The Beginning of The End

The day my life went downhill started when I turned thirteen. I had woken up that morning breathing in the crisp autumn air. It had seemed as if it was going to be a good day, but sadly I didn't know about the future events fate had in store for me.

After waking up, I showered and got dressed in my usual, black v-neck and my dark green cargo pants. Smiling at myself in the mirror, I showed off some awesome poses before breaking down in laughter at my own goofiness.

Sighing, I raced downstairs shouting to dad and ma that I was going to hang out with my friends for a few hours before the big party they had planned.

Racing down the street, I coughed into my arm.

Thinking nothing of it, I continued down the street before barging into my best friend, Jakob's, house.

I waved happily to his mom who smiled affectionately at me, "He's upstairs getting dressed. He'll be down here soon with your present, Leo." She patted my cheek, "I'm positive you'll like his gift."

Laughing, I said, "Anything that my best friend gets me is already something I'll love! I mean, we've been best friends since pre-k. He knows my likes and dislikes well enough."

Accepting a soda she offered me, I noticed it was one I didn't recognize. "Ski? A citrus soda? I've never heard of that before."

"Trust me," she said with a grin. "A friend of mine sent that to me. He said it's called Clinton County Coffee. A soda sold in a town called Carlyle in Illinois. He said it's good stuff."

Shrugging, I popped it open and took a sip. The flavour was unbelievable. Lemons, oranges, and a hint of lime assaulted my tongue. This stuff packed a punch. Quickly guzzling it, I asked for another as Jakob walked down the stairs with a small box in hand.

His grey eyes looked stormy as he appeared to be deep in thought. His black hair still wet from his apparent shower moments before. A grin broke across his face, revealing his cute little fang he had when he grinned.

"There's my birthday boy! You ready for your gift from me," he asked mischievously.

My heart seemed to beat a little faster when he said My birthday boy, as if I was his and his alone. Flames seemed to leap across my face as I slowly nodded, "Yes I am."

He laughed, "Good! Take care opening it." He handed the box to me as I took it softly.

The cough I had earlier came back, and it was a little stronger this time. It took a minute for me to be able to breathe again. Waving off everyone's worries, I slowly opened the box.

A necklace flowed back at me. Not just any necklace, but the necklace! The one I wanted since it appeared in one of our favourite stores earlier that year.

The chain was gold in colour and the decoration on it was all the more beautiful. It was a dragon wrapping around a castle tower. The dragon was make of jade with gemstone inlays for its eyes, and the castle tower was made from onyx. The price range was hella high. Like triple digits high.

"I love it," I gushed openly. It was already the best present I ever was going to get, and it was from my favourite person in the whole world. I rushed forwards and nearly tackled Jakob with an embrace.

When I pulled apart, we were both pretty red. Holding it out to him, I asked shyly, "Do . . . you think you can put it on for me? Please"

His voice grew unsteady, "Yeah, of course." He took it from me as his mom gave me a knowing grin and a subtle nod, making me blush. His hands softly left trails as he put my necklace on. "There," He said. "It's on."

I pulled out my phone, "Let's take a picture to commemorate this wonderful gift!"

He smiled, "Might as well, it was worth the price to get you it. Your face is gift enough to me." He seemed to realize what he said and his face turned red as a tomato. "Let's get this photo over with."

I turned my camera on and turned it towards us. Centering it on us, I smiled looking at him as I took the picture. "That's so becoming my wallpaper," I said with a grin. "Now let us go get the rest of the gang! To the Bat-mobile, Robin!"

We waved goodbye to his mom before going to pick up our last best friend, Amanda. As we left, my cough came back again, and once again, it got a little worse. My hand came away speckled with blood. I felt my hand shaking and then my body began to shake uncontrollably.

Jakob saw my hand and called out to his mom to give us a ride home. She was nervously watching me as I continued to cough. More blood came out and it started to feel as if daggers were pressing into my lungs.

Tears filled my eyes as my dad carried me into the house. Clearing off the whole kitchen table, he started to give me a check up. Since my dad was the head doctor at the hospital, he'd know what's going on, but even he seemed stumped.

Physically, there was nothing wrong with me. He decided to check my blood next. Trying to move as little as possible through the coughing fits, he managed to extract some blood. Leaving me with Jakob, he raced towards his study to look it up.

Tears were streaming down my face. Jakob was so worried, his hand found the one not holding a rag to my mouth, and squeezed my hand. A form of comfort in a world of agony.

A shout was heard and I saw my dad talking to someone on the phone hurriedly speaking in rapid German. Though I never understood any other language than English besides some phrases, I had no hard time understanding him.

"-I will not send my son to some damned laboratory to be fucking poked and prodded by no-lifers who have a fucking fetish with a needle! Damn it Malakai, my son is infected with the virus you injected into me twenty years ago!"

"He's in agony, and if you don't want a damn bullet between your fucking eyes, you'll give me the damn cure!" A silence, before a shocked, "What do you mean it's irreversible? Damn it Malaki! You mean to tell me, you made a god damned fucking nuke level virus that infects others through the air?"

He paled considerably, "Then I have to notify the government to quarantine this city block." He hung up and looked at me with a sad smile. "It'll be alright," in English. He started to cough, and wiped his mouth, leaving a trail of blood across his cheek.

Jakob had also started to develop a cough and it was slowly getting worse. Dad got back on the phone and was talking to someone quietly before hanging up.

Though his next words were said lightly, his eyes spoke volumes, "It'll be alright, I just have to find your mother real quick Leo, and we'll be perfectly fine." His eyes said two words. Fucking hell.

Dad left like he said to look for ma and Jakob and I were comforting ourselves through the shared pain of the violent cough.

Five to ten minutes pass before dad showed back up carrying ma. Her skin was white as snow, and she was drenched in sweat.

She stroked my cheek and whispered happy birthday to me. I started to freak out when she closed her eyes and didn't open them anymore. I started to cry when Jakob's mom started having the same symptoms too.

After another half hour of agony, it was just dad, Jakob, and I. Jakob was next to go. That tore my heart apart. His eyes hauntingly beautiful with the look of death.

"I almost forgot your last birthday gift, my birthday boy." His voice was hoarse.

"What," I asked. A grimace from both of us as we both coughed at the same time.

He leaned in, "Since we're both probably screwed, I wanted to give this to you. I would've waited, forever and back, but life's a bitch." His mouth covered mine and he kissed me like he's never kissed anything before. A kiss of broken dreams and a shattered future. It tasted of blood and death, but we kissed as long as he could.

"I'm gonna take a nap. We'll do more w-wh-when I wake up." His smile flashed one more time before his eyes lost their shine looking at his favorite star.

I wasn't sure if the wetness running down my face was blood or tears, but now my emotional pain surpassed my physical one. I heard an inhuman cry fill the air, only realizing it was coming from me.

I looked over to see dad wasn't moving and the blood just gushing out his nose and eyes. I figured he was dead. I screamed in pain as people in full body suits burst in.

They met up with the sight of a dying broken boy, surrounded by his dead loved ones. Silently, they bagged the dead, and put the boy in pain to sleep so he wouldn't fight what they would do.

After an agonizing sleep, I awoke on a stiff cot in a cell. Looking around, it looked like a prison cell. Bars blocked my entrance and the t.v. was on.

I didn't think of it till I heard, "-folks can't seem to understand what would make Leo Vivaldi, kill his family and close friends. People say that he was funny, outgoing, and kind, but was who they knew the real Leo Vivaldi? Henry Black, our psychiatrist can give us an inner look at our unbelievable murderer."

"What the fuck is that bullshit? I didn't kill anyone," I shouted.

A voice from behind said, "Not according to our research, Mr. Leo Vivaldi. Age: 13, hair colour: dark brown, eye colour: one green, one pale golden amber, favourite sport: Football. Sexual orientation," he looked at me, "Gay."

The owner of the voice was a man in his mid thirties but nothing about him stood out. He would easily be forgotten in a lineup. Bland brown hair, bland brown eyes, average weight. Completely not someone I know.

I flamed at the indignity, "Fuck you you arrogant ass old man! The fuck you mean, I killed my family? Fuck you!"

He rolled his eyes at me, just simply oozing sarcasm, "Well, let's put it this way, little man, you were born with a virus that biologically changed your body. Everything about you is deadly. I'm behind a lot of protective glass plates and I'm getting bothered."

He jammed a finger at the glass at me, "Only way you can live a normal life is if you follow what we, the government, tell you to do. You have to wear a certain suit we provide at all times. But only if you want to live a normal life!"

Grinding my teeth, I spat at him, amazed when it started to melt through the glass. "Prove to me you are who you say you are. If you can, fine. I'll be the government's little bitch."

I turned away and started to scratch my chest when I noticed something. Spinning back around, I angrily cried out, "I want my necklace! Give it back you fucking thieving conniving son of a bitch!"

He simply lifted a piece and held it up, "You mean this one? You'll get it back when you do as you're told. It's just a piece of jewelry from a dead child." He grinned maliciously, "Oh riiiiiight! It's from your dead wannabe boyfriend, isn't it? You know he spent a lot of money and time to acquire this when he saw how much you wanted it?"

"Unbelievable what kids these days will do!"

I swore right then that I would kill this man in the most agonizing way I could find. I would not rest till he was dead.

The man shrugged, "I'll get you proof I am who I say I am. Meanwhile, killer, stay here and contemplate on your 'future decisions'." He laughed as he walked away, his laugh as heartless as he was.

The next few hours, I sat in silence listening to the t.v. about how everyone was killed by a poison. One guy called me a name and then they went with it. They started calling me Cyanide, as if I was a villain out of a comic book.

I mean heroes and villains were a thing, there weren't many of them. You had the heroes; Forgotten Mist, Orbital Weaver, and Fabricator. For villains, there was; Wraithgar, Helios, Hrenlox, and apparently now me. Cyanide. At least the name was adequately badass.

The man came back and next to him stood the president.

"Holy shit and mud balls," I gasped. Gasping again, I freaked, "Oh shit! POTUS! Sorry!"

She chuckled, "I heard from my friend here that you might enlist in our R.A.V.E.N. Program. Based on your powers and personality, I'd say you make a great team leader. Though you still need to grow a few years before you become a leader."

She winked at me, "So, Leo, would you enlist in our program?" Her eyes seemed to hold promise.

In a way I felt pressured but fuck it. I saluted as non-awkwardly as I could, "Yes ma'am I'd be happy to."

Her smile grew larger, "Good, that's what I like to hear! Tomorrow morning, you'll be moved to your new room, where you'll have your schedule, your new suit, and your necklace back." She specifically glanced at the man, "Untouched."

I smiled, "Yes ma'am!" And so that's now I spent the next five years. Training, fighting, honing my skills, and making new poisons and healing tonics. I grew up a lot on that base. You had to. However, when the time came, I wasn't playing hero, but instead, a villain that the government kept watch on.

Over those five years, I've killed over two dozen senators, five congressman, and several diplomats from out of country. Only because the government forced my hand.