10th January 2022, 07:00 am

I wake up to the smell of blood and rotten foods. What the hell happened last night? I try to remember how I got here. I was at my new job. I got sent to the boss’ office. And that psychopath killed me. Wait… Am I dead?

I open my eyes. The surroundings were pitch black but some light still shined through. Black bin bags layered the container.

I’m in a dumpster.

I heave myself out of the dumpster. Why didn’t that psycho decide not to kill me? What sort of twisted plan does he have for me? Hopefully, something that doesn’t affect me at all.

I check my body for any wounds on me. Nothing. How? I was shot, I remember that vividly, but I can’t find a bullet hole on my body anywhere! Was it that liquid? That’s probably it. What else would it be? Maybe that weird “System” thing was it but that was obviously not real. But what if?

I decided to entertain the idea and mumble “Open System.”

Being

0042 - "John Smith"

Age

21

Traits

Chronokinesis (Thanatosis)

That was strange. Well, Everything in the past few days was strange but this was especially strange. The grey display hovered in front of me, giving me even more questions but only one of those I truly cared for. Will this "System" help my get my revenge on the boss and what ever the company was actually doing?

I can't worry about that here. It would be better to stress about this somewhere safe. Well at least safer then the back alleys of wherever this is. Where am I anywhere?

I look around me, again, and see what I expected. A small back alley, the only noticeable things in it was a dislodged pipe that was rusted beyond repair and the graffiti covered dumpster I just pulled myself out of. Fuck, I'm dealing with nothing here and I'm trying to take down one of the biggest men in this city. I tear out the pipe, the rust stains my skin as I do. At least I have something to defend myself when that psycho finds out I'm alive.

As I think that, I hear someone, moving though the alleys towards were I am. I clamber into the dumpster. I need to be careful. That person might be one of that psycho's men. If they are, it's risky to stay here but I need info on what the hell is going on. I grip my pipe and wait in silence for the man.

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A man walked into the alley, his body hidden by a cloak and his face by a hockey mask. Suspicious. He leans on the dumpster, his foot tapping. He's waiting for someone or something.

I wait.

He waits, saying nothing. Nothing at all. Does he know I'm here? I clench my teeth. If he does, I need to get out of here. But there's only one way out and it's through him. I need to get out of here before whatever he's waiting for gets here. I would be in even deeper shit if I did.

I prepare to do something stupid. Quickly and swiftly, I grab a hold of my pipe with both sides and try choke him out with it. He doesn't seem surprised at all but that doesn't stop me. I pull with all my might. I need this. This is the only way. It's me or him. I continue to convince myself into continue onward with this assault.

The man slowly rases his hand under the pipe I'm choking him and, with little effort, pulls the pipe off his throat. He tosses the pipe and me with it across the alley and into the wall parallel to him.

Fuck.

I rip myself out of the wall and prepare myself, gripping hold of the mutilated remains of my pipe. I throw the pipe at the unknown man and run the fuck away. I can't beat that! I don't know what that thing is but I know for a fact it isn't human. What the fuck have I gotten myself into?

After being momentarily stunned by the corpse of my pipe, that thing charges at me like a bull. I take a sharp turn left into another alley, the monster ramming itself into a brick wall. I continue to run, that thing will shrug that off in seconds I'm certain of it. I need to get as far as I can from that thing in the time I have now.

The beast switches strategies, throwing chunks of brick it got from the wall it tore into. A brick strikes my leg. Then another one hits one of my arms. Shit. I grab for something to shield me from the concrete projectiles, a steel bin lid. Good enough.

I block one of the brick chunks, pacing backwards as I do. All I need to do is get to a main street, he might lose me there. I block another chunk, reflecting it into a wall beside me. He's advancing around the same speed that I'm retreating. I can win this.

I reflect back a brick at his mask, not expecting much to happen. That hit cracks the mask and the bottom part of it falls down. That monster was smiling. It was enjoying this "fight". It disgusted me that this thing enjoyed my suffering, yet a small part of myself agreed. I did enjoy the idea of overcoming this and becoming stronger. Better. I shake my head free of those thoughts. I need to focus.

I finally step into a main street but there was no crowds of people, only a mass of traffic. This hasn't ended yet.

I toss my battered shield at that thing and rush into the fast racing cars as they whizz by me to get to their jobs, trying to lose whatever that being was.

It didn't move at all as I flee from it. A knowing smile painting it's face. The bin lid hit his face, shattering the mask.

It's face was a face I knew very well. A face very similar to my own, no. It was my own. That thing has my face.

I freeze, unable to process that. What... Is... It. It's not me. I know it's not me. Was it The Boss' fault. Of cause it's that psycho's fault. But why? Why me. Why steal my face out of everyone else's? I stare at that thing hatefully but there was I had forgotten in all of this hate.

A truck bashes into me at max speed, the impact crushes my bones and grinds my muscles to paste as I feel every single millisecond of it in excruciating detail. My nerves relaying every single fracture or tear to my brain until the connection got crushed by the tires itself. My mind still somehow conscious even after all that. Then, I felt cold, freezing cold, as death came over me. There no getting out of this. I'm gonna die and be replaced by that thing, whatever it is, and I can't do a damn thing.

A thought hummed in my brain as I was dying, what if there was a way out? Could I use that trait to survive? I mentally steadied myself before focusing my final thought on one thing.

[Activating Trait: "Chronokinesis (Thanatosis)"]