Insanity Prologue, Chapter1 and Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Prologue

"Eeekkkkkkkkk!"

My mother screamed as she saw my father's head hit the ground. I wanted to scream as well, but my older brother firmly held his hand over my mouth so I wouldn't make a peep. A tear rolled down my eyes as I saw my mother get pushed down to the ground through the crack in the closet door.

They ripped off her clothes as she struggled for her life. They laughed at her at debated which one of them should go first. I didn't want to watch this, but I was afraid. I was afraid that if I closed my eyes they might come after me and my brother next.

In a last attempt of desperation, my mother bit off her own tongue! She refused to be their plaything. Once she did they smashed her head in with their boots and began ransacking the house.

"Dirty bitch!" the one with a scar on his lip yelled as he kicked my mother in her stomach. "Who gives a damn if you kill yourself, you could have at least waited for us to have some fun first!"

"Calm down Edric," said the man with blond hair. "There are many more women out there. And may I say that they are all much more appetizing."

"Or if you swing both ways you could still have a chance," said the one with a deranged look in his eyes. "Lookie here!" he said as he showed them our family picture. "Two young ones ripe for the picking."

The man licked his lips sadistically as he looked at the picture. "I'm pretty sure that the boss won't mind us having our way with them!"

"Ugh, only a rat brain like yourself would take pleasure at assaulting children," said the last man. He was twice as big as everyone else, and much more intimating. It was clear that he was the leader.

"Search the house. If they're here we'll find them. Though if any of you harm them you'll be punished accordingly. The boss has plans for these kids."

As the men searched the house I knew that it was only a matter of time before they found me and my brother. More tears flowed out from my eyes as I felt my brother's arms start to tremble. He couldn't protect us from what was going to happen, and he knew it.

"It's going to be alright," my brother whispered to me. "I promise I won't let them take you."

I knew that his words were nothing more than lies, but I wanted to believe them. I wanted to believe that we would be alright.

THUD!

"Lookie what I found!" yelled the deranged-looking man as he ripped open the door to the closet. "Two little rats trying to hide!"

"Let us go!" my brother yelled as he grabbed the both of us, and dragged us out of the closet in front of the other men. They looked at us like we were nothing more than ants to be stepped on.

"You bastards!" My brother tried to attack them, but with a single punch from the leader of the group he was knocked down to the ground unconscious with a bloody nose!

All I could do was cry in fear as they laughed. There was nothing that I could do. I was powerless, like always I was powerless!

"Shut up you brat!" the leader of the group yelled at me as he yanked me up to my feet by my hair! "You and your brother have to pay for what dear mommy and daddy did. Don't take it personally it's just-"

Out of nowhere, the man let go of my hair as he was sent crashing into the ground! As I looked up I saw him. I couldn't see his face properly, but it was one I knew all too well.

"Stay away from these kids!" he shouted as he began to attack the other men. One by one they went down, unable to fight back. Once they were all taken care of the man picked me up in his arms, and looked at me with a gentle smile across his face.

"It's alright," he said as he wiped away my tears. "It's alright."

That was the only thing that he said to me as he picked up my brother, and carried us away. In his embrace, I felt safe. I did not know what was going to happen next, I just hope that when I opened my eyes again I would once again be with my brother.

Chapter 1

"Come on Cal, wake up," I said as I gave Cal a giant nudge in the arm. "It's time to wake up already, the others are waiting."

"Ugh, five more minutes," Cal groaned, refusing to wake up.

"Fine, you made me do this!" I yanked the blanket right off the bed causing Cal to fall to the ground.

"Hey! What the heck was that for!" "Stop complaining and get dressed. The others have been waiting for the past ten minutes. I swear if I wasn't here you would sleep until the afternoon." "Fine just give me five minutes to get ready," Cal said as he got up and went behind the closet door.

"You've been doing the same routine for the past three years and you still aren't used to it." "I dare you to try and do it every single day!" Cal said from behind the door.

About five minutes later Cal walked out. Just like me he was dressed in rags, and his hair was cut short while his face was still dirty and covered in starches, but we did the best with the water we had. For the past three years we've had to endure living like this. I'm already thirteen, but Cal was only eight. This was not the type of environment that I wanted him to live in.

"Okay, let's go," Cal said as we walked out of our room and into to slum we call a kitchen where two of my closet friends/allies were wanting.

"Took you guys long enough," said Jessica, the sixteen-year-old red-haired girl munching on an apple. "How long does it take for that kid to change?"

"Longer than it has to," said Malik, as he messed with his curly brown hair. "Why should we even bring this kid along in the first place? He'll only slow us down."

"Because I say so!" I said as I got up in his face. "Cal needs to learn what it takes to survive in this world, and you know it. Or did you forget what Xavier taught us?"

"Yeah, I know, family sticks together. Jeez, you don't have to say that every single time. You're the only one related to the little bastard in the first place, so why should I even consider him family?"

"Can the both of you stop fighting for once, so we can get going?" Jessica didn't look pleased, but that was nothing new. "Come on Cal, let's go outside so these boys can finish this stupid argument."

As Jessica led Cal out of the room, Malik just stared at me with anger in his eyes. "Don't bring the kid," he said firmly. "That kid is a screw-up and you know it. Anytime we get involved with that kid something always goes wrong."

"He's my brother." "And what I am? What is Jessica? We've done more for you than that kid, yet you still insist on babying them." "He's only eight!"

"And you were ten when you got here, and you were far more competent than him and he's had three years to learn the ropes. I'm saying this as your friend and brother, don't bring the kid."

"Cal is coming, that's final. If he messes up then put the blame on me. I'll make sure to take responsibility for him." "You better!"

Malik pushed past me and walked out to where the other were and I soon followed after him. When I got outside I was met with a foul smell. Here in the slums that smell was common. Though it didn't make the first whiff smell any less worse.

"Good, now that the both of you have finished your pointless conversation let's go," said Jessica. "If we don't hurry we'll miss our train."

"And where pry tell did you get the tickets for this train?" I asked as we began walking towards the tracks. I made sure to keep an eye out just in case we were being watched, but there was still the chance that there could have been someone that I couldn't see with the naked eye.

"Who said anything about tickets?" she said as she looked back at me. "Wait you don't have tickets?" Malik asked with a shocked expression across his face. "How do you expect us to get on the train without tickets?"

"Easy, let's just say that my informant found us the perfect chance to board the train without anyone noticing." Jessica looked back at us with a conceited smile, and I instantly knew who the informant she was talking about.

"It's Fidge, isn't it?"

"Of course it's Fidge. He's the only one that is able to give us reliable information. Just trust me, he knows what he's doing." "Yeah, of course, he does. Last time we trusted his information we were almost caught by the imperial guard."

"That wasn't his fault. No one could have expected that would have such a security system for one messily painting. You have to let it go already; it's already been a month."

"I'll let it go if this job doesn't turn out like the last one." "Whatever you say oh fearless leader, now let's get going, it looks like our train has just arrived."

Chapter 2

"So where's this perfect chance you were talking about?" I asked as more people began to board the train.

Sneaking on now would be borderline suicide. There were five imperial guards standing guard right at the entrance of each cabin. There was no way that we could get by, and the train was about to leave.

"Patience Mal," said Jessica as she looked around the area. "He should be here any minute now."

"Who should be here?" I asked backed. If we didn't move now, all the weeks of planning would go down the drain. This plan had to succeed. I have to prove to Xavier that I can handle this.

"Him," said Jessica as she pointed over to where an older man was pushing a crate of what looked like carnivorous doxem! They were a breed of dog that should have been outlawed in the slums. One bite from them and you would fall into a three-month coma, that is to say, if you actually manage to get away from them.

"There has to be at least four in that crate alone. What is that man doing with those things?" Malik asked as he looked directly at the crate.

'Who knows," said Jessica. "Fidge didn't specify why these things would be here today, but don't you think that they make a decent distraction? With them running wild we'll easily be able to sneak on without the guards noticing."

"Jess, that's insane!" I said while using her nickname. "If we let those this lose they might attack us."

"It'll be fine. The imperial guard trains these dogs for the higher levels. They should be able to capture them before they do any real harm."

"Jess I don't think that this is a good idea, we should-" "Too late," she said as she pulled out her small steam-powered pistol, and shot the lock of the cage!

Seconds later the cage burst open, and the dogs came running out! The first person they attack was the man pushing the crate and then they went after those that have yet to even board the train!

"Let's go!" she yelled as she grabbed Cal's hand and began to run towards the train, dragging him along! The smile across her face sickened me as I looked at her.

For the past three years we've known each other she's always been like this. Always making these rash actions and expecting that they'll turn out fine in the end. I hated that about her, but at the same time, I was jealous that she was always so sure of herself.

"Come on hurry up!" yelled Malik as he jumped on the train right before it started moving. I picked up my pace and up onboard at the last second. Once I was on I looked back to see that the guards had subdued the dogs and already had them loaded back in their crate. Say what you want about the imperials, at least they're efficient.

I walked inside where the others had already begun to make their way to the last cabin. Usually, no one was in that cabin as it was mainly used to store supplies and equipment. No one would come for us in here.

"Well, that worked out better than I had hoped," Jess said as she said down on the nearest crate. Cal sat beside her while Malik and I stood up.

"Jess you have to stop pulling stuff like that," I said to her. "Why? No one got hurt." "That old man would say otherwise!"

"Mal, who cares? We didn't know him, so I say that there's no problem. Malik and I have been doing this longer than you, so we know when to sacrifice a few people that get in our way."

'Face the facts Mal, those people would have done the same to us if we were in their shoes. Crying about it now isn't going to help anyone. Hell, look at Cal, he hasn't said a peep since we left. I doubt that he cares."

"I guess that's one thing that he has over you. He knows when to leave well enough alone." "Um, no," Cal said softly. "I don't like hurting other people."

"Ugh! What a waste," said Jessica. "Useless sentimentality is worthless for us. We live in the slums because the people up top don't care about people like us! The only way that people like us make it out of the slums is by throwing away those emotions."

"Mal you've been working with us for three years, it's about time that you learn that caring for random strangers won't help us. We can only depend on each other."

"You're right," I said back to her. "But I won't harm anyone unless I have to." "Trust me you'll learn, sooner rather than later that I'm right."

With that, we spent the rest of the ride in silence. I knew that she was right and that my way of doing things wouldn't work, but I couldn't admit it. If I did I doubt I would be able to look Cal in the face again if I did.

Our parents taught us to be kind to others and those teachings are what helped me survive. I didn't mind if I had to become a bad person to survive, but I didn't want that for Cal. I want to make sure that he doesn't have to become corrupted like me to survive. I want to make sure that he remains who he is as long as possible.

As the train came to a halt we made our way out of the cabin, but we stopped as soon as we saw an imperial guard walking towards us. Instantly Jessica, Malik, and I hide, but Cal was too slow, and the guard spotted him!

"You! Stay right there!" said the guard as he made his way toward Cal. I wanted to try and pull Cal towards me, but if I did then I would get the rest of us caught.

"What are you doing here?" The guard asked as he knelt down towards Cal. "Where is your mother or father? There is no way that you could have gotten onto this train without one."

"I...uh.... I'm alone," Call said softly. It looked like he was afraid if he angered the guard he would be hurt.

"Don't mess with me kid, where are your parents? Or do you mean to tell me that you snuck on this train without a ticket?" The tone of the guard became dark.

I looked over and saw Malik shaking his head. It was clear that he was telling me not to interfere, but if I didn't then something bad could happen to him and I refuse to let that happen. I jumped out from my hiding spot and talked the guard to the ground.

The helmet that covered their face fell off as they hit the ground to reveal that the guard was a girl no older than Jessica. I was mesmerized by her beauty for a second before I regained my bearings.

"Let's go!" I yelled as I jump off her and ran for the exit with the others following after me. "Get back here!" I heard the girl yell as we left the train and ran into the streets of the upper level.

We lived in the city of Trex, the most technologically advanced city in the world. For the past fifty years, Trex has made advancement after advancement. Jessica's steam-powered pistol is thanks to those advancements, but it was not easy to get.

Unfortunately for the four of us, we live in the slums. All we get are the scraps that the people in the upper levels don't want. Trying to survive in the slums is a life-or-death struggle every day.

Cal and I were lucky to be taken in by Xavier. He gave us a home and a new chance at a family, but there is only so much that one can do while living in the slums. We don't starve which is good, but there will always be the desire for wanting more.

If we pull off this job today the Xavier will have to agree to let us take part in his meetings with the other leaders of the slums. We will actually be treated with the respect that we deserve.

Once we were far enough from the train tracks, I made sure that no one was following us before we took a break in a nearby alleyway. Though it didn't seem that we would get the break that we needed.

"Should we call off the job?" Malik asked. "That guard has probably informed their boss that we're here. It would be safer to go back than walking around in broad daylight in the upper levels."

"He's right, that guard took us for a surprise," said Jessica. "We can do the job another day. There is no use at risking it now."

"Mal." Cal looked at. This was supposed to be his first job. Ending it here would be the smart choice, but I didn't want to go back empty-handed. There had to be a way to avoid the guards without impeding our movement.

As I looked to the sky the idea came to me. "Malik I think that walking around in broad daylight is a perfect plan," I said to him with a smile.

"That wasn't a plan," he said back to me. "If we do that then they'll defiantly spot us." "Not if we're too high for them to see us."

"What are you... oh I see where you're headed with this. Hey kid I hope your brother taught you how to climb, if not get ready for your first crash course."