Even from a young age, Kevin Free never fit the standards of StrexCorp. He hated working, like any child should, but working was how the world went round. He was often scolded for misbehaving, and told he would have to work eventually, so why not now?
"They're very cross," his mother, Josie, would say to him. "I just don't want you getting hurt, alright?" Shortly after she said that, she went missing, never to be seen in Desert Bluffs again. He cried for her, but was quickly shunned and put back in line.
He loved to write. Writing and reading his work out loud was what he lived for.
"What if I made a character that was bad on the outside, but was secretly good?" He said in excitement to his neighbor, Fred, who was a few years older than him.
"Do whatever you want, little man," responded Fred plainly. "It is a free country." It was Sunday, a few hours before the Company Picnic would start. The sun was out, and it was so hot you could hear sizzling from the blood that scattered the ground. Despite that fact that he was used to the blood, it still creeped him out. When it sunk into his recently cleaned clothes, he'd panic, and visions of drowning would flood his mind.
"I wonder what Mommy would say..." Fred glared at Kevin.
"Kevin, you have got to let this go. She left 2 years ago, and she's not coming back. It's because of this writing thing, and you should know that." Kevin rubbed his arms in embarrassment.
The words barely let his mouth, "she could."
"You know what Kevin?" Fred snapped, "Your mom let and isn't coming back. Anyway, I've got to go and get ready for the picnic. I suggest you do that same." He got up and left Kevin on the lawn of the apartment building. Kevin tried to stop his negative emotions, which was encouraged, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. His eyes started watering, so he quickly ran inside, hoping the StrexCorp officials wouldn't see.
Once he was inside his little apartment where he lived alone, he grabbed a rag and wiped his legs. His shoes were gushing with blood, but there was nothing he could do about that. He pulled off his shoes and socks and put on another pair of shorts. He enjoyed feeling clean.
He quickly pulled out his computer and typed down his story idea. Kevin stared at the screen for a while, his mind racing through words, and scenarios that would never happen in reality.
Someone is kidnapped and turned evil by the greedy eyes of a vague yet menacing government agency. Like Star Wars, he thought.
His eyes wandered to the clock. Two hours and twelve minutes until the Company Picnic. Even though Kevin was too young to have an actual job, the Company Picnic brought everyone together, after all, the whole town of Desert Bluffs was bought by StrexCorp. It was a new idea, and people were ecstatic about it.
Kevin, however, was not. Even since his mother left, he'd been a recluse, avoiding people. His mother's words always lingered in his head, "Be careful; people aren't always as they seem."
He shut the computer and put his shoes back on. In all honesty, they were a bit small, but he wasn't one to complain out loud.
He walked outside and decided to go for a stroll, maybe to Little Ricardo's Pizzeria. It was a newer place, since to the old pizza place was taken down with flames.