Kay POV

Who in the universe does she think she is?

Ripping skirts, kicking tycoons, the perfect description for a crazy girl.

Nonetheless, I still flip the table I sit beside, fending off all the Defence officials, the Guest of Honors.

And there goes my reputation.

Taking a deep breath in, I dash for Janel. Man, I have got to tell you this - she is one fast and aggressive girl.

As a... you know, friendly little boy, I shall gather a list on her physical appearance and her emotional state.

She's a crazy girl (we all know that, but still), violet eyes, pretty sharp for a nose, has double eyelids, a very "v"ed chin, always dresses in black with purple at the rims (she says it's fashion, but it looks more weird than fashionable to), aggressive - too aggressive for my liking, fast - very fast, has anger management problems, besides breathing, talking and walking, she only knows how to fight (kicking especially).

That's Janel for you.

Half a minute in, I'm already panting, almost barking like some crazy stray dog.

This isn't going to work if it continues.

"Jan, could you stop for a little? It's tiring, and they're gone already. No point in running."

Oh my gosh, did I just call her by a nickname?

Big mistake.

"Did you just call me Jan? Janel's the name, y'know? And 'they're gone already' is not an excuse. It's never, by the way. In Bloodshed you'll learn that soon. 'Never stop running, th..'"

"They will trample on you if you don't get back on your feet."

Her famous quote. What she said when interviewed right after the proposal.

Gosh, one moment she can be that Boss, the next, a history teacher.

Weirdo.

Before I can say a thing, my mouth is already covered by a handkerchief.

An unfamiliar hand covered my eyes, everything is now blanketed in pure darkness.

This is definitely one of those Janel pranks.

I take a deep breath in, trying to calm myself down, convincing myself this is all a joke.

Wait a second, Janel will never be in the mood to play pranks in this state.

Two words immediately come up to my mind.

Wesley's henchmen.

Oh sparks, who knows what I just breathed in?

My eyes struggle to open, my hold body is spinning out of control.

My eardrums can barely make out high pitched groans -Janel's, I presume- followed by loud sounds made from hard kicks. Does she really just know how to fight - kick I mean?

It feels like an earthquake, every single thing is vibrating non-stop, every single heartbeat makes my temples throb with pain.

Flashbacks zoom by my mind in a blur.

Recollection spins around my head like tornadoes, every scene in my life flashing by.

The hands that hold me by the head let go.

My eyes can barely make out figures and light.

Those figures turn into just blur silhouettes moving about as my vision begins to dot with ink-like marks, then swirls into pure darkness.

~*~

Bleary-eyed, I managed to make out a 0.01-inch television -considered pretty outdated already, everyone is using invi-screened ones- and an auto-cup server. A pretty old, wooden furnished room.

I was lying down on a auto-adjust chair before I had awoken.

I turn around, and what I saw made me want to find a hole to hide myself in. My cheeks flushed.

I drooled.

Okay, drooling is not that bad, but hey, I'm a rich kid.

Not anymore though.

Whack!

I clutched on tightly to my knee as crimson goo started to ooze out of my skin.

So this is what a human body contains.

Red goo?

Nonetheless, I scream my lungs out. It hurts, and it hurts so badly.

Transparent liquid - tears, they call it, leaks from my eyes. It is a natural effect when in pain, biology teacher tells me.

I look back and realise how absurd it is.

I don't display table manners once I reach five, and out comes the belt?

No wonder my friends tell me everyone's fifth birthday is not worth celebrating.

Realisation hits me, and it hits me hard.

My parents don't love me. They hate me.

Your parents don't love you. They hate you. Your parents don't love you. They hate you. Your parents don't love you. They hate you.

The voices chant like whispers in the wind, invisible, but chastising me.

The voices take their toll on me.

I crumpled the tablecloth, like how my heart is, ripping off the once-delicate lacings that line the piece of cloth.

I clench my teeth, fisting my hand even tighter, then pull the tablecloth towards me.

The whole table of food - crabs, lobsters, fish, everything spills.

I don't like those anyway.

The hot soup that was once in front of me spills right onto my left arm. I wanted to shout in pain, but held back.

I must not let them think that I am weak. That I am not the spoilt brat given birth by over-indulgent.

They need to know that I can stand on my own two feet. I am stronger than they think I am. I am not useless!

I grab the titanium pot and slam it hard on the floor.

My parents just stare at me in shock. Mum dropped the belt, Dad let the piece of meat in his mouth land on his shirt.

"Phil, where have your table manners flew to. The toilet bowl?" I shout in the most Dad-like accent I can manage.

"Go stick your head into the toilet bowl then!" I give him a funny face, before I slam the door.

The burn on my left arm stings, but I tell myself not to be weak.

Bile forms up in my throat, I'm guilty that I've been rude to him, but the lust just overwhelms it.

Table manners.

I snicker.

"Master and Mistress's order," the lady in front says, enough to snap me back to reality. My eyes caught sight of Janel, looking like she has just regained consciousness.

"Please drink your tea," the other one booms.

I peer at them for a moment. They sound like dad and Mom, but whatever.

I scanned the vicinity. There was an auto-door behind that was transparent, a vase of newly bred flowers, and a chest of drawers.

Realisation then struck me like a twenty-pound sledgehammer.

We were being trapped in a room.

Weren't we kidnapped before that? This situation is getting out of hand. We were kidnapped into a room?

"I repeat, Master and Mistress want you to drink your tea," she repeats, already sounding irritated.

Who does she think she is?

A servant of Master and Mistress?

I chuckle softly to myself, covering my mouth.

She looks at me, flustered. Before I could say a word, she brings out a pistol from her back pocket.

"Woah, Woah. Okay, don't get too rash. It's just tea, so put. That. Gun. Down." I try to calm her down, before sipping my tea.

The tea is pretty good, I have to admit. But having two ladies stare at me every minute, every second, it's not so nice anymore. I can't even get out of my seat! Master and Mistress's order, they would tell me before pushing me back down on the seat.

I mean, seriously?

Literally, are you kidding me? Master and Mistress don't even allow me to move out of my chair? It's pathetic.

Out of the blue, dozens of questions rain on me like showers of bullets.

Where is this place?

Do these people know me?

Who is Master and Mistress?

Why in the universe would they capture me?

Are they going to make use of me?

How?

Why?

The thought of that sends shivers down my spine.

I turn over to Janel.

She has got handcuffs tied to her wrist. Teeth clenched, she's struggling to get rid of the cuffs. I almost want to go over to tell her to stop because it's simply pointless, but i am reminded that I cannot move.

I decide to just tell her from here although it would not be much of help either. At least I tried.

She just continues to fidget, clearly ignorant about my advice.

Hopeless case. She just can't stop, won't stop - let me correct myself, moving.

Never ever gives up, does she?

The women, I mean servants of Master and Mistress, cannot tolerate it anymore. One had to open her mouth and hold her head back, while the other had to pour the tea into her mouth.

I chuckle a little.

Janel hears it, turns towards me and gives me that shut-up-and-don't-judge look.

Oh girl, for goodness sake, come on.

The woman who was once in front of me was signalled over to the room behind by a middle-aged man, dressed in the exact same fashion as the ladies.

Suited in a black overcoat with red sleeves, this man, had a very serious look in his eyes. Just looking at him gave me the heebie-jeebies. His glare was like laser, it makes you blind by forcing you to look away from him. He taps his foot twice on the ground, before opening the door behind and nodding his head to the person or people in the other room. Must have been Master and Mistress.

I already kind of hate that Master and Mistress already, though I haven't looked at them in the eye yet.

Just moments later, the lady steps out.

"Master and Mistress order you to have a conversation. Now." she commands.

To have a conversation, we have to be commanded to?

"Speak!" She raises the pistol again.

Oh my gosh, what on Jupiter is wrong with her?

"Hi Janel, um... I guess you might want to open your mouth now before you lose your life in a matter of milliseconds, yeah?"

She just opens her mouth and closes it.

I. Am. So. Pissed. At. Her.

"Man," I try to talk again, but immediately gets cut off.

"Woman, not man," she says it so casually I want to vomit already.

"Fine, woman. Woman, could you just let go of your ego for once?" I'm desperate, I don't know what she wants. When she's in a good mood, she's really high. When she's pissed, she'll just piss everyone too.

And I don't really like that.

That favourite childhood memory floats up my mind again.

"Hurry, we got to go!" Mave exclaims exuberantly. I never get why he looks forward to "Cross the Mountain Festival" that much. Nonetheless, he is my best friend. What can I do but play along?

He hops up the bus excitedly. I already prepare myself for three hours of confinement in the bus. No stopping point, that is.

Half an hour in, and he's already snoring like a pig.

I still remember the time when we had our first sleepover at my house together with some other friends.

The moment they stepped in, they already told me they wished that they could stay forever. I would have let them, but of course, that didn't work out at all.

Nonetheless, we still had a great time.

A very great time indeed, until lights out.

Mave snored so loudly, to the extent we had to move to another room.

The next morning, I ordered some food from McDonalds, then went over to his room to tell him to get up, only to find his whole pillow soaked in saliva.

While eating, I came up with a nickname - "Angel awake, waterfall asleep", and that got a good laugh.

Mave, on the other hand, didn't really bother. Cheerful Mave just laughed along.

"Grr..." there comes another snore.

I kind of regret sitting beside him, but I still try to be optimistic. Instead of thinking 'I still have to put up with him for another two and a half hours', I think 'I have put up with him for half an hour already'.

I rest my cheek on the cool window as the silent rain patters gently. Soon, my eyelids weigh a thousand pounds. As the blurry scenery whizzes by, I close my eyes.

~*~

"What? We're here already?" Mave shouts, making me jolt back into the real world.

All heads turn towards him. His cheeks flush red, before mouthing apologies to everyone. The whole bus bursts with chatters as everyone moves out of the bus,

Oh, Mave.

A big 'Welcome' sign, um... welcomed us.

It wasn't as I thought it to be when I saw the beautiful view in front of me after I stepped in. Every single thing - be it rock, stone, or tree - makes up the picturesque scenery that laid before my eyes.

It was just beautiful.

The trek, though, wasn't as nice as I thought.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step" this quote fits so well with what I'm going through right now. Confidently, I take the first step and start on the journey.

About half an hour into the journey, I already start panting breathlessly.

It was at this instance, I suddenly thought of what Mave told me back when we were seven.

"Mave - pant - remember the time when you told me that if I am good to you, you will move mountains to make me happy? Now, I'm going to be good to you by - snatch - taking away your walking stick! That would lessen your weight! Now move this mountain to the finish point!"

He loses his balance and lands on the ground with a loud thud.

"Hey!" he screams as he picks himself up,"You forgot about the next line. If you annoy me, I will drop those mountains - bang - on you head!"

He takes his backpack and slams it on my head.

"Ow," I moan.

I jab him in the ribs, he jabs me, and we continue the journey.

The memory then fades, replacing with a more recent one.

"You wanna bet?" I challenge.

"Oh sure, why not?"

"Okay, let's do it."

"Alright, who goes first?"

"Me."

"Blame yourself if you die," Mave commented, having a more rude tone than usual.

I close my eyes again, crossing my fingers that the invi-bullet train comes when I stand there.

I had challenged Mave to stand in the maglev tracks for a minute. We could get knocked down any second, but we don't care less.

I close my eyes and stand on the tracks. My temples throb. This is risking my life, I know that.

Thirty seconds in, I already regret my decision.

One minute passed, according to my smart-watch.

I step out, unscathed.

Mave goes on the track, and the timer starts.

One minute just passed.

"Ha! See? Now you owe me five grand!" He gives me a peace sign.

Just then, the train comes, crushing him below.

Not a single trace of him was left.

The trauma happened too fast. In a glimpse, its all gone. Mave, the train, my friend, my pillar of support, my faith, my hope. Everything...

"Go to the balcony, are you deaf?" the booming voice of the lady snaps me back once again. I find myself tearing already. I sniff, wipe away my tears, and go to the balcony.

"Janel," I find her, then continue,"how long do you think they would keep us?"

"One, you sound like a child asking her mom about something; two, how do you expect me to know?"

I don't know how long we will be held captive here, I'm stuck in a room with a person that just loves to piss me off, and I'm being ordered around by Master and Mistress.

I can already see the sun set and the stars rise.

I'll call it a day.

See what's in for me tomorrow.