Escape

In the outskirts of the city stood a building far away from the populus. That building was completely abandoned. Its walls had huge cracks in them, and all of the windows were also gone. Plants had been covering most of what remained of the building. The entrance was left wide open, letting the wind right through. The mysterious air that encircled the entire area surely gave birth to many theories that spread amongst the people.

The building seemed to be barely supported on the neglected foundation, whose paint began slowly rotting away, flakes in small amounts peeled off over time. The whole building looked as if it was on the verge of collapse. And yet, it still stands, as the echo of someone yelling escaped to the outside.

Somewhere deep inside the building, in one of the halls void of any light that was beneath the first floor, there was a door at the end of the hallway. The screams got intensely louder the closer you got to it. Behind that door were stairs that led to a spacious room that controlled the water streams, a foul aroma began coming from it.

From within the room, a woman was laying on the concrete floor, with a man standing behind her. The man was of short stature, and the white suit that he wore was of high quality. You just needed one look at him to know that he was a bigshot. The man wore an uncanny smile, that his two golden teeth began shining brightly, as he began hitting the woman with the metal rod in his hand right.

The woman, who curled up into a ball, began screaming in pain as the rod collided against her body. Perhaps due to the woman’s current state, her voice was hoarse, and only parts of sound come from her mouth. The man continued his assault on the poor woman, as the smile on his face widened, when all of a sudden he noticed something off about his prey.

Every time the man would hit the woman, the way she positioned herself was as if to protect one particular part of her body, her stomach. Even now, as the man was aiming for her side, she had placed her arm directly in its course, hitting it instead.

The man stood there completely puzzled. Why is she acting this way? This question began filling his mind, as he stared at the woman’s slender body. When the man focused his eyes on her stomach, it became immediately clear, as the man began laughing.

He grabbed the woman by her hair, slowly lifting her up. He moved his face closer, leaving a small gap between himself and the woman, his smile grew even wider than it already was.

“Are you perhaps…” he said menacingly, but was stopped mid-sentence as he heard the door upstairs swing open suddenly. The sounds of footsteps going down the stairs could be heard, when a man suddenly entered the room. He panted, as he began controlling his breath, few droplets of sweat flowed down his face.

“What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy!” the man grabbing the woman’s hair glared at the sudden intruder, his eyes were red from rage. Despite feeling his murderous intent from a quite a distance, the man who entered didn’t seem fazed whatsoever.

“Sorry sir Raiden, I was just searching for the boss. Do you perhaps know where I can find him?” the man said as he was slowly getting closer, with careful steps. Raiden had already let go of the woman, and quickly rose, his back completely straight.

“Why do you want to know?” Raiden questioned, as he rose his guard. He continued to stare at the man.

“It’s him again.” the man hesitated a bit, as he quickly looked behind him. His face whitened a bit, as if he felt threatened. He turned his gaze back to Raiden, and took a few steps backward.

“He’s waiting outside.” the man continued.

Raiden had cleared his throat, as he brushed his hair to his side. After he clicked his tongue, began speaking.

“That brat is playing with his toy again, you know where it is don’t you?” the man nodded, as Raiden continued to speak. “And sent Jiro here while you’re at it. Tell him to clean up this mess.” Raiden looked at the woman aching in pain, whilst cleaning his hands with a handkerchief.

The man bowed as he quickly left the room, Raiden following suite, leaving only the woman behind.

As the sound of the door closing echoed throughout the room, the room began to fill with darkness, leaving no room for even a shred of light. The only sound left was the constant stream of water passing through.

Whilst moist began mixing in with the air, the room began chilling. As the cold air began touching the bared skin of the woman, she began to shiver. As if by her womanly nature, she quickly embraced her stomach, in an attempt to keep it warm.

Although her thoughts were hazy, and her mind close from being shattered, one thought of a person was keeping it all together.

…Akira.. Naomi had pictured them cuddling together, she felt tears gliding down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.

I’m sorry.. Naomi apologized as she was slowly going unconscious. Some pipes, that were spread across the room, began leaking, their droplets being sounds that remained in the room.

Meanwhile in other room on the first floor, someone began grunting loudly, as sounds of fists hitting something began echoing throughout the room. There Akemi could be seen hunching over someone, as few veins appeared on his face, he wore an angry expression.

“Why aren’t you resisting!?” Akemi yelled as he continued to pummel the person beneath him.

That person did nothing to protect himself, his malnourished body had already been so weakened that it couldn’t even move in any way the person wanted. Even if he tried, the dead expression he had gave away his current state of mind.

The face that shone its handsome features not so long ago were all but gone. His young athletic body, whose muscles were clearly visible and depicted the person’s strength, had all lost their former glory and was now completely thin. His thick blond hair was now a strong shade of white and very thin as well.

“Tell me, why?! You, fucking pig!!” Akemi stood up and began stomping Akira in his stomach.

However despite getting hit from Akemi’s wrath, Akira didn’t move, not even a little. Instead his dulled eyes kept looking at the ceiling, as if completely avoiding Akemi. This annoyed Akemi as his face turned even redder, his eyes began turning bloodshot.

Akemi looked to his right, and grabbed a small wrench, whose rod had already began to rust. He raised his arm in the air, and was about to drop it on Akira’s face, when all of a sudden several knocks could be heard.

“Boss! You there?” someone spoke loudly as he continued to bang on the door.

Akemi looked towards the sound, his expression quickly darkening. He clicked his tongue as he stood up and headed towards the door. After he arrived there, he opened it forcefully and grabbed the person by the collar.

“What do you want?” Akemi’s tone was emotionless, as he glared at the sudden intruder.

“I-I’m sorry boss. I-it’s just…” the man stuttered as fear began taking hold of his mind. After he hardened his resolve and taking a deep breath, he began to calm down. “He is here.” the man said after he regained his composure. Akemi immediately let go of the mans collar, and began wiping the sweat from his face.

“Well, you should’ve said that from the start.” Akemi forced a smile as he shut his eyes. Akemi grabbed the shoulders of the man before him and moved his face closer to him.

“Tell him I’m on my way.” Akemi patted the mans shoulders as he quickly let go of them.

“Yes, sir.” the man said as he quickly left the room, leaving the door open.

Akemi turned his gaze to his broken toy laying on the cold floor, with an icy tone void of any emotions, Akemi began to speak.

“Consider yourself lucky,” Akemi slowly walked towards the open door. Once he had reached it, he glanced at Akira for a final time.

“Piggy.” Akemi said as he slammed the door shut, leaving Akira to rot in the darkness all by himself.

                                                                      …

The moment Akemi arrived outside, he found a man sitting on a bench near the old playground. When he noticed Akemi, he stood up and quickly walked towards him. As the man got closer,  he began to speak.

“Yo Akemi-chan. It’s been a while.” the man was slightly taller than Akemi, his black hair on the short side. On first glance, he looked like any ordinary man, the air he brought forward being not any different. However, Akemi already knew that couldn’t be further from the truth, he shivered slightly as he felt the slight ominous aura coming from him.

“What’s the occasion, Arata?” Akemi asked the man, as looked him with suspicion.

“Still cold as usual, I see.” Arata stopped, leaving quite the gap between himself and Akemi. The playful demeanor he had quickly disappeared as the air around them began tensing; Arata’s gaze turned lifeless as he stared at Akemi.

“How long do plan on wasting our time? It’s been a month already and our little friend is still alive, I’ve heard.” Arata began moving closer, with each step that he took, Akemi’s body was slowly consumed by fear.

“Why haven’t you finished the job yet?” Arata moved his face closer to Akemi’s, and slowly whispered in his ear. A drop of sweat glided down Akemi’s cheek, as he gulped.

“Well…” Akemi spoke but was quickly stopped by Arata, who rose his hand.

“It’s not like I really care how long you take.” Arata said, while pasting a smile on his face. He quickly turned around, and started walking away. Only after leaving a big gap, he looked behind him, and said: “However, it’s the boss’s order. Finish what you started, this is your last warning.”

Arata walked away, leaving the area. Akemi sighed from relieve as the air loosened, but quickly clicked his tongue. Akemi began breathing heavily as his face twitched in anger, few veins appearing as well. Completely pissed off, Akemi returned back to the building.

                                                                      …

As Akemi was dealing with Arata’s sudden visit, Akira was still staring endlessly at the ceiling. Despite how dark the room was, Akira’s eyes had already been accustomed to it, and so he kept on staring while not muttering a single word.

Slowly as time passed, the exhaustion got the better of him as he slowly closed his eyes. His mind drifting away inside the dark void.

As Akira was drifting away, a sudden flash blinded him, dimming a second later. When it fully cleared, that was when he opened his eyes. He was standing on a white platform, on each end stood giant walls, encircling Akira.

While he was assessing the current circumstances, he heard young voices of people talking to his right. When he looked where the sound was coming from, there on the wall, his mouth dropped in annoyance as he felt a sense of déjà vu.

“Not this again.” Akira said, as he watched his memories from the past replay once more. His shoulders dropped, his back hunching forward.

The other walls began projecting his memories as well, it were those he made when he was younger, back when his life was free of all the bulling he went through. Back then, he was an outgoing and social kid, someone who could get along with basically anybody. Akira looked at some of them in silence, as conflicted feelings began manifesting inside his heart.

“You don’t seem all too happy.” a rather similar voice began speaking, in turn shocking Akira a bit. When Akira looked behind him, there he found himself standing there.

“What do you want?” despite seeing another person identical as himself, his reaction was of mild annoyance.

“Playing hard to get, as usual.” the lookalike slowly walked towards Akira, his hands glued behind his back. “Just checking up on you. Or am I not allowed?” the lookalike said, as he had moved past Akira, his gaze turning towards Akira.

“No, you’re not.” Akira answered coldly, not even looking at his doppelganger.

“How mean!” the lookalike yelled, as tears dripped down his eyeballs. He pouted, as both cheeks began filling with air.

“So, tell me what you really want?” Akira asked the lookalike, his gaze piercing through the lookalike’s skin.

“Your answer.” the playful demeaner suddenly turned serious as the lookalike’s expression became void of any emotions.

“That again?“ Akira sighed, as he turned around, avoiding to even look the person in the eye. ”Why do you want to know?” Akira added, a gloomy expression appeared on his face.

“Don’t play dumb with me now, will you? You know exactly why I want to know.” the lookalike got slightly closer, as he spoke quite aggressively.

“…” since Akira’s attempt to feint ignorance had failed and put him in a corner, he could do nothing except yield to his lookalike. As he slowly opened his mouth, an internal struggle deep inside his fragile heart had manifested and began causing him to close his mouth again.

“Still doubting, huh? Perhaps you should be reminded of what’s at stake here.” the moment the lookalike finished speaking, the walls began replaying memories that caused Akira’s blood to boil, as he heard himself cry while being bullied.

“How long do you plan on standing there and do nothing against those freaking bastards? Haven’t they caused you enough pain already?” the lookalike continued to walk towards Akira, with small steps.

“They have tortured you, harassed you, humiliated you for years, and you’re just letting them go unscathed?” he added, as he just gotten close to Akira, their bodies only centimeters apart.

“And not only that,” the lookalike flustered, as he extended his arms. “They even went after your dear wife. Have you already forgotten what they did to her?” he snapped his finger, causing the room to turn dark. All of the walls had stopped playing memories except one, the one directly in front of Akira.

On that wall, were the horrors Naomi had to deal with as her screams began filling the darkened room. Just thinking back on how much pain those bastards put her through caused Akira’s body to boil even harder, his face began fuming red.

“Don’t tell yourself such petty lies to spare them. I can sense it, your bloodlust. You know damn well that you want them to drop dead.” the lookalike flustered in Akira’s ear, whilst smiling viciously. The way he acted was like he saw right through Akira.

“Leave those pesky morals behind, they aren’t giving you salvation anyways. There's only one way of getting it.” the lookalike began placing himself in Akira’s line of sight, as he held his hands behind his back.

“Kill them. Every last one of them.” once he stood directly in front of Akira, he simply stared at Akira. His eerie smile widened, as his teeth began showing.

“Now, what’s your answer?” the lookalike raised his right arm, while extending his hand. His expression still the same.

After several moments of putting his thoughts together, Akira held the lookalike’s hand, he began tightening his grip, the same eerie smile the lookalike had also appeared on Akira’s face. As they both began laughing hysterically, only half of the lookalike’s face began to disintegrate, revealing its true identity.

The creature was the one Akira saw once before in his bedroom, as its giant horn began extending from its skull further confirming Akira’s suspicion, its voice began changing to its original hoarse tone. A rather menacing aura emitted from its body and began covering Akira with it, its color tainted a deep red color.

“Well chosen,” it said as everything around the two began crumbling into little pieces. “Partner.” Akira found himself losing consciousness directly after, but before hearing it laugh a final time.

                                                                       …

“Damn you, bastard!” Akemi yelled as he slammed his fists on the table in front of him, the drinks that were on it spilling everywhere. As he began cursing in silence, a person opened the door, and entered the room. It was a woman.

“Now, why did you do that for?” her black hair only reached her neck and ended in a low bun, and her outfit perfectly fitting her slender body. She had a white hoodie, with a sleeveless jacket worn on top. She also wore white pants to cover her thin legs.

“Shut up, Amaya.” Amaya cheeks fumed as her eyes reflected her anger, gritting her teeth. Akemi flinched as he felt the dangerous aura coming from Amaya, he swallowed as he thought of a way to deescalate the situation.

“I-I’m sorry.” Akemi dropped his head as he said, his tone politely.

“Idiot. Hmph!” Amaya left the room as she raised her chin slightly. While she did, Akemi raised his head as he saw her leave, he gazed at her back. His gaze slowly focused on her behind, an ugly smug had formed on Akemi’s face.

They’re so easy to read. A thought crossed his mind, as at that moment Amaya returned to the room, only wearing lingerie. She held a blue towel in one hand, while touching her lips seductively with her other.

Later that night, after Akemi and Amaya went at it together, both laid exhausted in bed, Amaya embracing Akemi’s chest.

“Arata came to visit today, didn’t he?” Amaya said, as she sat up, she began stretching her arm.

“How do you know that?” Akemi asked, his face exposing his amazement, and his eyes focused on Amaya’s naked back.

“While I was minding my business this afternoon, I bumped into him by coincidence. He spoke fondly of your little ‘reunion’, as he calls it.” Amaya answered as she laid down again. She turned to her side, supporting her head with her arm.

“Tch, that fucking bastard. He must’ve told you why he visited in the first place.” Akemi looked defeated, as he clicked his tongue.

“Maybe I can aid you with that.” Amaya said as she ran her fingers across Akemi's chest.

“You sure?” Akemi couldn’t help but raise his brow after hearing her comment, as it came of out nowhere. He was honestly believing Amaya was pulling his leg here. However, her expression told otherwise.

“What? Do you think I’m not capable?” Amaya pouted cutely, as she began pinching Akemi’s cheek. Akemi cried as the pain finally registered. After Amaya had let go of him, Akemi stroked over the pain, while twitching slightly.

“No, it’s just… What do you suggest?” after Akemi had finished his sentence, Amaya grinned widely, as she gestured Akemi to come closer. When he was close enough, Amaya began whispering something in Akemi’s ear. His eyes opened widely as Amaya was done explaining her plan.

“You’re the smartest woman I’ve ever met.” completely bewildered by her suggestion, Akemi embraced Amaya aggressively, showering her with smooches. It wasn’t long before the two were going back at it again, this time though it lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

After Amaya had kicked the bucket, Akemi quietly got up from the bed, and dressed up. After he was done, he glanced back at the woman sleeping, before leaving the building they were in. As Akemi was walking down the sidewalk, his mouth turned into a smirk, completely excited about executing his plans for the evening.

                                                                    …

When Akira finally regained consciousness and opened his eyes, his mind was suddenly attacked by a sudden seizure that caused his vision to blur. Suddenly, Akira began recalling small recollections of what took place yesterday. As his vision and mind began clearing, he heard several bangs on the iron door at the end of the room.

Akira already had an idea who the person behind the door was, as his mind began drowning in the sea of his rage, his face turning red as a result. As the door was opened widely, the person entered the room, revealing itself to be Akemi, his mouth curled into a wide grin.

“Oh good, you’re awake and right on time as well.” Akemi said as he walked inside the room, panting as he wiped off the sweat from his forehead.

What is this bastard saying? Akira thought, as he gritted his teeth. However it was then that Akira noticed something odd about Akemi. Akemi wore his hoodie around his waist, his hands covered with filth, a rather unpleasant stench also came from his direction as well.

As the stench reached Akira’s nostrils, the sourly mixture immediately caused Akira to gag, as his body rejected the stench from entering his body.

Is this gasoline?! Akira seemed to have figured out what the stench was, as immediately after Akemi giggled a bit whilst looking at Akira.

“So you’ve noticed already, huh? Well, it’s our final time seeing each other, so I guess it’s alright to tell you.”

What is he talking about? Akira couldn’t grasp what Akemi meant, and so he looked at Akemi with great confusion, his brow slightly lifted as well.

“It was fun playing with you Piggy, and I mean that from the bottom of my fragile heart, but our time together has come to an end, and so has yours. However I couldn’t possibly let you go emptyhanded, so I’ve done my best to give you this as a parting gift. Therefore accept it gracefully, pig-kun.”

Akemi suddenly grabbed a lighter from his pocket, and began moving it closer to the wall on his right. A wide smile forged onto Akemi’s face, and Akira’s eyes began widening as he finally realized what Akemi meant.

Akemi lit the lighter, causing a trail of fire to spread across the right side of the room. He immediately closed the door, leaving Akira behind and began heading outside. As he was walking towards the exit, he quietly muttered: “Farewell.”.

When Akemi finally reached the exit, he grabbed a pack of cigarettes in his left pocket. He took one out and lit it with the lighter. Akemi brought it to his mouth, and took a deep breath. Immediately after, a pile of smoke escaped to the outside as he moved the cigarette further away. Akemi continued to walk, when he stumbled upon a familiar face. It was Amaya, who jumped into Akemi’s arms. Akemi stroked her hair, while bringing her closer.

“Let’s go.” Akemi said, as he had let go of Amaya.

Amaya nodded her head as she latched onto Akemi's arm and rested her head against it as well. As if already satisfied, they both began to walk away from the area, as the building behind them was completely engulfed by burning flames. Excessive black smoke began to escape into the air, while a nauseous smell also began to spread.

                                                                    …

Meanwhile at the police office, there hung a tranquil air since most people had already left to go home. Only few could still be seen there as they were working their late shift, including Kenta and Ai.

“Huh, you’re also working late, partner-kun?” Ai asked as she stumbled across Kenta while passing the empty hallway.

“Yeah, kind of.” Kenta, slightly embarrassed at hearing the nickname Ai gave him, patted the back of his head as he avoided Ai’s gaze.

Ai smile shone brightly after seeing her junior partner cute reaction, as excitement got the better of her she put her arm over his neck. Both began wandering around the empty halls talking a lot, when they found themselves stopping at the first floor. As both Kenta and Ai were enjoying their conversation together, a sudden alarm interrupted them.

“What’s going on?” Kenta asked, with a worried look on his face.

“Come with me.” Ai quickly grabbed Kenta’s arm, and began dragging him along to the entrance. There, a small group had already formed, the superintendent stood at the front of it. The superintendent looked as he saw Ai and Kenta heading towards him.

“Chief, what’s wrong?” Ai spoke professionally, her expression emotionless.

“There are reports of a building on fire at the edge of the city. The fire department is already on its way there. You two should come as well.” both Kenta and Ai looked at each other and as if reading each others thoughts, both smiled while nodding.

“Yes, sir.” both said in sync, causing the superintendent to crack a grin as well.

“Follow us.” the superintendent said as he and the group began heading outside to their vehicles, Kenta and Ai following suite.

When all of them arrived at the crime scene, the fire department had already put out the fire. What used to be a tall building, was now nothing but lose bricks spread across the ground. The things that still managed to survive were some pillars that were left standing, their color being a deep black shade.

“What on earth happened here?” Ai asked, but got no answer, as everyone around her were asking themselves the same thing.

                                                                        …

Even though the moon was in its third quarter, its light still shone brightly, beaming over most of the city. The streets were mostly empty, barring a few cars that passed by. It was mostly quiet, as many were resting at home.

However, in one of the many sidewalks, the sounds of rapid footsteps could be heard. The person behind those footsteps kept panting for air, as he pushed his weakened body towards his destination.

“You’re going to survive.” Akira repeated those words as he moved closer to his destination, occasionally checking on the person on his back.

“You have to Naomi.” Akira continued to run through the streets completely ignoring everything around him as he set his mind on one goal: ’Bringing Naomi to a nearby hospital’.

As he was gliding through the empty streets, Akira thought back of the person he hated the most, the one who caused this mess he was in.

And as for you, bastard, I’ll come for you. Mark my words!