<b>Triggers : Will contain depictions of child abuse, and religious themes.</b><br/><br/>Ezekiel could hardly remember his life before Father Lamont. The man had taken him when he was five. He'd known the man, though admittedly before his capture, he hadn't paid all that much attention to him. Even now, he didn't know his first name. Only that he was a church Bishop and he didn't get his mail delivered to his home. Initially, Ezekiel had been alone. He did poorly in his studies, and Father Lamont had been perpetually angry with him. Ezekiel couldn't help it. He'd been miserable, and lonely. As a child he couldn't express his feelings through words, only actions, and he was prone to tantrums in which Father Lamont would lock him away so that he didn't have to hear it.<br/><br/>It was two years before River, and those two years had been the most miserable time of his life. When the other boy had arrived, Ezekiel attached to him immediately. It didn't matter their age difference. He wasn't alone, and that made things a great deal easier. Father Lamont would usually only separate them at first if they could not focus in on his teachings, but as the boys aged, the older man became more creative in the ways he altered their behavior. He could be a very angry man, and not all their punishments were understood by them, but they tried to be good. For each other.<br/><br/>They took comfort in one another, sometimes in ways that weren't appropriate, but Father Lamont couldn't watch them at all times of the day. With Lamont keeping them educated, they still learned, and adapted to their undesirable surroundings. Father Lamont mostly kept them locked away downstairs, away from as much outside stimulus as possible. They were not exposed to current events, social media, or outside influences. Father Lamont taught them to read, and write, and then furthered their studies in math, history, and many of the things that went along with a high school education. He didn't want his boys behind, but of course he taught them lessons of the Lord, and heavily monitored anything that they were reading. They were punished for any unacceptable behavior, including some of their interaction together, but no matter how many times he beat the two for their closeness, it didn't divide them.<br/><br/>When Ezekiel turned eighteen, Father Lamont had handed him a backpack and turned him loose outside. He expected that the young man was mature enough he would desire a world outside of what he'd created for him, but he'd been mistaken. Ezekiel refused to go anywhere, instead screamed his lungs out, and threw a brick through the windshield of his plain four door sedan. He would have likely done more, if Father Lamont hadn't come out to get him. He beat Ezekiel senseless for what he'd done, but the boy, now turned man, didn't care so long as he was returned back to the small world he now took comfort in. Father Lamont realized they were going to have to go together, otherwise they would never leave, and if he wasn't careful one of them would get him into trouble. He spent the next two years imprinting upon the boys that to fully tell their story would get them separated for good, and instead of trying to drive the boys apart, he implemented tactics that would make them more dependent on one another. For his own protection, even though he was only doing the work of god. For their parents sin, the boys deserved to be cleansed of it and brought up properly.<br/><br/>When River turned eighteen, or as close to it as Lamont knew, he was smarter about it. He had less information on River than he had on Ezekiel. River's family hadn't become a part of his church, and hadn't left any information. He knew the boy had been five, the same age as Ezekiel for his capture, so he went by the date of his capture instead, putting River some months past eighteen at his release. Father Lamont drove them a few towns over this time, giving them some previsions and a decent amount of cash.<br/><br/>“You two will go out and make something of yourselves. You'll do right by me, and continue to spread the word of Christ. Remember, your upbringing will be the the thing that drives you two apart if you confess to anyone what I've done. It was for the better. Your parents never deserved either of you.” Father Lamont's parting words before kicking the two out of the car, into a world they had very little knowledge of.<br/><br/>Everything was frightening, but the two had one another. Instead of one of his fits, Ezekiel stuck close to River, fingernails digging into the other's arm without realizing it. He was twenty years old now, though he still looked young, and a bit lean. He wouldn't eat unless sharing a meal with River, and during any prolonged isolation, he wasted away. Father Lamont had fed them both up before sending them out, spending very little time with them those last few months. He'd did cut their hair and made them look as presentable as possible. Ezekiel might have otherwise been considered attractive if he wasn't so peculiar in his behavior, with straight blond hair cut at a respectable length and watchful blue eyes. Neither knew really what they were going to do. Father Lamont had given instruction to give themselves over to a church for work, in exchange for housing, but Ezekiel was too overwhelmed to try to figure anything out. He was dressed in a plain pair of black slacks and a pressed white button up, the same as River. They avoided any strangers that crossed their path, but they couldn't avoid everyone. As they skirted to avoid a larger group of people, they knocked half the things off a magazine stand.<br/><br/>The owner rushed out, cursing, grabbing hold of the first one he could reach because they looked like they were both about to bolt. He had River's sleeve, and it didn't take Ezekiel long before he realized his shadow wasn't in step behind him. He turned and rushed the salesman, biting the arm that had a hold of River. The man hollered and snatched himself away, and hand in hand, the two took off. With a description of the boys, it wasn't as if they were hard to find, and with their equally sketchy attitude, the police were soon shoving the fighting boys into a squad car. They settled close together, not making a peep the entire time. They knew who they were, and also what purpose they served. What the officers could mean for them if they weren't careful. They were brought in together, both more subdued now, and equally nervous. They couldn't produce any ID when questioned about it, and exasperated, the officers shuffled them into a room for questioning.<br/><br/>“Look, the guy doesn't want to press charges. We just need to know who you two are so that we can complete our paperwork. Cut and dry. Let's start with how old you both are?” the Officer spoke, sounding bored and a little frustrated. Ages were safe, Father Lamont had said. He'd made it understood that as adults, they had a right to their privacy.<br/><br/>“I'm twenty, he's eighteen,” Ezekiel answered, looking anxiously to River. He didn't want to give away too much. He just wanted to be let go. This was all new, and he had no idea what to expect of these strangers.<br/><br/>“Can you explain why you don't have any forms of identification, and why you two are carrying so much cash?” the officer pressed, and Ezekiel looked to his name tag.<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Ffotos.fotoflexer.com%2F8571ccad0d9e716ab673a4d8c03e9f4e.jpg&amp;hash=dcf2060ea779d4ed79824f0fbde3403d" href="http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/8571ccad0d9e716ab673a4d8c03e9f4e.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">[</a>url=<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Ffotos.fotoflexer.com%2F8571ccad0d9e716ab673a4d8c03e9f4e.jpg%5DWatson%5B%2Furl&amp;hash=0795b94d36ead55b7198193ed06e2543" href="http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/8571ccad0d9e716ab673a4d8c03e9f4e.jpg]Watson[/url" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/8571ccad0d9e716ab673a4d8c03e9f4e.jpg]Watson[/url</a>] it read. Father Lamont had given them both five hundred dollars in cash. Ezekiel shook his head, not wanting to answer anything else.<br/><br/>“Look, no one is leaving until we know exactly who you two are. We need your names, otherwise I'm going to forced to throw you two in a cell here for non-compliance until we get some answers,” Officer Watson explained.<br/><br/>“We didn't do anything,” Ezekiel told him, frowning.<br/><br/>“How about your parents names? A phone number?”<br/><br/>Ezekiel shrugged, though the thought hadn't crossed his mind until then that he had the option of going back to his parents; his real parents now. He wasn't sure he wanted that. Watson was watching them, with their blank expression trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with both of them. Another officer was leaning against the door frame, watching.<br/><br/>“We might get more answers from them separately,” he suggested. That got their attention and Ezekiel unseated himself.<br/><br/>“No, we've done nothing wrong!” Ezekiel shouted, starting to get upset. Father Lamont had warned him that this would happen, and the more pressure he felt, the more he wanted to shut down.<br/><br/>“This might be a psyche issue. They.. don't seem right. I mean, he bit someone,” Watson explained, but it still didn't change the fact that he needed to know who both of the boys were.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><script class="js-extraPhrases" type="application/json">
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