He didn't know how much time had passed since he was taken in by his brothers. He never really understood the passing of time, even before before his memory had worsened, so it came without surprise. What's time if you have holes in your memory constantly?
His only indication of the passing of time was the cooler breeze that he would wake up to in the late afternoons, and his t-shirt and shorts beginning to feel thin. There was a point where he started to shiver at night, until his brothers took notice. The next night he had a fancy, heavy comforter he'd curled up with. When he asked his brothers about it at the boardwalk the next night, he was met with an expression of amusement. They probably stole it, anyways..
He glanced at the shops on the boardwalk, unconsciously hugging his arms for warmth as a heavy gust of wind rattled through his bones.
"-ddie?"
Wait... Where was he? He abruptly stopped walking, and looked down, his panic rising.
Wood.
He looked to the right. His confused and panicking gaze met with that of a video store, with one or two people in the store, and... a dog sitting by the door?
Why was he in the open? It was late. He should be home. Where's home? What direction did he come from? Did his parents drop him off somewhere again, hoping he'd get lost? Another cold gust of wind caused him to squeeze his eyes shut, before the cold wind could cause his eyes to water.
He was at the boardwalk. Why was he at the boardwalk? His parents hadn't taken him to the boardwalk since... Since when? How did he know this was the boardwalk? Another glance around and he saw the ferris-wheel some distance away. It wasn't running, the wind was too cold for that.
"Lads? You still with us?"
Instinctually his hand flew to the pocket where his scissors lived.
They Weren't There.
His eyes widened and he snapped his gaze at the person who'd spoke, to address whether or not he was a threat.
The guy wore a leather jacket and had long brown hair, and was glancing at him quizzically. His instincts said they were one and the same. He was also a predator.
A few paces ahead of the guy, three other guys the same age had paused to look at him. His instincts also screamed out that there were predators.
He furrowed his brow, staring hard at the brunette, trying to discern if he was a threat to him. The brunette, upon seeing the look in his eyes, sighed softly, looking resigned for a moment. He turned his head to glance at the platinum blonde.
"David. We're going to need to do something about Laddie tonight." The brunette said to David. David, whom had been lighting a cigarette, put his light away, and after taking a long drag of that sweet nicotine, looked at Dwayne for a second, before nodding.
"Lets find someone to jog Laddie's memory, boys." David said with a tone of finality, a little smirk on his face. The wild-haired blonde let out a cheer.
He blinked.
Was his memory acting up again?
His mother had always said there was nothing wrong with his memory. She said he was just stupid. Said that was the reason he couldn't go back to school. But she also was the one to leave him out here in the cold, so-
"Fuck yeah! I love watching the little guy in action!" The rocker belted out eagerly. The small curly haired one with the colorful jacket thumped him in the back of his head to quiet the rocker down. After all, they didn't want any prying eyes and ears.
When the humming finally came to rescue him again, familiar hands ran through his hair soothingly as he slowly came back into awareness. But he didn't recognize where he was. He was in a very fancy house, in what he assumed was the parlor. Dwayne was on a couch, and he was seated on his lap. He could see Marko leaning against the wall in the corner, and Paul was sprawled out on another couch. David was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear movement behind him.
"Does it usually take this long, David?" He heard a mans voice say behind him, his voice tinged with curiosity.
He instantly decided he didn't like the person that voice came from. The sound of it made him feel wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, very wrong...
He would've all but bolted, but his instincts told him he was safe. That there wasn't a threat. His instincts said one thing, his brain said another. After all, this man was the first adult he'd been around since his parents.
"It takes however long it takes." David responded, voice flat. He sounded indifferent, nonchalant, but instincts told him that the leader of his pack of brothers didn't want to be here.
He blinked a few times, and curled his fingers. He shifted slightly, and cast a questioning glance at Marko, meeting his gaze. He gave a small catlike grin back at him, and shrugged slightly at the look in his eyes.
He looked back down, and wrung his hands together, sitting there for a few minutes more, before glancing up at Dwayne.
"Dwayne?" He finally murmured, breaking the silence. "Where are we?"
The corners of Dwayne's mouth twitched upward in a grimace, as he heard footsteps come toward them from behind, causing his eyes to widen.
A hand came down on my shoulder, uninvited and unwanted. He tensed up at the touch. It was at times like this that he wished he was allowed to hold his scissors with him. David always seemed to have them, and wouldn't give them back unless they were going to let him at prey. It made sense, and he knew that. Besides, he had accidentally stabbed Marko when he had crept up behind him without warning once before. So he understood.
It was just.
He had a completely overwhelming need to stab the man's hand so that he wouldn't touch him again. He didn't like being touched by him.
So he retaliated. He bit the man's hand and threw it off his shoulder jumping back and looking at the man, a wild look in his eyes as the man cussed loudly and held his hand. Laddie's breath was heavy and he looked completely unhinged at that moment.
The other boys watched Laddie in rapt interest, their eyes bright with amusement.
"...And what was that for?" The man asked, his voice pleasant in a obviously fake way. He Hated it.
"Don't Touch Me." He said in response, his voice the deadliest he could muster.
Max looked surprised at the amount of venom in his words, before clearing his throat and deciding to drop the topic.
"Very well. Also hello, Laddie. My name is Max."
One of the things Laddie hated most about Laddie was how Max LOOKED. He looked... Normal.
He knew he was probably a monster like his brothers, but his instincts. His instincts hadn't been wrong yet. And they spoke to him, stronger than they ever had before. Weak, weak, weak, prey, weak, prey, weak, prey.
This man was a monster, and he obviously had power over his brothers. But he was weak. His hand twitched to the empty pocket where his scissors used to live, before he had forced himself to relax again.
"Hello." He said curtly, eyes unblinkingly staring at him for as long as could keep them open. He really didn't want Max to even reach in his direction again. He didn't trust him, and respect is only had when you have trust.
"Please join me at the table, Laddie. We have a lot to talk about." The man's fake cheerfulness made him twitch. He noticed Paul, Marko, and Dwayne watching the man in his peripheral vision. He saw the disgust in their eyes at the man. At least he wasn't the wasn't the only one that felt that way. Good.
Letting out a soft, resigned breath, he followed the weak monster to the table. He sat down after Max, and as soon as he was seated, a large white dog trotted over and shoved its head on his lap. He ran a hand through its fur as the dog licked at his fingertips. There was dried blood on his hands and arms again, he had finally noticed. He put his arms on the table after giving the dog a thorough petting. The dog trotted over to David afterwards, and sat down at his feet. He turned his attention back to the weakling monster, staring at him blankly.
"It has come to my attention that you know what me and my boys are."
"They are not your boys." He responded bluntly. "But yes."
The man laughed condescendingly at his reply. He was such an over-confident, naive, piece of prey. He could easily see why his brothers didn't like him.
This man didn't realize that control did not mean loyalty. His brothers were loyal to each other. He had started gaining their loyalty, the longer they spent with them. This man, he made no move to gain their loyalty. The way he spoke to reprimand him, the way his soft words and fake smiles washed over him, he knew.
This man thought himself above him and his brothers.
He didn't like him at all.
Upon leaving the man's house, he followed after David. David had silently watched over him as the man, that prey that had conversed with him, tried to get to know him like they were old family friends.
He hadn't once fallen for that trick. That man was not family. His brothers were his family. No one else.
"David." He had spoken. David turned and looked at me, eyebrow cocked questioningly.
"Laddie."
"...He's the weak link. He's lost himself to power. He'll end up destroying you if you let him lead for much longer. ...Prey make horrible leaders."
You could take him, David. You could destroy him. You could break those shackles on you and your family.
David just ruffled his hair, and got on his bike. As he hopped on Marko's bike, he snuck a glance back at David.
David's face was thoughtful.