Putrid - The Butterfly Effect Arc

The smell.

The smell was putrid.

The little boy opened his eyes. His eyes flickered, trying to adjust to the dim light. He was sitting down, his back laid on a slimy surface. The boy’s right eye was covered with a thick strand of his messy, black hair. His hand raised to tuck the pesky hair strand away, but he noticed something that almost made him scream.

Blood. Covering his whole hand. He looked down at the rest of his body. Blood everywhere. It was as if he was dumped in a vat of blood, drowning in it. The little boy began hyperventilating. The overwhelming feeling of nausea was beginning to overcome him. He looked to his left. A dormant garbage dumpster lay there, overflowing with bags full of rubbish. The smell of the garbage juices was just adding to the overwhelming smell of blood. The boy gasped out, trying to scream, but he was petrified. No sound came out. The place he was in was dark, and was only illuminated by a lone, pathetic lamppost to his right.

Suddenly, he felt a massive shooting pain in his stomach, as if he had been stabbed. The young boy was afraid to lift up his shirt and survey the damage, but with fake courage, he grabbed the hem of his shirt with both of his little hands, and pulled his bloodied shirt halfway up his torso.

Bandages. There was a lot of bandages. Did he do this? No way…somebody had saved him. That was the only explanation.

“Oh, kid, you’re awake!” A voice came from just in front of him. The little boy’s eyes darted to face the man that had just spoken. Well, the figure resembled more of an older teenager than a man, but he had a stocky build. He had long, dirty black hair that extended past his neck and shoulders, and it was straight as a wire. His eyes were a beautiful, bright ocean-blue color, but were slightly ruined by the deep eyebags that the man had. His skin, however, looked really soft and gentle. It was if a deity had just descended upon the boy. A savior. His final hope.

“Can you talk, little boy?” the man urged, poking the boy’s arm. The boy pulled his arm away sharply, and began breathing heavily once again.

“H-Hey...” the man uttered a softer voice. “I understand. I know this is really tough for you. I promise you that I’m not here to hurt you. I promise, see?” the man gave a comforting smile, and pulled his hands up, his palms facing towards the boy, showing that he wasn’t armed. The young boy looked down at the man’s waistband of his cargo pants, which had one gun holster on each side, with one bronze handgun in each holster. The man noticed the darting, beady eyes and laughed to himself softly.

“Oh no! Those are only for very bad men and women. You aren’t a bad kid, are you?”

The boy shook his head from side to side profusely. It was all still such a blur to him. Why was he in this dark alleyway? What was his stomach bandaged up? Was this his blood? What was happening to him?

“Now...is your name Katsu Aikawa, young man?”

The child’s eyes shot open. It was weird being called a young man because he was only twelve years old, but that name did sound familiar. Katsu. The child nodded.

“Ah, young Katsu,” the man smiled. “Your father spoke of you very highly indeed. You look just like him.”

The young man, despite looking really upbeat, began holding back tears. A single tear rolled down his cheek, and he wiped it away with his sleeve. The man looked away from the child to hide his emotions. Katsu looked up at him in wonder.

“W-Why are you crying, Sir?” Katsu managed to say, his voice was shaking heavily.

“O-Oh, you’re talking!” the man turned back to Katsu, a big, fake smile on his face. “That’s wonderful, and you’re so polite, too!”

“Why are you crying, Sir?” Katsu repeated, his eyes beginning to tear up with uncertainty.

The man held back from crying and sniffed back his tears, then kneeled down in front of the young boy, and held out his hand.

“It’s alright, Katsu. I’m here now. You are going to be safe now. Just take some deep breaths.”

At that moment, Katsu remembered something. The man had talked about his father. The young boy knew he had a father. What had just happened was a blur. Why was this happening to him?

“Sir...what happened? Why am I covered in blood?” the young boy’s voice became even more soft, and his breathing transitioned into more uneven and heavy.

The man sighed, then looked away from the boy once more, hiding his true feelings, trying to look more emotionless, but failing miserably.

“Just take my hand, Katsu,” the man told the boy, who obliged reluctantly. “This isn’t going to be easy to say.” The man took his hand, and held it front of his face, and his eyes drooped as he looked deeply into the young boy’s eyes.

“Your father is gone.”

“W-what?” Katsu froze, his eyes bulging in his head. “F-father?”

“Yes, young Katsu...I know that today has been the absolute worst day of your life, but I need you to focus, for just a moment.”

The young boy nodded slowly, the tears flowing down his face.

“Who hurt your father? Do you remember?”

The boy was stunned into silence by the information. His father? Gone? The boy tried to retrace his steps back home. Who would hurt his father? For what purpose?

“I...I don’t know, Sir...I still don’t even know how I-I was hurt,” Katsu stuttered, struggling to find the right words. The man gave a big smile.

“It’s fine, kid. By the way, call me Counter, please. Sir just seems...weird. I dunno.”

Katsu gave a nod, and looked back down to his hand, which had a dark red color covering all over, as if a tomato had exploded in his hand. The blood had dried into his palm and fingers, making the boy shiver.

“I...this blood...it’s...” Katsu started talking, but before he could speak, his memory began flooding back to him. He could see his father’s body, laying there on the floor, in a pool of blood.

“Ah...ahhh!” The boy yelled out. “H-Help me!”

The man hugged the boy tightly. He knew what it felt like to be under immense emotional pain.

“It’s ok, kid. I’m here,” Counter told him softly. “You are safe now. No bad people are coming to get you. It’s just you and me, alright?”

The boy stopped screaming and sniffled away his tears. Counter gave him a big grin once again, trying to stop his own tears.

“Now...go through your whole day...do you remember any details? Any at all?”

The boy thought for a moment and finally spoke up after a long silence.

“I...It’s coming back to me, I think...”

“Good...” the man sat down in front of the little boy, taking his hands in his own. “Take your time.”