HELLO MY CUBS! IT'S BACK BABY WITH EVEN BETTER WRITING SKILLS! Sorry I haven't done anything in the past year. I've been busy at college and family. This is the final time I'm rewriting the chapter I swear. Now enough of this chit chat let's get on with the story! (Oh, and read Bikerboy's Predators of Kilimanjaro, it's really fucking good)

"Speech"

'Thought'

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I awoke, startled and dazed, not knowing where I was. You know when so much happens in one day and when you sleep in another place you don't remember where you slept until the memories come back? Yeah, that's me.

Looking around I see that I was behind a dumpster with the only way behind it covered with cardboard.

'What the hell?' It took me a second to realize how I got here. 'Oh right.' I had gotten into a fight with my father and he threw me out. Slowly I started to climb out from behind the trash and was so blinded by the bright sun light. I started to stand when I realize how awful I felt. Not from the fight just from sleeping on the concrete, I'm sore as fuck. Grabbing my backpack from behind the dumpster I walked out of the alley, remembering what happened yesterday.

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"BRYCEN! GET YOUR LAZY ASS DOWN HERE THIS FUCKING INSTANT!" I heard my father screaming from down stairs, which startled me awake. I was sleeping at my desk and drooled on some of my drawings. I stay up late drawing even though I'm not very good. It helps me escape my shit stain of a life. "BRYCEN! I SAID GET DOWN HERE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" I grabbed my iPod and headphones and shoved them into my pockets while running down stairs.

"Okay dad! Jeez." As soon as I ran into the room he was calling me from I got hit in the head with a bottle which shattered it as soon as it made contact. I fall to the floor, not expecting to get hit, I reach my hand up to my head and pull my hand away after feeling it sting.

'Shit.' He was drunk again. Whenever he got drunk he would throw stuff at me whenever he got the chance. Seeing me on the ground holding my head just made either get more pissed or make him laugh. This time he just got pissed.

"GET YOUR LAZY ASS OFF THE GROUND AND GET ME ANOTHER BEER BEFORE I KICK YOUR ASS!" Getting up I started to walk to the kitchen before he threw another one at me hitting me in the back of my head.

"THAT! IS! IT!" I finally broke. This time I was the one yelling. From the look on my father's face you would swear I just struck him. Which I probably would do, if he throws another bottle. "STOP BEING A LAZY ASS EXCUSE FOR A FATHER AND GET YOUR OWN BEER! BETTER YET! STOP BEING A DRUNK AND GET A JOB YOU FAT SLOB!" 'Holy crap. Did I just say that to him?' For some reason my mouth wasn't listening to my brains warning to stop before we get killed and just kept going. "I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR ABUSE AND HOW YOU THINK IT IS OK TO JUST DO WHAT EVER YOU WANT WITH NO CONSEQUENCES!" I finally stopped to take a breather, I didn't realize that when I was yelling I stopped breathing.

When I looked at my father's face his face was so red from anger he started to get a nose bleed.

"THAT'S IT YOU DISRESPECTFUL SON OF A BITCH! YOU WILL NEVER BE ALLOWED BACK IN THIS HOUSE" He stood up and started stomping towards me, pointing the sausage he calls fingers at me. "IF I EVER SEE YOU BACK HERE AGAIN I WILL KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! I! WILL! KILL YOU!" I started to run out of the house before he could reach me.

When I was outside I could hear him ranting to himself why he is "the best dad ever" and how I'm such a "disrespectful disgrace". I started to jog to my friend, Daniel's, house, crying on my way there. Not from being said, it was just my head hurt a lot and it was bleeding. When I reached Daniel's house he wasn't there. 'Shit, right, they went to New York.'

The reason I choose to go to Daniel's house is because me and him were friends since pre-school and if he was here he would totally let me stay for a while, and since I'm only 15 I can't really go anywhere else. I then remembered that every time he left he would hide a backpack full of stuff for me in case something like this happened. We planned about this since we were little, and I just hoped that he remembered. "Please, god. I really hope that he remembered the deal" I quickly whisper to myself.

Going to the side of the house I jumped over the fence then when to his shed which was always unlocked. When I was inside I moved the big carpet in the middle of the room which revealed a trap door and inside was a backpack.

"Holy shit. He remembered… or this is really old." Inside the backpack was clothes, some canned food, and a phone. Using the phone, I called his number. 'Please pick up.'

"Hello?"

"Hey Daniel. It's me Brycen. I got kicked out by my father."

"Oh shit. Well I'm gone right now but I left the backpack in shed like we planned."

"I know. I was shocked you still remembered."

"I almost forgot but then I remembered when I saw that crappy game on my computer right before we left."

"Well thanks for remembering again. But how long will you guys be in New York?"

"We are staying for at least 2 months. Sorry bro I don't know what to say."

"It's ok. I'm just happy you remembered the backpack thing."

"Yeah. Well dude I got to go and sorry I couldn't help you out more."

"It's fine. I'll see you in a few months you dick. Bye Broski."

"Bye Brochodo" *Click*

I started to walk to the nearest city, Seattle, not really knowing why or what to do.

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After a terrible four-hour walk to Seattle, I finally got there and went to an internet café (Basically they have lines of computers you can use for a certain price) Once I found an open computer I opened the browser and tried to email basically everyone I know. (Why did he walk that far just to email people? IDK… Why not?)

My email had the title of "HELP ME PLZ" and just told them about what happened.

'Now I just have to wai- Oh someone responded,' The response email was sent by an email I didn't know but it just said "RE: HELP ME PLZ" and it read this.

Dear Mr. McPherson,

We are sorry to hear about your resent predicament, but we have an offer to make you. I know it may seem random and at first looks like it has nothing to do with what happened, but trust me, it does. We would like to offer you a four-year scholarship here at the ZPA. You might be wondering what that is, but you will find out soon enough. If you attend the ZPA you will have your own dorm room, or, if you like company, can have a roommate. If you are interested in learning more about what we do here at the ZPA or any other question, please email us back. If you want to attend the ZPA you just have to email us that you would like to set-up an appointment and we will arrange transportation to and from the appointment.

Principal, Winston

'This has to be a joke, right?' Thinking about my options. 'Maybe I can get a free ride out of this. Or maybe I might be brutally murdered… Right now, I'm fine with either…' So instead of questioning them like a "normal" and "rational" human, I just responded to their response just asked when and where is the appointment.

They said it would begin at 12:30pm tomorrow and the appointment is at some random place I never heard of, and that I can send them the address of the place they would pick me up from.

'Wait. Wow. I need to slow down for a second. What just happened? I was homeless one second then the next I have an appointment for some school or something I never even heard of before?' The lady at the front desked looked back at me and h'mmmed before saying that they are closing in 5 minutes. I looked at the time and is was about 10pm.

As soon as I read that my mind and body was instantly hit with a wave of exhaustion. 'Jesus, I need to find somewhere to sleep.'

With that I grabbed my backpack and left. After about 30 minutes I found a secluded spot behind a dumpster make a little cardboard fort hiding myself. It wasn't very comfortable, and I was freezing but it was better than nothing. I soon rifted off into a nightmare filled slumber, not really realizing some if those monsters in my dreams I will soon met in real life.

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Snapping back to the now I realized I also bumped into someone.

"Sorry, sir. I didn't see you there." I say as the person just keeps walking will making a snorting sound. 'I now remember why I don't like being social.' Since I haven't ate anything since yesterday I was pretty hungry. I also had to crack my back every now and then because it was hurting like crap.

As I walked to the Pacific Place mall and went to Johnny Rocket and got a Bacon Burger with Bacon Cheese Fries, (What? He likes bacon…) I also got a vanilla shake which is hands down the best shake ever. After finishing my "breakfast" I started to walk around the city

"I haven't been here in so long. Amazing how much it's changed." After about an hour or so of walking around I got a phone call from Daniel.

"Hey Bronado. How's being homeless? I got your email by the way."

"Broham it hasn't been so bad. I went to Johnny Rocket's for breakfast."

"Dude why did you waste your money? You know you have a ton of food in the pack."

"I know I just said 'screw it. I might as well' and just you know. Bought it."

"*Sigh* Well that phone doesn't have a lot of minutes, because I got the cheapest phone plan, so we should probably try to keep talking on the phone to a minimal."

"Alright see ya Brotumis."

"See you later, Bro-hater." *Click* Looking at the time and charge of the phone I had 48% charge left and it was 9:42. I had about three hours until my 'meeting'.

'I should probably send them the address to the Johnny Rocket.' With that thought I was off, heading to the internet café. I got there at 9:48 since it was just down the street, but when I got in the computer I used the previous day was surrounded by tape that said, "Out of Order".

"Hey, what's wrong with the computer over there?" I asked the worker behind the counter.

"I don't know to be honest. A bunch of guys wearing suits came in earlier and talked to the manager for a little bit. After that, they just closed it off." With that he shrugged and when back to whatever he was doing before.

'Strange.' Going to a computer on the opposite side of the room I opened the browser and logged in. I sent in the address to the Johnny Rocket to the email they gave me and, very quickly, they replied that a car will pick me up from there in 20 minutes.

I logged off then started walking to the Johnny Rocket. When I was at the light, down the way, I looked back to the café and saw two guys wearing all black suits and sun glasses walk in. Not thinking much of it I continued my march to Johnny Rocket's.

It was 10:18 giving me two minutes until they arrived. So, I just stood there, looking like an idiot, waiting for my ride. Soon I black car, with tinted windows, rolled up next to me. I didn't know if this was my ride, so I just stood there, again, looking like an idiot. Like usual.

Slowly, the driver rolled down the window. "Are you Brycen?" A deep voice came from the car.

"Yes, I am." With that he nodded. I opened the back door, threw my backpack in, and sat down. Soon we started to go and when I looked back at the Johnny Rockets (Why is he looking back so much?! Because he can…) I saw another black car with tinted windows roll up and two guys in black suits got out and started to look around.

'I think those guys are following me.' I looked at the driver silently begging for him to go faster. But he too, seemed to notice the car and started to go a little faster. Very quickly, I lost sight of them in the traffic, and we got onto the highway out of the city.

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I ended up falling asleep somewhere along the way and when I woke up we were here and the time on my clock said 12:27PM so it was about a two-hour drive. Looking out the window I see a storm has rolled in and it's raining quite heavily. I grabbed my backpack and got out. I turned to say thank you, but the driver already started going the second I stepped out, shrugging, I turned back to the building.

The building looked like it was made of all glass, yet I couldn't see through it, but it was showing my reflection. I was wearing a pair of loose jeans with a black long sleeve shirt and a plaid coat. The door was automatic and made a ding sound when I walked in. As I walked in a saw a red headed girl walk out. 'She looks kind of cute.'

"Ah'mmm, Can I help you?" I looked over at the receptionist.

"Yes, I have an appointment here at 12:30. I think…"

"Oh, are you Brycen, McPherson?" I nodded. "Ms. Kasey, your 12:30 appointment is here."

"Send him in." The voice on the intercom sounding uncaring and harsh.

"You just need to walk down the hallways and it's the last door and your left."

"Thank you miss?"

"Ms. Cortez." She deadpanned with the 'are you kidding me' face.

"Thank you miss Cortez."

I followed her instructions and before I could even knock on the door I heard someone say "Come in." It was the same voice I heard earlier. I opened the door and took a few steps inside. "Please, take a seat."

I sat down and then we were just staring at each other. I had no idea what to say and my anxiety started to kick in. The longer she stared the more I started to panic. Thankfully she stopped staring and looked at some papers she had on a clipboard. As she looked away I felt a wave of relief and noticed she had white hair and, I think it was just me but, her eyes looked like they were glowing a little.

"Well Mr. McPherson, we've heard about your recent predicament and I now it's a little fast, but we would like to offer you a four-year scholarship at Zoo Phoenix Academy. Along with housing for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"Yes, I have a question. What the hell happened?! Yesterday I was homeless, sent out an email to only a few people and then you guys replied. I never even sent an email to your address. Yet you somehow got it! How?!" Ah, there common sense was. Hiding behind stupidity as per usual.

She pondered for a second. "I was excepting that. Well one of your friends shared the email with us and then asked if we could help. So here we are." She handed me her clip-board. "Now if you don't mind signing some stuff we can get along. I'm sorry to say but today I am very busy."

After about a few seconds of inner conflict I decided 'Why the hell not? What's the worst that can happen?' I looked at the document, but the text was incredibly small and used a lot of words that I couldn't really understand. So, I shrugged and started to sign where I was told too. After signing a few things, she grabbed the papers from me.

"Thank you, Mr. McPherson. If you need a place to stay for this night, there is a hotel across the street and we will pay for the night."

"That would be great, thank you." 'She seems really nice, but I still get a really weird vibe from her. I mean her expression hasn't changed at all this whole time.' Smiling I offered my hand for a hand shake, but she just stared at it. Feeling slightly embarrassed I pulled my hand back.

She looked like she was about to say something, but her intercom came on and said her next appointment is here. She then looked at me. "I forgot to mention that you would require relocation, so a car will pick you up tomorrow to drive you off to the airport. Now if you excuse me I have another appointment." I didn't have a problem with that, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Bye. Ms." I looked at the name plate. "Kasey." She just looked down at her papers and nodded.

Walking out I waved bye to the receptionist and when I left the building I saw a car, which I presumed was waiting for me, and started walking towards it. But soon I got a really bad feeling so I just 'noped' right on out of there and started to walk another direction. I heard two doors open and saw the same guys in black get out and started to walk towards me.

This sent off a ton of alarms in my head and I sprinted away from them. I got about three steps in and then I heard a loud bang and a large pain in my back. I collapsed onto the ground. 'This is how I die? Huh. I expected worst.' They walked over to me. I closed my eyes excepting my fate but then I heard screaming.

When I opened my eyes, I saw one of the men in black on the ground getting pulled towards a shadow on a wall. He had a tentacle wrapped around his leg pulling him in. He was screaming and trying to grab anything. The other guy just stared with his jaw dropped and his gun slipped from his hand.

The guy getting dragged was pulled into the shadow and the screaming stopped. Suddenly about five more tentacle looking things shot out of the shadow and towards the guy. He started to turn to run but as soon as he had his back turn one of them went through his stomach, lifting him off the ground, another one soon after went through his heart and then his head, instantly killing him. The other two wrapped around his neck and torso, pulling him into the shadow as well.

'What the hell did I just witness?' I didn't know what to do so I just sat there.

A moment later another car pulled up. The driver got out, looked over to me, and asked me if I was Brycen. With a thousand-yard stare and a terrified look on my face I lightly nodded.

"Well then. Hurry up and get over here. I don't have all day." I slowly tried to sit up but then a large pain stuck my side. The driver looked like he was in shock. He finally noticed all the blood and the marks from the guy trying not to be dragged away. He also noticed my bullet wound.

"Oh shit! What the hell happened?!" I tried to say something, but nothing came out.

Everything soon started to get fuzzy and I was getting cold and tired. I then saw Ms. Kasey walking towards me. She didn't look worried at all.

"Well this was unexpected. Well Mr. McPherson. You're lucky. You no longer must go on a long and boring plane ride to the ZPA. Don't worry you're still going. But you may look a little different when you wake up but other than that you'll be fine." Everything started to fade but I still heard her voice loud and clear. "I hope you have fun Brycen. I will be seeing you very soon." I was too tired to make sense of what she was saying. So, I just closed my eyes and went to sleep. "Nighty, night."

Welp that just happened, and I edited a few things about this. Sorry again for being away for so long, I promise to try and not do it again. So please leave a review and like the story and I will see you cubs in the next chapter. I swear this time.