ꋊꄲ꓄ ꋬ ꒒ꄲ꒦ꏂ ꇙ꓄ꄲꋪꌦ- ꋬ ꋊꏂꅐ꓄ꂵꋬꇙ ꇙ꓄ꄲꋪꌦ

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 2: 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔶

"You ungrateful welch" she screamed at him, the sound of the slap echoing around the room mixed with the slight stinging from his right cheek "I pay you well for a boy of your stature and you still have the audacity to ask for more! I should fire you right here and now and beat you to a pulp!"

The dark-haired boy's eyes filled with fear at that, he considered begging to try to get the woman to change her now angry mind but knew that if he did, he would walk out of here without a job and without any money to support his mother and little sister. He muttered a quiet apology rubbing his cheek and refusing to let the brewing tears slip from his eyes not wanting to give her the satisfaction before heading back to work. The job wasn't exactly pleasant, he doubted even the most optimistic people could make fun out of washing dishes in the musty bar which running water came out a sort of brown color that tasted even worse than it smelled making him gag. He grabbed a cleaner rag from the counter and grabbed some ice before putting it do the red mark not wanting to show up at home that night with a puffy cheek.

As he absentmindedly scrubbed the grim off a pan, he replayed the day in his mind. It had started his sister waking up in the early morning hours, her body racked with disease, coughing, wheezing, and shaking in her bed but that hadn't started recently. The few doctors that they were able to afford told them of some rare genetically transmitted parasite that had made its home in his sister's small fragile body, they suspected that it had been from his father who had left days after she was born and never returned. Leaving his mother, a young woman with a low-paying job with two young children one with a maybe terminal illness. Even thinking of him made him clench his jaw, all those years he cared for his sister the hate for his father had only grown. It was his fault that his sister was sick, his fault his mother now had to clean floors or scrub dishes just to provide food on the table. He thought back to his sister,

That morning he had sat her up quietly talking to her, his voice mixed with the cup of grungy tea with herbs still left seeping in the bottom, he even managed to get a small laugh to erupt from her chapped lips. His mother had awoken then, coming into the room, her hair frizzy and bathrobe wrapped around her tightly almost defensively as if the thin fabric would protect her from all her problems. She had sat at the edge of her daughter's bed, desperately trying to keep up a strong appearance in front of her children, but this didn't fool her son who had been around to hear her break down in her room late at night when even the spirits went to rest.

"T... Tom... THOMAS!" His head whipped up to see the face of his best friend staring at him both annoyance and urgency in his face. "B-O-S-S is coming c'mon we can hide until she goes back to her dungeon"

He pulled Thomas's arm without waiting for an answer and started half-dragging him through the hall. He tried to pull away, he didn't even know where they were going but his friend was still stronger than him. Thomas was fairly tall, with brown hair and dark eyes but still more than a few inches shorter than his friend along with the smaller structure of his limbs next to his tall strong body he looked smaller and thinner than ever. When he had first met the other boys, they had come up with the nickname green bean which suited him quite well they decided, and it had even gotten to the point where some people didn't know his real name, but they always meant well even if most of their nicknames involved food

His friend, a boy named Minho dragged him into a side room of the inn before closing the door quietly. As he took in his surrounding he sucked in a breath, the room was no bigger than a walk-in closet but that was not what surprised him. Inside on wooden stools sat four boys, one he didn't recognize. The others were boys he had seen around town, a tall boy with burn marks on his hands, Frypan, a smaller boy with a sweet smile, Aris, and a boy with a permanent scowl on his face, Gally.

"What's going on?" Thomas asked confused, he turned to Minho who was still making goo-goo eyes at Aris.

He poked him and Minho snapped out of it,

"Umm..." He said seeming to have blanked out when he caught sight of his long-term crush "Ah... oh... Yeah, this guy wanted to talk to all of us."

He pointed to the stranger and Thomas tried to place his face, he was older than them maybe in his early thirties and his face was ugly reminding him of a rat. Thomas swore he had seen him in town before, but he couldn't remember where.

About what? He wanted to ask but he held his tongue he had learned long ago unwanted questions only lead to trouble.

As the strange man stood, he took something wrapped tightly in cloth from his pocket long and lean as a dear but still brought the feeling of panic. Thomas had been around town enough to know the shape well. His heart clawed up his throat as he tensed to grab for the door, but if that was what he thought it was he doubted he could make it in time. Thomas's eyes darted to his friend who was also eyeing the package with concern. He wondered if he could grab it but almost immediately dismissed the idea knowing that that would take seconds he didn't have. He held his breath petrified by the thing, the one small thing that managed to provoke so much fear.

The man seemed to sense the mood, and this made him smile,

"Welcome Gentleman, how would you like to be part of a rebellion that will change your life."

Thomas looked at the other boys who looked just as confused as he felt, and his eyes still lingered on the half-wrapped object between the man's fingers,

"What's that for," Minho asked signaling to the thing,

Thomas admired how he asked it so confidently, not worried about reactions or consequences.

The man laughed but not out of joy, his laugh was cold not warming Thomas's heart the way laughter would if it had been his sister or friend's.

"This Minho is because this conversation does not leave this room."

He lifted the safety lock, letting the shiny black metal of the gun meet their eyes.  

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Author Note: 

Hii!!!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope to add some other characters soon 

*cough Harriet cough Chuck cough*

Question: Who's backstory sounds more interesting/ tragic so far?

Have a great rest of your day/ night

Thanks for reading!!!!