《THE DRAGON STORM.》


 PROLOUGE

    He first saw the world as bright spots of light. He raised his hand to rub them clear, but found them chained to the metal rod of the curtain holder. Why was everything so blurred? The boy squeezed his eyes shut and counted to five, opening them again. The bright spots vanished, but his vision remained blurry. He sniffed the air once, and a multitude of smells overwhelmed his senses. He could smell every little corner of the well-lit room. The mold on the walls, the spilled milk in front of his shoes, an empty cat litter, and the smell of water. Weird. He thought. The boy sniffed again, this time slowly, to take in the smell one by one, but that just made his nose sting and he sneezed loudly, rattling the chains around his hands and feet.


    Suddenly, a red light above the metal door turned on. He concentrated on the blurred metallic door, which groaned open. A tall man walked inside, wearing shiny black shoes and dress pants. The boy struggled to raise his head. The man crouched down, coming face to face with him, but even then his eyes refused to make out the features of the man. Was he responsible for this? He thought. Where was he keeping him? The man said something. His lips moved, but he heard no sound. He couldn''t listen to him. He couldn''t hear.


    ¡°I can''t hear you.¡± His voice cracked from dehydration. He barely spoke a full sentence. Was it always like this? He tried to remember his past, but his mind proved to be blank. Did they do this to him? He pulled the chains on his hands again and only winced from the pain. The skin around the cuffs was scratched as small drops of blood appeared. The man got up and turned his back to the boy. There was another man in a black biker helmet. They exchanged some words, and the man handed him something.


    ¡°Let me go, please let me go.¡± The boy begged in small, heaving breaths. The man crouched again and handed him a paper cup with water. He greedily took the cup and emptied it in a second. Meanwhile, the man was playing with a rectangular plastic box. He opened it and revealed a pair of plain, round glasses. He slowly reached his hands towards the boy and balanced the glasses neatly behind his ears. The boy suddenly gasped. He could see everything clearly now, the green-black walls, the cat litter. The man crouched in front of him again. He, too, was wearing square-shaped glasses. He was smiling.


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    ¡°Who are you?¡± the boy felt confident upon facing his enemy. The man simply patted his head affectionately, but all he could see was pity in his eyes. He got up. He said something, but the boy still couldn''t hear. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked again, panic building inside him again. ¡°Where am I?¡± The man didn''t answer him, he simply started walking towards the door. ¡°HELP ME. PLEASE HELP ME. DONT LEAVE ME ALONE. DONT LEAVE.¡± His cries weren''t helpful; they just rebounded off the man¡¯s ear. Suddenly, all the helpless feelings inside him turned into a hot white molten ball of rage. It grew inside him, turning his skin feverish, devouring his heart, his innocence, his memories. It grew and grew until it reflected on his face.


    An image flashed in his mind. A memory, twisted and revolting, the boy gagged. He closed his eyes, and with one powerful pull, he broke free of the chain around his hands. The man turned around, surprised. The boy looked at his slender hands, twisting them slowly, the blood dripping on the floor. He grabbed the chains connecting to his feet and yanked them free. The man took out a syringe from his pocket. The boy stood up, supporting himself against the wall. His feet were numb, and he stumbled as he took his first steps toward the man. The man was shaking, sweat gathering on his nose. He feared him. The boy could smell it. Fear. It had the most delicious scent; it made his stomach growl from hunger. The man knew he couldn''t overpower the boy, so he backed away toward the door.


    He was muttering something, speaking. Was he begging? The boy thought, looking at the man¡¯s expression. It felt nice to see someone else begging for a change. The boy was a few inches from the man, taller than him. He tilted his head and patted the man¡¯s hair. ¡°Where are you going, Father?¡± The man wasn''t shocked. So he knew I¡¯d remember him. He thought, but he didn''t help me. The boy grabbed the man¡¯s hair and pulled. He must have screamed from the pain, but the boy couldn''t hear anything, which made it easier for him to slowly kill his dear old father.


    The boy made a fist with his right hand, and without a second glance at the scared eyes, he jammed it straight into his father¡¯s heart. His fist stayed there as he felt the last few beats. The boy counted backward. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. It took longer for the heart to give out. The smell of the blood was intoxicating. It brought blurred memories to him, and his head hurt from the sudden change in his body. With his other hand, he turned the doorknob, saving himself from the hell he was thrown into.

 ONE

    ¡®Everything that i had been saving up for, led to this moment. It thought it would last hours, years and hopefully decades. Should''ve held that thought, i jinxed it right? I messed it all up, it was me and me alone. I did it. I caused this. Those hours, years, decades went in the drain. Those flowers, long rides and kisses were for nothing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s breakup.¡±


    The words I never thought I would hear from him.


    ¡®I always scoffed at people who couldn''t entirely move on from their breakups. How hard could it be? But experiencing it myself, it felt like my life had no meaning after all. ¡®Hurt¡¯ was too much of an understatement. Did i expect too much from him? He didn''t even give me a reason; he simply left.


    ¡°Miss, excuse me.¡±


    ¡®Even i couldn''t see a reason to break up.  We were a perfect couple, 5 years together. Wasn''t he going to propose today? Gary saw him leaving Tiffany and Co. with a small blue bag. Whom did he purchase it for? Was there someone else in his life? Was he cheating on me this whole time? Nothing was making sense.¡¯


    ¡°Hello, miss?¡±


    ¡®Then again, is it my fate to drive everyone away? Or is it my fate that everyone who meets me hates me? It has to be one or the other. The explanation couldn''t be much less clear. Was it my fault this time, too? Did I mess it up all?


    ¡°Excuse me, Miss.¡±


    ¡°Ye-Yess?¡± Sabrina was too occupied in her head that she forgot her surroundings. She looked up at the waiter, who was patiently hovering over her with a small smile.


    ¡°Would you like anything else?¡± he asked politely.


    Sabrina gazed at the untouched chocolate cake on the plate. His favorite.


    ¡°N-no, I would like to pay.¡±


    ¡°Your¡­¡­ company already paid.¡±


    Sabrina realized he must¡¯ve heard everything. Her cheeks flushed at the thought of all the other people who must have heard their breakup. The waiter was holding a bread basket and napkins, ready to serve his next customer. Sabrina, embarrassed, quickly left the table.


    She was walking on the sidewalk, trying to look for a cab but her mind was a mess, ¡®now what should i do? What am i going to say to everyone who was expecting a ring on my finger? How am i going to move on? He snatched that away from me, killed that part of me. How can he be so cruel? Why did he choose Paris of all places to break up?¡¯ and just like that, sadness turned into anger. ¡®He could''ve let her down in their hotel room, or back home. Why Paris? She had been dreaming about this vacation since he proposed this idea to her. They had been saving up since last year. Every penny counted, every hour in their stress shift counted.¡¯ and anger turned into hatred.


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    \¡°WATCH IT!¡± Someone grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her towards themselves. She didn''t realize that she had stepped off the curb and was walking mindlessly in the street. ¡°Miss, are you alright?¡± it was an old man, looking down at her with worry. He was still grabbing on her arm. Sabrina choked, the hatred and anger finally transformed into tears, and she started sobbing. She didn''t care if it was a stranger in the streets of an unknown city; she wanted to let it all out.


    The old man must¡¯ve taken pity to her. Sabrina felt his hand patting her back. ¡°it¡¯s alright, child.¡± His voice was gentle and worrying, it reminded her of her grandad. Chase had left her alone when she was at her happiest, but this man picked up all the fragments and changed her life completely. He gave her a home, a family, a job, and most of all, meaning to life. He promised to bring the world on its knees for her.


    Sabrina took in the old man¡¯s feature. Wanting to remember the face of the stranger who offered her kindness. His bald head was covered with a top hat. Walter was his name. He carried a brown polished walking stick, with a bear¡¯s head on the handle. He looked like a gentleman, and a powerful one at that. As he gave her a second chance, he said this phrase often. ¡°But, child, everything comes with a price.¡± He always showed her affection and kindness, but she knew she could never afford the price.


    It became the truth.


    ¡®Everything that I was molded into was for this moment¡¯ as Sabrina paid the price to the man she called father, she imagined if everything was worth it. For seven years, she had laid in the field of roses and butterflies, but suddenly life wasn''t about living anymore, as she was introduced to the other people. Life had become a game of cat and mouse. Life was only about surviving, as she continuously paid her debt with her patched up soul.


    ¡°W-w-why are you telling all this?¡± Jeremy said.


    He had somehow loosened the knot, as his hands were placed on the floor of the rooftop. The collar of his shirt was wet with blood, his cheek badly bruised.


    ¡°Because you asked why I want to kill you.¡± Sabrina answered, twirling the blade in her hand. The sun was burning her face.


    ¡°I don''t get it.¡± Jeremy was shedding tears. He crawled backwards, towards the railing.


    ¡°Me neither.¡± Brandon chimed in from behind her. He was guarding the door.


    Sabrina glared at him. ¡°Just kill him.¡± She said, walking away from a crying Jeremy. She had noticed a sniper on the opposite building, it was pointing the gun at her.


    ¡°Please don''t do this, i have given you the code. What more do you want? Just stop, please.¡± Jeremy had managed to stand up, his jacket torn and his hair a mess from the beating.


    ¡°Sorry man, not my call.¡± Brandon replied.


    Jeremy was trying to get over the railing. It would be a hassle to let the CEO¡¯s body be found this easily.  ¡°Brandon, stop playing.¡± Sabrina warned him. She saw a slight movement at the sniper. ¡°Hurry.¡±


    Brandon winked at Jeremy and threw the blade with a perfect arc. The blade sliced through Jeremy¡¯s artery, and the blood started spilling. Brandon grabbed his body and laid him on the floor, watching him struggle to breathe. ¡°Make the call. Someone could¡¯ve spotted him from the building.¡± He said, closing Jeremy¡¯s eyes as the body relaxed and completely stopped twitching. Brandon turned to her and gave Sabrina a thumbs up, his black mask covering his nose and mouth, but she knew he was grinning like a lucky bastard who had won the lottery.