“Oh, didn’t think about that.”Isaiah leaned over the side to peer at Zane.“If I am keeping track correctly, about two years.”
Two years?Surely someone had to be missing Isaiah.How could Raiffel capture these kids without people noticing?Or were they noticing and they just couldn’t find them?
“How did you get here?What about your parents?”Zane asked, turning slightly to find Isaiah still leaning over the bed like a monkey.The boy looked thrilled for talking about such a dark topic.It made Zane weary.
“There’s no one looking for me.”Isaiah hopped off his bunk to pace at the center of the room where the tiles were chipped.“I don’t remember my mom.Doubt if she even remembers me.Dad said she bailed on us, was never interested in being a mother, and my dad, well, he was a mean drunk and an awful gambler.One day, I came home to find these strange men in our home.They dragged me off, gave my dad some cash.I never heard from him again.”
Zane had turned to face Isaiah completely, staring with wide eyes at the boy.Before he could ask why Isaiah told him, he nervously laughed and scratched at the back of his neck.“I don’t really get to talk much.At this point, I’m willing to say anything just to make conversation.Sorry, that probably didn’t make you feel any better.”
“Not really.”
Isaiah smirked.“I find it only fair that you tell me your name now.”
“I’m Zane.”
“Well, Zane,” Isaiah held out his hand for Zane to take.“Welcome to hell.From today on, we’ve got each other’s backs.”
Zane took Isaiah’s hand, giving a hesitant nod because he had no idea what the future had in store for them.He was too frightened to even think about it.
CHAPTER 29
Zane’sFlashback
A single hit sent Zane hurtling to the floor.He hit hard.Shock stung his muscles, but he didn’t freeze.He rolled out of the way of Erica’s fist.Her powerful hit resulted in her fist getting stuck in rubble.Shivering, she kept her gaze off Zane for a very good reason.Though he didn’t want to do this, he understood the consequences if he didn’t.Zane took her hesitation to grab her chin, forcing their gaze to meet.Erica’s eyes widened.Then she screamed, dropping to the floor in a heap of whimpers.The battle ended in an instant.
“Fear, you could have finished that fight before it even started,” Leona said over the intercom.Zane glared at the tinted window on the other side of the arena.He hated that name.That’s why it stuck.
He couldn’t do more than flip them the bird, but it felt good to rebel in the smallest ways.On the floor, Erica finally caught her breath.She slid her fist from the wall and took Zane’s offered hand to help her onto her feet.The two stood in the center of the arena, waiting for Law.He inspected them, starting with Erica.A frown marred his face when he noticed how quickly Erica calmed down.
“You didn’t try too hard to stop her, did you?”Law asked, scribbling on his clipboard.
Zane kept a vacant expression.That was easier, a better way to survive.Better not give a reaction when others were waiting for it.He refused to give them what they wanted or, at least, tried his best not to.
Law pursed his lips.“She’s barely shaking now.You can do better.”
“I don’t torture people,” Zane countered.
“This is practice,” Law said with a smile, pushing Erica aside in dismissal.She scurried off with the guards, exiting the arena without looking back.The moment she was out of the room was the moment her mutation was put back into check.Zane was never sure how Law created such annoying contraptions to allow mutations or not, but the guy was nuts in the best of ways for Rebirth.
Leona leaned against the opposite side of the arena, arms crossed and lips slipped into a sly smile.He glared at her, then returned his attention to Law.
“How are you going to reach your full potential if you never use your full strength?It’s a pity we’ve never seen you drop someone as easily as you did with Marceline,” Law said.
Zane contained a flinch, though his eye twitched.Years had passed, lost to him, but the wound felt fresh.Marceline’s memory remained, even if he never saw or heard from her again.
Law smirked.He knew which buttons to push and when.
“Tell me, how have you been feeling?”Law asked and held up that damn clipboard.“I’ve noticed your reactions during battle lately.It’s almost as if you know they’re coming.”
Zane bit the insides of his cheeks.Keeping information from Law was futile.He found the truth one way or the other, sometimes in a very painful way.
“Sometimes I do know,” he admitted.
“Fear is no longer the only thing you sense?”Law spoke in a pleased tone.He skipped when Zane shook his head.“Excellent!How long has this been going on?What is it like?Are they visions like usual or sounds, actual words, feelings?I must catalog—" And off the man went, rambling about nonsense.
Zane had no desire to tell Law anything, but there wasn’t choice at Raiffel.After years here, he realized some battles aren’t worth fighting.Besides, each day, his abilities frightened him a little more.If anyone could help him control them, it was Law, even if he hated the very idea of it.In the end, he sat through Law’s questions and examinations.Law noted any minute change, including the ones that Zane could only tell him about.His abilities were multiplying.
In the beginning, Fear was his nickname because one look at a person and he knew their deepest fears.Like flashes of memories in his head, sometimes he felt their pain, the suffering and he hated that.However, some remained a mystery, such as Law, Leona, and Antoine.He had seen nothing from them, as well as a few others from Rebirth.He couldn’t find out why.
