The world wasn't always like this. Or so I'm told, grandfather says the world although not sunshine and rainbows offered people happiness and most people were kind and caring.
Atleast until it came, Chaos.
Chaos or as he ordered the world to call him Ezio, if that's his real name came to Earth on a rather unassuming day. But that day later became cemented in history as the beginning of the end.
The moment he set foot on Earth he informed everyone about a competition he was conducting and invited everyone young and old to participate. Although everyone was hesitant the rewards he promised were to good and tempting to walk away from so everyone did participate. It. Was. Horrifying.
The competition was this. 100,000 people that committed the most heinous and cruelest deeds would be randomly selected every year to be rewarded. Rewards ranged from money to staus to women and even powerups if you did well.
The people once they found out what the competition truly was tried to go back on their promises to participate. But he wouldn't allow that. All the governments of the world banded together to try to kill and destroy him but they were instead wiped out.
With no way forward or back everyone could only forcefully push themselves to accomplish these vile deeds. But as time went on and the first couple of years passed and the rewards were shown to be real, people began to try harder and harder to get those rewards. Because although the man said the choices were random the first 100 people on the list always seemed to be the same people.
As people began to participate in this competition they found they actually enjoyed doing these types of deeds and that was the start of humanity's descent to degeneracy.
"Mike" said Jasper waking me from my stupor as we were walking home.
"You have any plans for the future?" asked Jasper. "I'll be gone soon enough".
"Who knows grandpa I probably wouldn't be too far behind" responded Mike casually.
Jasper stopped in front of the door to our home and slowly turned around. "Don't say that Mike every life is precious even if we're the only ones that can see it!" he yelled.
"Ok ok gramps it was just a joke" backtracked Mike. "Although I probably wouldn't be too far behind no matter what I pursued" thought Mike. "The world was just too chaotic to try and get a good life without selling your humanity."
"Well you better think about what you would like to do when I'm gone." said Jasper as he opened the door and went inside.
"Cmon grandpa you're still young I got plenty of time to decide what I'll do." joked Mike as he followed him inside.
"Hahahahahahaha" laughed voices I really didn't want to hear right now.
"Him young? He looks like he's one jumpscare from a heart attack" said Ned one of the voices laughing.
"You're giving the man too much credit instead of a jumpscare he'll probably get a heart attack with a light push." said Ted owner other of the other hyena like laughter.
Ned and Ted once grew up in in the slums of this city Starro. They wanted a better life so they decided to join the competition and found they had a real knack for it. They joined the police force and quickly rose to the level of lieutenants showing they had real talent at this, people say in a couple of more years they may even become a part of the 100,000.
Ned and Ted frequently return back to their birthplace for as they say "giving back to the community" but really they just want to have fun and commut cruel deeds and the slums are the easiest place to do it.
"What do you want Ned? Ted?" said Jasper as he shielded me behind his back.
"How cruel no questions about our wellbeing and how we're doing old man?" said Ned
"YOU!" Mike yelled as he tried to get out of his grandfather's iron tight grip.
"Hush boy!" yelled Jasper as he held onto Mike's shoulder to prevent him from getting away.
"Yeah listen to your grandfather we wouldn't want to get hurt now would we." said Ted with a smile on his face.
"What do you want?" questioned Jasper as he started to slowly back into his home.
"Let's talk inside" said Ned with a smile on his face.
"It wasn't a suggestion." said Ted also with a smile on his face as he stepped infront of the door to keep it from closing.
Ned and Ted then forcefully pushed opened the door and walked in as if they owned the place.
Jasper knew that this was highly suspicious and tried to signal to Mike to leave.
"No." whispered Mike "I won't leave you".
"Wow what a dump." said Ned "Look even the ceiling is falling off" added Ted
Mike and Jasper's house was small 2 bedroom hut if you could call it that. The door was rotting along with the rest of the house. The windows were smashed up and bedrooms had a piece of cloth on the floor serving as their bed.
"Not everyone can sell their humanity for a nice apartment" said Jasper
Ned and Ted's smile slowly faded away before they looked at each other nodded and smiled again.
They then pounced at Jasper and Mike pinning them down before they could run.
"You asked me what we're doing here right? asked Ned as he began tying Mike up and as Ted tied Jasper up. "We're here for our ticked to the 100,000."
"We can't help you with that Ned, Ted!" yelled Jasper
"Don't worry you will help plenty." said Ted with a smile on his face.
"Take me then I will help you just let Mike go" pleaded Japser
"Grandpa No!" Mike yelled. "I won't leave you!"
"Don't worry Mike." said Ned as he finished tying Mike up. "We will need you both."
"You see Mike me and Ned want to conduct a little experiment and see if the depth of a cruel act and how it effects a person influence who gets on the list" said Ted as he finished tying Jasper up.
"So we will require both of you to see if our plan will succeed" said Ned as he began positioning Mike toward Jasper.
"We call it….. The Ned and Ted experiment, if we succeed we will be cemented as the first to find a surefire way to end up on the list!" exclaimed Ted as he brought out an array of torture devices from knives, needles, spiked batons etc
"Unfortunately you and your grandfather will have to be the first sacrifices for greatness."
said Ned as he began picking out a sharp knife
"Shall we?" asked Ned. "We shall." responded Ted as he also picked out a sharp knife.
Then it started the moment my world broke. The moment it all began. It was the those 2 brothers stuck those 2 knives in my grandfather's ears.
Something stirred within Mike the moment he witnessed that but he was too distraught to notice it.
"PLEASE!" begged Mike "PLEASE STOP AND LET HIM GO!" yelled Mike "TAKE ME INSTEAD"
"NO!" yelled Jasper "Leave the boy alone."
"If you say so gramps" said Ned as he began sticking more sharp weapons into Jasper.
Japser although he tried to remain strong was old and couldn't stop the screams from coming out no matter how hard he wanted them to.
The brothers continued to stick and torture Jasper with new things and in new places so he wouldn't be able to get used to it and as the torture continued the screams started to get louder and louder.
This continued into the night.