Note. The first part of this is set in the past, the second is from Tyson's POV.
Chapter 5 Who Are You?
The house was run down to the point of falling apart. The men didn't have to be quiet because they knew anyone who would stop then were already dead.
One man coughed and crunched a broken window under his heavy black work mans boots. They would get what they came for and never come back to this disgusting place again.
They spotted what they wanted through the window tying wet handkerchiefs around their mouths to filter out the stench of death. What they wanted was inside, what they had been sent to collect.
The room was colder than outside and even with the handkerchiefs they were overwhelmed with the stench. One man shivered and nearly stripped on some shredded cloth and used needles by the door.
"You grab the kid and I'll look around and see if there are any more." the man a the front ordered gesturing towards the centre of the room where the bodies were.
"You go." the fat man ordered the short one not wanting to get any closer to the mess.
The short one grumbled but did as he was told. Trying not to stumble in the filth of bodies and worse coating the floor. There was a loud angry squeak as he trod on a rat, he cursed and turned to the fat one a promise for revenge fresh in his eyes.
At first he thought that the child was dead. It wasn't really moving, it's eyes were open and there were rats nibbling on it's hand and legs. He was about to call it and turn around when he saw the child blink.
Shooing away the rats the short one knelt down. "Come on kid lets go." he ordered not bothering to hide his distain.
The child didn't move.
"I know you're alive so come on." he growled pulling on the child's limp arm.
The child just stared back up at him with a corpses red eyes.
"I think it's dead" called the fat one helpfully.
"No I saw him blink. The little shit is alive."
"Then just grab him and lets go, this place stinks."
The short one gripped the boy harder this time lifting his body slightly and gripping at the boys waist. That was when he noticed how such a frail boy had a managed enough strength to still resist him. The boys hand was locked with the hand of another corpse. He dropped the boy and turned to the corpse in the chair. "This your mum?" he asked smiling.
"What's taking so long?" called the fat one shuffling from foot to foot.
"They are all tangled, grab me a bone saw we'll just cut the hand off and take it along with the child, we can sort it out later."
The fat one made a face and left the house going to the truck and pulling out what they needed.
The short one waited what felt like an eternity until the fat one make his way over the bone saw in his out stretched hand.
"Don't worry kid, you may be leaving your mother but a part of her will always be with you." quipped the shot one laughing at his own joke as he began to saw off the dead ladies hand.
It was slightly unnerving the way the child watched him, not saying anything, not making any move to stop him.
With a sickening crunch the child was free and being whisked into the short one's arms. "hey fatty help me with this kid!" he shouted, though the child was light and obviously had not eaten in a while.
Once they had managed to get the kid into the van they were rejoined by the rest of their group. "No more." they all reported.
"Clean that one up real nice if we can make enough on him then today won't have been a complete waste." the leader called from the front.
Using water bottles and handkerchiefs they began to wipe the child down.
"You seen this kids crazy hair?" asked the fat one. "It's two colours."
"And red eyes." the short one added. "Rare. We could probably make quite a bit.
I watched them kiss and…I don't know. I wasn't sure how I should feel. One minute Kai had been kissing me the next he was rolling around on the pavement with Tala. How was I supposed to feel?
We'd never actually said that there would be no one else…
Kai had never kissed me like that. It seemed violent and vital at the same time…I wanted it but at the same time…it looked painful and…was that what he wanted. Would I ever be able to give him that.
They paused and talked and started again. I was afraid that they would have sex right there. Sex. Was that what Kai wanted? I wasn't ready to give him that but Tala seemed like he'd given it a thousand times. How could I compete with that?
Normally when there was a challenge I would rise to it. Normally…but this felt different and I felt like I was being suspended somewhere above them where all I could do was watch. Normally I hated being betrayed…but was I even being betrayed because Kai had made no promises.
Like that first day when he had kissed me Kai had always dictated and lead the way in our 'relationship'. Even today when he had just found me and we had begun to kiss. He'd never said a word to me just pulled me down to the curb and begun.
He had looked over his shoulder every few minutes, was Tala what he had been waiting for? Or was he just worried that he would be caught kissing a boy in public.
His kisses with me were sweet but insistent. Never violent.
Tala was pulling his hair so hard that there was blood coming from his scalp. It only made Kai kiss him harder. I didn't want any part of something like that. My love wasn't like that. Did that mean I didn't stand a chance?
Kai looked right at me and then closed his eyes again. He didn't look ashamed and he never closed his eyes when we kissed. I turned around and left.
He'd find me when he wanted me. He'd find me when he had made a decision or even when he hadn't. I should have been angry…I should have but my heart was still soaring from our last kiss
…I was his. It was too much to hope that he would be mine as well.