Hello! Since this a sort of an RPG story, I've decided to share my custom playlist with you. If you're interested, look these songs up to follow the tone of the story. It really helped me while I was writing! Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, concerns, or criticisms don't be afraid to pm me! I hope you enjoy!

Walking down a narrow, dimly lit hallway, a statuesque woman bearing an alluring, pale brown complexion scanned her primary surroundings, her shaded emerald eyes taking in everything around her as she moved closer to her predetermined destination. Her straightened, raven black tresses instinctively swung side to side with her analytical glances. Each grimy surface and the mucky crevices in between constrain your sense of smell, replacing any scent related memory with a rank odor. A complete contrast of the woman's usual spotless office buildings complimented with thin, polished glass and the nostalgic whiff of lavender.

Her manicured left hand glides across the warm layers of clothing overlapping her rounded breast, adjusting the white buttoned up lab coat she donned with a matching skirt. Red heels and red glasses completed this fashionably professional look. Stopping in front of a gray, rusted door, she glanced at the clipboard intently tucked in her right arm. Nodding, she confirmed to herself that she was, indeed, in the right place. Leaning over just far enough, she enters the passcode on a keypad adjacent to the door. It beeps, flashes green and seemingly commands the door to automatically open to allow her access to what lies inside a fairly small room.

Unlike the hallway, which acted as a ghetto for swarms of rats, the room is outdated and drab, offering a cool reception due to its obvious neglect. The only bit of bright light comes from a double sided glass window on the north side of the room that illuminates part of the area. Anything not in its path is left dank and unwelcoming, allowing the illusory shapes in the shadows to send their hateful glares toward a bright, center light on the ceiling, its party consisting of four cameras attached to each top corner of the room hovering overhead.

The only other thing that fills in the space is a wide, rusty table in the room's median with two metal chairs on each opposing side. Having no sense of urgency, the woman pulls out her chair, the feet of the old metal creating a dreary song as it's scraping across the stone floor. She sits down, and comfortably puts one leg over the other. Placing her clipboard on the table, she reached into her left pocket, only to pull out a small white remote.

Using muscle memory, she presses a button on the remote without looking, then stares forward, clears her throat, and smiles warmly at the young, tan skinned man with spiky parted hair dipped in reddish umber in front of her. His attire is as far from hers as it can be wearing a gray jumpsuit. They couldn't be more different if they tried. He's sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the table with his hands and legs cuffed and bound by large, metal handcuffs flickering with a blue light. Taking him in with her eyes, she begins to speak:

"Ahem. Good morning. Please state your unit number."

Before answering, he leans back in his chair, relaxing. He carelessly lifts his legs onto the table. This question has been asked far too many times before.

"122124," he responds, the heavy roots of his voice inching their way into the echoes of the room.

Instantly, his interviewer lowers her hand, checks something off on her clipboard with a small pen and subtly nods, almost to give herself confirmation as to where she's located on her list. Once her attention has returned to the conversation, she decides to continue her questions, ensuring that she speaks in a professional tone.

"Very good. Now, let's begin with our usual conversation starter. How has your week been?"

Anticipating repetition and experiencing it are two different things for the interviewee. He forces a laugh out of himself, the sound temporarily echoing throughout the room. His eyes trail upward into thought, then back down to his focus of attention.

"Hm. Oh. Delightful."

His answer is immediately bombarded with his own arrogance and egotism. Knowing where the conversation is going, he attempts to drive the topic down a jovial path. One where neither he or the woman has to speak about any serious subjects. "That's a new one I picked up," he continues. "Sounds like something rich people at a dinner party would say, huh?"

"I can't say I disagree with that," she answers, her reply coupled with a giggle stemming from genuine amusement. She yet again checked off another box on her list. "What was the word a few months ago?"

"Uhhh...Can't remember. Got it," her interviewee snaps following after his tone of voice. His memory instantly returned to him and he didn't hesitate to express that. "It was ecstatic. That week was a very, very fun week. Beat the shit out of this fucker who thought he was safe from an ass beating. Who talks shit and thinks nothing is goin' to happen to them? I set 'em straight, though. Now I'm delighted to be out of confinement. See what reading dictionaries does for you, doc? You get to add anything to your vocabulary."

"Yes. Quite so. Learning an assortment of words and their definition can truly help with finding your voice. Speaking of. Do I need to remind you what comes next?"

The motion of his head says it all. It lowers, attempting to hide the dread plastered on his face. He releases a sigh, as if someone maliciously placed the weight of a million tons onto his chest. He motions for the woman to speak with a flick of his hand. "Yeah, yeah...Just go ahead and ask me so I can get the hell out of here. I never said being in here and talking to you about the same fucking thing is fun for me. This is ridiculous..."

His interviewer's positioning changed to meet him where he was. Sitting up straight, she gathers herself to maintain focus. Her amicable grin is soon replaced by an attentive glare with a tone to match. "Tell me what you remember happening to you on the day of Annihilation," she insists with a motion of her hands.

Sighing in annoyance as he leans his head back, hesitating before speaking. It's as if he derives pleasure from causing her to wait. Especially since this is not a topic he wishes to revisit, yet time and time again, he is asked to do just that. If he was to be uncomfortable, his first reaction is for her to feel the same throat-gripping torment. Clenching his right hand while running his left down his leg, he is feeling the sting of that affixed misery lodged in his chest. It takes a moment, but the young man looks towards the woman, piercing her irises with his mahogany eyes as he opens his mouth to speak.

"It was right after I got out of the shithole you call school. I was supposed to stay after and I guess when my brother found out I didn't, he tracked me down. You know how you have those days when you're just so fucking tired of everything that you want to push everyone away? It never worked on him. Sometimes I think if I did stay after school...that might've changed something. He'd still be alive, maybe. ...I don't know. Me bein' me, I got into trouble. My brother, he found me and picked me up. He gave me a good talking to like always and we were going to get somethin' to eat. Then...everything fell apart in an instant."

Manisard City: 5 Years Ago

The low-pitched beep hums for all to hear. Young children of all different shades, sizes, and shapes file out of the double doors of a large, one story building, glad to be released from what amounts to a mandated prison to them. School. Some make their way to the sidewalks, following their consistent path towards their homes. Others make their way to the parking lot where cars occupied by impatient parents are sitting in the interior heat, looking for their children.

A young boy finally emerges from the sizable building after the flood of children fades away. Adorned in a black, unzipped jacket that exposes his dusky red shirt, with tight, inky joggers and shoes that mix the colors of the layers covering his upper body. Walking past the extensive, cracked columned ceiling, he steps into the dim, afternoon sunlight.

With all the sounds of the cars exiting the school grounds, he can still hear the chatter of the children and the fussing of the parents. Adjusting his ruby stained backpack over his right shoulder, he keeps it in place with one hand as he begins to walk. "Man, today was boring as hell...then again, every day in this daycare is boring."

The boy strides forward, looking around as he does. He stops at the entrance of the school, then glances at the semi circle sign with its name on it, although it's missing some letters: MANIAD MIDDLE, stares back at him, almost proudly, if a sign can even be that. "Needs a rebrand to Shithole Middle School", he thinks to himself in retaliation.

Passing the school's entrance sign, the boy makes his way to the sidewalk preceding the school's rusted and usually unused gate. Without looking both ways, he crosses the road nonchalantly, his free hand stuffed his pocket as he trudges towards the sidewalk parallel from the school. A loud screech of a car's brake screams throughout the road.

Appearing before him, a blue car almost collides with him, yet he continues to walk without a care. Almost as if daring the metal body to finish the job. The driver lowers his window, fists raised in balled fury and frustration as he scolds the boy while he walks away. "Watch where you're fucking going before you cross, kid!"

The boy raises his free hand and flicks the driver off as he drives away. Stepping onto the sidewalk, he continues on as he looks at the different structures surrounding him on his trek. Eventually, the boy enters a compact part of the city, continuing to stride down a sidewalk. The sound of cars passing by can be heard, as well as conversations from people on the phone, or with others in their vicinity.

The streets and sidewalks are narrow, cushioning the constant impact of steel toe boots, shoes, or heels with their gray, concrete faces. The one to two story buildings are just as narrow, all standing no more than a few feet from each other with tight alleyways to fill the gaps. The boy walks past a small grocery store, reluctantly waving back to the old lady who always stands by the window just to see him pass. Although surly by nature, he did have manners. His head still low, a deep voice behind him catches his attention. Tempted to ignore it, hearing his name changes his mind. "'Ey. That you, Alexander?"

In front of the boy gawked an older, tan-skinned man with short stubble, and a large potbelly stretching past his clothes. Bald, with an oversized brown shirt, baggy brown pants with black shoes to complete his shabby look. His mouth seemed to be working on chewing something, tobacco perhaps. But the boy didn't care about any of that, he only had one question. "Who's asking?"

To the man, he's completely clueless as to how a child could brand such an aggressive attitude. Being reminded of his own young family members, he releases a wheezing laugh as he raises his head up, exposing his full face for the first time since calling out to Alexander. "It's me, dumbass." A thin grin appeared on Alexander's face when he finally recognized the man.

"Oh. Hey, Mac. Didn't know you'd be out here today."

"Yeah, well, you know me. Gotta make money whenever I can. I saw you coming from the school's direction. Glad to see you actually made it there today."

"Yeah. My shitbag teachers called Lou in about my absences. So now, I'm goin' to daycare on time like a good little boy,'' Alexander sarcastically jabs into the air.

"What do I always tell you? You've gotta play your part," Mac responds with a chuckle, casually pointing his index finger toward Alexander to emphasize the truth behind his words.

"Whatever. Everyone acts like they care, but they don't. Anyways, you got my usual? I've got the cash."

"Anything for my favorite customa', heh, heh."

Producing a wad of cash strapped together with a rubber band out from his back pocket, Alexander hands it to him. Mac clumsily untangles the rubber band, counting the money down to the last single before he nods in satisfaction that it's all there. Reaching out to seemingly shake Alexander's hand, he passes off a small pack of gum instead.

"Pleasure doin' business, as always."

"Thanks." Alexander turns his back to Mac, continuing to push forward while waving his free hand behind him without a backwards glance at the man. He had what he wanted, no need to linger. "And lay off the cheese puffs. My nose can't take it anymore..." he mumbles under his breath.

Alexander's exploration throughout the city continues, the goal of the search being to find a good spot to sit down. Surveying all of his options, removing those with too much traffic from the list, he rounds a few corners and crosses a series of identical looking streets, finally settling on an alleyway nearly compressed by the soiled walls surrounding it.

Seating was obviously sparse, unlike a city square or a fine dining restaurant. His gaze settles on a large, dirty cardboard box. Taking a seat, he opens up the pack of gum. This wasn't a usual off-brand or a piece of sugared Polymers and Plasticizers. Instead, he produces a cigarette.

He takes out his small lighter that was in his left pocket, lighting it. Leaning with his back against the wall, he inhaled, glad to finally be out of school. For him, clarity these days is only found in the sweet escape of the nicotine that fills his lungs when he smokes. After reveling in his fifteen minutes of peace and quiet, his ears alert him to three boys coming into the alleyway, chuckling and laughing amongst themselves. Peace shattered, he leans up, always knowing to be on his guard.

"You got the shit, man?" One dark haired boy inquired in a cautious tone.

"Yeah. Paid some money for the good stuff," another voice confidently replies.

"Nice, nice!" The last source of the boys says excitedly, his enthusiasm revealing his immaturity. 

"Hell yeah. Now we can get fucked up."

"Get that shit out, Jimmy."

The redheaded boy referred to as Jimmy pulls out three cigarettes for each of them, accompanied with a lighter from his backpack. It's not long until the boys feel the buzz after Jimmy lights each cigarette.

"Fuck, man! We're crazy for this," the enthusiastic boy says aloud, pulling two moppy strands of his oakwood hair behind his ear.

"Nah. We're normal, David. Unlike our goddamn parents who are always on our dicks," Jimmy responds, a spirit of hatred possessing his words.

"Speaking of which, whose house are we going to today?"

"I don't fucking know. I thought it was Aaron's turn today."

Alexander shakes his head, effortlessly blows smoke from his mouth, chuckling before asserting himself into their conversation. "Gay." The three boys turn around in response to hearing a voice and spot Alexander sitting on the cardboard box.

"Come again?" Aaron asks.

"I said you're all gay. What? Do you have a hearing problem?"

Getting a closer look at Alexander, Aaron tilts his head in curiosity. He recognizes Alexander from somewhere. After a moment, he manages to reclaim his memory and he taps on Jimmy's shoulder to confirm his thoughts.

"Yo, we know this kid. He goes to our school."

"Yeah...Yeah, you're Corsaro, right...? The kid with the crazy mom. Heard she might be a slut too."

"Yeah, yeah! Heard she was on that shit pretty heavy too," the dark haired boy to Jimmy's left adds to back up his friend's insults.

"You're sitting there smoking too, just like her. I bet you couldn't stop mommy from burning down the house now could you?" Jimmy intently asks with a smirk on his face.

"The fuck did you just say?" Alexander hops off the cardboard box in one smooth motion, stepping forward so he's now directly in front of Jimmy. He turns his head to the side, offering his ear and urging the boy to speak clearly into it.

"Say it louder so I can hear you."

"I said you couldn't stop your needle stickin', dick ridin' slut of a mother from burning down the house!"

"Fuck yeah. Tell 'em!" The moppy haired boy shouts, encouraging Jimmy's confrontation.

Alexander smirks, allowing it to morph into a laugh. He doesn't hesitate. Without a second thought, He immediately right hooks Jimmy, causing him to fall back on his behind. Jimmy shouts in pain and agony as he covers his nose with his now shaking hands.

"F-FUCK!"

"Yo, you good?" Aaron asks, an expected wave of concern washing over his words.

"Am I- No, I'm not fucking good!" Jimmy groans as he moves his hand away revealing a thick stream of blood flowing out of his nose, rapidly running down his chin. Alexander snickers and points at Jimmy's nose feeling completely satisfied.

"Got a little something on your face, man."

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck him up!"

With anger overlapping the pain of being struck, Jimmy leaps to his feet and he, David and Aaron surround Alexander. Alexander flicks his cigarette away, thinking how they were about to make his day and were none the wiser. With an excited grin on his face, he assumes his own unique fighting stance. "Who's first?"

Though he feels a bit hesitant, David is the first of the boys to dash forward towards Alexander. He lunges at him, throwing out a weak straight punch. To David's surprise, Alexander elects to take the blow to the face, although he doesn't expect him to completely grab his forearm and pull it down towards his knee.

David yells in pain as he backs up gripping his arm. This is just the opportunity Alexander needs to immediately step forward and deliver a powerful overhead attack that knocks David to the ground. Seeing how David was easily forced to the cracked concrete, Aaron quickly pulls out a small pocket knife from his back pocket.

"Fuck this!"

"A knife? Come on now," Alexander says mockingly with a simple lift of his forearm mimicking his tone.

With an aggravated shout, Aaron runs in his opponent's direction, beginning to aggressively swing his knife at him. There's horizontal, then vertical, then diagonal swings that end with a swift thrust towards his targets' stomach.  Alexander dodges the strike with a quick left motion of the hips. He then grabs Aaron's wrist, applying a harsh twist. Aaron lets out a pain-filled shout and loses his grip, resulting in the knife falling onto the ground.

Alexander crushes Aaron's arm with a downward elbow, immediately following up with a finishing uppercut. Panicked, Jimmy rummages in the crack behind the nearest dumpster, and finds a lengthy metal pipe. Alexander can't help but to be amused at Jimmy's alarmed state, finding his choice of weaponry extremely humorous.

"A pipe, huh? Bet you feel really dangerous now."

Jimmy doesn't last long, either. He confidently runs forward and swings the pipe at Alexander, who swiftly dodges the diagonal swing and lets Jimmy continue rushing in. Jimmy stops in his tracks, almost falling on his face, he hastily turns around to swing his pipe again, and is met with a rapid jab from Alexander, causing him to fall back onto the ground. Now that all three boys are laid out in front of him, he wipes both his shoulders then gives them a cocky smirk.

"Don't talk shit if you ain't ready to take a hit," he says aloud, still fronting his smirk. Suddenly, he hears a car horn go off. He turns around to look towards the end of the alley near the sidewalk and sees a familiar tan car. "Ah, fuck me."

A young adult male steps out with an angered look on his face. He's well built with short black hair and blue eyes, wearing a brown shirt with a dark green jacket over it, gray jeans and brown boots. He walks into the alleyway keeping that violent look in his eyes. Once he's in front of Alexander, he looks down at him with a disappointed face like most caretakers would have.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Nothing. Ain't none of your business, so back off." Alexander's senior instantly grabs him by the collar, trying his best not to use violence as a disciplinary action.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? I am not the enemy here."

Alexander decides to stay silent, avoiding this man's stern gaze as he turns his head away. Already sick of this instant silent treatment, the man pushes Alexander away, then points towards his car after giving him directions.

"We'll deal with this later. Get your shit and get your ass in the car. Now."

Alexander quietly follows the man's directions. Snatching his bag along with his pack of gum, he hops into the passenger's seat without any sort of backtalk. The man glances around to see if anyone was watching. Relieved there were no witnesses, he climbs into the driver's seat of the car and speeds off.

The ten minutes of pointless driving is completely filled with silence. Glancing back and forth between the road and Alexander, his loved one finally decides to speak up, making sure it's as calm a tone as possible. As badly as he wants to tear into his charge, he forces himself to take a different route.

"It's bad enough that your principal called me telling me you've been skippin'. You know damn well you were supposed to stay after school today. I knew something was wrong. I'm at home worried and here I find you are fighting in alleyways? Non va bene. That ain't the life for you, Alex. Do you think that's how you're supposed to handle your frustrations? ...Answer me when I'm talking to you."

"What am I supposed to say, Lou? You want me to answer a bunch of questions and act like everything is peachy?"

"No, I didn't say that. You can at least try to care, Alex. I can't be watching your dumbass all the time. And why the hell are you smoking again? I told you that shit is bad for you."

"Whatever..."

Alexander turns his head away, using his arm as support, he rests his chin on his hand as he looks out the window. After another passing moment of silence, Lou sighs and speaks once again in the same tone. "Why were you skipping? Why didn't you stay after, more importantly?"

"'Cause a bunch of kids were talking about Mom today. They've always talked about her. I'm not gonna be there just to hear all that shit."

"There are kids actually talking about her? Why...? How long has this been going on?"

"Doesn't matter. Not like knowin' about it is gonna change anything. Nobody cares. I don't care."

"What did I tell you about speaking like that, man? You know that's not true. Look...I know I haven't been home a lot, but I really found some good places for us, alright? I need you to be with me on this."

Lou slowly eases into a line of cars who are all stopped in front of a red light. He uses this opportunity to look over at Alexander with a softer and loving look on his face.

"Listen, Alexander. We're gonna be alright, fratellino. It's always been you and me. Okay? You know I love you, man. More than anything."

"I know..."

Lou pulls Alexander's head into his chest, lightly kisses it, then ruffles his hair before letting go.

"You little maniac. Fighting other kids in alleyways. What? The playgrounds weren't enough for you as a kid? Heh. Let's grab something to eat then go home, alright?" Alexander forms a subtle smile on his face, already thinking of what to order from their favorite place.

"Yeah," he answers softly. Lou returns his sight to the road, his face changing to that of confusion.

"The hell is going on out there?"

Hearing the change in Lou's tone of voice strikes Alexander's curiosity. When he gazes out the window, he can see people scrambling out of their cars, standing on the road and looking up at the same thing, the sky.

It was bleeding bright red, tainted with clouds of darkness. Breaking through the barriers above, an enormous flying object descends towards the ground at a rapid rate. Both Lou and Alexander step out to get a better look. The object is getting closer and closer, completely wrapped in a blazing trail of raging fire.

"What the hell is that...?"

The flying object descends out of eyesight. A split second later, everyone on the road hears a deafeningly loud boom, followed by a waking pulse that shakes the world around them. After a few moments nothing else happens. The reprieve is short lived as the ground starts to rumble violently. A humongous shockwave comes running towards them, bringing a wave of destroyed buildings, cars, and roads along with it. Lou quickly reacts and runs to shield Alexander from the iminent hit.

"ALEX!"

Before he can comprehend it, everyone, including he and his brother, are engulfed in the wave of destruction. Alexander suddenly awakes on the fractured surface of a completely destroyed road. The sky above is filled with black smoke. Faint active car alarms can be heard, mixed with screams of agony from people whose bodies are halfway gone, on fire, or trapped under rubble, all yelling for help. With almost every breath, Alexander is gasping for air. He tries to sit up to look around, but he feels an immense pain as he does and yells accordingly. "Graaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.....!!!!!"

Slowly working his neck to turn left, right and then downward, all while still struggling to breathe. His eyes widen in complete shock when he sees his arms, legs, and body are burned down to the bone. Before Alexander could think about his current state, he feels an even greater pain as his entire body suddenly, but slowly begins healing itself. "A-Ahhh....!!!! Ahhhhhhh....!!!"

An impossibility, and a painful one that seemed to be occurring. Yet, this whole event was not one anyone could have ever fathomed. After a moment, though still showing signs of severe injury, his body was back together and definitely more healed than it had been moments earlier.

Despite still processing the pain of the burns and fighting the urge to give up and die due to the sheer agony, he knew he couldn't remain there. He began the painstakingly rough task of making it up onto his charred feet. He barely had the chance to dwell on the miraculous healing of his body. Once up, he shudders as he begins walking, if it could be called that, dragging his left leg as he goes. "Louis..."

Wincing and fighting back the urge to yell out with each step, he found himself moving along the destroyed road. Distant rumbling coursing through his body as he goes, exposed to multiple corpses in every direction, all completely burnt out or missing parts. He had to block out the carnage because he had a mission. "L-Louis...? Where are you...?"

A man, lying on the scorched ground suddenly grabs Alexander. His voice was loud and distorted in the worst type of agony, pleading for help from this stranger making his way by him. When Alexander turns to cast his confused gaze at him, he is horrified to find the man's face is completely gone. Horrified and afraid, he soon begins struggling with the man, trying to shake his tight grip away from his legs. The only place that the victim of whatever hell this was was able to reach from where he lay. "Get away from me!"

"HELP ME...! HELP ME! GAAAHHHHHH!"

As Alexander continues to break the man's grasp onto him, his emotions become even more heightened. Something he didn't even think possible in this surreal situation. In reaction, his body begins to suddenly light up an orange-red color. "GET OFF OF ME!!!"

Alexander extends his arm to push the man away, the force causing the injured victim to suddenly explode. Splatters of crimson colored blood make their way onto Alexander's body, his eyes widening in terror. "F-Fuck...What the fuck...? What the fuck...?!" He whimpers, falling back then tripping on small debris. He finds himself landing on his back with a sickening thud. He looks at his right hand, which is shaking wildly, and grips it with his left in some kind of attempt to calm himself down.

"W-What's happening...? What the fuck is happening...? T-This can't be r-real...? A dream. Yeah. Yeah! This is a dream...! I'll find Lou a-and we'll go back home. ...Louis? Louis?"

Slowly, he forces himself back up to his aching legs and continues staggering forward. Staying put was not an option as he had one goal in mind, finding Lou. The entire city is leveled in destruction. Where there used to be tall, multi-story buildings, broken towers replace them, slowly drowning into the numerous floods. Eventually, on his trek, he finds a destroyed car engulfed in flames that's been completely flipped upside down.

He recognizes the model and begins glancing in every direction, desperately searching for Lou. Alexander's heart drops when he sees something at the end of the road. A seemingly charcoal shape of a body lies at the edge of a fissure, kneeling in such a way that it seems like it was trying to protect something using itself as a shield. "L-Louis...?"

He mumbles the name under his breath. Praying that what his heart tells him is true is a mistake. How could it not be? Louis had to be alive, possibly hurt and seeking him out as well. At least that was his hope. He roams around until he finds himself in front of the body. Closing his eyes and breathing in the sulfur rich air before peering at its face. He doesn't want to know who it is, he's not ready to lose him, not yet. When his eyes confirm the worst, tears immediately begin to run down his cheeks, taking him away in a sea of grief by the overwhelming sadness he feels as he realizes who the face belongs to.

Before he could think, his hand reached out to touch what now passes for the body of the only person who has truly ever loved and cared for him. Before he realizes it, the familiar shape is slowly dragged away into chipped pieces by the commanding winds forcing their rage onto the city. Alexander stretches his arms out, swiping the air left and right in a heart-wrenchingly futile attempt to clutch onto the pieces of his loved one. The wail that comes from him is almost animalistic. "No...No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! NOOOO!!!"

Alexander falls to the ground, violently beginning to pound the concrete with his fists. All he hears is a high pitched ring caused by his confused anger. All that fills his head is the vision of his brother diving in front of him to protect him. It's the reason he was here trying to make sense of it all. Including the fact his brother's corpse had just blown away like dandelions in a breeze and somehow, Alexander is the one still alive. He was sure this was the outcome Lou would have wanted. The reason he sacrificed himself in all of this confusion, so that he could live. But, was it worth it when he couldn't even fathom what 'this' was. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! WHAT THE FUCK! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...!!!"

After a moment, Alexander stops. He's still crying and breathing heavily. After one moment of pause to catch his breath, he looks around, out of breath, not realizing he's in the middle of an enormous crater caused by his own merit. "What...? Did I? Louis..." Alexander's eyes roll back, his body completely failing him as he suddenly faints in the center of the crater.

Return to the present

Opening his eyes, the shackled young man finds himself out of his memory, back in the room. "It was all so sudden, he began, his voice finding itself. "It felt like a normal day of my usual fucked up life. Then it was gone. And the only person who knows who I really was is dead." From his trance, he concludes with his unwanted explanation, waving his hand to signal he's done after finishing his sentence. "There you go. Happy now? Because I'm done talking."

"We're finished, don't worry. You have been in confinement for almost four months. I had to convince the warden that you needed psychological evaluation before being released back into the prison."

"Wow," he chuckles, speaking in a sarcastic tone. "Thanks, doc. I-I really appreciate it. Really. Thank you." The woman shakes her head at his sarcasm, finding his smart remark completely rude and unwarranted.

"You should be more grateful."

"Go fuck yourself," he carelessly responds. The woman looks at the papers on her clipboard, checks one last thing off, then glances back at him.

"Hm. Even with your...unique attitude 122124, I believe you are well enough to be released back into the prison. You are to return to your cell after our session."

"Bout time."

"That concludes our session for today."

The woman pulls out the small remote again, and presses the button at the top. A metal screen covers the glass window, then one by one, the cameras shut off. Taking off her glasses, she stands up from her chair, walks over to the young man, and comfortably sits on his lap.

"I've missed you."

"You have a weird way of showing it. Should've tried harder to get me out of here."

"I'm sorry, Alex. I could only convince him to do weekly sessions. You know how he is."

"A pretentious fucker with a suit and tie?"

The woman titters at the immediate insult as she wraps her arms around the back of his strong neck, caressing his left cheek with her manicured thumb.

"Yes. A pretentious fucker with a suit and tie."

Slowly leaning in, they share an intimate kiss. When she finally breaks away, she presses another button on the remote, and the large metal handcuffs unlock. He frees his hands and legs then grips her perfectly-sized hips to pull her closer to him.

"How much time do we have?"

"Hm...I'd say ten, fifteen minutes tops."

"All I needed to hear."

Parting her lips to receive his tongue, as they had done so many times before in their piece of heaven within a locked hellscape. He had to find small pleasures where he could, and she was definitely one. They spent the extra time that they have in the room breaking all kinds of laws and codes and feeling as if it was truly worth the repercussions that would surely follow if caught.

For them both, but especially for her. Afterwards, the young man is escorted back into the main prison. He steps past a rusty door and into a stoned flooring area with a railing. He leans on the railing then bends down to move a rock that was previously masking a small hole. Pulling a pack of cigarettes and lighter from the hole, he lights the cigarette and begins smoking. It was just what he needed after his time with her.

Looking out over the railing, he finds his landing on an enormous prison yard with electric fences sectioning off different areas. Prisoners in jumpsuits with many colors, male or female can be seen in the yard. Playing a sport, working out, or interacting with each other. The voices of guards can be heard yelling from a distance, ordering an inmate to follow directions, or to calm a situation down.

He chuckles when he sees a certain argument between two male inmates suddenly escalate into a vicious brawl. He has one thought when watching the bigger man go down after a flurry of hits from the seemingly nerdy looking intended victim showed he was otherwise. Smirking, he couldn't help but to comment to himself. "Heh. He ain't coming back from that."