story inspired by “Someday Out Of The Blue” Go listen to it. It reminds me so much of Detroit and Zak’s relationship (:
Thanks to all who’s followed this story so far(: It means so much to me. Keep writing! I enjoy reading ALL of your stories(:
“Watch where you’re going kid!!!”
SCREEECH
“Hey! Stupid immature brat!”
“Are you trying to cause an accident?!?!”
“Baka, baka, baka!”
Detroit ignored the insults from the fellow people around her as she blindly shoved through them all in a desperate attempt to get home faster than was actually possible. So far, two old ladies had shouted, a cyclist had swerved into a hedge, a middle aged man had screamed, another student yelled, and Japanese tourists yelled “Triple Baka”
And if her memory served correctly, Detroit knew they were screaming stupid at her.
Still, what did she care? It was a dire emergency.
The steps to her apartment finally came into view and she smiled, out of breath, but relieved. Almost there. A few more steps.
WHOOMPF.
She tripped over her own shoelaces and her face met the ground, her bag slamming into her back and knocking all the breath out of her.
“Roux?! Zak?!,” She gasped for air as she slid open the apartment doors. By the dim light that the sunset offered, she could see there had been a struggle. She tripped over upturned chairs and tables, glass crackled underneath her feet. The wallpaper was shredded, and everything was upturned. Everywhere.
“Roux?!”
“I’m in here…” Roux’s small voice echoed from the living room. He was crouched under the table, his red glasses askew.
“I’m so glad YOU’RE okay. I got home as soon as I could. What happened?” Detroit commanded firmly, yet gently, pulling her shivering wreck of a brother from underneath the table and hugging him.
“They took him. Detroit, they took him away…”
“Where?”
“To the institute on the remote island, far off the coast. Zak put up a pretty horrendous fight. They knocked him out…”
“We’ve got to go and get him…”
“Yes, great idea….Detroit. First, let’s magic up our own personal boat and sail over to the institute.”
“Don’t play stupid Roux”
“How else can we get over there?”
Detroit though hard. Swimming was WAY out of the question.
“Ferry….there’s a ferry that goes over there every day to deliver important files. The next one leaves tomorrow, early morning”
“You seem to have this all planned out. Detroit, I’m getting a bit of déjà vu. When you were a kid you would have these “dreams” and eventually Mom told you to write them down. They all began to add up in the end…don’t you remember?”
There was a sudden distant look in Detroit’s green eyes. They misted over and she seemed to be far away in her own world. She remembered alright. It was just the fact she didn’t WANT to remember. The dreams….when they first started…
“Mom….I had a dream last night” an 8 year old Detroit chirruped happily over breakfast. She was clad in her scarlet school uniform, sitting next to her twin, who tied his shoelaces while holding a piece of toast between his teeth.
“Really, darling? About what?”
“I met this little boy in the park. He seemed really lonely so I made friends with him. His name….I don’t remember. I really don’t…”
“Perhaps it’ll go away tonight. Just you wait and see”
The dreams continued for two years. Every night, a little more of the story unravelled. The little boy became a friend, yet he killed so many people. A little girl vowed to kill him if he didn’t stop killing others. She couldn’t do it. Couldn’t do it.
As the children grew older in her dreams, things began to change. They moved to the apartment, started a new school….they were split up; a mad rescue plan was made….
Then, the dreams stopped there. The little boy, now a young man, disappeared without a trace.
“If I was honest, I was glad the dream was over…but I wish…I wish. I wish I knew how it ended…I may have lost Zak forever, and I’ll never know now…”
—–
Oooh, what a cruddy cliffhanger XD
I wanted to throw in dream/flashbacks because Detroit’s always been my traumatized “lots-of-flashbacks” OC ^.^
PS: I JUST REALISED THAT EZRA HAS PLAYED NO PART IN THE STORY SINCE CHAPTER ONE D: Okay, after Detroit befriended Zak, Ezra never really bothered with Zak afterwards…when they all grew up, he moved to college to train in an art course (massive softie underneath that tough exterior XD) X3 In my other stories he does have bigger parts…I just forgot in this one. Or, he is just Detroit’s cousin, instead of older brother XD
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