PROLOGUE
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Crash.
Clunk.
Thud.
Tubes clattered against metal tables as pale men in ghostly white coats rushed through adjacent rooms. The screams of young children echoed as they were loaded onto tables and strapped down, tubes full of green liquid held above them. They squirmed and yelped to no avail as the tubes were carefully injected into the crooks of their left elbow. Sharp cries of pain rang out through the halls as a doctor looked in the direction of the sound.
“Seems like they’ve started.”
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CHAPTER 1
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Cleo Soren ran through the dimly lit streets of Sam’s Marketplace, closely tailed by her best friends, Ezra Cooper and Finn Osbourne. The gang was on their way to watch a play, Prometheus. Cleo hurdled over a stack of wooden crates, and hit the ground going even faster than she was before. Ezra followed in her steps, but Finn couldn’t quite reach the height of the other 2, his shin striking the crates and toppling them. Cleo whipped her head around, her messy black hair swinging in front of her orange eyes.
“Finn! Are you alright?!”
Finn grimaced, looking down at his bloody knee.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a scrape.”
Ezra stared blankly at Cleo as she ripped off her shirt sleeve, tying the white cloth into a bandage before wrapping it around Finn’s injured knee.
“Thanks, Cleo,” Finn said, smiling. Cleo jumped up and hugged him, beckoning Ezra to join them.
“I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. Ezra has our backs, and we have his. We’re a team.” The young girl beamed, and the 3 children put their hands in the middle of the triangle.
“1, 2, 3… Dumpsters!”
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The 3 continued walking through the various alleyways, twisting and turning as they went.
“We really need to think of a new name,” Finn said.
“I know it doesn’t sound the best, but it’s important!” Cleo responded.
“Yeah, but I wish our city wasn’t called The Dumps. Then we could come up with a cooler name.”
“The name ISN’T The Dumps. It’s Amphess!”
“Oh yeah… I forgot.” Finn hadn’t heard the city be referred to by its real name in… he didn’t know how long. “But still, no cool names come out of that. I wish we could have a cool name.”
“Like what?” Ezra chimed in.
“Like… the Tokyo Drifters!”
Cleo chuckled, lightly slapping Finn on the shoulder.
“That’s already taken, silly!”
“Not in our world.”
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Ezra suddenly interrupted the two.
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at a dumpster.
“What’s what?”
“It looks like… legs are coming out of it.”
“Ew!” Cleo yelped. “That’s disgusting! I don’t even wanna know if you’re right. C’mon, let’s go.”
Finn looked nervous as Ezra spoke.
“No, I wanna check it out.”
The cream-haired boy walked closer to the dumpster, pinching his nose as he neared it.
Cleo followed him, now quite interested despite her previous hesitation. Her curious face morphed into one of shock as she confirmed Ezra’s suspicions.
“Oh… my god. It… really is a… body.”
Ezra grabbed hold of the corpse by its shoes and yanked. Cleo’s hand bolted to his shoulder.
“H-hey! Don’t do that! Just leave it there and let’s get out of here! What if the guards think we killed them?!”
Finn chuckled.
“Relax, Cleo. We’re 11 years old. I don’t think the guards will suspect us of killing someone.”
“Still!”
Ezra didn’t listen. He tugged and tugged until he finally jarred the body free. It came tumbling out of its temporary coffin, and Ezra jumped aside to avoid it. Cleo jerked her head to the side so she didn’t look into the eyes of a lifeless body. She could, however, hear Finn shriek as the body clattered to the ground. As curiosity got the better of her, she cautiously craned her neck over her shoulder, seeing pitch black pigtails laying still on the stone street.
“No…”
Cleo’s knees buckled beneath her. She came crashing down to the cold ground as Finn was shaking next to her.
“N-n-no…” was all Cleo could mutter as she gazed into the dull eyes of her mother.
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Crystalline tears began forming in Cleo’s eyes as she darted over to her mother, recklessly shoving her hands under the body’s head.
“M-mom… Mom! MOM!” she yelled, her voice getting progressively more distraught with every sound that came out. “W-what happened?” she asked, receiving no answer. Only the dead stare of her mother’s dead eyes.
Ezra continued to blankly stare at the scene unfolding in front of him.
Why cry? Why react? There’s nothing she can do to save her.
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Cleo began punching the ground as Finn finally managed to calm himself down. He grabbed her shoulders, trying to keep them still. Cleo snarled at him, batting his hands away.
“Get off me!”
Finn jerked his hand away, surprised. He’d never seen Cleo hit someone before, much less himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it.
No - I shouldn’t say anything. I can’t even imagine how she’s feeling right now.
After leaving her alone for a minute, Finn tried again. He slowly knelt down, and wrapped his arms around the distraught girl. This time, she accepted. Cleo buried her face into the crook of Finn’s elbow, tears drenching his plain white shirt.
What should I say?
“It… will be okay,” he quietly said.
Was that good? I’m bad at this.
Meanwhile, Ezra got to his feet and gently grabbed Cleo’s arm.
“Hey, let’s get moving. I don’t want to miss the play.”
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Finn felt Cleo jolt in his arms. Her striking orange eyes burned as she started to breathe heavier, the mole under her right eye momentarily disappearing. She threw Finn off of her, sending him falling to the cold stone below.
“What… did… you… say…?”
Ezra gestured his hand to the northeast.
“I said let’s get going, I don’t want to mis-”
Cleo shot off the ground and swiped at Ezra’s right cheek, leaving a deep gash where her fingernails penetrated his pale skin.
“Ow!” he exclaimed, raising his voice slightly. “What was that for?”
“What was tha- nevermind! Go away! I hate you!”
“Okay.” Ezra turned around and sauntered off, looking back as if he was confused as to why he was being outcasted.
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Cleo fell back into Finn’s open arms, her jet black hair tangled in a spider’s web. Finn gently let her down.
“H-hey Cleo… I’m gonna go get the guards. Just stay here, okay?”
Cleo didn’t respond. Finn didn’t know if she didn’t hear him, or if she just didn’t care. Either way, he didn’t think she would be moving anytime soon, so he stood up and trudged away, calling for a guard to help.
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Ezra knocked on the front door to his house. It stuck out like a sore thumb, a beacon of light amongst the dark and dusty townhouses. It was white, with two towering stories and a grandiose feel.
Ezra’s mother opened the door.
“Hey, Ezr- what happened to you?!” Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine, Mom. I just… tripped and fell when we were in the marketplace.” Ezra gently touched the scarlet marks on his face, still fresh and bleeding.
“Oh, honey. Come in, let’s get you cleaned up.”
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