Outsider (chapter 1)
[trying out something new, I usually make comics but I’m gonna try writing a novel this time ^^. This is an original story, hope you guys like it]
I find myself in a room deep with darkness, the only source of faint light coming from a singular window that displays the glow of a downward crescent moon.
“Listen to brother, okay…”
A man talks to me. The way he delivers his words are similar to those of a calm man, but the slight trembles of his hand uncovers the facade.
He opens his mouth but his words sound muddled, I couldn’t quite make them out. The details of the room are also a blur, all I could make out was that it was a run down studio apartment, the walls are wallpaper of a cream color, the floor had wooden patterns, and a single door sits in the middle of the far wall.
The voice of the man starts getting louder as thuds coming from below gets closer. He grabs me by my shoulders and instructs me to do something, but still I couldn’t hear him clearly.
The door opposite to us flung open and a dreadful look came to the face of the man. A figure stands tall outside the door frame. The man with me threw me outside the window as I heard a scream, was it from the man? No, I think it was me.
And it was, I was screaming, alone in my room. Why was I?
I wake up in my bed, with heavy blankets and soft pillows. My white hair was a mess from a good night’s sleep,and I was still a bit tipsy from rest. The time currently was 6:34 am, about 26 minutes before my alarm set off. I decided to get up now and surprise my parents.
I crouched down while going down the stairs, the dining area was already lit up. I could hear the voice of my brother and father. I decided to go closer, tip-toeing behind my older brother while thinking of the face he’ll make once I scare him
“Zymone? What are you doing?” The voice of a woman scares me from behind, It was mom.
“AHHHH!” I screamed with a shocked expression on my face,
Brother and father broke into laughter. My plan backfired.
“Mom~ you ruined it” I whined
“Why are you blaming me? You should’ve done a better job being all stealthy” she mocked
“Now, now let’s stop making fun of Zymone so early in the morning” Dad asserted
“Come on dad, you laughed the hardest earlier” brother retorted
“Touché” Dad admitted before breaking into laughter once more
I acted annoyed by the teasing, but honestly, I couldn’t be happier with an atmosphere like this.
We all ate breakfast together, exchanging stories and plans for the day before leaving. I went out with my brother since his workplace is on the way to my school. We left the house, a unit along the line of houses almost connected as one, there were slippers and plants with recycled plastic bottles as pots decorating most of the homes, each walls colored slightly different from the last and with varying degrees of wear and tear. The sun was almost not visible from the wires along the posts as well as from the roofs of varying heights. The floor was cold cement, our area lower than the main street. “Looban” is what they call it.
We finally reached the main road with buses and jeepneys passing by. We rode one of the jeepneys with the signage “Terminal Palico” and we went on our way.
…
Soon I reached my stop, my brother had reached his destination long before mine. I stepped down the jeepney and went to the school entrance.
I go to a public school, but one that is among the best in the country. Its entrance is a huge arch gateway newly painted a shade of navy blue, it has plants decorating the foot of the brick walls, some even containing flowers. There are two traffic enforcers usually outside guiding the cars that are dropping off their kids to school, one of them is an old man who always looks grateful doing his job, compassionate and cheerful, this man has helped me a lot during my stay here, but it seems that he is absent today. Inside the navy blue gates lies the grand building of Philos national high school. It is a 6 storey building with the main entrance being 15 steps above ground. The white walls are decorated with vines but not in a sense of neglect.
I reach the 7th step of the entrance and a rolled up piece of paper hits my head, it catches my attention
“Hey Granny!” An annoying familiar voice called from behind. It was the typical bully with two of his goons right behind him kissing his ass with every joke
I didn’t turn
“Did you leave your hearing aids at home granny?” The same voice mocked.
I finally turned with a glare
“Hey fix your eyes you-” he gets cut off. A hand grabs him from behind
“And what seems to be the problem Jonas?” It was our English teacher. A teacher who you wouldn’t guess is in his early forties, he’s well built and muscular with shiny black hair brushed up, his eyes cold towards the delinquent boys, but warm towards me
Jonas shivers, he wasn’t the type of person the bullies would dare defy. He leaves with a crossed face. I knew that I was in for it later.
“Are you alright, Zymone?” Sir asks
“Yes sir, I’m alright” I answered
“I’ve told you about this Zymone, if kids like him keep on bothering you, you need to tell me"
"I know sir”
“Just know that I’m here to help you. Now, about that assignment, The essay you made was well written, but, I instructed this to be done by pairs. Is there something wrong with you and your classmates?” Sir questioned
“Sir?” I asked confused
“The assignment on classical literature, you didn’t have a partner”
“Oh… I couldn’t find anyone to partner up with” I muttered
“Hm, I guess someone does have to be alone given that there are only thirty-seven of you in the classroom. But you keep getting the short end of the stick each time, next time I’ll make sure you have a partner, okay?”
Thirty-seven? That can’t be?
“Thirty-seven, sir?” I confirmed
“Yes, was I mistaken?” Sir asks
“Um” I couldn’t give a straight answer
“I forgot, excuse me sir I’ll be late for class” as soon as I spoke, I bolted
“No running in the halls~” I was only able to hear the echo of Sir’s insincere instruction.
But thirty-seven? It can’t be… there were still fifty-one of us last week!
…
Fourteen students disappeared in 2 days alone. The word “disappeared” doesn’t even cut it, it’s more like their existence itself had been erased.
I jogged to our classroom, calming myself before entering the room.
Breathe in, breathe out.
I open the door as usual, no one notices, I wasn’t the type of person to stand out anyway. But the classroom does seem off. Some of the students who are usually early aren’t present yet. I approach some of their friends to confirm
“Hey mark” I called
“Waddup Zymone?” He asks
“Are you close with jake?”
“Jake who? Jaimeson from next class?”
“Ah nevermind, I guess you don’t know him” I retracted
As far as I knew Jake was his best friend, that’s one of fourteen, on to the next
“Samantha? Who’s that?”
Two
“I don’t think I know anyone named keith, sorry”
Five
“Liam? Kendricks?”
Eight
“Kim? Is he a transfer student?”
Eleven
“Clarence?”
Fourteen
I couldn’t believe it. Usually it would only be one every few months, but fourteen in two days? That’s a new record. How many more people actually disappeared then? Did the families of the students also disappear? It’s concerning to think that I am the only one who seems to remember those who have been erased, and how vulnerable everyone is. If only I knew the cause then maybe I can stop this, or at least I can stop it from happening to me.
…
Class ended and I left with the issue still weighing heavily on my mind. I walked down the street near my home, it was kind of a shortcut away from the buzzling highway. The thoughts of the disappearances still linger on my mind. How long will I continue to be lucky? That I do not know.
I continue walking listening to my footsteps as the sound of another pair starts to grow louder, and then a few more, soon mocking laughters start to erupt. It was them again, the jerks from earlier.
“Hey, adopted bitch!!” The leader of the pack of hyenas growled.
Don’t they have other things to do?
“Don’t think you’ll get away with what you did earlier” one of his underlings commented
“You think you’re safe hiding behind Sir Nicholas’ back, are you his bitch or something?” the leader of their pack yapped
“We’re going to pay you back real good for what you did”
Their nonsense has grown lately, I wasn’t even the one who did anything.
“Make it fast, mom said she’s making soup” I groaned
“Oh sure! We’ll make it hurt as much as possible” The head-asshole said while pounding his fist together.
…
And so they did. I could barely stand-up after the rough beating, I shouldn’t have run my mouth off, maybe they would have spared a rib. But what’s done is done, I don’t really mind pain.
I start walking back home, it’s already starting to pass sunset, they’d probably be worried if I came home looking like this. What should I say to them? Should I say that I got hit by a car? Fall down the stairs? What excuse would make them not worry? Maybe I should’ve minded pain after all.
But come to think the houses seem rather silent today, and the neighborhood kids aren’t playing outside. Did something happen? I continued walking home, the expectation of having sour vegetable soup at the dinner table was making me excited. The excitement slowly faded into eeriness, as I realized that there were no noises around. the whispers of people’s voices within their homes, the buzz of insects, all I could hear was the hum and flickering of fluorescent lights. The sun had set, it was dark except for the houses with their lights on. I continue walking with quiet steps, my skin cold with fear, my vision starts to have a vignette pulsing with the drumming of my heart. Slowly I walked, the door to our house was within my vision, there were shoes outside the house, they’re home then. The door was open, I was relieved until I reached the door.
The house was ransacked.
The tables were turned upside down and the walls were torn. Plates and tableware were scattered on the floor, hints of the sour vegetable soup mom had prepared were spilled all over the carpet.
I froze by the door frame.
I examined the scene, looking for any signs of life. I slowly walked towards the telephone on the floor, unsure if it would still work, thankfully it did.
I dialed the number to the emergency hotline, with each press my finger starts to tremble more and more.
“001, emergency hotline” the voice of a calm lady answers on the other side.
“Hi, I just got home and-” my voice trembled
I realized that I haven’t actually internalized the situation, having to actualize it into words made me sick to my stomach.
“Sir?” The woman said while typing. She stopped midway and repeated herself, now with a more nervous tone “Sir? Where are you currently?” She asks
“A-at home. 712, Rosemary street-”
“Santo niño Boulevard…” the woman on the other side finished my sentence
“Yes, please send he-” I got cut off again
“Sir please leave the area immediately! A warning has already been sent to that area and has been evacuated!” The woman orders with a louder voice. it was obvious that she was masking her panic, it didn’t help.
The call was switched to another operator, this time a male.
“Sir, disregard the previous instructions, stay where you are, make sure to stay in a place hidden, our team is currently on their way and you’ll be tracked through your phone. Is this clear, Sir?” The authoritative voice instructed
“I-"
"Zymone?’ A voice behind me muttered
"Mom!” I turned around.
Except I was not met by the welcoming smile of my mother, but by the towering figure of a monster. A creature crouched down but is still able to hit the ceiling with its head. Its body looks like it’s made of shadow, a dark murky substance that feels like it will suck you in once you touch it, and its face, it looks like the skull of a horse, its jaw unhinged revealing nail-like teeth lining up even the inside of its throat. From the inside came the source of the sound that mimicked my mothers voice.
“Zymone. Is. Home” The creature mimicked, like a mockery of the loveliest woman in my life. It’s mouth turned into a smirk
“SIR! RUN!” The voice on the other side woke me up from the panic.
The creature’s mouth slowly begins to grow wider. I bolted to the side grabbing anything that I could find, a kitchen knife! Perfect.
I ran outside the house, my breathing labored. I ran as hard as I could, the adrenaline was making up for the injuries that I sustained from the beating earlier. The creature crashed through the doorway, leaving a hole on the wall. It squirmed as it tried to chase after me, its thin legs contrasting its huge body. it has multiple limbs all over its body, some I’m not sure of its use.
I continued running, throwing objects within reach towards the creature in hopes of slowing it down, but it just brushed it off as mild annoyance. My breathing gets heavier and heavier until it turns into panting, the desperation in each breath grows stronger and stronger.
I don’t want to die!
I turned corners trying to lose the creature, it followed behind closely. I could hear the loud thuds of its footsteps and the slam of its body against the wall as it chased me clumsily. I never realized how maze-like the alleyways could be, I passed by familiar areas less and less. How were there still places that I didn’t know? I could feel the muscles on my legs slowly go numb as the fatigue started to set in, slowly it felt like my bones itself were giving up.
I could feel the cold sweat along my face tracing down along my neck and back. I turn one more corner and-
A dead end.
I knew the pavement would run out one way or another, but I wished that it wasn’t this early. The creature’s steps slow down, like a hunter knowing that its prey had nowhere else to go. I grip the knife with my hand tightly, I should try to at least fight. But against that thing… would it even be worth it?
I gather up all the courage that I had left in me, I hold the knife tighter with both hands and take a stance. My heart was in my head pounding, I could feel my skull tighten as the blood drained from my face. I bit my lips and stared intently at the monster. Its mouth grew a wider grin as if mocking my attempt in defending myself.
It started rushing towards me with its mouth wide open, a gaping blackhole that would soon be my tomb. With all of the strength I had left I dodged to the side and stabbed its torso, a wave of cold air surrounded my body, was it simply adrenaline? The monster let out a loud cry like static and a mix of heavy machinery with low bass. One of the limbs on its back stretches and flings me against the wall, the impact was enough to create a spider-web-like crack against the concrete wall. I could feel some of my ribs crack from the impact and it feels like my skull did too.
I fall on the floor unable to move, my vision starts to darken. I looked up on the moon, it was a downward crescent, this scene felt familiar. My consciousness was starting to surrender, until I saw a flash of light blink in the night sky, a soft whistle coming from the sky came hurling down the earth. and like a meteor, something fell on the creature, pinning it against the floor. Smoke filled the surrounding, the creature shrieks and wails, flopping its limbs all over. I couldn’t see exactly what was happening to the creature, but the distinct sound of its flesh and bones breaking were apparent. A dark liquid flooded the floor and one of its limbs flew towards me. Should I be scared or relieved that the creature once before me was being overpowered?
The dust started to settle and I could finally make out the figure of a man standing atop the creature that once preyed in me. Its bodily fluids that I can only assume is its blood splattered all over the floor and all its limbs were severed from the main body.
The man looked at me. He had a cold gaze with dazzling blue eyes, his black hair was roughly tied into a high ponytail with multiple stray strands going down his face, He looked tall with a well built physical appearance. His clothes resembled those of a fancy school uniform, a black suit with white lining along the collar, his sleeves were rolled up and his hand held a bloodied katana. I didn’t know if he was a savior or threat, all I knew was that I no longer had the strength to fight.
He stepped off the creature and approached me, I closed my eyes as I prepared for the worst. But on the contrary, a friendly voice spoke.
“I’m guessing you were the one who called 001 earlier? Sorry I’m late” I could feel the compassionate smile through his words “don’t worry, help is on the way” he reassured
It was weird, the voice of the man was juxtaposed with his earlier appearance. His presence though, was indeed calming.
“There you are, you brat!” The shouting of a rough voice from an older male was closing in from a far
“Stop running off by yourself!” The older man scolded
“Hehe, I’m sorry boss, but I found our caller” the mystery man proudly states
I could hear the older man smack my savior on the head
“Good job! But that’s ‘General’ to you!” He grumbled
I could slowly feel my strength coming back, I tried to lift a finger, and then an arm.
“Hey kid! Don’t move yet! You’re badly injured, it’s already a miracle that you’re still alive after that… Impact” the man paused to look at the crack before finishing his sentence. “How ARE you alive though?” He added
“I— have t-to find my f-family” I manage to let out
“Hold on, we have a record for everyone, what are their names” the male asks
“Anna Deniece, Markus, and Samson Cambridge” I answered
“Okay we’ll ask about them” the man replied
I could hear more footsteps come close
“Is he the victim?” The gentle voice of a woman came of a distance
“Yes! He’s still awake too!” The man responded
“Oh goodness, lucky kid” I could hear her heels click against the concrete floor closer and closer to me.
She propped me up, flashed a small flashlight in my eyes and examined me
“We need to treat you right away, get the gurney!” She ordered
“Yes, General!” Voices from a far answered
I really lived.
I couldn’t believe my senses, was what happened really real? Logically it shouldn’t have been, but with how my wounds and broken bones still ache there’s really nothing that I can counter it with. This really is the reality I live in
The man who saved me is on the phone still asking about my family, his voice seems to grow more and more frustrated.
The paramedics dispatched carefully placed me on the gurney and some treated my external wounds. The man approached me again
“Hey, this really sounds bad, but are you sure those are their names?” He nervously asked
“Yes of course” I replied
“How about your name? What’s your name?” He questioned further
“Zymone, Zymone Cambridge” I answered
I grew anxious with how he phrased the question, he continued to talk to the person on the other side of the phone. He then looked at me with a grim expression on his face.
He put down the phone and his eyes became unfocused. The older man notices this
“What’s wrong Leonard?” The man asks
“The kid… He said his family’s names” He replied with unease
“What about it?”
“But the records” he took a long pause “it says that he doesn’t have a family”
Everyone fell silent
I knew what it meant the moment he said that
“So they were erased as well then” my voice gave.
My face became warm as the tension I’ve been holding in since earlier flooded my eyes, the thought that’s been in the back of my head this entire time had finally been answered. I already knew to some degree that this was the case, but to hear it out loud made it hurt so much more.
My luck had finally run out
My cheeks had streams of tears running down and I couldn’t even let out a cry as my broken ribs made my breathing hurt like hell.
Everyone’s faces froze solid, I couldn’t understand why at the time, but I came to realize later that what I said was something game changing for them.
To be continued…