The Evil One

The Evil One

     Fifteen minutes left. ‘Why does it always seem like time slows down toward the end of my work shift?’ ‘Oh well, I shouldn’t dwell on it. At least when I get home, I can watch the new episode of One Piece’. Approaching silently, Kiyaharo brushes up against his arm, jostling him from his thoughts. “Are you talking to yourself again Yuji?” Kiyaharo asks. “Oh,” Yuji responds, “did I say that out loud?” Smirking, Kiyaharo gives his arm a nudge. “I was only kidding,” Kiyaharo laughs. “I know you are always lost in your own world toward the end of the day. Are you taking the bus home after work?” Lost in his own head Yuji, barely paying attention, replies with a smile, “Of course I am Kiyaharo, you know I don't have a car.” “I will see you at the bus stop then,” chirps Kiyaharo, “I have to ride the bus myself today”. With a skip in his step, Kiyaharo heads off to finish the last of his work before 5 pm strikes.

     ‘Ugh, why does he want to ride with me? I just wish everyone would leave me alone for a day.’ With a sigh Yuji also begins to finish up his work. Not because he wants to, only because he hopes to leave promptly at 5. ‘Maybe if I hurry, I can catch the bus before Kiyaharo gets there’ Yuji watches the clock like a cat watching a mouse, each agonizing second ticking by until it finally strikes 5 pm. Without saying goodbye to any of his co-workers he heads straight for the door. With any luck he can get out without anyone wanting to exchange false pleasentries.

     Arriving at the bus stop Yuji checks over his shoulder one more time. ‘Good, Kiyaharo hasn’t made it out of the building yet’ Looking back toward the road he urges the bus to arrive quickly. Before he could even look back at the building he was struck on the back by the cupped hand of his friend. The blow makes him nearly stumble forward. Turning back, he sees Kiyaharo beaming his always present smile. “Thought you could get out without me huh?” Dejectedly Yuji replies, “Yea, I was hoping.” Letting out his infectious laugh, Kiyaharo gave Yuji a much lighter pat on the back. “You are always so melancholy Yuji, what would you do if I weren’t here to cheer you up?” Letting a sly grin cross his lips Yuji retorts, “Probably end up being a serial killer or something.” His tone is mono, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm. Briefly looking at each other they both begin to laugh. Yuji’s gaze settled on the sidewalk in front of them. ‘I have always hated people’ he thought to himself. As his thoughts drag him deeper into his disdain for the world's population, the rumbling of the bus drags him back out. Air hisses from the bus as it lurches to a halt. The door clanging open allowing the smell of metal, rubber, and people to escape its interior. With a grimace crossing his face Yuji sighs, then enters the bus to find a seat. Kiyaharo is closely behind.

     As the bus door clamors shut, they begin to move. But, as they do, a man is heard outside the bus. “HEY!” he yells. Quickly followed by a bang on the door. “HEY! STOP!” Uttering intelligible mumbles, the bus driver stops. Air hissing from underneath. Rather aggressively the driver opens the door. Yuji had sat near the back next to the window on the driver's side. From his seat he had an unobstructed view of the bus entrance. The man entering the bus was dressed like a well-off businessman, if he lived 50 years in the past. His jacket all white buttoned only 75% to the top. Ablack under shirt made it only one button further. His straight white pants made the all-black shoes look like they had spent more time being polished than worn. The man's hair was covered by a black bowler hat, his eyes by dark glasses. Uttering thanks to the driver, the new passenger began to look for a seat. As his eyes grazed the passengers he locked onto Yuji. Stopping dead in his tracks the man's voice erupted, filled with surprise, “It’s you!”. Unsure if the man was looking at him, Yuji glanced around. The man’s voice rising from surprise to excitement he exclaims, “Yuji Kato, I have finally found you!” As the realization begins to sink in, the man reaches into his jacket, a flash of silver can be seen as he begins to withdraw his hand. His voice now filled with the excitement the man introduces himself from behind a smile. “I Yuji Kato have been sent here to remove this evil from this Dimension. We will all be saved.”

     ‘Yuji Kato? Does he have the same name as me? And what does he mean by removing evil from THIS Dimension? This guy is clearly insane.’ As the thoughts ran through his head Yuji had not noticed that the flash of silver was the shine of a gun. Kiyaharo, however, had already sprang into action. By the time the man had fully removed his hand from his jacket, Kiyaharo was already to him. As Kiyaharo lunges for the man’s arm a deafening bang rings out through the bus. The sound being amplified by the metal interior of the bus. The noise had caused Yuji to close his eyes for a second, as they slowly opened, his head reeled with a high-pitched squeal. But over the squeal he could hear the screams of his friend. Finally, having realized the situation, Yuji called out to his friend, “Kiya!” He pleaded “Kiya!”. The fear rose up inside of him. Kiyaharo lay in the aisle, slumped halfway into the seat on the other side. Silent and unmoving. Fear boiling into rage, Yuji looked up at the other Yuji, his eyes piercing with murderous intent. Noticing the gun was no longer in the man’s hand Yuji made his move. He lunged out of the seat into the aisle, gliding over the top of Kiyaharo’s lifeless body with a seemingly inhuman speed. The attacker had begun to turn around and reach for the gun which had been thrown toward the front of the bus. However, he was not nearly fast enough. The man calling himself Yuji Kato had only made it a couple steps when Yuji caught him from behind. Slamming into the man they both went flying forward two rows. In a fit of rage Yuji began hitting the man. “KIYA” he screamed! Pummeling the man from his back. The man underneath him began reaching back trying to protect his head from the blows. Letting out an animalistic scream Yuji reached down and grabbed the man's face. The man bellowed out in agony. Yuji pulled even harder. “EEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH” the man screamed. Yuji’s screams drowning out the man's pain. Then a loud pop silenced everything. The man beneath Yuji went limp. Yuji stopped screaming. The passengers all staring, terrified, by the monster in front of them. No one moved for what felt like minutes. Then Yuji released the man's head. The sound of a wet thud filled the bus, one passenger gasped in horror. Yuji slowly stood up, turning toward the passengers. Looking over their faces he was filled with disdain. Then looking down at his friend Yuji felt an odd relief. Without saying a word Yuji walked off of the bus. Blood covered his work shirt, but he didn’t care. ‘I guess I’m not riding the bus today’ he thought to himself followed by a light chuckle. Yuji looked up at the sky, watching the flock of birds fly overhead, then he let out a sigh and started his walk home.

     “Do you have anything to say about that?” asked the man sitting across from him. The man, dressed in a white lab coat, dated 50 years or more. The computer screen fading to black as he spoke. Without looking up from the table Yuji replied, “that was the first one I killed”. His tone was condescending. Unphased by the tone, the man in the lab coat continued. “Yes, the first one. But why did you continue on this violent endeavor across other dimensions?” A smirk crossed his face, Yuji snarked, “Why?” he smeared. “Did we just watch the same video? You killed the one person who cared about me. Yet you ask me why I did this? Why did you send me from this dimension to kill the “me” sitting here?” Seeing what looked to be a crack in Yuji’s facade, the man continued, “Because you are evil Yuji-473. What you did in your Dimension sent ripples throughout the entirety of your presence. We sent our Yuji to stop you before you could commit these atrocities. But you managed to kill him. That is why we captured you and brought you to our Dimension”. “Yes, I did,” Yuji replied flatly. “And I killed 37 other “ME’s” too. You say I am evil…. You made me this way. YOU took away the only person I cared about. Do you really think you can stop me from killing the rest?” Quietly and non-aggressively the man tried to change the subject. “Why don’t you tell me about killing the others Yuji?” Yuji’s gaze finally left the table. A smile took hold of his mouth. Yuji’s eyes locked onto the man in the lab coat. A gaze that seemed to pierce directly through him.

“Why don't I tell you how I am going to kill you?