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It was uncertain where Zan'tek spent the next moment of time, but it was almost as if he really had been nonexistent. The next thing he knew, he was home, and his mother was already at it, whether he was aware or not. Her hand struck his cheek, and he came around from the dark hole he had spend what seemed like days in.

"You ungrateful little FREAK!!" she screamed, her beautiful face twisted in hatred. "How dare you disgrace my name like that?! After all I've done for you!! Instead of just killing you off like I should have, I let you live in my house and even let you be part of this family, and this is what you do?!!"

As if... Zan'tek thought, but making sure to keep his stare without emotion, for fear of angering his maddened mother further. She was gonna pay some crazy old man to murder and eat me before the dude was finally put out of the town's misery (which of course ruined all of her plans)--that's how generous she is... She treats me like some terminally retarded menace to society...

Another swift stroke to the face brought his thoughts back to the issue at hand: dear mommy's conniption fit. All I ask is that you keep your mouth shut and pretend you don't exist; is that so ******** HARD??!!"

Her slap threw him to the ground, and her words brought tears to his eyes. With a sob, he tried to stay respectful to avoid further wrath. "But... I-I didn't want them to hurt me anymore... I was too scared... Th-th-they..."

Shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut, his mother turned away as if the fact that he could speak was an abomination. "SHUT UP!! Shut your damn mouth, you little p***y!!" She snarled, her gaze growing distant and wicked as she wrung her hands, like she wanted so badly just to strangle him. "Oh... I hate you so much, I could just leave you out in the wastelands to die!"

With a small whimper, Zan'tek buttoned his lip as his eyes grew wide. The wasteland frightened him more than almost anything else. Just the rumors he had heard about caravans that had been traveling to the capital gave him nightmares for days. The wasteland was a place where the worst monsters on the planet lived in caves and underground, often attacking those that crossed the desert without even leaving a trace. If nothing else, he certainly prayed that she would never leave him there. But knowing her, he wouldn't be surprised if she were to do so--her only issue was getting away with such a feat.

Mother then continued ranting venomously, making sure that her b*****d son would have to hear and "savor" every word. "If only that old b*****d, Jenkins, hadn't up and died before he got around to finally putting you out of MY misery, life would be so much more bearable...!"

As she spoke, the person that he feared even more than his mother emerged from the shadows. How long his older half brother had been in the room, Zan'tek was not quite sure, but he knew that if Tuk'ezar was going to interfere, he was not going to escape the house unscathed.

Flinching at Tuk'ezar's acid colored stare, Zan'tek let out a sharp breath of fear as he scrambled back slightly. Despite his fear, he looked at his so-called family, noticing their fair skin--yet another slap in the face for being a b*****d child, since Zan'tek's face was almost as black as ebony.

"Don't you see how much stress you put our poor mother through with your selfish behavior?" Zan'tek's brother questioned accusingly with a sneer. "You make me sick..." With his father gone, Tuk'ezar seemed to enjoy taking on a fatherly role in the house, though the only thing he was responsible for was tormenting a little boy.

Looking at his mother, Zan'tek admitted inwardly that what he had done was quite rash. If none of the other strange things he had done had upset her, this one surely must have. Getting to his feet, Zan'tek looked up at her apologetically as she buried her face in her hands, her crimson hair hanging in thick, wild tresses down her shoulders. Reaching up to tug at her dress gently, he hooked his tiny arms through her arm and tried to hug her, submitting to humility.
"I'm sorry," he told her. "I didn't mean to do it... please don't cry, momma..."

For his offering of affection, he was elbowed right in the eye and hit in the forehead, getting pushed to the ground again. She stood over him, her face even more demonic than before, her mangled hair having fallen out of its design to lay over her slant, lavender eyes.

"Don't you call me that...!" she hissed darkly, clenching her fist and pulling it back, making him throw his hands over his face for protection. "Must you remind me that you are MY child?! MY responsibility?!!"

Just when Zan'tek started to think that he could not get into deeper trouble, Tuk'ezar decided to join his mother in unconditionally hating the b*****d child.
"You're just like your criminal father," he scolded with a scowl, which quickly turned to a sly smirk. "And like a criminal, I think it's time we gave you the mark of one..."

Zan'tek's eyes widened in terror as he started to hyperventilate. Criminals had all kinds of markings to identify them. What in God's name was he talking about? Just as all sorts of possibilities started rushing like lightning through the boy's mind, the older boy took out one of his silver earrings, opening the clasp to reveal the sharp needle that was meant to go through a piercing--or create one.

"Maybe this will teach you to keep your mouth shut!"

Zan'tek's heart stopped and then his brother jolted to hold the boy down, his knees resting on his victim's elbows. The small boy writhed and turned his head in as much defiance as he could muster, but Tuk'ezar's powerful hold on his younger brother's chin kept Zan'tek's head in place. Grinning, the beastly young male savored the howls and shrieks of the child as he slowly dug the metal hoop through the center of his lower lip. And mother dearest laughed harshly, leaning against the wall to keep herself from falling over. After 15 long minutes of slow, painful procedure--"accidental" pricks from the needle, and horrid laughter from mother and son--Tuk'ezar released the b*****d child to let him writhe and shake from pain and shock. Zan'tek's silver eyes were wide, horrified and distant as he hyperventilated, soft whimpers escaping with every breath. His blood trickled from his mouth and several parts of his cheeks to the floor. As his vision blurred, he could hear his mother cooing over her real son, the message she gave causing tear to flow from Zan'tek's eyes.

"Oh, Tuk'ezar... my only son..." she sighed spitefully towards Zan'tek. "Why are you the only heir of mine that's worth anything?"

That was it. He couldn't take this anymore. Overcoming his shock, he scrambled to his feet and rushed outside before anyone could stop him, running forever, it seemed, and yet, going nowhere. No matter where he went, he would always be brought back to that living hell. After what seemed like hours of sprinting, he collapsed on the hard street, weeping bitterly as he lay face down on the empty street, the opaque night covering him like black velvet.

To sleep in a place that felt like it was miles away from those that chronically oppressed him sounded like a nirvana: nonexistent. But, here, he would not have to worry about being brought home until he woke up. For now, he would savor this ephemeral peace and sleep soundly.