Shivering. Always shivering, accompanied by a never ending, all consuming darkness. And pain, a sharp agony gnawing on his every nerve until he was nothing but a chewed up mess of shredded skin.

Breathing hurt. No, hurt couldn't even begin to describe the pure, relentless torture that was such a simple act. Breathing meant living, he kept reminding himself in the monotone that can only be heard in the voice of one who reeks of hopelessness. Yes, breathing meant living, but living meant hoarse screams and silent pleads and cruel laughter.

So why was he still enduring this, why bother sucking in ragged, pitiful wheezes of this deadly stale air? Why? Why why why wh-

The door slammed open, sending a resounding clank throughout the silence as steel meant stone. A rush of cold air swirled in, tickling his thick nest of a beard he had not been permitted to shame. It was the only indication he had of how long he had been here, as he stared dully at its unruly curls. The very presence of it taunted him, a stark, cruel reminder of the days gone by that he had not been rescued, that'd he'd be stuck in here until his heart simply withered up and gave out.

Time had no place here, and days seemed to simply melt into one another with the sound of his thrashing and pain. That he had been here for what seemed like an eternity was a fact his captors simply reveled in taunting him with, their cruel words cutting into his pale flesh like the sharp sting of a whip, each malicious truth told tearing him apart piece by piece until he snapped, reduced to something pathetic. He never felt more ashamed of his disgusting self than when he begged, as if he was something not even human anymore, totally at the mercy of men with fire raging an immortal flicker in their eyes.

He once again was yanked from the safety of his eternal depression by the cooing of his name and gentle fingers stroking his tear streaked face in a mockery of tenderness.
He had completely forgotten about the door opening. Honestly, he found himself not caring either .

"Hunter, Hunter dear, we have company. Aww, don't give me that look, it makes you look ugly- well uglier than you already are, that is. Now, my dear hunter, these guests are very important, and believe it or not, they're here to see you!" Remy crawled. Remy was his least favourite of all his captors. He was unpredictable, one moment petting his hair and whispering words of comfort to him, the next stabbing him with syringes and spitting on his face for looking like he actually believed him.

"I'm nothing. I am ugly and unlovable, and deserve to be hurt. I thank you for giving me what I deserve," he had long since lost track of the times he'd been forced to repeat that statement. Whenever he messed up, rather it be screaming too loud and hurting their ears or not screaming loud enough, they'd punish him accordingly and then proceed to have him repeat the chant until his throat was scraped raw and nothing but a low pitched whine would manage to escape his parched lips. Sometimes in the midst of the process, he'd feel his lower lip begin to tremble, and his vision of the ugly faces laughing down at him would blur as salty traitors clawed down his face.

"Okay." Was all he said in reply to man staring down at him, something akin to disappointment present in his orb. Cleary he had been hoping for him to ask who the guests were.

His apathy was quickly met with a harsh slap to the face. He barely even registered the tingling pain.

"God. You're such a brat, has anyone ever told you that?"

He swallowed lifelessly. "Yes." He wasn't lying. He'd been reminded of this truth just yesterday, in fact.

Remy stared at him for a moment longer before shaking his head and continuing, "You know who came to see you, ugly? You're 'friends,'" he spat the word as if even toying with the idea that something as vile as him could ever have people care about him. "Boss and I decided to let you go. Actually, our plan has always been to let you go when could on came to collect you. We just didn't take into account how much he abhors you and that it would take 5 months. But, I mean, can you blame the msn? Who'd want you back?"

He laughed out loud, a boisterous guffaw before spitting on his face. Hunter just stared, his face portraying the hollow emptiness he felt inside. He lad long sense given up on ever seeing his ragtag family, and he had no reason to believe any different now. This was just another cruel trick of Remy's, designed to fill him with hope simply to crush it moments later. No. He may be useless and unlovable, but he wasn't stupid.

" Get up, you useless piece of crap! I said GET UP!" Not wanting to test His mood swings, Hunter shaking moved to stand up, only to tumble into a heap on the ground, crying out in pain as his aching ribs were jostled. He tried again, but his limbs might as well have been made of jello.

"God you're useless! You're truly pathetic, did you know that?" And as if carrying the weight of the world's annoyances on his stocky shoulders, Remy let out a huff of air before grabbing Hunter from beneath his armpits and dragging his bare flesh across the rugged terrain of the stone floor.

The two carried on this way for some time down the dim halls before entering a room. The light that assaulted his face had him hissing along with the formation of a new headache he was prepared to nurse. It had been months since he'd seen anything but darkness.

However, his train of thought came screeching to a halt at the next voice that filled his airs. A voice so, so familiar, yet so foreign. He dared not look up. Being wrong would crush him in a way that would leave him irreparable.

"Hunter? Oh, god-"

It was the undeniable putrid smell and sound of one stretching that finally propelled him to steal a glance above from his place on the floor-

And there, staring at him with identical expressions of horror and disgust, stood his team