The World Below [DNF]

Chapter 1: Prologue

A/N: Hello hello !! Quick disclaimer: There'll be some heavy subjects depicted in this book such as abuse, violence, death etc. 

With that said, I won't specify TWs for each chapters. So just keep that in mind!

Now, enjoy! <3 

Thinking that your parents will leave you one day is a foreign feeling to most children.

Well – at least until it happens.

George was no exception. His early childhood was relatively normal. Sure, it definitely lacked some emotional family bonds. But it's difficult to miss something that you've never experienced. He was an only child with two middle-class parents, who didn't stand out much from the rest. They lived a bit outside of Brighton in a simple, yet beautiful house accompanied by a big garden where George spent most of his spare time.

The relationship with his parents was from an early age very formal, especially the one with his father. Feelings were seen as an undesirable characteristic, which caused George to hide everything behind a carefully crafted facade. He learned not to ask unnecessary questions and keep to himself. His parents never found any greater interest in George's life and the family barely spoke to one another.

Though, everything went downhill when he started school. He was a bright kid with a natural talent for numbers and calculations. But because he generally lacked any form of interest in school and also made it the mission of his life disregard anything teachers and authorities told him to do just out of spite, George started getting in trouble. His dismissive attitude was something his mom was more than happy to cuss him out for, which only resulted in more defiance. His dad however never really bothered to interfere much in George's life which probably amplified his defying behaviors against his mother.

Because deep down, the negative reaction from his mother was better than the total disinterest that he received from his father.

As school turned into somewhat of a disaster, so did the relationship between his mother and father. Most nights were spent locked inside his room or outside in the garden, trying to shut out the yelling and fighting that took place between his parents. The fighting rarely occurred in front of him, so what all the fighting was about, remained a mystery.

A combination of a violent home and a school environment that didn't interest George in the slightest, resulted in him turning to other sorts of ways to pass time. He began hanging out other people that also didn't fit into your typical school environment. Many of them had just as turbulent home situations as himself, if not even worse.

His given talent for numbers showed itself to be a quite useful way to earn money through gambling. The gang of misfits gained a reputation of being out of control and George's parents started losing more and more control over his actions.

Another realization that George did during his many hours in their garden was that he had a big fondness of knife-throwing. On his twelfth birthday, his father got him the only present he honestly could say he genuinely enjoyed; a butterfly knife and a ring dagger. The ring dagger was perfectly balanced for throwing. After a years of standing in the garden and practicing, which was a perfect distraction from his underwhelming life, he got really skilled. The talent was something that turned out to be useful when he and his "gang" would gamble for money. Cause no one expects the rather tiny seventeen year old boy to possess such a quality. George would use this assumption to his advantage and challenge drunk, middle-aged men to a knife-throwing competitions and having people bet money on who they thought were going to win. He learned to play the part of an overly cocky teenager to make people underestimate him, and then go on to win with ease.

Everything was a game to George, and he always had a plan, earning him kind of a leader roll in their little group. But nothing lasts forever, and one day would come to change everything.

George had drifted further and further from his parents as time went by. He spent most of his time with his "friends" who most often could be found at an abandoned garage that they'd claimed as their "layer". George was very closed off and careful not to let anyone in. Still, he found some sort of comfort in the group. Because of their different ways of gambling, they'd even managed to make the abandoned garage feel sort of homely. None of the members of the group ever cared to go to school, so the days were mostly spent drinking their problems away, making up gambling plans and some smaller robberies.

Unfortunately, the slight feeling of security would a cloudy day in October be ripped away from him.

This day had started off the same way as any other, but would soon be interrupted by no other than George's own father storming the garage and forcing George to a facility he'd never seen before.

And right there's when his life took a turn.

A/N:

12/6-2022:

Holy shit!! 4K reads and second in 'DNF' and second in 'Dreamnotfound'??!!

I don't know how that happened but I'm so extremely grateful for everyone who've taken their time to read it. Thank you so much and I love all of you! <33