No sun reached the dark recesses of the basement so Chanyeol had no idea if it was day or night. He knew a day must have passed as he had been fed a breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes and an assortment of fruit. Dinner had also passed, a delicacy of steak and other healthy foods. It was strange, they left him abandoned in a barren room with only a toilet in one corner and they left him bloodied and destroyed but fed him high quality food.

   In truth it didn’t matter to him for his body was still in the worst agony he could have ever imagined. His skin was crawling as if it was some strange entity adapting to a new environment while underneath the scarred exterior felt like there was something inside, wanting to burst free or eat him alive trying. His body was decorated with thick black thread holding gaping wounds together while he was tainted a faded scarlet from the dried blood plastered to his skin. His usually lively eyes had become wide and moist with fear, the constant feeling of shedding tears he no longer had making them irritated. Running his tongue along his dry, chapped lips he could still taste the bitter saltiness from his earlier breakdown.

     The clank of the door opening alerted him to the familiar man in the suit. He recklessly tossed the bowl of steaming porridge with a side of peanut butter toast at the cowering man before leaning against the door to the cell. “Hurry and eat, I have to take you somewhere.” Cold eyes peered at the broken scrap of humanity as his voice monotonously repeated his orders. The boy dragged himself over to the tipped over thermos biting his lip as pain shot through him from his swollen fingers twisting open the lid. Steam and the sweet scent of brown sugar wafted into his nose making his earlier dry mouth water. Using three fingers he shovelled the slick substance out of the container and into his mouth. His throat was sore as he let out an appreciative groan.

      The hot porridge didn’t burn his fingers but it did scaled his tongue, going unnoticed as his taste buds soon went numb. The toast was practically inhaled as he silently wondered why he was so hungry. He was big yes and had a large appetite but it was never this bad, it was like he was a furnace, consuming everything to keep himself a blaze.

    A tortured shriek tore his throat as the man gripped his arms, nails digging into his tender skin. “That’s enough.” The squeaking slide of sweaty skin against marble floors played backup to the large man’s pounding steps as he dragged the struggling man down the corridor. The weak whimpers from the boy only spurred the body guard to drop his arm and slam him to the floor. Chanyeol starred up at the deadly black eyes of the man. The white tape plastered over the man’s nose indicated a broken nose and Chanyeol feared that he had caused it.

    With a devastating kick to his ribs Chanyeol nearly passed out as he rolled through a door. Jerking coughs caused his whole body to convulse as blood splattered over the white floor and trickled down his lips. “Ah 501 you made it!!” The sweet and slightly cheery voice sent crippling fear through him as he stared up at the woman. She was no longer wearing the blood stained scrubs but a charcoal pencil skirt and business like peach coloured blouse. Her hair was pulled up into a pony tail as she observed him over sharp framed black glasses.

   Grabbing something from the table she hurried over the writhing boy a sadistic smile gracing her lips. Reaching around his neck she strapped the coarse leather around his throat tightening it to an almost uncomfortable level. Pulling back she observed as her experiment shakily lifted himself up and touched the collar now strapped around him. His fingers traced all the way down to the metal tag tracing over the ‘501’ carved into its surface. The collar was all white, matching everything else in the building. “Stand.” Ignoring the order Chanyeol continued to play with the loops around his neck feeling disgust wash through him.

    Violent sparks shot through him making him release a blood curdling cry. Slumping forward he shook as he clutched at the shock collar. “I said, stand.” Using his last ounce of energy Chanyeol forced himself to his feet, although unsteady and he swayed with ever second. “Good boy!” The scientist moved back to the other table gathering an assortment of things in her hands before schlepping it all back to the staggering boy. Dropping it on the floor with a threatening clank she ran her hands down his chest, peering at the stitches and his toned muscles.

    Satisfied she picked up a gel and let it run along her fingers. Kicking the back of his knees she forced the tall boy to crouch as she applied the gel all along his scalp. Wiping her grimy hands along his back she reached for some different coloured wires, all with a little white circle attached to the end. Slapping them onto his head she quickly moved to place other’s all along his torso. When she was satisfied with the placement of the sensors she wrapped a heart rate monitor around his chest and a blood pressure unit around his forearm. Lastly she forced a thermometer practically down his throat. As broken as he was Chanyeol tried to fight back but complied once he saw her reach for the remote that controlled his collar.

    Finished with her set up she wheeled the table which everything had been placed on out of the room and moved to the observatory above them. Peering down at him through the large window she smiled the now familiar sadistic smile. It didn’t take long for the large room to suddenly decrease in temperature. It dropped like a jumping skydiver from an airplane, frost now covering the window the woman was standing at and slick little puddles of stray water turning into tiny ice rinks. Snow even started falling from the fans and Chanyeol watched as they tumbled, blending into the white tiles of the floor. Strangely enough he didn’t feel cold, in fact the snow wasn’t even reaching him as it melted almost an inch from his skin. Little droplets were running down his skin as he watched.

    Standing there for what seemed like hours he watched as the snow around him was piling up to around his waist yet he himself was left untouched, if a little soaked from the melted snow. His skin was crawling and he could almost feel the heat radiating from himself. They had turned him into some sort of human furnace and he felt sick with the realisation. He wished he could call himself a lab rat but he was sure they were treated better than him.

   Suddenly the temperature went back to normal and the door opened. The woman strolled in still writing on her clipboard. Yanking off the straps she left behind long lines of red as her nail dug into his skin. Wincing, he dropped the thermometer from his mouth just barely catching it to avoid another shock. The receptors were ripped off him, pulling his skin and leaving delicate purple bruises in their wake. The vengeful body guard dragged him out of the room and tossed him back into his cell followed by the clatter of his dinner. Chanyeol scarfed it down before passing out in his corner.

_*_*_*_

    A month had passed, Chanyeol had counted. Thirty days, sixty meals and fifteen days of the same experiments. Every second day he would be taken to that freezer room and made to stand there all hooked up while the room turns into a winter wonderland around him. His body was littered with bruises but at least the stiches weren’t protruding so wildly from his skin and they would allow him a quick five minute shower at the end of every week so he no longer looked like a butchered corpse with blood seeping everywhere. The crawling in his skin had become so natural now he barely felt it, the constant tingle turning into a comforting hum. However inside he was being eaten alive. Something wanted out and he felt like he couldn’t contain it, he was a stick of dynamite with his wick lit up and burning down, just waiting to burst. He felt like a victim to his own body.

    Today was a second day, this meant he would be let out. With his body healing now he tried causing trouble, anything to show defiance but it seemed everyone had the remote to the cursed thing around his neck. As expected the door clanked open and this time an omelet was tossed onto the floor which he gladly gobbled up before following his jailor. Sadly along with his injuries the guards also seemed to heal however his nose had a permanent crook to it that Chanyeol congratulated himself on every time he saw it.

    As they walked down the hall he was taken two floors up instead of one and unease seeped into him. Hunching in on himself his footsteps slowed, became uneven as he tried to look around. He couldn’t see very much but he was soon ushered into a sadly very familiar room. The pounding in his ears indicated that he had held his breath for too long but he didn’t even notice as he scanned the familiar metal table with the surgical tools and observation room on the top.

     Losing all sense of everything he became manic, throwing punches and scrambling around the room trying to find an escape. It took three shocks for him to crumple on the floor pleading. The cries went ignored as he was grabbed and shoved onto the table, the metal bars digging into his newly healed skin as he thrashed around. The two women he hated most in the world strolled into the room, giggling to themselves and looking over joyed. They were wearing the scrubs again and wasted no time in placing the mask over his face, knocking him into oblivion.

_*_*_*_

     The prickling of his skin woke Chanyeol from a restful sleep. Struggling to move his limbs he found that he was still stretched out over the table, newly dried blood making his body feel sticky. Forcing his head up he felt nauseous as the room spun, his hazy eyes focused on the wall in front of him waiting for the turbulence to stop. When it did he did a once over to see the extent of the damage inflicted on him. Surprisingly there were no new wounds, only the dried blood and signs of healing marks from where the stiches had once been. The breeze against his head made him aware that any hair he had grown back was now gone but it didn’t bother him like it had. He no longer had black trails marring his skin although he still had the scars and bruises but he hoped they would fade, the reality of them was too painful to bare for forever.

      “Hey Kangjun! He’s awake!” Chanyeol glanced up watching as the prison guard moved forward unlatching his bonds. Kangjun, it was the first time he had heard one of their names. Shakily he followed Kangjun down the stairs expecting to be taken back to his cell but he was wrong. One floor down and several doorways later he was tossed into a small room. Every inch of his body protested as he pushed himself off the floor. The room was small with fire extinguishers at every corner, a slight accent to the common white of the rest of the room. Chanyeol looked around fear gripping deep in his chest and he didn’t know why. “501, listen carefully.” His attention flew up to the barely visible black tile that emitted the crackly message. The speaker spoke again and it seemed to be the other crazy scientist that hadn’t been at the other sessions. “Now, you are going to produce flame. Yes it should be possible so do whatever or-” The message was cut off along with the breath in Chanyeol’s lungs.

    Feeling the hum from his collar he froze. The turning in his stomach was like a washing machine set on heavy and his head was no better. With shaking hands he held them palm facing the wall and prayed with all he had in him that it would work. The stirring beneath his skin became hotter, fiercer as he tried to force it from his palm. It roared and spun like a caged animal but it made no difference, it wouldn’t break free.

    Searing pain broke him to his knees as he bit his lower lip so hard it bled. Tears streamed from his eyes as he held out his palm focusing on the rough calloused skin. Not a single spark illuminated the shadows on his palm and his gut sank. Another shock had him sprawled on the floor clutching his chest and gasping for air. “P-please…” With each exhale drops of blood would project onto the flawless tiled floor, adding to the red accent of the extinguishers. The pain kept coming as volts coursed through his body. His voice had gone hoarse as he couldn’t even beg for relief anymore. Blood stained his chest and his hands as he crumbled in on himself. In a matter of minutes his world fell black.

_*_*_*_

      The high pitched screeching of metal being scratched echoed in the large cell. It’s been sixty-one days, two whole months he’s been here. He no longer had deep purple bruises littering his body and the wounds from removing the stiches had also healed, he even had hair now; a black buzz cut of sorts. However he was almost as weak as the first day he had woken up in the dungeon. His throat was raw, probably red with crimson lines all along it. Occasionally he would move his neck too harshly and open a small cut, causing blood to flow underneath the pure white leather. The rest of his body was marred with long, deep gashes. Their favourite whip was a leather bound wood pole, with plastic strings dangling from the end with a harshly tied knot at the end. With a single flick of the wrist it would pierce deep wounds into his skin.

    The expected clank of the bar rang through the cell as Kangjun came in. obediently Chanyeol forced his body off the floor, taking care not to reopen any healing lesions. Eating his breakfast with vigor he stumbled his way to his most hated room and stood in the middle of it. The familiar scientist, Seohee as he had learned, was standing in the middle without the cursed whip. Keeping silent he observed with caution as she swung the remote to his collar on a pearly key string. “Alright 501 I’m tired of this , produce a flame.” Plump lips parted but no words came out and Chanyeol hurriedly shut his mouth. Putting his palms out he touched the stirring energy within him, his hearth and tried to coax the flame to his hands but just like all the other times he tried it failed.

    Turning dead eyes to the woman he stared at her blankly. He had lost everything; his will to fight, his pride, his optimist, his light. All he had was his life, he had to stay alive for his sister and parents because they would want him to. With a sigh he looked at the woman before him waiting for the familiar pain the collar would inflict but it never came. Chanyeol was surprised but felt no relief as he examined every movement of the petite scientist.

    With a flash a gun was whipped out from behind her aimed straight at his head. He didn’t have time to beg as she shot. Crying out in fear he threw his hands in front of him as he was engulfed in flame. The beast inside him released like a re-born phoenix, consuming everything and setting a blaze. His lungs filled with smoke as he gasped between the flames, gripping his chest he shrieked as his flesh melted at the touch. Falling to the floor Chanyeol tried to escape the dark ash as he rolled on the floor but the burning only increased.

    The whoosh and white smoke of the fire extinguishers filled the room with plush foam. Gathering his wits Chanyeol inspected himself and nearly jumped out of his own skin; his clear, intact skin. Red patches of second degree burns littered his body but he had been surrounded by fire; he had created fire, his skin should be falling off in patches by now. Reaching up to his head he gasped as he felt his hair still there and all appendages still connected with his body. Glancing up he screamed as he saw Seohee; her hair was gone, skin almost blackened as foam littered the ground around her, tainted red by her blood. Paramedics scrambled into the room pulling her out in a rush.

   The soft click of dress shoes sounded in the room as the other woman, Sunghyo entered. Stepping around the mess of foam she picked up the gun and held it lightly in one hand. Cocking it open she tilted it until five shimmering bullets fell out onto her hand. “Ice, they are made from pure ice.” A soft smile played on her lips as she examined one. “1202 was talented…that bullet would have killed you if you hadn’t melted it.” Her featured turned deadly as she dropped both the gun and the bullets only to pull out her remote. “Consequently you also burned my sister.” He barely registered the pain as he fell into the world of oblivion.

_*_*_*_

     “Miserable three month anniversary.” Chanyeol managed to force a chuckled at his own lame joke as he carved in the ninety-first mark alongside the ninety others. The past month hadn’t been as bad as the last; now his body only had deep red to purple scars from the whippings and second degree burns from his attempts at controlling his fire. It was concerning at first but the burning inside him had died down now that he learned to control the hearth within him. It was when the flame left his body that he lost all control. He was getting better but it still back fired. He hadn’t heard anything about Seohee and in truth the guilt he had harbored the first few days had fizzled away into numb indifference.

    Forcing himself up he ran his fingers through the mop of unruly black hair on his head and shuffled to the door. Catching the food before it hit the floor he almost had the spunk to smirk at the annoyed guard but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Wolfing down the eggs and bacon he followed Kangjun to the ever well-known room. Standing in the center he faced three unlit candles. “501, hit the center candle.” His eyes faced the white, waxy pedestals and focused on the black wick. The tightly wound rope reminded him of the end of the whip that had torn his flesh and stolen whatever light he had.

   Converting the anger into pure, controlled energy he raised his finger focusing on the tip. In his room he had figured if he does what the same thing as he does to calm the hearth inside him then he could control it on the outside. Taking a deep breath he pointed at the wick and gathered his emotions. Taking every single one of them; rage, sadness, confusion, helplessness, he bottled them up and stirred the fire within his chest like one would a steam engine train. Taking his emotions he used them like coal, his mind controlling the shovel that cradled the burning stones. Flicking his finger he sent the invisible stones towards the tip of the candle, setting it aglow.

A/N: Hey guys so I actually finished this on vacation. *waving from my cottage* Anyway I hope you enjoy it! I tried really hard with this chapter since I want my writing to improve so please give me constructive feedback, or any feedback at all, thank-you for your support!