Chapter 1: A Man, His “Home” And His Atrocities
Soundtrack:
English: Metallica- Enter Sandman (https://open.spotify.com/track/5BIMPccDwShpXq784RJlJp?si=d61c65b330044d63)
Weeaboo: Nano- Black Board (https://open.spotify.com/track/06viK9vl1gqZUo70lqIeID?si=5bd26fe02ee44bc2)
It was three years ago, I was 15 years old and in the throes of puberty. The year of our lord, 2025. Disco was back in fashion, along with the Dougie, which was first popularized when I was born. It was a weird time.
I was sitting alone, at the end-of year dance held begrudgingly by the orphanage I lived in… that I currently live in. Nobody so much as looked in my general direction and I was pissed. 15 goddamn years, my entire life, spent living with orphans and sisters of the cross who hated me. 15 years an outcast. 15 years a zit on the ass of the orphanage.
Anger coursed through my veins. I was ready to throw hands at the next poor soul who crossed me.
They
reached out their hand to me with a sincere smile and kind eyes. “What are you doing with that creep babe? Get away, he might hurt you too.” their boyfriend told them, pulling them away.
“Was that some sort of elaborate prank?” I thought to myself.
But I knew. That was the kind of smile I only received from newly met sisters, right before they learned of my sin.
Their smiles always vanished, and the girl from the dance was no different.
It was two years ago. I was 16 years old and puberty had me by the balls, literally. The year of our lord, 2026. MySpace had a resurgence and The Beatles were back in vogue.
My shit was being rocked by Gerald, the son of the head preacher, and his soccer buddies. They were intent on fulfilling their own twisted inquisition, after hearing of what happened in my past.
A dull thud made its way through the locker room as one of the thugs missed my slim figure, bashing his toes against the linoleum wall I was laying against, causing a hot water pipe to burst through said wall, spewin scalding hot aqua right into Gerald’s holy face, giving him terrible burns for the rest of his life.
The next day, the inquisition turned into a witch hunt and what was left of the group of jocks tried to blame Gerald’s dire injuries on me somehow, to no avail.
Later, I heard that the phones of the other two jerks blew up while they were visiting Gerald, but I could never get em’ to fess up on if that was true. Served em’ right, they deserved some cosmic justice.
But, even after the jocks left well enough alone and I went back to being just pain ol’ ignored, instead of beat up, there was always this weird feeling like I was being watched. Like an intense set of eyes piercing my spinal cord.
All of it, the hatred, the ostracising, the years and years of being the butt of every joke, it ends today. I’ve been training my body in secret every day after school’s ended, taking tips from fitness youtubers and lifting the heaviest weights I could muster in the name of knocking Gerald the fuck out. So that today, when I walk past him in the cafeteria and he inevitably tries to talk shit, I’ll beat the breaks off of him and force him to beg for forgiveness.
My entire body is radiating excitement as the 4th period bell signals the end of class and the beginning of lunch period. I collect my notebooks and my math textbook, shove them into my bag and rush out of the room.
Without a second of hesitation, I expertly unlock my locker, throw my bag inside like it’s a fastball in the 9th inning of the World Series and I slam the door shut so the entire school could hear. Then I head down two flights of stairs to the ground floor, fast walk through crowds of hormonal teens, grab my nutritionless meal of a single slice of pepperoni pizza and a carton of chocolate milk, and I find a seat to wait for my prey.
My eyes momentarily wander to large window leading to the outside world, where autumn leaves are falling onto wet grass en-masse, but the peaceful reverie is quickly erased by
Their
arrival. They look at their watch, adjust their shoulders to keep the stuffed backpack they’re carrying on their shoulders and they look up, directly at me. Thinking on my feet, I awkwardly pretend to crack my neck in a thinly veiled attempt to look natural.
Maybe next time, I can whistle a diddy.
For whatever reason, however, it works. Didn’t suspect a thing I bet.
They turn around and a big dumb smile comes over their face.
He’s here. It’s go time. I’ve picked the optimal seating arrangement, so that when Gerald’s done collecting his meal he’ll see my heavy scowl and have no choice but to confront me on account of his planet sized ego.
Adrenaline starts pumping through my system. I can feel the heat of battle flowing through my fingers. My back is spasming with excitement at the thought of getting Gerald’s blood on my hands.
Screw the sisters, the fathers, the book and all the people that’ve shunned me because of the fear it provides. Screw Gerald and his cabal of clout seeking goblins. If October 29th is gonna be the last day I spend on this campus, or in that jail they call an orphanage, then I’m gonna make it an exit to remember.
“Azriel.”
A voice snaps me out of my inner monologue and my eyes focus on the culprit.
They
were standing in front of me with a toothy smile. Why were they talking to me in the first place though? Had they noticed my one-sided staring contest earlier?
“Um, yes? Did you, uh, want something Beth?” I nervously asked, fiddling with my fingers while trying my damndest to avoid eye contact with the blonde beauty standing before me.
“Do it.”
My heart skips three beats, as all the color drains from my face. She… she couldn’t mean---
“Hey babe, what did I tell you about talking to that freak?!” Gerald barks as he hastily throws his tray of poorly made food on the cafeteria table. “Don’t you remember what we talked about… that heathen.. he…” Gerald trails off, trying to find the word to accurately describe my sins without dropping the mask of a good christian boy in public.
“He killed people Beth. And he could hurt you too, if you get too close.” Gerald pleads with a solemn tone.
“Oh fuck off Gerald, you weren’t there. You don’t know shit!” I scream, standing up with my fists out, ready for a fight.
“What’re you gonna do Azriel, kill me next? Or are you finally gonna kill off my girlfriend, like you’ve been angling to do for three years now? You’re pathetic Azirel, and we’re leaving Beth baby.” He demands, grabbing Beth’s wrist while walking towards an exit without his food.
“You’re hurting me babe!” Beth yelps, while trying to pry herself away from Gerald. Out of some kind of primal instinct, I guess, I reach out for her and she reciprocates with her free hand.
“Don’t touch her, freak!” Gerald guetterally exclaims,releasing Beth to rear his open hand back behind his head.
He’s gonna slap me. That fucker think he can get away with it too. His pops will get me arrested if I fight back and Beth is gonna probably testify against me to chase more clout. It’s shit all the way down.
Anger becomes me. Nothing else matters, why should it. Just fight back and feel good doing it. If you’re gonna go down then get something out of it, right?
My hands burn with the piercing rage of a million voices crying out. Victims of systems that keep people like me down, just because I’m different. Just because I didn’t win the coin flip of circumstance.
I ball my left hand into as tight a fist as I can muster and I throw it at his skull. Half his ugly face is burnt to hell and the other half is gonna get broken into tiny pieces. Power flows. Power enters. Power is converted into energy. Energy is converted into hatred.
“No!” Beth screams, jumping in front of Gerald to tank the blow that god himself couldn’t stop if he tried.
Hatred transforms.
Hatred ends all.
SHLUK!
The sound of flesh getting cut. Hot blood pouring onto my white value-priced sneakers. Screams of terror. Blue eyes, previously steadfast in their conviction, now convulsing under the weight of three blades extruding from my knuckles piercing skull and brain matter.
All of it, at once. Again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.
I wasn’t holding a blade, my fist was balled. I would’ve never tried to stab Gerald, so how did I end up stabbing Beth?
Her corpse is still hanging from my blades. She’s still staring at me… and smiling at me? Nothing makes sense.
Then, a proverbial liferaft is thrown to me. A raindrop falls on my head… while standing in a closed off cafeteria, on what is supposed to be a sunny day.
Looking up, I see an overcast sky. Looking back in front of me, my vision is filled by the sights of a rundown alleyway filled with vagrants and oversized rodents.
Next to me, about 15 feet away, sleeps a middle aged man with an unkept beard smelling of beer and clothing of a moderately successful used-car salesman.
“Hey dude, what day is it?” I ask the presumably homeless man.
His eyes shoot open frantically, before quickly mellowing out upon realizing the lack of danger. “Well kid, christmas was three wee ago… so do the math.” before rolling over and returning to his nap.
In a futile attempt to take in what he said, I examine my two rather cold hands.
Halloween, thanksgiving… hell, my birthday.
I remember none of it.
“Where am I?”
CHAPTER END 12/26/21 1:19AM
