do you remember?

the sun rays piercing through your skin.

the sweet scent of blood dripping from her strained fingers.

the way she held that sword, slashing, thrusting, twisting, the way the wind shrieked at her will.

the way she said your name.... your....name............marcy...... Marcy.... Marcy...MArcy.......MARCY.....MARCY!!!!

"MALLORY!!!!"

"Huh..." a scream could be heard from behind the door "Arghh come on...NOT AGAIN! MALLORY!!"

I stood up from the bed and quickly opened the door to the rented room "Yes...." an old woman was wearing a ragged dress and a ragged frown "THIS IS IT, I don't CARE that you pay extra to be woken up on time! and for some FUCKING REASON, you yell ALMOST EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! I am sick and tired of you making our clients demand a refund the next morning!! so, pack your things and get OUT!"

the old woman stomped away after slamming the door shut, God dammit, this was the only place I could afford. Mallory stepped into the shower and turned the valve, making hot water flow from the bottom of the bathtub, filling it in no time. I paid good money for this room; I might as well make the most of it.... I still had some time before the job he filled the bucket with hot water and poured it on his head, he scrubbed his light-colored body, a firm body filled with scars and burns, there wasn't a limb of his body that hadn't been kissed by violence and war, he closed his eyes enjoying the feeling of his muscles relaxing, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sense of peace, the feeling that had been lost long ago and rarely showed itself for mere instances, he thought about the mundane hardships he has been dealing with, and soon followed the nightmares that haunt him, but no, this was his time to break free, even if just for a few minutes, he was so relaxed that time seemed to stop just for him, unfortunately, time stops for no one, not for him.

huh? Did I fall asleep? he stared at the floor, a floor that looked just like the bathtub he was in, an overflowing bathtub, ........shhhhit...... he quickly got out of the bathroom not before turning off the valve that had allowed him to slightly flood the room whatever, I was already going to get kicked out.... .... wasn't I supposed to be somewhere? right then he realized that he was supposed to be somewhere "god.... DAMIT!" he quickly packed his belongings in a backpack resembling a brown cocoon after hastily dressing up "MALLORY!!!!!!" after hearing that horrid scream, he knew he had to leave "WHY IS WATER COMMING FROM YOUR FLOOR!!!" he could hear the woman's screams getting closer and closer and without a second thought, he opened the window and immediately jumped from the second floor onto the ground, running towards the outskirt of the town he had stumbled upon a few months ago, his next destination, a residence in which he was supposed to be at about fifteen minutes ago to do his job as a cheap sword instructor...

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

After running for 7 minutes straight, he finally got to the outskirts of the city, a place in which the lower middle-class community resided, he knocked on the door of one of the residency only to find himself being cussed for obvious reasons

"so it's you... do you know what time it is...it's been 22 minutes! not only do you make my son hurt himself during your so-called 'training' in which all you do is sit there and watch him swing that stupid wooden sword for 2 hours, but you also arrive 22 whole minutes late! do you not have shame!!!, I knew a backwater teacher who didn't even have a hunter's license would accomplish anything! You are nothing but a filthy commoner who thinks he is smart enough to keep scamming us! NOW GET OUT OF HERE AND NEVER COME BACK! if you dare come near this residence ever again.... my husband will show you what a true warrior looks like!"

the young woman slammed the door with all the strength she could muster and left as quickly as she closed the door oh great...now the only income I had is gone, tch.... I'll wonder around again, I'd rather eat monsters and sleep on the floor than having to deal with anyone slamming the door on me one more time. Mallory walked through town while thinking whether he should spend his last copper coins on a new knife and rope or keep it in case he encountered a wandering merchant while in the wilderness. "Officer! there he is! that's the filthy pig who left without paying!" he could recognize the screams of the old lady who kept raising the price of his room every time she got tired of him SHIT! this town is driving me crazy......you know what, I am out of this shit hole! Mallory ran in the opposite direction while the 3 officers that were behind him sprinted towards his direction "Stop right there thief!" "He went toward the alleyway!" "This isn't his first offense!" the officers dressed in leather armor wearing a hat with the symbol of a roster were closing the distance while preparing their lances, "he went to the right!" Mallory kept running through the maze-like suburbs while creating obstacles with the piles of trash and empty boxes that filled the place, "captain! he is going towards a dead end!" shouted one of the officers "All right.... slowly surround him and apprehend him, don't hesitate to use force..." the officers slowly walked toward the poorly lit alleyway without making a single noise "surrender yourself now, if you don't show yourself for even a single second, we won't hesitate to paralyze you" the officers kept walking towards the darkness in a triangle formation while pointing their lances at the darkness "hmm...I don't see anything... did he somehow escape...? officers...?" the captain turned backward to realize both of his soldiers.... we're missing.... suddenly... it started drizzling.... but it hardly rains during this season.... and.......it never rains...........RED.....

The officer's body completely paralyzed by the sudden fear had no other choice but to look up, he then realized it wasn't red water that was falling from the sky... but the blood of his subordinates falling down their orifices while being strangled to death by a monster......or a man...