"Stop! Don't take him! Anything else, but not him please!"
Miyuki shouted as the Representative surrounded their hands with the corpse of the dead boy. The Representative glanced at saw the despair which was presented to them by Miyuki. With a devilish grin, he gripped the lifeless body with its grotesque palm and walked off from the battlefield.
Miyuki could only stare as she could not do anything. Her
She fell to her knees and began to punch the ground repeatedly while yelling,
"CRAP. FUCK. WHY. DOES. THIS. ALWAYS. HAPPEN!?"
Her tight fists leaked drops of blood. She said these words as her hoarse voice soon began to give out,
"I'll get you back. I swear it's Kafka."
————————————————————
"It's trash."
The manager tossed my layers of printed paper onto the table with a tired expression.
"What sir?"
The manager sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"It's trash. It's trying so hard to be unique, that it's practically generic."
I looked down at the ground below the desk in a mixture of disappointment and surprise. Clenching my fists as I experienced my first taste of failure and criticism.
"Sir… I understand…"
"The concept itself is good, but the execution could be better. Stop trying to be so unique story-wise."
As I walked out of the tall publishing building, I felt the urge to cry, but I suppressed it. I gripped the copies of the papers for my novel tightly to my chest as I neared my apartment.
I glanced at the corner store near my apartment and saw a sign that said,
"ONLY FOR TODAY! ANY MEAT PRODUCT IS 20% OFF!"
I sighed and reluctantly entered the store, stuffing the crumpled layers of printed paper into my backpack. I greeted the clerk who was familiar with me because I went there usually three times a week.
He wore his glasses and a bright store uniform. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties. He smiled a lot which surprised me since I wouldn't dream of working at a corner store once I'm his age.
"Hey Kafka! How are you?"
"Doing better than most times John."
I sighed and John chuckled.
"I'm glad to hear that! Your birthday next week right?"
I sighed.
"Yep! I going to turn 16! Unbelievable…"
John closed his eyes and admired heaven that is young age.
"Man, I'm so jealous! I failed all my classes at 16 and had to drop out!"
I chuckled and walked into the lines of shelves that carried snacks and other necessities.
"Don't do anything stupid to make your grades drop Kafka!"
I walked further deeper into the small store. Past the snack. Past the drinks. Until I finally made it to the iced food aisle. There was a big sign referencing the discount with a doodle of John with a big grin. Unaware of the robber entering the store, I chuckled.
'Why does this feel familiar?'
I made my way back towards the counter to purchase until I heard,
"Put the damn money in the bag you retard!!!"
I immediately ran back behind one of the shelves, holding the cold tray of packed meat close to me, frozen in fear.
I peered out from the shelves only barely to try and see what was happening.
"Please man, I barely make any money from this store to get by."
John held his hands up as the robber took matters into his own hands reached for the cashier and started to take all the cash that was within it.
"Shut the hell up!"
The robber shouted. It silenced John and the entire store and I was the only person here that was planning to buy something. I peeked out once more and saw him pointing a gun at John. I immediately drew back with immense fear.
'He has a gun! I have to get out of here!'
I made my way towards the back entrance of the store while the robber was busy with John and still stealing the cash. It wasn't until the second I was almost about the escape the store, that I heard that.
"Wait! Please don't!—"
BANGGGG!!!!
Instinctively, I hid behind a tall stack of drinks in the back room of the store. Covering my mouth, restricting my mouth from making any noise. My legs felt like they shut off. I fell to my feet on the ground.
After that moment, it was followed by nothing but silence. I heard the bell ring whenever someone opened the door of the store. I sat there for a while. My back lay against the tall stack of drinks as my mind was filled with thoughts of regret and despair. I didn't know if it was true, so I slowly moved towards the door to the main store and slowly opened it. The creaks made me back away in fear.
When the door fully opened, I saw not even a single soul in sight. I moved towards what appeared to be an endless maze of shelves of food and other necessities. An illusion made of fear is what I thought was happening.
As I made my way towards the front counter, for what felt like an eternity of walking, I leaned over the counter out of curiosity to see what happened to John.
"!!!"
There it was. John's dead body. A bullet wound shot right through his head. I attempted to grab the shelves of cigarettes behind me, but I missed and I fell with the shelf. I tried to crawl backward away from the horrid sight. My mouth was agape and my eyes drained from all emotion except fear.
『 You coward… 』
A familiar voice came from the path I walked from the back room. I slowly turned my head and what I thought was an illusion was as real as reality.
There stood, the corpse of John, covered in a black substance that was leaking everywhere. He was wearing the clothes he was shot in. His hair was incredibly messy and his eyes… were nowhere to be seen. It was like his eyes were completely out of his head. There was nothing there except two holes that looked like the entrance to the abyss.
"A—a—ah!"
My voice was stuttered. A scream that sounded like the person who wanted to scream wasn't sure how to scream. I crawled back an inch, my face drained of all life.
『 Where are you going, Kafka? You didn't greet me like usual… 』
The voice was different than before. John's voice was normal a little while ago, and now his voice sounds like when someone has the urge to cough and desperately keeps it in. A hoarse sound.
"A—a—ah! Get away from—m—me!"
My thoughts began to drift in this terrifying moment. I couldn't shake off this feeling of familiarity.
'What is this? It feels familiar…'
Suddenly before my thoughts could shift back to reality, the corpse of the dead John lunged at me with an open mouth revealing his dirty face.
『 Please greet me, Kafka!!! 』
I couldn't react. He was too fast for me to even bring up my hands to stop him. I accepted that. Whether or not this was an illusion or reality, I was prepared for what would happen next. Yet, that sense of familiarity remained, until…
"Wait!!! This is!!!"
My thoughts raced through my mind faster than a second. My mind had realized what this was. If it's true, then that means that before this corpse of John lands onto me, she will appear—!
SHRRRRKK!!!
A familiar girl suddenly appeared in front of me. Wielding a katana, she instantly and gracefully sliced the head of the corpse John off of his body quicker than my eyes could even perceive.
Her long, black hair was all too captivating and mesmerizing. The corpse John's body fell to the ground and its head landed on one of the shelves. The body and head soon slowly began to dissipate into dust and faded into nothingness. The girl stood tall and whipped her sword against the air as if it was the shed any blood that remained, yet for this scenario, it was but a black substance.
The silence that transpired afterward was truly unbearable. I had to ask a question.
"Uhm… excuse me—?"
Before I could finish my question, the girl pointed her katana straight at my throat with an irritated expression and gripped her sword.
"I can't help but think that I know you or have met you somewhere… that's why I saved you…"
"G—gah!"
I responded with widened eyes and a dropped jaw.
'It's her! It's Miyuki! The deuteragonist of my novel! How is this possible!?'
Miyuki glared at me which shook me to the very core of my being. I thought about how to reply and chose the best answer. I cleared my throat and responded with,
"I am… your online ex-boyfriend…"