• N I N E T E E N •

"Revenge is a dish best served cold. Revenge is sweet. That means only one thing...

Revenge is ice cream!"

• • •

"Hey, Rage? Are you up?"

My eyes snap open and I sit up, immediately wide awake.

"Yeah. Do you need anything Asher?" I ask mentally.

"You."

I snort before it turns into a laugh. "Seriously? Is it a corny day today?"

"Yeah, sorry," Asher laughs and I can just picture him, the way his eyes nearly close as he laughs a genuine laugh.

"So what do you need?" I try again.

Asher sighs and admits, "Nothing, really. I just get bored of talking with animals."

"Alright then," I reply. "I wasn't doing anything important."

Years ago, I would've died if I heard someone say that. Sleep used to be incredibly important. Then I got my powers. Now, I don't need to ever sleep. It's how I learned to play the violin along with many other skills. You have a lot of spare time when you don't sleep.

Climbing out of bed, I quickly dress in dark clothes that cover all my scars. I touch the butterfly pendant that hangs from my neck.

"Want to meet up or just talk?" I ask Asher.

Asher hesitates before replying, "My family is all asleep. I'm not sure that would be the best decision."

I nod, understanding that all too well.

"I could come over to your house, though, if you want."

"Oh! No, my family is all asleep too. Light sleepers, all of them," I lie.

"Well, I'm down for just talking this way," Asher decides before admitting, "We could just go somewhere else, but it's super cool to be able to talk to someone like this."

"Agreed," I laugh.

"So how are you adjusting? I know that moving can be hard."

I shrug, forgetting he couldn't see it, and answer, "I'm doing fine. It's a lot better here than where I'm from."

"Must've been a pretty messed up place to live," Asher snorts.

"Some parts," I agree. "It really depended on who you knew and what power you had in the small town. So the rich mayor who knew almost everyone lived well. The girl who lives in a farm in the outskirts of town and was abused day and night didn't live so well."

Honestly, I said a lot more than I intended. I guess once I started, though, I just couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry," Asher says softly. "Did you know the girl well?"

"Yeah," I confess, wishing that I had just kept my mouth shut. I hope I don't have to lie anymore today.

"So are you excited for school?" Asher asks, clearly trying to change topics, something I am grateful for.

"Well, I'm excited for their breakfast and lunch..."

"Same!" Asher exclaims.

The unusual outburst draws a laugh from me. Asher is normally do quiet and withdrawn.

Biting my lip, I ask a question I hope I won't regret.

"Why are you so quiet around others? Darkon was surprised when he first saw us talking. Said you never did."

Asher pauses, making me nervous.

"It's true," He responds finally. "In fact, Darkon rarely ever talked either. I guess you got us talking, though. Besides, it's really just in my nature to be quiet."

"It's in my nature to be loud," I snort. "Loud and angry."

Asher chuckles lightly and the tension dissolves.

"What time is it?" I ask curiously, too lazy to check the time on my phone.

"Time for you to get a watch," Asher teases.

"Huh. Never knew that was an hour. Guess you learn something new every day."

"Alright, it's actually an hour before school," He concedes before asking, "Hey, did you do h ur homework."

"Yes, mother," I retort with a roll of my lemon eyes.

Asher snorts, "That's not why I'm asking, Rage. I forgot about the math homework."

I laugh. "Do you need help?"

"Yeah... You do have Mrs. Valdez as your teacher, right?"

"Unfortunately for me. Fortunately for her. I'm a delight to have in class."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Alright, let's get started on the assignment."

And that is how I lost a half hour of my life trying to help Asher cheat on last night's assignment.

• • •

"So, Gage," I start, resting my elbows on the table in the cafeteria as I turn out the other students. "When did you become the leader?"

"Of the chess club, you mean?" Gage says, giving me a pointed look.

"You're in a chess club?!" I blurt.

Gage sighs, slumping in his chair in the lunchroom and muttering, "Why do I even bother?"

"Color me confused, darling."

Gage's hazel eyes meet my own and he shakes his head.

"Nevermind," He says finally. "I've been the leader as long as we have been together. Asher and Darkon are too quiet to lead, Boaz is too lazy, Kolton is too busy with football and not exactly a thinker."

"But what about Nekoda or William?" I question, purely out of curiosity.

He gives me a half shrug.

"William doesn't like conflict. It can be a great quality. Until he is lying to each of us to keep us from fighting or hiding from a fight. Nekoda is busy and doesn't like people in general. By default, I am the leader."

"You're a good leader, though," I tell him.

Gage shrugs again.

"Honestly, I'd rather not lead. If rather be a mere strategist."

I laugh, "Well, you're doing a good job of leading them. And don't worry, I'll never steal your spot. My anger would be the death of this group. I'm sure you have to deal with lots of stupid problems."

Gage snorts, "Ya think?!"

I laugh and Gage goes on to tell me about how Kolton and Nekoda got into a weeklong prank war.

• • •

Exhausted, I don't even bother getting changed or even taking off my shoes before I collapse on my bed. I don't know why I am tired like this. I don't ever need sleep, but now, all I know is that I want to sleep. Right this instant. I don't even notice the way the broken springs dig into my back, I fall asleep so quickly.

But the darkness doesn't come.

No, instead comes light.

Pure blinding light and I find myself standing on a beach. The wind blows the smell of saltwater to me and I see a blue-gray ocean that stretches into the horizon. I fold my arms and huddle into myself as I try to keep warm. I've never been to the beach before, but I thought for sure that they were warm.

This is no sunny, golden beach, though. It is windy and cold with lots of wet and pale sand. The sky is cloudy and the entire thing is beautiful in a more harsh way than what I thought beaches were like,

"Here, Rage," A voice says from behind me. "Put this on."

I whirl around to see a girl holding out a large, black sweatshirt to me.

The girl has long brown hair that fades into the brightest shade of electric blue I have seen. She is wearing a long sleeved crop top and a pair of jean shorts. I wonder how on earth she is warm in that outfit. Her eyes are blue and stand out because of the blue in her hair.

"Who are you?" I demand. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"We don't have time for this," She snaps. "Come on. Put this on and listen to me."

Hesitating, the cold wins out and I snatch the sweatshirt and yank it on.

"Good," She says, nodding sharply. "My name is Scintillate. You, Rage, are in danger."

I roll my eyes and retort, "I'm always in danger. Hell, everyone is. There is no such thing as safe."

"True," She agrees. "But you are facing imminent danger that will put everyone you love in danger if you aren't careful, Rage."

"How do you know my name?" I ask, narrowing my gaze. She'd already said my name, but it registers this time that she isn't supposed to know it.

"Because the person who has me is coming for you," Scintillate answers finally, looking me dead in the eye.

"Coming for me?" I repeat, furrowing my brow in confusion. "Is it the police again?"

Her dark eyebrows shoot skyward and an amused smile spreads across her face. "No, more of the opposite. Although, that is an interesting piece of information."

"Shut up and tell me what's going on," I snap. "Are you trying to help or not, Scintillate?"

She growls, "Yes, now let me help. Someone is coming for you and they won't stop until they have you. Tell no one. The only way to make it through this is to flee."

"No," I reply instantly, ignoring the anger that flashes through her eyes. "I'm not leaving the only friends I've ever had."

Scintillate studies me before slowly nodding. "Fine. But this will only make it easier for her."

"Who?" I ask, fed up with the mystery.

Scintillate bites her lip and admits, "I don't know her name. None of us do."

"How many of you are there?" I question. "Who are you?"

"There are only two of us left. We are her prisoners."

The sinking in my stomach grows. "Does she have long red hair? And pale skin?"

Scintillate nods. "Tall and bony."

"With sharp and cold eyes," I finish, dread filling me.

"So she's already started?" Scintillate says, her dark eyes widening with fear.

"Started what?"

"Nevermind then," She decides, her eyes darting the watch on her wrist. "Look, we don't have much time. She's going to come for you next. Do not let her capture you. So many lives are riding on this. If you are captured, many will die. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, but I don't understand!" I exclaim, frustrated.

"Don't let her take you!" Scintillate roars before a blinding white light fills my entire vision.

I close my eyes and throw my hands up to protect them as the light grows and intensifies. Suddenly, the light is replaced by darkness.

I open my eyes and drop my hands to find myself lying in bed. Quickly, I sit up and look around. I am in my room again and it looks like nothing has changed. Climbing out of bed, I grab my backpack to pull my phone out. Checking, the time, I see that it is one in the morning. Somehow, that dream, that conversation, took four hours. It certainly didn't feel like that. More like fifteen minutes. I have a terrible perception of time, but not that bad.

Was it all a dream?

I rub my eyes.

No, that was no dream.

Opening my eyes again, I spot a card on my dresser. Hoping it is somehow from Scintillate, I open the thick, creamy envelope hastily. A card falls out and drops to the ground. I flip it over to reveal writing written in black ink.

"You're not safe. I can get to you anywhere, anytime. I will find you and you will not escape. ~M"

A wave of rage sweeps over me and I rip up the card angrily.

Once the card is shredded into tiny little pieces of paper that decorate the floor, I slump down to the floor and sit among the paper shreds. My anger is replaced by hesitancy.

Scintillate told me not to tell anyone, but I can't help but feel the need to tell the boys and warn them.

She said not to tell anyone or it would put my loved ones in danger. At first, I winced mentally, confident that all my loved ones are dead. But now, I realize that I do have loved ones. Seven boys who somehow managed to work their way into my black heart.

I can't do anything to put them in danger.

But by not telling them, isn't that putting them in danger?

An idea comes to me. If I were in a cartoon, a lightbulb would've just lit above my head.

I'm going to let the boys decide for me whether or not I tell them.

If Boaz were facing this, what would he do?

Boaz would roll over, groan, and fall back asleep. When he woke up, he wouldn't remember to tell anyone.

So that's a vote for keep it quiet.

If it were Kolton, we would all know about it by now.

Now it is tied, one to one.

If it were Darkon, he'd keep it quiet. Not only is he more reserved, but the other boys still don't know about Amadeus beating him.

Asher wouldn't tell the others either. Something about him makes me feel as if he is hiding something. If he can hide one thing, he can hide another.

Nekoda would probably tell the others. He'd be all quiet and icy at first, but he'd break quickly. That boy truly is not icy or cold. He is warm and kind, it's just hidden well.

That means three would keep this a secret, two would tell the others.

William wouldn't tell the others. William does all he can to keep the peace. He hates conflict and avoids it all costs. This is a huge conflict and the more people involved, the more conflict.

As for Gage, I honestly don't know what he would do. Who knows what goes on in that boys head. He's a genius; his mind works in ways I don't understand in the slightest.

But his vote wouldn't matter anyway. Four of the boys would keep this quiet.

That settles it.

Taking the moisture in the air, I allow the water to bead up on my skin and trickle down. It cools me down and is refreshing.

I sigh as the water evaporates. I have seven hours before school starts. Might as well get some training in. Quickly, I throw in a tank top and a pair of shorts.

Making my way to the punching bag, I roll my shoulders and bounce a bit on the balls of my feet before beginning to throw punches at the bag, working on bare knuckle fighting.

After a while of working on various combinations of hands, knees, elbows, and legs, I decide to call it good in that area. I wash my bloody fists and slip on a pair of shoes.

I head outside, locking the door behind me, and begin at a steady run.

Scenery passes by as I lose myself in the steady rhythm of the run.

• • •

I burst out of the woods and make a beeline for the house. The grass underfoot is dry and littered with rocks and weeds that dig into my feet as I fly through the field.

Come on, Rage! Faster! You're a teenager now! You only have five more years before your free! Don't let them win now!

I come to an abrupt stop at the back door. I slip inside silently. But my speed and silence do nothing to stop what is coming.

"Rage, what the hell do you think your doing?" Enrique demands, his caramel brown eyes flashing with hate, despite the forced calm in his voice.

"I-I just went for a run," I lie.

Normally, I am able to sell a lie perfectly. Years of practice and what I like to think of as a natural talent means that I have perfected the art of lying. As useful as it is, there are times that an hate it, though. Times when I wish that someone would just catch me lying.

"Don't fucking lie to me," He snaps. "You and I both know that you were trying to run away."

"No, I wasn't!" I burst out, my eyes wide.

I may not like this life, but I know that running would be the dumbest thing ever. They'd hunt me down and kill me. All these years, my looks have kept me alive. I look like Mother.

Sure, they can't stand looking at me for too long, but it also means that they can't hear killing me. Although, they did get quite close many, many times. I think the closest they ever got was when they had a bag over my head. Made them feel better about it, I guess.

"Stop lying!" Enrique roars. "You were trying to run away and I know it!"

"No! I wasn't," I shriek desperately. "That's not true!"

"Boys!" Enrique calls with a scary smile. "Rage needs to learn a lesson. A hard and important one."

He reached out a hand and tangles it into my hair before yanking me toward him. I stumble to the ground and let out a cry of pain as he drags me through the house by my hair.

• • •

Stumbling, I nearly fall over. I reach my hands out and manage to just barely balance myself on the side of a building.

Of all the fucking memories to come up... Of all the times...

Quickly, I evaporate the tears that are dropping from my cheeks. Was that memory so bad? No. But what happens after that? I can't imagine anything worse.

No, I can't let the boys suffer. I can't let them be hurt. I can't let them die.

And just like that, my decision not to tell them is cemented.

• • •

Don't forget to vote and share!

Especially you silent readers...

Also, Be sure to check out my other works! There's After, Mad, Ire, Sang Insane, and Ghost Bird. I also am writing Winter's Warrior which is co-written at the account GhostWritersJC.

I'm also planning on writing a new book when this one is finished. It'll be called Hue and the first chapter will be out at the end of December/beginning of January hopefully.

JadeQueen100