At long last, the day was coming to an end. The night was already here, and the shop was closing up. Everyone had already gone home except for the Boss and Don. "See you tomorrow, Don. I'll have a new badge and uniform for you." The Boss stated as he locked the doors. Don lightly sighed while straddling his jet-black sports motorcycle. It was a foreign brand from overseas but ran like a beauty. "Yeah. You take care as well, Boss." Don replied before turning the key of the ignition and starting the bike up.
The Boss was making his way towards his own American Muscle Sports car. Don revved the bike before turning the bike and making his way onto the main street. The streets were empty at night, so the journey home was quick and hassle-free. Pulling into an apartment complex driveway, Don saw that all the suitable parking spaces were taken, making Don heavily sigh, "Never any damn parking..."
He grumbled and parked his bike a "short" walk from his unit on the third floor. The railing was open, and going up the stories was easy since the stairs were winding; for disabled people, an elevator was only meant for them since they needed a special pass to open the doors. This was to prevent nonhandicapped people from monetizing the elevator, which worked. Don looked at his unit number, 320C. The rooms went from 100 to 300. Units were sections A, B, C, and D. Unit C, floor 3, room 20. So 320C.
Don put the key into the lock and turn it. With a click and turn of the knob, the door opened, and upon doing so, he heard a cutesy voice call out to him. "Welcome home, Darling!" Don sighed heavily while closing the door. "How was work? Would you like me to prepare dinner for tonight, or perhaps you want take out, or maybe a quick shower... with me?" The feminine voice continued, and Don finally replied. "Work was fine. I got promoted. I'll make dinner, so go sit down and relax or something. Also... stop calling me that."
Don added as he kicked off his shoes at the door and made his way through the super short hallway to come across a young, half-naked raven-haired woman. She was wearing an oversized white tee-shirt that teased black panties. Aside from that, there was a tease of a well-trained physique, from her bare legs to her thighs. Even her slim arms had traces of such. "Fine, Big brother~" The woman replied with a smirk and a playful tone. "Don't call me that either! You already know I am not your brother. I don't even know why you call me that." Don retorted as he made his way into the kitchen to prepare a meal.
'This short confused woman is known as April. I've known her since I was a kid. I saved her from a group of bullies, and she started following me ever since then. As for why she calls me Big Brother, I have no fucking clue. We aren't even related, for that matter. Other than the vibes she is giving off, she is completely pure. Wholesome and innocent. Honestly I...'
"Donny Darling!" April slipped in front of him, coming in between him and the stove, which caused him to step back and his attention to shift from stirring the broth of mixed vegetables and chunks of meat to her. "That's dangerous, April. Also, stop calling me Darling." Don's train of thought was broken when April spoke up. "Mmm.. only if you give me a kiss." April teased again with a playful wink before puckering her lips and standing on her tippy toes while trying to get a kiss from Don.
Don sighed heavily and shook his head. "You are too young for that. Besides, isn't there someone you like? Any boys at your high school?" Don inquired, to which April shook her head before tracing a heart along Don's chest. "No, not at the high school. Even if I said yes, you would probably blow it off like usual. However, there is someone I do like... his name is Donathan Douglas. Of course, everyone just calls him Don." April added sincerely, along with a hint of tease.
Though it was pretty straightforward, she liked Don. Another tiring sigh escaped his lips, "Yeah, yeah..." Don replied half-heartedly. "Go get dressed and washed up. Dinner will be ready by the time you get out. Remember, I am taking you to school in the morning." Don added, shifting his attention towards the pot. April chuckled softly before kissing his cheek, then ducked underneath Don and ran away to get washed up and dressed. Don shook his head in disagreement with her action of kissing his cheek while finishing the meal.
After dinner, Don cleaned up, changed, and headed to bed. There was a tidbit of conversation between Don and April about how she wanted to sleep with him and how he refused her advances once again, only for them to settle on allowing her to sleep beside him and nothing more... once again.
Several hours later, there was a knock, or well more like a solid banging on the door. "Is anyone there!? Can anyone hear me!?" Don groaned and grumbled nonsensical murmurs. His blurry vision shifted toward a digital clock on the nightstand beside his bed that read five in the morning. He didn't need to be up for at least another two hours since he was giving April a ride to school, and even if he wasn't, he didn't have to get up until much later for work.
Slowly his eyes started to close again, and sleep was going to overtake him until the banging occurred again, "Please, if anyone is any there, help me!?" Don's eyes shot open, and he removed the blanket from himself, revealing himself to be in black boxers and only that. April had also sat up to rub her eyes sleepily and cutely. "Don~" She murmured, to which Don replied agitatedly, "Stay there."
'God, so help whoever is out there right now, because if they woke me up for some stupid shit...'
The beating on the door continued until Don started to unlock the door; however, he left the chained lock in place. Don opened the door to peek outside and see a man in a suit, although the suit and appearance looked like it had been through hell. "What do you want?" Don inquired with a rough voice. "D-Don!? Is that you!? Don, please! It's me, Kenny! Your neighbor, I need your help! Please let me in!"
The man looked astonished to see Don; however, Don did not seem too pleased to see the man. "Kenny...?" Don grumbled, going through his memories of the person. "Oh, right... Kenny..." Don gave up about halfway simply because he was too tired to care. "So?" He added. Kenny pushed himself against the door to try and enter the building. "Please, I need your help! Let me inside! Before they come back!" Kenny hastily spoke with fear and sweat drenching his body.
"Huh..?" Don was still somewhat asleep, although he was more annoyed than anything else, and Kenny could see that. "Look, I'll explain later. Just let me inside, please! If the bugs get me, I'm dead! Please, Don!" Kenny begged; however when Don heard the word 'bugs,' his brow twitched.
"You woke me up for some stupid bugs!? Seriously? Call fucking pest control or something." Don shut the door; however, Kenny slipped his arm between it just before it closed. "Don, please! Let me in!" Kenny spoke faster while struggling with Don to enter the building; however, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"That's it..." Don turned around; he was going to get his shotgun he kept in his room under his bed; however, it seemed April was standing behind him with it in hand. The woman looked pissed compared to her usual cheery self. Don took the shotgun from April and turned back to point the barrel at Kenny after cocking the gun.
"I'll give you till the count of three, Kenny." Don pressed the barrel against Kenny's arm where a tear in the suit was. Kenny could quickly tell by the cold steel and the cocking earlier that a gun was pressed to his arm. "Don, please! Just let me inside!" Kenny screamed while Don began his count down.
"One..."
"Don, I am serious! The bugs are coming!"
"Two..."
"Damn it, Don, I don't wanna die, please!"
"Three..."
Just as Don was about to pull the trigger, a scream from the other end of the door stopped him. Kenny had removed his arm from the entrance to stop whatever was causing him pain or something else entirely. The scream, however, was filled with nothing but pain that drowned out the white-noise buzzing sound.
Don and April were now more awake than ever, but they did not move. Not until the screams stopped anyways. Don turned to April and told her not to move; meanwhile, he would peek his head outside the door. His eyes widened as he saw Kenny's body which looked like a dried-out grape. All the blood in his body had been sucked out clean. Don took a step back and shut the door slowly, only to lock it afterward.
"Don?" April called out to him. Don turned to April and pressed a finger to her lips with a severe look on his face. "Move as silently as possible and make as little noise as possible. There is something or someone outside." April could see just how serious Don was. This wasn't the first time he had such an expression, and when he did have one, she knew that following Don's advice was for the best. April nodded softly, and Don nodded in turn once he got confirmation from her.
Don made his way back to his bedroom, and April followed. When they arrived, Don made sure to lock all windows that were not locked and close all blinds that were not closed. He went so far as to shut the door before setting his shotgun on the bed and sitting on the edge of the bed.
Since there was enough dim light to ensure they didn't need to turn on the lights to see what they were doing or where they were going. They could see each other just fine. Don liked keeping a lava lamp in his room; the digital clock's lights also provided enough dim light.
April sat beside Don and placed a hand on his leg. Don turned toward her; "Give me a moment to think." Don spoke in a hushed tone of voice, and April nodded. Don's attention shifted towards the ground now.
'Kenny... Kenny... Kenny...' The gears began to turn in his head as he recalled who Kenny was. Kenny was his neighbor, who lived right next door in room 319C until a few weeks ago.
'According to the landlady, he had skipped on three months of rent, but it was only just discovered a few weeks ago that he had vanished. So perhaps he had been gone for longer than even three months. If that was the case, then why was he here? Why did he show up now? Something about bugs... Sure Kenny didn't like bugs, but was he always that scared of them? Then there was the statement about him dying... Was someone after him? Kenny wasn't one to joke around like that. Even if someone was after him, how could they kill him in such a fashion? Not to mention it was only a matter of seconds...'
Don had been in such deep thought that he did not notice April trying to get his attention until she was sitting on the floor in front of him. Don blinked a bit when he awoke from deep thought to see April's worried expression. A soft breath escaped Don's lips when he realized he had worried her, "Everything is going to be fine. I am fine."
Don reassured her with a soft smile which seemed to work. "Well, alright. As long as you are okay." April added before moving to sit beside him once more. Don laid back and stared up at the ceiling. "April... Do you remember Kenny?" Don asked out of the blue.
April laid down on her side beside Don and used his chest as a pillow. Her eyes looked up at him with her head tilted back a little. "Kenny? Do you mean the guy who used to live next door? Yeah. All of a sudden, though, he just stopped coming out. A few weeks ago, I knocked on his door to see if he had any spare sugar I could use, but I got no answer. Why.... wait... was that...?" April stopped at the sudden realization. She had been primarily asleep and nowhere near the door when Kenny gave his name, so she wasn't sure who the man at the door was.
Don nodded, "Yes. That was him. April... I need you to take a deep breath and not panic at what I am about to tell you, okay?" April swallowed deeply; it was clear that she knew what Don was about to say but hoped otherwise that such was not the case. "Kenny is dead," Don said, although for someone who could have prevented his death... he seemed not to care. It was an emotionless statement.
"I... see..." April closed her eyes as if to mourn Kenny's death. Sure they weren't close or anything, but she knew the guy and knew he wasn't a bad person. "April, whatever killed him is still out there. Do you understand?" Don sat up, and April moved with his movement. She saw the seriousness in his eyes when he asked her if she understood, and she nodded. "I do."
"Good. Pack some necessities. I will figure out what is going on and if whatever killed Kenny is still out there. Kenny was pretty loud, so the entire complex may have heard his screaming. If so, I wanna see if Kenny tried to contact anyone else." Don moved from the edge of the bed and took hold of the shotgun.
April grasped his wrist when she saw him take action, which caused him to look toward her. "B-Be... careful, okay?" April expressed concern once more, and Don nodded to reassure her concerns. "Of course." Don left the room silently; the hallways and kitchen were filled with moonlight from the full moon shining through the blinds. Silently, like his shadow, he continued towards the front door and unlocked it, allowing the mechanism's clicks to sound occasionally so as not to alert anyone on the other side of the door.
Slowly Don opened the door. He stuck the barrel of his shotgun out first while slowly pulling the door open, making a creaking sound. Don didn't pull the door all the way open, only enough so he could make his way outside. He looked at the dried scraps that were Kenny on the ground before looking elsewhere when he did.
To his surprise, none of the other tenants' outside lights were on. No one seemed to come outside to investigate the screaming either. Upon looking over the railing, he also noted that there were few vehicles compared to when he came in from work. "Oh, look... now there is parking..." Don grumbled. There were barely any vehicles which was odd; however, what he noticed most was how clear the skies were. All the stars could be seen in the sky, and even the full moon's rays lit up the parking lot.
'Isn't the sky a bit cleaner than usual?'
Don made a mental note before hearing a loud annoying buzzing sound come from the staircase. Quickly he turned his body in the direction and angled the barrel in said direction. 'What the hell was that?' Don patiently waited while eyeing the corner leading towards the staircase. He did not want to leave the front door, so he waited to see if something would come up.
When nothing did happen, he decided to head back inside. He closed the door as silently as possible while locking it up again. Then he made his way to his room, where he noticed April was nowhere to be found. He figured she was packing things up, so he decided to do the same.
Don set his shotgun on top of his dresser and entered his closet. He turned the lights on in his closet and moved aside several hangers of clothes to reveal a wall with a slight opening. Don pushed the doors aside and showed black marble glass. When he placed his handprint upon the glass, it would reveal two S&W M&Ps shields: a clean jet black handgun, a single Rugar 1911 Commander, two combat knives, and several prepared magazines.
Turning around, Don parted another set of hanging clothes to reveal another opening in the wall. He pushed it aside to show a combat vest fit snug inside the casing. Two pairs of gloves also went well past the wrist, almost like a protective burn guard, but not on that level of thickness. There was even an over-the-shoulder strapping for a rifle or other gun to be strapped.
'I never thought I would end up using these again...'
Don muttered in his head before putting on a plain black tee-shirt and some skinny black jeans. He then put on the vest and fit it just right before putting the gloves on and doing them just right. With a flick of the wrist backward, a short hidden blade came from the glove just below his wrist, and when he moved his hand back into the place, the edge seeped back into hiding.
He then moved the shoulder strap around him and clipped it to his vest before turning towards the other part of his armory. He slipped magazines into each pocket and then placed one combat knife into the slot on his vest. There were two holsters on his vest for the S&W's, which he put the guns into after loading a magazine into each and ensuring the safety was on.
Last was the 1911 Rugar with a unique holster in his underwear drawer. He made sure to get that after getting a pair of black combat boots from his closet and slipping them on. They were clean and well maintained as his guns and vest had been. He took the other combat knife and slipped it into his right boot after sheathing it. Lastly was the holster of his Rugar, which he grasped and strapped to his waist with the holster facing behind him instead of strapped to his left or right side.
He holstered the Rugar there and then picked up his shotgun, attaching it to the shoulder strap and pushing the gun around his back before making his way into the bathroom. A nightlight was lit up enough for him to see his face in the mirror.
'Am I going to revert back to those days...?'
A brief pause.
'Have...I ever actually change...?'
Another brief pause as Don stared into the mirror. It looked as if he were staring directly into his soul for a moment.
A heavy breath escaped his lips, and just as he was about to move from the mirror, a figure appeared in the mirror with a smile.
"Hello, Donathan Douglas, and congratulations, you have survived the first night. Although you only arrived mere few hours ago. Nevertheless, that is better than most of the contenders." The figure appeared boyish with bright blue eyes and platinum short hair. A pale complex and an odd yet beautiful smile on his face.