Coming to, Seven’s eyes met pointed boots on the other side of the cage bars. There was a bowl of dark liquid a few feet from Seven. He reaches out and begins to hesitantly taste it with his tongue. A familiar taste filled his mind, some kind of broth that seemed delicious. Seven quickly leaned it upwards to load it into his mouth as he gulped it down. The starved child was given relief.

“You could stay here and become my apprentice . . The world must never know you remain here,” the serious voice called out during Seven’s meal. It was met with no response. The man continued to speak for several hours, Seven choosing the silent treatment until he could develop a new plan.

Seven learned the man’s name was Theodore. Seven was sure he was some kind of wizard, even though he denied it and said his fire trick was science. Theodore said he’d lived out here where it was safe from the dangers of the world, but Seven grew frustrated from this talk and finally broke his streak. “My home was safe.”

Theodore sighed and put down a grimoire-looking book he commonly read next to him. “I’m afraid not. The people there are involved in terrible business that you’d be dragged into before long. You’re much safer here.”

“So I would become your slave, bound to a life of hiding. Is that much better?” Seven snapped.

“One day, your growth may change your appearance and you could-”

“I’d rather die, old man,” Seven cut him off.

Theodore grew a disappointed look upon his face and shook his head before storming off into another room. Seven’s eyes shifted toward the book and quickly got onto his stomach and reached through the opening to grab it, dragging it inside.

He pulled the black cover open and started flipping through the pages curiously. There were diagrams that Seven wasn’t familiar with, most involving human anatomy. It was written with words he couldn’t make out, looking like gibberish. I can’t read any of this.. After a few dozen pages, Seven’s flipping came to a halt as he saw a diagram of a person hung from the ceiling with a rope. His breathing grew shallow as his heart raced. He quickly shut the book and pushed it away.