1 - Elio’s POV

“Get on the ground now!” Times like this, I wondered if it was possible for me to just drop dead from how fast my heart was beating. The rush, both from the danger and excitement, was an electric mix, one that zapped hotly through me. The men looked up, speed-running through multiple emotions. Their demeanor changed from relaxed as they were playing cards, to fight mode as they dove for their guns. Reed shot before I did, maybe even before I even finished my sentence. There were three of them, and in quick succession he let bullets fly, hitting two of them in the shoulders, very close to their hearts, and one on the arm. I don't fucking like this man, I thought. I swallowed down my sigh, along with what I wanted to say, as the men collapsed in a pool of blood. Ever since I was partnered with Reed, he'd always been quick to act, but not to think. I sighed, replacing my gun in the hoister, shaking off the empathy I felt for these men. I thought human life was sacred but I a

2 - Elio’s POV

“What—”My eyes dropped to the gun still clutched in his hand. Had Reed— He had.He was looking at me openly, not denying what he did.What the fuck?“What did you just do?!”But I know what he did. He just killed two helpless girls, two out of the only two witnesses we had on the case. There’s no explanation he can give that will fly. He just murdered these girls in cold blood.Why?At that moment, I actually contemplated killing Reed. Right there and then, I really did. My fingers were itching to pull the trigger. So I did.But still, I didn’t shoot to kill. The bullet grazed his arm leaving a long line of blood. He winced, clutching at it, then grinned at me.The fucking bastard must be compromised, he must be working for someome. My bullet grazed his arm and I ducked and rolled, expecting him to fire back. He didn't. And not only did Reed trigger-happy Campbell not shoot at me, he turned and ran out of the room clutching his bleeding arm.I followed after him immediately.“Stop

3 - Manon’s POV

I was eight when the Order took me.They didn't do it by force. They didn't abduct me like a thief in the night from my comfy bed as my parents slept soundly, unaware of what was happening to their child, no. At that time, I had no parents. My employers legally adopted me from an orphanage.That was one of the last days I was truly happy.I remembered the preemptive joy on all adoption days, one only a few children would get to keep. We knew that, and yet.I'd been through a year of weekly disappointments and every week took me farther and farther away from my dream home. It was no secret the younger children were first pickings and the older you got, the more parents had no need for you.That too didn't stop me from looking forward to it with all the optimism of a child.The day I got adopted was seared in my mind.It was rainy, so much so that we thought no one would come today. I kept my best shirt on even after the headmistress sent us off to our rooms, praying that God would pa

4 - Elio’s POV

How fitting it is for the gates to my prison to open on my birthday. It's almost a cliche; reborn on the day I was born. Except I really didn't fucking care for things like birthdays and symbolisms anymore.I never thought this day would come. I'd tried to appeal my sentence multiple times, about six in the first year. But something kept blocking it. I never even heard back to be told it was rejected, and as the years went by I lost all hope. I had resigned myself to spend the full forty years in prison wasting away, paying for a crime I didn't commit.I stepped out through the gates, slowly. Then I walked out of the premises, bare, with clothes from the lost and found.The last few years had been rough, especially because there were a couple men I put away in there with me. They pushed me around, stealing the measly trinkets I earned and took the opportunity to needle me. I took it in stride for the first two full years because at night I cuddled up with the idea that I'd soon be

5 - Manon’s POV

He paused, literally halted mid step. He glanced back, his brow slightly furrowed, and for a moment he simply looked at me as if measuring whether I was worth the effort. “You walked into me.” Now, I could have walked off, just been on my merry way. But the way he said it… it made me thankful I had no more hair to pull out. He was so dismissive, like I was a child just learning how to walk, and it poked into my side deeper. “I did not,” I said. “I was turning a fucking corner trying not to bump into someone else. It was an accident.” “You weren’t paying attention.” Again with the fucking one sentence response! It didn't even sound like he was fully engaged in this conversation and there I was, fuming. “I pay attention just fine,” I said. “Maybe if you actually tried to use the eyes on top of that head we wouldn't even be in this situation.” A couple of people slowed nearby. Not stopping outright, but slowing enough to listen. Even as I didn't want to draw attention to

Chapter 6- Elio’s POV

And what the fuck had that all been about, arguing with a random madman on the goddamn streets!I sighed at myself as I sat down, trying to get comfortable in the seat that was almost too small for me. I put my hands in between my legs, clasped, and waited. How long would this take, I wondered. And how had that random man off the streets gotten on my nerves like that?The ticking clock was loud in the quiet space but I didn’t glance at it from under my lashes every other second because of that. I had spent so long not knowing the time, sometimes spending months in solitary confinement where I was treated like a beast, that I often felt untethered to the world 2:18.Straight from the clock my attention was drawn to the door as it opened again, just a few minutes after I’d come in, and the man I walked in.Was the asshole serious? Was he following me?I couldn’t take my eyes off him because I had the renewed urge to fucking strangle him. He just made me so angry I could just—How dare