Darkness... All I see is darkness.
The tar-like substance clung to every part of my body; it felt heavy and suffocating. I tried to move, to save myself, but as the tar-like substance slipped into my mouth, my body twitched in pain, and I couldn't breathe.
But my body wouldn't move. The darkness restrained me, causing my body to shake in agony as the tar filled me completely. My organs felt crushed, my bones broken, and my body stretched to accommodate more of the viscous black tar. I felt myself slowly approaching certain death. But...
I didn't die. I wanted it to stop. I couldn't die; I just wanted the suffering to end. I wanted to die.
Please... someone... help me.
---
*Ring* *Ring*
An alarm rang inside an apartment, where a figure could be seen sleeping on the bed, tossing and turning. Suddenly, Jason opened his eyes and sat up, panic evident in his tear-streaked eyes. Breathing heavily, he clutched his chest.
Feeling something rising from his stomach, he covered his mouth and ran to the bathroom, where he vomited the contents of his stomach.
After a few minutes, he sat weakly on the cold tiled floor, his frail figure twitching and shivering. He weakly grabbed the edge of the sink, using it to stand as his legs shook.
Reflected in the mirror was a 17-year-old teen with long dark hair reaching up to his shoulders, pale skin, a petite body, and finally, dark eyes that held not a single spark of life.
"Ugh... another nightmare," he muttered to himself as he tried to calm down.
After a moment, he quickly took off his sweaty clothes and started to bathe, but his mind was still occupied by the nightmare he had experienced. Cold water ran down his petite form, causing him to shiver from its chilling touch.
"Why is my nightmare different this time?" he muttered softly, trembling at the thought. He then stared at his hands, more specifically his right hand, where a mark was present— a black star.
"Are you the cause of it?" he murmured, recalling an event from a week ago, after school when the bell rang, signaling the end of the day.
After getting beaten up by his bullies, he walked home alone, bruised and in pain. As he passed by a homeless man muttering incoherently to himself, the man suddenly lunged at Jason.
Surprised by the sudden outburst, Jason couldn't dodge in time. The homeless man tackled him, and despite being bruised and in pain, Jason couldn't fight back as the man, his mind clouded by insanity, pressed Jason down, his hand wrapping around Jason's throat and choking him.
"Let... go... of me!" Jason begged, clawing at the homeless man in a desperate struggle. Undeterred by Jason's attempts to escape, the homeless man took Jason's right hand and held it tightly in his own. Suddenly, Jason felt a burning sensation in his hand.
"Ahhhhh!" Jason screamed in pain as smoke poured from their conjoined hands, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. Tears welled in Jason's eyes as the pain of burning flesh and suffocation became unbearable. In a desperate act, he punched the homeless man, knocking him aside.
Seizing the opportunity to escape, Jason pulled his hand free, wincing as flesh tore from his palm. After managing to get loose, he ran away, never looking back.
But if he had looked back at the homeless man, he would have seen the man staring at Jason with a smile of relief washing over his face, finally going limp and dying.
----
*Door closing*
Jason stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his naked body, and lay down on his bed. He raised his right hand, palm facing him, and stared at the mark on his skin.
Sighing, he dropped his hand, his mind racing with thoughts about it. Frustration was evident on his face as he shook his head. "Sigh, I'll worry about it later," he said to no one in particular.
After a bit, he quickly got ready to go to school.
----
**New Leaf University**
Jason walked briskly through the gates, passing a crowd of students mingling with each other. He tried to keep a low profile while looking out for any of his bullies. As he approached the entrance of the university building, he shivered, sensing someone's gaze focused on him.
He looked around to identify who it was and his eyes fell on a bench where a girl was sitting. She had a small, petite figure, wearing a black blazer over a white blouse and a long black skirt. Her long, dark hair partially obscured her face, making it difficult for Jason to tell if she was staring at him.
Still, he had a creeping feeling that she was the one watching him. Although scared, Jason felt a strange connection to the mysterious girl. He couldn't explain why, but he quickly looked away and continued on his way, ignoring her lingering gaze.
----
*Noises*
As Jason opened the door to his classroom, he was met with a room filled with chatter. He stepped inside, trying to go unnoticed.
"Hey, who do we have here? Sup, wimp?" came a contemptuous voice as a hand landed on Jason's shoulder, halting him in his tracks.
Shuddering at the sound of that voice, he turned around to face Tom, a stereotypical jock, flanked by his group of minions. Swallowing the phlegm that had lodged in his throat, Jason managed a shaky smile. "Good...morning, Tom," he greeted.
Tom chuckled at Jason's visibly nervous demeanor, then wrapped an arm around Jason's neck in an overly friendly manner, though his smile was anything but warm. "So... I have a date this afternoon, and I'm all out of cash. Can my little buddy lend me some for my date?" Tom asked, tightening his grip around Jason's neck.
Feeling the pressure, Jason quickly grabbed Tom's arm and patted it. "Okay, okay! Wait, I'll gladly help," he said, hurrying to pull out his wallet and handing Tom thirty dollars. "Here, that's all I have," Jason muttered weakly.
Tom smacked Jason on the back, thanking him happily before sauntering off to his own class, his cronies laughing along with him.
Seeing this, Jason weakly lowered his head and took his seat, while the other students carried on as if what had just happened was completely normal.
----
*Door opening.*
"Class, quiet!" the teacher warned as he entered the room. Everyone, surprised by his sudden appearance, quickly returned to their seats and fell silent, heeding his command.
"Hmm, good. Now let's get back to our—" And so he resumed his lesson.
Jason, unbothered, simply stared out the window, his thoughts occupied by something else.
And so the day passed quickly.
*Ring.* *Ring.*
"Well, that's all for today, class. See you tomorrow," the teacher said without much care as he packed his things and left.
Chatter and the clattering of objects filled the room as students packed their belongings while talking among themselves.
Jason packed his things as well, the noise around him filling his ears.
"Hey, did you hear? Someone died last night near the school grounds."
"Wait, are you serious? That's scary."
"Right? I heard someone from our school is suspected to be the culprit."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah!"
Jason didn't particularly care, though it caught his interest just a tiny bit. After finishing up, he went home, being mindful of the path he took from now on.
After arriving home, he opened the door and stepped inside. "I'm home!" he called out to no one.
He took off his shoes and dropped his bag. "Sigh… another awful day," he lamented as he sat down on the sofa.
He turned on the TV, flipping through the channels in search of something to ease his sour mood.
"Latest reports say that the recently deceased victim, found near New Leaf University, was used in a cult-related ritual, painting a gruesome scene…"
This caught Jason's attention as he recalled what his classmates had been discussing earlier.
He listened closely while looking at the images from the scene. It was gruesome—blood and gore everywhere, guts used as ropes, skulls as cups, and strange symbols painted in blood all around.
But although horrifying, that wasn't what truly caught Jason's attention.
His gaze focused on the body laid within the pentagram.
From its shape, it was a man—his body chopped into pieces and arranged in an indistinguishable pattern. And in the center, where his stomach lay, was a mark similar to the one on Jason's hand. Though it had six points, he knew they were related.
Seeing this, Jason shivered as fear took hold of him.
"I-it's the same mark…" he muttered shakily.
He stared at the mark on his right hand, his fear growing the more he thought about the scene he had seen on the news.
"I need to hide it. I can't let anybody see it," he said fearfully.
He went to the bathroom, grabbed a roll of bandages, and wrapped his hand tightly, making sure it wouldn't come off.
Breathing heavily, fear gripped him tightly, leaving him unable to think clearly as he sat there, shuddering, his thoughts in disarray.
After a while, he gradually calmed down and was finally able to think clearly again.
"What am I doing?" he muttered to himself. "There's no one here except me."
Now calm, he removed the bandages from his hand.
"I'm safe here. I'll wrap it tomorrow," he said.
He took off his clothes and showered. Afterward, he turned off the TV and went to bed, trying not to think about anything else, until he finally fell asleep.
----
Next day
"Honey, have you heard about the news last night? What kind of sick bastard would do that?"
"I don't know. We should just hope we aren't its next victim."
"Yeah."
A nearby couple conversed worriedly as Jason passed by them, his gaze focused as he scanned for anyone suspicious.
His right hand was tightly bandaged as he held onto his bag, hoping no one would pay him any attention.
After last night's news report, a lot of people had been talking about it. Everyone reacted differently—some were scared that a new serial killer, or worse, a cult was operating in town.
Others, brain-dead teens bored of the town's monotonous life, were gossiping and meddling in the dangerous situation.
Currently, the police were handling the case, but since they still hadn't determined whether it was a one-time offense or the start of a series of crimes, only a few officers had been mobilized.
Which only made their jobs harder due to the teens' interference.
"Tch, such busybodies. Don't their parents worry about their safety?" Jason muttered to himself as he turned a corner.
Suddenly, he bumped into someone.
"Ugh," he grunted as he stumbled backward.
"Woah there, bud. Careful where you're walking now."
Before he could fall, someone caught him mid-stumble. Jason looked up.
"Hey, you alright?" the police officer asked, patting Jason's shoulder.
Jason shrugged his hand off, causing the officer to raise both hands in silent surrender. "Okay, okay."
"I'm fine, thank you," Jason said cautiously, tightening his grip on his bag.
"That's quite the look, kid. But don't worry—I'm not a bad guy. Just your friendly neighborhood Officer Dan," he joked, pointing to himself in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Jason cringed internally upon hearing that.
"Woah there, now that look isn't very nice," Dan said, feigning hurt when he noticed Jason's expression.
"Anyway, kid, I'm on patrol right now, asking around to see if anyone's got any leads on that new killer on the loose—that bastard," Dan added with contempt, spitting to the side, likely recalling the gruesome scene.
Jason perked up. "You're one of the investigators?"
"Yes, I am. That place was a mess. We have to catch that bastard soon, or else someone else will become their next victim," Dan said solemnly.
Hearing this, Jason shuddered.
Noticing he was shaken, Dan tried to reassure him. "Don't worry, kid. We'll protect you. If you come across any clues, tell us and we'll catch that motherfucker," he said encouragingly with a smile.
Jason stopped shaking, seemingly soothed by Dan's words. But a hint of hesitation crossed his face before he eventually shook his head internally.
"No, I don't know anything. But thanks. I hope you catch him soon," he said, feigning ignorance.
Although Dan sensed something slightly off, he didn't press further and simply sighed. "Ah well, it's okay. Anyway, hurry along, kid. You've still got classes to catch."
Jason's eyes widened as he realized he had completely forgotten about school.
He ran off, though not before saying goodbye to Officer Dan.
Dan waved back. As Jason's figure gradually faded into the distance, Dan lowered his hand and smiled.
"What a good kid."
With that, he turned around and continued his patrol, his mind now focused on finding the killer.