The sun rose on five individuals. Three of which were alive.

Well, somewhat alive.

Joel, (Formerly known as 'Goatee') had a bitch of a headache. Not to mention his limbs were numb, and he felt like his head was frozen to his neck.

Joses, (Formerly Known as 'Short Beard') felt at his frosty prickles, marveling at their sharpness. Due to the numbness of his hands, he pushed too hard and drew blood. (Really? Cutting yourself with your beard?)

Meanwhile, Plain was passed out on the ground, drool seeping out of his mouth. Black specks could be seen in said drool.

Groaning, Joel and Joses were stretching. They were so sore that just twitching caused cramping and pain.

"Ah!" Joses, having found out what a cramp in the thigh felt like, began to say words no little girl should hear. In fact, no grown man should hear them either.

"Oi! What did you do to us, kid?" Joel, who was beginning to regain his sense of touch, had tried to get up and fallen over.

Passively looking over the two of them, I tried to snap out of the current near-emotionless state. "You bastards...why the fucking hell did you survive?"

Cramps forgotten, the two looked over. Joel, as usual, spoke. "What? You were trying to kill us?!"

"No shit! Why the hell did you think I stuck great big stakes in your hearts?! You think I was concerned about your welfare? You tried to kill me! The least you could've done is died..."

Shocked into silence, the two started to edge slowly backward, trying to get away from me. Their cramps defeated them, and they fell over in an amusing way, all the while howling and swearing like sailors. This time, it was Joses who spoke. He seemed to have the larger repertoire of swears between the two of them. "You bitch! I can't believe you heard all of our hopes and dreams, and still tried to kill us!"

"I was bored! What else do you expect me to do?"

They looked at me, and Joel once again chose to speak. "...You were bored, so you decided to kill us?"

"Yep!"

"What do they teach kids these days..."

"I'm not a kid! I turned eighteen yesterday!"

Looking me up and down, the two just snorted and looked away. Joses, who seemed more of a troublemaker, gave a snide comment in passing. "...Was that eighteen months...?"

Because they were looking away, they didn't see the hailstorm begin to whip up on my face. 'Hohoho...these fucks won't know what hit'em...kukuku...'

For some reason, laughing like that made me feel violated, but I did it anyway. "So, since you don't seem to believe me, I'll teach you a lesson my father taught me."

Seemingly interested, they turned back around, except I wasn't there.

"Let's see how long you can stay upside down before you throw up, hmmm?"

Hoisting the both of them up, I tie them up like chickens with a frozen string and hang them from a nearby branch. Once they were securely bound, I ripped two pieces of cloth off their pants and tied them around their mouths. Then, I took a fist and smacked them in their stomach.

Hearing appropriate retching sounds, I turned away from the squirming men and walked over to kneel beside Plain. His situation seemed to be worsening, and the black flecks had become globs of gelatinous black fluid/solid.

If I did nothing, he would die within minutes.

'Well, at least two of them will get out of this...'

But, for some reason...

Why does the thought of him dying disappoint me?

After all that, after fighting it off for seven hours, he is going to lose.

Maybe I just want to see the result of my experiment?

No. His grip on the tablet chained to his neck has weakened, and he is only barely holding on.

Do I just want to see what the tablet contains?

No. I find myself pushing him fully on his side and tilting his head up to create a striaght line for his throat. In response, a larger-than-usual glob is spat out. This one has red flecks, and blood came out too.

In fact, his whole body is painted with dried blood. The bleeding from his pores must be what weakened him, giving him symptoms of blood loss.

Still, why is it that I'm rubbing the small of his back, where the stake remains, stuck in his body. I had briefly looked over at it, and the skin surrounding the stake was blackened, and throbbing veins extended from it that did not contain blood. As I watched, the blackened skin spread a few centimeters and the throbbing continued in ernest.

It was just too much for him, that's all. It's not his fault, he just wasn't strong enough.

(Since when where you strong enough to pass judgement on others?)

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It's my fault, sure, but I'd had worse done to me, and I still survived. Wait, how did something worse than this happen to me...?

...

Anyway, I can just leave him like this. It won't affect me, and I'm even doing a service.

So why is my hand twitching?

I don't even know him. He's just someone I met on the road. Sure, he is one of the only decent people I've ever met, but that doesn't matter. I'm sure their are a lot of good people in the world.

...

Where? Where are these 'good people' and why have I never seen them?

Without my conscious thinking, I move my hand along the edge of the black skin, leaving behind a line of silver.

I have met some hundred people in my life, that I can remember. How many of them showed an inch of kindness?

Well, there was-no, never mind. Wait! there was-no, not her either...I know! He-no, it was just so he could...

Slowly looking back over them, I ticked them off, one by one. Within seconds, I was left with no one.

I completed the circle without looking, and began to draw further lines within the buckling circle.

One of the two troublemakers finally managed to get his gag loose, and yelled "Hey! What are you doing to Rolant?!"

Finishing the spokes, I start the intercepting circles. 'Huh, so that's his name? Sounds stupid to me, I'll just keep calling him 'Plain.' I wonder if his face will turn red if I do that. Kukuku...'

For some reason, the laughter felt appropriate. I wonder why...

Finishing the larger cicles, I continue on to the irregular shapes that fill in the empty spaces. I wonder how I know all this...

...

Know what again...?

Yelling back at the troublemaker "Shut up and drink up the rest! Food doesn't grow on trees, you know!"

Silence, followed by more screaming. "First of all, ew! And secondly, food does grow on trees! You're really an idiot, aren't you?"

"Shut up! I'm busy finishing off this worthless waste of space!"

I hear the branch begin to creak as the troublemakers try and swing to break out of their bonds. I'm surprised it took them this long to figure it out. I'd better hurry, or else they'll interrupt me.

...interrupt what, again...?

Having finished the irregular shapes, I draw the seven hundred assorted runes in a flash and place my fingers on the five points of the main spokes, press, and twist.

Huh, I wonder where I learned how to draw runes.

...What runes...?

Having finished the seal, I sigh and lean back. It was tiring to draw all of those lines exactly right, and I would have messed up if Plain had moved at all during the process.

...oh right, he stopped moving...

Well, guess I was too late. Oh well!

"Ghhh..."

Turning away, I mutter, "Damit!" under my breath.

(It will only get harder to forget)

Turning back, I smile as brightly as I can, and say "Welcome back to the land of the living, soon to be dead!"

(You can not lie forever)

He looks at me, then groans even louder. "Uhh...why does it have to be a little girl whose hands are covered in blood..."

Looking down, I see that my hands are, in fact, drenched with red stuff. "hehe, silly man! This is just berry juice, and not evidence that suggests that I was trying to murder you seconds ago! Hehe!"

(Sooner than you think, you will have to come to terms with yourself)

Looking at me with doubt, he makes sure to get a few feet away from me. "Of course, berry juice. And why are my friends hanging from a tree with vomit running from their noses?"

"hehe, we were playing a game! I definitely didn't torture them for the fun of it! Silly me!"

(You will have to accept the worst parts of yourself)

Sighing, Plain lies back down and closes his eyes. "Well, when you're done playing the game, get some sleep. I have the feeling tomorrow will be a busy day."

"Hehe, sure!" The frantically screaming and flailing troublemakers seemed unable to gain Plains attention, and finally resolve themselves to being the play things of a sadistic little girl. When they fell unconscious from the blood going to their head, I drew something on their chests, but I can't remember what...well, like Plain said, tomorrow will be a busy day! I want to finally see what a city looks like. I can't wait!

(You will have to accept the truth)

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Well, that's a wrap! remember, if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them, assuming the answer doesn't contain spoilers. Happy reading!

(You idiot, this is supposed to be about a depressed person)

Oh right...Thanks, bodiless voice!

(You're welcome) :)