A shower of Blood.
I was never given a name on a birth certificate, but I have a name, and it's one of the best names around. Then again, I think I'm biased cause I gave myself the name Finnigan, or to those I care about, just Finn.
I never had a mommy or a daddy to care for me, but I do have little sisters and brothers who depend on me.
I never knew what a birthday was, but I still had one day a year when my siblings would treat me real nice and give me little gifts.
I was never allowed to fall in love, but I'm not a virgin. I had sex with a fellow X5 a few years ago while out on mission. It was GOOD sex.
I was never allowed to choose my own clothes, but I always looked good when out on missions because Manticore hated slobs.
I never went to Disney world, but I've been to Italy, England, Spain, Germany, Canada and more eastern countries that I can remember.
Sounds like my old life was da bomb, eh?
No.
Why you ask.
I'd rather not talk about all the things I've had to do. I had to sneak into Buckingham Palace and kill all the royal children because their father was a threat to Manticore. Me and my baby sister Frankie, we hacked into a computer system in China and shut down the power to the children's hospital, killing seventeen hundred children.
As I said, I'd rather not talk about the things I did.
But all the time I was there taught me one thing. Live each day to the fullest. I can name off all of the X5's I spent the first ten years of my life with, and I can count on one hand the ones who survived other than me. Adam, Cree, Trigs, Dragon, and Frankie. Lord knows where the others are. Jace went AWOL a year ago. Cole died just after the escape in '09. The others all died on missions.
But I survived, and so did my closest siblings.
I try to live each day to the fullest, but no matter what, something always reminds me of the things I've done, which makes me worry about what could happen if I get caught.
I almost got caught once. It was a really bad way to get caught. I had been sent to San Francisco on a mission to retrieve information from a genetics company with the help of Trigs. It was supposed to be basic deep cover.
One night, a bunch of the guys went out to see this new singer, Jani Adams. One of the guys told me that she was in deep with the mob. Another mentioned that his buddy Derek and his girlfriend Francine would be there. We headed out after work to this old run down bar. As we approached, my eyes widened as I saw that Derek and Francine where Dragon and Frankie. I knew they were out in deep cover trying to find a rogue X5, but I never thought they could be in San Francisco with me and Trigsie.
Trigs eye's widened when she saw Frankie. To her, it was like being punished all over again. She and Frankie were in love back then, like they are now. On the mission, however, she was slated as my wife. She couldn't touch Frankie, or kiss her, like she wanted to. It was worse than torture for her.
I walked into the club with Dragon at my side. He scared me, Dragon does. The Catholic Priests of the '90's got nothing on the guards at Manticore. The guards, all of whom were denied access to opposite sex, knew that the punishment for violating a transgenic of the opposite sex was painful, as was the punishment for being caught with a fellow guard.. The punishment for groping a little X series of the same sex was nothing. Manticore saw it as training for if we were posted as gay. Dragon got picked on a lot as a child. He was abused in my place. Adam was abused a few times, by a female guard named Mika, but she stopped when she saw that Adam was suffering horribly.
I guess I should talk about my Adam and Cree issues if this entry is supposed to clear my soul…
Cree doesn't like me. Not at all, and it's for one reason. Adam, his Adam, made a choice that he has to live with. Cree loves Adam, the same way Zack loved Max. And the great sex I mentioned earlier? It was with Adam. She was in heat and I was there on mission with her. Instead of finding some guy off the street who could be infected with some god-awful disease and who might not be able to give her what she needed she chose me.
That was the way it was at Manticore. When you needed something, you took it.
And Cree has never forgiven me for it.
And now for something completely different.
I remember walking into the club with Dragon. As we walking, he whispered something about knowing the singer well. I looked up to see a really pretty girl with long curly white-blond hair up on the stage in a rather skimpy outfit.
"That's Adam," said Dragon, "She and Cree are posing as Mobsters to get a guard whose threatening to tell the secrets of Manticore."
"She looks good," said Trigs.
"I KNOW!" said Frankie.
"Eh!" said a Voice, "Trina! Fred!"
"Who?"
"Me! Show some respect," said Cree, dressed like your average mob boss, "You come to see my Jani?"
"OH yeah," said Frankie.
"You four can come join me," he said, "And barkeep, a round for their friends."
"Cree," whispered Frankie, "This is not good."
"Adam's been compromised," said Cree, "I need to take this guy down tonight."
"How?"
"Adam went into heat a few days ago. The Guard saw the signs."
"How?" asked Frankie.
"This guy was there back then. This is the guy."
"The guy?" said Dragon.
"The GUY!" said Frankie, "The one Manticore nearly had to castrate."
"I never heard about this," said Dragon.
"He raped Jace twice, and Adam thinks he molested Syl, Tinga, Jondy and Eva," said Cree, "Not to mention what he did to you Dragon."
"Him?" said Dragon, his green eyes hazing over at the thought of the guard who molested him numerous times as a child.
"Yeah," said Cree, "I want to rip him apart. Adam even wants a piece of him."
"Are you sure it's him?" said Trigs.
"Adam looked inside his head. It's him."
"Then the bastard dies," said Frankie.
I don't remember much of the next few hours. I remember hooting and hollering as Adam sang her lungs out onstage. It was really odd to see Adam so animated and full of life. She was usually so quiet. It was what Manticore did to her.
The next thing I remember is being in a dark alley with my family, waiting. Dragon had his knife out, and was ready to kill the guy the moment he got out. He came out alone, sober and smirking. Dragon's grip on the knife tightened as he saw the guy walk to his car.
The man looked around, his watery eyes taking in everything. Cree looked to us and made the signs to surround him. Adam moved, but she tripped on her heels. The man heard and took off running. I should've just let him go, he was not my mission, but something inside me begged to follow, and I did.
We chased him along the darkened alleys until Frankie used her amazing jumping to lunge forward and take the guy down. He drew his gun and shot Frankie right through the shoulder, sending her flying back. It was then I saw the others eyes. The looked like Animals, feral animals looking for a kill. They were the same eyes as during the escape, and when we hunted the convict. They were out for blood.
I often thought about what happened next, whether or not ripping the guy limb from limb was right or not. I'm not exactly sure if what I remember is what happened, or what I wished had happened. All I know is that we were all covered in blood by the time it was finished, and the man was dead.
I told this story to a fellow X series once. X5-494. He asked what it had to do with living life to the fullest. He didn't understand. His idea of life and mine were very different. I live my life to help my family, and for me living life to the fullest is helping my family get what it wants.
When I look back at my years in Manticore, I remember only a few things. I remember watching Eva die. I remember ripping the guard who sexually molested my brother limb from limb, and I remember sitting in a cold room with Adam, who was only about four, cuddling up to me for warmth.
I would die for my family, and I know one day I will, so until then I live life to the fullest, which is usually in a shower of cold blood.
Authors Note: Only one more to go. Finally the infamous little Adam gets to speak. Please read and review. This is my first fic and I like to know if I'm doing a good job.
