CHAPTER 10
The First Day of Hell
---
The sky was blue that day.
Birds chirped.
The sun cast golden rays on the campus rooftop.
Somewhere below, students laughed, gossiped, lived.
But for Naoki, time had stopped.
He had become a ghost.
Dragged. Silenced. Erased.
No one noticed.
No one asked.
The teachers? Looked the other way.
The students? Pretended not to see.
Because if they did—
They'd be next.
---
The Four who came for him that day were grinning.
Kane led the charge.
With those heavy footsteps and fists that could shatter bone.
Yue, her eyes as dead as glass, twirled a knife between her fingers, bored and calm.
Renzo brought the camera again.
Always grinning.
Always whispering, "This angle's gold."
And Mira, cruel and immaculate, walked behind them like she was going shopping.
---
They didn't bring him back to the gym.
No.
They had a different place.
The Lair.
A rundown janitor's storage room in the back of the old building.
Locked. Hidden.
Walls peeled, lights flickered, mold clung to the ceiling.
The perfect place to keep something that wasn't human anymore.
Naoki.
---
They stripped him again.
Left him with nothing but ropes biting into his wrists and duct tape around his ankles.
He was laid flat against the cold cement floor, arms stretched and tied to two rusted metal pipes.
His eyes were swollen from the night before.
His lips dry.
And still—
No one came.
---
"Morning, puppy," Renzo chirped. "Look alive."
He turned on the camera.
Red light blinked.
Naoki shut his eyes.
Tried to disappear.
Tried to be anywhere—anywhere else.
But Mira crouched and slapped his face.
"Uh uh," she said, voice sugar-sweet. "We need those big nerdy eyes wide open. I like watching them squirm."
Kane rolled his shoulders.
"Let's warm up."
He cracked his knuckles.
Then—
The first punch hit Naoki in the ribs.
A loud crack echoed.
Pain shot up his chest like lightning.
He gasped.
Not a scream.
Just a soft, choking gasp.
Yue yawned.
"You're too nice, Kane. Let me draw on him while you work."
She took out a red marker.
Scribbled all over Naoki's face.
Words. Symbols.
"DOG." "CLOWN." "TOY."
A crude smile over his lips.
Kane continued.
Fist after fist.
Naoki's skin bloomed purple and black.
---
In his mind, he screamed.
"Why? Why is this happening to me?"
"What did I do? What did I ever do to deserve this?"
"Is there even a god?"
"Did I sin by being born?"
And then—
A memory.
Clear.
Sudden.
One year ago.
The corridor was crowded.
Angelyn had passed him in the hallway.
Someone bumped into her.
She staggered.
Naoki tried to help—he reached out—
And his hand accidentally pulled down her face mask.
Time froze.
He had seen it.
The face beneath.
Her decayed teeth.
Her uneven, blotched skin.
The acne.
The real Angelyn.
Not the untouchable queen.
Not the idolized beauty.
Just an insecure, broken girl hiding behind a mask.
And her eyes when she realized what he saw—
Fury. Humiliation. Hatred.
He remembered now.
It started then.
It all started then.
---
Kane's boot slammed into his stomach.
Naoki gasped again.
Blood spilled from his lips.
"Don't die yet," Mira purred. "We just started."
Yue had drawn dog ears on his forehead now.
She giggled.
"I want to cut his hair next."
"Get in line," Kane muttered, wiping blood from his knuckles. "Still gotta fix his other arm."
Naoki turned his head weakly.
Tried to look away from the camera.
Renzo laughed.
"No no, don't be shy. Smile for us, doggie."
He pressed the camera closer.
Closer.
"Let's hear a bark," Mira said.
No response.
Kane hit him again.
Naoki's head slammed back into the concrete.
"Bark."
More blood.
No sound.
They laughed.
Mira bent close, whispered in his ear.
"Your mom's not dead. But when she wakes up, she'll be just like you."
Naoki's eyes widened.
Tears welled up.
Not from the pain anymore.
From the truth.
They were going to destroy everything.
His family.
His soul.
His identity.
And no one was going to stop them.
---
"Let's call it a warm-up," Kane said.
He stretched.
His fists were dripping red.
"I'll bring the bat tomorrow."
Yue tossed the marker dow
n.
She licked her fingers.
"I want his nails next time."
Mira smiled.
Renzo turned the camera off.
They walked out laughing.
Naoki lay there.
Tied.
Broken.
Staring at the ceiling that dripped like it wept with him.
---
To be continued…