Chapter 002

Engraved in the Heart

"Momma!" squealed the boy as he collapsed down onto his knees and tried shaking her awake.

“Hey! What was that” yelled a man from the other room. The man's booming, raspy voice caused the boy’s grip to tremble and slip off. He froze like a wild animal, sniffing the ominous air. The man's steps clobbered the floor like he was 8 feet tall. Sweat oozed down his face like the blood that dripped into a puddle.

“Hey! Get a load of this! The two big rats had a baby rat.” Yelled the man as his loud, clanking footsteps marched towards the door.

The door creaked open. The light plunged into the boy's eyes like spears. His legs shivered as if the man froze him with his glaring eyes. The boy dropped to his knees with a loud thud. He was rooted in the ground like a sapling. But he needed to protect his parents. He couldn't stand here trembling like this. He needed to act.

“You know, I’ve been feeling kind of stressed lately.” remarked the man as a devious grin struck his face like he was wearing an overstretched mask. The light was so bright that the boy could only make out the man's outline. It looked like he wore a tattered cloak.

The boy stumbled while trying to rise onto his feet. He put his arms out. He would have screamed, "Don't hurt my mommy" if his voice hadn’t quivered.

The man stuck his left leg into the ground like a sword, winded up his body, and released a dead-shot kick, hurled into the boy’s stomach. The smirk never left his face. The boy was launched across the room. Ripples appeared in his shirt like waves in the ocean as his shrimpy body slammed into the wall. He collapsed onto the floor, shattering the rose vase. The shards sparkled on the floor like fairy dust.

The boy hurled a piercing scream, his body quivered, and his heart ached. His eyes lay motionless like he was already dead. Just let me join Mommy and Daddy already. You disgusting, stupid, idiot, murderer.

The boy wanted to protect what he had left as all humans do. It’s natural to never give up things you treasure, even for the right price. What was wrong with that?

But as the blood was drilled out of him and his body felt like a dog’s stuffed animal, he realized that everything he cared about had slipped through his hands like sand. His dreams, his parents, his life… all gone.

He could already feel a part of him leaving behind. It was a special part of him. It had just ripped itself out and left with his parents. As his parents walked into the light, this part of him caught up to them. He leaped onto his father’s back as their laughter faded into the distance. But he was still left in the cold grasp of the shadows.

Why…

Why did this happen? What had he done to deserve this? He tried not to ask for more food when he was already full. He tried to listen to his parents, even when he disagreed. He tried to choose the path that would help not just himself, but also his friends and family.

I don’t deserve this

I don’t deserve this

I don’t deserve this

I don’t deserve this

I don’t deserve this

I don’t deserve this

I don’t deserve this

Had he done something to deserve this? Had he messed up? Had his parents messed up and caused him to pay the price? No, his parents were always caring for him. They couldn’t have done something. It had to be him. But what?

The boy’s blinded eyes had adjusted to see the snickering man. He was wearing a tattered cloak with some sort of symbol on the back that the boy couldn’t fully see. He had ash grey hair and carried himself like a warrior. The thick scent of blood clouded the room as the boy's glass was running out of sand.

“I do feel kind of bad, but maybe if your parents weren’t such nuisances,” bellowed the man, “maybe one more time!” His leg winded up. It was just a kick, but it resembled a cannon shot to the boy. The boy scrambled out of the way, scratching the wooden floor. However, the man was too quick to let his little rat escape.

The man uncoiled his body, aiming his leg at the boy’s face. The boy shrieked in horror and ducked, covering his head with his arms. It could have easily blown his head off had the man not stopped his kick right in front of the boy’s head. The boy was still launched back in fear, as he had just witnessed his death and his reaction was 5 seconds leg.

He crashed into the wall behind him, but the stinging on didn’t bother him. The boy had a hundred nails impaled into him already; another two or three nails wouldn’t make a difference.

“That was hilarious!” cackled the man with grey hair, mimicking the boy’s reaction, “Try to stay alive for a bit longer you piece of shit! You even smell like a corpse.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Quit it.” uttered a silhouette of a man in a soothing voice that sent shivers drilling into the boy. “We’re professionals, not murderers.”

The silhouette stepped into the light, carrying something out that the boy couldn’t make out. This man had slicked back, forest green hair and a scar that concealed both of his eyes. He was wearing the same cloak that the other man was. He carried himself in a professional manner similar to the boy’s father.

“Why are you stopping my fun? And I’m being professional, getting rid of the witnesses and all of that.” vomited the gray-haired man.

Infighting was good for the boy. It means they weren't united and perhaps they—like everyone else—hid their values under their calm faces. Also, they were distracted, maybe this was the boy’s chance. His chance to avenge his parents, and to fulfill his new-found destiny.

When the gray-haired man threw his fist at him and stopped it a few inches from his nose to make the green-haired man flinch, he didn't even blink.

“Well, you're the boss.” The gray-haired man turned his face towards the boy again. “Hey brat I’ve had enough fun, your blood is making me sick. Just go and die on a street, that way you can join your parents.”

He took one last glance at the green-haired man and grunted, storming out the door.

The green-haired man sighed in exhaustion. He leaned up against the wall and muttered something, but it was muffled. His vision became woozy and his brain echoed a sharp pain ringing into his head.

He began strolling over to the boy’s parents. He knelt in front of them to further examine them as if he could gaze through his scar.

“How fitting,” muttered the green-haired man. The light rested on his snow-white skin. He wore a warm smile like he was reminiscing with the boy’s parents. His voice was reclusive, unlike the other man’s raspy voice. They were almost polar opposites.

He stood back up and walked across the room to where the boy was shriveled up under the dining table. He glanced at the boy and stared in disgust. A venomous grin began wiping away the friendly smile he was wearing earlier.

“What type of pathetic being are you? Can you even see your parents? They were people worthy of being called my enemy! Your mother was something special too. Really. Her abilities were so annoying. It almost made me joyful—which is absolutely an abhorrent feeling—when she screamed as I punctured a hole through your stomach.” He cackled as deranged laughter bounced around the room. He covered his wicked smile and violent eyes with his hands.

He’s crazy

But the man was right. The boy was useless. He couldn't protect his parents

“Sorry, I slipped up there. Can you do me a favor and forget that?” he insisted, his face suddenly breaking into the pleasant façade.

"And you aren't completely useless. You are the only reason your parents couldn't escape. They would have easily survived if they were on their own. But you were here too. Ohhhh! How I wish I could see their faces again when I pointed my spear at your powerless body. Your father got so angry. He must have actually loved you. That's surprising considering the man he used to be. But that was an awe-inspiring moment for me. Quite a life-changing moment for me in fact. It would have been nice to kill them in combat, but they were just too strong. Can you imagine the look on their faces when they surrendered but I still impaled you with my spear?!" he squawked, his smile extending off his face.

“You won’t, will you?” grunted the green-haired man. He spat onto the boy’s face, “You know what, your parents actually stood a chance at harming me. But you? You’re nothing. You don’t deserve to be called their son. By the time your father was your age, he was already saving lives.”

The green-haired man was right. He was useless, he would have punched himself if he had any strength left. He couldn’t protect his family. He couldn’t save his parents. They gave him something worse than death, they spared him and in a world where he now has nothing. They humiliated him.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t be something great! That’s why I repaired your broken, doll-like body!” cheered the green-haired man as if he was two sides of a coin.

Immediately, his face snapped into the shallow smile with a deep piercing voice like he couldn’t control it. His head jolted like he was throwing his head into the cold-wooden floor.

“Be warned though, I’m keeping your life tied to a string that could be easily cut” muttered the man as he motioned a scissor with his fingers. “So make sure to put on a big show. One that tops your parents.”

The green-haired man latched the boy and tossed him onto his back like a sack of dirt and grime. The boy tugged on the green-haired man’s cloak but could barely keep his hand clutched.

“Help my mama and papa please” The boy quivered. He was useless, but his parents needed help that he couldn’t provide. Maybe, just maybe, the green-haired man could heal them. “I want them to smile again so we can have fun.”

“Poor boy.” He muttered sarcastically. He squatted and leaned in so close that the boy felt drips of saliva from his snake-like tongue. He clasped onto the boy’s head and started cranking it like the boy was a toy, aiming it towards the boy’s parents.

“I want you to take a look at your parents, okay? Take one good look at them. See them smile? They’re smiling—without you.”

Why. Mommy, Daddy, tell me why. Why are you leaving me here? Is death really that happy? Can I join you so we can play again?

Death couldn’t be happy. At least not for him. He needed to avenge them. That was the only way the boy could die in peace.

“Well… best to not let you die,” he said grabbing the boy out from under the table. The boy wanted to squirm and stay with his mom and dad, but he realized that they left him already. There was nothing here.

The green man strolled out the door with a carefree feeling in each step. The shadows crept on the boy's skin, but the boy laid silent the entire way. They made their way to some sort of building. The green-haired man lifted the boy and plopped him by the front door.

Then, the shadows rose and shrouded his body from his legs up. He gave one last smile as he faded into the darkness.

The boy struggled to get up as his arms quivered like buildings in an earthquake. The door creaked open and a light shone out from inside the building.

“What happened to you?” a voice asked from inside the building. “Do you have a name?”

“It–... my name is– La.. Lac’en,” declared the boy, his voice quivering. He needed to survive. Otherwise, his parents would never be happy. “I’m sorry, but can I come in?”

That’s right. That greasy, hound-like, muddy farm animal, green-haired murderer is wrong. Mom and Dad will never be happy leaving me behind.

“Already apologizing on our first meeting? There’s nothing to apologize for. Your just a kid after all.”

A kid? What kid gets to see their parents get stabbed? Aren’t kids supposed to be carefree and happy? What do I do with this empty body that is now full of burning rage?

I want Mama and Papa.