Chapter 12 - Into The Madness

Two moons cast dim illumination on the city resting on the land below.

Shadows danced in an abandoned ally as several hooded figures, both tall and short, shuffled toward a sizeable metallic building.

Sniff, sniff, "I want my mommy!" the whimpering voice of a young boy bounced off the walls of the ally as he suddenly stopped while bringing his hands to his face to wipe away the never-ending flow of tears that trailed down his tender, young face.

"Shut the fuck up, kid, you belong to us now; you're never seeing your mommy or daddy ever again. NONE of you will." A gruff male voice struck fear and anguish in all of the minds of the short figures as several began to shake and cry in their tiny voices.

One of the short figures even collapsed onto the ground sobbing, a sour smell emanating from a puddle formed below this child's body.

This action further angered one of the taller hooded figures, causing him to strike out at the kid with a solid kick.

CRACK

THUD

Two loud sounds bounced around the walls in the empty ally; as the body of the child who had collapsed several seconds ago flew several feet to the other side and crumbled onto the ground in a heap, never to move again.

"SHIT, we aren't supposed to kill them. Can't you reel in your strength the oldest kid here isn't over 7?" Again, one of the Hooded figures, this one with a white fang-like emblem on his Hood, spoke out frustratingly.

"Pft, it's not like they will live long anyway. So what's the use of keeping the annoying ones who piss themselves alive." The Hood, who had just murdered a child, spoke out in an annoyed tone without reacting to his actions. The man knew the perverted fetishes of his master and wasn't lying when he said none of the kids would last long.

This was the fifth group of kids they had kidnapped from the local suburbs and city in the last two months. Once their master had completed his sick fantasies and all the children were either emotionally broken or dead, he would demand more.

Young boys or girls between the ages of 4-8. This was their master's sick prerogative. They had long grown accustomed to the morbid and horrifying screams and noises that would come from the other side of the closed door leading to their master's bedroom.

To call him a monster was too tame. The man was seriously sick. But there was absolutely nothing the hooded man could do in this situation. He was simply a slave who must obey every command of his master.

With their group included, their master had a total of 12 hunting groups of three men, each with a specific code name, and each one had a standard level of 4, which for this city was relatively average.

The group of three hooded men forcefully ushered the group of six young children out of the ally and into a large building.

The room's interior was dimly lit- with just a simple look around the present room; one would notice how unkempt it was. Cobwebs and dust clung to every surface, giving the impression of a space that was either poorly cared for or rarely used.

The Hooded men led the children further and further into the house until they came upon a door. As they drew near, a very pungent smell began to waft through the noses of everyone present, even causing several of the children to start dry heaving, only to be kicked in the back by the adults leading them.

The man with the fang on his Hood opened the door, causing a foul stench to hit the children much in the way a wave of heat would after opening an oven door after being used.

Time seemed to stop as everyone's eyes and noses adjusted to the dimly lit building as well as the rancid smells.

"Down the stairs, NOW!" the child murderer in the back roared angrily, pushing one of the children forward towards the stairs, causing the rest to one by one file behind the first child.

Slowly everyone proceeded down a spiraling staircase that seemed to go on indefinitely.

Along the way, several kids would collapse due to exhaustion, only to be kicked down several steps by one of the Hooded men.

After a grueling 30 minute slog down hundreds of flights of stairs, everyone was out of breath and huddled at the bottom of the staircase.

"Keep moving," once again the violent men in Hoods urged, completely ignoring the cries and exhaustion of the young children before them.

Complying to the adult's commands, the children once again moved.

After several minutes the group of kids was halted, and the adults began separating the kids into pairs.

"I'm not leaving my little brother," a little boy voiced out against his captor. Even with the room's poor lighting, the sight of two young boys holding onto each other's hands was visible.

"I don't give a fuck what you want, you little shit, I SAID GO OVER THERE!" The violent man shouted in rage as he raised his hand and struck the taller of the two boys knocking him savagely to the ground.

While the boy was on the ground, he never let go of his brother's hand.

Slowly and with some effort, the boy stood back up and glared at the man who had just struck him.

This defiance made the man pause for a second before his rage boiled over, and he drew back to once again strike the kid but this time harder.

However, as he wound up his punch, the boy's Hood fell, revealing a head of shaggy dark purple and black hair. His piercing, emerald-blue eyes glared daggers into the man, causing him to pause.

"I recommend you don't try that again. If you do, I'll be done with this little game of ours," the emerald-blue-eyed boy said in a chilling tone.

The boy's words infuriated the man further, causing him to lash out towards the boy's head to rob him of his consciousness and possibly his life.

"You insufferable little brat, you think I won't kill you?" Once again, the man lashed out towards the kid. But this time, he only hit the air in the spot the boy was once standing.

"Wha…" the man tried to speak out his confusion, but before he could finish his sentence, something struck him with the force of a truck sending him flying into the closest wall.

The boy had not only dodged the attack from the man, but in a split-second showcase of speed, he jumped into the air and kicked the man striking him in the temple, instantly killing him.

Landing his two feet back on the ground, the boy sighed, causing a stunned and confused look to adorn the other two men.

"All that Oscar-worthy acting down the drain just because this piece of shit just haaaad to hit me," the boy said in dismay.

"What do you expect, Cynrik? With your attitude, I pretty much expected you to lose it the second we had to enter this shit-smelling area." The boy's younger brother replied while taking down his Hood, revealing his dark blueish purple hair and emerald-blue eyes.

"LISSSSTENNNN, I was for sure ok with that part; hell, I wasn't even going to retaliate after the first time he hit me, but I'll be damned if I was going to let the fucker unload a second attack directly on my noggin, Brance," the boy named Cynrik quipped back, turning to face his younger brother.

"Moron," Brance retorted.

"Asshole," Cynrik shot back.

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?" The man with the fang on his Hood screamed incredulously, causing the two bickering brothers to turn and face him in unison.

Both boys looked at each other, then at the remaining two kidnappers.

"Ah… forgot about them," Cynrik stated while embarrassingly scratching the back of his head.

"Eh, I didn't; they just weren't worth diverting my attention," Brance stated while pushing up his sleeves.

"True, they do seem a bit weak." Cynrik started moving towards the Fang Hood while Brance made his way toward the third man who hadn't spoken yet.

Both boys' eyes lit up with violet light as they activated their ocular skills.

"PFFFTHH HAHAHHAA, LEVEL 4 WITH ONLY 50 HP! That's so pitiful I almost feel bad killing him," Cynrik's sadistic laughter rang out as he broke into a sprint towards Fang Hood.

"This one's not any better. To be honest, we will be lucky to gain a hundred XP from them." Like his brother, Brance was now sprinting towards his target.

The two grown men stared incredulously at these boys who couldn't be older than 6 and 8, charging at them as if they were experienced Reavers. Their shock kept them rooted in place due to how ludicrous the situation was, rendering them unable to respond to the attack from the boys, which swiftly robbed them of their lives.

Cynrik knelt by the body of the hooded man and wiped the blood off his hand. Then, with one single swipe of their hands, the brothers slit the throats of both kidnappers for good measure.

Cynrik drooped his head and, using two fingers, closed the Fang Hood's eyes. "Requiescat in Pace," he said softly with his head lowered.

"Damn it, Cynrik; you're not a fucking Assassin cut that shit out." Brance had arrived next to Cynrik and smacked him on the back of the head.

"BITCH, I KNOW; I JUST WANTED TO SAY IT ONCE IN MY LIFE, GET OFF MY BACK." Then, rubbing his head and standing back up, Cynrik began bickering with his brother once again.

This bickering went on for a few more seconds before Brance finally yielded and looked towards the rest of the kidnapped children. "What now?"

Thinking for a second while looking between the kids and Brance, he formulated a plan.. But before that, we should probably go back to how this all started in the first place.