Silas saw his sister disappear into the woods, after Reina. He had sensed something was up with them but he hadn't quite gotten the proof he needed. Ava might be a whiner but she knew how to suck it up in front of authority. Superior people were like the wedge she needed to put herself together, it was probably why she clung to Reina.

     Glancing away from the direction in which they had disappeared, Silas ran a hand through his tangled mess of  hair, walking up to Edgar who was leaned against a wall of the tower. Since Edgar didn't send him away, he took it as a chance to join him against the wall.

"Gonna tell me what happened back there?"

Edgar squatted in the dirt, brushing his fingers over the flower in front of them. The patch of tiger lilies came as high as Silas' knees and they were beautiful with orange petals, some with spots and some without.

Edgar plucked a petal from one then stood up. Wrapping it around his finger, he said, "I once wanted to get a tiger lily tattoo. This was when I just turned 16. That's the age when shit gets real for teens, right?"

Silas nodded. It was the law that children above fifteen had to get a job. If they were caught working earlier, their parents were sent to jail. Silas didn't know when the law started but he knew it was before he was born so it was normal for him.

     "Anyways, that was the year shit got bad for my family. It was almost like a switch: one minute my dad was giving me breakfast for school and the other... the other, he was crazy." Edgar exhaled, falling to the ground as if recounting what had happened was weighing him down. Silas joined him on the floor as he continued, "He went crazy. Like, 'I'm going to kill you' crazy. That room you saw, those doors; my dad was in there until I turned 17. Kept in a strait jacket. First, the doctors told my mom and I he had schizophrenia. Then weeks later, he had Dissociative Identity Disorder; it was crazy. When I turned 18, they came to our house and told us he had committed suicide, which didn't make sense because he was kept in an empty room. What could he have used...?"

Silas stayed quiet as Edgar grunted in annoyance. His face was pale and tired, and he gave Silas a weak smile. "I know this might sound crazy, but I believed he was murdered."

"Sure." Silas drawled. "So people can't go crazy?"

Edgar frowned. "Don't justify that. My dad wasn't crazy crazy. Someone made him crazy and I know it had to be that tech company. The one your folks work for."

Silas was surprised by his assumption. Robert Tech was where Silas' parents worked and he hadn't heard of any of the workers dying. The only thing he had overheard his foster parents say was 'on a trip', and many of them had come back.

"I don't believe you." He admitted. "That company has saved my parents and our family more than we can pay for. Maybe your dad was just crazy."

"And maybe you are a piece of shit!" Edgar gaped at him. "What the fuck Silas?  I was pouring my heart out to you."

"Well, you can't just blame it on the company," Silas said defensively, ignoring the glare Edgar was aiming at him.

The boy stood, not caring for the cover the tiger lilies gave, and Silas was forced to join him. Edgar hovered over Silas with anger, pushed against his chest with a strength that would have knocked him off his feet if the tower hadn't been behind him.

"What else am I going to blame it on, eh? I was the one who saw how his job took a toll on him. My dad was scared but he knew how to put up a front. I thought you would understand, Silas. Maybe not relate, but you could at least not have blamed him for being crazy. That back there changed me, it has been two years since my father's death and that shitty psych hospital was my last memory of him."

     Pushing against his shoulder again, Edgar walked away from him saying, "If you were coming to comfort me, you could at least have done it well."

     Silas did want to comfort him, more than anything. But whenever Edgar or anyone said anything about the company, it was his default reaction to protect it. That company had saved his family from debt, had saved his mom when she fell ill, given Silas and Ava a job in training the cyborgs. That company made their life easy.

     Although, Silas did understand a part of Edgar's pain. Crazy might not be crazy but a father was still a father. Silas knew what it was like losing a father... losing a family. It was what made him cling to the his one. It was what made him cherish Ava, his parents and the company for keeping them safe.

Silas had to apologize to Edgar but he didn't know how to since the boy was playing the avoiding game.

Sighing, he watched Edgar sit beside Benji, making him the wall between them, when Reina called to continue their training.

     The lady sat on the dirt in front of them then took a deep breath. The boys were copying her just when she said, "This time, we are going into Benji."

"Jeez, when you say it like that, it sounds pretty dirty."

"I'm not even going to start, Benji." Edgar rolled his eyes and his friend laughed.

"Where's Ava?" Silas asked when he noticed his sister wasn't among them.

Reina shrugged then glanced quickly at a window in the tower before focusing back on them. She rolled her shoulders then shut her eyes. "Now, eyes closed and deep breaths. Calm your mind."

Reina's voice was soothing, putting Silas quickly into a trance, and he hummed. From what Silas understood about the mental preparation, the runes feasted on the bearers strongest emotion; Like the feeling Edgar felt from watching his dad go crazy. Silas knew just where his runes would bury themselves and a quick flash of the place appeared in his mind.

It was just a flash but Silas saw everything. Silas saw the gore and blood. The foul stench that drove him crazy when he came out of his room that late Friday night.

"Silas, you are pulling away." The mage's voice came out almost like a whisper and Silas relaxed, letting the voice take him to where it wanted.

     Opening his eyes, Silas found himself in an amusement park. He was standing on a pathway between a mountain ride and booth. It was night time so the lights were on and music was playing in the background from different rides that were moving, but there were no people. It was almost like a ghost town if not for the colorful lights and music that gave it a lively feeling.

"Wow, Benji. This is what your mind thinks of? Roller-coasters?" Edgar teased and Benji heaved his shoulders, standing beside him.

"I don't think of it frequently, but I have to admit, I loved this place as a kid."

"Why here?" Silas asked.

Benji exhaled, looking around before meeting Silas' eyes. "This was where I had my first ride. I never got over it. I kept coming every year until they closed it down."

"Why did they close it down?" Reina was by the booth holding a ring for one of those ring toss games.

The boys came to watch her as she threw the ring. She missed the bottle and groaned. "I'm terrible at this."

"You play?" Benji asked curiously, completely forgetting the question Reina had asked. "They have this kind of thing here?"

She quirked a brow at him and turned. "Yes. We might not have reached your tech yet but we've got all the really good stuff. We left your world around 2000 or 2001 thereabouts. What they had, we have, and we were like a quarter percent of the population. Don't look at us as old and ancient because you saw Alve."

Benji shook his head immediately and explained as he followed after her, the other two boys awkwardly following since they didn't want to be left alone with each other. "Oh no. I never saw Alve as old. They were cultural, I understand that. In fact, this Omar has taken my breath away. Their clothing might be hella expensive compared to that of my world but they've got sick fashion lines. And the houses are so pretty. I did want to ask why there aren't cars though. I've seen guys with phones and laptops; I think you are all good with the gadgets."

"Benjamin." Reina frowned at him. "Focus, where did you have the most influential experience?"

"The mirror house."

Reina cocked her head at him and when he gave her a weak shrug, she puckered her lips at him. "What? Scared of your reflection?"

"Actually, I got lost in there. My sister suddenly disappeared with her boyfriend and five-year-old me was fucking scared." Benji rubbed his chin. "Honestly, I thought I was over that fear. I mean, I'm not scared of my reflection or anything. In fact, I actually-"

"Yeah yeah. Let's get to the mirror house. The faster you get out of here the smaller the headache." When Benji nodded quietly, she smiled and let him lead the way.

     They walked silently down the path of a few more rides and games. Benji had even stopped at some to steal the prizes. In those brief pauses, Silas tried to talk to Edgar. It got him nowhere since the angered boy only gave him short answers.

     Getting to the mirrored house, Silas saw it was a small red tent. It didn't look like somewhere a kid could get missing. They would probably only be able to walk a few steps before they were at the other end. However, when Silas entered, the small tent proved him wrong. It was packed with mirrors and he could hardly see the four corners of the tent. If Benji was indeed lost there as a kid, then it really must have been bad.

"Isn't this place supposed to be a little smaller? It's confusing." Edgar asked as they weaved through the mirrored path. The mirrors were like those you would find in a carnival. In some, you were fat, in others, you were disfigured. Silas was getting a kick out of watching his reflections in them.

"This is what Benji thought he saw. It might not be real, but it was real for him." Reina tagged on, taking a short look at a mirror before plastering her eyes back on Benji's back. In that brief look, Silas could see her silver eyes squint as if trying to see something but then she frowned and looked away, looking almost dissatisfied.

It was the first time Silas had ever seen her make a face like that. Normally, she was either bored, elated or pissed off at Edgar for reasons he didn't know. Thinking about his sister, he wondered of Ava had ever seen it.

"We are here." Benji singsonged with his arms stretched out as if presenting the place to them.

They were surrounded by five mirrors and each had a path beside it. Any one of those paths could take them around the maze of mirrors and they would probably still end up in the same place. After absentmindedly following Benji, he didn't know how he was going to leave on his own. The maze was deeper than he thought.

"I don't see any bat-like monster," Benji admitted, glancing at all the mirrors.

"You mean me?" Something spoke with a familiar voice and hissed, making everyone turn to where the sound came from; behind Silas.

     The curly haired boy turned just as a grotesque figure appeared in the mirror behind him. It was just shadow until an eye opened, revealing a familiar red sphere that Silas could remember seeing so vividly only a week ago. Taking a step back, he bumped into someone and looked back to apologize just as Edgar placed a hand on his shoulder.

Silas expected to be pushed away but to his surprise, the green eyed boy only squeezed his shoulders slightly. Edgar didn't look at him and kept his eyes on his friend as he neared the mirror slowly.

"Is that what it looks like?" Benji asked Reina but before she could speak, the beast in the mirror changed form to look exactly like Benji except instead of Benji's nice pair of warm brown orbs, there were bloody red eyes.

"What form would you prefer?" The monster spoke, giving Benji a once over. "And by the way, I'm a he."

"I don't like you in my form."

"I don't have any other." The beast took a step forward. "You see, when you take from a beast, you take their life force and their powers, and when you exert this power to the fullest, that is when it takes their true form."

"What about the life force?" Edgar asked.

The beast gave him a look as if he hadn't expected him to speak then shrugged. "It floats away to the Supreme Lord because, you know, he's like an alpha."

"Do you speak normally?" Benji asked moving closer to the mirror until he was just in front of it. "Because that's my voice."

"No, I do not. It is why I take your form and it is why I use your voice." The beast moved aside and glanced at everyone before locking gazes with Benji. "You must be rune bearers. You'll hardly see anyone here in Omar. Most humans are in the West and South from Uthor."

"How did you know we are in Omar?" Edgar asked, finally releasing Silas who suddenly craved the warmth he gave when he had his back pressed up against him.

"He sees what Benji sees. And Benji, please step back from the mirror. The Fang might not be able to leave that mirror yet but if you touch it, just the slightest bit, it could take that chance to take control of you."

Benji did just as Reina said and the Fang smirked. "Just know that if you are ever going to use me, there will be some terms and conditions."

"That's stupid." Reina rolled her eyes and the Fang giggled.

"No, I'm serious." The beast that looked just like Benji instantly frowned, "I never got a chance to get a good bite from my food so I've been starving ever since."

"But when you are in runes, you don't need food."

"Oh, but fangs, we do. We are cold beings and real blood saves us from going berserk. If you want pretty boy Benjamin here to stay a pretty boy, he needs to drink blood. Pure humans with no runes or magic are the best but I can settle for pork." He made direct eye contact with Edgar and the boy stiffened.

Before any more questions could be asked, Reina brought them out and Silas cringed at the bright light that was in contrast to the darkness he had gotten accustomed to. The headache emerged again and Reina quickly got up to relieve him and the other boys.

     When they were all okay, Reina sighed and ran her hand through the ends of her hair. "Okay. That's all the training for today. I want you to take the rest of the day to calm your beast. Some may be hostile and some may just flow with it. By tomorrow, before the festival, I want to see how well you can hold it because by then, the link between you and the old witch is officially dead and gone."

"How do you know that?" Silas asked.

"Because I just do. I'm not psychic for the name." She gave him an unimpressed glare and he shrugged. "Anyways," She continued. "After the festival, if nothing goes wrong, we'll practice showing off your new powers. That is, seeing how well you can handle it or if you can exhibit any physical trait. I shall take my leave now to have a good afternoon shower."

She left the boys alone, heading for the tower and Benji ran a hand through his hair. "That was different."

Silas nodded to that. That Fang had been scary even though he had Benji's face. The curly haired boy wondered if the real Benji could ever make a face like that.

"Why are the three of you just standing around? Have you been around the city yet?"

Silas and Edgar turned as Wyatt came out of the house stretching. He had his hair in a high bun and his eyes flashed a cold shade of green before they went back to normal. The man jogged up to them and continued.

"Wanna head into town?"

"Reina said we shouldn't leave here," Silas told him.

"Yeah." Benji added, "She said we should get to know our beast. Wyatt, do you have runes too or are you something else?"

The man quirked a brow at him then smirked. "Come with me and I will show you."

Silas had nothing to get to know so he was all for the idea. Even Benji with the murderous Fang looked excited about it. It was only Edgar who had a hard time changing his mind. Silas would have loved to persuade him about it but things were awkward between them at the minute.

Benji then tried. "Edgar," He drawled and his friend rolled his eyes.

"Sure, whatever."

Wyatt grinned then met Benji's eyes. "Great."