Chapter 2

The beginning of Hell

The small child was scared as the car continued to drive. The gun was never removed from his head and his tears never once stopped flowing. The sides of his mouth were just starting to rip open from the tightness of the gag causing even more pain and the wound on his shoulder hurt so much. The men spoke to each other in loud voices, trying to decide what to do with their catch. They talked about killing him, torturing him, but ultimately decided to just sell the boy. It wouldn't be hard, the kid was young and with the exotic color of his eyes he would get them good money. Mail cried out to beg for his life but one of they just laughed. One of the men pulled a needle out and stuck it into his neck. The young five year old fell unconcious hitting the floor of the car hard.

When he awoke he was shackled at the ankel to a wall. His head hurt and when he looked around he found he was not alone. There were four other boys in the room with him. One had dark brown hair and blue eyes. Two others were redheads like him, they had green eyes. They looked like siblings and kept hold of each other. He could see one shaking and crying as he hid his face in the other's chest. The last was a boy with golden blond hair. He was in a corner of the room with his back against the wall. Mail sat up and choked down a sob as he asked the others a very important question.

"W-Where am I? What happened to my mommy? Who were those men?!" As he spoke his voice got louder and he lost control of his emotions and started to cry. The older looking redhead pulled the younger one closer glaring at Mail in the dimly lit room.

"You're never going to see your mom again. She's probably dead. You're in a warehouse about to be auctoined off to the highest bidder," the dark haired boy said. He looked to be maybe seven or ten. It seemed that Mail was the youngest at only five. The eldest looked to be the blond in the corner who had yet to lift up his head or even speak. It was true Mail was scared and the thought that his mother was dead just made the tears fall faster. The three boys watched Mail for a moment before the older redhead spoke to him.

"I'm David... this is my little brother Feliks. We were taken from our school a few days ago. Over there is Boris, he doesn't mean to be harsh it's just how he is." He held his little brother close as he stroked his hair. Mail gazed at them as he wiped his eyes. "I'm Mail... My... My mommy and me w-were playing when..." He couldn't finish as he scrubbed at his face with his sleeve. Boris scowled as he sat there by himself. Mail sniffled and bit his lip as the door opened making Felik jump and cry out in fear. It was two men and they came in and took Boris by the arm. They unchained him and took him out without a fight. Mail was shocked that he didn't try to fight them off. David sighed in relief once they were gone. "Why did he just go?" Mail asked.

"Boris says it's pointless to fight. He's been here longer than anyone and he should know. He says if we're good we get treated better and even get something good." David seemed to like that idea and it was clear he simply wanted better treatment for his brother. When the door opened again Feliks whimmpered as his chain was undone and he was pulled away from his brother. The small boy screamed and tried to get free of the men holding him. David tried to get him back as the men pulled them apart and the screaming child out of the room. When the door shut again is when David broke down and started to cry. He wanted his brother back. It wasn't fair for them to seperate the two siblings from each other. Mail closed his eyes and thought of another place. He wasn't in some warehouse about to be sold off to the highest bidder, he was at home in bed with his mommy sitting on the covers singing to him. He reached up to cover his ears to block out the other boy's crying and screaming as other men came in and got him.

It was when the door slammed shut that he heard the sound of a chain moving. Warm hands touched his and a soft voice hummed sweetly in his ear. Slowly he opened his eyes to meet gentle blue ones as soft lips pressed to his forehead. "Il ira bien. Je vais rester avec vous." The blond boy from before said as he brought Mail hands down and smiled. The redhead blinked at him before speaking. "I-I don't know what that means..." He knew some french but the his mind wasn't in a place to translate. The blond slowled down his speach saying as slowly as he could, "It will be okay. I will stay here." He pointed to the floor. "With you. You will have a friend." He smiled stroking Mail's cheek sweetly. "I'm Astha of France," he said moving to glance at the door.

Mail nodded and looked to the door too. "I'm Mail of Spain. How are you going to stay with me? They took those two away seperatly..." Asta placed a finger over Mail's lips to quiet him as the door opened. The blond stared at them as they moved toward the two boys. "Il vient avec moi ou je mords ma langue," (1) he hissed wrapping his arms around Mail's shoulders. The men looked at each other then the two boys. Matt couldn't believe Astha would be willing to kill himself for his sake. "Beaux-vous rester ensemble aussi longtemps que tu comporter à la fois," (2) the taller of the men answered. Astha nodded and smiled as he and Mail were unchained. "Stay calm and don't say anything. If we're good we can stay together."

He nodded as they were brought out to stand on a stage. He bit his lower lip as the bidding started. A few hours later they were being blind folded and pushed into the back of a van. Mail noticed Feliks sitting in a corner of the truck curled up alone. Mail grew sad as he and Astha sat down together. "Astha... thank you for staying with me," he whispered as the french boy curled up close to him. The boy didn't speak as the truck started and they were taken away. "Feliks... What happened to Daivd?" Mail asked.

Feliks looked up with tears in his eyes and moved to show a body laying on the floor. The body was beaten up pretty badly and the arm was bent at an odd angle. Mail gasped and moved toward the body but his arm was grabbed by Astha. "Ne pas le faire," (3) the blond whispered. He sat back down and after a few hours the truck stopped. The back was opened and Astha was jerked out making him wince. Mail was pulled out next followe by Feliks and David. The older boy simply hit the ground and didn't move. Feliks cried out and reached for him. David didn't get up or even move as his sibling shook him. Mail couldn't see him breathing and feared the worse. "Astha... Is he?" Mail couldn't finish it as he heard Feliks let out a broken scream. A man came up behind him and stuck a needle into his neck causing the small child to slump over his brother's body.

"You two bring the boy and leave the body. No use for the dead." Astha moved to grab Feliks' arm and Mail his other arm. They followed the man into a large house and were led to a windowless room. This is where they would be living for the next few years. This was his new home... his own personal hell.