[b]Monsters [/b] [i](Time-Skip)[/i]

It all had seemed like a nightmare, a terrifying prospect in the realm of dreams. But that night terror had turned reality and tormented the minds of every group member. Confined by iron shackles, the group mourned the death of one of their closest friends. Their cries filled the spotted apartment they had all been stuffed into. They had been labeled slaves for the time being, legal property to the monsters that had captured them. Aside from the piercing sound of tears crashing against the dirt-filled carpet and the shivering sobs of the widowed maiden, the room was in complete silence. Everyone was in mourning after witnessing the beating and torture their friend had endured to only have him hung by the neck and absent breath. The monsters had surrounded him, cheered and laughed at his pain as though it were entertainment. They broke his legs, then his jaw only to shut him up. And while all this went on, the seven members of the group were forced onto their knees and watched the events unveil. 

They were all held at gunpoint, threatened to be killed if they tried anything. But of course, when they [i]did[/i], they were struck by the stock of a rifle. So no matter what had happened then, they were helpless. But this had been two hours ago. And according to the people who chained them up, two more of their friends would die if they didn't give in to the rules and become a part of this [i]liberation[/i] as they had called it. They said they weren't supremacist, but one could logically argue against it. They said they were insurgent, revolting against the institution of a governed republic, yet they had structure. They contradicted themselves in every way, yet they never argued against the title of [i]monsters[/i]. They brought forth the values of the old world into the new, not changing who they once were, but fast-forwarding their advocated ideals. They were monsters before, but now had evolved into something worse. Without control they were able to brake loose and create a world they dared call liberated. 

So as the group continued to wait, there had to be talk of their choices. Their weapons were taken, all of their personal belongings too. Even their shoes were stripped from them. All they had was the clothes on their backs and the rage that came with assassination of their friend. Well, it was more than rage. Words could not define the amount of wrath these seven members were experiencing. Through the look in their eyes, it was obvious that all they wanted to do was get revenge on the killers - there was no doubt about that. But at the moment, they couldn't plan their vengeance or retribution, instead had to figure out what the next step would be to ensure no one else would get killed. Survival had not only become running from the dead or scavenging for food and water. Now, survival had regressed to kill or be killed - survival of the fittest. It was as though time was moving backwards. Old cultures rising from the ashes like a phoenix, but not burning as brightly as it should. Instead, it returned abnormally, breaking the timeline of successes. The world was deteriorating and so was the conscious of the hominid. Humans were becoming beasts. 

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"We can't conform to their rules. Not after what they did!" Hank stated firm and aggressively. He looked rather calm compared to most of the other members but it was all a hoax. His thoughts were a train wreck at the moment. He couldn't find a single solution that would keep all the members of his group alive. But that was not the only reason he couldn't keep his head composed. It was the fact that he had just lost his best friend - a childhood main man, a companion, a brother. DeSean, judged by the color of his skin as though it were the nineteen hundreds had been stripped from this world and moved onto the next. Despite his moving corpse, his spirit was no longer in that vessel. He was just gone. 

Hank watched Jennifer in the corner of the room drown herself in tears. The woman was in no condition to speak nor move for that matter. When she witnessed her husband become motionless in the air, she had completely lost it. She went into a state of shock then, her eyes had not staggered from the view of DeSean. But now all that grief and sorrow she had missed then was taken its toll now. 

"We don't have a choice! If we don't join them, they'll kill all of us!" Seth spoke up, Jen's cries in the background growing louder and louder. The young Asian had his hands tied to the apartment's electric heater built into the wall. He was angry, but frightened at the same time. With the knowledge that both he and Aaliyah would probably be next to go, he was no longer hesitating to come up with a plan. He understood the men out there were radically racist. They would go through any extent to rid of anything or one that wasn't Caucasian. "There's no other choice Hank..." Seth pleaded. Even now the group looked to Hank for the answers - for the escape strategy, but the man was absorbed in the loss of DeSean to think of anything. 

Floyd was also there, but did not speak. What was running through his mind was a mystery to the others. His eyes were squinting like most times and his body language as masculine as ever. He did not say a word nor shed a tear, but there had to be some kind of affection and the others knew it. They've all been together for quite a while now, so understood Floyd willingly chooses to keep his emotions locked inside. Hank thinks it's because Floyd is still uncomfortable, but that isn't it. Floyd keeps things to himself because he believes that his emotions would only jeopardize the group instead of help it. He thinks that it's better to act out of serenity rather than emotion. But anyway, he was feeling a little afraid knowing the monsters would return. Back when the earth was not a wasteland, when every living corpse had a heartbeat, Floyd dealt with white supremacist. He actually knew people in the modern Klu Klux Klan, but from what he remembered, they were nothing like the monsters at their doorsteps. So Floyd kept quiet, listened to whatever the others had to say. He decided it'd be best to keep to himself for now, wait for the right time to say anything if he deemed it worth it. 

The heat of the moment was getting to the group. Hank looked at Heather who had yet to speak, then at Imogen. He turned to Floyd a couple of times, but kept most of his attention on Seth and Aaliyah. They were the only two group members left that were of a different race. In his mind, they were the only ones in danger. When they entered this little community, Floyd had informed Hank that there were absolutely no Caucasian bodies hanging. In Hank's mind, this means that either all the white captives joined the monsters or were let go and sent on their way. Problem was that not everyone in the group was white and if they couldn't get a plan together, those members would soon meet their end. 

"They didn't have a single Black or Asian member in their group Seth, joining them is not an option, it won't save y'all!" Hank argued. "The only way were getting out of here alive is if we fight for our freedom. You saw what they did out there, maybe......just maybe we can find a way to make them believe there is use for us. They want entertainment. Let's give them entertainment. I don't know if it'll work, but our only chance is to negotiate with them. We have to find a compromise. When they come back, let me speak.............Let me convince them that they don't need to kill us" Hank proposed. 

"He's right" Floyd said from the other end of the room. "Ain't no other way" he added, nodding his head side to side. Seth's brows came together in worry. He turned to Aaliyah and stared into her eyes as if to apologize for being in such a helpless situation. He wanted to cry, but didn't dare do it in front of the guys. For so long he'd been trying to find strength and when he thought he had it, shit happened.  

Hank exhaled softly and cleared his throat. "Surviving.............surviving together is all that matters. I don't know about y'all, but...." Hank started, running his hand through his face. ".....I don't want to lose anybody else. We play their game. Make them believe were more than.....manikins. Because this is how we survive, how we get to live. But then.......we have to change. We become the monsters. We kill them all.."