In the end, It took Daniel almost an hour to figure out where the folks were headed… Though most of that time is actually wasted because those in front were always stumbling along the way and there are just too many stops for them to rest, since they had not recovered yet from their drunkenness, not even a bit. But for Daniel, it all paid off with what he could peek at from behind an old iron fence where he was hiding at the moment.

As he discovered an abandoned public cemetery on the very outskirts of the city which was far from any settlements, had been used by a street gang as a place for them to set up some camps and a bonfire in the middle, to provide sole illumination in an area where no one was present other than the two dozen of them and one stalker from a distance.

However, these were indeed the same group of people that burnt down the housing complex at which Daniel had resided two months prior… Proven by the same jacket worn by each one of them and even though at that time their faces were all covered with masks, Daniel was certain with his own poor memory that the voice of the person who murdered his father was the same as that of the gang leader he met at the internet cafe... Just right when some poor young random person intervened during the argument and then out of nowhere had his own personal interest in taking Daniel’s place for a sword duel with one of the gang members… Yet died because it wasn't actually the honorable one-on-one battle he had long hoped for like in some generic action movies he probably often watched.

Instead it was just a mere real life savage massacre with no rules that everyone other than himself could predict would definitely happen to anybody who is foolish enough to pick a fight with such delinquents.

And while the boy was still rewinding all of those memories of his own from the incident at the internet cafe, suddenly he jolted to his senses when someone's voice was heard shouting at the other… The real one that he had only hoped to hear and no one else's, but he couldn't see the face.

So then Daniel decided to circle the public cemetery along the outer fence until slowly but surely, starting from the tip of the nose to the collar of the man's jacket, Daniel’s target gradually appeared from behind the trees and the tent curtain… Face of the man responsible for the death of his father and mother and all of his feelings of emptiness up to this moment.

Yet surprisingly, out of nowhere the boy departed the place with ease and serenity.

With hands in pockets and head bowed down, he determined to walk away; instead visiting the rubble land full of charcoal and dust that he thought he would never return to in like forever.

Gazing at the destruction while not being the slightest careless of whatever he was standing on. As if he intended to look for something buried in the black dust, although knowing that whatever it was, the shape would not provide him with anything beneficial.

But he's still looking for the thing and indeed he finally found it. Or at least he seemed optimistic that the small black piece of board he had in his own hand was indeed all that remained from what used to be his old smartphone, given to him by his elder sister even though it was just a fact that Daniel lacked the effort to keep the screen intact without any cracks.

However, simply finding it is all that matters to him… So Daniel decided to take another step. Intending to make it back home, when suddenly his left foot stumbled on something that was neither wood nor concrete debris. But a flat piece of iron that was sharp on one side.

A machete full of rust which lost its wooden handle owing to the fire, the one Daniel had previously used against the masked gang members yet failed miserably to even land a single blow to anyone. And that actually becomes an impetus for the boy to avenge his prior failure this time… Even though he is well aware of how he will end up killing himself if not worse, but fortunately, he has no concern with demise that comes from himself nor from the others.

As he muttered to nobody, “Just once… I just need to get it right, to hurt them once with this blade and that’ll be all… I don’t need anything else.”

~~~~~

So then night turned into morning… But the boy still felt that his own mind wouldn't let him fall asleep, nor to feel hungry, or even to hear any noises coming out of the speaker that are from his own music playlist.

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Like how he also let many calls from a number saved as 'the girl of your choosing' to pass by without him responding back to it. Instead he sat quietly in the bathtub while winding bandages around the handle of the machete… Accompanied by a jerry can of petrol, a backpack containing two bottles of vodka and a small lighter which were all lying beside him, as he waited for the chimes of the house's antique clock to sound at three o'clock in the morning on the same day he had crossed off on the calendar.

And only after that did he depart from the house, leaving his new yet cheap smartphone on the sofa whilst carrying his burnt old smartphone in his pocket, merely as a good luck charm for what’s about to come.

Until Daniel then arrived at the graveyard, with the number of folks in the spot still remaining perfectly the same as when he left them just a night before… Aside from the only difference being that none of the people were still awake, making it easier for him to quietly douse the surrounding tent which was swarmed by a lot of dead trees with gasoline creating a circle, but without any other plan or tricks at hand that he had to use to start the fire later from afar, when he actually needed the fire to burn the gasoline spread he just made.

“And that only applies if the dead twigs and grass can actually burn, at least before the petrol evaporates…”

“Also, what if it turns out that the fire isn't as big as I thought it would, and those people can just hop over it to get out of here?”

Whispering to himself, Daniel scratched his chin as he looked at the masterpiece he had already created.

“Man, this plan sucks…”

Yet because he had put in all that vain effort while he remained unnoticed, the boy decided to just move on, continue sneaking even further… Checking each tent until he finally found inside one of them, the gang leader and three other people were sleeping soundly, stuffy from the strong scent of alcohol and still with many bottles of liquor in each hand. Seemed to have spent the whole afternoon getting drunk and high on drugs just like they did every day.

Something that Daniel acknowledged as an absolute advantage, to at least kill one person in their sleep before awakening the rest… And of course it’ll be none other than the gang leader himself, whom Daniel would undoubtedly choose to be the only one to die by his own hand before the others eventually burn to death, along with the boy still as the fire starter somehow… And later on if such is not the case, Daniel will merely accept the defeat and torture that he will receive from anyone at once.

So then he got his machete ready, raised up high, intending to slash the man's throat but Daniel held his breath for far too long… He suddenly became hesitant.

~~~~~

“Hey boss! Hear me out this time… I swear I smelled gasoline all around us, just when I was about to pee in the corner right over there. If you don’t believe me, then I think maybe you should… Wait… What are you doing?!”

Someone stepped from behind the curtain with his drowsy face abruptly changing into one of fear, right when he spotted Daniel's unwanted presence standing as if he was an executioner for the man’s leader’s head, without noticing that the boy had actually become helpless because of his own reluctance to finish what he himself had started. Though as a result of realizing he was now in a bad situation, Daniel opted to quickly swing his machete forward… But unfortunately the other person's shout earlier, had opened the man's eyes with his hands reflexively moving to protect his own neck from something he didn't even know for certain what it actually was, or definitely not until the thing sparked and split in two with a small cut on his arm as a fair reward. Which shocked Daniel to the point of gaping at the results he just got, something that he had never in the least expected would happen to his machete.

And as if that wasn't even enough, the boy's body was then flung backwards by a kick from the gang leader who also utilized the same force in his legs to make himself stand firmly in front of his ambusher, while his friend shouted to wake everyone up and be alert with their surroundings.

“Who… Who are you?! Who sent you here?!”

The man spoke in his own semi-conscious state of mind, either because he had just woken up or because he was still drunk after drinking many bottles of liquor before falling asleep… Looking at the one that was still trying as hard as he could to get back up from where he had been kicked down to the ground, yet Daniel still dared to give an answer as he said, “You know me.”

“Hah? Yeah, you’re goddamn right that I know who the fuck you are…”

The man responded while rubbing his eyes which were still trying to close again, even after the sudden onslaught he had just suffered.

”But if you think you can beat me even with your bitch move, you plainly have no idea who you're up to!” The man said all the sentences with many hiccups between each word as his body swayed left and right and his gaze also often fell downwards… All of which made Daniel feel that he might actually be able to win if only he could be just a little faster this time.

That's why with saying no words, the boy sped forward. Placing his hopes on barely half of his machete blade remaining, yet swinging haphazardly while not planning any of his next move nor with any technique embedded whatsoever.

So it's just not that surprising, that none of the boy's attacks struck anything but thin air and a few bits of the tent sheet, since each of it was easily dodged by the inebriated gang leader who instead laughed before catching and squeezing Daniel's right hand then flinging him out into the middle of the camp… Surrounded by many delinquents that were just as intoxicated as the others, having been forced out of their sleep and stood guard by their pals who were so sure that Daniel was not that brave enough to come alone to the place they themself called as a wolf's den.

~~~~~