In a musty room covered in layers upon layers of dust, hair and grime, a figure was sleeping calmly on his creaky bed. But, not for long. Out of nowhere, a blaring alarm sounded across the room, startling the figure awake.

“What is this miserable sound in the morning? Why do I keep doing this to myself? I can’t even snooze, and I love snoozing. Whatever, let me just go get ready then I’ll listen to some music. Man, I feel like I just had the craziest dream. I really should do something about the fact I’m never able to remember my dreams. Everyone else is always talking about how they dreamed this and that, and I always just sit there like an idiot, not able to contribute anything. Meh, maybe during the summer.”

Finishing his morning monologue/rant, Samuel got up and wobbled into the bathroom across the hall from his room. Getting ready took him about 30 minutes, but it was split into two parts, meaning he was out in twenty. Doing as he said he would, he put on some music to help him adapt to being awake. Time passed slowly and soon it was time for the second part of his morning routine. After finishing this part and getting dressed, he left for school.

“Fuck! Why is it so cold? And there is wind as well! Oh no.”

Walking akin to some snowman due to the low temperature, Samuel made his way to the bus, got on, got off and walked into the school. Being a strong advocate of better early than late, he was there 30 minutes before school started. Doing his normal perusing of potential web novels and news to read, Samuel waited patiently for his classmates to arrive. As he was starting to feel bored, he received a phone call from a number he did not recognize, and as all brawny, masculine, brave men do, he denied it, for fear of scams or viruses. Just to make sure it wasn’t some person he knew, he looked up the numbers and discovered it came from a different country. Without consideration he blocked the number and deleted it from his call history. One thing that needs to be clarified is that Samuel definitely, 100%, indubitably is not paranoid. This is all a logical series of events to make sure he isn’t hurt unnecessarily. He is not weird, you are!

“Hmm, why is no one here yet? Have I missed a memo that we didn’t need to come to school today? Let me check my itinerary. No, there is nothing different about today. Well, they’ll show up.”

Time continued to pass, yet no one, no students or teachers ever showed up. Now being 30 minutes into the first period, Samuel started feeling anxious rather than annoyed like he had been up until this point. No longer daring to even whisper out loud, he thought silently to himself as sweat started soaking his back, ‘there is something that is not right about this situation. It’s not only this class either; the school is also eerily quiet. Not even the usual creaking from the building can be heard. Please don’t let there be a Lovecraftian monstrosity behind me, please don’t let there be a Lovecraftian monstrosity behind me!’

Samuel was not afraid of such things actively, but in situations like these, his mind wanders to scary places fast. This experience made him doubt if he was even awake right now. ‘Am I still dreaming?’

“What is a dream and what is real? That is not for you to know, Samuel. You really are a brave man though, seeing as you are petrified by mere silence.”

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“What? Who are you and what is happening? This isn’t funny.”

“I sure hope not, as the contrast between that happiness you would be feeling and what you will be feeling soon would be crippling.”

Feeling his heart drop to his stomach, Samuel started to fidget, shivering intermittently.

“Giving someone without power what they wish for and seeing how they act is indeed interesting, but taking it from them again is even more so. You will never achieve anything with your lazy, fucking mindset. So, I have arranged for something to change this aspect of you. Obviously, you won’t remember any of what I have just said. I’ll see you later, hopefully.”

As the voice faded into oblivion, so did Samuel’s memories of the encounter, what was left was only a pure, unimaginable dread, which was only amplified at the sight now before him. Seated, strapped to two chairs in the people empty classroom was Samuel’s mother and father. Two people he didn’t like but didn’t hate either. He was rather neutral to them, but he had a terrible feeling something dreadful was about to take place. This feeling made tears form in his eyes and his head throb, as if something wanted to break through it to solve the situation but couldn’t.

“You have sinned, boy. The price you pay is the torturous deaths of your parents. Reflect and repent on your actions, lest we need to do this to the other people in your family.”

Upon finishing his words, one of the six people who had mysteriously appeared together with his parents, pulled out a kit stacked with tools. No, not tools. Instruments. Instruments used to inflict pain upon people.

“No, no, no. What are you doing?”

Samuel tried to move but found himself stuck in place, unable to lift even a finger. Forced to watch the atrocity that was taking place in front of him. Screams so dreadful they would invoke pity even in demons sounded across the entire building for what felt like years. Screams so jarring that if used in horror movies, people would wake up with nightmares. Screams so terrible they could not be properly described by the human vocabulary. The pain, the dread, the sadness, the helplessness in them gnawed on the soul of Samuel, who long had the light of youth vanish from his eyes, only to be replaced with the flames of anger. Anger so immense it could make you explode. Yet his voice was calm, like the receding waves before a tsunami.

“You bastards don’t know what you have done. I swear on all that I am and all that I will ever be, that you will pay for this atrocity.”

“How can the laws and punishment dictated by the almighty Sanguilan ever be called atrocious. This is indeed not very pleasant, but it is the price of your sins and insolence. Remember this in your heart: we carried out the action, but the commission was paid by you. That’s enough. End their misery, clean up and then let’s leave.”

The screams, without a trace, disappeared into the nothingness. The screams were no more, the pain was no more, the people were no more. Death was all that remained. Death might be seen as something horrible, but in this situation, it was mercy.

The people cleaned the area, packed up their gear and the bodies and left, all under the wrathful and hurt eyes of Samuel. REVENGE!

“This shall not go unpunished. I promise you, mother, father, I promise you I will end their measly existences in the most painful way possible. Even if I must die for it.”

Now freed from his shackles, Samuel stood up shakily, making his way towards the door. Once he exits this door, it marks the end of his old life, beginning his new one of revenge and death. Never will he ever rest until he achieves his goal. As he was about to pass through the door, however, his vision went black, as the feeling of being transported against his will emerged from the depths of his mind. Before he could expand upon this feeling however, he blacked out.

Time passes relative to the speed you are hurtling through space at, but how would time pass in a lower realm of existence compared to a higher one? Maybe Samuel would come to find out one day, but today, he was a mere victim of this distortion.

…

In the classroom a figure appeared. The figure of a man, a man who could not be seen properly. He released a sigh before disappearing yet again.

“Should have chosen better.”