• E I G H T •

Just a reminder: this is a reverse harem! Rage will end up with all seven of the boys eventually! If this bothers you, I'm sorry, but it is how the story will be.

• • •

"If you met my family, you would understand."

• • •

Knowing that I have two hours, I pull an apple out of my fridge and sit down on the floor to eat it. I'm not sure what to do for the time. I don't want to train and be tired for the fight, but I don't have much else. I used to love reading and had bookshelves full of books. I still love to read, I just don't have any of my books left. They all got destroyed.

Sighing, I throw my apple in the trash and clean up my house. One benefit of not having much is that there is not much to clean up. I snort. The poor people who live in mansions and have to clean them. Then again, people who live in mansions probably have people that do the cleaning for them.

The time drags by as I do basically nothing. Well, I do my homework. But that's hardly worth mentioning.

Finally, I make sure my wig is in place. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have come back here with it on. If someone had seen me enter as Raven and then Rage, it might be a bit of a giveaway. I guess now I know for the future. I check in the mirror to make sure my makeup is smeared or anything like that.

Locking the door behind me, I head back to the gym and begin to warm up. I remove my shoes, but I do not use hand wraps for elemental fights, they often burn up or get in the way. I stretch and make sure that I am loosened up and ready for the fight before heading down to the bottom ring. I keep an eye out for Victoria, but it seems like she has disappeared, probably went home. When I return to school, I will find out how well my disguise worked. Hopefully, she won't connect that I am Raven.

I touch the temporary tattoo on the back of my neck at the name. I chose it because of the tattoo. Not the most creative, but I like it.

It doesn't take long for my opponent to join me. She is a tall girl about my age with long white hair pulled back into a braid, tan skin, and caramel eyes. She wears a navy pair of leggings and a matching tank top.

"My name is Joules," She announces in a slightly rough voice.

"Raven," I reply with a nod.

Joules enters first and I follow quickly, looking through the thick glass that protects the audience from us. I have an idea of what her power is, and an edge of nervousness creeps in. Electricity is easily one of the most powerful elements and the most uncontrollable. I shake my head to clear the thoughts. I can't let her get into my head. She hasn't even done anything and she already has an edge over me.

No.

I have an edge over her. I am Rage Falls and nothing can stop me. I have been trained my whole life to survive. I've learned far more about powers than anyone else and I have eight powers. I am a formidable opponent. Besides, water beats electricity every single time.

I grin, realizing that victory will be simple.

The announcer starts the fight. Sure enough, a bolt of lightning crashes into me, sending me flying. I crash against the wall and fall to the ground.

But I don't get up.

I lay there with my eyes closed, deeply focusing. The crowd shouts their frustrations, thinking that Joules has already won. What they don't notice is the water. It starts slowly, seeping out of me and picking up speed until water is gushing out of me, flooding the entire room until I am covered and the water level is three feet. I don't worry about breathing; the water yields its oxygen to me in bubbles so that I can breathe. The water is mine, all mine. I control it; it obeys my every command.

It lifts me up so I am standing. Joules is panicking and trying hard not to show it. Seeing me, she throws bolt after bolt, trying to get to me before she gets soaked. A wall of water rushes up, reaching the ceiling and both walls separating the two of us. Calmly, I walk forward, the wall of flowing water moving with each step I take. With a whimper, Joules presses against the back wall.

Water is every Electric's worst nightmare. It conducts electricity so that every shock they try to deliver only results in them being electrocuted. Depending on the form of the power, some are unable to touch water of any kind without electrocuting themselves. They have to be extremely careful when drinking water not to get any on themselves. The weakness of water makes it easy for the government to find out who has electric powers.

The wall of water crashes into Joules and pulls her under. I don't want to drown her, I just want to hold her there until she's knocked out. With a strangled scream, I pull all the water back into me. It isn't hard, but it hurts, the force of all the water re-entering my body.

A medic rushes in to help Joules. The fighting ring might be illegal, but most rings try to avoid killing their fighters. Not only is there a limited supply of fighters, but also because if they got caught, the sentence would be lighter.

I stand straight up and the announcer calls boisterously to the cheering crowd, "The new champion of the non-power and elemental divisions is... Raven!"

It was a mellow fight, honestly. All I received was a single bolt of lightning. I guess they don't have any others with water powers here. Otherwise, Joules wouldn't have been the champion.

I step out of the room and push through the crowd that is swarming me, trying to get closer to the new champion.

Finally, I reach Flynn who is just finishing up speaking with a different fighter.

"Ahh! Raven, here are your winnings," He says, handing me a thick envelope.

Nodding my thanks, I take it from him and slip on my converse and leather jacket. I slip the envelope in the inside of my backpack and head to a busy bathroom. In the stall, I quickly change back into my normal clothes and wipe off the makeup with a wipe from a packet in my bag. I leave my hair down to cover up the tattoo and carefully pull out my contacts and put them away. The transformation is much quicker this time and I am soon on my way home.

I sit down on the floor and pull out the envelope. Inside is two thousand dollars. A grin spreads across my face as pride fills me. I did that. I can take care of myself on my own. The independence makes me feel good.

I decide to go to bed. I don't need the sleep, but it is a comfort, a way to remember. Soon, I am pulled under by the darkness as I fall asleep.

• • •

"You stupid, stupid little girl," He sneers. "You think you deserve dinner? Get back in the chest or I'll make you wish you were dead."

I know he won't kill me, none of them will. They won't hesitate to beat me or lock me up, though. My face falls as I turn around and run back downstairs into the cellar. In my haste, I nearly tumble down the steep, stone stairs. Frantically, I grab the wooden rail and continue down to the closet it in the corner. Knowing exactly what to do, I open the lid to the wooden chest and curl up inside. Closing my eyes, I pull the lid down after me and hear it latch as it closes.

Hopefully, they won't beat me for it. I just wanted to know if I could have food today. I tremble in the dark confines of the box.

I suppose most people would develop a fear of the dark and enclosed spaces after being locked in a box for so long. I used to be afraid of both, actually. Over the years and spending so much time in this chest, I've grown to love it. No one hits me when I'm in the box. No one burns me when I'm in the box. No one drowns me when I'm in the box. No one yells at me when I'm in the box. The chest brings me a sense of comfort and safety that I don't find elsewhere.

I decide to go to sleep. I can sleep for days without waking up and I can go days without sleep. I've needed to do both. Survival is more important than a consistent sleep schedule.

The sound of footsteps wakes me up instantly. My eyes snap open and my heart races as the sound draws near.

The heat tells me that it is either Ivan or John coming. Ivan is one of our fathers and John is one of my brothers. If my brothers are away from our fathers, they are kind, but no one can be gentle or even anywhere near nice if one of our fathers is around or else we will all be beaten. My older brothers are generally left alone, though. They all have powers and are male. Then there is me.

A powerless bastard child who killed Mother and a female. They will always hate me.

The latch is undone and my breathing grows ragged as my heart races.

"Let's go Rage," John orders.

I grin at him and climb out of the chest.

"We leave for school in ten minutes. Enrique says no breakfast," John informs me.

John is my oldest brother and only a few years away from graduating. Soon, he will be able to leave our family. I hope he takes me with him. He probably won't though. My brothers love me, but that doesn't me they like me. Don't get me wrong, I get along with them, but John doesn't really like me.

"Hi, Henry!" I chirp, pulling on a pair of old running shoes that are too small and have a hole in the toe.

"Were you stuck in the box again?" Henry asks sympathetically.

"Yeah, that's okay, though," I tell him. "At least I get to go to school today."

"You ready?" Klause calls, growing impatient.

I grab Phillip's old backpack and race to the door where my brothers all gather. John is the oldest and then Klause, Henry, Lonica, Phillip, Anchor, Joseph, and then I am the youngest. Lonica and Phillip are twins, but they don't look the same.

We file out the door and march to school together. The elementary, middle, and high schools are all really close so we get to walk together to the last street where we split up. John heads to the high school, Klause, Henry, Phillip, and Lonica walk to the middle school while Joseph, Anchor, and I trudge to the elementary school.

"Hey," Anchor says slyly. "Who wants to race?"

Despite knowing that Anchor has been practicing a lot, I gasp happily and squeal, "I do!"

Getting into a running stance, Joseph grins, "You're on!"

"Ready... Set... Go!"

We take off at a run. I beam and race with them, my backpack pounding against my back. All of us are fast, incredibly so. It doesn't take long for us to get there, but I am falling farther and farther behind as I see spots. I can't remember the last time I ate. Probably the same time I was allowed to have water.

My throat grows hoarse and I slow down and try to catch my breath. Doubled over, I don't even notice the foot until it is buried in my stomach, throwing me back. I gasp for air and clutch my stomach. I try not to be sick, knowing there is nothing to come up but bile.

"Look what we have here!" Reggie laughs. "The little baby is racing to get to her kindergarten class, huh?"

"I'm not a baby! I'm in third grade!" I shout angrily.

"Oh, yeah?" Carson sneers. "Then why are you so tiny, Baby?"

I glare at the three ferociously and climb to my feet. Carson, Reggie, and Tyler are all fifth graders and jerks.

"Is the widdle baby scared?" Tyler says mockingly, talking like a baby.

"I'm not a baby!" I roar, shooting a fist out and hitting him in the nose.

Tyler grabs his now bleeding nose and the other two instantly jump on me. Reggie holds my limbs down and Carson and Tyler take turns hitting and kicking me.

Tears drip down my face as they continue. It hurts. It hurts so bad. And I can't get away from it. Everywhere I go, there seems to be someone who hits me. I don't even know why these people hurt me. At least my fathers have a reason. I have no powers, I'm a girl, and a bastard child that killed Mom. But what did I do to these boys?

Finally, they get bored of me and I limp into the school where I get in trouble for being late. Now the school is going to call home. My fathers are going to be furious at me for being late.

Looks like it's going to be a bad day today.

• • •

Gage's POV

• • •

I fold my hands and place them under my chin as I survey the cafeteria. Today, there will be no fights between Nekoda and me, although we will glare and insult each other in passing, same as always.

At school, Boaz and William don't know any of us, Darkon and Asher know us but not well and are almost inseparable, Kolton is friends with everyone, Nekoda is icy and acts as if he hates me, and I stay away from people as much as possible.

The point of this subterfuge? We are a tight-knit group. We would draw the wrong kind of attention to ourselves if we all stayed together. The seven of us try to stay distanced at school so that no one connects just how close we all are. We have the whole school fooled. Although, one girl is becoming incredibly close with certain members of our group.

Rage Falls.

I don't know much about her. Yet. I do know, however, that she is getting close to our group. Something will need to be done about that or else we risk losing it all. Our secrets. We hold our cards against our hearts and I don't want to ever let our secrets get out.

"Want me to help you take your minds off of things?" A honeyed voice cooes.

Resisting the urge to wrinkle my nose, I shake my head and shift away from Seraphina. I don't know why she's bothering me now. She normally saves her shit for Kolton. Looking around, I notice that he is nowhere in sight. Figures.

"Aww, Gage," Seraphina pouts in that gratingly high pitched voice. "Are you sure? We can both have fun."

Seriously? When have I ever, ever given off any sign that I would want to talk to this bitch?

"What was fun," I tell her blankly. "Was watching Rage tell you off the other day."

It's true. I guess her rage has benefits.

Seraphina gasps before giggling. I resist the need to cover my bleeding ears.

"You're so funny," She laughs.

"I wasn't joking, but thank you," I say flatly.

Seraphina sniffs then spots Kolton.

"Let me know if you change your mind!" She squeaks before heading off, her sights set on Kolton.

Poor Kolton.

Thankfully, class starts soon and I head off to my physical education class, noting that Kolton was able to avoid Seraphina. I'll have to take lessons from him.

Wait.

No.

That's a terrible idea. I can feel myself losing brain cells already. I snort at the thought and quickly change in the locker room before heading into the gym. I didn't ask to have physical education first, but there are benefits. I get to clear my head before the real learning takes place.

Today we spend our class running back and forth across the gym with a partner. Rafael asks me to be his partner. Nodding, we head to the line and I step up to go first. We have to take turns running across the gym, keeping track of how many times we go. The more you run, the better your grade.

I like the mindlessness of gym class. You don't have to think, you just have to do. I spend enough time thinking as it is.

Soon enough, our class is over and I am heading to my next class, General Calculus II. I've taken the class before, but I've run out of other options to take. I like this class because I get to sleep through the first forty minutes and only have to wake up if there is a test or it is time to leave.

This is the highest level math class that they offer and it is a college course. I guess math and I just get along. I like history best, though. Specifically covering the wars. I might not be the brightest, but I love strategy and all that is involved in it. I suppose that is from my father.

Before he got injured and my mom had to marry a second man, he was a sailor. He never graduated, but he is still incredibly smart in a street sense. He is the one that got me started playing chess when I was young. Since then, I have become incredibly interested in strategies. Figuring out what makes people tick, figuring what makes them make their decisions, and beating them brings me a sort of thrill.

I guess that's my problem with Rage. I know nothing about her and it is making me nervous, although I will never show it. I don't know her and she is getting closer with the group. I know she is hiding something; I just don't know what it is.

I shake my head and focus on the class as a test is placed in front of me. I glance at the first question and sigh. Turns out, they're reusing last years material. It doesn't take me long to answer all the questions. I turn my test in at the front of the class and wait patiently to be dismissed.

Patience is a virtue; one that I have in spades.

School drags on today, same as always. I stay away from the others out of necessity and glare at Nekoda every time we come across each other. Nekoda glares back nastily before turning as icy as normal, but I know that he enjoys it. We'll see how much he enjoys it during training today.

I sit in the corner of the cafeteria for lunch before heading to the library, same as every day. I suppose I could be considered a loner; however, I just prefer my company over others.

In my government class, I note that Rage is still not here. I guess she got suspended because of the fight at lunch the other day. That was entertaining. It made me wonder, though, just how much does she know about fighting?

I shake my head and pretend to focus on the lesson.

I need to stop thinking about Rage so much.

• • •

Q: What genre would you classify this book as?

A: I honestly have no clue... That's why I just went with general fiction.