3

Chapter 3

After his parents had gotten divorced three months ago, Zumwraek decided that he had to leave his dad. Ever since his parents had broken up his whole world had come crashing down, everything that he had known and loved seemed like just dust floating on top of a pile of rubble. Zumwraek knew that once he left he would have nowhere to go, nobody to rely on except himself. No matter where he went there would still be people that hated him, even if he ran into someone who didn't, some asshole like his dad or cousin wouldn't show him any sympathy, not that he deserved any anyway.

For months after he moved out of their house he lived on the streets of London. He found small jobs wherever he could, cleaning toilets, working in restaurants, even doing oddjobs here and there. It didn't pay much, not like it would have been paid anywhere else in the area anyway, but it kept him fed. And it gave him somewhere to stay until he decided what he was going to do. That didn't stop him from staying homeless though, his father didn't care anymore and neither did his mother. So he slept on couches, in parks, on the side of highways. If there was one place that his dad could never find him it was in London. Nobody wanted anything to do with Zumwraek after they found out the truth, his dad had even started telling the story to everyone he knew. It hadn't worked, most people were terrified of his father so they avoided asking questions. But that didn't stop people from calling Zumwraek names or threatening to hurt him when they caught him trying to steal food from a local shop, however they never did. He doubted there was another person in the city who cared enough about him to want to fight him.

That was how he lived for two years. For most of those two years he lived on the street hoping that one of his foster families would take pity on him. Whenever one of them did he would give them some money and promise to return the next day. It became a game for him, he tried different ways of getting some money each time. The best ones were the ones that involved using his power, although these rarely worked out since no one trusted him, but he made it work nonetheless. He was pretty good at finding out which families would give him money, if they didn't he just had to ask nicely; it was worth trying. After his sixth year of living on the street he received a note one night.

Dear Zumwraek

We are giving you $20 dollars for every month your family gives us money. If your family doesn't give us money by then we will know that it isn't possible to keep you here and that we won't have to keep giving you money. You can either wait for a week and come to see us again, or we can just come looking for you. Please bring enough money so that this can stop happening. We'll meet you behind the abandoned warehouse near the park tomorrow at 8:00 p.m.

Sincerely,

Your new family

Saying that his heart soared and filled with pure joy he quickly wrote back a reply and then set off to meet them. As soon as he arrived he handed his bag to a man wearing a dark hoodie with a mask over his face and asked him to give him twenty dollars. As soon as he received the money he ran back to his hiding spot in the alleyway, hoping that none of his relatives had noticed him leaving.

About thirty minutes later a van parked right behind him and the van door opened. Standing inside the van was a man with blond hair and pale skin who wore sunglasses as if they had suddenly grown attached to them. Zumwraek was familiar with him, he was part of their family's business.