Chapter 1:
Ring Ring, Ring Ring! "Xu, hey! class ended, we gotta go." I sigh and reluctantly sit up. There by my school desk, a brazen young man stood next to me with a wide smile. "Huyuk, how many times have I told you I'm not sleeping? I'm just resting." Huyuk, the young man, stood at 5'10, with black hair and brown eyes. Well, what you'd expect from an Asian. We both attended a public school called Zhen High and it was the last day of school. "Me and my friends are planning on going to the new karaoke place, you wanna tag along?" Normally I'd jump at the opportunity to hang out. But there's been a rather heavy shadow looming over the small town I lived in. It seemed that Huyuk noticed my concern and spoke again, "Relax, nothing's gonna happen as long as we stick together." He's right, nothing should happen. A serial killer wouldn't attack a large group of people.
"I'll tag along."
I met with the others relieved to see more than two people. Including myself, the group consisted of eight. We moved toward what we called the "Party district." Because it had tons of activities to do there for all ages. Not too long after, I received a text from my mother. I quickly skimmed through her text. She wanted me to be back as early as possible because of all the murders happening recently. I understand her worry, but the karaoke place is all I have in my mind. I quickly replied, "I will be back ASAP". I heard my friends talking in a panicked voice, so I looked up. In front of us was a crime scene blocking an entire street, with police cars piled around it. Again, another serial killing. It took place only 30 minutes before discovery. Past the gathering of policemen and the blinding red and blue lights, I notice two people lying still on the ground, one adult and a child.
The police in the area went to us and questioned each of us individually. "Sir, with all due respect, why exactly are we being interrogated?" asked Huyuk. According to the policeman, a possible suspect escaped in our direction. My friends and I exchanged eye glances. "We didn't see anyone that seemed suspicious." The police officer nodded and looked at me. "Aren't you Lee Xiang's son?" That surprised me but I answered hastily, "Yes, you would be correct." He made a face of disappointment and walked closer to me. "Your father contacted me and told me to see if you were actually going home." My mother must not have bought my lie and had my father contact a friend to check on me. The policeman ushered me to go back home. He would have driven me home but was busy with the crime scene. I assured him that I would return to my family, and I went back to my friends and decided to make a vote about whether they would go around the officers or go back home. Everyone except me decided to sneak past. I decided it would be best to walk home. Not only was it getting late, but I lived a decent bit away from the school.
I waved goodbye to my fellow friends and started my journey back home. After only a few minutes of walking, I started to regret that decision. "What happened to sticking together?" I shook the nerves off and continued walking. The walk back was daunting. It was dark out and I was on my own. As I got closer to the street of my house I felt a heavy presence, something was weighing my steps, and each step I took seemed to echo across each street I crossed. It was disturbingly quiet. Soon enough, I reached the front side of my house. Oddly, it looked empty. My parents must surely be awake at this time. I took steps to the front door, placed my hand on the door handle, and froze. The door was open. I knew that my family wouldn't leave the main door unlocked. I recalled the crime scene from before and put the puzzle pieces together. There was a crime scene that happened not too long after my friends and I arrived there, and the suspect ran in our direction, also the direction of my house. I pushed through the door and stepped inside. It was dark aside from a single light that fluttered through the side hallway. My head started to hurt. I couldn't walk straight. Should I get help? But what if they don't arrive in time? I might have been scared for nothing. No, I have to check. I went over to the light until I reached a doorway leading to the living room. Before I knew it, my eyes slowly lowered. My mom, dad, and my sister, my eyes saw them lay on the floor.
Chapter 2:
I swear I heard someone scream. I tried to tell whoever was screaming to stop, but strangely, I couldn't let out a sound. I toppled to the floor and gasped for air. I kept hurling, but nothing came out. My vision became blurry. I felt hot. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Are they dead? I wiped the sweat from my face and ran to my family. I kneeled right next to them. The bodies, all huddled together, lifeless. What caused this? My selfishness? If I got home sooner, would everything be fine?
A loud thump shattered the silence in the room. I quickly stood and faced the noise. In the corner of the room, there was a silhouette. I couldn't see anything else because only a dim light illuminated the room. I heard footsteps coming closer. "Oh, I'm waiting for you to show up." A sinister voice came from the silhouette, "I've only knocked them out." The voice grew louder. The silhouette turned into a man wearing a long-sleeve shirt and jeans. "Hey, let's enjoy ourselves." I swallowed hard, my body feeling shaky. I meekly spoke out, "What did you do to them?" The assumed male tilted his head, "Maybe you should worry about yourself first." He creepily grinned, "You're also part of the job." Job? What was he talking about? The man lowered himself, then looked at his waist, where a sheathed blade was attached. He tapped on the handle of it before speaking aloud. "I've got some time to kill," He tossed a knife, and it spun around before stopping right by my feet. "Pick it up." I carefully leaned out and plucked the knife from the floor. As I re-straighten my back, the man spoke again. "Try to run away, and your family dies. There's only one option." I took a deep breath. The knife I held reflected on myself, but it couldn't have been me. The person I saw on the knife was shaking, looking almost in tears.
I wanted to run,
I might've yelled for help,
I pleaded to wake up from this nightmare.
But how could I forgive myself if I left my family there to die?
I closed my eyes, took another deep breath, clenched hard on the knife I held, and opened my eyes. No matter what, I will see this through. I dashed at the man, barring my knife, then when I got close enough to make contact, I thrust my arms forward. Unfortunately, my movement was sluggish and awkward, giving the man enough time to move away from the attack. I quickly turned rapidly, almost tripping. The man gave me no time to rest, as he had already pulled out the blade from his sheathe and swung at me. I weaved out of the way, but still, his blade nicked my arm and I stumbled down. The man swung again. I kicked him back before he hit me and stood up to counterattack.
"Xu?'' The sudden calling of my name stunned me in my tracks. I looked at the living room doorway and saw my best friend, Huyuk, standing by the door. I had a sudden chill on my spine. I saw the man stand straight. "Huyuk, get out of here!" It was too late. The man took my moment of pause to dash at Huyuk, and he grabbed Huyuk's shoulder and moved behind him. "Let him go! He has nothing to do with this!" The man brought his blade closer to Huyuk's neck. "And why should I listen to you? I don't need a hostage, and I don't need this boy here to send you any help." I saw Huyuk's terrified face, his eyes glittering with tears. It seemed like he wanted to speak but was too afraid to. I ran to him, but the man lowered his weapon to Huyuk's side and stabbed him. He covered Huyuk's mouth to stop him from screaming. I kept running, and then he pushed Huyuk at me, making me drop my knife to catch him. He held my hand but couldn't look at me. I told Huyuk to cover his wound with his hand to slow the bleeding. It felt devastating. My friend got hurt because of me. I laid him gently on the floor, picked up the knife, and rose. Then Huyuk grabbed my leg. "R-run, I'll be fine…" I ignored him. If any of us are gonna live we'd need to deal with this maniac here and now. The man spoke again, "Your friend will die in a matter of seconds because I stabbed deep into his vital organs." Worried, I looked back at my friend. Huyuk lost too much blood. He tried to say something but I couldn't hear him at all. I could see his eyes dilating until they were no longer flickering. Everything was falling apart. Once my friend, now a lifeless body painted a deep red. The paint reached my feet, slowly wrapping around it. Tears dropped from my face. I couldn't stop thinking about my friend. Only hours before he was alive, cracking jokes, being the heart of the classroom. Now that went silent.
Chapter 3:
"Poor boy, all I can say is that he was unlucky. He showed up at the wrong place at the wrong time…" The man's voice mocked me. His words echoed in my head repeatedly. I couldn't think about anything else. I wanted to end that voice. I ran at the man again. He swung towards my chest, so I dodged to the left and slashed his ear. He grunted and slightly stumbled, but he started to laugh. It was annoying to hear his voice. I wanted to end that voice. I didn't stop. I went in for another attack, this time aiming for his face. He grabbed my wrist before it could reach him, then he pulled me in and jammed his blade into my right shoulder. I winced while he yanked it out and pushed me back. I stumbled back and felt blood ooze down my hand. My blood boiled in rage. He hurt my family and killed my best friend. I can't. "I won't let you leave here alive!" Some unknown force cleared my mind. I calmed down and I paused. Even though I wanted to unleash my anger, I knew I would die if I did that. In a matter of seconds, I formulated a plan. This man was in much better shape than I am and stronger. Not only that, he has experience in fighting. Most of our clashes were weaving and looking for openings to attack. The only advantage I had was the element of surprise. I lived in this house for a long time and I knew where every little thing was situated even in the dark. I stepped back and grabbed a small vase on a stand, and I threw it at the man while moving closer to him. He backed away from the vase and saw me charging at him. He faced me and readied himself. When I entered his reach, I took a step back and grabbed a pillow to throw at him, he swiped it away but at that moment he did. I took that chance to strike him. My slash hit his wrist making him drop his weapon. I didn't waste any time, I clenched my hands and rushed him again. I aimed my attack and stabbed him in the lungs. The man's knees buckled and he fell. "So you got me *cough*… I applaud you, but we aren't quite done yet." As I lowered my guard he grabbed my shirt pulling me toward him, then his free hand grabbed the sword on the floor and plunged it into my chest. He released the blade and spoke once more. "See you in your next life." He fell silent after that.
This time the pain set in. I could barely move my body, but I needed to make sure my family was okay. I fell on my side and dragged myself to them. My vision was fading out, my breath lowering. I felt hot at first but as I got closer I felt colder and colder. I slipped on a puddle of red. I paused, then continued crawling past the art piece on the floor and kept crawling.
I felt tired and it became harder to keep my eyes open.
Get up,
I couldn't.
Don't fall asleep,
I felt at ease.
I lay next to my sister, to my father and mother. I held their hands tightly. Their pulses were back. "I saved them." I wanted to wake them, but there was no point. I couldn't even keep my eyes open. Maybe if I took a quick break I'd feel better. "I'm sorry Huyuk.. I wish I could've saved you. If we ever meet again, I'll apologize properly." Before long, I slowly, finally, closed my eyes.