Raven Dmitry was just a normal teenager.
Well, that was the case at first, but after all he had experienced in the last two and a half years, his life had become anything but normal.
Through the powerless struggle that was his life so far, he had come to the understanding that power was everything in this world, and it was the right of the powerful to oppress the powerless.
So, he felt it was fair. Everything that happened to him was because he had no power. He did not accept this torture because he was weak-willed, and he was not naïve enough to believe that some godlike vigilante or hero would come and save him one day.
He knew it was only a hopeful delusion, and that if he ever wanted to escape this life, he would have to do so himself. Regardless, he wanted to enact his revenge by his own hands and did not at all entertain the prospect of another doing it for him.
Raven was still somehow alive, though he should have died of exhaustion or from the incredible number of injuries and abuse he had received. Yet he held on. Without even a place to sleep, he lay on the ground of an old, abandoned building, reminiscing about the past. He was biding his time.
For what exactly? Even he was not sure, but he knew that whatever it was, it could inexplicably change his life.
Despite that, he could not help but think about his past and all the things he had taken for granted.
He used to be quite blessed. For one, he had a family who loved him, and he even had a baby brother, David, whom he considered the best present he had ever received. There had been friends, games, and laughter once, and long nights lost in movies, anime, and stacks of comics were a favourite pastime.
It had been a blissful, almost perfect life…
Only for it all to be torn away.
…
Two and a half years ago
Blood covered the floor, and the seemingly bright and tranquil home that Raven and his family lived in was destroyed by the devil himself. After all, who else would force a teenager, only fifteen at the time, to go through such a cruel experience?
His parents had both been shot. His father's back was riddled with a barrage of bullets as he tried in vain to save his wife, Raven's mother. The culprits removed his dead and broken body, which had been lying on top of her, and unloaded a bullet into her arm to torture her, even though it was obvious she would soon die anyway.
"Ahh, if only she weren't so close to dying."
"Haha, what are you trying to do to a poor woman before her death? Just let her slowly bleed out and we'll be done."
"That's no fun… Well, anyway, what are we gonna do with the kid and the toddler?"
Meanwhile, Raven was forced to stand and watch as the shooter, who had his weapon pointed at his skull, did not let him look away even once. His mother's screams filled his mind, but this did not last long. She was soon overcome by the darkness due to the sheer amount of blood she had lost and gave in to her untimely fate.
"Well, now that we're done here, let the boss decide what to do with the kids."
"No, p-please, let me and my brother live. We haven't done anything to deserve any of this."
Raven's voice was unnaturally hoarse due to his incessant sobbing. He could even taste the tears streaming down his face every time he opened his mouth to speak, signifying his feelings of loss and helplessness.
"You should keep your trap shut if you know what's good for you," the man snapped, clearly annoyed by Raven interrupting him.
The only family he had left was his baby brother, lying in his pram and crying with no one to comfort him. Raven felt it was his duty to protect his only kin, knowing it would be the only thing his parents would ask of him. But he did not even have the freedom to move, and unfortunately, his torture did not end there.
He could never have imagined they would be heartless enough to do what they did next.
The group of men who now infested Raven's house sat down to discuss what to do next.
They clearly were not in any hurry whatsoever. One of the men, whom Raven overheard being called Richard and who seemed to be the boss, surprisingly sat down and took out a cigarette to have a smoke.
At this point, Raven was still alive and being held at gunpoint, but even if he had not been, he would not have retaliated. It would be a one versus five, and all these men were armed and clearly trained professionals.
Throughout all this, David was still crying. He was obviously scared, and all Raven wanted to do was go to him and cuddle him, to let him know he would be safe. But without being able to leave the grasp of the shooter, or even to soothe himself for that matter, he was unable to do so.
He was shattered.
He had already lost too much today.
All he wanted was to go to sleep and forget today ever happened, but his heart was too heavy to allow him to do so. All he wanted was to know that at least his brother would be out of harm's way.
As the seconds ticked away into minutes, Raven was slowly resigning himself to his fate. But when the topic of what would happen to him and his brother came up in the conversation between the shooters, his ears finally perked up. Since this would decide their ultimate destiny, he had to listen in at least.
"So, boss, we were wondering what you plan to do with these two," one of the men asked, pointing at Raven and his brother.
"Mhhh, this kid could be somewhat useful, at least as a stray dog that can do the menial tasks around the base," Richard considered, exhaling a cloud of cigarette smoke.
"Oh yeah, we could use an extra pair of hands around the place."
"We can even use him as a punching bag to relieve stress after a hard day's work," a muscular man covered in tattoos added.
"Don't you already have a punching bag at the base? Why do you want to beat up the kid?" another man asked.
All of the men chimed in, deciding what they would do to Raven and how they would use him.
"Well, that can't really compare to one that can scream and cry. It's way more satisfying to beat a real person than some leather rag," the tattooed man said with delight.
"Haaah, you really need to get yourself checked."
"What about that annoying toddler?" the tattooed man growled, looking at David, who was still crying incessantly.
"He's irrelevant, but I do want him to shut up. If any of you could take him away and drop him off at some backwater orphanage, it would be fine," Richard calmly stated.
"Dibs not doing it. I've got to work out later, so I won't have time for such a detour."
"Well, anyone else?" Richard questioned the rest of his crew with a raised eyebrow. But none of his men fancied being a babysitter, and all swiftly looked away to avoid having to do it.
"Fine then."
Richard pulled out his gun and aimed at the toddler. Raven, alerted by the sudden turn of events, screamed and tried to run towards David to protect him.
"Nooo, please!"
"Pffffft, he will slowly die from thirst and hunger anyway, because no one is gonna find him, for at least a few days. So consider this a sort of mercy," Richard grinned, about to pull the trigger.
Raven tried to fight back and struggle, but it was to no avail as the man who held him at gunpoint used his weapon to knock him out.
The last thing he remembered that night was the deafening sound of a gunshot, and then nothing...