Chapter Three

This chapter is a flashback.

The creation of New Earth had set in, and one after one, neighborhoods were leveled and replaced with new ones devoted to Chosen. The people that lived in those neighborhoods became slaves, families being split apart to live in different Chosen households and serve them. Merely the shock of it all gave Chosen an easy time in getting the humans to submit to whatever they desired. However, there were others that did not go down so easily. One that certainly didn’t give in without a fight was the strong-spirited Sungmin. He had been born into the New Generation, however he did not take to the idea at all of him being treated as anything other than what he was. He admittedly felt bad for how his fellow people had treated Chosen. Despite this, Sungmin didn’t believe Chosen were justified to simply turn the situation around. It had been the harsh treatment of one of their kinds that had sparked the problem in the first place.

The Chosen came without a warning into Sungmin’s neighborhood, breaking apart the gates and spread through the houses like a virus, taking every human with them. Some had tried to run, however they had been the first to be caught as there were plenty of Chosen guarding any kind of escape route. Sungmin was unsure of what to do, fear warring with adrenaline and wanting to fight against his captors. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen and tried to hold it as tightly as he could in his hand. He had to resist flinching when he heard the door being kicked down, knowing there was no place left to hide now. The house Sungmin and his family lived in was at the end of their block, meaning that all of their neighbors had already been taken by Chosen. His own family had tried to flee, while he had refused to run right into their arms.

There were only three that came through the door and Sungmin gripped it more and more anxiously, pointing it at them threateningly. They did not even pay him any mind, two approaching him dangerously and another sneaking up from behind him and knocking the knife out of his hands. He struggled as the three men lifted him without any difficulty as he struggled to try and get out of their hold. Sungmin continued to squirm and make it difficult for them, however they simply blinked and continued to carry him out of the place, shifting his weight so that he was in too awkward of a position to escape them.

Although it could not possibly save him, Sungmin screamed loudly out of instinct. This finally was the last straw for the Chosen that were taking him. They dropped him to the floor harshly, one of them kicking him in the stomach, causing him to groan in pain. Despite the pain, Sungmin got on his knees and tried to sprint out the door. He felt something sharply grab the back of shirt and drag him right to where he had been a minute ago. Another of the Chosen forced him into a choke hold, cutting off his airways and setting his lungs on fire.

“Stop fighting.” The one choking him told Sungmin, letting go once the boy fell forward, struggling to regain the oxygen that was meant to be in his lungs. He glared at them, however the Chosen continued on to warn him, “Unless you want to go to Seventh Circle.”

Sungmin had heard so many horror stories about Seventh Circle. He did not know anyone personally that had been there, however he never would want to. He was a bit afraid, however he refused to show that. The Chosen were trying to break him, however he refused to let them. He would not comply with them as they wanted him to.

They forced him out of the door and a large moving van awaited them once outside. Having much more of an open space, along with being trained in martial arts when he was younger, Sungmin broke free of the grip of his captors, kicking the closest Chosen to him strongly in the stomach before sprinting away. He did not know where he could possibly seek refuge in, however the still-standing Sanctuary seemed his best option as it was only a few miles away from where they were. Could he really outrun them though? It sounded impossible - as it probably was - however Sungmin would rather be able to say he tried than go willingly. He would not lose his humanity that easily.

Pausing for a breath, Sungmin's heart nearly stopped as his whole body convulsed in pain, his own legs wobbling and giving out on him as he fell to the ground in a pathetic heap. He tried to turn his head to look up at his once again captors, however he had been stunned enough to where his body was temporarily paralyzed.

"Your attempt was admirable." One of the Chosen remarked, as they all picked Sungmin up and hauled him into the moving van that was surprisingly vacant. There were several chains hanging off the walls, to which Sungmin was bound to a set so that he was unable to move his arms or legs - although they had made good work of incapacitating him.

"Why am I all alone?" He asked to which another smiled at him cruelly.

"You've proven yourself durable, however no Chosen will want to buy you with your attitude." One of the Chosen replied. Sungmin twitched, wanting eagerly to break free as his future did not seem bright in the slightest.

"W-where are you taking me?" His voice faltered, betraying him as millions of knots began to twists themselves in his stomach and he felt lightheaded.

"A place that'll straighten you out - make you a good, little slave."

With that, the door slammed shut, locking Sungmin in his temporary prison. He began to feel the urge to hurl, however fought against it, swallowing down the bile that grew in his throat as he tried to calm himself down. He may have lost the battle, however the war had only just begun.

Sungmin refused to break, no matter how hard they twisted him. They would never be able to damage his determined spirit. However, he was only human. He still feared for what came next, praying that they were not sending him to Seventh Circle, as Sungmin knew that he had made a decision different than the others.

Unlike the others, that had chosen to give up and allow their fate to take hold of them, Sungmin was fully ready to fight until the end. It was the much more difficult choice, as he knew the consequences were great, however the end result should surely surpass the present. At least, that was the attitude Sungmin tried to invest himself in.

Author's Note:

Whoo. Chapter three is up. It was so hard to write what with Sungminnie being my bias. I'll make it up to him. :P 

~*Carissa*~