And the only thing I felt was tendency for more.

I needed more of it.

✘✘✘

Three years ago

I was standing in the middle of the street. My hands, face, clothes and hair were covered in crimson blood with nothing but an unexplainable urge consuming my body.

I looked down to my feet where two lifeless bodies were massacred. By me.

I am a killer.

People were passing by me with eyes wide opened while quietly mumbling prayers to their God, although I knew one thing very well - no God can help them now.

Time sure is a relative term, but the way I felt it at this exact moment was something I'll never forget. It was almost as if every second turned into hour and an hour turned into a day. No matter how long I stood there, in the middle of the street with people surrounding me, I couldn't stop looking at my red, alluring hands.

Their vibrant shade of red kept my attention since the first time I saw it and the longer I looked at it, the more attracted I was to it.

And the only thing I felt was tendency for more.

I needed more of it.

✘✘✘

Seven days later

"You are not my dad - just because you solved my case doesn't mean you have to fucking drive me to a juvie," I told the young cop named Conan who caught me at the crime scene and was assigned with my case.

If you ask me, it was pretty annoying for someone to observe everything you do for no fucking reason. It was even more annoying when the person is somewhat near being nineteen and still acts like a grandpa.

We were driving in a police car, I was cuffed in the backseat and he was at the driver's seat, nothing but black, metal bars separating us.

He genuinely laughed at my words, looking straight in front of himself like it was the hardest thing he ever had to do, although there was nothing but trees and an empty road surrounding us.

"I'm not your dad, but I need to visit my father so I thought we could kill two flies with one stone," he said, but quickly afterwards looked at me with an apologetic look.

If I could've, I would cross my arms on my chest and blind him with the cockiest smile, but as I said earlier - I was cuffed and was definitely not in a mood for playing a good guy.

"I heard you have connections to the Crimson Devils," I broke a long silence, mostly because I was bored and needed to occupy myself with something that wasn't attached to murder. The Crimson Devils was a notorious gang which was led by his brother Lorenzo. Their family was definitely something special - with their father being the Warden of a Youth Detention Center, Conan the youngest police officer ever and Enzo, the gang leader.

You may also question how could I possibly know all that information and the answer is simple - wherever I go and whoever I meet, I need to know their background. You would be surprised how helpful it could be in some situations.

Conan's body stiffened and his blue eyes glanced at me through a rearview mirror, shock and hurt swirling behind the mask he wore to seem more professional. Honestly, I knew very well he would never do something as stupid as his infamous brother, but I wanted to see his reaction.

And it was priceless.

He wasn't stupid so it didn't take him long to figure out the meaning behind my rude statement, which was simply platonic.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I have never stepped into the world of criminal," he defended his honour.

I smirked and leaned in so my face was pressed against the cold bars. "And yet, here you are with a criminal."

Instead of getting mad or offended, he flashed me a genuine smile with eyes bright as a baby's.

"Look, Mr. Xander, I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but you have to think about the consequences," he paused and glanced at me seriously, "always think about the consequences."

It was funny how he thought I had no idea what I was doing. The hard truth was when I killed those fuckers, I knew what will happen. I know I will go to hell and to jail, but that didn't stop me.

He may think I'm stupid because I'm a criminal, but once I collect enough information, I will escape jail and he won't be able to catch me.

That is why I let everyone underastimate me - because they will never expect me to act smart.

So, I sat quietly for the rest of the ride and let the thoughts sink in. Minutes turned into hours and soon enough, the car stopped in front of a massive facility.

Conan got out of the car and opened my doors, pulling me out roughly. After Conan kindly let me strech my stiff legs from the long ride, I looked at the old building I'll be spending my pre-adolescent years in.

Although the outside looked almost like a one star hotel which was surrounded with a tall, metal fence, the inside wasn't any prettier either, I suppose.

"You ready? Remember what I told you in the car, every action you take has consequences behind it," he told me with raised eyebrows, almost as if he was warning me not to do dumb shit.

"Do you remember you're not my dad?" I asked him rudely as a response, not wanting him to think we have some kind of a bond.

We do not. He is a cop who arrested and interrogated me, nothing more or less. But no matter how rude I was, he still wasn't annoyed with me. That is something I will never be able to understand.

"I just wanted you to know to think about your future before we enter the facility," he told me as we started walking towards the gate.

I thought about his words extremely thorough, but the more I keep doing it, the more I realize just how much I hate cops. They act all innocent and judgemental towards criminals until they eventually start acting like us. Even then, they will never admit their faults and losses, even if it costs them their lives because what else are they gonna do with all that pride?

When we approached the gates, Conan leaned towards his shoulder radio and mumbled something into it. I guess he told them we were at the gates because they opened shortly afterwards.

He pulled my arms as we started walking to the big, metal doors which were surrounded with guards and a man in special suit, almost as if he was a Commander. I suppose that's Warden Blue, Conan's father.

"Don't talk if you're not being asked to and definitely keep your temper under control," Conan whispered as we got closer to the building. I slightly nodded, letting him know I heard him very well, although his words meant nothing to me.

"Officer White," Warden greeted Conan with a nod and he returned it shortly afterwards, not exchanging any more words. "This must be Atlas Xander," he added with a small smirk, eyeing me up and down.

Conan, for some weird reason, stood quietly and held me tightly, so the tension grew bigger. Blue exchanged looks with us and cleared his throat after a few minutes passed by.

"This way, Officer," he signaled the guards to open the doors as he showed us the inside of the building.

One thing I will say, I was absolutely right. This place looked like a prison, nothing more or less. I don't know what I should've expected from it, but this was much worse.

From filthy windows and wet floors to wasted furniture and stinky halls. I reached up to cover my nose just to remember my hands were cuffed behind my back.

It was weird how they let prisoners walk around freely, but on the other hand what are they gonna do? The guards surrounded the entire territory and they had no chance of escaping with bars on the windows and locked doors. The worse thing that could possibly go down is a fight, which I'm sure happens a lot here.

As we walked down many halls, my eyes caught two guys about my age, who stared at me while leaning against a wall in front of one of the cells. When they finished whispering, the tall, dark skinned one slightly nodded in respect and the other one with dark blue eyes followed his actions.

"You don't want to make friends here, Xander. They are your enemies, keep that in mind," Blue told me as he opened the doors to one of the many cells. Conan stood behind me, still holding my arms as he led me inside.

I took one last look at the guys who eventually waved at me, before Conan and Blue blocked my view.

"This will be your cell. You are allowed to shower once you seattle down," Blue told me as Conan released me from the handcuffes. "There are three meals in the day, school starts at eight and finishes at noon."

Once my hands were free, I looked around the cell which had nothing more in it than a protected window, an old bed and a dirty toilet. Lovely.

"Good bye, Atlas," Conan said to me as he and Blue got out of my cell and closed the metal doors behind them, leaving me all alone.

I have a lot to get used to, but first I have to make allies if I want to survive.

✘✘✘