Novels2Search
Two Before Dark
Chapter 1: Wide Awake

Chapter 1: Wide Awake

A boy around 17 years of age lay sound asleep in his single bed located perpendicular to a desk that had a digital alarm clock resting on top of it. An alarm clock that started to sound out a loud continuous drone for the next 30 seconds.

The boy continued to lie still. The alarm upped the ante and increased its volume adding periods of short pauses at random intervals in its song of discourse. The boy had enough, he hopped out of bed and threw the alarm clock at the wall.

'Another one bites the dust, well done.'

"Fuck sakes," he cursed as he picked up the now battered alarm clock. "That's the 'I've lost count-time' that's happened this month, amazing it even lasted this long."

The boy recalled all the times he had to buy new alarm clocks, so much cash would have been saved if only he got up on time. Well part of the reason he was so groggy at being woken up early was the fact that he only went to bed an hour ago.

He would often stay up during those unholy hours of the morning either reading an interesting book or doing one of many things on his smartphone wether that was searching the dark web for some weird and graphic shit or watching the next episode of the latest series or anime he'd been following it was no wonder he went through alarm clocks like immigrants went through borders. Shots fired, bullets dodged.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and made his way to the bathroom. After quickly showering and brushing his teeth he got dressed into a pair of black denim jeens coupled with a plain black leather belt, a long sleeved v-necked maroon shirt followed by a black hoodie with dark red lining and pair of white soled black sneakers with faint grey stripes running along the side.

He checked his appearance in the full length mirror. He had a very striking visage some would call strange and others handsome and unusual.

His skin was pale although not too pale for one of his condition, he had stark silver-white hair and blood red eyes plus his facial features were sharp, symmetrical and refined.

It was no surprise his classmates called him Dracula. Although he didn't really suffer from the usual ailments that plagued albinos, like bad eyesight and sensitivity to the sun.

He's eyesight was perfect and for the most part he never really spent much time under the sun, but when he did go to the beach he wasnt really bothered by the sun and never received any serious burns even after refusing to apply sunlotion in order to see the results.

After combing through his slightly damp hair, he grabbed a chocolate croissant from the refrigerator. He exited through his apartments front door and locked up behind him.

As he made his way to school bag slung over his shoulder and hood up, he though about his life so far as he chomped down upon his chocolate croissant. He had grown up under the care of his mother with little knowledge of his father, apart from the fact that he died in some accident.

She raised him like any single mother who cared for their child would, she was extremely hard working and they didn't seem to have any problems with cash, only later did he find out that they were being sent large amounts of money every month from an unknown contact. His mother read him stories and took him out to play and yet the boy seemed to show no strong feelings of love or attatchment to his mother.

It was only when she accidentally cut herself with a sharp knife and scream out in pain did the little boy feel happy. In fact it was the first time he had genuinely laughed.

His mother knew the boy was anything but normal. Aside from his uniquely rare appearance, the look that he had in his eyes at times when he thought she wasn't looking was unnerving to say the least. Although he also seemed to behave like a completely ordinary child befitting of his age at other times.

When the boy was barely 10 he had discovered the dark web, after watching a few horror movies he had done some research on how to access it and downloaded the browser and vpn to his smartphone.

There he spent some time exploring the darker side of the web using links he acquired through various forums. He was extremely intelligent for his age and knew what he was witnessing was against society's morals and ethics and yet still took pleasure in his indulgence of his new discovery.

3 years passed and the boy couldn't hold it anymore. He had been planning this for the last 3 years and was excited to get started.

That night his mother came home late and slightly drunk after hanging out with friends. She trusted her son enough to leave him alone as he was much more capable than kids years older than him. She got to her room and half undressed before laying down utop her duvet.

She woke up around 3 hours later to see her naked son standing above her head. She was startled and didn't know how to respond until she tried to move her arm which was cable tied to a poster of her bed, same for her other arm. Her head has tied with a thick rope to one of the columns that made up her head board and her raised legs were spread apart and each tied to a beam that connected the poster to the roof of the bed.

"What the hell are you doing!?" She demanded staring up at her son's dangling flower. "Untie me at once and put some clothes on!"

He ignored her demands and picked up a pair of scissors which he uses to cut apart and remove her clothes. She continued to protest as he bent down and started to suck her nipple. Even though she knew this was wrong she still couldn't stop herself from feeling slightly aroused, that is until he suddenly bit down on her nipple elucidating a short moan from her. That moan turned into a scream of anguish as he tore off the nipple from her breast.

"Aaaaaagh!! Fuck!! What the fucking fuck are you doing!?" she shrieked. This was the most pain she had ever experienced before. She glanced over at her son straining her neck and what she saw made her almost forget about the pain.

He had a twisted smile on his face made worse by the blood running down his mouth, his flower had turned into a branch and his eyes, his eyes had the look of a predator. Pupils dialated and staring intently at hers. She looked away but not before seeing a long object with wires taped around it. The boy had designed this after watching a few videos on YouTube.

It was a simple device, just an ordinary wooden baseball bat with the circuits of various arc lighters lined up along the length of the bat and connected to a single switch at the base. He turned it on before placing it on her thigh.

"Aaaaagh!" she screamed and spasmed as a jolt of electricity ran down her thigh. All the while the boy started laughing and as a look of primitive lust flashed through his eyes. He moved the bat above her folds and slammed it down holding it in place as she started rocking the bed uncontrollably in her spasms.

He couldn't take it anymore and, ignoring the slight smell of burnt flesh, he positioned himself with his branch above her folds and began inserting it up till his limit then pulling back and repeating.

As he repeatedly thrust into her soaked sex, he placed the bat above her ruined breast and laughed like a maniac as she screamed even louder. He continued on for sometime before he climaxed and drained his hose before pulling out and and climbing off the bed to a table that had an assortment of tools lined up on it. She had been reduced to a sobbing crying wreck begging for him to stop but he wasn't done yet, they had only just begun after all.

He picked up a needle, plastic thread and a can of deodorant coupled with a lighter. He returned sporting a huge loft-sided grin as he stared at the woman on her bed. The woman whose face was caked with dry tears and a mask of pure agony as he went to work.

Some time passed and the boy finally stopped. He got off the bed expression neutral from the moment she held her last breath.

For him there was no more fun to be had once she couldn't scream, once he couldn't hear her pain or see her face contort in agony. He was careful not to push her too far and tried to keep her alive, stopping when she began to reach the point of no return. But it seemed he got a bit too excited, one could hardly blame him as it was the first time he'd ever done this.

He looked at the unrecognizable figure on the bed. The body was burnt beyond recognition in several places, appendages were missing from her limbs and sowed onto random places over the body. There were various nails and pins sticking out of it and... The boy turned around and picked up a manual saw.

After the preperation he went to work and stuffed the remains along with the bloodied sheets into a tripled up black bag. He then piled it up with ordinary household trash and took it to the dump. He returned to the room and began the clean-up.

Weeks passed, then months and then years. Nobody asked questions about his missing mother, in fact nobody seemed to remember he even had a mother. The large sums of money were still being sent every month and no further questions were raised. Soon the incident became a distant memory that brought a genuine smile to his face every time he recalled it.

'Good times, good times haha.'

The adolescent finished his croissant with a gleeful thought on his mind as he crossed the street. Off to the corner of his eye someone waved to him and yelled at him to watch out. He was on high alert as he noticed a speeding truck coming his way. He started to turn but realised he was too late.

'Well fuck, hope I get reincarnated somewhere cool,' he thought as he heard the loud horn of the truck as it smacked straight into him. For a brief moment everything went dark and he felt a tingling sensation in his body then light as he could see again.

He found himself still standing in middle of the street, the truck was directly behind him and still continued speeding before knocking some random teen crossing the road as it crashed into a department store at the end of the street. He looked on in a daze wondering what the hell just happened as the tingling sensation stopped and he was hit with a sudden exhaustion causing him to wobble slightly as he half stumbled towards the sidewalk.

'Hehehe well wasn't that a close call?'

He took in deep breath, composed himself and started walking slowly to school.

The man who shouted at him, having momentarily forgotten about the teen in black who passed straight through the large truck, went to join the crowd of rubbernecks that were forming around the wreckage. Later he would recall that specific incident and in his memory there would be teen dressed in black quickly dodging out the way of the moving vehicle.

The person in question was pondering over what happened as he walked through the front gates to his high school. It seemed to him that he somehow managed to become intangible, like special abilities of characters he saw in games and movies, which enabled him to pass through solid objects. He didn't know how it worked but he'd be sure to try some experimentation later. All in all he was pretty excited about this new development. So much so that he forget he was running late for class. After checking the time and quietly cursing, he quickly jogged to his first lesson of the day.

He stood outside the door to the classroom, knocked twice and entered while lowering his hood.

"Apologies for being late sir, there was an accident involving a speeding truck just two blocks away. I stopped to have a look and lost track of time," he said while looking at the middle aged man at the front of the classroom.

"Ahh Mr. Strider I was beginning to wonder where you were, you're usually not one for tardiness but now I see. Have a seat and take out your books, you haven't missed much," replied the teacher as he turned to continue writing down examples on the board.

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The teen sat down in a seat by the window and took out his books while ignoring the various looks from his classmates. He'd been going to school with most of them for the past few years and they still couldn't seem to get used to his looks, not that he really minded but it was troublesome when he wanted to go unnoticed.

"Hey Dracula you saw that crash too right? I saw the wrecked shop while riding past on my bike, shit looked crazy man," said the boy sitting in the desk directly in front of him after turning to face him.

"Yeah I was there when it all happened, the truck driver's breaks were probably faulty. I hope nobody got fatally injured though, else this would truly be something of a travesty," 'Dracula' replied as he turned his head to stare out the window.

After attending a couple more lessons, the school siren rang, causing most of his classmates to jump in fright as it signalled the start of lunch break. His school had just added on a new wing to the main building for extra classrooms and facilities.

The only problem was that the school had yet to install a new bell into the extension, and temporarily opted for a siren that sounded uncannily like the annual warning siren from, 'The Purge'.

He stood up and began to make his way to the cafeteria which was really more of a private restaurant than a buffet style Taco Tuesday kind of place. While in the hallway he spotted two boys from his grade 'talking' to a smaller boy from one of the lower grades.

The boy on the left was leaning up against a locker and every now and then discretely  looking around the hallway. He was shorter in comparison to his friend on the right, but was undoubtedly stockier. He had short cropped blond hair and wore a black and white letterman jacket.

His companion on the right wore blue jeans and a white hoodie which contrasted with his dark skin and hair, which was styled to the back in cornrows. He had a confident smile resting on his handsome face as he casually rested his hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

The younger boy quickly handed him something which he quickly pocketed before sending the kid off with a pat on his back.

The two older boys stopped and nodded at 'Dracula' as he continued on his way to the cafeteria.

As soon as he entered the chatter quieted down slightly as he made his way to an empty table with four seats in total. He sat down and not long after that a lady arrived with a bunch of menus handing one to him, before asking what he'd like to drink.

"I'd like a dry lemon please, and I'm expecting some company so you can and a coke, a bottle of carbonated water and a fanta," he said as he looked through the menu and decided to add a large plate of ravioli pasta to his order.

'I'd like a good old cheeseburger myself'

He'd been feeling quite hungry in addition to the exhaustion ever since the truck incident. He might order more later but this would do for now.

He began to think about the incident and that feeling he felt but was interrupted from his thoughts by a voice coming from a person walking towards his table.

"Hey man, thanks for reserving the table this time," said a boy wearing a plain white shirt and blue denim jeans to match. He had short messy brown hair and eyes of the same colour.

"No problem, I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up, Carter."

Carter sat down across from him while replying.

"Yeah well, Jenn said she was feeling sorta sick so I waited with her at the nurse's before she went home, then I had to help Ms. Fowler carry some papers to the staff room while she gave me a speech on how more students should be like me. I didn't really mind, as you know she's quite young for a teacher and a real hot one that, don't tell Jenn I said that," Carter said as he lowered his voice at the end to whisper.

"Don't worry mate, I won't tattle."

The waitress arrived and started setting down the drinks.

"You already ordered drinks? Thanks man!"

"Yeah thought I might as well order for us all while I waited," He then turned to face the waitress. "Sorry for the inconvenience but we won't be needing the fanta anymore."

"Oh, no problem at all," the waitress replied as she picked up the fanta and asked if Carter was ready to order.

"I think I'll have the 250g sirloin steak please"

The waitress left as Carter took a drink from the bottle. He then saw the extra can on the table.

"That coke's for Christa isn't it?" Asked Carter.

"That's correct, why're you asking?"

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you that she has a dance practice today so she won't be available for both lunch breaks."

"That so? I'll just ask the waitress to take it back when she serves my meal," he said while sipping on his dry lemon.

"So Cael, will you be coming to that gym session today? Tristan has a full core and leg workout prepared for today." Carter said as he looked at his friend.

"As much as I'd love to, I'll have to skip today's session unfortunately. I have some prior arrangements to complete." Cael replied as the waitress returned setting down his plate of pasta.

"Aw damn, oh well, be sure to stop by my house tomorrow. My sister has something she wants to give you for helping out at the shelter last week."

"Christa has something for me? Sure I guess I could if I have the time."

"Great" Carter said as looked around for the waitress with his steak.

The day went on and soon enough school came to an end. After saying his goodbyes to his friends and various acquaintances Cael began to make his way home but was stopped outside the school by the two boys from the hallway. The one with the letterman jacket's name was Kevin and the one with cornrows was Chad. They lead Cael to an alleyway nearby.

Chad approached Cael and stopped as he reached into his pocket and produced a bundle of notes.

"Here's our payment for the week, we're around a couple bucks short but we'll make that up by adding a few extra next week." said Chad as he handed Cael the bundle.

Cael said nothing as he counted the notes. Both Chad and Kevin were beset with an apprehensive silence as they waited for Cael to dismiss them.

"You know, I'm little disappointed," Cael drawled as he counted the bills. "I trusted you two would be able to provide the exact amount every week. Do you remember the last time this happened?" Cael asked as Chad and Kevin avoided his gaze.

"Do I need to remind you of what happens when I'm not in a good mood?"

"N-No sir," Kevin spoke up with a shaky voice.

Cael turned his attention to Kevin.

"Ahh Kevin. How's your sister doing? Haven't seen her these past two days. You know, I walked her home the other day, dunno what she was doing out so late. I mean there's all kinds of dangerous people out at night and I just happened to be taking a stroll. We had a nice conversation on the way. She seems to have a crush on me, such a nice girl really," Cael paused and noticed Kevin's fists start to shake, he place one hand in the pocket of his hoody.

"We passed quite a few dark alleyways much like the one we're in now. It would be a considerable shame if she were to suddenly follow me into one for some hot and heavy one on one time only to never be heard from again."

That seemed to be last straw as Kevin cursed out loud and flung his fist in a rage fueled left hook.

Cael was ready for it, and proceeded to catch his arm with of his. He then pulled back his right fist, which was now wielding a steel a knuckle duster, and struck with all his force on the back of Kevin's elbow.

There was a sickening pop as Kevin's humorous dislocated from his ulna. He dropped to his knees but was hoisted up by Cael and pressed against the wall with Cael's hand tightly gripping his neck.

"Why are you so mad Kevin? It was just a hypothetical scenario. Although she also said I should give her call sometime. Do you think I should listen to her?" Cael asked Kevin, whose face had turned completely red as tears stained his cheeks and snot ran down his face.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood today," Cael stated in a tone of indifference that matched his current facial expression.

Cael released Kevin who started gasping and sputtering for air. He turned back to face Chad who stayed in the exact spot he was in before.

"Congrats, you've managed to get a pass this time. I'll be expecting that extra payment next time," He said as he pulled up his hood while passing Chad.

He walked out onto the mostly empty sidewalk feeling a semblance of satisfaction. He had first met those two a few years ago in the boys locker room, they and previously dissrespected him and tried threaten and extort cash from until things took a turn for the worst.

Now they were responsible for paying him a certain amount every week, or risk the consequences.

Cael eventually arrived outside the door to his apartment and instead of unlocking it he looked around to make sure no one was watching him and tried to call upon the sensation he felt earlier. After a few seconds he felt it. His body began tingling again. That was really the best way he could describe this feeling.

'Here goes' he thought as he stepped towards, and amazingly through his closed front door. Cael started to get excited but calmed down as the tingling sensation started to fade and then shut down only to be replaced with an extreme exhaustion all in a couple of seconds. He fell to the ground and lay there for a while not moving before coming too, a few second later.

"Seems there's a toll on my body based on the number of times I use this ability in a single day and how long I stay 'phase shifted' for a certain period time," he said aloud as he carefully got to his feet.

"I'll do some more experimentation tommorow to test this theory but as of right now I shouldn't 'shift' more than two times a day and stay shifted for periods longer than 4 seconds. Not bad for a birthday gift even though my 18th's tomorrow."

'Shit, I think it's time to go to bed early for once' he thought to himself as he plonked his body on top of his bed and promptly fell asleep.

He slept through the afternoon and continued to sleep not moving a muscle, until sometime after midnight when something unusual happened.

'Time to wake up, Cael, or should I say son? It is your birthday after all and I have a few gifts to present to you.'