I live for you.

Chapter 12 - Species Classification

There people who took me in. Who fixed my face. They were my family now. I knew it and so did they. Tony was gone. I would have to face that. I did every night. As we began to devise a plan I got to know my new family more.

Justine was hilarious. She had this different take on humor. She told a lot of the same jokes but in new ways every time. She made it so they never got old. She gave me funny looks every now and then when we were apart from the group. I sometimes wondered if she actually liked me. She was hard to read because all she was ever doing was making people laugh or laughing herself. 

Calvin was a funny guy too. He was constantly cracking race jokes. He loved food. He was always eating something. Whether it be out of the bowl of peanuts on the bar or a burger out of the mini fridge. He wasnt very serious about anything and that made the rest of them angry. He would make a funny comment about something and they would give a mean retort. He would just smile shake his head and walk off to his room. 

Billy was another story entirely. The way he looked seemed to get to him. Parker told me that I should know him from somewhere. So one day I confronted Billy about it. 

It was the first day that Calvin thought it was safe for me to go in the sun. I guess the weather where we were was strange and unpredictable. The slight green hue the water had given me had disappeared. When Calvin suggested I go outside that day Billy asked to go with me. 

We left out of the heavy metal door at the end of the hall. It opened on squealing hinges and the sunlight poured in. I smiled at the warmth. It was rising over the vast expanse of water before us. I stepped outside into the heat. We appeared to be on a tropical island. The white sand was soft beneath my bare feet and the plants grew exactly where they were supposed to. There were towering palm trees mixed with red wood trees that created the jungle behind the shelter we resided in. 

It was clearly some kind of weather shelter. The heavy door was the only thing visible, the rest was covered in the long soft crass that came over the door like hair. I began to walk along the sand and Billy followed. Breathing in the salty air coming off the sea. 

"Parker mentioned that I should know you," I stated looking over at him. 

He nodded his head trying to keep his face blank. I turned and watched the sand topple onto my feet with each step. Sensing he didnt care to talk about it. 

"Your entrance into the group is highly debated." he said looking down at me. 

I gave him a questioning look. He stopped and sat in the warm sand. I sat beside him. We faced the ocean watching strange plumes of air come out of it at a distance. 

"You are involved with many of the people we want vengance on." He explained 

"Who?" I asked, taking note of how I never inquired as to who they all wanted to make suffer in exchange for their own suffering. 

"You are somewhat at the root of my own pain," he said looked down and playing with the sand "I worked for the Scagilla crime family before you were the head of it. Your father sent me on a mission to eliminate a rogue assassin. That lead to my mangled face. I would be lying if I said it wasnt some to my advantage. But I certainly miss my old face. I'm sure you know the feeling,"

I nodded my head. Searching through the memories of my fathers hit men that would sometimes babysit me. I remembered a man who was tall and good looking. He had those sparkling brown eyes and the boyish voice. They were unexpected coming from a man of his size. I looked over at him now. 

"the beaut?" I asked "Thats what my dad used to call you right? I remember you used to babysit me."

He turned toward me and smiled. Making his sewn together face contort strangely. I smiled back.