Where was he! The question raced through Maddox’s mind on loop as he raced through the village. He had already been to the places he knew Koru would normally go to be alone, each one a bust. He continued his search throughout the village to no avail, all hope seemed lost until he came across some boys who he recognised from earlier. Keeping his presence hidden, he crept towards the trio, making as little noise as possible so he could listen to their conversation.

“See the look on that kids face” The first jeered with rosy cheeks, beer in hand.

“yeah! What a picture!” The second agreed while taking a swig.

“How dumb must these soulless kids be, showing his face again” The third added.

“Well when Gin and the others catch him, I doubt he’ll have a face left to show!” The first guy quipped in cheerfully.

“Damn right, kid’s good as dead this time, Gin knows these woods like the back of his hand, kids got no chance” The third confirmed with a smug look.

Behind them, rustling of bushes took their attention off their drinks, but not for long as they happily drank into the night.

The time for thinking had gone, the time for being rational had gone, if Gin knew theses' woods like the back of his hand, Maddox knew it blindfolded and he knew where Gin was most likely to chase Koru to. A place where he would be cornered so he couldn’t escape. One place screamed out to Maddox, if he got it wrong it would be all over, yet in his heart he knew they would be there. By the edge of Lake Tisza, there was a tall cliff face separating the land from the water, the trees narrowed as the lake neared and only parted at the edge, he’d have no-where to run.

Sprinting past the tree’s, his aches and pains a distant memory as the adrenaline took over his body, forcing it to move on its own ‘Please God don’t let me be too late!’ The thought raced through his mind as he left the road and cut through the woodland. In the distance he could make out the dim flicker of torches, a twisted sense of relief came over him as he knew he’d picked the right spot, but now what? What could he do different this time? "Ah, FUCK IT!" he shouted aloud as he closed the distance of the ominous flames.

Slowly the dark outlines of shimmering figures became more solid, their features more defined, no doubt was left in his mind, the sheer mass of the person at the centre confirmed to him, it was Gin, and below him a small figure lay motionless on the floor.

Barging past the members once more, reminiscent of earlier that same day, he presented himself, arm’s hanging defiantly once more, head barely lifted with a dark grimace upon his face, prepared to accept his fate.

"So, you did decide to show up huh?" Gin drunkenly gazed at Maddox’s battered body with amusement "What are you exactly supposed to be doing, it’s a bit late to protect him isn’t it" he chuckled to himself. Maddox stood his ground, he couldn’t move anymore, his body was drained, it took all he had left to remain standing.

"Tsk..." Muttered Gin dejectedly "I’d hoped you’d show a little more fight before you died... we were just gonna kill the little one, leave his head on your doorstep as little present, after watching your fun reactions for a bit we were gonna burn down that shithole you call a home with you and that whore in it, it’s a shame, guess we get to bring her two heads instead of one now..."

Anger swept over Maddox’s body instantaneously, standing before him wasn’t a gang of human’s anymore, no, it was past that, they were nothing but animals, animals that needed to be put down, but what could he do now, in the end he lived a worthless life. He couldn’t protect Koru, the little brother who looked up to him so much. He couldn’t protect his mother, the woman who gave up everything for him, he couldn’t protect her from what was to come. Truly his existence had been nothing but pain and suffering, as Gin revealed a clean, large knife from his back pocket, Maddox couldn’t help but grin to himself as he prepared to welcome death with a clear conscience, in fact death couldn’t come soon enough, he’d waited nearly 19 years to finally feel peace. As the dagger dug deep into his stomach, twisting inside his organs, the world slowly turned dim, his body stumbled back, till the land was no more and he fell into the sharp coldness of the lake below him. As his vision deserted him, the sound of laughter reverberated through the waves, a last thought echoed hazelly across his mind ‘Sorry mom, I guess I was nothing but trouble to the end huh?' And with that, his conscious disappeared as his body drifted along the current to the lake bed, resting peacefully for the first time.

"Are you giving up?" An unfamiliar voice echoed throughout his subconscious, interrupting his minds deep sleep.