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POV: Mike
I was a small child… so young that I didn't know who my parents were, or even who I was. An old man raised me, and even though he was sick, he took care of me the best he could. But when I turned seven… he died.
I didn't understand what death was. I didn't understand anything about what was happening. I didn't even know what I was supposed to do with his body. I just left him there… and cried for days, unable to approach him, unable to face reality. Even after his body started to decay… I still couldn't comprehend that he was gone. In the end, I left the place. I left the body of the only man I ever dared to call family.
I wandered for days, hunger eating away at me until I could barely see the road. I searched through trash, sometimes finding something edible… sometimes getting poisoned or throwing up.
And then one day, when despair had nearly swallowed me, I passed by a bakery. I saw the baker and his wife running while carrying a child and crying. I didn't care much… but the bakery was empty. I didn't want to steal—but hunger and hopelessness broke my will. I went in, grabbed everything I could carry, and ran until my legs collapsed. I returned to an abandoned building I had been living in. It was old and basically condemned, likely to be demolished soon for safety reasons… but it was my shelter. I couldn't bring myself to return to the old man's house.
I lived by eating whatever I could find… stealing when I had no choice. And one day, someone tried to kidnap me. I cried and screamed, but no one came. I fought back. In desperation, I bit the kidnapper's hand. He didn't care at first, but when I kept biting harder, he started screaming and beating me—stepping on me—doing everything he could to break a child's spirit.
Then I heard shouting. Three men were running toward us. The kidnapper panicked and tried to escape, but the men caught him.
As for me… they took me to the hospital. They were kind—even paying the bill for me. When I woke up, they handed me a bag with medicine and told me I could leave. They let me shower and gave me new clothes. After that, I tried to find work… but who would hire a child under ten? So I returned to surviving the only way I knew.
Then he appeared.
A strange-looking man with a large scar across his face. Scary… but he approached me calmly and offered me food and a home—on the condition that I join them. I accepted. I was desperate, exhausted… and I thought this was a gift from the heavens.
But I was wrong.
I went with him. They trained me, shaped me. And at thirteen… the man ordered me to kill.
I was shocked. Me? A kid who could barely lift heavy weights? But he said it was a "simple mission": a corrupt man who murdered families and sold their children. I believed him… even though I hesitated.
We arrived. Five members came with me. They said, "We'll distract him. You kill him."
I nodded… agreeing.
The man was drunk, unguarded. They beat him until he fell helpless. Someone handed me a knife, gave me gloves, and told me:
"Do it. If you don't… the boss will be disappointed in you."
And "disappointed" meant death.
So I did it.
With shaky hands, rapid breaths, a pounding heart… I stabbed him. He writhed in pain, his mouth gagged so he couldn't scream. And I… kept stabbing until he died.
Applause sounded behind me.
"Congratulations. You're part of the family now."
I felt happy… and a sickening taste rose in my mouth. I wanted to vomit. But I held it in. After that, all my missions were like this. They taught me writing, reading, wrestling, weapons… everything. Later, I discovered that half the gang members were soldiers or commanders who had been unfairly discharged.
I didn't care. They trained me well… but I never trusted them. I knew they would dispose of me at the slightest mistake. So I prepared a plan—every week I planted explosives somewhere in the base. It took me over a year to rig the entire abandoned factory we used as headquarters.
Then one day… the boss summoned me.
He ordered me to kill a man and his little daughter.
I froze. "A child? You want me to kill a child?"
They said she wasn't his real daughter, that he had killed her parents, that he was corrupt. And they told me I needed to kill the girl because she would see my face, remember it, and cause trouble in the future.
I agreed… outwardly.
But I investigated the man myself. And the more I searched, the more I found nothing. He was good—too good. Suspiciously good. No crimes, no dirt, nothing. In fact, I learned that corrupt businessmen wanted him dead because he refused their offers.
On the mission night… I saved him instead. I saved him and his daughter. I killed all the members who were sent with me. When I made sure he was safe, the man stopped and thanked me. He offered me a job. I refused. Still, he insisted and gave me a card:
"Think about it. The pay is good."
Then he ran with his daughter. The little girl waved at me… and I smiled.
That night, I returned to the base in secret. I was above the meeting hall. All members were gathered; the boss was shouting, ordering them to prepare to hunt me down.
When I confirmed that everyone was in the same place… I went behind the factory to the buried box where I had hidden the detonator. I moved far back… pressed the button.
And everything ended.
I watched the flames consume the factory. The operation vehicles exploded. I knew… they were all gone.
But even then… I didn't feel relief.
I pulled out the card the man had given me and whispered:
"Maybe… I know where to go."
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Arthur was asleep. Then he woke up to a flood of notifications inside his head. He had been dreaming… but the dream slipped away the moment he opened his eyes.
A notification appeared:
Ding
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