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Part One

The Drug

Chapter

1

Gregor's palm covered his left eye as he rested his head on his hand. The constant droning of his teacher was obliterated as yet another wave of anxiety crashed over him. It was a sensation that had become even more familiar to him than his rager side. He fought back the urge to snap the pencil he held in half.

Two years. It had already been two years since his final ascent from the Underland. In all that time, he had never been able to reconcile the things that had been done to him… or the things he did.

He peered up at the white board. The words swam around in his head. He had no idea what they were covering in this class. As a matter of fact, he could not even recall what class he was in.

"Focus, Gregor," he thought to himself. "Who is the teacher?" He shifted his gaze from the unintelligible writing to the man who put it there. An old, crusty-looking guy from way down south. History.

All of a sudden, the words on the board snapped into focus. Names, dates, places… wars.

Something nagged at the back of Gregor's mind. He knew what it was, but did not let it cross his consciousness. The last thing he needed was to breakdown in the middle of class again.

As soon as the lesson ended, Gregor made his way to the cafeteria. From day one, an odd sort of pecking order had established itself at his high school in Virginia. Gregor had decided not to hide the scars that riddled his body. He had also chosen not to explain them. This had earned Gregor distrust and even animosity among the students here, which was fine with him. He figured the more distance between him and other people, the less chance anyone would get hurt.

This, however did not stop terrible things from happening. During the second week of classes, when he had witnessed some 'freshman hazing,' the upperclassmen in question wound up with some very painful bruises. This had been one of the most dangerous things that Gregor did, because he had been on the verge of simply killing them. Luckily, just as the brawl began, a faculty member had come by, bringing Gregor back to his senses. This was the first time he had ever been suspended.

As it was, Gregor sat alone at lunch every day, mechanically eating the ilk that was his food. He would occasionally receive a hateful look or even a saucy comment from one of his school-mates. These he simply ignored. In fact, they did not even register with Gregor. He had learned to keep all of his emotions in check. Except his sadness.

After lunch, Gregor made his way to Biology. This class was led by a crazy lady who loved to "surprise" her students with pop quizzes and things like that. Today, however, she sprung something on them that sent Gregor's mind reeling.

The moment Gregor set foot in the class, the unmistakable scent of formaldehyde assaulted his nostrils. A slightly sick feeling came over him, but he decided to plow on with his day and get it all over with.

"All right, kids," the crazy lady began, "today I have a special treat for you! To start our study of mammal physiology, we'll be doing a dissection. So, if you'll make your way to the lab and don your goggles, we can begin."

A hand shot up.

"Yes, Abigail?"

"What will we be dissecting?" the girl asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!" the lady replied.

"Of course you wouldn't…" Gregor thought.

He pushed himself out of his chair and made his way to the back of the room, where the door to the lab was located.

He made it there before everyone else, since he sat at the back of the class. He opened the door, and what awaited him inside was a number of trays with bat carcasses in them.

Gregor froze, his eyes wide, darting back and forth between the little masses of fur and chemicals. An image of blood crossed his sight, mingling in the center of a large plateau. His hand felt numb from the claw he had clenched in it so long ago. His resolve was breaking, and he did not know whether to scream or vomit. His mouth even opened, prepared to issue either.

In the end, neither happened. He simply fell to his knees as his senses were barraged with memories he wished he never had. He had finally snapped. It took two years of pent up fear and sorrow, but it had finally happened.

That sight, those bats laid out in their trays, was the last thing he remembered that day.

Everything went black.

Black like him…

Black like…

Ares.