[Disclaimer: Following story contains abuse, manipulation, and violence.]
Running. The boy was running, panting- no, gasping, for breath, but his panic and his adrenaline kept him moving. They were behind him still. Adults. Black uniforms, and they had guns. He knew that the wall creature had gotten one of them, he'd hoped they stop to look for the man, go search for their comrade, get distracted, let him get away from them. They didn't. And it wasn't a trick he could pull twice, the wall creature always rested between kills. But still, he had to focus, find a path through the fear. He knew this city, they didn't, he could get away, if he could just... and there it was! The alley way. There was a fence in the back that was cut open just wide enough for a kid like him to slip through. That was his way out. The kid veered left, into the alley, looking over his shoulder to see how close they were. Too close. But he ran, and ran, and then... crash. The boy stumbled backwards from the brick wall he's just slammed into and fell backwards. There was no fence. He looked around, stunned and bewildered. In his haze, he was more concerned about how stupid he had been to get the alley mixed up than he was about the approach of the men. But approach they did. And then the pain started. And it continued until his vision faded to black.
Again and again this played out behind his eyes, but he couldn't open them. It hurt too much. He was too tired. It wasn't comfortable, sitting in that darkness, but it was certainly better than the beatings, and he had experienced many. But as his consciousness floated in this void, it began to drift. It drifted to the car. To the jolt of the impact, the scatter of the wreckage. And of the dark creature reaching a hand out from the wall and grab and pull and eat...
He jolted up, making the pain blossom all across his body. His ribs, his stomach, his face, his shins, all over, but this pain was real. It was physical. And even though it hurt, these bruises on his body were easier to face than the ones in his heart. He had plenty of experience. A voice wrenched him out of the final hazy clouds of unconsciousness and fully into wakefulness. "Take it easy now. You got roughed up pretty bad.” The voice was warm but clipped. There was a tension behind it, like someone expecting a fight.
The boy opened his eyes as wide as he could, which wasn’t much on account of the swelling, and took in his surroundings. He had been in a hospital after the accident, and so he knew that he wasn’t in one. The bed under him felt like a hospital bed, and he could feel the numb sensation in his forearm telling him he had an IV drip. But the walls were drab concrete. There wasn’t any sort of privacy screen, but the room was completely empty. He looked to the source of the voice, to the person he’d come to call his Boss and let out a torrent of questions, adjusting himself as he did so to lessen the pain in his body. “Where am I? Who are you? What happened?”
The Boss gave no immediate answer, but addressed him with their eyes. They had seemed curious when he had started asking his questions, and now seemed to take all of him in so that he could be picked apart by whatever intelligence lay behind them. When the Boss finally spoke, they said, “You can still ask questions. Good. To answer them, you’re in my care. I run this place, and we picked you up after my men beat you.”
At this the boy’s eyes widened, and his hand moved to rip the IV out of his arm so he could run. He needed to get away from these people, away from this person, he killed one of their men, he was dead if he didn’t run. Faster than the boy could react though, the Boss’s hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist with such speed and force it shocked him into growing still. He was beyond fight or flight now. His only hope was to be as still as possible and hope it all worked out. The Boss spoke again, slowly now, “You move quickly for someone coming out of treatment. This is also good. I’m going to let go of your wrist now, and let's start this again. How about you tell me your name?” The boy recognized the tension behind their words now, and the hardness in their eyes. This was a dangerous person. Possibly the most dangerous person he’d ever met. But he knew dangers beyond the definition of being a person.
“M- my name is Adrian,” the boy said meekly. He tried to meet the Boss’s eyes, but he couldn’t. There was a fire burning in them. A raging inferno that could swallow up everything, but the fire was warm. The Boss surprised him with a smile as he looked up again to catch that warmth again, even if just for a moment.
“Hello Adrian. I’m afraid I can’t tell you my name, but we can figure out something you can call me in a bit. For now let's just go with sir.” Adrian held their gaze now, and yes, he still saw the hard glint in their eyes, a killer’s eyes, but he also saw that fire. And it was not a fire of rage, no, it was warm, and it made Adrian feel seen and cared about in a way he hadn’t been in over two years. And as Adrian gazed into the Boss’s eyes, they gazed back. And they recognized the same glint in the eyes of this child. The eyes of a killer. “How about some more questions? I’ll answer as best I can, but there are some things I can’t say.”
“But I thought you said you’re in charge? Can’t you say whatever you want?” Adrian was confused for a moment, and he was letting his guard down. This person was so powerful, if they wanted him dead then surely he would have already been so.
The Boss regarded him for a moment, as if waiting for something, then after not getting what they were looking for, spoke, “Please, call me sir when you speak with me.” The Boss looked down at Adrian until he gave a small nod and responded with a small “Sorry, sir.” The Boss continued now with their answer. “Yes, I can say whatever I want, but that doesn’t mean I should. Information is a powerful thing, as I imagine you already know with how you handled my men down there.”
Again that panic wormed its way into the boy’s heart, and he spoke up, “I- Sir, I, I know that they’re yours, but, but I was just defending myself! They threatened me with their guns, I just, I just did what I had to do! I- I’ve been an urchin for two years, I just, I just…” Adrian trailed off, on the brink of tears. Here was this person, showing nothing but kindness and understanding to the kid who had just gotten one of their friends killed. He didn’t want to lose the warmth he had just felt a moment ago already. He didn’t want to be punished for what those, those bastards had done to him.
Adrian flinched away, both from surprise and from muscle memory, as he felt a hand grip his shoulder. His eyes flashed wide and wild as he felt the grip tighten, he was about to try to run again when he heard a soft “Shhh” sound ground him back into reality. The hand was not tightening anymore. He wasn’t being grabbed, he was… he was being reassured. “Those men did something terrible to you Adrian, and for that I am deeply sorry. They will be handled appropriately, but the man you killed, Logan, was still one of mine, even if he was disobeying my orders. I’m sure we can find a way to get this all settled later though, for now, just relax.” The Boss slowly raised themself from the chair they were seated in and began to walk towards the exit, but before they left they turned to say, “I’ll be back in a little bit with food. You’re probably hungry. For now, just rest, I’ll make sure you’re safe,” before they placed some sort of helmet and mask over their head and closed the door.
Running. The boy was running, panting- no, gasping, for breath, but his panic and his adrenaline kept him moving. They were behind him still. Adults. Black uniforms, and they had guns. He knew that the wall creature had gotten one of them, he'd hoped they stop to look for the man, go search for their comrade, get distracted, let him get away from them. They didn't. And it wasn't a trick he could pull twice, the wall creature always rested between kills. But still, he had to focus, find a path through the fear. He knew this city, they didn't, he could get away, if he could just... and there it was! The alley way. There was a fence in the back that was cut open just wide enough for a kid like him to slip through. That was his way out. The kid veered left, into the alley, looking over his shoulder to see how close they were. Too close. But he ran, and ran, and then... crash. The boy stumbled backwards from the brick wall he's just slammed into and fell backwards. There was no fence. He looked around, stunned and bewildered. In his haze, he was more concerned about how stupid he had been to get the alley mixed up than he was about the approach of the men. But approach they did. And then the pain started. And it continued until his vision faded to black.
Again and again this played out behind his eyes, but he couldn't open them. It hurt too much. He was too tired. It wasn't comfortable, sitting in that darkness, but it was certainly better than the beatings, and he had experienced many. But as his consciousness floated in this void, it began to drift. It drifted to the car. To the jolt of the impact, the scatter of the wreckage. And of the dark creature reaching a hand out from the wall and grab and pull and eat...
He jolted up, making the pain blossom all across his body. His ribs, his stomach, his face, his shins, all over, but this pain was real. It was physical. And even though it hurt, these bruises on his body were easier to face than the ones in his heart. He had plenty of experience. A voice wrenched him out of the final hazy clouds of unconsciousness and fully into wakefulness. "Take it easy now. You got roughed up pretty bad.” The voice was warm but clipped. There was a tension behind it, like someone expecting a fight.
The boy opened his eyes as wide as he could, which wasn’t much on account of the swelling, and took in his surroundings. He had been in a hospital after the accident, and so he knew that he wasn’t in one. The bed under him felt like a hospital bed, and he could feel the numb sensation in his forearm telling him he had an IV drip. But the walls were drab concrete. There wasn’t any sort of privacy screen, but the room was completely empty. He looked to the source of the voice, to the person he’d come to call his Boss and let out a torrent of questions, adjusting himself as he did so to lessen the pain in his body. “Where am I? Who are you? What happened?”
The Boss gave no immediate answer, but addressed him with their eyes. They had seemed curious when he had started asking his questions, and now seemed to take all of him in so that he could be picked apart by whatever intelligence lay behind them. When the Boss finally spoke, they said, “You can still ask questions. Good. To answer them, you’re in my care. I run this place, and we picked you up after my men beat you.”
At this the boy’s eyes widened, and his hand moved to rip the IV out of his arm so he could run. He needed to get away from these people, away from this person, he killed one of their men, he was dead if he didn’t run. Faster than the boy could react though, the Boss’s hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist with such speed and force it shocked him into growing still. He was beyond fight or flight now. His only hope was to be as still as possible and hope it all worked out. The Boss spoke again, slowly now, “You move quickly for someone coming out of treatment. This is also good. I’m going to let go of your wrist now, and let's start this again. How about you tell me your name?” The boy recognized the tension behind their words now, and the hardness in their eyes. This was a dangerous person. Possibly the most dangerous person he’d ever met. But he knew dangers beyond the definition of being a person.
“M- my name is Adrian,” the boy said meekly. He tried to meet the Boss’s eyes, but he couldn’t. There was a fire burning in them. A raging inferno that could swallow up everything, but the fire was warm. The Boss surprised him with a smile as he looked up again to catch that warmth again, even if just for a moment.
“Hello Adrian. I’m afraid I can’t tell you my name, but we can figure out something you can call me in a bit. For now let's just go with sir.” Adrian held their gaze now, and yes, he still saw the hard glint in their eyes, a killer’s eyes, but he also saw that fire. And it was not a fire of rage, no, it was warm, and it made Adrian feel seen and cared about in a way he hadn’t been in over two years. And as Adrian gazed into the Boss’s eyes, they gazed back. And they recognized the same glint in the eyes of this child. The eyes of a killer. “How about some more questions? I’ll answer as best I can, but there are some things I can’t say.”
“But I thought you said you’re in charge? Can’t you say whatever you want?” Adrian was confused for a moment, and he was letting his guard down. This person was so powerful, if they wanted him dead then surely he would have already been so.
The Boss regarded him for a moment, as if waiting for something, then after not getting what they were looking for, spoke, “Please, call me sir when you speak with me.” The Boss looked down at Adrian until he gave a small nod and responded with a small “Sorry, sir.” The Boss continued now with their answer. “Yes, I can say whatever I want, but that doesn’t mean I should. Information is a powerful thing, as I imagine you already know with how you handled my men down there.”
Again that panic wormed its way into the boy’s heart, and he spoke up, “I- Sir, I, I know that they’re yours, but, but I was just defending myself! They threatened me with their guns, I just, I just did what I had to do! I- I’ve been an urchin for two years, I just, I just…” Adrian trailed off, on the brink of tears. Here was this person, showing nothing but kindness and understanding to the kid who had just gotten one of their friends killed. He didn’t want to lose the warmth he had just felt a moment ago already. He didn’t want to be punished for what those, those bastards had done to him.
Adrian flinched away, both from surprise and from muscle memory, as he felt a hand grip his shoulder. His eyes flashed wide and wild as he felt the grip tighten, he was about to try to run again when he heard a soft “Shhh” sound ground him back into reality. The hand was not tightening anymore. He wasn’t being grabbed, he was… he was being reassured. “Those men did something terrible to you Adrian, and for that I am deeply sorry. They will be handled appropriately, but the man you killed, Logan, was still one of mine, even if he was disobeying my orders. I’m sure we can find a way to get this all settled later though, for now, just relax.” The Boss slowly raised themself from the chair they were seated in and began to walk towards the exit, but before they left they turned to say, “I’ll be back in a little bit with food. You’re probably hungry. For now, just rest, I’ll make sure you’re safe,” before they placed some sort of helmet and mask over their head and closed the door.
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