So, this is my first original story...so...yeah. Constructive critism welcome. :) R and R, please. :)

Note There are some characters in this story that do not belong to me, but I have permission from their creators to use them. I asked for several characters and several authors from Animespiral gave me permission to use them. The plot and story belong to me, as do most of the characters, but, as I said, there are some characters that do not belong to me.

Memories

Thoughts

Character hearing voices

Normal text

Prologue: Painful Memories

Zane rubbed his frozen ears while staring at the dying fire. He coiled his body closer together, wrapping the thin blanket tighter around him. It was getting darker; he could tell by the silencing forest outside his cave. With a shiver, he threw another stick into the embers, which sparked, consuming the piece of wood slowly.

Come on, Zane thought. With the darkness consuming the sun, the air was getting thinner and colder. If he couldn't get his fire going, he was going to die. With a small curse, the seventeen-year-old buried his face in the blanket, hoping his slightly warm breath would help keep his body warm.

Darkness quickly filled the cave, making the only living thing in it tense. He prayed a bear wouldn't pick up his scent and try to eat him...Zane shivered and pushed the thought from his head. He didn't need to think about being killed by wildlife; his mind was still full of the pain from years past and worry.

Maybe they won't come after me. Nonsense. He was too precious. They needed him. They monitored him all day, nonstop, to make sure he didn't hurt or kill himself. "You're the future of humanity," and, "Don't worry, you can see your mom tomorrow," rang in his head, giving him a migraine. iMom.../iZane buried his head even deeper into his blanket to hide the tears as if someone was still watching him.

Stay strong, Zane!

"Mom...?"

I'll find you, Zane! I'll free you, I promise!

Zane's red eyes clouded over as he watched the fire dance across the rest of the wood he had gathered earlier. Memories from nine years ago filled his thoughts; painful memories, happy memories, sad memories, everything from when he was born to when he was nine.

A boy with short black hair sat at a dinner table, kicking his legs back and forth happily. His dark red eyes was watching a woman, most likely his mom, spoon mashed potatoes onto his plate. "Thank you, Mom!" The boy didn't even look to be seven-years-old.

The woman smiled sweetly at him, brushing her shoulder-length black hair out of her brown eyes. "No problem, Kiddo." She fixed her own plate of food (mashed potatoes, ham, and corn) and sat across the table from her son. She sported a white tank top and faded jeans with several rips and holes in them.

"Don't you think it's time for new pants, Mom?" The boy joked. "You have a new job, after all, right? You need to look your best!"

She glared playfully at him. "The day I waste money on nice clothes is the day you sleep in pure darkness, Zane," she countered, waving her fork in the air for emphasis.

Zane's red eyes widened in fear. "Uh...you look nice today, Mom!"

"Too late. You're doing the dishes, kid." The woman laughed at her son's grimaced face.

"Man! That's not fair, Mom!"

She rolled her chocolate eyes, pointing her fork back at him. "That's what you get for making fun of my clothes, Kiddo."

"But, Mom--"

"Any more out of you, and you're cleaning MY room!"

With that, Zane shut up, quickly eating his dinner.

Zane whipped the beginning of a tear from his eye. He missed those days, with his mom. Back when all that troubled him was the dark. Speaking of which...

Zane looked around his living space, searching for any kind of movement. Any movement, and he was out of there. He just got free, he wasn't going to die on his first day out.

Nothing.

Hey, Kiddo, what you still doing up?

"Can't sleep," he mumbled, rubbing his arms. His fire was dying again.

It's the darkness, isn't it? Here, move it. I'll sleep here until you fall asleep, kay? There. See? No darkness can get to you as long as your strong ol’ mom is here!

Zane winced, putting his hand over his eyes to hide the light. "What is it, Mom?" His eyes widened at his mom's shocked expression. "Mom?" He jumped out of his bed and ran over to her. "Mom, what is it? What's going on!"

A crash reached his ears from outside his door. "We know you're in here!" A woman yelled, followed by several footsteps.

Zane stared up at his mom before she grabbed him and ran to the window. She opened it and almost dropped him on the ground. "Go! Run! Get away from here!" She spun around as the bedroom doorknob began to rattle.

"Mom, what's going on?" He went to grab his mom's arm when she spun around and smacked his hand away. He stared at her with a shocked expression. "Mom?"

"I said run, damn it!" She pushed him away as much as she could. Then, she slammed the window shut and turned around, balling her hands into fists. "I WON'T LET YOU GET HIM," she yelled as the door crashed open, hanging on by one hinge.

A woman stood in the doorway, her long black hair was held back in a bandana while her blue eyes held a mix between anger and amusement. She wore a dark grey uniform; she was part of Government.

“MOM!” Even a nine-year-old knew how dangerous Government was. “Mom, get out there!” He ran to the window, but it wouldn’t open. “MOM! NO!” Zane watched as the Government woman looked over at him, a grin slowly forming on her lips.

“There the boy is…” She turned her attention back to his mom. “How old is he? Eight, nine?”

“MOM!” His words fell upon deaf ears. “Don’t,” he yelled again as his mom reached for the pistol under his pillow. He could see the Government agent pull her .44 up, taking aim. He couldn’t do anything. Don’t. Don’t grab it. Don’t anger her. Don’t…

Zane yelped as his face hit the ground. He spun around and saw a teenager holding his left ankle.

“ZANE!” he heard his mom scream, opening the window. Several bangs filled the air then silence.

“Foolish woman…” The Government woman walked up to the window and pushed the wounded woman to the floor. She leaned out the window, then, her finger on the trigger of her pistol. “Took you long enough, boy.” She nodded to the teenager that was holding Zane’s ankle.

“Let me go!” Zane kicked at the other boy’s hand, but failed as the boy grabbed his left foot and picked him up. He could feel the blood rushing to his head.

“What do you want me to do with him?”

“Take him to Building 2562, duh.”

Zane winced and forced one eye open. He could see his mom moving behind the woman. “M…Mom…” He struggled against the teenager, kicking his feet as much as he could. He successfully hit him in the chin and fell to the ground. He wanted to run to his mom, but she told him before about the rules of survival; he had to run, now. And that’s exactly what he did; he ran away.

“Uhg! Damn it, you idiot!” The woman screamed, taking aim. Suddenly, she found herself on the floor, a foot crushing her right wrist. She looked up. “Damn you, woman! You’re supposed to be dead!”

Zane’s mom pushed down harder on the woman’s wrist, breaking it with ease. She then climbed out the window, standing in front of the nameless teenager. She held his gaze. “Don’t move,” she mumbled, putting her finger on the trigger. When he didn’t move, she walked past him. “Traitor…”

The teenager looked down before walking to the window as the woman ran after the boy. “You okay,” he asked calmly to his superior.

“Damn it, go get the boy!” The Government agent held her wrist. “GO, NOW!”

Shrugging, the teenager turned and ran after the family. It was going to be a long night; he could tell.

“Bastard…” Zane mumbled as his black hair fell into his eyes. With a sigh, he snuffed out the fire and stood up. Enough reminiscing, he had to cover more ground; they were bound to show up soon. He walked to the edge of the cave, glad that the moon was not covered with clouds that night. As soon as he stepped out of the shelter, freezing wind rushed around him, blowing his hair and blanket to the east. The wind swept up under him and up his clothes, freezing his body more than what it already was.

The next town, he remembered, was only thirty miles away. If he ran, he could reach there before the sun set the next day. He gathered up his blanket, wrapped it tightly around him, and began to run. Hopefully, this little run would warm him up some.