Beep beep beep beep.

The alarm clock started to blare into my ears. "Shut up," I say to the clock, stretching as I do. It reads 06:15. The beeping continues until I punch the clock.

With a huff, I stand up. My muscles still ache from yesterday's run, and my vision is blurry. I set my sword to the side. HEMA gear spread across my floor while I head to the closet.

Pushing my dirty laundry to the side with my foot, I pick up some fresh clothes and quickly put them on. I yawn again before rubbing my eyes. It is way too earlier for this.

Leaving my room and going to the bathroom, I pass by the family dog, Buddy. The Rottweiler, shaking his stubby tail when he sees me. Crouching down, I run his head for a moment.

The good days, back when it was just the two of us. As it to hear my thoughts, my little sister walks out of her room and glares at me.

"Morning Jess," I say while blocking her from getting to the bathroom. If she gets in, then I would have to wait another hour.

She tries to push past me, but I was always stronger than her. With a huff, she steps back and goes to her room. "Don't take too long." She says before slamming the door shut.

I laugh. Jess knows that if I hadn't stopped her. She would have been in there till school started. Flicking the lights on, I sigh. The white porcelain counter blanketed with her beauty supplies.

Reaching across the counter, I start to shuffle through the supplies. Finding my toothbrush is easy, but it takes a few minutes to find the toothpaste hidden behind Jess's bottles.

Brushing my teeth, I flick through my phone's calendar. Today I have an AP Chem test followed by a visit to the therapists. Sighing, I will have to miss sparing practice.

I spit the disgusting toothpaste out and walk back to my bedroom. Dimming the lights as I enter, the desktop computer turns itself on. Sitting down, I go to one of my favorite web novel sites. I open up the latest updates for a new novel.

I set my alarm for half an hour. Looking back at the screen, I start to read and lose myself in the story. Some people don't agree with the escapism mindset, but I think it is ok with moderation.

Half an hour later, the alarm starts to ring, and I close the web page. With a groan, I stand up and put my backpack on. Walking down the hall, I pull out my phone and check the weather. Rain all day long followed with a chance of snow tonight.

I hear my sister talking to her friends in the bathroom. Downstairs, my parents closed the garage door behind them.

On the kitchen counter are signed papers for school and my application for a college. I push them to the side and grab an apple. "If I run, I should make it to school with some time to spare," I mumble to myself while thinking about the route.

"Hey, Tyler. Can I get a ride?" Jess yells from the garage. I sigh, my plan for a morning run now destroyed.

"Yeah. Where did I put the keys?" I ask her while checking for them. They should be on the counter, but they aren't. In the corner of my eye, I see something flying towards my face. I quickly raise my arm and catch it. The jingle of keys comes from within my closed hand.

Jess stands in the doorway with a smirk. Today she is wearing tight jeans with ripped holes in the knees and a dark blue hoodie with the school logo. Her dirty blonde hair braided over one shoulder, exposing her long neck. Her makeup makes her look older than her sixteen years.

Her icy blue eyes stare at me, impatience and amusement mixing in them. "I don't understand how you always catch what I throw, even when you don't pay attention." She says while turning around.

I follow her to the garage and get in the red Ford F150. Putting the now found keys into the ignition, I turn the key and wait for it to turn over. After a few seconds, the engine roars to life, and I hit the garage door opener.

"You should probably get the engine checked out. I don't think that it should turn over that many times." Jess says while fiddling with her phone.

I back out of the garage before heading down the road. "It is because I haven't been driving very much. Most times I go anywhere it is with other people."

She sighs before going back to her phone. I refocus on driving. The small town of Middletown goes past as we head towards the downtown area. Halfway through our drive, the predicted rain starts to fall.

I look up at the dark clouds and smile. The rain was always something I enjoyed, the calming pitter-patter on a window while you try to sleep. “Did mom go for another round of chemo?” I ask her with a frown.

She looks up at her phone and nods. I sigh, the chemo hasn’t been helping at all, she is just sicker now more than ever. “How much longer?” I ask.

Jess sighs before looking at something on her phone. She was always more involved with our moms cancer support. “I don’t give her more than another month, you have seen dad carrying her everywhere.”

I nod and look up at the rainy sky. Why can’t things just be simple, first what happened to me and now losing my mom. The one person who even slightly believes me.

After a few more minutes of driving, I pull into the school parking lot. "Will you need a ride later?" I ask my sister. She shakes her head before running indoors.

Watching her run away, I smile; it feels like yesterday that she was first going to school. My smile turns into a frown while thinking about the past. I shake my head and follow her inside.

The first hour of the day is college composition. I walk past many people who I don't know. It is standard for me to not their names. I don't care about 99% of the people I meet, so I never remember their names.

A few different people call out to me while I ignore them. I don't see the point of school, at least for me. Since freshman year, I have been taking the highest level classes, and they don't have anything else for me. But my parents won't let me graduate early, something about needing social experience. Little do they know I sit in the back of the room and have very few friends.

I finally leave the crowded hall and walk over to my desk. Mr. Green is sitting at his desk in the front while messing with his video settings. He nods at me before going back to his work.

I sit down before pulling out a book, Biochemistry 101. The way it was written makes me want to bash my skull into the table, but I have to read it for AP chemistry.

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More people walk into the classroom, and it becomes progressively louder. I look up to see the last person enter. She looks familiar, but I can't place where I know her.

Her ebony black hair and dark green eyes seem to draw everyone's gaze towards her. Her exquisite body is covered only by her dark blue blouse and baby blue jeans. The outline of her figure makes more than one jaw drop.

While she is talking to the girls at the front, I try to place where I know her. She turns her dark green eyes towards me; I stare back. Neither of us willing to avert our gaze and lose.

Then it hits me; I remember why I know her. She used to go to the same therapist before moving away. It was six years ago, I think.

A small smile forms on her face when she sees the recognition in my eyes. What was her name? I rattle my brain and dig deeper into the past.

She walks towards me, the rest of the class goes back to normal. As she reaches my desk, her expression goes dark; her right-hand shoots out and heads towards my throat.

I slap her hand to the side with my book. Her other hand snake past the book and almost reaches my temple before my foot kicks her back. I sigh and try to find the page I was on. She stares at me with a blank face.

"You never change. Do you?" She asks while sitting to my side.

I put back my bookmark and turn towards you. "Who are you? I remember where we met, but not who you are." I ask her. She shrivels under my gaze.

As she moves farther away, she pulls a letter out of her bag. "You don't remember giving me this?" She asks while waving it in front of my face.

I shake my head; pulling out my phone, I go to social media and try to find her. Nothing, only many different fake accounts, each using her picture.

"Wow, you are no fun. I was hoping you would become more human in the past few years." She shakes her head. I watch as amusement turns to sadness in her eyes.

She sighs. "My name is Lexia White. Does that ring any bells?"

I nod, "Didn't you take second in the state martial arts competition?" I ask; she looks a lot like the girl who did. The few people I talk to have her picture.

She laughs; it sounds like music in my ears. "Yeah, that was me. But you took first in the state and fourth in the nation." I can't tell if she is happy or jealous while talking about it.

"But you don't remember me from before?" She asks. I shake my head; she sighs. "I knew it was a longshot, but just maybe you would. Since you don't, it doesn't matter."

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes while she lowed her head. I hear her mumbling to herself, but I try not to eavesdrop.

I tune her out and start reading again. Sympathy and empathy never made sense to me. The teacher gets up, and class begins.

Ring ring ring

The final bell rings. I look back at the test in my hands before handing it over. My chemistry teacher shakes his head, "You always score perfectly; I don't understand why you constantly act like it is the end of the world."

I laugh and leave the class. As I exit, someone sends a kick towards my side. I sidestep before throwing a jab. My hand is less than an inch away from my friend's face.

"Ha, I guess I never will beat you," He laughs while picking up his bag. "So, are you ready for some sparing?" He asks.

We both walk outside, "I have a visit to that person, I Can't today." I say to him. "I know how much you want to fight me, Jase."

His 6: 4 height slouches down until he is below me. "If I said you don't have to go, would you?"

I kick him in the shin. "If I don't go, you know who will tell my parents. I don't need any more trouble than necessary. Even if the competition is coming up soon."

He sighs and walks away, "We are meeting up tomorrow as well; hope you would grace us with your presence." He says as sarcastically as possible. I flip him the bird before getting in my truck.

The engine turns over on the first try, and I drive away from the school. I follow the roads until I arrive at the therapist's; A small two-story building in a shopping center, a calm white and minimalist architecture.

I walk into the building and stare at the camera. After waiting for a few seconds, the door unlocks, and I continue walking in.

Eventually arriving at the therapist's quarters, I lay down on her couch. Not long after, she walks in; Blonde hair with a violet highlight in the back, dark brown eyes that look older than time itself, a pale face with little of its youth left.

Her rosy red lips curl into a smile. "If it isn't my favorite broken child. How are you doing, Tyler?" She asks while sitting down. Her skirt short enough that I can see her red lingerie panties.

I look up at the ceiling. "I am fine. How long do I have to stay here today, Ms. Gold?"

She smirks before taking off her jacket, A tight t-shirt under that shows off her assets. Her nipples poke through the thin cloth. Why is she not wearing a bra?

"Well, first I have to ask the standard questions, then you will give your normal bland responses. After that, you can leave." She says, a clipboard appearing in her hands.

I sigh before closing my eyes. "Ok, first question. How are you feeling?" She asks.

Hearing her getting closer to me, I open my eyes and sit up. "I am feeling the same."

She raises her eyebrows at me. "The same as in fine, or as in the emotionless void?"

"The same as the same it has been for the past year."

Sighing, she writes on her clipboard. "So that means no progress. *Sigh* Ok, so what do you think will help?"

"Nothing, I am doing fine," I say as bluntly as possible. I have been going here for years, and it hasn't changed anything.

"If you won't tell me, then I won't bug you. So how are the attempts at socialization going?"

I think about meeting Lyxia. "Better, I think. You know talking to people is my weak point."

She looks at me with a smile, "Why do you think it is better now? Has something happened by chance?"

"I met a girl, she was familiar, but I couldn't place why. Did you ever have a Lyxia come here?"

Her smile turns to a frown. "A girl, huh. And Lyxia, that name sounds familiar, but I can't remember every person to have walked through those doors."

"Is something wrong?" I ask. She gives me a fake smile before looking back at her notes.

"Nothing is wrong, at least nothing that involves you." She looks up at the clock. "We are getting off track. So you met a girl, and then what?"

I frown; didn't I ignore her for the rest of the day? "I talked to her for a few minutes; then she started to be depressed. I never spoke to her after that."

She sighs and shakes her head. "So she approached you and started to talk about you. Correct?" I nod, and she slaps her face. "Then she started to be depressed. I am assuming you said something; since most people are depressed after talking to you. So why did you not try and talk to her again?"

"Because she was sad and I didn't know her. So why would I comfort her?" I ask her. She was just a girl I happened to know, that doesn't mean I should help her. Right?

I hear banging and turn to see my therapist slamming her head against the table. "Tyler, I know that after all these years that you don't care about most people. But you can at least be nice to others."

She shakes her head as a bruise begins to form on her forehead. "Ok enough, with that. So how is your martial arts training going? I saw that you took fourth in the nation."

"It is going well, but nobody here is a challenge, and personal trainers cost too much." My family has money, but not enough to be called rich.

Her foot starts to tap against the floor; it is annoying. She leans closer to me, "And what about the nightmares?" She whispers in my ear.

I close my eyes. "The same as always, no matter what you say about me having a young mind at the time that changed things. It was a literal monster and a wizard that did it, not the person who the police blamed."

"Tyler, there is no such thing as monsters or magic. I don't know what happened but what you have been saying is impossible."

"So are the wounds on the victims. No normal person tears people into pieces without equipment. And what about the large claw marks?" I ask her, my tone heated.

"Calm down, Tyler. I didn't want to make you mad. But the reports don't say anything about claw marks or people in pieces." The alarm on her phone goes off while she is talking.

"It seems that our session is over for today." She says while standing up. "I will see you again in two weeks, same time."

I nod before leaving. That bitch didn't even try to seduce me today. Getting in my truck, I drive home before going straight to my room. Mom and Dad won't be home till late anyways.

"Why does nobody believe me," I scream into a pillow. Flashes of that night spiral in my head. A wolf-like monster ripping the others to shreds while the tall man in a dark robe taps people with his staff before they explode.

The images stop as I sit up. "It happened; it had to." I hold my head between my hands and rock back and forth.

Nobody believes me.

Nobody will help me.

Nobody will know.

I am alone.

The finality in my mind crushes my spirit. Somewhere far inside myself, something stirs. Faintly, so faint that I would never notice, a tugging deep in my gut, trying to pull me somewhere else.

I let my mind wander as I laid down. Closing my eyes, I listened to the sound of my sister talking in her room. And the pitter-patter of rain on the window. The familiar feeling of my longsword in hand.

The next thing I heard was the sound of boots walking over rocks. The crunch of each step as the pebbles moved.

I jerked up and looked around. Three men stood across a cave from me, not having noticed me yet. Pinching myself to wake up, but nothing happens. The men still get closer towards me; two of them dodge the stalactites hanging above them.

The torchlight slowly gets closer. I turn around and try to find someplace to hide. Scattered across the cave are water pools. I crawl towards the nearest pond and slowly slide in.

Freezing water makes my brain finally wake up. The first thing to do in an emergency; take note of threats and surroundings. The threats are the three men and anything else from where they came or behind me.

My surroundings are either too dark to see or flat gray rock in this cave. The cave, from what I can tell, is fifty feet by seventyish. But there is no telling with how much more room is in the dark.

Now, why am I here? I don't have any enemies that I know. I live in a small town with well-off parents, but they don't have enough to elicit a ransom. And the three men are using a torch and carry swords, not a single piece of their clothing is modern and looks to be hand stitched.

Watching them walk across the cave from within the shadows, I fell eyes staring into my back. A bony hand lands on my shoulder. "Caught you," A raspy voice says before I feel a sharp pain in my neck.

The last thing I see is a hunched-over figure wearing a dark cloak smiling at me.