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Falkread

After the meeting 2 days before...

"Good, all of you. Arthur, Zoey, you both are dismissed. Falkread, I'll need you to stay so I can debrief you on your next assignment," Damien finished.

Both Zoey and Arthur saluted the general before turning around to leave. They both looked over their shoulders at me before leaving the room, as if to tell me that they wished that this wasn't happening. I didn't want to be split up from them for one thing and going solo wasn't something I was too fond of being for my assignment. We worked as a team constantly, nothing not even Damien would break us no matter what. But he did and I only hoped that it was for a good reason too otherwise I wasn't going to be a happy camper.

Once Arthur and Zoey waved goodbye to me and the door closed behind them, it was just Damien, the troops, and I. He better have a good reason for breaking us apart like this or I might get a little cranky. I had always wanted a solo mission though so I couldn't say that I was complaining too terribly bad but now that the realization that I wouldn't have my friends by my side made me start to think how much I needed them by my side. If it wasn't Arthur guarding me from behind or up front, it was Zoey doing her kick-ass awesome moves that sometimes had me cringing at the end of each mission.

There had been missions that had been cut close by us, but then again, that was when we were a little younger and we were still new to special ops and high-level missions that truly tested our abilities in ways we couldn't comprehend. That was the reason Damien put us in the special ops class though, just because he knew we were becoming one of the best groups of soldiers he had at his command. Zoey used a great portion of stealth and could talk her way out of many situations when her cover wasn't completely blown, and I couldn't deny that she had some sleek and powerful fighting skills either. Arthur was very good with his choice of words and could always sense certain things that were about to happen and prepare for anything that headed our or his way. I had brute strength on my side, along with a portion of my skills being hacking and technology.

I sighed. With skills like those, I sometimes felt like the weakest link on the team. Strength and technology...two things that had nothing in common and wouldn't help me out in case I needed to interrogate someone for the sake of a mission. That's why Arthur and Zoey were usually by my side so they could put their own skills to work when I fail. I might've looked a little on the slim and lean side but I could still pack a punch and hack a supercomputer when I needed to, but when it came to talking to people I pretty much sunk like the Titanic.

Arthur and Zoey could get their mission finished easily, I guessed. They were good at going at things like that hard and fast. The only detail I didn't like about their mission was the fact that they had to reason with Hare and somehow convince him to join our side, hopefully without killing him. Hare may've had a good report from a soldier's point of view, but he was still a Task Master and I could vouch for Zoey by saying that we hated Task Masters to the bone. Arthur on the other hand didn't look at shocked as Zoey when he was given the assignment, though I could tell that it still made him uncomfortable. Even if they convinced Lucian to join our side, there was no guarantee that he would be fully accepted amongst our rank since he still works for the people that constantly try to destroy us. No way was Zoey going to fall in love with him, and there wasn't a chance in hell that I was going to let him slide that easily.

I still wondered if he was as good as the general described. Maybe he was and I was just judging him because of his stature and position. I've heard that people can be someone one day then be another person the next day, but of course I didn't believe that. Lucian could be one of those people though and it wasn't fair of me to think that he couldn't change his ways. Since I knew a lot about Arthur, I knew that he believed that people could change if you give them the time and maybe he was right this time about Lucian. Of course, I was still skeptical.

"Falk?" Damien interrupted me. "Are you alright? You look dazed."

He snapped me back to reality after I had been in deep thought. At least this could get my mind off of things, I hope. I needed a little distraction anyway to keep myself sane.

"S-sorry, sir," I apologized, bowing my head respectfully. "It won't happen again, I promise."

Damien raised an eyebrow at me but then shrugged as well, tapping a few buttons on the monitor. "Alright. Let's get to your assignment."

What came up was a hologram of Lucian once again. Was I going to be shadowing Arthur and Zoey from behind? Wait. I looked at the picture of Lucian and found a few differences from him this time around. It may've just been me but he looked a little younger than before with his face looking slightly more innocent but still vaguely older than the average kid. He also had a shaggy head of brown hair and slightly tanner fur. Around his neck I could see a metal chain while a faded scar was placed upon his left cheek.

"Can you tell me who this is?" Damien asked, folding his arms across his chest.

I blinked a few times before responding. "That's not Hare, I know that for sure."

Damien nodded then shook his head. "You're both right and wrong actually. What you're looking at is bloodkin to Lucian but isn't Lucian himself."

"So...he's a relative?" I asked.

"Once again, you're right and wrong," he replied, this time smiling.

I groaned, rubbing my eyes wearily. "Please just tell me and stop making me go around in circles."

He laughed a little. "Very well. This isn't Lucian, just as I said, but this is his only known child that we can determine. What you're looking at is David Thorn Hare, his son."

While I tried to fit the pieces together, the general brought up a picture of Lucian and set them both up side by side just so I could see the differences and similarities. They actually did look like they were family, however Lucian had tan fur and floppy skin while his son however had tanner, darker fur with a head of brown shaggy hair. They both shared each other's forest green eyes and they also shared one another's look of relaxation and serenity. I seriously wondered how someone could look so mellow as they did, and it was starting to bug me since I could never really chill out. Another difference that I could spot was the scar on his son's cheek and the sleek, nearly flawless, fur that his father adorned as opposed to his son.

"Well, they do look like they are father and son," I said, scratching the long fur on my chin.

General Ghost nodded. "They are, but the reason for breaking you up with Arthur and Zoey was not because of Lucian." The picture of Lucian faded away and left his son. "You mission involves infiltrating a prison where David is being held captive and break him out."

"Wait, a prison?" I questioned. "What did he do? Did he kill someone?"

Damien shook his head. "Nothing like that. You see, he was kidnapped at an early age and was sold to a low-class Task Master who runs a prison. He was seven at the time and its been around seven years he's been missing. Ever since he's been working as a sort of 'scullery maid' for the man. Only a few weeks ago did we finally pinpoint his location and now we can make some head-weight."

"So, let me get this right, you want me to infiltrate a prison full of criminals and slaves to save a fourteen-year-old kid and somehow create a plan to break him out?" I asked, shaking my head side to side with a hint of laughter. "There's a fine line between crazy and insane and you're flirting with it, Damien."

The fox smiled. "I know this much, Falk, but I don't intend to send you to that prison without a plan to get you in and out. Here's the plan: we're going to send the warden who keeps everything in check a list of new slaves coming in to work for Xavier, the Task Master who owns and runs the place, and that's where we put you. Once they allow you in, you're going to have to find and locate David so the second part of your plan can come into play."

"And what would the second part be exactly?" I questioned, leaning forward so I could hear each and every detail.

A map of what looked like the prison appeared on the monitor. It had four corners, each one with a large watchtower to keep track over the prisoners and the land. The walls looked way too tall to scale and looked too thick to even chip away without the guard's noticing. In the center I could see a very tall and wide building that was easily taller than the watchtowers, which I guessed was the main place where Xavier and his guards slept. Along the walls of the prison, I could see mounted machine guns and anti-air cannons that could take down even one of our toughest jets with one shot.

"Once you find him then you'll need a means for escape," he went on. "An escort will be buying you and him back from Xavier without him noticing."

"What if that doesn't work?" I asked.

"Then we'll just have to kick in the front door then, won't we?" Damien replied with a sinister smile that had goose-bumps running up and down my arms.

I sighed, and nodded once he finished debriefing me. "Alright, I get it. So I have to be smuggled in with the newest prisoners then either I'm bought out or you bust me out, correct?"

Damien nodded. "That's the gist of it. I'm sorry I can't be more glamorous with the details but you're a smart one and I know you can figure out something that we might've missed."

The prison caught my eye again. There was one way inside the compound as far as I could tell and it was through the front door, which was surrounded by a mote that was close to the edge of a cliff. There was a large wooden platform built into the side of the prison facing the cliff and water below, but for what reason they needed that I had no clue. There was something offsetting about this prison to me. Even though I couldn't place my finger on it, I knew there was something weird about it without Damien even knowing about it.

In the end, I shrugged. "Fine, when do I leave?"

The arctic fox smiled and bent down, picking up a light brown bag and then tossed it to me. "You got five minutes."

In only an hour, I was in my new crimson jumpsuit with static cuffs wrapped around my wrist while a jet charted me to the new jet where I would be taken to the prison where I needed to find David Hare.

This was by far the weirdest mission that I had ever been on. I wasn't even kidding either. Arthur, Zoey, and I had seen some weird things in the past couple of years and had been through some weird situations before but never had one of us been forced to go to a prison and retrieve someone we knew very little about. The jumpsuit sucked and was very uncomfortable to me, and why they chose the color crimson as opposed to the usual orange also made me wonder. This had been the first time I had been forced to wear static cuffs for a mission instead of a test I needed to pass, so I wasn't pretty stoked about doing a part of this mission without the use of my hands. I felt like I had committed a robbery of some sort or maybe I had actually killed a civilian by accident and this was my punishment. I had killed someone before but it was the enemy and unless stealing intelligence from the forces trying to take us down was robbery then maybe it shouldn't be counted as a crime.

Only three others shared the chopper with him, each one of them disguised as a prison security guard that worked at the prison. All three stayed in character for the duration of the flight from the base to the first landing point where they would drop me off and take me to the prison on a specially constructed airplane with a specific identification number that the prison would register as a part of one of their numbers upon investigation. I didn't even both to try and talk to them since I knew that they wouldn't even say a word to me because they needed to look like stone-cold killers the entire time. They all wore navy blue uniforms with helmets that covered their faces and heads but not their mouths. Each one had a hunting knife strapped to their thigh while they carried a very powerful assault rife that could obliterate a group of soldiers in only a few seconds. If the plan failed even before it started and if we were unmasked, not in a literal sense but you know what I mean, and attacked then we had a battle cruiser and a dozen jets on standby in case things got dicey. Hopefully, we weren't going to need them if everything worked out without a hitch which I highly doubted it would, however I hoped that everything just worked out in our favor just this once before shit hit the fan.

And of course I jinx everything, and sadly I didn't have any wood to knock on either. There was always a chance that bad things were going to happen, in which most times it does, but I really wanted one mission to work out without the need for gunfire and bloodshed. I just need to get a fourteen-year-old out of a prison without being detected and then everything will return to the way things are once again. I still had no clue why this kid was so important to us. Okay, so he was the son of one of the most powerful Task Masters on the planet. Big whoop. Actually, that does make a little bit of sense now that I put some thought into it. If we got Hare to join our side if we get his son then we could keep him on our side by using the boy as a sort of bargaining tool maybe.

Okay, that actually sounds diabolical. I hated when I thought of things like that. We couldn't use the kid as a sort of bargaining tool for our advantage. We'd be stooping to the same level as the other Task Masters and Overlord, and I knew for a fact that we were nothing like them. We looked out for our own and fought for the freedom and equality of the people. I chuckled. When I thought about equality of the people, a part of me thought about the gay rights in the early 2000s. France allowed gay marriage during that time but not anymore sadly and it was because of the dreadful man called the Overlord. That was the same as the US who allowed it across the country for states who passed gay rights laws, but the Overlord put and end to that as well because it gave people too much freedom. Over the years, Jamaica actually began to become more friendly to gays but even to this day its still not where it could be. Maybe its because of the war or maybe the Overlord wants it that way so the people can't come out and be themselves and start riots, leading people to believe that they have more power than the Overlord himself now. Of course I couldn't back up my assumption with what little I knew about the Overlord or his small motives, but if there were two things that I did know about that man it was that he was a tyrant and he was a poor excuse of a leader.

Another hour quickly passed by before I knew it. I was on the transport plane along with half a dozen other fake prisoners heading for the prison. They all varied from species to muscle mass to looks and finally to the overall atmosphere they presented. One of them happened to be a tiger with a very muscular build who also adorned a set of scars across his nose and cheek. He gave me a look that sent shivers up and down my spine; however I didn't show that, knowing that if I showed fear they would signal me out as the weakest link of the party. I threw him as good of a cold look I possibly could yet I think it only made him smile toothily at me. Another from the group was a German Shepard who looked lean and toned like me but wore a black eye-patch over his right eye, and when I looked at him snarled back and revealed that he was missing one of his fangs and a bottom tooth. I knew that it was better to leave these guys be for the sake of the mission before I needed to call upon them for help.

The ride felt like an eternity of waiting, as most rides to certain destinations felt most of the time, but when we arrived I began to wish I didn't accept this mission so willingly. A storm had brewed over the course of the day and gray clouds circled the sky over the prison which of course was placed near the cliff of a mountain. It was larger than I thought it was, the walls appearing to be at least a mile long with very tall walls that would require tons of rope to scale--or a really big ladder to get us to the top. Just from what the hologram from earlier showed us, each wall was fitted with two mounted machine guns that I could only assume was ready for any sort of combat. A group of four guards patrolled each wall and carried what looked like an assault rifle that lay against their shoulder, and I could see two snipers in each tower switching from one position to the next with their faces staying stern and cold like sharks.

A chill ran up my spine. This was not going to be an easy mission, and I could call that from just my first impression. The fake prisoners, who were actually hardened soldiers working for the Revolution, also looked out the window and shook their heads as if to say that they knew this place was just as bad as I was thinking it was, if not much worse. They were all trained vets who had plenty of experience dealing with tough and harsh places like this, but I had no clue what this place was but I didn't want to know either. This prison just screamed evil to me. I wanted to get this mission over and done with as soon as possible.

I could see the large storm brewing over the fortress, which is what I was going to call it from now on, and I could only hope that it wasn't going to make my situation that much more horrible. Even with the soundproof windows and thick metal walls that surrounded us, I could see the flash of the lightning and the force of the impact made the plane tremble ever so slightly, just making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on the end. Was a hurricane heading this way? That was the vibe I was getting, and I could only see the clouds getting darker and darker as they slowly drifted towards the path of the jet. They looked so ominous, not to mention scary as hell, but I couldn't let the storm get to me. I still had a task to complete but at least I wasn't completely alone with my mission. I had hardened vets to rely on in case I was in a tight spot, but I just hoped that this wasn't the mission where I nearly get myself killed. I wonder how I would explain that to Arthur and Zoey.

God, just thinking about those two made my heart ache in ways I didn't think could be possible. I just wasn't in the state of mind that I needed to be in and thinking about them wasn't helping me one bit. I wondered if their side of the mission was just as hard as mine. It would be pretty funny if they were drinking tea and having a good time with their side of their mission. Well, maybe it would be funny for them but not for me. I digress.

Eventually, we did reach the fortress. It took me a second to realize what the gigantic stone ground attached to the wall facing the ocean was. It was a sort of landing platform for aircraft and got troops transported inside the compound, but I guessed that whoever came in never left the building. The floor looked thick and strong and had stone pillars slanted against the wall of the fortress to keep the structure from falling apart. The rain finally hit us like a pile of bricks as each and every fake prisoner stepped out of the plane and walked onto the stone floor, looking very convincing while each and every one of them lined up in a single row until I stepped out and stood next to the Shepard. Once everyone was in the single line as the rain pelted against us like hail, the wind joined in on the onslaught and beat against us like we were punching bags or swing sets. The howling of the wind brought forth a new tone that I had never heard before. It was cold and chilling, sending shudders of fear up and down my spine.

I honestly had a hard time remembering what happened after we were lined up. It all just felt like a blur. A man in a black uniform walked up and led us to the middle building in the pouring rain which soaked each and every one of us like a dish rag that was being constantly used. My clothes felt heavy and damp, and I could feel the chilling wind beat against my drenched body. I stayed in the back while the man led us into the building. No one was outside in the marge courtyard, but I gave my mind three guesses as to why.

Once we were inside, here were two things that went through my mind and body. First was the fact that it was warner inside than it was outside but not too hot that I might die of heatstroke soon. Clearly, I was way too cold to die of a heatstroke in this temperature. Second was the overall mood I got from the other prisoners and inside of the building. We passed by many of the other inmates who lived here, each one wearing an outfit just like ours and each one varied from species to age constantly. I saw a wolf with my build talking to a group of others while a golden retriever was arm wrestling with a bulldog on a table close by. Their attention changed from each other to myself and my group of soldiers in disguise. Some of them wore bandanas around their heads and tore the sleeves off their jumpsuits. Others gave us the death stare and cracked their knuckles, chuckling melodiously to themselves once we left the room.

I could finally see the cells for once. Each room fit two people and only a set of uncomfortable beds were set against the wall while one nightstand was placed against the wall splitting the sides of the room. Dim lights from the ceiling illuminated the room as far as I could see but the hallways of the prison were lit up by metal candles and dim lights. I was still pretty cold but the temperature of the inside of the compound at least helped the heat return to my body. Inmates passed us by without a second glance and walked on as if we weren't even there. I don't know why but I had an odd feeling about them.

Like I said from earlier, everything passed by like a blur. I didn't even pay attention to everything that we passed by. I knew we passed a weight room filled with beefy and hulked up men ready to snap a neck, maybe mine, in a split second if I wasn't even careful. I made sure to leave them alone. At least they didn't bat an eye our way and give us the death stare as well. I heard from up ahead we were passing an infirmary for anyone who had a sickness or illness, and I had a strange feeling with the weather we had that there were going to be a lot of sick people lining up against the wall of the medical room. We passed even more cells along the way, some actually having inmates inside either sleeping or doing something to pass the time. Since they were pretty much stuck here, I guess that you had to pass the time somehow if you needed to get rid of your boredom.

Our little group eventually reached a large room that looked exactly like an executive office. A nice soft rug was placed in the center while a wooden desk stayed closer towards the wall, the top of the desk displaying many important papers that looked valuable to the Revolution. I could see a banner hung on the left wall showing that this place exactly what it was: an Overlord controlled prison. The banner was navy blue In color and showed a white star with its individual points cut up at the center, showing a pentagon without the sides, however showing the lines going to the points of the shape. Though the man of the hour probably never came here himself, the soldiers and guards that patrolled here had to be his own men. The weapons also had to come from the Overlord's supply as well, and I didn't need a banner to tell me that. The room was also decorated with a few pictures, some personal, some not, but I only needed to see the weapons rack in the back to know how tough this Task Master had to be. From left to right I could see an assortment of swords, daggers, and batons, and from the wall I could see a different array of guns ranging from AK's all the way to an early eighteenth century pistol that looked to be an antique. My guess was that the rack and weapons were mainly for show and Xavier probably never used any of them on anyone. Of course I couldn't make that a fact because it was possible that he could've used any one of these instruments of torture against someone.

I gulped down a whimper. Not only was this place creeping me out to the maximum, but I couldn't help but shake a bad vibe I was getting from this place and it just wouldn't let go. I didn't even realize I was shaking like a scared puppy. Everyone else had to have felt it as well because there was just no way that I was the only one getting this bad feeling. The guns...the prisoners...the atmosphere and placement of the prison all seemed to tie in together like a very intricate and tight knot that wasn't going to reveal any secrets just with the naked eye.

Someone stepped out from behind us and walked forward until he stood right there in front of us. He was the same guy in the black uniform before, but he looked just as soaked as we were. He had a lean yet toned body with a dark expression that had me trembling in my cuffs. The man wore a ship captain's black hat which covered his face while halting my perception of him and his character. It only took a quick glance at the badges placed on his left pectoral to tell me how important he was. I gave myself three guesses who this man was once I saw the broken apart star on his chest.

He looked over each and every one of us then smiled slyly. "Congratulations on making it to the worst possible place you've ever been in your fucking life 'cause guess what? You're never getting out of this prison alive. I guarantee you that." He sounded smug, but I guessed that was what most Task Masters sounded like anyway.

His voice was hoarse and deep. I actually felt frightened by his menacing tone but could only hope that he didn't see through our disguises just yet. We just needed to find David, radio for the general, and get the hell out of here. I didn't want to spend a month in here looking for the kid then try to figure out how to get the hell out of here. This guy, who I figured out was Xavier, was going to be a major problem with the mission and now I was going to have to figure out how to bypass him and his watchful eye to complete the mission.

Xavier turned his head and glanced over all of us again. "Mmm-hmm, I can already see all of your back-rounds. Thugs...lawless hooligans...murderers. Shame, shame, shame. And to think, you could be doing what's right and doing what you're supposed to do."

I rolled my eyes when he turned away from us. He was wrong, wrong, wrong about our back-rounds anyway. If he thought that we were going to listen to him and his bullshit then he was in for a rude awakening once I figured out how to get my cuffs off. The man did look like he was stronger than me, but I was pretty strong myself and I had some brains to go along with that. If I could outsmart him when the time comes, I'll be able to get the upper hand on a few things here. But all of that requires some delicate choice of words. Great, something I have the worst time with.

"You boys better get nice and comfortable," he went on. "because you ain't getting out of here any time soon. Actually, this is your new home! Welcome to your new home and grave, boys!"

You need a hobby, dude, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes without him seeing. This guy needs a girlfriend as far as I can see. Well, I wondered if he locked his previous girlfriend--that being said if he ever had one--or his wife...if he ever had one. I'll bet anything that no one went for someone like him. I could already see his past. In my mind I saw a sorry, poor, horrible child who grew up into a monster who now likes to feed off the anger and pain of another being. Never did I once look at the bio of this guy, but I had a feeling that I was at least pretty close to the right answer.

He walked forward with his hands behind his back and proceeded to walk in front of us like some sort of lingering spirit haunting us for a weird reason. "If any of you have anything to say to me, well now's the time to get that off your chest before I break that will of yours into tiny pieces."

Xavier stopped right in front of me in which I gave him my serious face. He smiled. "I like that face of yours, kid. Shame I have to break it."

His words took me aback until I saw his fist fly for my face and send me right into the ground. I felt my jaw pop and crack instantly from the blow until I was on my elbows and knees grunting and groaning in pain. My jaw felt as though it had been drilled by the worst dentist on the planet, but I still had all my teeth so I wasn't complaining too much. The taste of blood filled my mouth though and sure enough I coughed up a few drops onto the floor.

That only seemed to provoke him further, sadly. While I was down, he kicked me, hard, in the ribs and had me hissing and shaking in pain. The searing pain wracked my body like a pool of acid slowly burning my fur and skin off but it was mainly in my chest and sides that it hurt most. More blood fell from my mouth and nose until he kicked me once again, this time towards the wall until I slammed against the metal surface. As I covered my chest with my cuffed wrists and arms, he laughed like a serial killer who made his mark and kicked me square in the jaw before taking a few steps back. I spat out more blood and coughed jaggedly, gasping for air as I tried to think about something else other than the pain that was washing over my body like a tidal wave.

Xavier chuckled and bent down, gripping the little fur I had on my head before making my eyes level to his. I groaned out in pure pain while he spoke. "I'll be you enjoyed that. The taste of blood. The pain of broken bones. You're gonna feel that for the next couple of days. Bet my entire paycheck on that."

He threw my face back against the metal floor, forcing me to hiss out in agony once more. The soldiers that had accompanied me earlier continued to stand where they were, only looking at the show while it happened right in front of their eyes. Though I wanted at least one of them to come over and help me out, I was glad that they stayed where they were. It was better for me to just take the full force of this man's attacks rather than have my allies come and help me out, making it look like they actually cared for me. If this plan was going to work, we were going to have to act like none of us had ever met.

I couldn't deny though that the pain made me want to start begging for their help. My ribs almost felt like they were about to start popping off one by one in the most painful of ways while my jaw felt like it had just went through a boxing match with a world class MMA fighter. The crimson colored blood dripped from the sides of my mouth quickly then made small circles on the floor, staining the steel that I knelt on like a dark paint that could never be washed away. I could almost just look into the liquid and see my own reflection, the pained and exasperated look on my face that only seemed to make me feel even more terrible. When I combined the heat of the room and the agony that was going through my body, I felt a new sort of pain that I had never even thought of before. It was both emotional and physical to me but somehow I couldn't feel it directly. It was almost like a presence was looming over me just laying its cold hand across my shoulder, forcing me to shudder in both fear and bitterness.

Xavier turned to look at the other prisoners. "If even one of you dare to question my authority with either words or--" he turned to give me a disgusted look "--a facial expression, you all will suffer the consequences like him. From here on out, if you do something that aggravates me to the boiling point, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your brain, got it?"

They all nodded.

He chuckled. "Good, good. Now, get out of my sight, you worthless pieces of shit."

While they trailed out of the room one by one, I stayed crumpled on the metal floor trying to regain my strength. The realization of the mission suddenly hit me like a falling brick that came from the top of the Empire State Building. It was almost like someone had just slapped me in the face with a rubber glove, but instead I was kicked in the jaw by a strong foot. This mission had a fifty-fifty chance of either getting me killed or mortally wounded. If I made it out alive with only minor injuries, I was going to head straight to a hot tub and relax for a couple of hours, but if I got myself wounded or killed, I was sure accepting this mission was just a bad call on my part.

Finally, the troops made it out of the room and I was able to regain a portion of my strength back to stand up. Xavier loomed over me like a vulture just swooping down on its prey, shooting daggers out of his eyes right into my soul. I could almost feel each weapon wound me, maybe not physically, but internally. I had no doubt in my mind that this place was going to be the biggest undertaking of my entire life, and Xavier was not going to make this any easier on me either. I was going to have to be cunning with my moves and smart with my actions or else I was going to be a dead man walking for the entire mission.

It seemed hours had passed by while I was trying to gather my strength but the reality was that it was only a few minutes or so. My ribs were still in their own world of pain, and my head throbbed violently against my skull. No doubt I was going to get a headache very soon. The bleeding from my mouth lessened by the minute, yet the pain from the thrashing still felt fresh as if it was still happening to me at the moment.

The man who did the thrashing himself knelt down right next to me and turned me onto my back with his foot. I heard him spit on the ground next to me and grunt. I had probably stained his clean floors or something with my blood. As if I cared about that. What I really cared about right now was the fact I needed a doctor to take a look at me and tell me if I was seriously injured or if it was just some minor bruising or something. I pray that it was only minor bruising but I knew that I had to have some broken ribs and maybe a dislocated jaw. The blood I tasted made me realize that I needed some help right now.

No words were spoken as far as I could hear but two guards walked into the room and took me by my arms and ragged me out of the chamber. I was so weak and limp that I couldn't tell where they were taking me but I had to guess that it was going to be either a) a torture chamber or b) a doctor.

I went with torture chamber.

The dragging went on for what felt like hours. My vision was blurry the whole time so I had trouble making out where I was going and where I was coming from. I couldn't speak a word since my jaw hurt so much and it felt like my vocal cords had been put on pause. We must've passed by dozens of inmates and cells by the time we reached our destination because even with my poor sense of hearing at the time, I could still hear the soft murmuring of small groups of prisoners once we passed by. Everything was so clouded and foggy that I couldn't even figure out what they were saying.

What I did hear though was the sound of a cell door opening. Shortly after, I was thrown right into the room, and yes I mean thrown into the room, and landed on the warm metal floor. Shame I couldn't even find the slightest bit of comfort there since I didn't even feel like moving an inch. It was like every muscle in my body had shut down and I was nothing but a lifeless puppet.

I closed my eyes and felt the wonderful touch of sleep take my pain away.

After a few hours of sleep, I finally woke up to some very sore muscles and a very sore jaw as well.

There were two things that I took notice of immediately upon my re-awakening. First off, I wasn't on the metal floor anymore which I first thought was pretty odd. I was thrown there on the floor, wasn't I? I remember feeling the warm floor being my bed until I passed out but now I was on a somewhat comfortable bed, lying on my back with my right hand on my chest. Second, was the feeling of another person in the cell with me. Of course I could feel the presence of another person in here with me, however my eyes were still adjusting to the lighting of the room that I had a hard time figuring out if my gut was right or wrong. All it took was the creepy squeak of the bead next to mine to tell me that what I was feeling was right and there was someone in here with me.

Oh God, please tell me I hadn't been raped while I was passed out. That would literally ruin my entire life if I found out that that had happened to me. I used my hand to touch my chest which was still covered by a piece of clothing, and I could feel a pair of pants covering my legs. I didn't feel any wetness in my lower region either. Okay, maybe I hadn't been raped by a fellow prisoner. My apprehension still didn't lesson though because I was still weak and my body was still in a bad shape.

Whoever it was in the room with me must've been a quiet one. He/she didn't say a word to me as I groaned, showing that I was finally conscious. Moments later did the squeaking of the bed catch my ears. The person sounded like he stood up, groaning softly himself until I felt him sit on the edge of my bed. It was a guy as far as I could tell through the somewhat deep voice that he had and the weight that he pressed onto my bed. Whoever he was, he patted my leg and stood up as I blinked a couple of times, trying my best to regain my sight so I could figure out what the hell was going on.

Maybe it was he who laid me on the bed instead of leaving me on the floor. I coughed a few times, still finding the taste of dry blood in my blood. I wanted to hurl at the taste but held it all down as best I could with what little willpower I had. The next thing I knew, he knelt close to my ribs this time and placed a cold rag on my forehead. At first I wanted to take it off because it was so cold but when it mixed with the heat of the room and lessened the warmth on my slightly sweating body, I slowly released any tension within my body.

"Waht....happuhned?" I groaned as I tried to move my jaw, doing my best to form audible words for this guy to hear.

I heard him chuckle slightly before he placed the back of his hand against my cheek. "Shh...shh...shh. You need to rest. Try not to speak, it'll help your jaw recover from the beating."

"How do...you...know abouht thaht?" I questioned, hearing the pain in my own voice. It was painful just to hear myself speak but I needed information and this guy had to know a few things.

He chuckled once more and patted the one area on my chest that didn't hurt too much. "It's not much of a secret when the master of this prison blurts it out to everyone only two hours ago. He thought it was best to use you as an example to anyone who tries to do anything he doesn't like and destroy their will because of it."

"I'm everythung...but destroyed," I retorted, summoning all the power I could, placing it into my voice.

"I can tell. You're still talking."

"Don't expect me to stop."

He chuckled and patted me again. "You're such a silly wolf, but I do respect your determination."

As he talked, vision slowly came back. I could finally start to see the room and him as well. It was of course dimly lit, save for the mounted lamp on the wall to my right. The guy was still a little fuzzy but I squinted just to see a little clearer. He looked to be a light build and very younger than myself.

"What's your name?" he asked me with a tilt of his head.

I tried to gather my thoughts before responding with "Falk...Falkread Summers. What about you?"

I had no idea if he was, but to me he looked like he smiled at the question, his answer coming in a slow reply. "David Hare."