Chapter 3

'The adults were baffled as to why he hadn't spiralled and started attacking people yet.

Maybe that's why they're debating on sending me to school.' Vince thought sitting in his chair like he'd been asked before the adults locked him out of the private meeting room.

They had said something about the Virus Resistance being on the surface at the time and would be preoccupied until they came to the Williamsburg IV district.

Vince could vaguely assume that was where he was. The place he considered home.

After a time he was approached by a girl. She looked like a much younger version of the Headmistress Scholastique. Though her face was more friendly.

"Hi, my name is Emerentiana," she introduced. He blinked dully at her.

"Hi," he said skeptically. "My name is Vince" he introduced.

"Ah Emerentiana, you are already introducing yourself to the new pupil." Headmistress Scholastique smiled coming out of the office. Emerentiana smiled back at her, clearly pleased with the acknowledgement.

Nīkau made a baffled facial expression at the statement. Inspector Mandarin raised an eyebrow at his partner's facial expression. However Inspector Nīkau shook his head.

"Go on off to the place you are supposed to be sitting, I'll be a long shortly after speaking more with the Chief. I'm sure he appreciates your generosity in speaking with him before he was properly introduced," Headmistress Scholastique remarked calmly.

"Yes, Headmistress Scholastique," Emerentiana nodded. She stood up and walked swiftly to wherever her proper seat was.

Vince couldn't help but think that the Headmistress's statement was off somehow. But he didn't say anything about it.

"Did the discussion go well?" He asked Inspector Mandarin instead.

"Yes she agree to take you in. Your case is unique so you'll have to attend here no matter what orphanage you get transferred to." Inspector Mandarin responded lightly.

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**Eleven Years Later **

Vince Crylight was only seventeen- eighteen now- but he'd been in four foster homes. The first one had burned down when he was eight and he'd had the luck of not being there due to being bullied by other kids whose parents could afford things like school.

Naturally they felt privileged because he was an orphan and would not be going to school until he turned eight.

They no longer felt too privileged after his virus side triggered and ... *Ate* part of one of the boy's hands.

He was moved on account of 'being an unstable threat to innocent children'.

The second also ended badly, he'd just started school and of course this made him an immediate target for new bullies. Since, upon introduction he'd been labeled a charity case so students tried to mask the bullying by pretending to be nice and offering to 'help the poor clueless orphan who clearly was stupid'.

One too many times of being pushed down the stairs resulted in him spilling all his homework and supplies. In particular one kid named Luke with ginger curly hair and blue eyes stepped on his metal pencil case denting it slightly. It had been a gift from Gothel Swann and while she'd given all the orphans under her care a pencil case since they were fairly cheap. Vince couldn't quite control his anger that one of the few gifts he gotten had already been damaged. It did not matter that when he angrily grabbed it he crushed it and the few pencils still inside. The metal case became smaller than a flattened tin can.

 He did not attempt to socialize at school afterwards. Though several of the students happened to see him leaving the library one day several weeks later and the end result was that they didn't go to school again either. Although Vince himself has no idea what happened and couldn't explain the amount of blood…

The third turned out not to be a foster home at all, but rather a home for children with mental disorders. His ability to stay there was terminated after multiple 'concerned parents' insisted he could not be around children without violence occurring.

The current one was the longest he'd been without any incidents. Perhaps because of Genevieve's kindness. Or maybe because by that point he was presented with the threat of being taken to the aboveground and left there. 

The Virus Resistance hadn't appeared in my life yet. Which..I guess I can assume to be the way an adult didn't keep their word. The kind of false reassurance people give about adopting the other kids in the orphanage.' his eyes fluttered on his textbook. Absently he scribbled little plants along the corners like on all the pages before it.

"I'm not sure if their absence was a good thing or a bad thing." He remarked quietly to himself.

"Over the past eleven years have you learned anything about your Virus side ?"

Who he later learned was the daughter of Headmistress Scholastique. He didn't hate her or anything. Her fanatic group of followers on the other hand... Were a bit of trouble.

"Oh yeah no I'm actively experimenting with the thing that ruined my life," he sulked closing his book.

She blinked then sat down in an empty seat next to him. "Some people say Viruses were meant to modify humans and make them better. Maybe you being the first human to bond with them without going crazy means something is missing..?" She offered.

"I'm not into becoming a class experiment again. Once was embarrassing enough," he grimaced standing up. 'That thought scares me'.

Accidentally he bumped into her and briefly their lips touched.

Emerentiana flushed turning bright red in shock. Then gently touched her lips.

He flinched. "Sorry?" He was pretty sure she materialized right in front of him. But either way, he just lost the one person who was nice to him...

She stared blankly. "You..."

"It was an accident! He blurted before leaving. Heading straight for the orphanage and falling asleep in his room.

Unfortunately his dreams didn't believe in leaving him alone.

A woman wearing a brown dress with a train in the back. Her skin was a pretty dark tan color and her hair was black and thigh length, held in a high ponytail.

He remembered her from that day at the precinct.

She sat on the bed and patted his head gently. The bed creaked when he crawled in it but hadn't reacted when she sat down. How light was she?

"I've been watching your progress. You've grown up into a fine young man Vince," she said though she still rubbed at his head like he was her child.

"It'll be time soon. You'll have to make a choice you can't run away from," she said.

"Welcome to our world, it's your turn soon," a happy female voice said from behind him.

Vince turned to see the owner but instead he rolled over and blinked awake, his eyelids halfway open before widening as he acknowledged the bland equivalent of autumn morning. After a bit of debate Vince just rolled back over.

"August 23rd..." He trailed absently.

"Hey Vince, get up, the world isn't going to stop spinning because you want to sleep in," Samantha remarked, hitting him with a pillow. Samantha had dirty blond hair put in a side braid, her turquoise eyes filled with amusement. She was dressed rather nicely instead of her normal sweater and jeans. Today she wore a dress, seeing her in one alone surprised him enough to sit up. 

"wha? but it's my birthday, Caretaker Genevieve said I could sleep in those days...." Vince yawned sitting up. Absently he realized he didn't change out of his school clothes yesterday.

"yeah well she has preparations to carry out, so you can't be here," Samantha flipped over her hair with a shrug so it now rested on her back. He could read the shirt more easily though he already recognized it as her favorite one. the letters had long faded but he knew it once said 'hello kitty' in pink letters. Beneath the words a watercolor image of a cartoonish white cat head surrounded by pink flowers. instead of the normal jeans she wore a multi layer pale pink dress, the bodice hidden by her hello kitty shirt. He noted she still wore her grey converse sneakers though.

She cracked her bubble gum, the sweet scent filling his nose as he walked by to get clothes. 

"You don't need those." Samantha handed him a gift bag. 

"Hu..h? But Caretaker Genevieve has always said they were good enough." Vince couldn't help but defend, partly worried about the cost of the new things he was expected to wear. 

"yeah and she's saying that you can wear this today," Samantha snarked, raising her eyebrow. Her hand was still holding the bag out to him.

"well--" Vince thought better of it and decided not to argue. "okay then,"

'maybe today is special since I'm eighteen now' he thought reasoning with himself.

Vince came back from his shower dressed in a crimson red letterman jacket, the original patches on it had no doubt been replaced and exchanged for the decorations on it now; the front right side had his full name in calligraphy, below it in a elaborate bold print font was a large capital 'A' and beneath it 'u g' short for August next to it was the number 23 in the same font. On the left side a hand stitched name of the foster home.

His eyes misted over as he gently touched the embroidery. 'Genevieve likely went through the effort to stitch this personally'.

The vest underneath it was a red black and white argyle pattern, coordinating well with the black dress shirt and red bow tie. 

"Aw Vince! You look like you're not an orphan!" Samantha grinned ruffling his semi dry hair. 

Vince couldn't help the blush that crept up his neck. He tried to smooth out his hair when she removed her hand.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me," he replied sincerely. They headed downstairs first to see Genevieve to get the required amount of money for their trip. Afterwards they bade the other children a farewell for the day and headed to the marketplace.

The majority of people in the country had been underground for many decades due to the threat of the Viruses. Not in proper cities like Vince had understood when he was seven, though there were most likely enough people to equate to a city wide population. But instead in districts, notably grouped apart by wealth.

 The sunlight of the underground was facsimile, being generated by special light powered by solar panels on the aboveground. On days it rained on the surface it was nearly impossible to appreciate depending on the district, even with the street lights and oil lamps.

Thought about what to get when we arrive at the marketplace?" Samantha turned to him.

"I'd really wanted a new blanket for some time now," he started.

Most buildings were made of bricks and concrete, depending on the area they did not have comfortable insulation which meant blankets and thick quilts had become the highlight purchases of the summer season in any of the marketplaces.

"The odds of getting a replacement blanket were extremely low but I had been considering it." He admitted.

"Trust you to consider something you need for a luxury item," Samantha decided.

The marketplaces; twelve in each of the underground districts, were the equivalent of malls and shopping during any holidays could quickly become an intriguing auction or a violent bloodbath. Genevieve had given enough money to buy three special items for his birthday and the closest one was almost a mile away, where Samantha and Vince headed now. It was also unfortunately near the greenhouse by the first orphanage, where everything started for Vince.