FALCON'S EYE

The experiment began before I was born.
Children taken by the government and added to in harmful, dangerous ways. Patients stripped of their names, replacing their identities with bar codes and I.D. numbers. Tattooed on the backs of their neck. Hidden from public until the government decides to announce their existence.
Some are volunteers, simply wondering what they could become. Others parents gave away. Not wanting or couldn’t afford another child. Sometimes parents would pay to have their children operated on, mostly to enhance knowledge or strength, nothing life threatening like the children from poverty.
I, however, was none of these.
(Journal entry One)


August sat in a desk on the first row of the classroom, right in front of the teacher’s desk. Being of average intelligence and sleeping in class had earned him this spot.
He yawned in boredom as the teacher went on about aquaculture in different parts of the world. Having already read this chapter, Augusts’ head drifted a few inches towards his desk. His dark eyes remaining more shut then open, brown hair falling in front of his face. There were a few moments of darkness, followed by a loud
SLAP!!!
A stinging sensation ran through his hand and he snapped back, chair tipping over with a crash as he stared at the ceiling until the teacher came into view. “Mr. Ookasami!” She said in an annoyed tone. “That is the third time today. Must I call your father again?” She demanded.
He sighed deeply. “No Ma’am.” He got up off the floor and pulled the chair up. He turned to place the chair back under the desk, only to notice the teacher standing in the way. This, for some reason, bothered him.
“May I please sit down Ms. Hullskir?” He asked with slight annoyance.
“Excuse me?” She asked, hearing the tone he had used. “You will respect your superior and educator.”
August’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the chair. He didn’t respond and now the entire class was watching the two.
“Try again, Mr. Ookasami.”
August smiled darkly on the inside. Don’t let it show just yet… he thought to himself. He forced himself to relax and looked at her with apologetic eyes. The teacher noticed the change and seemed relived.
Now.
“I will respect you when you have earned it, Melissa Hullskir. I may have skipped two grades, but I am no child. You cannot demand respect from those you have none for,” He said calmly, collecting his textbook and binder, placing the pencil behind his ear as he stood patiently for the teacher to react.
The class gaped. Speaking to a teacher this way was unheard of.
Ms. Hullskir was beginning to get over her shock. “Y-Young Man!”
“I will not except that tone of voice because you do not except it from me. Have a nice day.” He turned and headed towards the door as the final bell rang.
He stepped outside the doors of the school building, inhaling the scent of the sweet summer’s air.
One more week. One more week of school and I’m free from freshman year.
August silently cursed himself for being thirteen and smart enough to skip third and seventh grade. He was the youngest in all classes. Even the youngest to enter the high school he went to.
He walked towards the back packing lot. The way he always went on Friday’s to pick his younger sister up from her middle school. He froze suddenly, for there was something that wasn’t apart of the usual routine.
A small and sleek black car was parked side ways with its doors opened, taking up two parking spaces. The purple and yellow lights flashing, meaning only one thing…
August spun around to see a tall man in a suit standing over him. His ponytail was long and almost reached August. The man slipped his thick sunglasses off and leaned over August. The ponytail brushing his cheek as emerald eyes bore into his.
“Now, now,” The man said quietly. Cleaning the glasses with the bottom of the suit jacket. “Why are you way over here, and everyone else is way over there? You weren’t cutting, were you?”
“N-no, sir,” August stuttered. “I left when the bell rang. Sir.”
He bent down more, forcing August to move back as he glared. “What’s your name?” He demanded.
“August Lea Ookasami, sir.”
The man’s eyes widened in a mix of surprise and shock “O-oh. My apologies. Carry on.” He slipped the glasses back on and stepped around August as the other Guardian escorted two kids from the grounds and into the car.
A crowed gathered and watched as they drove away.

‘Guardians’ such a terrible name for those who bring you here, to be used as human guinea pigs. Caged, told we’re free. All lies. We were forced fully taken, worked upon. No one really cares for us. All they want is to achieve their super human. The one that will bring the down fall of the world and led by our single government.
We are all birds in a cage with thorns in our sides. There is no room to fly with the heavy branches filling our living space. Nowhere to spread our wings and escape from the torture.
(Journal Entry Three)


“Those are the fifth and sixth kids this month,” One student murmured as they walked past August.
“They’ve taken seven from the other schools. What do they do with all those kids?”
The first student shrugged. “Who cares? As long as it’s not us. Right Gabe?”
Gabe, short for Gabriel, had almost been put in one of those cars over a month ago, before his older cousin had volunteered to take his place. They had never heard from him since. “Yeah. I guess,” He mumbled quietly.
August watched them pass, then sighed and headed for the middle school that his younger sister attended.

Leaf skipped along the sidewalk next to August, golden brown hair billowing around her elegant face in the wind. They headed for the large house on an abandoned street they always went to on the weekends. The street was abandoned because of the rumors: Children being taken and turned into monstrous things by the government. Their father, being a scientist who works for the government, had been the reason they left. No one wanted to loose his or her child to the next-door neighbor.
Leaf stopped, lime green sneakers screeching against the pavement as she came to an abrupt halt and looked up at the lights from their house. “Why aren’t mom and dad still married?” She asked August, turning to him.
“I guess they fell out of love,” He replied sourly.
She jogged forward to catch up to him, then slipped her arm through his and made a happy noise. “If you ever get married, you better not fall out of love,” she warned.
He made a gagging noise. “Girls have cooties,” he said teasingly, breaking from her grip and darting towards the house. Leaf followed, giggling with amusement.
August ran into the house, kicked his shoes off, dropped his backpack onto the floor and sprinted for the stairs.
A tall man in a lab coat caught him and lifted him up easily. “Hello mini man,” Mr. Ookasami told August. “Where’s Leaf?”
On cue, Leaf burst through the door panting, she doubled over, holding her knees while trying to catch here breath. The man set August down and went to her, short black hair ruffling as he passed the air conditioner. “Leaf, I told you not to play tag with August.”
“We… weren’t playing… tag,” She panted. “I was ch… chasing him… with my cooties.”
His dark eyebrow arched high. “Oh really?” He turned to August who was now sitting on a step. He waved innocently to his father whose lips turned into a line as he went into thought. “You two go upstairs and change, we’re having guests for dinner.”
August felt a ball of rage rise in his chest. “You mean the guardians?” he hissed venomously. They were the only people who ever came over to dinner and always threatened to take one of the kids with them, then never did, but it began to enrage August. The constant fear his father lived under because of them.
“August please,” His father whispered, sadness in his voice. “Just go.”
He clenched his fists tightly and stormed up the stairs with gritted teeth. He slammed the door to his room shut and tore down the poster closest to him, which so happened to be of Tron Legacy. His hands reached for the next thing, a drawing he did of a falcon. He tore it into pieces with swift hand movements.
He breathed heavily, hands twitching for more, more destruction. He reached out blindly, ripping down more: Kingdom hearts, Halo, Assassins Creed, Harry Potter, X-men, Tarantula Nebula, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Pearl Jam, His hands grabbed a picture frame and he raised it above his head, and smashed it on the floor.
He panted as his anger faded and looked at all the crumbled posters on the floor. He looked down at the shattered glass and splintered wood frame. He bent down and slid the picture from the wreckage, taking it to his bed and examining it.
It was of his parents, him and Leaf on the beach during sunset, all of them dripping with water and in their swimming suits. He traced a finger over his mother and father. She was kissing his cheek and he had his arms around her waist.
He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his chin between his knees. He stared at himself just a few years ago, smiling as wide as he could, it was so wide it looked like It’d make your face hurt. He then turned his attention to Leaf.
She was small and confused looking, she wasn’t sure what was going on when it was taken, he remembered that much about it. He set the picture down gingerly as a knock came from the door.
“August?” Leaf called “Are you okay? I heard glass shatter.”
“I’m fine,” He called back.
“What broke?”
“I tripped and knocked a picture off the wall. I’m fine, no cuts.”
He heard her feet hesitate in front of the door. “Okay.” The footsteps retreated down the hall.
He sighed and carefully maneuvered his way to the dresser, pulling out a clean white short sleeved short, pin stripped pants, red suspenders and a pin with a happy face that he attached to his belt loop. He stopped, about to open the door, then went to the closet and pulled out an old fedora. He went to his bookcase and stuck a feather in the ribbon around the base, then went downstairs.
The moment his father saw him, he demanded that he change. Instead of listening to him, August went to the table and sat in his usual chair.
There was a knock at the front door and Mr. Ookasami went to get it. Leaf came down in a light green sundress and sat in the chair to the right of August.
Three large men with dark sunglasses entered the room.
“Parlei lea august leaf,” One greeted, slipping his glasses off.
This saying was exactly why August and Leaf had been named August and Leaf. Parlei lea august leaf meant ‘good fortune to those who invite us’ their mom who is the oldest in their family had been named Parlei at birth. Lea, being a common boys name, had been given to their father. When they got married, they decide to name their kids ‘August and Leaf’ so that it formed the saying.
Now that their parent’s were divorced, August and Leaf always flinched at the saying because of the pain it caused them. Even their father seemed uncomfortable around it.
The guardians took their seats around the table. One looked at August, then blinked “Hey, you’re that kid from earlier.”
Five heads turned towards him and August suddenly became interested in his fork. “What kid?” he asked lamely.
Lea groaned. “August, you’re not getting in trouble again, are you?”
He looked up at his father in surprise. “No! He and his partner were escorting kids from school and he saw me staring at his car.” He twirled the fork on the tablecloth.
“He was ahead of the other students. I assumed he was playing hooky.”
“Were you?” The other two guardians and Lea asked at once.
“NO!” He exclaimed. “I left class when the bell rang and walked fast because I don’t like that teacher.”
“Why don’t you like your teacher?” The guardian without his glasses asked, staring at him.
August suddenly got the feeling he was a fly who flew to close to a spider’s web. He looked down at the salad his father just placed in front of him. “She assigns to much homework,” he lied, poking his salad with the fork.
The three laughed.
“Kids these days.” The emerald eyed one snorted. “Think they have it so bad.”
August froze and looked up at him slowly, feeling the rage rising in him again. He leaned his head back, pinched his nose and breathed deeply through his mouth. “3, dragon. 5, poison. 7, witch light. 11, guard and scythe. 17, bloody wound…” he said quietly.
“What?” A guardian demanded.
The anger rose. “3, dragon…”
“It’s from a game he plays,” Leaf said nervously. “Numbers equal what you get.”
“…Witch light…”
“What game?”
She shook her head “I don’t know.”
The man with emerald eyes looked at August. “What’s your race in this game?” He asked.
An amused smile slowly came to play on August’s lips “A demon who’s been through hell. He’s finally escaped and wants vengeance.” He opened his eyes and looked at him.
A dark eyebrow arched high on high on his head. “Well that sounds… Lovely.”
August chuckled darkly. “Isn’t it?” he stood and paced in front of the table. “A boy who was abducted and turned to a demon, sent to hell for crimes he didn’t commit. He had to claw his way out with little amount of help and is now back to make right what they had wrong.” He smiled at them, challenging them.
One of the guardians reached his hand out. “Gin,” He snapped at the one with the emerald eyes and long ponytail. “Let the boy play his fantasy games.”
Gin gritted his teeth and sat.
August leaned towards the man who had spoken. “Is it fantasy?” He gave a sly grin. “What do you do with all those kids you take away from their families, hmm? Why hasn’t anyone seen or heard from them again?” His hands were on the table as he leaned closer.
Gin’s fingers drummed the table as he tried to ignore August.
The one without the glasses looked at him. “Would you really like to know child, or are you just pestering me?”
Lea made a noise and turned a translucent pale.
The third guardian’s massive chest heaved with dark laughter. “Leave him be, Gregor.”
August’s eyes slit. I’m loosing this. I need that information. “No. I want to know. What do you do to all the kids you take?” He demanded.
Gregor wet his lips. “You’re an evocative one. Gin, should we do to him what we did to the last one?”
Gin tilted his head, voice shear ice. “I think we should.”
“I said leave him alone!” The third snapped.
“I WANT TO KNOW!!!!” August screeched.
He grunted. “Fine, if you must be so persistent.” He stood as the other two slid their glasses on, grinning hugely.
“Thank you for the dinner.” He addressed Mr. Ookasami when he spoke, but his eyes never left August. “We’ll be leaving now.”
Lea’s eyes went huge and he dropped the glass he was holding. “No!” He cried as the man grabbed August.
It suddenly dawned on August as the vise grip almost chocked him. He gagged and thrashed wildly. “Let me go!” He screamed.
“You said you wanted to know,” Gin said with a smirk.
August’s teeth dug deep into the man’s arms.
He yowled and dropped August, gripping his arm.
August hit the ground, rolled, popped up and sprinted to the stairs. He was half way up before Gin came after him. August ran to his room and dove onto his bed, hands wrapping around the picture and stuffing it into his pocket before hands grabbed him again. He gave an agonizing cry as his hands were jerked back behind him and he was dragged out of the room and down the stairs.
Leaf was kicking at Gregor and screaming. Lea pulled her back before they could snatch her up too. The three Guardians dragged a kicking, screaming and spitting August outside and threw him into the back seat of the car.
Gin and Gregor got into the front and drove the car away, lights flashing brightly.
August turned his head and saw the house fading as the distance between him and it increased. His cheat suddenly became heavy, like someone dropped a high weight on it. Tears slid down his cheeks.


Chapter Two

It wasn’t until years later that I’d find out the truth about my father. He knew from the beginning that I’d be used for the experiment. They told him from the beginning that he’d have to give up a child for them to experiment on, so he created a serum from my blood and told them his son would be the one to take and have it be used upon. All the Guardians needed was a reason to take me.
They got that reason when I was thirteen, four years ago as of tomorrow…
Tomorrow I get another operation. Apart of my mind believes it will be the final, but I know better.
(Journal Entry Two)


Adrenaline pulsed through August’s veins. He held the heavy katana in his hand and breathed deeply, he stood up straight from his doubled over position and looked at the Guardian in front of him in full armor. August surged forward in fury.
The Guardian sidestepped and knocked August off his feet. “You still have learned nothing!” The woman shouted. “You barrel straight into battle without thinking.” She kicked the katana out of his hand, sending it clattering across the room. “This is how you will die if you do not learn how to think things through.” She had her own sword at his throat now.
He snarled furiously. She sighed and pulled her helmet off, turning away from him as long black hair tumbled out of the helm. “Practice is over. Gin will escort you back to your cell.” She picked up his fallen sword and placed it in the dark metal rack with her own. Spending extra time to wrap the chain and padlock on it as Gin entered, scanned the bar code on the back of August’s neck and lead him back to his chambers.
A boy sitting on the top bunk in the cell put his book down. He slid to the end of his bed, yellow eyes shining brightly like a cats. “How’d it go?” He asked as the cell door slid shut.
August held his arms out, dark purple bruises covering his arms. A light blue hand touched his arm and the boy smirked. “They got you good.”
“Shut up Kaleb. Don’t be so smug,” August snapped, pulling his arm away from Kaleb’s blue hand.
Kaleb went back to his bunk and perched near the ledge. “Ready for your operation tomorrow?”
“Can’t be any worse than the damned injection,” August grumbled, pushing a strand of fire truck red hair out of his eyes.
“Ah… you’re injection. Sure you don’t want me to braid your hair?”
August had gotten an injection a few months ago that had turned his hair bright red and it had grown to his waist over night. He ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “No. It’s fine.”
“We can always try cutting it again.”
That had been the first thing they tried. The moment they finished cutting, it had grown out again. This had frustrated both of them and three haircuts later they were in the same position as before.
“That won’t work Kaleb, you should know.”
He nodded gravely. “Well alright then.” He picked the book back up and examined it. “Who was your fighting buddy today?”
“I dunno. She seemed new.”
“She? A girl beat you’re a-”
“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.”