Playing With Fire | 18+

1|Sons Of A God

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We go to war with a smile on our faces

Because we are friends of death himself

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Alexander stirred in his bed tugging at the blankets that stuck to his sweaty torso uncomfortably. Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, he sighed quietly as the red numbers glared back at him.

5:45 a.m.

It was still too early, everyone dead asleep in bed except for Mark completing his night shift. Despite knowing they had a mission in only hours, Alex couldn't bring himself to sleep the whole night. It was as if his body intentionally deprived him of sleep the night before they do a mission. Most of the time. Sometimes it could be nervousness or anxiety, even the pills the house Doc gave him didn't help calm his nerves.

He tried everything from sleeping pills to eating warm meals before bed. Hell, Remy even trained him hard the whole day hoping he would fall exhausted on the bed. But he didn't.

And so Alexander accepted his nocturnal side with open arms.

Shoving the blankets aside, he swung his legs over the bed placing them on the cold floor. Running a calm hand through his head pushing away the sweaty locks that clung to his forehead like a second skin, he stood and silently padded barefoot to his closet.

"I still have time..." He murmured to no one while pulling on a pair of basket shorts over his boxers and a grey hoodie. Taking out socks, he sat on the bed and strapped on his favorite worn out Nike shoes from endless days of jogging.

Quietly leaving his room, Alex made his way down the hallway passing closed doors with the members on the other side sleeping. He jogged down the stairs pausing at the kitchen door glancing at Mark who was perched on a bar stool, watching Netflix on his laptop, cheek held up by his fist. An amused smile ghosted over his lips as Mark's head dipped forward slowly, eyes shutting willingly right before he jerked back awake.

"You can go sleep. I'll take your shift." Alex broke the silence as Mark jerked out of his sleep.

Instead of protesting, Mark nodded stretching his arms overhead while yawning. "Thanks man," stepping off the bar stool, he shut the laptop and tucked it under his armpit. "Going out for a jog?" Mark asked tiredly eyeing Alex's body.

Alex nodded heading for the door. "I need some air," which was true, despite having lived in the same house for the past two years he still felt as if it was soffocating. Walls constantly caving in on him. Or maybe it was the increase in gang members that made the house look small.

The cold air smacked his lips turning them a pale pink the moment he stepped out onto the porch. Exhaling deeply, Alex watched as mist formed from his exhaled breathe before dissolving into the air. He begun walking down the steps and onto the sidewalk stretching his arms across his chest while looking around the silent neighborhood.

If one were to drop a pin on the pavement, it was sure to echo. Alex chuckled at his slightly exaggerated thoughts.

Tugging the hoodie up to cover his head, Alex began with a slow jog down the street the sound of his feet uniformly touching the ground filling the void environment. After a few minutes, his pace gradually increased to a light sprint, feet hardly touching the ground as he moved quickly.

Cold morning air slapped his face, rubbing like friction along his neck and tip of nose turning every exposed of his body pink. By the time the sun had risen, Alex had covered a neat eight miles as the neighborhood had slowly disappeared, trees forming where houses would've otherwise been.