Todd was already halfway out the door before Ms Mathews started screeching. Ignoring the wannabe harpy's squawking, he slowly shuffled down the hall. Everything seemed to be the faintist bit blurry, and he thanked god that it was only morning. Even with the weak morning light, his head was still pounding. Fuck, had he realy just done that? He knew that he was tired, and could use a couple of bottles of asprin, but he didn't think that it was that bad! Not seeing where he was going, todd walked straight into a wall.

"Aw, fuck. Could this day get any worse?" his voice echoed through the corridor.

"And now I'm talking to myself. Great"

Todd sighed, and walked the final steps to the door of the principals office. Opening the door, he shuffled through the door, ignoring the glare that the secretary gave him, and sank down into the scarred, graffittied seat with a greatful sigh. he windows had been shuttered, and the air conditioner was on, helping to lessen the headache that was currently throbbing in the lower reigions of his skull. For some reason, his entire body was just a giant throbbing ball of pain, even worse than the normal pains that he got when Duncan was in a bad mood. Duncan was an all round asshole, and he sincerely hoped that Duncan would be sent to a fiery, torturous hell when he died.

"Mr Tolensky, Principal Kelly will see you now."

Todd stood slowly, flinching when his body gave another answering throb of pain. Moving slowly, he reached the door, and slowly opened it, using the doorknob to hold him up. If this got any worse, he was just gonig to cut his losses and skip. Lance could lecture him all he wanted. There was no way in hell he would put up with this crap any longer than he had to.

"Ah, Mr... Tolensky, is it? Take a seat. Now, if you're sitting comfortably, why don't you tell me why you're here."

He rolled his eyes, shifting in the chair. Kelly might be an idiot, but he knew that Todd was a mutant. Bastard just liked to pretend he was a decent human being, in case someone noticed that their goody-two shoes principal was doing what was technicly child abuse. Not that anyone would care, anyway. The brotherhood didn't have the best of reputations when it came to 'being good'. Besides, if anyone did actually start to give a crap about what happened to them, the fact that they were mutants couldn't just be ignored. The department of education and social services had made that quite clear, the stuck up pricks.

Kelly was in mid-rant, going on about respect, when the pains got worse. It felt like his skin was on fire, worse than the times when he had mistakenly used soap after his mutation had developed. It was like the sun was under his skin. His body SCREAMED. Todd fell off the chair, fighting to breathe. It was like someone was trying to strangle him. No matter how much he gasped, he couldn't get enough air.

"Mr Tolensky, this is not time for cheap theatrics! Get back on that chair. Do you have any respect at all? Just what id expect from you"

"I gotta go"

Todd stumbled to his feet, and ran out the door, ignoring Kelly's yells. The bell rang, signalling the end of class, and throngs of chattering people filled the halls. Running like a drunkard, Todd stumbled through the crowd, bumping into people blindly, making them drop their books. Some pushed back, making Todd feel even worse. Fuck, couldn't they give him just a little slack? Coughing, with his lungs feeling like they were on fire, he ran even faster, dodging and swerving the people who didn't jump back when they saw who it was.

"oh my god, its that freak"

"jeez, bathe much?"

"watch it mutie"

"Get lost loser, and take you're stink with you"

Todd ran even faster, letting the world around him blur, and the path in front of him sharpen, until it was the only thing he could see. Blinding light surrounded him, hurting him even further. His eyes burned. His lings burned. His skin burned. Someone had thrown him into a furnace but it was cold at the same time. And he couldn't get out. Everything became a mess of sensations. His skin burned and froze at the same time. His lungs tuned to ash, and his innards boiled inside of him, while his skin writhed and held the pain in, absorbed it, became a part of it. He tried to hold it in, but he couldn't. So he screamed, still running, until the blessed darkness came. If he was dying, he didn't care. As long as the pain ended. He collapsed and let the darkness overwhelm him.

Cold. Hot.

Wake, scent. Seek shelter. Find food. Burning, pain. Sun, screaming. Dark, cool. Wait, moon rise. Hunt. Heart racing, biting, meat, blood. Life. Howl, scream. Run. Thirst, drink. Cold water, tongue lapping. Shelter. Cold, safety. Curl up, sleep.

Darkness.

When he woke up, he flinched, waiting to be assaulted with more pain. But it was gone. Yes, it was still there, quietly waiting at the back of his skull. His mouth and tongue felt leaden, thick. Opening his eyes slowly, still wary, he discovered that the light was dim, helping the lingering headache to ease enough to open his eyes fully. He was...

What. The. Fuck.

HE WAS IN A FUCKING CAVE!

Todd bolted upright, heart hammering in his chest. Ok, two arms, two legs, one head. Still very much alive. But why the fuck was he here? He tried to stand, and bashed his head on the low ceiling. Great, he thought, his sight fading. Just what the fuck is happ...e...n...i...n...g.

Todd blacked out, his head throbbing in tempo to the far off roar of water that echoed in the cave.