Garret Russo rubbed his eyes vigorously, trying to get rid of the 'hallucination' that he had seen, despite everything having returned to normal.
"I hope I'm not going crazy," he mumbled.
It was hard for him to believe what had happened, especially since he had been someone who had never believed in the supernatural. Although, as a writer, his imagination was often running wild, he was still having a hard time taking in the sudden event.
"Let me try it again. I hope this time the headache won't kill me..." he decided.
Tap! Tap!
Whoosh!
He stomped his right foot lightly twice, and suddenly, a wave of red and yellow emerged from his feet and engulfed everything very quickly, turning the world into a hellish landscape.
Garret looked around with a perplexed expression on his face. His eyes reflected his disbelief and a growing fascination at the marvel that was happening in front of him.
All the objects in the room were still in their initial location; nothing had changed except for their appearance. They now looked like they were covered in a very thin layer of lava, although no heat whatsoever was emitted.
Touching the box nearest to him carefully, Garret confirmed once more that everything was indeed just a visual change. His skin safely came into contact with the wooden box, and the cold, rough surface rubbed against it.
He then raised his arms in front of his eyes and observed them carefully. His skin was now as charred as that of a burned corpse, pus flowing out from the many pores present on them. He then looked down at his chest to find the carving still there. However, from that angle, it was very difficult to read what was written. Luckily he had remembered everything from when he saw himself in the mirror.
"No matter how long I stare, I still can't believe this is happening!" he exclaimed.
The headache that came along with the visual change was getting stronger as seconds passed by. Garret felt that at the moment, he would pass out from the pain if he maintained that state for more than thirty seconds.
Holding his head tight, he began to be unable to bear with the pain.
Whoosh!
Tapping his right foot twice, he tried to get rid of the vision. A massive ring then formed and quickly closed into him, returning everything to normal as quickly as they changed.
"So it's definitely not an illusion..."
Smack!
He slapped his face very hard and felt the sudden stinging pain on his right cheek.
"And it's not a dream either..." he crossed his arm, leaving his red cheek alone, "This must have something to do with the worm," he looked at the 'mole' on his right ankle.
Garret walked over to the pile of boxes and sat down on one of them while resting his right leg on his left to get a closer look at the mole.
"This doesn't hurt and there is no bump either, but I don't know if there is any danger to it. However, I don't care what happens to me as long as I can find the truth about you and our daughter, dear..." he said, painedly.
"If I have to strike a deal with the devil to get to my goal, then I'll do it!" he decided, full of conviction.
Since he had now calmed down and was able to think clearly, Garret could begin to accept his current situation. The unknown entity that had lodged into his right ankle was now part of him, and he would gladly utilize it despite not knowing its intention as long as he could achieve what he wanted.
"Someone killed you and our daughter and framed me, so there is no way I'm going to rot in jail while the killer roams free! It must have been a deliberate trap, otherwise, how could the police come that quickly just as I..."
He sank his head into his hands, his face turned red.
"How could I not remember what happened before that..."
All sorts of thoughts came into his mind, including the scene where he had found himself kneeling in the pool of his wife's and daughter's blood. Tears started forming from the corner of his eyes while his chest felt like it became tighter and tighter, squeezing his heart painfully.
Sob...
Suddenly, Garret began crying. Tears of sorrow and helplessness ran down his cheek and wet the dusty floor beneath him. His face was red and his breathing heavy.
Ever since he came back to his senses back then, he had had no time to process his emotion. The moment he found his wife's and daughter's breathless bodies, the police had already been approaching the place, and without knowing it, he had run away as quickly as he could.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
He was overcome with sorrow and everything that had been building up inside of him burst out like flashflood. All the memories he had of his family came one after another to his mind, fueling his sadness even more.
The downpour outside was still coming strong, and the thunder roared frequently. The flickering light hanging from the ceiling was swaying in the wind that came from the broken window.
"*Sobbing* Alright... I have to be strong for you, dear. I will definitely find out what happened and then I will join you and our daughter there." he took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
He wiped his wet cheek with his sleeve and got up.
"I am now a wanted man. I cannot afford to meet other people. I have to disguise myself somehow..." he said. His eyes were still red and his nose wet.
The abandoned office was full of unused stuff, so he thought that he might find something there. However, just putting a cover over his head wouldn't solve his problem since it would only serve to make him look conspicuous.
"If only I had my sunglasses," he regretted.
When running away from home, he had had no chance to take anything. His wallet, cellphone, and everything else was left at his apartment.
There was a room whose door had been left ajar not far from his location. Garret walked into the room and once inside, started rummaging through the stuff in the dark. The only light source was the single flickering lightbulb outside the room.
"A scarf, not good unless I want to pretend to be a woman. But my mustache and beard will give it away. Besides, my jawline is too defined for a woman. But it might come in handy, so I'll just carry it with me," he picked up the black scarf and stuffed it inside the back pocket of his pants.
Besides the scarf, he found nothing else that he could use in that room, so he left it feeling somewhat dejected.
"There are still many things here. I'm sure something will turn up,"
Suddenly, he got an idea.
"Maybe the vision can help me find what I need. It's overstretching it, however, but it won't hurt to try,"
Tapping his right foot twice, the hellish vision came emerging out from him, bursting outward in a fiery wave. The headache also came with the vision, so he had to be quick.
"Should I concentrate on what I need or something?" he mumbled.
Garret focused on the thought of getting a disguise and concentrated solely on it. He even closed his eyes to get rid of distracting thoughts.
Once he was sure he had concentrated enough, he opened his eyes slowly and the red and yellow hellish scene came back to him. However, nothing else had changed. There were no indicators or anything that could help him get what he needed.
"So it doesn't work like that. What a shame..." he mumbled dejectedly, but then a smile surfaced on his face, "But it allows me to see in the dark. How could I just realize that."
Since the vision changed everything to a hell-like scene, the room was also lit up by the illusory fires. Even if he couldn't use it to find what he needed, he could utilize its property to get night vision.
He tapped his foot twice and everything went back to normal; a dark and cold abandoned room.
Roar!
The thunder clamored in the sky.
Coming with the sound of the thunder and the rain, there was another sound that got Garret to raise his guard.
It was the sound of footsteps!
"Anyone in here? Who turned on the light?" came a voice of a man from the direction of the entrance.
Garret was still hidden in the dark room, but he could see the silhouette of the man who had just entered the building.
Tapping his foot twice, the hellish vision returned and now he could see the man clearly-- or to be precise, the burned corpse version of the man.
Although he had seen his own version, seeing a walking charred corpse version of another person still sent him a shock. He covered his mouth with his hand to avoid making any noise. After all, what he was seeing was like something straight out of a horror movie.
"Hello! Come out now!" the man shouted while shining his flashlight around.
The man looked to be of average height with a plum body if he could trust his vision. The man's skin was all scorched with pus running across his nonexistent skin. Through his eyes, Garret couldn't see the man's clothes, but instead, he could see carvings on the man's chest. Although the man was still too far away, for some reason, he was able to clearly see what was written on it.
'Don Alessi'
'42'
'Security Guard'
'On guard, careful, suspicious'
'Possesses a weapon (baton), and a flashlight'
Garret was surprised that the man had an extra piece of information on him, unlike himself. He then noticed the man's baton that was hanging strangely on his right waist. Through his eyes, it looked like the baton was hanging on thin air, while it was probably strapped on his belt that he couldn't currently see.
Since the headache was getting stronger, Garret quickly tapped his right foot twice to get rid of the vision.
Alright, so now I know the man's identity. Since he's a security guard, he will definitely report my whereabouts to the police the moment he sees me. I must not be seen by him at any cost!
The room where he was hiding only had one entrance, so he couldn't escape without being seen by the security guard. However, it was dark enough to provide him cover unless the man shone his flashlight right onto Garret.
I have to lure him into this room and maybe this scarf can be of help. I don't know how to fight, so I'd better not confront him directly. Although he is old, he is still a security guard. Now, I need to see better first.
Hiding in the dark corner of the room, Garret picked up a small screw lying around near him. He then quickly tapped his foot twice to be able to see better since the room was too dark for him to aim properly.
With the yellow and red vision, he could now clearly see the metal beam protruding from the ceiling of the room. After getting his aim right, he tossed the metal screw and it hit the beam.
Ting!
The metal hitting each other made a loud enough noise in the midst of the heavy rain outside.
Garret then quickly returned his vision to normal to get rid of the growing headache.
"Who's there?!" the security guard heard the noise and became alarmed.
Shining his flashlight onto the direction where the noise had come from, he found the doorway to the room where Garret was hiding. Carefully, he began approaching the room while paying close attention to the direction of the sound.
Tap.. Tap...
The sound of his footsteps was getting closer and closer while Garret's heart was beating faster. It felt like time had frozen when he was waiting in anticipation. After all, his life as a writer was not that of an action movie, so something like that was enough to get his adrenaline pumping.
I have to do this correctly because I only have one chance. I can't believe I will actually use the knowledge from the books that I've read for my writing in real life.
Seconds passed, and the security guard slowly entered the room, revealing his dark blue security uniform and a hat. Garret was still hiding in the dark corner to the man's left, staying out of sight and ready to strike.
Once the man entered the room deeper and before he could get a proper look inside, Garret sneakily went up behind him from his hiding spot and covered his face with the scarf that he had prepared before.
"Umph!!"
The security guard struggled, but Garret had already had everything planned. He quickly reached into the man's baton on his right waist and hit him hard, aiming for his temple.
Smack!!
Garret's first hit wasn't strong enough, so it didn't cause the security guard to blackout. However, it still gave him the chance to try again since the man stumbled.
Bash!
The hard baton smashed his temple once more, and this time, it was apparent that the security guard had been knocked unconscious.
Pant... Pant...
Garret breathed heavily there was panic on his face. He quickly kneeled and placed his fingers under the security guard's nose.
"He didn't die..." he breathed a sigh of relief, "Although I'm prepared to have to kill someone if necessary, it's still much more difficult to do than said..."
Raising the baton that he was holding, he examined it quickly.
"Luckily I could see and remember this thing's location through the vision."
The security guard was breathing weakly, lying down on the floor unconscious. Garret then kneeled down and started undressing the man.
"Sorry, but I will need your clothes," he said shortly.