It is...so cold.
I wake up the thoughts rushing through my head just before I was even aware that I'm awake. My eyes are still closed. Im to afraid to open it. I don't dare to move. The cold... it holds me down like iron hands. I can't think clearly. My mind is bleeding. "DRAKE" the angry voice ripped me out of my helplessness. "Drake, son of a bitch stand up and come here" it yells. I can't. Im to afraid to stand up. I can't. Please leave me alone. With heavy footsteps someone enters my room. Oh please make it quick this time. I want to make him belive that I'm still asleep. I know that it won't work. He stands there for a while. I can't say how long. Maybe 2 seconds but for me it seem like forever. He waits for some sign that I'm awake. An eyelid twitching or one heavier breath. Suddenly a strong hand grabs my reddish long hair.
"Ow" I pressed throug my teeth when he pressed my slim body against a cold wall. "I know that you're awake. Stand up and get ready for 'breakfast' you worthless little bastard" he say in this monotonous voice he always speaks with. "Got it?" he ask and gribs my neck with his hand. I can hardly breath anymore. Is this my end? Will I be murdered by this crazy, wicked asshole? Straight as i thought about this my body falls to the floor. "Got it?" he ask again and push me beside with his foot. His voice, it is...somewhat softer than before.
"Yes father" I answer. I open my eyes only a crake wide just to see his disgusted look. "That is my son" he say sarcastically. He then turns around and leaves. He leaves me on the cold floor. I can't open my eyes again. I don't care if he kills me. I won't do this any longer. No I can't.
" Drake" he interrupts my thoughts. "Drake hurry" he order. "Yes Giovanni" I whisper. I know that he can't hear me but I am trained to answer every order with 'yes Giovanni'. Or worse 'yes father'. I finally open my eyes. It is to dark to see something. Only the window over my bed spends light. As I sit up awefull pain runs trough me. "Ow fuck" was the first thing I thought. I put my hand on hurtin neck. I stand up and look around. Nothing. I can see nothing but the weak light of the window. I carefully move my fingers along the wall until I reach a doorhandel. I push it down and the door of the bathroom pops open. I walk in and trip nearly over a the sink. It was dark but I like the darkness. So I can't see me in the mirror. If I could I would see all the scars.
'Accident' wounds, scratches, burnings even knife cuts. It might sound cruel but I think that's what I deserve. I am weak and to stupid to do things right. I deserve all punishment my father gave me. Sometimes I hate him but I know he is right. Allways. As I turn on the shower it first makes strange noises before the cold water runs over me. Warm water is to expensive. Thats what my father said. I dont belive him in that point because I know he is very rich. But that's okey I guess. I don't feel the cold anymore. Its allways cold around me.
After fife minutes I go out of the shower. In hurry I put on my cloths. They are really dirty and look like I have worn them for years. That's actually what I did. I go out of my room. I walk through a small hallway and climb down the stairs. Years ago this old building was a hotel. But then my father 'bought' it and now it is his home. And the place for his work. I know what he is working. I can tell that it is not legal. He buys rare animales from all over the world and sells them to rich people.
Suddenly someone grabs my hand. "Time for breakfast little brat" Aiden says with a serious expression. Aiden was my fathers assistant. We walk downstaires into the celler like every morning. He opens a door with a key and I walks into the room. "Your grub" he says and points at a bowel with something like grain and water mixed with a bit raw meat in it. Next to it is a row of cages. In some of them are animals like foxes or wild cats but also more dangerous ones like snakes and huge spiders. They scream their usual cries and stretch their heads in my direction. "Servant" Aiden calls and snaps with his fingers. "Yes Boss" a man says out of a corner. He was so silent the entire time that I didn't notice him. "Time to feed the animals." Aiden ordered and taps on his wrist to symbolise a watch.
"Yes Mister Cullen I will do it right now" the servant says to Aiden. Then Aiden turns around. As he exits the room he looks back again. "Oh and have an eye on the bosses child like every day" he says before he leaves entirely. I sit down on the floor and begin to eat the food. The man leaves the room and comes back with a bag full of grain and a bowl full of raw stakes. He puts a bit of it into the animal cages. The animales begin to eat. They get actually the same food I got to eat.
But it doesn't taste that bad so I eat it. When I have finished eating the man takes my bowl. Most of the animals have finished too so the man begins to clean their cages with the wather hose. Like every day the door opens after a while and Aiden comes back to get me. But surprisingly it is not Aiden who comes through the door. It is my father.
The man who cleans the cages is as surprised as me. He stands there shocked. He asked himself why the boss, leader of the entire organisation, comes down in the old dirty celler to some worthless animales. I am wondering about that too."Drake come with me" he says. "Yes Giovanni" I responded. I want to ask him why he came here but can't. Like everytime I was to afraid to talk to him. I stand up and follow him. "Sit down" he order and point at the stairs while he closes the door. I do what he said. "You know what day it is?" he ask.
"No" I answer. He hits me on the back of my head.
"Are you really that stupid?"he asked angrily and turn away from me.
"I...You've never told me what day it is" I answer. My voice is so high and silent that I don't know if he hears it.
I am afraid that I make him more angry than he already is.
"Oh really? Than I'll tell you now" he says and turns around to face me. "December 24th" he explains.
"My birthday" I half ask and look up to him. Suddenly he kneeled down so we are eye to eye.
"Yes and do you know what birthday" he ask with a soft voice. He talks to me like I'm four.
"My 16th" I answer.
"Exactly" he say. "I have a present for you" he put his hand on my head. What the fucking hell. My head snaps back and I crawl backwards up the stairs. Giovanni faces me with a confused look.
"Sorry" I say silent and stand up.
"Come with me Drake" he orders in monotonous voice and goes upstairs. I follow him to an office. It was once the office of the hotel manager. Now it is my fathers. I have been in this room only four or fife times in my live. When we are in he closes the door behind him. What is he doing.
Than he stands before me and put one hand on my shoulder.
"Now that you are 16 you are old enough" he says.
"Old enough for what" I ask. Now I am realy terrified. What does he want? I feel how I begin to shiver out of fear. He notices it too.
"Don't worry. You will like the present I have got for you. You know I won't be forever this young so I have to choose a new leader. One who follow in my foodsteps and leads the organisation after me. This one are you" he explains. I stand there with a wide open mouth. That is a shock. He want me to...be like him and lead this organisation.
Thats not realy happening. That can't be real. No. No. I shake my head. "No. No Giovanni I can't. I never want to be a criminal. Pleas I can't do this. I..." I stutter.
"What do you say" my father screams in blind anger. He grabs my neck again. "To bad you don't have a choice" he says cold like allways. The grip around my neck becomes tighter. Tears fill my eyes. I trie to fight against him but I'm to weak. I'm weak.
"Please papa" I stutter. Suddenly his expression becomes... softer. The grip around my neck becomes weaker. Finally I can breath. He looks at me with anger and disappointment.
"I...do anything you want me to do father" I try to calm him.
"You will I know" he say monotonous. He let go of me. He opens the door. "Go to your room" he order with not single emotion in his tone. As if nothing had ever happened. I do what he said.
Back in my room I begin to cry. I can't stand much longer. My knees are shaking. I collapse to the floor. That is definitely not happening. This is not happening. This...is my end now. I end up as a criminal just like my father. I want to escape. I...I will escape this . I look up to the window. This is my only chance. I was afraid of beeing like Giovanni my entire life. I allways knew that he wants me to do something for him. Otherwhise he wouldn't have given me food and a place to live all the years but I never dared to think about something like that. But that doesnt matter anymore. I stand on my bed and open the window. I place my food on the windowsill and look outside. I am in the 1st space. To high to jump out. But I step with my other food on the sill too. My last chance to flee. It is not that high. I close my eyes. I take a deep breath...I jump.
The fly taske not even a half second. But it seems to take forever. Wind flow through my hair and make my eyes watering. Then nothing.
Nothing but darkness and cold. Fife minutes I lay on the ground. Passed out. Then I wake up. I stand up stumbeling a few steps forward confused that I'm not laying in my bed.
Till I reamember what happened...I survived. I look around me. There is a long streed leading past many buildings which look old and abdonned. Next to the hotel I come from is a high steal fenc with spikes on it. All the doors and windows are locked. It is hard to escape. But I made it. "Drake" I hear him screaming. Panic filles me. He searchs me and will soon notice that Im not here. In fear I run. Run like I never did before in me life. Along the streed past the buildings. Away. Far away from my father and his criminal buissines. I will miss him. No. I won't. I dont care about what he does with this useless animales or if he hurted me all my live. But one day he will pay for wanting to make me like him. He locked me in this hotel. I couldn't leave this place. I was outside maybe one or two times in my life. He did...cruel things to me. But he still my father.
I can't run any longer. My feeds begin to feel heavy. I have to find a place to hide. A big dustbin catch my attention. I run towards it open the lid and step into it. I sit down leaning against the dustbin wall breathing heavily. After a moment I come to clear thoughts. The container I sit in is filled with old technical stuff.
Computer screens and machine pices. I move to closed the lid of the container when I feel somwhat under my food. I pick it up whatever it is and begin to studdy it exactly. It was a plastig game consol with a small screen. "Gameboy?" I read a little confiused.
I have heard of it when I was a child. I press the ON button."Gamefreak" shines on the screen. Then pictures of some bird pops up. "Pokemon Gold" stands there. Then a menu appeared. I dont even know what to do so I press some other button. The screen goes dark. Than a dark haired approaches. He stands in some town. I press another button and the boy goes one step forward. Suddenly the screen froze. Another boy apper. Some text pops up. It says something like the boy stole a 'pokemon' or so. Than the screen goes dark and the other boy stands in front of me.
He...he looks a little like...me...but that...can't be. Long red hair dirty way to big cloths. Suddenly there is a noise outside. The Gameboy falls out of my hand. Scared I press myself against the container wall holding the breath. I hear heavy foodsteps.
This sound I will never forgett. The steps of my angry father. I scream out of fear but in the same second someone presses his hand against my mouth. He.
He found me in here. "Drake. What are you doing in this container?" he ask with a calm voice. He seems surprised to find me so early. But then I see the hate returning in his face. He grabs my hair and pulls me out of the container.
He knocked my head against a wall of some house. I feel a short pain. Than Nothing. I feel nothing anymore my entire body is deaf. Everything gets darker till I cant see anything.
"Is this really necessary. I mean..."
"Aiden stop thinking about that. Just do what I say"
"Yes Giovanni"..."But he is only a child"
"Yes but he is dangerous Aiden"
"I know he can break out and call the police"
"And destroy our organisation. Do you really think I take that risk and let him alive so he can destroy everything I build up so hard"
"No"
That's what I hear. I still cant see but I can feel again. I'm carried by two men. Giovanni and Aiden and they were talking. About me.
Before I come to the idea to move or defend myself the throw me at the floor. My entire body hurts.
"Close the cage quik" Giovanni order. I heard the door of a cage closing.
"Now lets get out of here" Aiden says in a hurry that's unusual for him. The two leave the room. What are they doing. What are they going to do with me. In panic I try to stand up but somewhat holds me down.
I can hardly move my hand but manage to touch my face, noticing bandages around my eyes. Because of that I cant see. I remove them. It is dark in the room I'm in.
Suddenly a load roar halls through my ears. Something heavy jumps on me and presses the air out of my lungs. I can't breath anymore. Than I see two shining eyes looking at me. I smell the hot breath of this creature. Spit runs down the mouth of the animal. Than it turns away from me.
As I think the tiger how it seems leaves me alone I feel it. Pain. More painfull than every pain I have ever felt. The animale buries its tooths into my body. It ripps out my organs. I scream. Louder than I have ever screamed before. Blood pours out of my mouth and ran down the face. Than Nothing. Nothing but darkness and cold.
I wake up on the floor. I stand up and look around me. Ther is this Gameboy. It lays there in this container. I grab a pen from a table . I pick up the Gameboy. Pokemon Gold stands on the card wich stuck in the consol. I put it out. With the pen i write some word over the card. Yes that sound exelent. Everyone will know my story.
Than he slowly disappeared. On the card he wrote one word. The word Pokemon is gone. Now there is a new word. Tarnished. Tarnished Gold.