Sorry that this chapter took a while. I hope that you guys will enjoy it and give me some feedback on it. 

Now onto the story:

Hank was throwing a ball up and down while thinking of who to target next with his best bro, Hawk. It was fun to see them cower and try to plead while getting some kind of enjoyment from it. Though some may fight back, but that's no problem...especially since they haven't had any run ins with that sporty girl. What was she called? Lyn? Lynn? Whatever. He didn't want to bother learning her name anyway since her crybaby brother went missing. 

"Why do I care so much about that brat?" Hank said. He was just another target after all, but also managed to foil one of their fun activities on Halloween with his bro. He needed to get revenge on him, but....

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Hank slowly got up with a groan and a face full of irritation. When did his crappy parents come back? So without any hesitation, Hank shouted:

I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY OF YOUR CRAP!

Usually this would cause his mom to start shouting at him about being respectful to them before trying to ground him. However, this time it was quiet. It kinda unnerved him since his parents would always yell at him for his actions. It only got worse when a voice started to say:

H̷a̷n̷k̸,̵ ̷I̴ ̴w̵i̶s̸h̵ ̴t̵o̸ ̵g̶i̴v̴e̷ ̸y̶o̴u̷ ̷a̷ ̸p̸r̴e̵s̵e̸n̴t̶.̷

Those words filled him with some fear since his parents would never give him anything except for some clothes and a phone. Most likely to distract him from whatever they plan to do without him knowing about it. Before he could think more about his crappy parents, the knocks grew harder. 

BANG! BANG!

Each bang caused his heart to jump in his chest, but he couldn't show his fear. He had spent so much building his reputation with Hawk to show fear now. He could imagine how these crybabies would react if they learn that the person who they're supposed to fear was scared from some knocking. 

"I don't care who you are, but I'm not letting some loser make fun of me." Hank said. Those words caused the knocking to stop for a moment. It almost made him rejoice on getting rid of this nuisance...well, if he didn't hear someone or some people breathing behind it. At the same time, Lincoln stared at the scene with some hesitation and fear. It was unnerving how the alternate was just knocking on the door. He honestly expected it to knock the door down and rip Hank to shreds, but instead...it played the waiting game. It seemed to enjoy driving people to the point of no return before going after another victim.

"Guess we have to make ourselves at home...for now." Jonah said with a chuckle at the end. Though, it wasn't made with joy only dread for what Hank would have to face as time went on.

"I just hope that someone..." Mark started to say before Lincoln shoved his elbow into his side to stop him. Before he could question why he did, Mark noticed that Adam was standing right in front of him with some scorn. It almost made him want to hide or try to run, but Mark knew that it both options would lead to less than favorable outcomes. 

"You were saying, Mark?" Adam asked. Mark didn't try to answer him since he knew that he and the others were still new to being alternates. Adam was already an alternate and had already accepted everything that the others did. It wasn't the same for them who basically had their humanity taken away and forcibly changed into one. That fact only caused him to despise them more, but he decided to keep his anger to himself. At first, it seemed like the tension was going to continue for a while, but it was broken once Lincoln asked a question.

"Adam, what is the plan with his parents? I mean...they could come back at anytime and ruin things." Lincoln asked.

"Let's just say that they have their own troubles at the moment." Adam said with a grin. 

"I see." Lincoln said with his blood running cold when he saw that grin on Adam's face. It was full of malice and something dark that he couldn't identify. He still wanted to know what it meant, but decided it was better that he was better off not knowing...at least for the moment. Besides, it is already bad enough to see Hank suffer for an unknown period of time so figuring out what happened to his parents wasn't important enough. 

"So...are there anymore questions that you need to be answered?" Adam asked.

"There is one that I need to know." Lincoln asked.

"Which is?" Adam asked.

"Is Hawk being targeted too?" Lincoln asked.

"Hawk? Who's Hawk?" Jonah asked.

"Hawk is our current victim's best friend. If he wasn't so close then we would've left him alone, but since there was a high risk that he could interrupt our plans...we decided to have another group take charge." Adam said.

"Why aren't you calling the boy's name?" Mark asked.

"His name? Why would I call him anything, but a victim? After all, he will soon be driven M.A.D and lose his life so why would I say his name?" Adam asked.

"Cause he is a child who surely had much more life to give if...." Mark started to say before Adam scoffed with some irritation.

"So you don't care about the last victim, but suddenly care for this one? How laughable. Face it, Mark...you're a hypocrite." Adam said.

"Adam, that was extremely harsh." Jonah said.

"Like I care what you think? Honestly, it seems like the apprentice is the only one who has't talked back or comment on anything, but the target and the people who would risk our fun being cut short." Adam said. As he said this, Lincoln almost felt his heart skip a beat at the last statement. Despite his questions, Lincoln wasn't okay with watching Hank slowly wither away. He just didn't want to anger the alternates who are watching their every move. They had already stripped him of his humanity and have been neutral to them all...which is why imagining what could happen if he angered one made his blood run cold. 

Hopefully, Jonah and Mark won't do something that could anger them. Though, he already knew that this hope will be destroyed just like his relationship between himself and some members of his family.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter...Bye 👋