*This episode contains graphic and unsettling imagery that is not suited to younger audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.*

He turned the safety off and pulled the trigger. I watched the bullet as it came towards me and I teleported behind him. He spun towards me to shoot again but I quickly disarmed him.

He pulled out his martial arts skills and threw multiple kinds of punches and kicks at me. I teleported away every time he got near me.

“Stay still, bastard!” he yelled and threw a right hook at me. My body had a mind of its own as I dodged the punch, returned it and pinned him to the ground.

My demon side took over and forced my fist into his back causing him to scream out in pain. Somewhere in my mind I knew what I was doing, I knew it was bad, but this demon had control of me now. It didn’t take orders from anyone, it did what it wanted, when it wanted.

Using my body, it grabbed a hold of his still beating heart and slowly pulled it out through his back. The demon inside me wanted to cause him as much pain as possible. It turned him over and forced him to look at his own heart as the life drained out of his face. His blood began to paint the floor, the puddle of red began to surround me.

Slowly, regular me regained control. The guilt and regret crushed me. I backed into the corner furthest away from his lifeless body and tried to wipe the blood from my hands and onto the floor.

That had never happened before. Never. Never. Never…

In the middle of my breakdown, a man as big as a tank walked into the room. His neck strained as he turned his head to look at the man I had just brutally murdered. He came closer to me and I shrunk further into the corner.

“You’re a savage. You’ll fit in well here.” His voice sent shivers down my spine.

He came closer and closer and I couldn’t get away from him. He forcefully grabbed my wrists and yanked me out of the room and through a dimly lit hallway. The floor and walls were made of cement, there were old blood stains everywhere. Shadows danced as the lights swung back and forth.

I closed my eyes again. The shadows were starting to taunt me. The air grabbed at me like a million ghost hands.

This whole ordeal had broken me, I could already tell. Being in this place didn’t help anything. I should have trusted my gut when I had the chance. I couldn’t use my powers anymore, something was stopping me. Tears stung my eyes as I clawed at the huge hand that was beginning to bruise my wrist.

He slowed his pace and forced me to open my eyes as we passed through a jail type area. I truly was in jail now.

Behind the thick metal bars were several people who looked like they hadn’t seen the light of day in several centuries. Their skin was pasty white, their hair was knotty, but worst of all was the smell of decaying bodies that wafted out of the cells.

People snarled and showed their teeth as we passed. Wild dogs was what came to mind when I looked at them.

“Get used to it kid. Those are your new best friends!” he sounded like a villain from batman. I named the guy Joker in my head.

Joker grabbed a ring of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the cell at the very end of the hallway. He threw me in so hard that I hit the opposite wall five metres away and bounced off of it. He locked the door then spat at the inmates he passed as he went back the way we came.

“Laz?”

My head snapped towards the voice and my eyes went wide. I’d recognise that velvety sound anywhere.

Wild was sitting in the bottom bunk of one of the two metal beds. His face was covered in tears and his shirt was covered in blood. It only broke me more seeing him like this.

“Wild!” the sound barely came out of my mouth. I wiped my wet cheeks, probably smearing blood all over my face but it couldn’t make me feel any more disgusted or guilty then I already did.

He bolted out of the bed and tackled me into a hug. I hugged him back fiercely.

“Why are your hands covered in blood?” his voice shook as he ended the hug.

“Why’s your shirt covered in blood?” I frowned.

The top bunk of the bed on the right squeaked, causing me to look. “Why’d you guys have to come and ruin my alone time. Things were peaceful before you got here.” The woman peering down at us glared. Her hair was pitch black with her fringe dyed white, her eyes were bright pink and she wore a spiky leather jacket.

“Where are we?” I asked. She must have sensed my perturbation. The glare disappeared, replaced by sympathy.

“The underworld. Hell. Whatever you want to call it. I see you went to that stupid school. You just graduated?” she asked. We nodded. “They give you a grand life there, fattening you up before feeding you to the wolves. Your treated to luxury just so they can tear it away and watch you struggle and burn here, the jail of the damned is what I call it.” Her British accent and kind voice was soothing.

“I just killed someone.” My hands shook.

“Everybody here has killed. It’s part of the first trial. Get kidnapped, be teleported into an interrogation room, get attacked." she rested her head against her palm. "It’s kill or be killed down here. If you hadn’t killed him, you’d be dead. Every year they send kids down here and only one fourth of them survive the first trial. Many people don’t have the heart to kill. You boys seem nice, how’d you do it?” her eyes shined.

“Pulled his heart out.” I said involuntarily. Of course she had to be a pixie. Stupid pixies and there mind tricks.

“Stabbed him with the chair leg.” Tears came out as Wild said it.

“Jeez, sorry for asking.” She laid down, placing her hands behind her head. “Make yourselves at home."

I sat next to Wild as he crawled onto the bottom bunk of the bed opposite the pixies.

“What’s your name pixie?” I asked with no emotion in my voice.

“Your perceptive.” She acknowledged. “Most people take a while to figure out what I am. I’m Thalia.” She saluted.

“What do you do here all day?” I asked, assuming it wouldn’t be like normal prison.

“Well, it depends on the day. Today we just stay in the cells going bored out of our minds. Most days we do assassin training, don’t go calling it that though, that’s not what is actually called.” She sighed, “They like to send people from down here to do dirty work for the people up there, that’s what the training’s for. I’ve never actually gone on a mission, but they still make us kill down here. Oh, be careful at dinner because we only ever get two slices of bread and a scoop of mash potato, people will fight you for it if you look weak and vulnerable. I don’t mean punching or kicking either, we’re allowed weapons in here. That’s why I have this sweet knife.” Thalia pulled a long blade with a shiny purple handle out of the sheath attached to the outside of her thigh. “At your first training class you’ll be testing out different weapons so the head demons can make you the ultimate killing machine.”