Three days before the interviews.

One month before classes start.

Current location: The streets of Pitsburg, New Hampshire.

Quinn wakes up from his nightmare, or rather, a dark memory he would rather forget. Three weeks have passed since that fateful day, wherein he barely escaped his former home. He doesn't exactly remember how he escaped. All he knows is that he is free, at least for now.

He goes through the motions of his morning routine. He stretches a bit and then exits the tent he sleeps in. Not having anywhere to stay, Quinn has resorted to living on the streets. Life without a house has been rough, but he would rather live homeless than be tortured at home.

His life has been quieter these days. As he packed up his stuff, he made his way to a community shelter. While Quinn doesn't exactly know where he is, he's found that the people here are pretty kind and, even better, they mind their own business. People here sort of live and let live. Quinn sets his backpack down on a table, grabs a tray, and heads for the serving table. He saw that today's specials were mac and cheese with some pork chop. It's been a while since he ate some good old pork, suffice to say, he was starving.

Quinn is greeted by one of the staff, a young man with long black hair and a bronze complexion. This is Nico, a local who volunteers during his spare time. He was the one to introduce Quinn to the shelter, helping him adjust to his new life. In fact, Nico has even invited Quinn to stay over; however, Quinn always refuses. When asked why, Quinn would never respond, for he knows that wherever he goes, they will find him, and hurt those he cares about.

"Good morning, Quinn How'd you sleep last night?"

"Not well."

"Oh, that sucks." Nico gives Quinn a warm smile. "Here, maybe this can make it better."

Nico places another pork chop on his plate.

"Thank you"

"Don't mention it! Seriously, don't. I might get fired ahaha!" Nico chuckles as he waves. Quinn heads back to his table, quietly laughing.

After sitting down and enjoying his meal, moments later, Nico sits down beside him, carrying a small sandwich.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asks Nico.

"Can't I sit beside you?" Nico responds.

"You can, just, I thought you would still be working."

"Oh, I thought you didn't like me, haha!" Nico laughs as he elbows Quinn softly. "I'm on break. Ernie will cover me." Nico says as he points to the counter.

"I see," Quinn replies.

"You know, the offer still stands."

"I know."

"And you don't want to reconsider?"

"I don't"

"Why not?"

"Becaus-"

Suddenly, the doors burst open. The residents pause their movements as they observe these big, burly men enter the room. They are dressed casually to not stand out of course. These men look around, like hunters, looking for their prey. Quinn quickly assessed the situation.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Cops? Couldn't be; they're not in uniform. Unless they're undercover cops, but undercover cops wouldn't bring attention unto themselves. So, Secret Service, then? Again, why would they create commotion? Maybe they're bad at their jobs. No, focus, they're looking for something, money? They could be robbers, but they're not wearing masks, nor do they have bags to store money in.

As Quinn's thoughts raced in his mind, the men quickly approached the counter.

"Good morning," said Ernie. "What could I help you fellas with?"

"We got word of a stowaway recently settling down in yer local streets. See Mr Ernie, this rascal is a dangerous monster, and me and my boys, want to keep yer community safe."

"I wouldn't know one if I saw one, haha," Ernie chuckled.

"The thing about this monster," The man continued, "is that, unlike other beasts, this one has a heart worth its weight in gold"

"What?"

Out of the three men, one scans the room. He makes eye contact with Nico. As he looks beside him, a boy seems to be wearing a jacket with the hood up, and he appears to be whispering something to Nico.

"Nico, we have to go."

"Huh?"

"We have to go now!"

Quinn grabs Nico by the arm and starts running for the exit. Before he could reach the door, one of the men teleports right in front of them, making them stumble.

"Hello brother, long time no see," one of the men says, his voice sounds like someone who smoked too much.

"Hi, Joseph, it's been too long," Quinn remarks.

"Quinn, you know these guys?" Nico questions with concern.

"They are my brothers, adopted," Quinn replies as he instinctively puts his arms up to protect Nico.

"Family is family, brother, say, how about we go home? Mom and Dad miss you ton," Joseph says, as the other two men surround them.

Quinn looks to Nico, who is quivering behind him.

"Alright, let's go, but let him go," Quinn pleads.

"How bout an alternative?" Joseph scoffs as he punches Quinn, sending him hurdling towards a wall.

The people in the center start running and screaming. Several of them grab their food as they run outside. Quinn tries to get back up, but his whole body hurts. Joseph grabs Nico by the neck and slowly walks to Quinn.

"We brothers go back home, and," Joseph glances at Nico's chest, reading his nametag, "Nico here gets to meet our lord and savior above. Sounds like a good deal, no?"

"JOSEPH DON'T!"

With one twist, Joseph breaks Nico's neck, killing him instantly.

"That's for running away, Quinn. Now pick yer self up; we're going home."

Quinn's eyes narrow, as he sees Nico's lifeless body fall down to the ground. He clenches his fists tightly as he thinks of Nico, a boy who was nothing but nice, now dead, because of him. As if the heavens above are punishing him for trying to escape the pain, for trying to be happy.

"YOU BASTARD!!" Quinn screams in fury. He lunges at Joseph, slamming his fists right in his face.

"Get off me you little prick!" Joseph yells as he throws Quinn aside. The other two men spring into action, as they begin punching down. Quinn is strong, but his brothers are stronger; as they land more and more hits, Quinn's face gets beaten black and blue.

"What's wrong, brother?" Joseph wipes away the blood from his nose.

"Are you sad about yer friend dying? Well guess what," Joseph whispers into Quinn's ear. "It's all your fault."

"If you never ran away, this kid would probably still be alive. But you had to be selfish and endanger the people you love, like us, your brothers."

"You know what they did to us after you escaped? You were their perfect son, and we, we were just variables to them. With you back home, Mom and Dad can focus on the son they love the most, and leave us alone!"

Quinn tries to go for a kick, but Joseph just effortlessly catches it, and with one motion, he breaks his leg. Quinn screams in pain as Joseph slams his fist into Quinn's chest, breaking at least six rib bones.

"Now, let's go home, brother. Im sure our parents miss ya ton."

Quinn has lost too much blood, he tries to escape from Joseph's grip, but it's futile. He flashes back, to when he was home, strapped down on a steel table, wires injected into his body, a mouth gag that prevented his screaming. This familiar feeling of powerlessness returns to Quinn, and before he passes out, he has one last prayer in his mind.

Someone... please... save...

But before he can finish that thought, a black blur snatches Quinn out of Joseph's grip. The three men look around the hall, confused about what just happened.

In the corner of the room, Quinn tries to open his eyes, but he can't see who this person is. All he can hear is his Hero's words:

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm here to save you."