Chapter 1

I moan, clutching my broken wrist. I manage to crawl towards my cage and curl up on the cold concrete floor, trying to drive these thoughts out of my head. I consider myself lucky; I usually get worse.

"Damn," I mutter looking at my leg. A clear claw mark runs down the side of my leg that's still oozing blood. I rip off some of the fabric that's left of my shirt and try to stop the bleeding. I look up and stare at the solid metal bars above me. My hand is killing me and I don't know what to do. I wipe some of the fresh tears off my face and shudder, thinking about my Master. He beats me every single day and he doesn't need a reason to do so. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't be crying. I should be thankful, thankful for a place to sleep, thankful for some food and most importantly, thankful that my Master didn't break my neck like he did last week. All of the Masters beat their pets after work and they heal them in the evening. We humans are the pets. No one knows how the Masters do it, but they can heal or cure anything, in the blink of an eye. That way, they can beat us, torture us all they want to, and we can still be fit to work in the morning.

Suddenly I hear footsteps, or should I say loud plodding. I cower into the corner of my minuscule cage and look at my feet.

"Dinner," grumbles a gruff voice. A small loaf of bread and a bottle of water fall from a trap door above me and hit me on the head. I whimper and my Master laughs his cold, harsh laugh.

"Enjoy," mocks my Master stomping out of the room. I grab the water immediately and attempt to open it. My right hand is slumped uselessly on my lap and I'm forced to open the bottle with my teeth. I slurp the water down thirstily and take in shuddering gulps of air. Master is being nice to me today, I think to myself, putting the bottle down in front of me. I look at my petite loaf of bread for a moment and sniff it cautiously. I recoil immediately at the distinct smell of staleness and mold.

"Better than nothing," I shrug and take a bite. I will myself not to throw up and simply spit it out and leave the loaf forgotten on the other side of the cage. I start to look at my surroundings. This room is small, cramped and covered with both dust and my blood. A sour-bitter smell lingers in the air, but I'm used to it, and bugs are crawling in and out through the miniature cracks in the walls; occasionally I'm fortunate enough to catch one to eat.

I've lived here for most of my life; ever since I was 6-years-old. Before that, I lived with my parents. Apparently, there was a war, a war between humans and the Masters. We humans put up a pretty good fight, with all of our guns and bombs but sadly, it wasn't enough. The Masters have some kind of weapon, one that we humans do not know of that can kill efficiently.

"Mommy what's happening?" I cry over the sound of people screaming. She doesn't answer. My mother and my father make eye contact and my father changes straight out of our underground house, carrying a gun. I crawl onto my mother's lap and rest my head on her shoulder, trembling from head to toe.

"I'm scared," I whisper into her ear.

"It's okay Zack, everything is going to be fine," consoles my mother stroking the back of my head. We sit in silence for a few moments.

"Don't go in there!" shouts a terrified voice belonging to my father.

"Move...now!" orders a deep echoing voice. I hear a loud inexplicable sound and something heavy falls against our wooden door.

"M-Mark," whispers my mother looking at the door fearfully.

"Wh-" I'm unable to finish. Our door flies open and I see someone...or something walk in menacingly. The creature looks like a hawk and a dragon at the same time. It has long magnificent plumes growing out of its body with red snake-like eyes and a sharp beak. If you look carefully, you can see small pointy teeth growing all over its body, making it look intimidating. I'm mainly focusing on its razor-sharp talons and its 5-foot long tail that look like they can do a lot of damage.

"What do we have here," smirks the creature waving it's long tail side-to-side like a cat waiting to pounce on its prey. "A helpless woman and a young boy eh? You could be useful to us," it finishes grabbing me and sinking his claws into me, causing me to howl with pain.

"Don't hurt my son!" screams my mother running up to me. Out of nowhere three more of these creatures appear out of thin air and grab my mother. I see a blinding blue light and I'm forced to shield my eyes. When I look up again, I see my mother lying, unmistakably dead on the ground, her eyes expressionless. A tear rolls down my cheek as I look at my mother's body. Since she died only moments ago, I can see her last emotions: fear, hatred and love. I thrash around trying to evade the ropes that the creatures are beginning to wrap around me but it's no use.

"From this moment on, you will call us the Masters. We have taken you in as a prisoner and you will serve us until you die," the creature whispers loudly in my ear before the world goes black.

My flashback only makes me feel angrier...and guiltier. I feel like it's my fault that my parents died. The Masters wanted me, not them. If I wasn't in that house at that exact moment, they might've lived. My eyelids are beginning to feel extremely heavy and I decide to go to sleep. I lie down and sleep takes over instantly.

"Hello Zack," I look up and I see an image of a girl that I haven't seen before. She has light brown hair that seems to be dancing in slow motion, hazel eyes that shine like jewels and a warm smile.

"Who are you?" I murmur curiously, rubbing my eyes.

"It doesn't matter who I am. The thing that matters is why I'm here," she smiles and snaps her fingers. The bars around me disappear and I gasp unintentionally.

"How-"

"Follow me," she gestures me to follow her and I do. I walk a couple steps when I freeze in my tracks.

"Something wrong?" she questions, cocking her head to one side.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," I move my fingers slowly on my right hand and I find that my wrist is healed.

"That's temporary," says the girl. "When you wake up the pain will come back,"

"So...I'm dreaming?" I ask looking around me.

"I never said that you were dreaming either. Come," the girl holds out her hand and I take it. Suddenly I feel the world around me begin to swirl and my feet are lifted off the ground. I'm gasping for air and I'm starting to feel extremely nauseous. I'm about to throw up when my feet suddenly hit solid ground and I fall over. I sigh and caress the black pavement, making sure that it's solid. I conclude that it is and get up slowly, looking at my surroundings. There isn't a dark dirty prison-cell, with bugs crawling all over you and polluted air. Instead, I can see tall skyscrapers all around me, perfectly smooth roads, and a lot of cars. Red cars, white cars, black cars, blue cars...you name it; it was there. The thing that shocks me the most is that there are humans...everywhere. They're swarming in and out of the buildings, across the streets or they're simply standing there, communicating with one another. These humans are free. No prison cells, no hard labour, and no Master. I take a deep breath and my lungs squirm with pleasure. Clean air; the one thing that I've always dreamed of. I envy these humans. They can stroll around, without a care in the world, without worrying that they'll be forced into slavery. I am suddenly aware that I'm standing in the middle of the street, next to the girl.

"Shouldn't we move?" I exclaim, panic-stricken. "Isn't a car going to hit us?"

"We don't exist here," says the girl calmly. "Nothing can hurt us here...we are merely images,"

I still don't buy it. I walk briskly towards the sidewalk ignoring her. I stand safely on the sidewalk staring at the immobile figure on the street, who's going to get herself killed. Like I predicted, a huge truck suddenly starts speeding towards the girl, at top-speed. My feet are rooted to the spot and I don't know what to do.

"Run!" I yell pointing at the truck. The girl ignores me as well and remains there, expressionless. I turn away from her and cover my ears, bracing myself for what's going to happen. I don't hear anything out of the ordinary so I turn around cautiously. I see the girl standing, unharmed in the middle of the road, staring right at me.

"Fine! You win," I grumble walking up to her. She smiles and leads me towards the sidewalk.

"Look at everything carefully. Remember every building, every sign," she says mystically.

"How the heck am I suppose-" I protest. Suddenly everything starts to swirl and I groan knowing what's coming next. The same feeling that I had before takes over and I wheeze desperately.

"Wake up," orders a deep voice.

"Leave me alone," I mutter keeping my eyes closed. I regret saying it immediately. The pain on my face is befogging and instantaneous. Jagged flashes of light cross my vision and I grunt in pain.

"I was about to heal you but I guess that you don't want me to," laughs my Master walking away. I clutch my face and swear under my breath. This has happened numerous times and I know that I should've learned my lesson. I would give anything to switch lives with those free humans. Anything. I loathe this life. Getting beaten, forced to work incessantly, and forced to stay this way until you die. Those free humans reminded me that a carefree life is possible. I know that somewhere, somehow, humans have liberty. And I want to be like them.

"Change of plan," mutters my Master walking up to me, holding a collar and a leash. "We're going out today," My Master clamps the collar on my neck and attaches the leash. I go through this painful procedure without saying a word. He yanks me and I limp reluctantly after him. I pass by other rooms on my way to the front door. I can see name after name written on the doors. Matthew, Helen, Abigail...Abigail, that name seems familiar to me. I pause briefly staring at that door, daydreaming. A painful pull snaps me back to my senses and I continue limping. I wince every time my leg touches the ground but I don't cry out. Finally we get to a plain metal door that goes wall-to-wall. My Master places one of his long sharp claws on the door and taps it three times. The door flashes different colors then disappears and we walk outside.

You would expect the outside world to be slightly happier than where we are but it's not. Everything is dark, gloomy and depressing. The air is dry, like sandpaper and human remains cover the earth. Bones and blood. This is what I've always called this place. Every drop of blood shed from every single human body will not go in vain. I always dream that someday, we will cause a rebellion against the Masters. We will make all of those people proud, especially my parents. I don't want them to see me as a slave, serving the species that killed them. I want them to see me fighting against the Masters, killing every single one that stands in my way. I look at the sky. Giant gray marshmallows float aimlessly, covering every inch of blue sky. Someday, I hope that we'll drive those gray clouds away, to bring out the sunlight. But for now, the sky is overpowered by the clouds that block it from view.

"I want you to clean this place up," growls my Master unlatching the leash. "And if you decide to leave...you'll have to answer to me," he finishes prowling away. My jaw drops at the unfairness of this task. How the heck am I suppose to clean this place up? I start by moving all the bones in one pile with my bare foot. I work until I have a pile as big as myself and stop to catch my breath. I can just make out my Master squinting at me a couple yards away. I suddenly feel a throbbing pain in my head and kneel down. Get ready, whispers a female voice. I turn around and I don't see anything. Get ready, repeats the voice.

"W-who are you?" I mutter looking around me. Get ready, is the answer. Suddenly I hear a violent crash and a huge metal watchtower comes crashing down on all of the Masters huddled together. Silence. No one moves a muscle. I am now aware that I am the only conscious being in this area. Instinctively, I bolt, speeding across the black pavement. I don't even know where I'm going. All I know is that I want to get away, as far away as possible from Bones and Blood. I make out a clump of green to my right and run towards it. I'm breathing heavily and I pause, steadying myself. I flinch at the sight before me. Trees; something I haven't seen for years. I never knew that there was a forest here. I guess that the Masters hid this from us so we wouldn't get wild ideas.

"Having fun are we?" I spin around and see a Master leaning against a tree beside me. His bloodshot eyes are boring into me, causing me to shudder. I see a blinding blue light and expect myself to die instantly, like my mother. Instead, I see the Master splayed on the ground, eyes closed. I gasp in horror. How did this happen?

"Stupid creature," mutters a voice behind me. I expect to see another Master but instead I see a human, a teenager to be more specific. He has shaggy, dirty-blond hair that reaches his shoulders, gray and blue eyes and a bare chest. I would say that he's roughly 17-years-old and abnormally muscular. My gaze shifts to the rifle...no, the bazooka-like thing he's carrying. I am about to ask but he suddenly jumps over a fallen log in front of me and grabs what's left of my shirt.

"Wh-"

"You stupid human!" he yells shaking me. "What the hell were you thinking? He would've killed you!"

"Chill dude!" I yelp, attempting to push him away. "I was just running away and he followed me!"

"Oh,"

The teenager lets go and steps away from me as if seeing me for the first time. He scurries around me, taking in every detail of my physique. After a while he stops in front of me and holds out his hand.

"My name's C," he says grasping my hand.

"See?" I ask looking really confused. "See what?"

"No. Just C,"

"See what?"

"Just C,"

"WHAT THE HECK AM I SUPPOSE TO SEE!" I yell in exasperation. C points his bazooka-like gun towards me and before I can react, he fires. I expect to crumple to the ground but I feel nothing out of the ordinary. I open my mouth to speak but I find that I can't. It feels like I have an abnormally large hairball stuck in my throat. I wave my arms around trying to communicate, but C's just standing there, wearing a smug smile.

"That's better," smirks C.

"..." I quieted while crossing my arms.

"Well," says C looking around him. "My real name isn't C but that's what the Forgotten Few call me,"

Questions are bubbling inside my head and the fact that I can't ask them drives me crazy. I shrug, hoping that C will understand.

"We can't talk here...come," C grabs the collar of my shirt and drags me behind a bush. He places his index finger on the small of my back and the world starts spinning. I remember this feeling last night when that girl took me to that city. However, this time I can't stand it. My life is playing right before my eyes. That day when Tony Watson donated half of his lunch to me because I forgot mine at home, when my mom was pregnant with my little sister and that day when my parents died. I feel like I'm falling into an endless chasm, a well. Seeing all of these experiences all over again is too much. Suddenly I see a white light getting bigger and bigger every second. Just when I'm about to be engulfed in it, I hit my head against something hard and slump into unconsciousness.