Slowly getting up from the floor, he felt the left side of his body numb after what felt like hours of resting on it.
Using his right hand to push himself up, the tip of his fingers touched something cool and liquid?
Pushing back as quickly as possible, he sat up to have a look at what had given him the eerie feel.
He covered his mouth immediately to muffle a scream.
The metallic taste of the very liquid that he had identified as blood made its way into his mouth. Realizing the grave mistake, he spat out immediately.
Getting up in a rush, he pushed open the door that led to his bathroom.
Opening the tap, he repeatedly washed his hands, his nails drawing out more of his blood as he scratched at his skin.
Hissing as the throbbing pain increased, he tried as much as he could to wash off the bloody imprint his mind had made on his hand.
'Get off my hand, goddamnit!' He repeatedly scrubbed his hands, stray tears trickled down his face.
Cupping his hands, he scooped up water into his mouth, gargling and spitting it out immediately.
~How does it feel to be one step toward being free?
Ren gritted his teeth, ignoring the voice, he splashed water on his face. Raising his head, he looked at the mirror, a frown present on his face as he fumed in rage.
~You killed him, now it's on you!
The reflection showed the very eyes of the monster that had haunted him.
"Get the hell away from me!!!" He bellowed.
Whoosh!
Looking behind him, he saw no sign of the monster.
'That's right, you run!' He nodded his head at having a bit of control of what he saw.
His trembling hands gripped the sink to steady his wobbly legs. Repeatedly he watched himself in the reflection as he inhaled and exhaled until he felt a bit calmer than before.
Storming back to his room, he closed his eyes before he set his eyes on anything. Standing in front of his bed, he readied himself to get a good grasp of what he had seen earlier.
"It was all a nightmare, none of these are real. Kenji was never here." He said the words slowly, crossing his fingers.
He had not opened his eyes when a vile pungence smothers his senses and suffocates his breath.
Cough!
With no choice but to open his eyes, he staggered backward at the sight.
Kenji laid in his blood with its crimson pool which had settled around him creating a blotchy pattern. His body appeared white, while his lifeless eyes stared at Ren.
Those eyes showed untold horror and pain before the calamity befell.
"Kenji!" He whispered as he took a step back, hesitant to leave.
~He deserved it, one less trouble to worry about.
"You don't just kill anyone as you please!" He muttered, containing his conflicted emotions.
"Get out of my head!" He yelled in frustration.
~You can't get rid of me, not until it does first.
Rrrrgh!
'Of course, you again!'
Ren's head stiffly turned to the sound.
His eyes immediately turned towards the window. Not giving it much of a thought, he dove through the window and slammed against the ground outside. Grazing his elbow, he hissed and checked his injury.
"Goddamnit!" He cursed, getting up and dusting his red loose long sleeve cotton linen top.
The monster stuck its head out the window. Its glowing eyes roved the grounds and locked onto Ren.
'I won't let you control me anymore, this is my life, I'll decide when and how I die!' His thoughts raged in determination, getting up and sprinting in the direction of an abandoned suspension bridge, two blocks away from his home.
–––––––––––
Ren slowed his pace the moment he had caught sight of the abandoned blue suspension bridge at a distance.
~It's only a matter of time before the monster finds you.
Spreading out his hands, he inhaled the fresh night breeze which had a calming effect on him.
The cool westside breeze blew against his face.
Constantly staring down at the water below from the 660 feet high deck of the suspension bridge.
This had unintentionally induced vertigo which made him hold onto the suspension cables.
~Knock knock!
Rrrrgh!
'Not this time!' Ren gave one final look up at the night sky, he had a forced smile as he thought about his last word.
'Forgive me!'
Closing his eyes, he took one deep breath. Spreading out his arms, he exhaled.
~You aren't needed!
~It's your fault!
~It's going to get you!
The smoky voice snickered in Ren's thoughts.
He grimaced at the disturbance in his head.
Leaning forward, he let his body weight pull him downwards.
Wrrnnn!
A glowing blue breach tore into the natural reality and began to grow in size.
Ren's eyes widened at what he saw just a few feet below him, 'what the hell?!'
This looked almost like his mind was playing another one of its tricks on him.
Panic set in at the probability of all that had happened to him, since the very beginning was all merely made up, and wondered if the monster was lurking somewhere, waiting to jump scare him to the sick reality he had never grown accustomed to.
With the velocity he was falling at, it was impossible to dodge the concise direction in which the breach opened up.
'Aliens?' He wondered as the distance between him and the breach were merely a few meters.
If there could be monsters like the one which had plagued him, surely there should also be aliens.
~Nooo!
The voice screeched in defiance to him approaching the breach.
'This wasn't how my end was meant to be!' Ren thought with regret, angered by the disturbance to his initial plan.
Raising his hand to his face to shield his eyes, he prepared for the worst the moment he got sucked into the breach, transporting him to an undisclosed location.
Minimizing its size, it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
–––––––––––
LIFE Agency,
"We have another case, Miss Arisa. His vitals are stable, the only issue is his mental state, it's unlike any we have ever saved." A male's voice spoke as he looked down at an unconscious Ren strapped to the bed.
Adjusting the collar of the black stretch shirt. His sweat dripped under the hard glare from their leader.
Miss Arisa was a beautiful woman with long flowing white hair that ombres into hot red and is tied into pigtails using two gold tubes. She had blue eyes with small glossed lips.
Her usual attire consisted of a purple long gown featuring a deep V-neckline, wide shoulder straps, a high back, a draping skirt, and two high front slits. Two gold bracelets and a golden head chain with teardrop diamond resting perfectly on her forehead.
"He'll be useful to our cause..." Miss Arisa nodded her head and paused, walking circles around Ren.
Clip!
Clop!
The sound of her black open-toe pumps on the marble floor was the only thing that could be heard as everyone watched her move, expecting her to complete her sentence.
Stopping at the side of his bed, she leaned forward, "all you all need to do is train him properly and he'll be one of our most valued assets." She concluded, her red lips raised in a smirk.
They all gasped at her words.
"It's dangerous to recruit him." A female who had her purple hair tied in a high ponytail and bangs which had framed her face and down to her chin, spoke up this time in defiance to the recruitment of such a dangerous person, "his Sui, it's not stable, he could–"
Miss Arisa looked around, counting the number of people present in the room before she responded, "Do all twelve of you consider my Sui dangerous?"