What? Mr. Tul?
WHAT?
Cameron watched with wide eyes, seeing the figure open up in the darkness, he came forward, the same greasy brown hair and tired eyes was now masked with an amused expression. His glasses hung loose on his face, the look of both trump and pleasure plastered on his expression. The small slit of a smile came crashing down on Cameron's heart.
He quickly realized the situation taking place.
He held on tightly to the boy in his lap, supporting the back of his head with a death grip to try and keep him awake. All the while, his eyes were on the man in front of him. He walked forward, small steps until he was close enough for the teen to hear him.
The smile creased his face as he spoke. "You're still alive…"
"You…" Cameron felt the tears poke his eyes, spiking hard against his skin that grew more hot. It felt like anger, but it could just be the fear shedding itself off. "You.. what?"
Mr. Tuls' eyes slightly casted behind the boy, when his eyes landed on the boy in his lap, the smile grew wider. Cameron watched his expression change, his brow twitched in anticipated rage.
"Why are you crying? Why do you even care?" His voice spit out the words, his eyes traveling back and forth between the two teenagers. "You hate him don't you? He bullies you, they all did. They deserve to die.."
"Fucking.. psycho.." Cameron growled out, his eyes seeing red.
The figure in front of him swayed slightly, even the distant sound of steps coming far along them. They were louder, pounding against the ground with a deep, slow purpose. The large man came out, his steps coming up slow just before he stopped a few feet from Mr. Tul.
Cameron looked back and forth, catching the slight posture change from the killer. Cameron couldn't understand it, the situation stood clear in front of him, yet, he didn't understand the full extent of it.
The emotions running around in his face made the teacher chuckle darkly. His rusty, old voice was filled with a gleeful tone. "I'm the psycho now? The shit laying there is the real psychopath, he is a dirty son of a bitch."
Cameron bit the inside of his mouth, holding back the anger ready to burst out at how the adult spoke to the dying teenager. It made sense, but at the same time, it didn't. The reason for all this, why and how it managed to take place.
Mr. Tul spread his arms up, giving clear air for the space they were all in. "But I must give you extra credit for finding your way back here Cameron. At first I just thought of you as a nobody, in the back of the class trying to just survive another day." His voice suddenly went quiet, his eyes looking down deep into the young one's soul. "Almost like me…"
"I'm nothing like you!- You fucker!" The teenager tried to desperately defend himself, his words merging together with shaky breaths.
He hadn't realized that they had made it back, that they were back where they started. He couldn't give it any mind, the anger was over breaching him, taking over his mind so he couldn't feel any sort of relief at all.
The teacher kept his expression the same, taking another step forward which caused the jumpy boy to try and shun Kim Seo from his line of view. "You're a lot like me. More than you realize." He took another step forward, watching Cameron's breath hitch. "You're a loser like me. A nobody that gets picked on like the trash you are. We're useless, unable to stop an asshole like Kim or anyone for that matter from bullying you."
The poor boy's hand tightened up, holding tightly onto the older boy. His heart spiked, he felt like vomiting at the look the teacher gave him. The words, the truth but also the lies it held were jumbling up together for nothing to hold onto.
There was no truth, there was nothing to hold onto. Not here.
"I'm. Not you…" Cameron spit out, wanting to do nothing more than smash the teacher's face into the ground.
"You are." Mr. Tul gave a disgusting smile, his teeth showing up in the dark. He kneeled down, forcing Cameron's shoulders up in a defensive position. "You're nothing. Just like me…"
Cameron gulped, his eyes falling onto the man who took another step over. The knife he had shoved inside of his back was in his tight fists. The teacher had his eyes down, a look of defeat soon being washed away with a crazed smile.
"But not anymore." He looked back up to Cameron, their faces only inches apart. "I am not a nobody, I can prove my worth and have revenge on the little asshole that hurt me." His arm came out quickly, wrapping his hand around Cameron's head to tug him forward.
The small boy grabbed back, scratching the teacher's fingers that held tightly onto him. He was slowly tugged away from the boy, the boy who could do nothing but silently watch his friend being dragged away.
"And so can you. You can take revenge on them all, Damian, everyone who has hurt you." He squeezed the small boy's head, his fingers itched into his skin as all Cameron could do was hiss and cry. "All you have to do is do what I do. Let me finish that fucker off.."
His fingers traced gently across Cameron's cheek, causing pain in the bruise that was soon covered in his own blood. The small boy shook his head, clenching his teeth, his nails digging deep into the teacher's skin. The teacher had his eyes on Kim Seo, the anger returning at full force, almost spitting out venom in the boy's direction.
The boy pushed back, spitting at the grown man until he was released. Cameron fell on the back of his hands, holding back a cry to scream at the teacher.
"I am not gonna do that you sick fuck!" He breathed out, watching Mr. Tul wiped away the spit from his face with a grimace. "You will not touch my friends!"
"Friends?" The teacher gritted out, he reached for Cameron again. The boy moved away, trying to reach for Kim Seo with no avail. He was pulled back harshly by his hair. The teacher held him in place, speaking loud and clear into his face. "Friends don't bully you Cameron! They were never your friends!"
The boy shook his head, his eyes closed tightly to stop the piercing tears escaping from his eyes. Mr. Tul thrashed his head around in his grip, causing some of the boy's hair to rip out from his skull. He was released, the teacher dropped him with a disgusted face. The boy hit the ground again, hissing out at the crushing feeling in his arm.
"If you don't want revenge, fine." The teacher stood back up, glaring down at the two. He motioned for the killer behind, "you can die with him."
Cameron moved back, trembling on the ground as the killer came forward. The blood soaked dagger in his hands for them to see. The boy's hand landed on Kim Seo, Cameron couldn't turn around, he feared that if he turned away from the killer, it would come at him and end the breath in his throat that was coming out too fast.
His hand went out, trying to shield the boy behind him. Kim Seo let out a wheeze, feeling the warmth from Cameron close around him. The boy couldn't do anything, he was defenseless at the will of death coming in closer with deliberately slow steps.
All the while, the teacher looked on with a proud grin stretching his cheeks into a thin line. Cameron closed his eyes, clutching onto the boy behind with the only force he could use, he felt his own life flash before his eyes. The friends that he had, the words circling his head by the deranged man spewing them.
He thought about Loire, the poor girl who he will never see smile again.
Vinh, the girl who won't be able to have kids of her own and cherish with such strong love.
Marie, the child he had left alone in the cold who was on the brink of death. He had failed her, leaving her on her own for his selfish mind.
Kim Seo… The boy he won't be able to apologize to. The boy he won't be able to spend more time with, to feel the soft and gentle touches that were for only him, and him alone.
"Well?" The teacher urged, motioning for the man to continue.
The masked killer had stopped, his head down towards the boys on the ground while the teacher stood behind with his arms crossed. He said nothing, small huffs of white smoke coming from the wolf's nose in exhaust. Mr. Tul rolled his eyes, feeling annoyed at the hesitation from the man.
"Get it over with." The teacher shook his head, eyeing the man with mockery. "You know what happens if you disappoint me right?"
The killer turned his head, looking down at the teacher with no clear expression at all. It was all masked away, invisible to those around him. Mr. Tul gritted his teeth, his patience slowly fading away.
He stepped forward, passing the masked man to stand in front of the boys. "You can't finish it? You're back to being your useless self huh?" He shook his head, a scoff escaping his lips. "I'll be sure that you will never leave here again for that, here, hand me it. I'll finish it." His hand was out, turned up to the sky, he waited for the weapon to enter his grip.
Only, it didn't.
Mr. Tul turned back to him, glaring hard at the man. He spoke louder, repeating himself with a hard tone. The killer stood by, the black eye sockets of his eyes stared off into the teacher's face. The once cool, easy grip on the knife in his hand began to tightened.
It was like their surroundings changed. The only thing he saw was the teacher, yelling at him, cursing him. The plan he was told to take out, the whole purpose of the stab wounds on him felt useless now.
The boys on the ground just behind him felt like small whispers in the background, the forest was consumed by darkness with nothing but the teacher standing tall in front of him. He had all the power, all the control over him. He did, the man was his own being. He was made by him, to serve nothing but him.
But, he thought for a moment.
What if.. he doesn't follow his orders?
It was just a thought at first..
Then, it was an action.
The loud grunt from the bloody knife being sunk deep into the teacher's chest finally made Cameron open his eyes. The red liquid dropped down from his hands, soaking up his clothing and skin before it could consume the greenery below them. The teenager watched with shocked eyes, the masked killer dug the knife right into Mr. Tul's chest.
The teacher let out a gasp, cutting it short when the killer's hand emerged from his back. Soon, there was silence. Only silence.
Cameron rasped out, his body shaking wildly, the killer soon took his hand out of the teacher. Mr. Tul fell forward, landing on the man's shoulder with lifeless, red eyes. He stared at Cameron with a fearful, awful look...
The killer moved forward, grunting as he pulled the teacher up and over his shoulder. The sound of skin slapping against each other with red liquid spraying their surroundings allowed Cameron to quickly try and move away. He expected the man to turn and finish him off too, he was the last one to be knife-driven to the gut.
But to his absolute shock, the killer didn't even turn around, he just walked forward. Not looking back at all, like Cameron and Kim Seo were now invisible to him, he walked away with the teacher's lifeless corpse over his shoulder. Something falling out from the man's pocket hit the ground, sending sprays of blood around the steps behind them.
Only the blood trailing behind him being the reminder that he was even in this clearing to begin with.
The momentary shock lasted for about a second before Cameron rushed back over to Kim Seo's side. His blood ran cold, his body violently shaking at the pale face staring off into nothing. The boy refused to give up, he refused to stop and just let what was happening happen. He continued to cover up the blood, noticing how it began to pool more and more under them. Kim Seo was losing too much blood..
If he didn't get help now, he would…
"Stay awake okay?" The boy leaned down, placing a hand on the boy's cold cheek.
The one under the touch moved slightly, stirring with little movement. He tried to catch sight of the boy above him, tried to catch him in his hand. The warmth moved away as Cameron looked around them desperately for something that could help.
His eyes landed on a black device just where Mr. Tul was dragged off from. The boy could see through the dim light that it was covered in blood, but not broken.
A little feeling of hope hid in his chest. He could call an ambulance for Marie and Kim Seo, he could survive along with them! The boy believed that it would work, that even if Kim Seo lost over half of his blood by now, that he could and would survive. He quickly began to move over to it, but the boy below him let out a small noise.
A weak hand slightly grasped his own, forcing Cameron to quickly turn back towards the other boy. Kim Seo could only move his eyes towards him, a small ghost of a smirk on his lips that was faltering by the second. Cameron came to his side, leaning over with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Kim Seo? Hey- I'm here, stay awake okay?" Cameron nodded to him, trying hard to not break apart. He was the only one that can get help, that can save them. "I'm gonna get help okay? I'm gonna help you so just-"
"Cameron.." The soft voice broke the other's heart, ripping him apart from the inside. He looked down at the boy, his eyes wide when he was greeted with a gentle smile. He wanted to shake his head, to scream and cry out that he wasn't gonna stop and do nothing. That's all he ever does, he only does nothing.
The small movement besides him came from the older boy trying to gently lift his hand over to him. It was hard, his body felt tired, like he was sunken down into the dirt and unable to get back up. But the silent tears that fell from Cameron he could only use the last bit of energy he had to cup the boy's face in his hand.
The weak grasp paired with the boy's ice cold skin sent shock waves through Cameron's body. He put his hand above his, his warmer skin shivering down his spine against the other's cold flesh. It brought out the reality of the situation so much, so much terror by the look the dying boy gave him.
Cameron pressed the boy's hand against his own face, his warm hand holding tightly onto it like it was the last thing on earth. His eyes closed tightly, forcing the tears to escape from his eyes, the boy couldn't help but let out helpless sobs, the hand pressed against his face slowly went limp in his grasp.
The boy's eyes opened once again, he was faced with the death of Kim Seo below him. He shook his head quickly, the glossy dead eyes of the boy looking back at him with a ghost smile on his lips.
"No.. no..." The small boy hiccuped and sobbed, his body wrecked with tears and agony.
He held onto the boy's hand even though it was limp in his grasp, he held tightly so it didn't fall from his face. The boy moved his face over to Kim Seo's palm that was pressed against his lips, letting his own hot tears smear into the boy's bloody palm. Kim Seo's blood ran along his face, his chin smeared in the other's blood that traveled all the way down the base of his neck.
Cameron knew he was gone, but he refused to let go. The last person he had, the person he had grown so close to over these past hours of the night, now gone just as quickly. The small boy wrapped his hands around Kim Seo's head, his other hand going under him to pull the boy close to his chest. His body wrecked sob after sob, his head hanging low with loud screams of agonizing pain. This pain was burned into his flesh, it would hang around in the air like the smoke from his flesh.
He held tightly, hugging the boy with desperate, feeble hands. His body that was still burning in pain was nothing compared to the tear in his heart, the shockwave of reality coursing through him like something he would never forget. The boy held on tightly, hoping that maybe Kim Seo would move, that maybe he would wake up and laugh at Cameron crying.
He wished for anything. Anything that stopped this silence floating over him.
He knew that he should get the phone, that he should call for help. Marie was waiting for him, waiting in the dark all alone without anyone there. He knew he should do it, that he should do something.
But no matter how much he told himself to move, to do it.
He couldn't. He just couldn't leave him alone like this.
He just couldn't…