The Pariah

"Let's play a game, a really fun game." ---Once Upon A Time

The cell door opened and Carter walked in and to Nick's surprise, so did Maxine. He had seen Maxine everyday when he was in Phase One, he was curious if he would see her everyday in Phase Two as well. Maxine was nice to talk to, but he could tell Mia didn't like her. Nick didn't understand why, because Maxine seemed the best out of her two brothers. Nick guessed part of him hoped that at least one good person lived in this family. He hoped that at least someone did not want to eat the eight of them alive.

Nick also knew Maxine could tell him about Mia which was also a big motivation for him not to do anything to mess that up. He knew she would find a way to get him alone later, because she always did. He had visited with her everyday since he had been here. He knew Carter probably knew that, and did he care? Not really, pretty girls didn't talk to Nick. Nick didn't have any money and he pushed everyone away. He was good at keeping everyone at an arm's length, so even though Nick knew he was good looking, he also knew he was poor and angry. Pretty girls didn't like angry and poor guys, they wanted sweet and rich guys who would buy them anything they wanted. Honestly, the only reason he noticed Maxine was pretty was because Mia mentioned it. He knew when guys were good looking but he never noticed if a girl was pretty. He didn't understand why, but as long as Maxine was giving him this attention he was going to milk it for all it was worth.

Nick locked eyes with Maxine who was holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. He noticed the guys lined up beside him as if this was the routine. Nick could feel Sam leaning over his shoulder as if trying to shield him from Carter. As if Sam could protect Nick from Carter's rage, and Nick didn't need Sam's protection. Nick was tough enough to face Carter alone, if he was up to his full strength, Carter would probably be dead by now.

"Good morning." Carter greeted them as he looked down the line at his victims. "Who's ready for another day?"

Nick watched Carter with an irritated look in his eyes. "When do I get to see my sister?" Nick demanded to know.

He wasn't in the mood to play games today, well, Nick was never in a gaming mood but especially not today. He had to figure out what condition his sister was in before he went off the rails and did something completely and utterly nuts. Nick could feel Kai's and Sam's eyes on him, he knew they weren't expecting him to address Carter in the way he did. He doubted Blake cared, the fire starter would probably love to see Carter beat the shit out of him.

Carter looked at Nick and then at Maxine who sighed and wrote something down on the clipboard. Nick didn't understand why that little exchange just happened. Did Barbatos want to know everything that came out of his mouth? Nick smirked slightly that would be kind of funny if he did, if that's what was happening Nick was going to make sure to insert an f bomb every few words. It would be kind of like a game, funny for him and not for Carter.

"If you behave and win today's challenge," Carter smirked seeing Nick's look of displeasure. "Then maybe you can tonight."

Challenge? What challenge? How the hell was Nick supposed to win a challenge? His valuable skills included pissing people off, being an asshole, and the ability to evade death. Mia was the one who could win challenges, she was the one they thought that could undo all of that code.

Why would Barbatos give this group a challenge? They were obviously not the deep thinkers. Well, maybe Kai was a deep thinker but he was a complete and utter mess so no way he could solve any problems or win a challenge. The one most likely to win would probably be Blake or Sam. Sam had a quality education since he came from a rich family, and Blake had pressure to be successful in his education. Nick was really screwed, but he had to find a way to see Mia. So he was going to have to outsmart the other three guys who had a leg up on him.