The doors opened in front of Beyond and the police officer escorted him inside the orphanage, a towel draped over his shoulders as he sniffled and shook in fear. Or so they thought. But what was really being displayed was an act of emotion, one he had seen displayed in various different victims of various different traumatic events.
When one had experienced something traumatic, they were expected to act accordingly as to not arose suspicion from those around them.
So that is what Beyond Birthday did. He acted how he was expected to react towards the given situation. Of course, the matron was more than a little unhappy to see him, but that did not stop him from smirking lightly, towards the ground, as he walked passed her. The woman in power was nothing more than an irritant to him now. There was no-one in this facility who could stop him and those who might try would end up like the other two.
Cold.
Stiff.
Dead.
The moment the door to his room shut behind him, Beyond shed the blanket and strode across to his bed, a new found air of contempt washing through him as he collapsed onto the springy mattress below. The act had been dropped. The natural Beyond had returned.
"So easy to trick. Let shivers rack your body and tears run from your eyes and they can be molded into whatever you wish."
His eyes focused onto the ceiling above as he thought, his feet crossed at the ankles and his hands behind his head. This was how Beyond was meant to live. Not as an innocent child, protected from the danger of the outside world. No. He was meant to control the danger of the outside world.
This was his calling in life.
But, of course, Beyond did not intend to stay within the confides of the orphanage for much longer. He was tired of allowing other people to dictate which direction his life would lead and he did not enjoy the thought that another couple may be idiotic enough to assume that he is a nice enough child to adopt. And so Beyond began to formulate a plan to ensure he could leave within a few nights.
However, there were circumstances which not even he was capable of being able to predict. Circumstances which may affect the outcome of the plan, altering the majority of his life all together.
Two days later the orphans were split into groups and put into rooms. In each room there were seven cubicles, each of which contained one of the orphans and three puzzles. The instructions were clear:
- Fill out the form.
- Answer the questions provided.
- Complete the puzzles.
- Press the buzzer when all three are completed and you are satisfied with the outcome.
There was a hint of a frown on the boys face as he stood in front of the items and stared at them. There was no point to this and they had never been given a test before, so why now? At that time, various different reasons snapped through his head. There was a chance the orphanage was under inspection and this was to see how the children were developing. However, there was also a chance that this was just a progress check, to see who needed the extra help. But, there was also a very slim chance they had their suspicions about his previous 'family' and this was a test to see if he was smart enough to pull it off.
That was unlikely.
He sighed as he listed to the sound of pens scratching and puzzles being completed. It was noisy and cramped and untidy. He did not enjoy it. So Beyond set to work, filling out the form and answering the questions in under a minute.
The puzzles were rather simple as well, the first two being completed within two minutes of each other. However, when he reached the third, Beyond stopped and lifted it, staring intently at it. The casing was a transparent egg, inside there was a small glass ball and inside that there was a folded note. There were various different seams and, upon further inspection, Beyond found that a small opening was created if the egg was twisted certain ways.
But none of these were large enough to remove the ball.
With an agitated growl, B lifted the guidelines for this puzzle and re-read them. It was, yet again, simple. Only one line and no clear information or assistance as to what was meant to be done.
- Get the note.
That was it. Just that. Three words. Three pathetic words.
Beyond's eyes narrowed and he sat back, lifting the egg as he stared at it. There has to be something I'm missing. But there wasn't, not from what he could see. Ten seconds later, the boy had grown bored with the game and sighed, tipping his head back. He was done. He did not want to play these pathetic games anymore. They could reach their own conclusions as to whether or not he was advanced enough to be here.
He. Was. Done.
His hand slammed down on the table top, the egg smacking against the table below it. With a satisfying sound the outer shell cracked and shattered, leaving the small glass ball to roll off of the table and onto the floor. But that couldn't escape it's fate either. Nothing could escape Beyond. His foot was brought down quickly on it and the fragile glass was destroyed, leaving only the paper note.
With a grin, he leant down and retrieved the paper, unfolding it carefully to retrieve further instruction.
Game Over.
"Bastards."
The sound of a buzzer flooded the room as his fist came down on the red button, drowning out the sound of the chair being shoved backwards and the door slamming behind him as he left.
If he could not win by playing the game then Beyond would simply create his own.
Beyond Birthday did not make it back to his room, finding himself intercepted half way by the matron and an old, feeble looking man who stared too long and spoke too little for Beyond's liking. However, the matron seemed in high spirits, meaning this man probably had something to do with his next departure.
"Look, gramps, if you're here to adopt me, I'm going to have to warn you, I'm a bad luck charm. My family don't tend to survive and I do not intend to go to another household just to end up back in this hell hole." Beyond's gaze swept over him before flashing to the top of his head. "You're pretty old anyway, you could die next week for all I know."
This was a cleverly formulated lie which amused the boy to the highest extent. For Beyond Birthday knew exactly when this man was going to die and it was not any time soon, however, there would now be that seed of doubt within the old man's head as to when he was going to die. That was something Beyond was going to enjoy watching grow.
However, the old man's expression did not change, nor did any sign of worry wash through him. Instead, he simply lowered himself to the boys height and stared at him straight in the eyes.
"You feel like you aren't challenged here and struggle to find people with whom you can hold an intelligent conversation with, correct?"
Beyond blinked. No-one had spoken to him so directly before, nor had they acknowledged his clear mental progression, so to hear this man speak so formally about it took him by surprise.
This was not something Beyond enjoyed.
"You feel like your skills are being wasted, that the path you are meant to go down is being withheld from you and that your abilities are going by recognised. But, what if I could offer you a place where all of those things are available to you and more, Mr Birthday? Would you accept to join me there?"
Finding himself at a loss for words, Beyond's gaze flicked to the top of his head before returning to his face again.
Who is he?
This old fool was clearly not like the others and, for a moment, he wondered if perhaps he had the same mental capability as Beyond, if he would be able to match his intelligence. However, that seemed highly unlikely and, the more he considered it, the whole idea just seemed to get less and less realistic. There was no place such as that he was speaking of. This was just a trick to get him to leave and join another orphanage.
"Would I accept? To be taken away to a place I don't want to go just so you can experiment on me and whatever else your feeble, pathetic mind comes up with?"
The words were loaded with a venom he had not expected to show just yet and he could tell by the matron's face that this was unexpected behaviour from the boy. But, of course, she had only known the silent B, she had not yet met the reformed B. What a surprise this must be.
"Tell me, Quillish, do you often choose your young boys by attempting to bribe them in the middle of an orphanage? Or do you usually offer sweets?"
"Mr Birthday!"
But the matron's clear and frantic complaints were lost to the boy. This old man was playing a game he did not know how to win and Beyond was not about to go easy on him, however, he did not seem to mind whatsoever. Nor did he seem surprised that the young boy knew his name without asking.
"I am establishing a new orphanage, Mr Birthday, one I would very much like you to be a part of. I will confirm the details with you when you accept, but there is little you need to know at this stage other than the fact that you will be surrounded by children with intelligence to match your own, who can provide you with enough stimulus to allow you to express yourself completely. You will be challenged daily and your abilities will be tested to their very limits. You will be trained to be the best you can be and when you feel you have nothing more to learn you will be offered a series of suitable careers to your skills and various different options."
He just won't shutup.
"You will never be put up for adoption unless that is what you truly desire, however, if you are to be entered into our adoption scheme your training will have to stop and you will become just another orphan such as those around you now. However, the moment you accept, you can be taken from this place and you will never have to waste your efforts on things you find insulting to your intelligence."
The moment you accept.
"And what makes you so certain that I will accept?"
This time, the old man's expression did change, moving into a polite smile that changed him from the slight threat that he was to something much more... human. Beyond did not like it.
"Because, Beyond Birthday, you would never pass up a challenge."
Now that was an answer he could enjoy. As his respect in the man grew slightly, Beyond straightened his posture and held out his hand towards him.
"Quillish Wammy. You have yourself a deal."
And that was how the ten year old boy known as Beyond Birthday became an official resident of Wammy's House Orphanage and how that specific orphanage, unknowingly, welcomed a killer into their midst, providing him with the materials and the resources he needed to become something they would later regret. Something they would wish they had never created. Something they could not destroy.
*Author's Note*: So, since it's been a while since I updated, I decided to update with two chapters this time. So here's your second one. I hope you enjoy it. And, as always, I thank you for your reviews, recommendations, subscriptions and views. They're very much appreciated.