"IF YOU EVER, AND I MEAN EVER, TALK OR EVEN LOOK AT US, I WILL MURDER YOU!"

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Present day

"It's your fucking fault," Gage spat out in disgust, glaring at Atlas. I was curled up on my bed as all five of them sat on the floor, arguing about this situation. Every inch of my body was in pain and I could barely move. "If we have gotten her the tattoo, they would've been frightened for their life if she simply looked at them!"

"Stop fucking with my head!" Atlas groaned, leaning his head against the wall behind him. "One time you turned out to be right and suddenly, you are all smart and shit."

"Why are you not furious?! These fuckers hurt Brandy! Can't you even look at her and realize what have they done?!" Jesus meddled in, turning against Atlas as well.

They have been acting like this since they found me in the washing room, which has been a couple of hours ago. Although they officially considered me as a part of their group for only two days, they started acting like I was their family right away.

I don't know if it's because I'm a girl, but it seems like Grab The Prey initiation meant something not so simple for me to even understand. Maybe it was their way of seeing if I was worth the trouble.

"He can't look at her because he feels guilty. And that is something he never got to experience," Gage said through clenched teeth. Atlas simply stared into the ceiling, his face once again emotionless. "What will you do about it, huh? Will you show everyone who we are by staring into a fucking ceiling?!" Gage raised his voice, which seemed to piss him off. Atlas stood up, not even giving him time to blink, and grabbed Gage's neck, pulling him up in the air.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Atlas growled, glaring into his eyes. "I know what I did, I know they hurt her," he said, his voice cracking at the end of the sentence. My body stiffened and now, I was paying more focus than I have been earlier. He sounded like he was about to cry.

Gage swung his arms like an octopus, his face turning red from the lack of air, but Atlas was stronger, Gage simply had no chance against him. The interesting thing is how nobody stood up to Atlas when it came to physical interaction. Everybody besides Gage was afraid to get into a fight with him, so they just stuck to words.

"And trust me, I will make them and everyone regret for simply thinking about us in the wrong way," Atlas continued, the words naturally rolling off his tongue. "You, and everyone else, who thinks I am not aware of my mistakes can fuck off," he threw Gage's body in the corner, glaring at every one of us and when he saw me, his face softened.

I don't know what I looked like, but I can just assume I was pretty beaten up. Without giving my poor brain any time to process everything he had said, he picked me up, just the way he did when we got here, and with that, we exited my cell.

"What is going on?" I managed to mumble, hoping he would hear me. It hurt to speak, move and even breathe, so I don't even want to imagine how they fucked me up.

"I will tell you a story," he said, numbly staring in front of himself as we walked. I closed my eyes, listening to his soothing, deep voice. "When I came here three years ago, I was fourteen. Those guys who I beat up to death - they were insulting my mother who was a hard-working woman. She did what she had to do to raise me by herself," he told me, shortly glancing into my eyes before continuing. "But it wasn't the last time it happened. Before I joined the group and just when I got in, one guy pushed my nerves. It was when I still couldn't control myself on the subject of my mother," he remembered, his voice more distant now. "I got into a fight with him and he lost his life. They threw me into isolation for two weeks, giving me only a piece of bread and a glass of water per day. That was when I started to control myself."

I furrowed my eyebrows and opened my eyes, looking up at his tense face. "Why are you acting like you don't care about anything?" I asked because I knew this was the best chance I had to get it out of him.

He sighed and stopped in the middle of the hall, looking at me with pain.

I saw my reflection in his glistening eyes and I almost regretted asking about anything. "Because I was forced to grow up too soon. The first time..." he started but managed to stop before he completely broke apart.

He started walking again, separating his eyes from mine. "The first time I felt the same anger I did when those guys insulted my mother was today when I saw you," he continued, letting his words sink in as we walked in silence.

Was this his way of saying he cares? But why would anybody care about me in such a way? "Did you, uh, kill that guy in the washing room?" I asked him carefully, closing my eyes once again.

"No," he replied immediately. "But this will not happen again. I swore and promised to protect you no matter what and I am not a guy who breaks promises."

"What will you do?" I asked bluntly, looking over his shoulder.

In the distance, the rest of the guys followed us, trying to catch up. It was obvious they would, no matter what Atlas did or said, they got a hint when he walked out with me.

They know what will happen.

"I told you, I will do anything to make sure this doesn't happen again," was all he said before we walked into the cafeteria.

I gripped his shirt, making him stop. "I don't want to be here, you will get caught and Blue..." I begged, a tear escaping my eye. "Please."

"The guards aren't anywhere near being our problem and Blue is worried about something else right now," he replied, wiping off the tear with his thumb, before gently pressing a kiss on my forehead and gazing into my eyes. "You won't have to fear these people after I'm finished," he said, looking both furious and sympathetic.

"Atlas," Gage grabbed his shoulder, making him turn around. They were looking at us with anticipation and nervousness. "Do her justice," was all he added before we continued walking.

Atlas sat me on an empty table in the corner of the place, kissing my forehead once again.

"Don't look if you don't have to," he suggested and I nodded, flashing him a small, grateful smile. His lips barely twitched upwards as he brushed his fingers against my face. He turned around, his back facing me.

"Can I have your attention, please?" he demanded loud and clear. The entire cafeteria became quiet, only a few whispers breaking it. He walked over to the table where four guys were sitting, crouching down in front of them.

Their facial expressions showed what they thought of him - that he was nobody.

"Are you scared of me?" he asked, looking at every one of them. One of the guys scoffed, a smirk appearing on his face. I looked to Jesus, who was standing across the room, and shook his head like he wanted to say "just don't look".

I guess curiosity overpowered what my brain was trying to tell me - listen to him.

"You're not afraid of me?" Atlas laughed, asking them again. One guy stood out of the rest of them - he had dozens of tattoos and a well-built body, which made him look like a leader and, overall, not the kindest person.

"Why the fuck would I be scared of you?" he chuckled, playfully poking his friends in the ribs to join him at mocking Atlas. "You are nothing, but a joke."

Atlas didn't seem to need anything else from that guy, because he grabbed the collar of his shirt and smashed him against the floor. Atlas pinned the guy's arms above his head and blocked his legs, glaring into his eyes like a wild animal, a hunter who finally caught his prey.

He whispered something that took the guy by surprise because his eyes shot wide open, and that's when he kicked his upper body five times, with each swing punches becoming stronger, making the guy scream in pain.

He grabbed his face and smacked the smirk he had earlier off with his bare fists repeatedly, until there was red, burning blood everywhere.

When he finished, he picked up the guy's numb body, throwing him back at the table where the rest of them were sitting at. Only moans and whimpers echoed through the air, making me think - why would he do this for me?

Then he walked to the other guys, leaning with his arms against their table. "Are any of you scared of me?" he asked again, breathless. The guys stared at him and then looked at each other with hesitation, not realizing what's happening.

Atlas picked up the nearest guy, moving fast and smooth as a tiger, throwing him on the floor and manically kicking his poor body with feet. He crouched down, pressing the guy's stomach with his foot. He spat at him with a disgusted face and got up, leaving the guy helplessly laying on the floor. He brushed his hand through his hair and turned to another table.

"ARE YOU SCARED OF ME?!" he screamed into their faces, his unreal eyes burning a hole through their souls. Few of them flinched by his outburst and looked away, but only one of the guys raised his head and quickly snapped his eyes back to the table, his bottom lip trembling.

Although it was obvious that he didn't want to start anything, and I saw that by his soft and frightened face, it was enough to irritate Atlas. He pulled his body in the air and pinned him on the table, towering over the poor boy.

Just as he was about to swing his arm, the boy cried, covering his face with hands. "No, p-please. I-I'm s-sorry," he begged as sudden darkness surrounded his crotch. Atlas laughed bitterly after he realized the boy just peed himself from fear, and pushed the guy away, glaring across the room.

After that, not one person wanted to look at him, let alone spite him. He shoved away the nearest table to intimidate people and walked to the center of the cafeteria. "IF YOU EVER, AND I MEAN EVER, TALK OR EVEN LOOK AT US, I WILL MURDER YOU!!" he screamed, looking around the crowd to see if anyone's head was up. Now, everyone was looking down, avoiding any type of interaction with him.

Some of them were trembling and the others simply listened to their senses of survival.

"AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, LAME FUCKERS WHO BEAT UP BRANDY WALTERS ARE NOW SUFFERING IN ENORMOUS PAIN, THE ONE YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!!!" he screamed, his voice sending a shiver down my spine. He looked crazy and his eyes sparkled with a desire for blood. He wanted more because he enjoyed hurting people. "NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU IF YOU BREAK MY RULES! I WILL KILL YOU!!"

There was a moment of silence when I was finally able to process what I just saw and heard. He was acting like a maniac on heroin, looking crazier than anyone in here, even Gage. Our eyes met and when he saw my terrified face expression he quickly crossed the room in few steps, taking my face in his hands.

I don't know what was wrong with me, but despite the feelings that flew on the surface, I wasn't scared. His gaze got lost in the sea of my thoughts, which were moving fast and in sync. It was like we were communicating with our minds.

"I'm not afraid," I whispered, letting him know I saw the whole thing. I never separated our tense and enchanted gaze, giving him notice I'm strong enough. I don't know why I needed to prove myself, especially after I went through with the initiation.

A smile escaped from his lips as he gently picked me up, heading towards the doors where the rest of the guys stood. His loud steps echoed through the deathly silence we were drowning in, which made our way out theatrical.

I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heart as I closed my eyes. "That's all I needed to know," he mumbled and his words flew through my mind like an endless lullaby.

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The next morning, instead of loud banging on the doors, I was woken up by something else.

"Hey, wake up," Jesus whispered, slightly pushing my shoulder.

I opened my eyes to find him towering over me, his eyes analyzing me with concern. I sat straight in bed and winced in pain. "What's up?" I asked, ignoring the anguish I felt.

He watched me for a second before answering. "It's breakfast," he announced and I nodded, getting up.

I pressed my lips together, trying to spite the pain and get my legs to move. "Hey, do you need help?" he asked, taking my arm and wrapping it around his neck as he supported me around my waist.

"Thank you," I said as we walked out of my cell. I wasn't surprised to find guys waiting for me, because in the past few days, they never stopped doing that.

We always meet before breakfast or lunch and walk there together.

I looked at Atlas, trying to see if something about him changed after yesterday. All I saw, though, was his emotionless face staring in front of himself. He didn't even look at me when we started walking towards the cafeteria.

"Are you feeling better, Penny?" Gage asked, appearing on the opposite side of Jesus and helping me walk. I ignored the nickname because I knew they wouldn't stop with it, just as they didn't with calling Kingston 'Canny'.

"I'm okay," I lied, flashing him the best smile I could come up with. "Is today the movie night?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

On Friday night, there is organized a room, with the newest technology they could come up with, where we watch movies, usually Mickey Mouse or Star Wars. Although I never got the chance to watch movies, guys were the ones who picked what we'll watch, because there aren't many girls in here. I even think that the two I saw were here for short period and got released when Summer began, leaving me alone with boys.

"Yeah! We bribed the staff to get us the newest Bugs Bunny!" Emrys jumped in, smiling from ear to ear. Well, at least someone looked happy, which was a rare thing to wake up to. I wanted to comment on their taste and childishness, but I bit my tongue as soon as we reached the cafeteria.

We walked in silence as everybody looked down or turned away from us. The only thing I could hear were the whispers.

"...the Predators threatened them."

"I heard they beat up a guy to death yesterday and..."

"...and the Predators made everyone..."

"...the Predators..."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and looked over my shoulder, trying to listen to their conversation.

"Did you hear that?" I gasped in disbelief, making them stop from further walking. "Everybody is calling us the Predators."

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