Chapter One: We are Chosen.

Mr. Rodd walked down the hallway, the only thing giving him light was the moon and some ceiling lights. Under one of those ceiling lights, was the janitor, doing his janitor job. He looked up at Mr. Rodd and nodded as Mr. Rodd nodded back. As Rodd passed the Janitor, the janitor kept looking at Rodd, a slight twitch of his left mouth. Rodd rolled his right shoulder as he held it with his left hand. He then put his left hand down, moving the bag which his right hand held, to the left. As Rodd approached the principal's office, he knocked on the door. A few seconds of silence was in the air.

‘Come in.’

With that conformation, Rodd opened the door, and poked his head inside, putting his bag down.

‘Hey, I’m gonna be leaving. You staying in again?’

Rodd had found the principal with his head down, working on some papers, probably financial stuff, he is a busy man after all. The principal nodded while looking at his papers. His desk backed to a wall, infront of the door.

‘Staying in.’

Rodd chuckled, tilting his head down before bringing it back up. He wouldn’t be surprised if his boss had a T-shirt that said ‘no days off’ with a person running a mile in the background. Hey, you should know you can’t break a stubborn man…

‘At Least you have Mr. Chrissen to keep you company.’

Rodd said, smiling at him.

The principal answered very dryly, as per usual, his eyes still on his papers, writing his life away. 

‘Not that I need him, but, yeah.’

Rodd sighed with a smile on his face. 

‘Alright, I’ll let you be. Stay safe.’

The principal barely gave his employee a nod as he kept writing, and writing. Rodd took this as an invitation to just leave him be. He folded his lips in, nodding back before leaving.

‘Alright.’ Rodd muttered as he closed the door.

Rodd picked up his bag with his right hand and walked to the double doors of the school. He went to the right side, and pushed the door open, bringing in the fresh air the night sky had provided, and slight chilliness. He looked at the parking lot, seeing his car alone with two other cars. Most likely the Janitors and the principals. Rodd exhaled through his mouth, and walked quickly to his car, trying to escape the chilly air that kept assaulting his body. He took out his key fob out of his left pocket and opened the car remotely. He touched the cold door handle, and opened it with the key fob still in his hand. Once the handle clicked, he pulled it back, opening it. He bent over slightly as he went into the car, putting his bag in the passenger seat beside him. As he plopped down in his seat and closed the door, he let out a sigh. Everything seemed to be chill, he was gonna finally go home, and rest. He didn’t even have to worry about grading papers…

***

The principal sighed in relief as he finished the first page of the financial bullshit he has to go through. Now he sighed again, but not of relief as the first page was removed from the top, only to reveal a second page right underneath it. He massaged his forehead with his right hand before cracking his knuckles, picking up his pen, and getting back to writing. As he did so, there was a knock on the door. The principal looked up and put down his pen.

‘Who’s there?’

‘It’s Rodd.’

The principal sighed as he ran his right fingers through his hair. The boss had picked up his pen and began writing again.

‘I thought you were leaving.’

…(3 seconds of silence)

‘I forgot something.’

The principal raised his right eyebrow. He leaned up from his chair, and glossed over his office, checking for anything that Rodd could've left there. As he saw nothing, he slowly sat back down in his chair.

‘I don’t see anything forgotten here.’

…

‘Can I come in? Have something to say.’

The principal looks at the door before sighing and looking back down to his papers, picking up the pen, and writing his life away again.

‘Come.’

The door then opens. Tap, tap, tap.

‘What is it, James-’

‘Look up.’

The principal looks up.

BANG!

The principal’s eyes widened as he saw his employee's body drop to the floor when he looked up. His heart started coming out of his chest through his throat. pant, pant, pant. His breathing was over the limit. He looks at the person responsible for this; a gun pointed at his head.

‘Chozen apologizes. He doesn’t want witnesses. So, if you don’t mind, where are the records?’

The principal, still reeling from what he just saw, doesn’t answer, instead grips the arms of his chair, panting, his eyes moving back at Rodd’s body, staring at it.

‘Hello?’

The man snaps his left finger at the principal.

‘Hello. Principal Williams?’

Williams finally snaps back to reality, taking his eyes off of his employee's corpse, and to the man that shot him. His eyes were still wide as his heart continued to run a mile. His mouth moves to form a word, but it barely comes out.

‘W-what r-r-records?’

‘The “class of” records. From when the school was built, up until today.’

Williams's grip on the arms of his chair tightened.

‘W-why should I tell you? Y-you're gonna kill me anyway and ransack the place…’

The man chuckled, tilting his head down before bringing it back up.

‘You're right. But you’ll save us the trouble of having search it ourselves. This is a nice office, and it’s telling me it doesn’t wanna be ransacked.’

The man gestures his pistol at the office, moving his pistol over his head.

‘And plus, you can use this moment to think about everything you’ve done in your life…’

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The man leans in closer, putting his hand on William's desk. The pistol was still pointed at his head.

‘And I mean everything…’

Williams's eyes flickered between the man’s pistol and his face. They both stay dead silent for a few seconds before Williams shakily puts his hand up, pointing at the file cabinet backed up against a wall beside his desk.

The man, not fully turning around, but glancing his eyes towards the cabinet. He sees a cabinet that says ‘class of’, then turns his eyes back to Williams, smiling.

‘Thank you, Chozen will be happy. Mr. Chrissen!’

As he said the last part, footsteps can be heard coming from the right side of the door. The man comes to a full stop as he stands outside of the door. The man with the pistol moves aside, revealing the man to be Chrissen. William’s grip on the arms of the chair loosens as he sees Chrissen walk into the room.

‘Mr. Chrissen, check the cabinet that says ‘class of’. You know what to look for.’

Mr. Chrissen nodded and walked to the file cabinet as William’s eyes followed his movements. The man with the pistol looked at Williams, and smirked, lowering his pistol.

‘Principal Williams…’

Williams turned his head from Chrissen to the man.

‘This is the time to do what I suggested you do.’ The man said in a quiet voice as he nodded.

Williams slowly moved his head away from the man, and faced down, stroking the armrest of his chair with his index finger.   When Mr. Chrissen reached the file cabinet, he opened the specific one, took out the files one at a time before he found the right one. He put the specific one under his arm and put the rest back in order. After he finished doing what he was doing, he looked at the man and nodded as the man nodded back.

‘Okay, Principal Williams, I hope you thought about everything…’

The man and Mr. Chrissen walked in front of William’s desk to face him. The man brought his pistol back up to point at William's head.

‘But no man should go out without having said what’s on their mind. So, Principal Williams…any last words or sentences…or questions?’

Williams looked between Chrissen and the man, panting slightly as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

‘W-why are you doing this…?”

‘You have wronged Chozen, for we are chosen, and those who wrong us will face our wrath, that is of God…and of Chozen.’

The man cocked his pistol. Williams took this as a sign to face his inevitability. He panted, and panted as he closed his eyes and waited for his punishment…

‘Kulleus Devellis was a man who followed the words of god. He prayed not only for his family but the people of this world…’

I stood there as I stared at the open grave, I felt no emotions that my mother next to me had felt. Her crying and sobs didn’t fuel the sadness in my body that was transparent, it only…worsened it. I turned my head from the grave to the right. I looked down at my mother, who was on her knees, I then looked up, seeing my brother looking down as he clenched his fists, tears dropping from his eyes. I didn’t think he’d be the one crying. He’s the older one, it should be me, but it’s not.

‘May god hold him in his hands and cover him under his blood. For his life is not of this world anymore, but of God's.’

As the priest stopped talking, they began throwing dirt onto the casket. After they covered the casket, everybody began walking. I walked with my mom and brother in silence. I always wondered; does god really exist? Or is religion just a thing people use to find meaning in this meaningless world? Why should I care about anything, when everything is just temporary; already dead, already gone? I feel like people know everything is meaningless, they just don’t want to believe it, they want meaning, and if it doesn’t come to them, they’ll just create it. You live, and you die, that’s it…

‘Joseph…Joseph, yoo hoo!’

The snapped fingers in front of my face brought me back to reality as I looked at them. Realizing whose fingers those were, I looked at my brother, William.

‘So, you gonna share what ya thought about the movie?’

My right eyebrow rose before both of them did. 

‘Oh! Uhhh…’

I began to tap lightly on the bar counter as I pretended to furrow my eyebrows. My brother watched me with a smirk, waiting for an answer. 

‘I thought it was…’

I then shrugged. I didn’t even know if the movie was good or not, it doesn’t matter…

‘Okay-’

‘You didn’t watch it all, did you?’

I just nodded, folding my lips in, which caused my brother to laugh, tilting his head back before bringing his head back down to where he could look at me. Maybe I should stop lying, what’s the point? It’s always when it has something to do with my brother, I act…different.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay. As long as I got you to finally come out.’

He patted my shoulder before resting it back on the bar counter, his body facing me. He then smirked slightly.

‘So…are you gonna finally come to Dad’s birthday party?’

I sighed. 

‘I already told you, William-’

‘I know, I know, but you gotta come.’

‘Why? Why do I have come-’

‘I-I don’t know! Maybe because it’s respectful? It shows you still care, and remember about him even though he's not here?’

‘Why would I celebrate a dead person’s birth-’

‘It’s not just a ‘dead person’s’ birthday; it’s our dad’s! And you can’t say that! Don’t you want dad to see that we still remember, and care about him?!’

‘He can’t care! He can’t think! He’s dead, William, dead!’

William stared at me, blinking a few times before speaking.

‘What about heaven? What if he’s watching us from heaven?’

‘You…’ I sighed, turning my body away from him, facing the alcohol display in front of us before continuing, ‘you already know what I’m gonna say about that…’

William looked down then turned his body to face the displayed alcohol, resting his forearms on the counter, leaning forward.

‘You still love him though, right?’ He said, turning his head to me.

Love him? How am I supposed to love someone dead? What’s the point of loving someone dead? He’s dead, and it’s not doing anything for me, neither loving him is…

***

The party was in full swing. A Lot of friends and family on both sides were chatting, mostly talking about Kulleus. Except for one person, William. He was sitting all alone with a drink on the coffee table, leaning back against the cushion, staring into space. A couple of people standing next to him, but at a distance away, whisper.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

‘I don’t know. He’s…different today.’

William snaps out of his spaced-out mode and looks over to the two women whispering about him. They look away and walk somewhere else. William sighs, then turns his head back to the black screen of the TV.

‘Will?’

The familiar voice that went into William’s right ear blocked him from spacing out again. He turned his head right to see his mom standing with a drink in her hand, her eyebrows were lowered and brought together as she looked at him.

‘Is everything alright?’ She said as she sat down next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

William nodded as he barely smiled, stroking his pants.

‘I’m fine.’

William’s mom raised an eyebrow and smirked.

‘Stop it, Will. I’m your mother; I know when you're not fine. Look at everybody…’ She gestured her hand that was not on his shoulder to the people talking, having a good time. ‘And you.’ She moved the direction of her hand towards William.

William followed her gesture before looking at her. His mom’s face went back to that same expression when she first announced her presence.

‘C'mon, Will. Just tell me. I’m here.’

She then smiled, looking her son in the eyes. William sighed, tearing his gaze away from his mom, and looking down.

‘It’s Joseph…’

William’s mom sighed.

‘William-’

‘He can’t do that, mom! He- he can't just neglect dad, o-or act like he doesn’t care about him!’

She sighed, nodding as she put her hand behind his back, and rubbed it.

‘I know, but William, you already know how he is-’

‘But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t at least care! Why does he always-’

William stopped himself and looked down. He let out a breath and rubbed his face with his right hand.

‘I did what you told me to.’

She nodded as she kept rubbing his back. ‘What happened?’

William leaned back, causing his mom to stop rubbing his back. She rested her hand on her thigh as she looked at him, waiting for an answer.

‘He obviously said no…’ William stared at the drink that lay on the coffee table. ‘I asked him that even though he wouldn’t come, did he at least still love him…’

‘What did he say?’

William blinked as his eyes slowly teared away from the drink, to his mom's eyes. 

‘He didn’t say anything.’

***

William opened the front door and walked in, shutting it and locking it. He turned on the living room lights, faced forward, and walked until he reached the dining room. When he reached the dining room, he made a right, revealing a stairwell. William walked up the stairs, the stairs wailing in his steps until he reached the top. When he did, there was only one door and it was to the right. He opened the door, walked in, and closed it. 

He instantly took off his shoes and hit the bed. As he laid down he folded his hands over his chest, staring into the ceiling, thinking. He sighed, he needed something to take his mind off of whatever he was thinking about, and he knew the perfect thing to do so. He rolled over to his side and moved his left arm to the nightstand on the right, where the record player was. He moved the stylus so it was on the vinyl. He pressed the button to play the song. Smile By Nat King Cole played. He rolled back over on his back, closing his eyes as he sighed. Everything was calm, everything was relaxing. 

But it’s not as calm when the power goes out. William opens his eyes only to see darkness as if he’s never opened his eyes. He sighs again, but this one is more deep. He rolls over, and reaches his right hand out to the nightstand, using his touch to feel for something. He feels the record player. He feels the lamp. He moves his down until he feels something round, a knob. His hand grips the knob and pulls back. He puts his hand in the drawer and feels for something. Paper. Feels like photos. Then there’s something round, he grabs it and takes it out. 

Clicking the button, a big shine of light comes out of the round object, revealing it to be a flashlight. The flashlight moves over to the TV, the closet…and the window before landing on the door. William sat up, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, standing up. He walked over to his door and opened it. As he opened it, he was greeted with even more darkness. He pointed his flashlight down the stairs, showing every step except for everything past the last step. 

As he walked down the steps, the flashlight began to show more and more of the house the darkness had engulfed. When he reached down, he glossed his flashlight over the dining room, living room, and kitchen before pointing it at a door that was next to the fridge. He walked to the door and opened it. The night sky was dark but brighter than inside William’s house. As William walked out, he made a right, which led to a gap between a fence and the house. There, in between that gap, was the generator. William pointed his flashlight at the generator, lifting the cover, which revealed the components and a few buttons on the right.

As he pointed his flashlight at the buttons, he noticed that on the readings it showed that the generator had been stopped. William raises an eyebrow at this information but proceeds to start back up the generator. As the generator begins to shake and hum. William shuts the cover back down and turns back to walk into his house. Once William reaches inside his house, he tests the kitchen light switch, which is next to the door. 

Seeing the lights turn on, shining a barely-enough-to-see light down the hall to the living room. William smiles, closes the door, and walks to the living room to turn on the lights, turning off his flashlight. When William reaches the living room, and turns on the lights, lighting up the whole room in the process, he decides to head back upstairs, not bothering to turn them off. Stairs wailing in his steps once again. But as William reaches the top, he notices something off.

The door is closed.

The door was never closed.

William’s eyebrows brought each other together. William then hears what sounds to be…music playing. Maybe it was his record player, it was turned on when the power randomly shut off. No, this music sounded different…

‘Heaven, I’m in heaven’

‘And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak’

‘And I seem to find the happiness I seek’

William puts his ears against the door. He’s hearing a different music, a voice that’s not Nat’s voice. As William hears this, the music stops. He can hear the stylus stopping its movement. William leans his ear off the door and looks down at the doorknob. His right hand shakily reaches out for the doorknob. 

As his right-hand grips the doorknob, he slowly turns it.

The doorknob clicks as it is pushed back…