Startled, Kael almost tripped over his own feet as he came to a halt, looking around for the source of the cry. Hearing a scream in the middle of the night was not strange, at least for some parts of the city. But there was something different about the gravity he heard in the scream, and although he could not describe it, he felt his blood run cold.

If the scream itself was not already strange enough, especially for the neighborhood he was in, there was something else that caught his attention. He recognized the voice from somewhere. What to do now? There were only three options to pick from for what to do next.

Move on, ignoring what was happening and living his life. He could try to look for help and make the situation someone else's problem. Or he could make his way down whatever alley the scream had come from and go from there. Had the voice belonged to his sister or one of his few remaining friends, there would have been no question as to what he would do. For someone, he only vaguely remembered the voice of, however...

In the end, there was really only one way this could go. The streets were empty of people, and walking away from someone in need was just not something to be done. Orienting himself, he began to walk in the direction from where he had heard the scream. Moving through the quiet, dark streets gave him enough time to calm his nerves.

Spots of light from street lamps and shop signs illuminated his way as he passed through the shadowy alleys that made up most of the city. With only a rough direction to guide him, his speed was considerably slowed. Looking around every corner and behind every dumpster on the off chance that whoever had screamed was lying there.

A few minutes had passed since the first cry when Kael got his next clue. Instead of a scream, however, he heard a different voice, this one, however, he remembered well enough to place. From somewhere in the distance, the disgusting voice of Jason echoed through the dark night.

As he got closer, he heard a few more distinct voices. Soon, he rounded another corner and looked into yet another cramped, filthy back alley. Illuminated by an old street lamp and a flickering signboard advertising the 'best' place for Karaoke in town. I highly doubt that Kael thought, trying to distract himself from his shaking legs and clammy hands with humor. Taking a deep breath, he looked around the corner. His attention instantly focused on what was happening between the industrial dumpsters, overflowing with trash, that adorned most of the alley.

Right beneath the lonely street lamp some fifteen meters down the alley, Kael saw a group of four familiar teens. One, he knew as Jason, towering over the cowering form of their group lackey, Green. Flanking Jason, the other two of the group from the park stood, staring down at their whimpering friend and laughing at his plight.

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The next moment, Kael watched as Jason, panting from either exertion or arousal, kicked the injured teen in the stomach. All the while taunting and humiliating him. “Fucking USELESS! You only had one job. ONE JOB! HOW CAN YOU FAIL EVEN THAT?!?!? I should have done this ages ago. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!?!” The wailing of the injured boy acting as fule for his tormentor. “How are you going to make it up to us huh? Thanks to you we have detention for the next FIVE DAYS! FOR A FUCKING WEEK! You piece of shit! Garbage! Waste of air!”

Before Kael had time to even fully comprehend what he was seeing, Jason started kicking again, only stopping when he had to catch his breath. Leaning against the opposing wall, catching his breath, he continued peppering his victim with insults.

From his position, Kael could see that the downed boy had rolled up into the fetal position, protecting his head and chest. At least not bleeding, Kael thought while inspecting the victim. He noticed that at least goon number two, whose face he could see from this angle, appeared to have second thoughts about what they were doing. Not that he would step in, Kael suspected, but at least he had stopped his co-goon from kicking.

“Haha, hey! Is your mom hot? If she's hot, why don't you sell her to us for a night huh? We call it even after a few times, ok?” Jason spoke again, looking for another way to torment his victim while he recovered his energy for the next beating. Going from physical torment to a psychological thrashing in ten seconds flat said a lot about his character. From there, the teen's fantasies seemed to completely take over, and the vile imagery that came out of his mouth had Kael questioning Jason's sanity.

Goon one and two went from distressed to outright scared as they listened to their leader spew his vile words. Shaking off his fear, minion number two seemed to have heard enough and decided to step in. He tried to distract his boss as best as he knew how. “Hey boss, this is cool and all but what do you say we go to Karaoke now? There is this new place that just opened a month ago. What do you say? My treat!”

Their leader, however, seemed to not even realize someone was talking to him. Caught in his delusions, he simply continued without missing a beat. Soon he was saying stuff about raping the younger sister of the cowering boy. During the insults, Kael had learned his name: Martin.

Anger, disgust, and fear were fighting for dominance in Kael when he heard Jason, giving space to a new emotion: Rage. Already disgusted and enraged by what he saw, the scenario that Jason was vividly describing, tipped him over the edge. In his mind, Martin's sister had been replaced by Lucy, and Kael’s field of view narrowed to a tight tunnel.

Pushing his raging emotions down for a second to remain at least a little clear-headed, Kael entered the alley, the constant flow of deranged words masking his approach. “Haha I'm sure they would love it. Hey maybe I could adopt them, I have a doghouse that has been empty for a while you know. Then they both can serve me at the same time. Nice! Hey I'll even let them throw you some dog food once in a while!”

Keeping his emotions in check got more difficult with every step he took towards Jason. Now closer, Kael could clearly see the deranged look on the teen's face, as well as the shock and fear of his minions. “And then I'll send her back to you, piece by piece if you know what I mean.” One step after the other, Kael was reaching his goal.

In the last few moments, before violence ensued, one image ingrained itself into Kael's memories. A wide-open mouth, stretching unnaturally, trying to convey more than English words could. Tense muscles, distorting the face into a grotesque caricature of the original. And then there were the eyes. Dark, round orbs of black, only given life by the glowing red light in their center.

At last, his fragile self-control broke, and Kael saw red.