Dragons Chapter 1

He could barely breathe. The room was hermitically sealed so there was no air circulation save for his own breathing. He was held down by chains and straps he knew were there yet he could not see, darkness surrounded him. But he knew he was not alone. They were right outside the room, watching though the one-way glass. He could talk to them, scream at them if he wanted, but they'd never respond. Pleading was for nothing, crying was irrelevant, and begging was a waste of time. Whatever they were, the boy had long since concluded that there was no possible way they had a shred of sanity in them; nothing short of monsters, even if they were human. He moved his finger to make sure he still could, testing out the rest of his limbs to pass the time. The last time they came in, he was shocked with high voltage to test his endurance against electricity. He couldn't move for hours, but he was strangely grateful that all he experienced was pain and nothing drastically exotic. They drowned him once and never again could he stand the feeling of physical contact while even remotely near water. Elemental compatibility tests, they once called them. They must've been getting the answers they wanted, because the tests were never repeated; they moved right along, experiment after consecutive experiment until they wore him out. He was allowed a grace period to rest, then right back to work. For science.

Cowards.

He was still strapped to the long, cold table they forced him onto before the last trail and he felt an extreme sense of terror rush through him when he realized after moving his weight around that his position had been switched. Instead of lying on his back facing upwards, he was on his stomach with his back exposed. The electronic probes had been removed and his clothing had been cut apart along the line of his spine, leaving his upper body unprotected against the cold, chemically sterile smelling air. His memory was a blur, as it usually was, and his sense of time was all but distorted without outside forces to coordinate with; purposefully, no doubt, but it agonized him that he couldn't remember when the actual movement had taken place. The only probable opportune time to move him was directly after the shock test when he had briefly lost consciousness. That meant that something was coming and it was coming soon, because he wasn't allowed a reasonable time to rest.

They must be eager for results.

As if on cue, the door opened with a loud hiss, air locks depressurizing as the so-called "scientists of the greater good" walked towards him. Normally they had worn white coats and ID badges around their necks, likely critical for access to whatever kind of facility this was. The lights roared to life as power was brought back into the room and the boy's body tensed for what he saw next. Machines, medical tools, surgeon apparatuses and the like were scattered around his white room. What the hell? Then it clicked and it made sense. When he finally put two and two together, it threw him into a full-blown panic attack. He screamed incoherent pleas in blind desperation, throwing around his weight violently to escape his constraints, but hands from every direction descended upon him and held him into place. This wasn't his regular, routine cell block. This was an operating room. He'd been moved in his unconsciousness, and the surgery was about to begin. They must've brought in two teams, expecting resistance, because while the boy was giving them hell, the operating team donned their gloves and converged on him from all directions.

"Now, now, S-5, what happened to that brave disposition? This isn't like you at all."

From his current position, head turned to the right and held in place by an impossibly strong forearm pressed against him, the test subject could see him. The head honcho. Never got his name, or any of theirs for that matter; but for him, this piece of work, specifically, the teen settled for bastard. Meeting the white-haired psychopath's eyes in defiance, he took in a raspy, struggled breath before spitting at him angrily in contempt.

"My name is Theo."

The man only smirked in response, absolutely relishing the slight, flickering fear and vulnerability that momentarily flashed in his eyes. This man was incredibly observant and there was only so much the boy could do by putting on a false face, especially now; when the bastard was in his element while he was strapped to a table near nakedness.

"Well then, Theo. I want you to know that I appreciate your willing cooperation in this operation. It'll be quite the revolution, I assure you." He brought a strange, gray sphere into S-5's field of vision, taunting him, "You're going to be something special."

"Fuck off," He spat venomously, shivering as his spine was caressed and wiped down with wet pad that smelled of rubbing alcohol. "Are you going to tell my fortune with that crystal ball?"

Instead of answering Theo's dangerously risky banter directly, the bastard simply hummed in contemplation, or perhaps agreement, before jamming a long syringe into the nape of his neck. S-5 whimpered involuntarily, disgusted by the noise he made while fighting against the forces that held him in place, and the bastard reveled in hearing the sound. This didn't go unnoticed, and Theo fought to retain his dignity while he slowly lost his strength from the paralytic agent. "Nasty fuck, you get off to this shit, don't you?"

The white-haired man only smiled smugly, placing the cold, spherical object on the base of his subject's spine and rolling it around to get a good feel of where to put it while the medical team prepared themselves.

"Begin the incision."

Words couldn't come close to explaining the sensation that Theo a split-second later; his voice failed him. All he could do was scream until unconsciousness finally took him.

Theo woke up screaming. He shot upright from the bed in a cold sweat, throwing off the bed sheets that unwittingly held him down. This nightmare was always so real and vivid that it was hard to tell whether it was just a dream or if the monster had found him and he was reliving that hell all over again. Even when the scene ended and the memories faded away, the pain awakened at the base of his spine remained. Raging like fire, it spread down his legs and burned through his body as it radiated. Theo shoved his face into his hands as a dry sob racked his body, followed by a gag as he suppressed the urge to vomit; both from the agony blazing from his back, and the unpleasant experience he just recalled. It took him several minutes for the residual emotions to leave him and even longer for his body to realize it and stop trembling. He sighed, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in, before leaning his head against the pillow again and looking up to the stained ceiling.

He's not here, He thought. I'm safe, for now, as long as I pull my weight and play the part. He could say that all he wanted, believe it, even, but that bastard was so disgustingly terrifying that simply thinking about him at all completely ruined all his resolve to go back to sleep.

"Tch," the pain radiated upwards as Theo sat back up and got out of bed, stripping the mattress of the damp, sweat filled sheets. He balled them up and threw them in the corner; the cleaners would come and take care of it later. Theo made a mental note to make sure to be gone before they made their way up in the morning, but the thought was dismissed when he watched the sun rise and realized how late it was already. The light from the windows stung his eyes; meaning that even though he had slept the entire night away, all of it was spent in restless torture. And that he would have to leave sooner than he thought if he didn't want to be spotted. He sighed slightly as he made his way to the bathroom. God, a shower would be perfect right now. Damned phantom pain. His phone went off just before he could make his way there and he picked it up slowly. It was the cheapest phone he could straight up buy from one of the stands downtown, and it only served one purpose.

J:

Got a job. Get your ass here ASAP.

His brows came together, frowning heavily before replying with carefully chosen words.

I met the quota last week? Thought I was off the rest of the month.

The response was instantaneous.

J:

Shit happens, kid. Consider your quota increased until further notice. Not gonna repeat myself.

"Fuck me, man." Theo threw a hand up in exasperation before running it through his hair, cursing his current circumstances; but completely unwilling to risk the consequences of refusal. Pull your weight and play the part, he reminded himself. Lately, that's become the mantra of his life.

The momentary lack of response must've been taken as a form of submission, or maybe he just knew that Theo didn't have a choice and wanted to kick him while he was down, because another text came in shortly after.

J:

Good boy. Be here by 11.

It was nearly 9.

Theo threw the burner phone on the bed, hissing some choice words in a rare fit of temper before disappearing into the bathroom for a much-needed shower.

The ache had dulled down considerably once he got out and, eventually, the phantom pain showed signs of leaving him completely. Thank god, he thought, relieved that the last stinging reminder of those moments in his past finally faded away. Eventually, it would come to haunt him again, but for now those demons had been put to rest. Leaving the bathroom and not even bothering to wrap the towel around his lower half, Theo stood in front of the narrow, body length mirror and took in what he saw. I look like hell. And he did, sort of. His eyes were red as hell and had slightly darker shades beneath them, his lack of sleep physically apparent and taking his toll; easily remedied if he could only get a good night's rest. He noticed how his body didn't quite fit within the slim mirror due to his height, but he was used to that by now with most mirrors. Light caramel skin seemed to glow under the lighting, his muscular frame hardly exaggerated, but was well defined and slim. From a distance, he would appear to be an athletic, normal twenty-year-old; the unsuspecting soul would never consider his involvement in what could only be described as the Underground. And there were three things that never made it far there. The fools, the fat, and the stupidly ugly. Good thing he was none of those things.

He didn't get the chance to laugh at his own joke, because what happened next came so fast that even he had to guess what had occurred. Apparently, he must've forgotten to put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door handle, either that, or the poor woman hadn't bothered to notice, because after two quick raps on the cheap door that went by way too fast, the housekeeper barged in with barely any notice.

"Hey!" Theo moved before he could think of anything better, thrusting his hand outwards towards the door as he raced to stop the intrusion before he was seen. But instead of physically stopping the door, he was horrified to feel power unwittingly leave him, almost instantly overpowering the woman, and slamming the door shut; throwing her into the hallway with a brutal gust of wind. Theo heard the sickening thud outside, and threw on his jogging pants in a panicked rush.

"Ay!" He heard a voice cry out, masked in pain.

He swung the door open much quicker than he meant, causing the downed woman to flinch in fear. "I am so sorry!" He moved his hands towards her, taking note of her current position. The middle-aged Hispanic woman had been shoved into the wall opposite of his hotel room door, brutally slamming her into the sheetrock and leaving a nasty imprint. She stayed planted on her behind, leaning to the left in obvious pain from her back. Guilt twisted Theo's face. I know how that feels. He crouched down, arms out and palms still facing her to show he meant no further harm.

"I was right by the door and you bumped into me." He lied smooth as silk, an acquired skill; genuine concern emulating sincerity. "I didn't know who you were."

The woman eyed the shirtless male in front of her as other hotel guests began to stick their heads out of their own rooms to see what had caused the commotion; which was exactly what Theo didn't want to happen. Someone gasped, pointing to the tribal-esque tattoo that covered his right rib cage and etched over his pectoral. And they could soon see was how it covered the curve of his shoulder and descended from his upper back on that side. It was his mark, the only one he wouldn't change, but he knew how incriminating it seemed to the ignorant. He cursed to himself for being so eager to make sure this woman was alright before prioritizing clothing himself. That's when the clamor started, and with senses Theo didn't yet understand, he could hear the tell-tale sound of 911 being dialed down the hall. This scene was about to get him screwed over by the cops and that was something he didn't need.

I fucked up.

"Ah, it's alright, young man." She replied, and he stared at her in shock for a second too long and her eyes flashed with the unsaid words he could only interpet as: Play along. Play the part. And he did, straightening his face from pure surprise to naïve remorse. "You didn't mean it. I must've missed the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, ha… Damn my eyesight."

While he desperately held on to his false face, Theo was completely taken aback at how she completely turned the tables and played damage control. He knew what he looked like. Like some drug addict or mentally unstable freak… or worse, a gang member. Technically, the last one was the closest to the truth to an extent, but this humble woman looked past that; meanwhile, her guests hesitated on whether or not to call the police. She reached out to him and he pulled her up without hesitation. For a split second, she faltered, wincing from her back, but she didn't let it show; instead she dusted herself off and patted Theo reassuringly on the back, pulling him close. "You should leave before they come for you." But she said it so quietly that he barely heard her. He wasn't sure if she meant the police or something else, but he smiled politely as she walked back to the floor elevator with her cart. Leaving him alone, aside from the concerned, nosy patrons and the hole in the wall.

Rosa Santiago knew full well that sign wasn't on the door when she came to it, but when she looked into the eyes of that boy, she knew that he wasn't what he seemed to be. In this part of the city, large body tattoos such as those weren't just for show, they were a claim for something darker; something that shouldn't see the light of day. And yet, there he was…looking at her with those gray eyes wide with worry, his face twisted with panic. In hindsight, maybe it was a foolish decision to let him off the hook this once. But she had children of her own, raised them herself, and knew how to look through a façade. She saw him, the real him. The hotel's patrons saw a marked man, dangerous and a threat to those that lived above the Underworld; above the hell that lay beneath them where men rove the streets like animals to thrive in blood and power. Rosa saw right through that face. And were they saw a claimed gangbanger, she saw the boy he was, a victim of circumstance. A mother's intuition was almost never wrong.

"Rosa!" Her manager yelled after her as she headed to the kitchen, making a plate of the varied foods. Not for herself, but for the boy that struggled. He was so thin. He needed to eat more. "Are you alright? The Police will be here any minute to –" Then she ran, ignoring the man, not even stopping when her back protested in fury as she huffed up the stairs when the elevator was busy. She didn't stop until she came to his door and her eyes found the hole in the wall she had been shoved through. For a second, there was hesitation, then there was none; vanished as quickly as it came. She knocked on the door softly this time. Before, she was so absorbed into her routine that he hadn't stopped to think there may have been someone in the room. She should've checked just to make sure, regardless of whether the sign was posted or not. But there wasn't much time to dwell on it now, not much time at all. The police were already pulling into the parking lot and she hurriedly wrapped the plate of food for him in a wrap to take on the go. She was about to knock on the door once more, harder this time, but there was no need. The door creaked open on its own like it was never fully shut.

"Hello, boy?" She called out for him softly without knowing his name, announcing her presence as she pushed through the opening and into the room without fear. "You must leave now. The authorities, they are –" Her mouth hung open, shock interrupting her words. The window was open. The room spotless. He was gone. But how on earth had he gotten away? This room was on the fifth floor… There was a long silence then and Rosa wasn't sure how to feel about this. Was her intuition wrong? Had she judged too quickly? A slight movement caught she eye, and the moved towards it without a second thought. It was an envelope written with what must've been his handwriting.

'Thank you.'

She opened the envelope and expected to see a note or something else written out for her; something to explain the situation. She had many questions she wanted to ask and she hoped this would answer at least some, but what fell out of the paper made her drop everything she had been carrying all at once and she fell to the floor in a heap. Several large currency bills lay on the floor, enough so to last her months if she budgeted correctly. Rosa, too shocked to comprehend the reasoning behind this massive gift to her, could do little but gape, tears streaming down her face as the weight of the action hit her. Newfound appreciation swelled up within her as another note fell on the carpeted floors. Her eyes caught one last message from the boy she didn't know.

'A tip for your kindness… But what you did? That was worth way more than a few grand.

Take care of yourself.'

At that moment, even while up in age, her life changed for the better and she vowed to never again judge a book by its cover; to see a person from the exterior and impose her assumptions onto them.

Time was running out. She took the note and the money and rushed out of the room. She jumped into the elevator just before the police burst into the hallway from the stairwell. Just by the skin of her teeth…she made it. The door closed seconds later and the metal machine whirred away, but Rosa couldn't be bothered by it as she once was. Right now all she could so was clasp her hands together in a silent plead.

This boy…deserves second chance at a better life. God, I pray that you give it to him.

Theo kept to the less populated side of town as he walked towards his destination. While he didn't feel good about the situation, he did feel a certain peace once he left the hotel. He hoped that what he had done would be enough for the first woman since getting out from that hell that had seen him for what he was and given him the benefit of the doubt regardless. The rush from the hotel left him winded and exhausted. Right now, he was wishing that instead of answering Jon's demands, he just ignored the text entirely. He had never tried it before, though. Jon was a brutal and hardheaded man; definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was perceptive enough and a fucking powerhouse in a fight... If he even caught wind of an untruth… I'd be out on the street in a heartbeat. The boy shook his head, mulling over his current situation as he pulled out the Capital One credit card he used last night. Assuming I was still alive. He read the name at the bottom of the card: Thomas Malone. Whoever he was, Theo had him to thank for his comfortable stay.He muttered a silent apology, sighing in a mix of regret and disappointment in himself, before discarding the card in the nearest trash bin. This was his life now. Swiping cash and credit cards for the guild, giving the head his due as promised, to support himself. While it wasn't one of the best circumstances to be in, he couldn't afford to lose it. For a split second, his back reminded him as to why in the form of a strong itch right over the scar on his back; right where they put that thing… What wouldn't he do to never see that man again? The bastard that mutilated him while he was fully conscious. When the whole gig came crashing down and the federal government seized the site, he escaped in the chaos like the traumatized child he was back then. He wished he could've slipped away unnoticed, but he was the monster's favorite plaything and he knew he would be missed.

S-5. He would never forget that name.

It's been three years since that day and Theo made it his business to be informed whenever anything credible came out about that organization. Rumors spread around afterwards that the government actually wasn't the ones that did the raid; but rather a certain guild did, which was a shock in itself. Guilds were generally illegal all over the world… and yet somehow this particular one declared all-out war on this group and completely obliterated them? And the federal government just happened to be on site for the cleanup? Hell no. There was much more to that story that the powers that be were telling. Theo would never admit it to anyone, but upon meditating on these facts, they made him very cautious and nervous about this world he lived in. There were multiple organizations, firstly; maybe even like the one he was trapped in…or worse. And secondly, some of them were either protected by the government, or ignored by them completely. Which had to have meant that they knew about this particular group and what was going on there but chose inaction. Theo ran a hand through his hair nervously, the thought fraying his already worked nerves. There was a lot he didn't know, even about himself.

After that experimentation, more specifically, the surgery performed on him, Theo came to realize he had…abilities. And while he had mostly learned to use these powers when he needed them, every so often he would overestimate or, like in the hotel, let out power without meaning to at all. It was a blessing and a curse; making him desirable and able to support himself, but it also left him vulnerable to spectacles like what had happened recently. It forced him to have to live outside of the system and make his rare 'business' dealings under the table, undocumented. If he overextended or got overconfident, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be noticed and taken again for who knows what. Eventually, he asked the wrong questions and stumbled upon the wrong people. A so-called 'Dark Guild'. Underground. A small gang, really, for those that were...mystically inclined, so they claimed. What they really were, were small-time thugs with items of low-power or dumb magics with a god complex. And while he wanted nothing to do with what they were doing, he also needed to keep a low profile. So, a deal was struck and a set demand was made. Every month, Theo made sure to pay up early so he could leave for the remainder of the period. It's been like this for months now. For a while, all he did was small jobs: breaking into cars, pickpocketing, and the like. In front of the guild, he made an effort to scale down his power over…wind? But that didn't last long. In a drunken stupor, an idiot hyped on booze and testosterone tried to maim one of the more promiscuous girls that turned him down in the guild. Theo moved before he knew what he was doing, like he usually does, and thoroughly exposed himself as competent in front of the head of Underground. He's been fucked up ever since, with Jon doing then what he did today: Making demands out of the blue and assigning him to more morally controversial tasks. One that required more of a powerhouse instead of one of his dumb dogs; lots of bark and barely any bite.

Theo stopped his walk just in front of a pub in the more undesirable part of downtown, nestled between overdeveloped boroughs, hidden by skyscrapers. Here the police didn't bother to show up when something went down. They weren't stupid. Outgunned and outmuscled, they seemed to value their own lives more than those that actually had the displeasure of living in what was accurately dubbed, Ground Zero. Not like he could blame them. He wouldn't step one foot in this hellhole if he had the choice either. No one would. Funnily enough, though, as a rule of thumb, the closer you got to this unholy block, the humbler the people became. They knew struggle and fear. The higher you went, the more arrogant they got. Theo thought about it on his way here. He wondered if Rosa lived near here too. Maybe that's why she saw him the way she did, not as part of the problem that had to be purged, but as a person. One with a fucked up past and that has made a lot of mistakes, both of his own volition and not. Silence followed as he put on his false face, finishing the thought, before steeling himself mentally and approaching the door. Two men dressed in tattered, rough leather and black barred the door; clothes so ripped they barely concealed their muscular physique. He'll have time to think about his life decisions later.

"Heh," One chuckled, "He finally shows up."

"Better get your ass inside before the boss blows a fuse, kid. Been waiting for ya' since morning." The other said smugly, elbowing the grunt beside him. "Look at his face, Brian. He looks dead inside. Bet he's hungover. What a fucking lightweight."

Brian responded in kind, smirking while eyeing the male before them up and down. "Was probably with that whore again, bro. Knocked her up last night did ya, eh? Hell, did you like our sloppy seconds?" They both keeled over in a savage laughing fit while cold, gray eyes took in the scene. Theo usually wasn't one for being passive aggressive, but he didn't seem content to walk away without opening his mouth and calmly churned out a venomous reply.

He didn't just throw shade. He threw the whole damn tree.

"Our? I figured you two fucked each other. Damn, I was so sure I heard Dominic liked to take it up the ass." The 20-year-old shrugged as he pushed past them, deceptively serene, and he noticed they shut up almost immediately; but he kept going to rub it in. "Must've misheard. Nice getup, by the way. Almost like you ripped it up yourselves."

"The fuck did you –"

He heard two, heavy footprints approach him from behind and for the first time all day, Theo genuinely smiled.

Author's Note:

Wow, that ended up being a lot easier than I thought. LOL. Let me give you guys a little history into this fanfic. I had a dream about this story nearly 5 years ago and it stuck with me so much that I decided to write the story. The main character name a different name and magic, but was overall the same plot. But my English was meh back then since I hadn't fully acclimated to the United States yet, so I considered my writing to be decent at best… trash at worst. When I had to back to school, after a lot of protests, I still decided to take the story down and delete the account. I wasn't going to come back to writing again, but here I am 5 years later. I woke up one night almost a week ago after I had the dream AGAIN. This time, with my English much better than before, I promised I would at least start writing some sort of chapter for this story that obviously wanted to be told LOL. And here it is. I'm glad I was able to crank out this chapter, despite some inhibition about my ideas. I was also extremely grateful to my amazing editor and friend, Jude Morgenstern. When I got the idea to write again, I immediately reached out to them and they've been a tremendous help. I suggest you go check out their profile because those stories are what dreams are made of. Wink wonk. Okay, that's enough for now. If you made it to the end of this Author's Note, thanks for sticking out with me until the end. I hope I can write for you guys more.

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