How to feel. How she would give anything and everything to know how to feel. Except she couldn't feel anything, no matter how hard she tried.

She didn't feel anything when people at her school hurled insults at her. She couldn't feel the harsh words her aunt threw at her. She couldn't feel the pain when people pushed her around at school. She couldn't even feel anything when her parents died.

Maybe they were right after all. She was a 'freak'. A 'monster'. An 'abomination'. But she couldn't even tell how she felt being called that. She couldn't feel anything.

Skylar rushed towards the homeroom even though there were still ten minutes until the class starts. She didn't want to risk being caught by one of the high-end people of the Redwood Academy so early in the morning. Especially Leah McCarty and her gang of friends. They can do a lot within ten minutes.

Her shoes squeaked against the clean tiles of the corridor bringing unwanted attention towards her. She noticed how the corridor wasn't bustling with a lot of people today, maybe because it was raining cats and dogs. Good for her, the less people there are present today, the less attention she gets.

Suddenly, she fell down to the floor. She couldn't comprehend what had happened. One minute she was rushing to her class and the next she was lying face down on the floor, with her school supplies scattered everywhere. She wasn't normally this clumsy so what happened today?

Her question was immediately answered when she saw a pair of feet clad in blue converse shoes stood in front of her. She knew those shoes all too well. They belonged to none other than Leah McCarty. Speak of the devil. Looks like not everyone decided to sit back at home today.

"Hey freak, feel anything yet?"

Laughter surrounded the corridor at that. Skylar may be an alexithymic but she was sure all these people around her were no less than a person having a psychological disorder. How else can one explain their behaviour towards her?

She ignored the snide remark thrown at her and the condescending laughter surrounding the corridor. Even though she couldn't feel the pain, her body clearly took a hard fall as her hands shook when she tried to push herself up. She winced from the effort it took for her to stand up, looking at her scratched elbows which were already starting to bruise.

Going to the infirmary will have to wait until later, she didn't want to miss her class. She still had a bit of homework left from yesterday which she planned to complete during homeroom.

Quickly gathering up her stuff, she tried to move towards the staircase which lead to the floor above where her class was held but her path was blocked by Leah. She sighed when she realised that she will be missing this class. There was no way Leah would let her go unless she had her share of fun for the day.

"You know, I came across an interesting fact about your disorder yesterday. So I wanted to confirm it with you before starting the day." Leah said, leaning her back against the railing.

"Oh yeah? And how did you come to know about this fact anyway? Perhaps during one of your sessions with a shrink because clearly you are in much more need of therapy than I am." was what she wanted to counter with a smirk. But couldn't. Because that's just the way Skylar was. She didn't want to waste any unnecessary energy over her when she could spend it over something productive. Like doing her homework.

Skylar just stood there in front of her with an indifferent expression. She was used to all of this. This happened every day, today wasn't any different.

"You know, being the good friend I am, I wanted to help you deal with your disorder so I looked it up a bit and I came across something. That your symptoms can be a feature of psychopathy."

The hallway was silent with everyone listening to what Leah had to say. It seemed interesting, it'll probably give them something to gossip about for the day.

"Wow... now, I knew you were a 'freak' and every other label you received here in Redwood Academy but I didn't knew you were also dangerous..." Leah seemed to be amazed by her own discovery. Turning to the people around, she cleared her throat as if to make an announcement.

"Are you listening to me people, she is a psychopath you all should avoid. That is if you don't want to catch her disease or don't want be a victim to her psychopath ways. We all know how much of a 'monster' can a person become under these circumstances. I'm trying to be helpful here. You all will stay away from her if you know what's good for you."

No one dared to say anything against Leah. They didn't have the guts to disagree with her on anything. Except Claire Morris, who was Skylar's best/only friend since childhood. But she seemed to be absent today. Looks like she will have to waste a bit of her energy.

"I do not have time for this Leah, why don't we continue this conversation later? You can clearly see I feel nothing for you to spare you my time right now. I've got things to do, see you around." and with that Skylar brushed past her up the staircase. She had just reached half way through when Leah blocked her path again, steaming with anger.

"Since when did you even have a say in anything? You don't get to have the last word in our conversation! You don't get to have the upper hand, you psychotic unfeeling freak! TELL ME IF YOU FEEL IT NOW!" she burst out shouting and pushed her down the stairs.

( WARNING: This scene may contain some triggering content/ scenes of violence. You may skip if you want to. I will put a ' #$%& ' when it's over. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Skylar tumbled down the staircase, hitting her head several places on the way, along with other parts of her body. She finally came to a stop face down on the ground. Even after all of this, she still couldn't feel pain but she could feel the energy draining out of her. The wetness on her forehead and warm liquid slowly pooling around her- is that blood?

A commotion broke among the people surrounding her, seemingly concerned about her well being but after a minute they started clearing out the hallway, moving towards their classes. No one wanted a part of this. No one came to her aid.

Leah still stood in the middle of the staircase as people pushed past her. Standing like a statue. She had gone way too far this time. And she knew that as she slid down to the floor, looking at her hands. As if shocked that that really just happened.

Skylar still lay on the ground, trying to gather the strength to pull herself up. She couldn't though. Even though her disorder freed her from all the pain it failed to make her realise that she was still human and her body could only deal with so much before it gave up. She was no immortal, she was mere human, just slightly different from others.

She somehow brought her hand up to her head, feeling the wetness on her forehead, running down her face and onto the ground. There was a lot of blood, she could perhaps swim in it. By now, she could see things fading out in front of her. She had really taken a pretty bad hit this time, she was starting to realise this now.

#$%&

Leah and her goons always pushed her around and said the meanest stuff to her but she was used to it. It's not like she could ever feel anything. Nothing hurt her. Ever. She always got over it. Or at least she thought she got over it. Even her parents' death.

No matter how much hurtful or insulting words they threw at her, they never hurt her. She couldn't feel it. She never felt like she was going to die. She never felt like she was dying. But right now, with everything fading in front of her, she could feel herself giving up. Finally giving up to everything. Giving up to death. She could feel her death coming to her. Very slowly, the darkness engulfing her.

The next few moments, she felt herself being lifted into strong arms and someone calling out to her. The lights were blinding her but she saw a mop of dark hair hovering over her. Blue eyes filled with worry, matching her own.

Is he an angel or is he the knight in shining armour her parents always told her about?

She was now breathing the same air as him. He was so close. She could feel it, even though her eyes were now closed. She could feel.

Right now at this moment, so close to her death, she was finally feeling so much. Is this it?

*****

A/N: And that will be all for the prologue. Next update will be up soon. This story will also be available on Inkitt (username: kim_taylor ; display name: disenthrallme).

Any thoughts? Who do you think is that 'mop of dark hair'?

~K.