“Tick… Tick… Tick…”

My vision is filled with darkness, though the screams of someone nearby opened my heavy eyes. A bright orange light blinded me, while my body ached from pain as I tried to resist the urge to sleep.

Where am I? It's hot... Trying to lift my heavy and sluggish body, a burn coursed through my palm that I used to push myself against the gravity from the burning floor. Ouch… What's going on? Argh... my head...

Feeling around my black hair for the cause of the pain, I felt a warm liquid soothing my aching palm from the burn... Blood... I thought holding my palm at front of me.

Looking around confused, I found myself surrounded by black smoke and flames. Flames that fed of the tattered wallpapers, wooden furnishing and everything it could use to grow bigger. black smoke that stung my eyes and filled my forehead and clothes with salty sweat.

Covering my nose and mouth from the smell of coal, I crouched down before the intoxication kicked in. Taking a closer inspection as the flames danced around me while the black cloud filled the above, I found out that I was in my old bedroom with broken ceiling and walls. What do I do?

Mom, Dad... where are you?

"Aaaaaah!!!!" someone screamed until they lost their breath...

Mom! Struggling toward the door with pain that made my eyelids feel heavy, I tried to open it to no avail. Something is blocking the door...

Standing up with a few steps backwards, I tackled the door with all my might.

"Thud!" The door opened and I fell head first onto the hot wooden floor. Shit...

The warm sweat combined with the red blood now stung my eyes, grabbing my reddened t-shirt I cleaned my face and balanced my trembling body on the wall to stand up on my useless shivering feets that resisted my orders. Soon after I limped towards the source where I believe the scream came from.

"Mom?!" I screamed, in the burning madness that made bricks and bits of wooden splinters fall from above, burning my cheeks as I moved through the clouded hallway.

"Cough... Cough...." Shit, I inhaled too much smoke... "Cough...."

Covering my dry mouth with my forearm, I faced the black smoke that still limited my vision. Stumbling a few times with my heavy body a strong dizziness took hold. Am I losing too much blood? I can't give up, must find Mother!

"Mo...cough..."

Turning towards the kitchen, balancing my left side to the edge of the doorless entrance as the warm blood but colder than the surroundings rolled down through my neck, with a shiver I saw the back of my broad father crouching down to the floor.

"Dad?" I asked, slowly limping towards him relieved as I held the back of my head with my right palm.

"Munch... Munch..." A strange noise could be heard at front of him.

"Dad?" I asked again, tapping his left decayed shoulder filled with sticky yellow goo to see if he was okay.

I didn't know what he was doing, I didn't know how I didn't see the difference, but slowly he turned around with his massive inverted head that twitched endlessly as blood dripped from his grinding shredded teeth onto the lifeless pieces of my mother.

You're not my father...

"Kyaaaa!" Screamed the man and immediately pounced me.

Why didn't I notice? He doesn't bear any resemblance at all...

Darkness surrounded my vision... And I found myself looking at the ceiling of my room lit by the sun outside the window.

"Argh! Pant... Pant... Pant..."

Breathing heavily with sour stench of sweat stinging my eyes that awoke me from my slumber. I wiped my face with my newly changed and sweaty shirt and positioned myself with my feet touching the cold floor. Only a nightmare... Nothing to worry about.

Sitting there quietly thinking of what had just happened on the warm and wet bed as I shuddered because of the incident a few minutes ago.

Taking a glance at the pocket watch that sat nicely on the drawer, I noticed that it was soon 6... I might as well drench myself and go down the stairs early to explore... Taking a breath outside might also calm myself down...

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Sigh...

After having my cold shower, I brushed my teeth... Used the toilet while reading a newspaper recently found at the floor near the entrance. Meh... I threw it somewhere... Nothing interesting.

Now standing at front of my bed with a blue soft cover. I stared upon my new set of school clothings...

Hmm, a black long sleeved shirt with a dark red checkered pattern.

Black and dark red striped tie.

A black fingerless gloves for my right hand.

Black pants that easily fits me with enough elasticity to not interrupt my movement in combat. Together with black knee guards.

Expensive looking black and dark red stringed shoes.

A black pocket belt for easy accessable ammunition on the back of my waist.

I'm fine with the chosen clothings for me together with the black and red colour, but the real problem is the vest...

A black sleeveless vest with a large shield like crest that had a red rose covering a white tower with black vines on the middle of the back.... No pockets included. But it does have a emblem on the right chest, a tower with the dark red colour.

Picking up the heavy vest, I noticed that it said “Type 3A” on the inside. Heh, protection against my own bullets? Pretty thin for something that should protect me...

But this is a clan vest, I am pretty sure of it. I don’t remember joining one? No matter, I'll probably find out soon enough...

Changing to my new set of clothings that probably had its reasons to be chosen, I stood at front of a tall mirror to check myself out. Not bad...

Bound by a contact and oath, come forth!

The magic gun appeared once again out of thin air, grabbing the customized crimson black deagle with my right hand, I aimed it towards my reflection.

"Bang..." I said, and recalled the gun... Time to head down I guess...

Fixing my collar and sleeves for the last time, I opened the door and went down to the counter. But just like yesterday night, all seems to be quiet... Am I to early?

Giving out another heavy sigh, I walked around the first floor until I stumbled into what seemed to be the dinning room filled with tables. For boys at least.

The sound of the cooks working behind the nearby room could be heard, together with the nice smell of freshly baked bread... "Growl...." Sadly it wasn't time for breakfast yet...

Sulking I walked into the next room that revealed the loungeroom lit by the bright light of the sun outside the gothic window. The room was filled with closets, furnitures, board games, bookshelves and finally the soft couches I sat on and relaxed as times passed by.

"Growl..." My stomach doesn't stop growling... It was a bad decision not to eat at all yesterday.

A strong "Growl..." erupted in the room. trembling a nearby closet like a earthquake. Jumping from the couch, I was amazed of how my stomach could growl like that. Did I attain superpowers? Sadly it wasn't mine.

Did it come from that closet?

Walking towards the wooden closet, I slowly opened it which revealed a tied up lady and a tape across her mouth...

"Hhmmhmm"

"Thud" I closed the lid, scrubbed my eyes and opened it again.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hhmmhmm"

"Give me a second..." I said, removing the ropes that tightly tied her down, afterwards she suddenly stood up and ran with the wind until she disappeared around the corner.

I guess that solved the mystery of the clan vest, the tiny girl and the weird form… I’ve been had...