I Am Mustafin

| 1 | - X

My name is Alaki Bea Miller—or known in the ground above, Alaki Bea X.

That is what us, the inferior, are referred to: X.

After the third war, the governments collapsed. The land occupied by millions of human beings were destroyed and left unseen diseases that forbid us from ever stepping onto another land apart from the only one saved, the only one not destroyed: Serenity.

The five million humans left were divided into five Rings, each human falling into a division that matched their physical appearance. The pure blood are the superior and the forbidden children, conceived of two of different races, were seen as inferior.

Diallo, Santos, Talos, Wen, and Mustafin: the five Rings.

Beneath them, hidden in the tunnels within the mountains and underground, we live in hiding. We are ordered to be captured on sight and taken to stand before the Ringleaders who decide our fate.

Above ground we are the abomination. Above ground we are X.

I am no leader and I am no special kind of half-blood—as the superiors call us. I am but a mere human being...just like the rest of us.

{X}

The heel of my combat boots click against the ground of the echoey tunnels, ricocheting off of the walls as I continue my movements deeper into the tunnels.

The path ahead of me is illuminated by the dim bulbs flaming above, individually covering the ceiling with a space of two yards in between. Beside me, the walls are concealed with weeds that grow in favor of the darkness.

My eyes fixated ahead, my friends, Antonio and Miya, approach me. There's an uneasiness written on their faces, and I come to an abrupt halt, asking, "What's going on?'

My gaze glosses over Miya's soft features and at the sound of my voice, she shifts her dark brown eyes to meet my blue ones. "Someone tried to get in..." her voice trails off.

"What do you mean?" I ask, moving closer to her.

"We just got back from above," Antonio responds in his awfully deep voice. "There are sightings of digging on the other side."

"We don't know if it was another one of us," Miya adds desperately, her gaze shifting to meet my own as she finishes, "...or another member of the Rings trying to find a way in."

"Well, whoever it was," a husky voice echoes from behind me, and I turn my head to the side, looking over my shoulder as the familiar dark-skinned man moves toward us. "They're gone now."

"Did you bring what I asked for, Miya?"

Miya nods, assuring him, "Yes, Jeremy."

I watch Miya draw a pack of needles from the black purse hanging just beneath her hip, and she places them in Jeremy's hand with a half-hearted smile on her face. "Is Briannah going to be okay..?" She asks sincerely.

"Don't you worry about that, now," Jeremy tries to comfort her. His hand moves to lightly pat her shoulder, shooting an all-too familiar look at Antonio.

In the next moment, Antonio lets out a heavy sigh and moves to Miya where he throws his arm around her and says, "Alrighty! Let's get going."

I give both, Miya and Antonio, a small smile before they take off and leave me standing alone with the weed covered walls and a well composed Jeremy. I have to give him credit for his ability to remain calm and hopeful through what he's going through.

Briannah, one of my dearest friends, has been sick for a while, and although they hardly care to admit it to themselves, especially to those around them, it is clear that Jeremy's feelings for her run deeper than that of mere friendly ones.