*ring
The bell rang. School had finally ended.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk to my computers teacher about posting on the dark web. However, I wasn't in a rush, so I didn't care too much.
I excitedly made my way home, hoping to 'recruit' someone after quickly changing.
After a horrible bus ride, I had finally got home. Opening the door, I saw my parents in the living room looking at me.
"Can you come here, Damian? We want to ask you something."
I had a bad feeling, but I did as I was told. I walked over to them and sat on the couch beside them.
"Damian. Are you in some sort of sketchy business? Buying a laptop is fine. But you bought so many things in just two weeks of selling chocolates. There's no way you could've sold so much in two weeks that you could buy all these expensive things."
My heart skipped a beat after the dad finished talking. However, that wasn't the end. It was now my mom's turn to speak.
"Son. Are you selling drugs or in any sort of sketchy business? We're worried. If anything's happening, let us know. Please. We don't want you getting mixed up in things you shouldn't."
My heart fell.
I couldn't keep lying to them. I wanted to tell them about my power so badly. If I did, our lives would change so much for the better. But I couldn't risk it. At least for right now.
What if someone found out? What if they let it slip? What if they use me for it?
There were so many what if's that I had to decide against telling them. I hated risks. And this was a tremendous gamble.
So, I had to use the only option I had left. Hypnosis.
I couldn't come up with a believable excuse. At least not right now. If I could pause time, I'd be able to, but unfortunately, I don't have that ability. However, it pained my heart that I would have to use this power on them again. The people I love most would fall under my hypnosis for the second time.
'But I had no choice.'
I kept telling myself that. There were probably plenty of ways to get out of this, but I chose the easiest one.
I made eye contact with them and activated my power.
"Dad, mom. Don't you guys remember? My friend gave me these items."
After a second they exclaimed with an "Oh yeah. Him. How is he?"
"He's good. Anyway, I'm going to go out and sell some more chocolates."
I didn't wanna face my parents.
'I'm a terrible son for not even trusting them.'
I walked out with my bag and my gun in my pockets.
In a terrible mood, I searched for someone to release my frustration on.
Eventually, after a bud ride, I saw a homeless man with red hair and a full beard on the side of the road.
Walking up to him, I took out a dollar. He took it and looked into my eyes, about to thank me.
"In five seconds, you're going to get stabbed in the head."
After activating my powers and locking eye contact, I tried a trick I thought of. Delayed hypnosis.
I could've easily said that a demon would show up, giving him a little scare, but I wasn't in the right mind state. Plus, it's not like they have anyone caring about them. At least, that's what I convinced myself.
'No one would care.'
After I walked away, another man walked up to him between that five-second interval.
That's when the man screeched in pain and died of shock. At least that's what I hypothesized.
While this was happening, the man who tried giving the homeless man money jumped away. Afraid and confused. The others around the street and across crowded the man as he was dying. They took videos and pictures. Some even laughed. There might've been only one person who showed a look of worry, but in the end, none helped.
It makes you wonder. Are humans inherently evil? Or do we only not care when the one in danger is of the lower class?
Would someone have jumped in and helped if the person was a pregnant lady?
-----
I walked straight, hoping to leave the scene for a couple more minutes before calming down. That's when I realized what I had done.
'I killed a man again.'
For the sake of an experiment and to relieve some of the pent of frustration, I killed an innocent man.
I didn't feel guilty, but I also didn't feel good.
Was I a monster for that? No. I wouldn't say that. However, I knew I was quickly becoming one. A monster who only uses people as pawns.
It made me wonder at what point would I see my loved ones as pawns?
However, that's when I made a promise. A promise to myself that the only ones I would kill were 'villains' and people no one cared about.
'I could've used that guy as a fighter. It's a shame I didn't think about it earlier.'
Luckily, there was a homeless man twenty minutes away. Not only that, but he was bigger than the last guy.
So, with a smile on my face, I walked up to him and handed him a two-dollar coin. Like I didn't kill a man earlier, I spoke with my ability activated when his eyes met mine.
"Would you like to make money? Join me as a fighter in my club. Go to this address the night I come back here. Also, make sure you don't leave this spot."
The fat homeless man nodded, and I left. He looked at the paper in his hands with a confused expression, but he didn't throw it away. Instead, he put it in his pocket.
Unfortunately, I found no more homeless people after him.
It was getting dark, so I had to stop my search for fighters earlier than I had hoped.
With a smile plastered on my face, I walked into my apartment, energetically greeting my parents and brother.
We spent the night like normal. We watched movies and ate dinner together. However, the thought of how they would react to me killing a man weighed on my mind.
'They'll never find out. I'll make sure of it.'
---
That night, I had a nightmare. A nightmare about me in the future.
I was sitting on a throne high in the air, on top of a mountain of corpses. Around me were people with strings coming out of their necks, connecting to my fingers. That's not what scared me, though.
The voices of what I assumed to be the dead, cursing me to death, and the sight of my parents, with the faces of dolls, made me want to cry out in fear.
I woke up to the birds chirping and drenched in sweat.
Would that be my future? 'No. That's just a dream.'
-----
AN: He cares about hypnotizing his parents but doesn't care about killing an innocent man? What the hell!