《End》 Chapter 1 There is a little boy named End. And he may very well be the last little boy on Earth. "End''s Adventure Log Day 1!" A cheerful voice rang out in the empty silence. A mildly banged up but still working camera was wedged in a hole in the rotting wood of an old shed. Facing the camera was a little boy with messy, shaggy white hair and red eyes. This little boy''s name was End and his crisp, clear, and animated voice was the only sound for miles. End kicked out a leg, clasping his hands behind his back, leaning forward and winked at the camera. "I found a working camera so now I can record my adventures!" End spun around on one foot and, with a dramatic flourish, he made binoculars out of his hands to stare down the road he was walking down until he caught sight of the old, empty farmhouse. He slowly pivoted, keeping his upper body unmoving, to turn his hand binoculars to the big farmhouse. He pointed at it, looking back to the camera, "I found the camera in that house..." End trailed off and made a small O with his mouth, "I should show the house to the camera!" He ran forward, slipping and stumbling on the wet mud but managing not to fall. He yanked the camera out of the shed wall, causing a section of it to collapse. End winced, hugging the camera to his chest and stumbling backwards. This time he wasn''t so lucky and did slip and fall on his butt, coating the seat of his shorts and the back of his bare, pale, slender thighs with mud. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Aw man, I just took a bath two days ago." End pouted. He hugged the camera with just his left hand using his right to push himself back up. After wiping his muddy hand off on his thigh. He took the camera in both hands again, pointing it at his face and flashing it a smile, "Sorry ''bout that!" He spun the camera around, giving it a disorienting view of the world around before locking it on the farmhouse. "I found the camera in there! But guess what I didn''t find in there?" End turned the camera back to his face and winked at it, "Not a single piece of food! The cupboards were ransacked!" End started walking as he talked happily, heading back to the road. "That means survivors came through here! Maybe they aren''t too far away!" End jumped into the puddle of dirty rainwater by the side of the road and laughed. He threw his hands up in the air excitedly, the camera tightly gripped in his right hand. "End''s adventure to find survivors officially begins now!" Chapter 2 "End''s Adventure Log Day 5!" The camera''s view was filled with End''s pale face and the gray expanse of sky that framed it. The details of his cheerful smile were fuzzy from the grime and smudges on the camera lens. "I found a friend today!" The world blurred as End spun the camera around to face a silver car on the side of the road, its backseat door caved in and its window cracked. End zoomed in on a rabbit plushie that was buckled in. "I think I''ll name him Mr. Hopscotch!" End danced a few steps back from the car, turning the camera back to his face. "Time for operation free Mr. Hopscotch!" End set the camera down on top of another car, giving it a wide shot sideview of him. He picked a long, flat piece of metal out of the debris on the road and slotted it into the crack of the door to try and pry it open. He leaned back with his whole weight, tugging on it. He threw his whole body into it with full force until... The metal piece snapped and End fell to the ground, skidding back a few inches. He sat on the ground for a moment, staring at the broken piece of metal in his hands before throwing it away and standing up. End turned his butt and horribly scraped up thighs towards the camera. He sniffed audibly and scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Yanking the half of the metal piece that was still stuck in the door out, End lowered his hips into a batter position and swung a homerun at the car window. At the same time, a strange wind knocked the camera off its perch. The sound of the camera hitting the ground melded with the sound of the window shattering was deafening. Laying on the road, the camera only had a view of End''s bottom half through the cracked lens and shards of metal, glass and asphalt. End''s feet dangled, the untied laces of his shoes still touching the road, as he reached into the backseat of the car. His feet touched ground again and as he took a step back, he stepped on his shoelace, tripping and falling on his butt once more. When he fell more of his body came into frame. In his arms, clutched tightly to his chest, was the stuffed rabbit. He gave ''Mr. Hopscotch'' a brief squeeze before standing up. He jogged back to the camera and picked it up, his cheerful face once again filling the camera''s view. However, this time, there was a huge crack cutting his smile in half. "Rescue mission complete!" Chapter 3 ¡°End¡¯s Adventure Log, Day 12!¡± End¡¯s loud, cheerful voice was almost drowned out by the sound of rain hitting a metal sheet. End held the camera up towards his brightly smiling face with one outstretched arm, hugging ¡®Mr. Hopscotch¡¯ to his chest with the other. Mr. Hopscotch¡¯s head was flopped over to the side, its ears drooping. Its front paws were stained a ruddy brown color and it seemed heavily waterlogged. End¡¯s clothes were similarly soaked through. He had already taken off the light blue button up shirt and the long-sleeved black turtleneck sweater that he wore under it, standing there in only his shorts and a white tank top that had gone translucent, his stiff nipples poking through the fabric as he shivered. His damp white hair clung to the sides of his face, ¡°It started raining all of a sudden. I had wanted to keep walking but it¡¯s... coming down really hard.¡± The camera¡¯s field of view blurred as End spun it around. He seemed to be in some kind of tool shed and through the open door all that was visible was the rain coming down in sheets, obscuring anything else from view. End turned the camera back to his face and pouted, his bottom lip quivering as he puffed it out. ¡°My backpack was starting to get soaked through and Mr. Hopscotch looked really sad.¡± End jerked the arm holding Mr. Hopscotch up and its head flopped back against his chest, its black bead eyes staring forlornly into the camera lens before its head flopped back down. ¡°But it''s not all bad!¡± End grinned once more, his pinkish red eyes narrowing into crescents. ¡°Let me show you one of the best parts of being alone!¡± The camera¡¯s angle spun around again, this time facing deeper into the tool shed. End held the camera haphazardly, leading to a crooked view of rusted tools as End set Mr. Hopscotch down on a shelf, propped up against the back wall. He nestled the camera in Mr. Hopscotch¡¯s arms and backed up. From its position, the camera could see most of the tool shed and the pouring rain on the other side of the doorway. Off to one side, End¡¯s sweater was laid out on a shelf, drying, and his button up hung off the teeth of a rake. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. End backed up almost to the door, his entire body coming into view. He kicked his sneakers off into a corner of the shed that the camera couldn¡¯t see. He raised one of his legs, resting an ankle against the top of the opposite knee as he struggled to get his wet sock off. Finally, it came off and he flung it away before switching feet. Before he could get his other sock off he lost balance and fell to his butt with a dull thud. He shrugged and just finished peeling off his sock on the floor, flinging it at the wall, where it got stuck on a nail and stayed hanging. End stretched his legs out, wiggling his toes. He folded his legs underneath him and peeled off his tanktop. He unbuttoned his shorts and stood up, pushing his shorts down in the same fluid motion. He stepped out of his shorts with one foot, raising the other one to kick the shorts off into the back corner. Standing completely bare in front of the camera, End folded his arms behind his back and leaned towards the camera, grinning mischievously, ¡°And now for the fun part!¡± End turned and jumped through the shed door, apparently right into a deep, muddy puddle. His pale, slender legs became instantly coated with mud but he didn¡¯t seem to mind as he stomped and splashed around as the thick rain came down on him. Eventually, he ran out further, the rain instantly washing off his legs. He threw his arms out and spun around, dancing farther out until he became nothing but a pale, indistinct form moving in the fog of rain. Minutes crawled by but the rain did not abate and End stayed just out of clear sight. A flash of lightning cut across the sky and thunder rumbled. End ran back to the shed, leaping over the mud puddle and landing in the shed with a flourish. Then he flopped to the ground on his back, limps starfished out, panting hard, a slight flush of exertion on his face. He raised his legs in the air and kicked wildly, crying out, ¡°that was so much fun!¡± before dissolving into giggles. Chapter 4 ¡°End¡¯s Adventure Log Day 26! I found an amusement park!¡± End¡¯s brightly smiling face filled the camera¡¯s view, not a bit of the world around him could be seen. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to visit an amusement park but I never got the chance.¡± End held the camera farther away and lowered his arms, angling the camera so that it could see the huge rollercoaster towering behind him. The grayish-brown stuffed bunny, Mr. Hopscotch, was strapped to End¡¯s back, its head on his shoulder, glass eyes scratched and the threads on its nose fraying. End rested his cheek on the top of Mr. Hopscotch¡¯s head, ¡°what do you think we should do first, Mr. Hopscotch?¡± With his cheek still pressed to the top of Mr. Hopscotch¡¯s head, End nodded. His lips were pursed, his cheek squished, his pink-red eyes wide open, his long, feathery white lashes batted a few times as he hummed in affirmative as if responding to something Mr. Hopscotch was saying, ¡°you¡¯re right, Mr. Hopscotch! The merry-go-round is the perfect place to start!¡± The camera¡¯s view shifted in a nauseating way as End lowered the camera and skipped towards the carousel. As End¡¯s arm swung back and forth, the camera caught glimpses of the surrounding amusement park; broken down and overgrown, with exposed wires and creeping vines intertwining. End set the camera down on a bench, his face once more filling the screen but just for a moment and then he stepped back. The camera focused on his pale thighs as he backed up. His khaki shorts were cuffed and splattered with mud stains. His black sweater was riding up a bit, showing off a strip of pale stomach. There were holes in the sweater with partially unraveled threads poking out. Framing his was the carousel in the background, clearly once painted brightly but now faded and dirty. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. End crouched, his face suddenly dropping into frame, and threw up a peace sign, ¡°let¡¯s see if I can make it work!¡± End turned and ran towards the merry-go-round. Mr. Hopscotch was still strapped to his back, under his denim blue button up, its head flopping and bouncing as he ran. He grew smaller in the camera¡¯s view and more of the carousel became visible. The poles were glimmering gold at the top and bottom but a dull steel gray where human hands often touched them and the horses were missing a lot of their paint. It looked like it hadn¡¯t seen the most upkeep even before the end. End went behind some bushes to the control booth that the camera could barely see. He was at the control booth for barely a second before a loud song played with piano, xylophone, and bells came through crackling speakers all around the merry-go-round. End came out from behind the bushes, happily spinning and jumping in place as he celebrated, then he took a running leap onto the slowly spinning carousel, his undone shoelaces and the threads of his slowly unraveling sweater sleeves trailed behind him like ribbons as he sailed through the air. He landed on the merry-go-round, his arms spinning wildly to try and maintain his balance. When he managed not to fall, he waved excitedly at the camera. Then he rubbed the head of the nearest horse, a nearly pure white one with a ¡®saddle¡¯ that looked like it had once been red. He nuzzled his face against it, disappearing from the camera¡¯s view as the carousel turned. When he came back into view, he was sitting astride the horse, wiggling happily. End went around and around as the song skipped and looped. At the very edge of the camera¡¯s view, something moved. Off to the right, someone stepped out from between the bathrooms and a game booth filled with knocked over ring toss bottles. The grimy woman with frayed blonde hair stared open mouthed and wide-eyed at the carousel. She hesitated for a moment, then took a step towards End. Chapter 5 The woman stepped fully into the camera¡¯s view, her back to it. She wore loose jeans held up by a tight belt and covered in a rainbow of stains; grass, mud, blood, and more. She also wore a holey tank top that looked like it had, at one point, been white but had now been so dirtied and sweat soaked that it was a dingy yellow. Her frayed blonde hair was tied back with a strip of dirty cloth. She called out to End, ¡°hey, kid!¡± Still on the carousel, End¡¯s eyes snapped to her. Quickly and fluidly he swung his leg over the horse and slid off. He leapt from the merry-go-round. When he landed in the damp grass, his feet slipped out from under him and he fell on his butt. ¡°Oh!¡± the woman exclaimed, jogging over to where End had fallen. ¡°Are you okay?¡± she asked, crouching down in front of End, completely hiding him from the view of the camera. After a moment¡¯s pause she said in a mother¡¯s scolding tone, ¡°you shouldn¡¯t jump off when it¡¯s moving like that, you¡¯ll get hurt.¡± End¡¯s giggle rang out, ¡°yes, ma¡¯am!¡± She reached a hand forward and helped him stand up, then looked all around, ¡°are you... all alone?¡± she asked gently, hesitatingly. ¡°Nope!¡± End answered cheerfully, ¡°I got Mr. Hopscotch!¡± ¡°Oh, um...¡± the woman seemed to struggle with her words for a moment, ¡°is it just you and Mr. Hopscotch?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± End stepped out from behind the woman and started walking towards the camera. ¡°What about you?¡± he asked, marching goofily towards the camera, his arms swinging in large arcs, a smile on his face that was just a bit bigger than any the camera had ever captured before. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The woman turned to the camera to follow End at a distance. She looked neither young nor old, her cheeks were gaunt, her lips chapped and bleeding. ¡°No,¡± she answered, ¡°there¡¯s about twenty of us in an old school nearby. It was semi off the grid with solar panels so it still has electricity. And there are some other children so...¡± She finally saw the camera and her steps slowed as she stared into the lens in confusion. ¡°Is that a video camera? How does it have charge...?¡± End stopped getting closer to the camera and half-turned back towards the woman. Within the frame of the camera, a sideview of End from the knees up was visible and the woman, still a little bit of distance away, was fully in frame and looked smaller than End due to perspective. End ignored her question to ask his own, ¡°so where is this school?¡± ¡°Oh, um, it¡¯s just up the road that way,¡± she raised her arm to point, ¡°you can¡¯t miss-¡± the woman¡¯s words were suddenly cut off and for a moment the only sound was the cheery tune from the merry-go-round as it continued to spin. Both of her hands flew up to her throat and her body convulsed like she was choking on air. End walked towards her, the rest of him coming back into frame. End tilted his head to the side, and it was clear from his voice that he was still smiling cheerfully, ¡°thanks for the tip! Twenty people is the biggest catch in a while!¡± The woman¡¯s knees buckled and she fell to the ground. She looked up at End, hazel eyes wide open in fear as she desperately tried to breathe. ¡°Hmm.¡± End paused thoughtfully, ¡°I suppose I should give you a quicker death in thanks.¡± End took another step forward. The woman scrambled back, frantically shaking her head ¡®no¡¯ even as her face turned red. End held his hand out towards her and drew a horizontal line in the air with his pointer finger. Blood spurted from her neck, splattering on End¡¯s front. Her eyes went glassy and she fully collapsed to the ground, blood pooling under her body. End turned on his heel towards the camera, holding up the hand he used to kill the woman in a peace sign. A few drops of blood dripped off his fingertips. He grinned into the camera lens and happily announced, ¡°we finally found some people!¡± End Chapter 6 The camera viewed a fixed angle in the corner of a small room, looking down at a little boy so pale he seemed to glow eerily in the dim light. Then overhead fluorescent lights flickered on. End flinched when they came on even though his eyes were covered by a black blindfold. He wiggled a bit, straining against the straps that held his arms and legs down on the table. His long white hair fanned out around him, tresses wrapped around his arms and spilling off the edges of the table. He was entirely naked and there were surgical scars cut into his abdomen that were, slowly but visibly, healing. The door to the room opened. The camera was pointed away from the door but it was fine as the man soon walked into frame. Right up to End. He patted End¡¯s bare thigh. End squirmed away from his touch. ¡°Relax. It¡¯s me,¡± the man said in a gentle voice and End stopped moving. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. In a small voice, End asked, ¡°can you take this blindfold off? I want to see you.¡± The man tilted his head to the side, his messy brown waves shifting with the motion, ¡°you know I can¡¯t. They¡¯d know.¡± End whimpered and the man caressed his cheek. Just as End went to lean into his hand he pulled it away and pressed something pinched between his thumb and forefinger to End¡¯s closed lips, ¡°here... this will help with the pain of the next surgery.¡± End parted his lips and accepted the pill. Once he had swallowed it, he asked nervously, ¡°next? Another one today? I haven¡¯t healed yet.¡± The man picked up a tress of End¡¯s hair and lifted it, letting it slide over his fingers as he raised it to his lips and kissed the frayed end. ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t save you yet, just hold on.¡± End nodded and the man leaned down to kiss his forehead. The man straightened back up, turning back to the door, to the camera, his face visible for the first time. He was young and roughly handsome with a short and slightly uneven beard growing in. He locked his dark brown, almost black, eyes on the camera and winked. The camera feed cut out. Chapter 7 End held the camera ahead of him as he approached the school. The picture shook and bounced as he skipped, the sound of gravel crunching and scattering underfoot loud and clear to the camera. Even as the picture shook and bounced, the large, solid brick building and oddly clean sign reading ¡®Greene Middle School¡¯ could be seen clearly enough. And so could the man in the broken top floor window. He was dressed all in black with a rifle on his back. In the still silent world his voice easily carried to End, ¡°hey, kid! Are you all alone?¡± Slowly End¡¯s left hand raised into the view of the camera, his fingers curled back, thumb up, and index finger pointed at the man. ¡°Bang!¡± End shouted cheerfully, ¡®firing¡¯ his finger gun. The man¡¯s head jerked back, there was a small spray of blood and the man fell backwards. End started walking, at a normal pace this time, the camera trained on the window. There were muffled shouts the camera¡¯s microphone couldn¡¯t quite pick up and finally another person appeared in the window, pointing a gun at End. But the person hesitated, perhaps because what they saw was an unarmed child. But that hesitation was a fatal mistake. End fired his finger gun once more. Just like their companion before them, their head jerked back as if they¡¯d been shot in the forehead. Their body slumped in the window and the gun fell to the ground. When a few seconds had passed and no more heads had popped into the window, End turned the camera over, his smiling face upside down in the camera¡¯s view, ¡°Two down!¡± Stolen novel; please report. End walked up the steps to the barricaded front doors of the school, the camera now pointed to the front again. Once again his left hand came into frame. His slender, pale fingers splayed out against the cold, gray metal door. He pushed with a little bit of pressure but it didn¡¯t budge. He sighed behind the camera, then stepped over to the side. The camera¡¯s view shook and jerked around and for a moment it wasn¡¯t very clear what End was doing. For a second or two amongst the nausea inducing visuals, it looked like End was propping up Mr. Hopscotch against the stair railing. Then he placed the camera on Mr. Hopscotch¡¯s lap, angling it up so that it was pointed at the door. He crouched in front of it, blocking almost it¡¯s entire frame with his body. He hugged his knees to his chest with one arm and threw up a peace sign with the other, while grinning a wide grin full of teeth, ¡°watch this!¡± End stood up with a bounce, stumbling back a few steps as if off balance, then he wound up and kicked the doors. His foot didn¡¯t actually connect with the double doors but still they exploded inwards. A few seconds later a woman brandishing a fireman¡¯s ax over her head ran out screaming. She swung downwards with the ax, right at End¡¯s head. He smoothly dodged to the side. Before she could raise the ax to swing again, her arms were severed at the elbows with no obvious move by End. He spun to dodge the spray of blood and get behind her. Her screams of fear and rage turned into screams of pain but End didn¡¯t leave her to suffer long. His back to the camera, he pressed his left index finger to the back of her head and said, ¡°bang!¡± An unseen bullet passed through her skull, exploding out her forehead and she fell dead on the stairs. End turned to the open doors and called out, ¡°oh? Are we playing hide and seek now?¡± before skipping in, leaving the camera and Mr. Hopscotch alone outside to watch the dead woman¡¯s blood flow down the stairs. Chapter 8 The security camera¡¯s microphone peaked at the sound of a shrill, heart-wrenching scream of pain. The sound crackled with static. The shuddered and shook fuzzy and unclear as it pointed far away from the source of the screaming. Shadows and light danced amidst the visual white noise of the camera feed until finally... the screaming stopped. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The was spray of blood, spattering across the camera lens. Chapter 9 Before the blood finished flowing down the stairs, End returned to the front door. His shoes came into the view of the camera, his undone shoelaces dragging through the blood. The world spun as End reached down and scooped up the camera and Mr. Hopscotch. Oddly, he did not point the camera at his face. For once, he held it in front of him as he skipped through the halls. ¡°Come on, I made a new friend!¡± The picture bounced with him, barely catching glimpses of blue metal lockers, white walls, splattered blood, and the occasional limb. End stopped in front of a pair of blue metal doors, with chipped paint and one of the doors hanging partially off its hinges. End¡¯s pale, clean hand came into the camera¡¯s view and pushed the door open. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Sneakers squeaked on a gym floor as End stepped into the room, ¡°aw man!¡± End whined. The camera drooped, the gym- basketball hoop, bright colored lines, a small crumpled body- flashing by. The shiny wood floor was all the camera saw as End walked forward. End reached the crumpled body; an elbow in a bright red shirt and a scraped knee came into view. The camera swung and End¡¯s sneaker with bloody shoelaces nudged a gun out of a hand smaller than his. ¡°Oh well.¡± Chapter 10 The camera in the corner of the room moved imperceptibly. Just enough to better center the group of men huddled in the center of the room. At the edges, desks could be seen pushed against the singular pair of doors in the room. Only half of the overhead lights were on and those that were on were dim and flickering. There were 8, no 9, men in the center of the room, some sitting, most standing. Some wore suites, some wore decorated military uniforms, and some wore lab coats. And all but one of the men were old, wrinkly, and gray. The one young man amongst them had messy brown hair and stubble on his chin. His lab coat was wrinkled and the badge hanging from his breast pocket was plain and cheap looking. Despite every indication that he was the lowest ranking person in the room, he appeared to be the center of the rather hushed conversation. At first, the discussion was too quiet for the far away camera to pick up. Then suddenly one of the men in a military uniform grabbed the young man by his collar and hoisted him out of his chair while shouting, ¡°how dare you put your life above your country! You call yourself a man?¡± The younger man glared up at the elder, ¡°you do it then.¡± A lab coat stepped up and put a hand on each of their shoulders. Looking at the young man he said, ¡°you¡¯re the only one it trusts. The only one who could get close enough to him.¡± The young man snorted, ¡°and whose fault is that?¡± A loud banging from the door stopped any retort to the young man¡¯s comment that may have been forming. The doors in the desks rattled. Another bang and one of the desks slid a few inches across the floor with a loud scraping sound. Each of the men stood, backing away from the door. Another one of the lab coats pressed something into the young man¡¯s hand, his words drowned out by another bang and metal shrilly sliding across the floor. A few more of the lights flickered out and at least one light bulb exploded. One of the suits pulled out a hidden gun, he did not get to fire it. The doors burst open, desks were sent flying with far more force than should be possible. One desk slammed into the suit with the gun, turning him into a red smear on the rough carpet floor. There was a glitch and then a pure white, naked with hair down to the floor, wrapping around its thin limbs appeared in the room. For a few seconds there was absolute silence and stillness. Then one of the military men took a step towards the figure, mouth open to speak, face red. His chin tipped forward, touching his chest. Then his head rolled right off his shoulders. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. A lab coat soiled his pants and dropped to the ground in a shaking heap. A suit tripped over his own feet as he tried to back away and fell to the ground. The other military man pointed a gun at the figure even as a lab coat was grabbing his arm and yelling at him not to. The figure raised a hand to the two, palm out. And then there was a rather large hole in the two¡¯s chests... And the head of the suit that was trying to sneakily crawl away behind them. One of the suits tried to pull a gun from under his suit jacket and it exploded against his chest. Two lab coats tried to make a break for the open doors, their legs cleanly separating from the rest of their bodies. The figure merely looked at the man on the ground who had soiled his pants and the lab coat slumped, no longer shaking. And then, within a minute of entering the room, the figure was alone with the young man. The young man was trying to back away towards the door, having been tacitly allowed to get as far as the crushed suit. The man slipped on a spreading blood pool and crashed to the ground, drawing the gaze of the figure as if it had just noticed him, however improbable that was. The small, childlike figure took a step towards the man. The man scooted back, smearing blood into the rough, gray carpet. ¡°End!¡± The man practically shouted at the figure, lips quivering, ¡°I know you¡¯re angry! But you need to stop this before you do something you regret.¡± He raised his arm in front of him in protection, fist clenched tight, as the figure slowly approached. End planted a foot on either side of the man¡¯s hips and bent down over him, the ends of his long white hair getting dirty with blood. The man tried to shrink away, but End merely bent down more, taking the man¡¯s face in his hands to keep him still. End¡¯s mouth started to move, voice too quiet to be picked up by the camera. He tilted his head down, his hair now falling into place to hide his face from view. However, the growing horror on the man¡¯s face as he looked up into End¡¯s eyes was plainly visible. With a desperate scream, the man swung his arm at End¡¯s thigh. He didn¡¯t make contact. The offending limb fell to the ground with a splatter of blood, separated at the shoulder, the fingers uncurled just enough for a glint of a needle to be caught by the camera. The man¡¯s scream of pain quickly petered off into whimpers and End¡¯s words were finally audible. ¡°The only thing I¡¯ll regret is trusting you.¡± End straightened up with a snap and a tear, the man¡¯s head coming with him, the body hitting the floor with a dull thump. End raised the head to eye level and the neutral, straight line of his mouth slowly curled up in a smile. He hugged the head to his bare chest, letting the blood dripping from the neck roll down his stomach and stain strands of his hair. He turned to face the camera, looking directly into its lens. With a wink and a glitch, he disappeared. Chapter 11 ¡°End¡¯s Adventure Log Day 27!¡± End¡¯s cheerful shout was nearly drowned out by the roaring winds. Behind him was a shattered window and a gray sky. His hair and clothes whipped around and he had to blink often to avoid strands getting in his eyes. He hugged Mr. Hopscotch to his chest, the poor stuffed rabbit looking quite a bit more deflated than before. ¡°I was going to get back on the road today but I don¡¯t wanna go out in that soooo, ¡°End held out the ¡®oh¡¯, rolling his entire head around rather than just his eyes, ¡°we¡¯re going to explore this place instead!¡± Though the roaring winds didn¡¯t abate at all, End¡¯s voice was still bright and clear. Finally, End moved away from the window, ¡°let¡¯s find something to play with!¡± As End moved away from the window the sound of the wind died down and the camera¡¯s microphone could pick up the sound of glass crunching underfoot. More of the room came into view behind him as End moved through it. School desks piled in the corner, sleeping bags littering the floor, and a splatter of blood across the wall. End walked through the door, immediately turning on his heel. The background blurred as he spun but for a brief instant a pale, still hand could be seen sticking out of a sleeping bag. ¡°I already found the gym but ball games aren¡¯t any fun by yourself and Mr. Hopscotch is too terrible at basketball to count as a real opponent.¡± End squeezed Mr. Hopscotch tighter, ¡° so we have to find something else to play with!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. End began to skip down the hall past the rows and rows of blue metal lockers. He hummed a nonsense tune as he peeked into every room in the hallway. The nauseating shaking of the camera stopped as End peered into a room. He turned the camera so it could peer into the darkness with him. ¡°Jackpot!¡± he sang, but unfortunately his eyes were better than the camera¡¯s and there was nothing to see but darkness. And then there was the sound of a heavy light switch being flipped. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then End sighed and the lights flicked on revealing a room filled with open instrument cases, drums, xylophones, even a gong. After the sound of a grating squeak, the camera was set down on a music stand. End giddily ran up to the gong, grabbing the mallet and swung at it with all his weight. The sound was loud enough to blow out the camera¡¯s microphone, so unfortunately... or perhaps fortunately, none of the audio of End¡¯s frenetic performance was captured. He ran from instrument to instrument, playing with all his energy. He banged some drums with abandon and blew into a trumpet until he was red in the face all the while there was only static in the microphone. When he tired himself out, End wandered into center frame, shoulders heaving as he sucked in deep breaths. Then he spoke, his voice crystal clear, ¡°that¡¯s it for today¡¯s performance! But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just getting started!¡± Chapter 12 The video quality of the community center security camera was poor. Pixelated, black and white, with lines of static interrupting it. It did, however, have a complete view of the empty pool. Well, nearly empty. There was a small dark figure swimming laps, barely able to be seen under the water. A person with long hair pulled back into a ponytail stepped through a door in center frame. They put their hands on their hips and seemed to call out to the swimming figure. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Though the figure was underwater he turned around and swam to the edge and pulled himself out of the water. Strangely the tan boy with long brown hair down to his knees was wearing a clear raincoat and nothing else. Even stranger, he was in clear sharp focus and full color. He lowered the hood of his raincoat, as if stepping into shelter and not out of a pool. The person at the door seemed to say something else, pointedly looking away from the boy¡¯s naked body. Then the boy¡¯s calm, clear, melodic voice cut through the silent feed, ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll be there in a moment.¡± Chapter 13 Moonlight streamed in through large windows and reflected off the still water of the pool and End''s pale skin. End lounged on a black innertube, slightly off from center frame, his head hanging back, hair fanning out in the water. Next to his innertube was another, smaller innertube with Mr. Hopscotch hanging off it, his poor feet soaking up water. The innertube slowly rotated until End was facing the camera. He opened his eyes, starting upside down at the lens, his pinkish red eyes seeming to glow in the dim light. End groaned, his voice bouncing of the cavernous walls. "I''m so booooored!" He slammed his fists down on the sides of the innertube only for them to bounce off harmlessly. "Mr. Hopscotch, you suck at games!" End pushed Mr. Hopscotch''s innertube with all his strength and it gently floated away.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. End crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, his innertube slowly spinning and floating to the left of frame. "I want someone to play with but adults are all liars and meanies and! And!" Angry tears glistened in End''s eyes as he cut himself off. For a moment all was quiet and still aside from the deep mechanical hum in the room. Then End let himself fall through the center of the innertube and slip below the surface of the water, emerging a few seconds later with a gasp and a big splash. Water dripped down the lens of the camera, framing End''s face as he swam closer to the edge. He grabbed the edge of the pool, right in front of the camera. He stared directly into it. A few blinks sent water droplets flying off his eyelashes. Then he looked to the side and muttered, "I just want someone like me." He raised his hand out of the water and turned off the video camera. Chapter 14 There were over a dozen cameras in the gym. Pointed everywhere but the bathrooms and the locker rooms. Originally meant to insure patrons weren''t stealing or breaking anything, they now were silent watchers of a small group of people who did not pay to enter and do not leave at closing time. One camera was pointed outside, at the front door and the empty sidewalk. Most days all it saw was heavy rains, pelting the ground or wild winds carrying trees and abandoned objects past the door or, once in a while, the people inside leaving to find supplies and occasionally coming back. Things did not linger often in this camera''s view. Three people approached in utter silence. It was too pixelated, black and white, to make out much detail. But what could be easily seen were cloths wrapped around their mouths and noses and one of the figures being half-supported, half-dragged by the other two. The supported one was dropped on the sidewalk, his allies banging on the large glass by the door. Those inside the gym, as viewed by other camera''s flinched but otherwise ignored the newcomers, going about their days. Only one woman left, returning a few moments later with Him.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The tan boy, with long brown hair, wearing cargo pants, a tight black T-shirt, and a transparent raincoat, moved through the gym in clear, crisp color. He stepped right through the door without opening it. The two companions of the collapsed man backed away. Despite the blurriness of their faces, their fear was blatantly apparent. The boy ignored them, kneeling in front of the one on the ground. The other two were clearly saying something but their voices were lost to the lack of speakers. The tan boy lifted the man''s shirt, revealing a strange, dark mass on his chest. The boy grabbed it, the mass gaining color in his hands. Red, a shade too light to compare to blood but tempting it. The boy frowned at the mass, eyebrows pinching together and muttered, "I though he was done with theses spores." The boy closed his hands around the mass and it dissolved into pink flower petals slipping through his fingers, starting with what was in his hands and spreading down and across the man''s chest. He sat up suddenly, petals scattering, and coughed violently, a few petals falling from his mouth. The boy put a hand on the man''s back and rubbed until he stopped trembling. Then he stood, a smile finally on his lips as he addressed all three together, "please, come in, have some food, all are welcome." One of the strangers, with long hair, clasped her hands in front of her. The boy turned his gaze to focus on her and her unrecorded words. He tilted his head slightly to her and said, "I am called Rebirth."