Prologue 3 - Ashley Nelson

People are born with and develop their own thoughts and beliefs. Sometimes, people are willing to change those core elements with debates, further life experiences and so on. Although, there is a limit to how open-minded a person can be. Everyone has it, whether they are unaware or refuse to admit it. Because, if people could have such a large, unopened door to let any kind of thought enter, humanity wouldn't have done most actions in the lifespan of our species.

However, I do not fit in either category. Instead, I can confidently say that I am the only human on earth that does have such a large, unopened door. I can understand so many viewpoints that my own thoughts and beliefs change on the fly because of my vast knowledge.

But I have an issue.

I can only use this large, unopened door with logic, and pure logic by that.

When I mean pure logic, it's the type of logic that no one would truly use. By my own definition, pure logic is where you add no morals, no emotion, and nothing external force to come in contact with pure, unfeeling thinking.

As an example, I overheard a debate about abortion during lunch at school once. Two very different, extreme points of view tackling one another. When the debate was reaching a stalemate, they rushed to me to have a conclusion.

I said to both of them, using pure logic, "In the end, it does not matter if abortion is ethical or not. The baby and mother and people involved in all of this would die eventually. Because of that fact, whether it is allowed or not frankly should not matter at all, and we should let people do what they want."

Unfortunately, they didn't exactly like that though, but they, pretended, to accept it.
And I have that line of thinking with everything. If people want laws, let them have laws because it won't matter in the short or long term. If people commit horrendous acts, let them because it won't matter in the short or long term.

You could say pure logic is not having an opinion, belief or emotions, but I would argue it is all of that into one and only allowing the truth in whichever concept you use it on.

If someone were to ask if I enjoy or appreciate such a concept, I would use pure logic to state that it won't matter. Logic is logic. That's all there is to it.

That's why I despise Tracey so much.

He, too, defies human nature with his incomprehensible thinking.

Instead of using logic or emotion, he replies with the idea of stopping any and all suffering. You could say that is filled with emotion or logic, but it's not.

As an example, the two people in that same debate crossed paths with Tracey and stated their beliefs once more. Instead of any worthwhile opinion, his thoughts were as follows:
"Abortion hurts people. It takes away money, time, and energy. It's really a nuisance, so I think the mother should take care of the kid, no problem. Who cares if they were raped or something? Eventually, justice will come for the rapist and the mother if she mistreats the kid, then justice will come upon her."

Soon to follow, Tracey was suspended for four days, while the two "victims" were treated like villains because of Tracey's actions. When asked what happened, they essentially said they both got offended and were about to attack him. Keyword, about, because Tracey punched their faces before any attack happened.

That is what Tracey Beringer does.

He's someone that fails to notice any emotion or logic and goes with this impossible solution that humanity could never follow.

When I first met him, that type of thinking intrigued me. To find someone that also went against natural beliefs to form their own unique one warmed my heart, and I eagerly wanted to learn from it.

That's why I became his only friend in first grade.

It wasn't as if I prided myself on being his only friend. Just that I was the only one strong-willed enough to tolerate his heroic antics.

Arthur did indulge him a number of times, but it was his words that people couldn't deal with. Even for a first-grader, teachers and classmates alike were unable to bear it day by day. I alone stood and listened.

I would be lying if I said they didn't interest me slightly.

Tracey wanted a world where this "justice" was always right, and everyone followed these rules. It was like all the world's religions had framed themselves in front of him, and after explaining their history, he was confused why people didn't love the idea of these rules.

He didn't care what they were, but the fact there were rules in place had him at ease.

He followed the rules without any opposition. Instead, he added rules he discovered into his file case to always follow them.

If he learned one day that violence was bad, he would no longer use it and any mention of self-defence would make no sense to him.

It was so fascinating to see from him. I wanted to know how he would react as time went on. We did disagree on my belief in pure logic, yet I would rather have a friend disagree with it and have their own reasons than have none.

But that was the last time I considered it interesting. Because, during our fabled "civil war" as the rumours would call it, Tracey seemed very different. He started to become quieter. No longer acting out, but staying in place and observing everything.

I couldn't understand the sudden change, but I eventually picked up on it.

He was trying to find the justice-or truth—of the situation. I finally started to notice after he kept asking everyone questions. Questions about the situation; their beliefs and where they stood. He would ask me those very questions, but I made sure to give non-answers.

It would annoy him slightly, but it was for his own good. And for my curiosity. I wanted to know what path he would take with all the information he gathered. Even if I wasn't interested in his beliefs, I was still invested in his actions.

But, that, too, was the last time I was curious about him.

Because on the last day of first grade, when I had gone on a family holiday a week earlier, Tracey did something I can't forgive.

He used violence to carry out his justice.
That disgusted me.

I had thought that was the line he would never cross. That his "justice" would never resort to that.
But it did, and I couldn't stand it.

I tried to rationalise it in my head. "Perhaps it was self-defence, or he was mistaken for someone else that did use violence. Maybe he was forced into it, or they mean a different type of violence since they are different forms of it-".

On and on I went before I finally decided to learn the heart of the matter. I don't quite understand why I insisted on clearing his innocence. The only answer I could think of was, that I didn't want to believe my first friend would do something like this.

And then, when I confronted Tracey, he told me, dead in the eyes.
"Yes, I did do that. I...regret it now, but, at the time, I thought that would be the right course of action. Please, forgive me, Ashley."

At the time, I lied and told him that I did forgive him, but I never did.
I could never forgive him.

Alas, that very day, I still decided to be in close relations with him because of the information he acquired. He didn't tell me who came and told him, but it was about Michael. Apparently, he was planning something. What that was, not even the person in question knew, but it was something dangerous and evil, according to the information.

Honestly, it seemed absurd to me that a first-grader could wield so much power to plan something worth concerning ourselves over.

Yet, Tracey took this information seriously so he asked me to keep watch over Michael. Begging and offering to do whatever I wanted, I just gave in because I hated seeing people do such acts to get what they wanted.

Which is how they got what they wanted.

Putting that aside, I did watch over Michael. Not excessively or keenly, just normally glanced at him from time to time over the years, and tell Michael reports once in a blue moon.

And I started to notice something odd about him. His eyes seemed unusually red, with very dark bags under his eyes. People stopped paying attention to him, so only I really noticed it. I thought it may have been because he was sick or something else until I walked over to the men's bathroom in 5th grade. It sounded sniffly until a sharp inhaled made its way down my eardrums.

That's when I realised, he was taking drugs so early on in his life.
Suddenly, I started to see people with the same look increase.

Slowly but steady, I started to see it happen within our school, and spread throughout our town. I quickly went over to Tracey, and he confirmed that my suspicions were true. However, he seemed to have taken the reality of it quicker than it did for me.
As if, he knew this was going to happen.

That's when he told me his plan and asked me to continue helping him.
That plan had one goal in mind.

"Completely stop Michael Kerr in one single day. All the misfortune, criminal activity, and everything that you could consider wrong stopped in one single day. That's the goal." Tracey said with an oh-so-confident grin on his naive face.

Upon hearing that, I chuckled a bit as he looked at me as if I had done the rudest thing ever. I couldn't help it, honestly. Let's say that he is doing this criminal activity to deliver drugs to everyone in town. At the time, they were in fifth grade (I was in sixth due to Tracey and Michael having repeated first grade.) How could a fifth-grader possibly organise a drug trade in only five to six years?

Apparently, to Tracey, the conclusion that a fifth-grader did do something like that seemed to make as much sense as humans being able to fly in the air on their own. Again, he had information that he put his own belief in that told him this would happen, and again, he refused to tell me who this person was.

I obviously asked Tracey why we couldn't turn to the police, and he responded with another ridiculous solution they were being bribed. It's not as if things like that couldn't help, but for them to happen by Michael made no logical sense.

Back and forth, we argued over the logic of it, all while I begrudgingly helped him. Instead of a duo fighting for justice, as others saw it, our duo was more focused on proving their selves correct and the other wrong.

We became a public duo due to Tracey's plan that really only had three steps in place:

1. Gain acceptance from the public that we were upholders of justice.

2. Continue to collect information from Michael's actions

3. Plan for the final day (which will be done around high school time.)

Due to Tracey's already ruined reputation, the first step was a lot harder for him. For me, it was a breeze, but I reluctantly helped his efforts to improve his lost reputation.

In the end, it worked out fairly well enough to have someone ask to join our duo to make it a tiro.

Arthur Walters.

To be fair, I had no ill will towards him. In fact, I would say he's one of the few people I like, even if his habit of always helping people bothered me. How could one person be so obsessed over helping others that they become a hollow puppet?
Regardless, there was something admirable about that.

But that very quaintly he had made me hesitant to let him join us.

Tracey could easily use someone like him with a single command. I didn't want to let that happen to him. Arthur had a bright future. He shouldn't be involved in the affairs of a demon trying to fool itself to be a saviour of justice.

Although, there was one thing I wanted to make sure of before I completely denied him.
I asked him a simple question to know his thoughts on the matter of abortion. Whether he was against it or not. His response was as followed:
"Of course, I'm against it. People shouldn't be deciding whether they have the choice to kill a baby before they even know the concept of death! They should be born into this world, and if the parents truly don't want them, have the child and take them to an orphanage."

A valid opinion that I disagreed with, but respected nonetheless. But, after hearing that, it gave me all the more reason to deny him from joining us.

This boy had so much ahead of him.

I can't let Tracey corrupt him.

Alas, he welcomed Arthur with open arms and started to become more dangerous in collecting information. Throughout our middle school years, Tracey made Arthur join him in missions that were far too dangerous with little reward involved. Disguising themselves to sneak into one of Michael's many gangs only to almost die in the process; Opening challenging Michael in public only to end up with more suspensions in school, and even asking members of Michael's friend group very blunt questions.

He wanted to show off to Arthur while seeming clever about it.

Tracey's a real ignoramus.

And then, middle school came and went. We all finally arrived in high school, where the final plan was supposed to begin.
No thanks to Tracey's silly antics, I collected a vast amount of information about Michael and his actions to plan something. All Tracey told me was to give him the information, and watch what happens during the final month of school.

I decided to do just that. I was tired of Tracey at this point. Tired of doing all this foolish work, the police should have been doing. Tired of having to be in the dark. So instead, I was going to let it all happen.
Arthur was nervous but excited about what was to come. I could only see him as my little, naive brother.

The last month of school arrived.
The result?
He had done it.
Tracey Beringer had stopped Michael Kerr in one single day.
When I saw it in action, I almost had a panic attack. Because, Tracey had done what he said all those years ago.

"Completely stop Michael Kerr in one single day. All the misfortune, criminal activity, and everything that you could consider wrong stopped in one single day. That's the goal."

That meant Tracey's ideals could be foreseen in this world. His idea of justice could rule the very world because he now had the result to show for it. It wasn't boasting or idiotic talk because he had hard evidence to show for it.

When I asked how exactly he accomplished it, he only told me he had followed the plan, but I knew that was a damn lie.

He had something up his sleeve that I failed to notice. Someone was helping him, and they were a powerful person with connections. They, too, saw the power of Tracey's beliefs and wanted to give him the chance to go through it.
When I walked back home—with Arthur raving about Tracey like a Greek God—I resolved myself that I had to do something.

I had to stop Tracey, once and for all.

He is not a demon. To compare him to a demon would be an insult.

He's not the devil either, or God.
He's a man.

A man with an idea that could harm all of us with the right power.
Once I got home, I locked myself in my room, thinking up every possible strategy to defeat Tracey. I thought of everything to ensure that tomorrow, I would expose him for a false crime to stop any further action on his part. I had to.
Tracey would corrupt this world, and I know that to be true.

Though, I didn't think I would get a phone call from him so fast.

The day was close to ending with heavy rain once again. I had gotten over him and went back to my daily routine of studying. We had exams coming up on the last week of school. I couldn't slack off now. And, once I finally was about to end the day with sleep, the house phone rang.

My parents called me downstairs, saying it was for me. I knew it only had to be Arthur, as he is the only person I've ever given my phone number to. (Of course, I would never give it to Tracey).

Arthur sounded so scared on the phone. He only told me to meet him at his house. That Tracey wanted to talk to the two of us.

I was so close to denying it. So close to telling Arthur to kick him out, and never speak to him again. But the way he sounded... It sounded like my own thoughts when I first discovered Tracey's demonic beliefs.

And so. Here I am.
With an umbrella in my left hand, and my right hand, about to press the doorbell.
If I push it, there's no turning back.
But at this point, I couldn't turn back if I wanted to.
I pressed the doorbell.
Now, I could only have faith that I could protect myself and Arthur.

~~~

The door opened to Arthur's father standing before me. I had no ill will towards them, even with the knowledge of how they treat their son. Honestly, if I had him as a son, I may have done the same thing. Instead, I empathize with them as they empathize with me.

They did have a loving spot for Tracey because of his attempts to bring the Walters family close. Perhaps they did want to be a normal family, but Arthur made it impossible for them. Instead, they allowed Tracey to do all the heavy lifting.↳

That made me dislike the two for allowing Tracey to take care of their strained relationship. Logically, it was up to both parties in that relationship to fix it themselves, not an outsider to do so.

That being the case, I stayed out of their issues and simply interacted normally.

"Excuse Mr Walters, Arthur, requested I arrive. However, I do apologise for my very late presence as it is late evening."

I tried my very best to sound formal and polite to make my way over to Arthur. His father only mumbled his understanding and allowed me inside his home.

I saw Mrs Walters watching television. I couldn't tell if she did notice me or not, but she continued her activities.

Mr Walter tapped me on the shoulder to direct me to where Arthur was. I knew he was in his room, but he seemed to want to tell me something else.

Mr Walter looked right into my eyes, and requested, "Please, help Arthur in a way you think is best for him."

I nodded to show that I would and went upstairs.

The door was wide open, and I could see Arthur and Tracey.

Tracey with his messy blond hair and an oversized shirt. He looked serious and appeared to be telling something to Arthur. He had those eyes like a lion planning out its attack.
I always hated those eyes.
Arthur was wearing his usual clothing. He wore a very long skirt with his favourite blue hoodie. His red hair was a tad long for him, but otherwise, he was still his usual self. Except, of course, his eyes were that of a sacred prey watching the lion plan.
Those eyes, I've always felt pity towards.

Tracey finally noticed me with a wide smile. "Ashley, you made it right on time!"He tried to give me a hug, but I dodged it swiftly. I could tell Tracey was hiding his annoyance but moved right along.
"How have you been Ashley?"
"Just to the point on why you called me so late."
I was in no mood to catch up with him.
Tracey sighed heavily. "Don't be like that. Before I can tell you, I have to know your well-being, of course."
"Maybe that would be logically, but I bet you never considered Arthur's when you made your way here." I countered back.
Arthur felt tense at my comment, and mumbled, "I-It's alright, Ashley, I'm fine with Tracey b-being here so late." He sounded like a quivering bunny.
I went over to him and gave him a nice, tight hug. "I know you would let him here, but what did I tell you about being this caring? He's going to take advantage of you badly one day if you keep acting like this."
"B-But Tracey's a good friend. You know that, right?"
"Sure he is." I snorted.
Tracey couldn't let that slide on behalf of his pride. "C'mon, Ashley, you know that I am a good friend. I would have done the same for him, but the situation is dire."
"Oh, it must be to call me out here in the middle of this rainy day."
But I couldn't get too wrapped up in this banter. I need answers right away.
Letting go of Arthur, I stood up straight with authority. Even if people thought Tracey was the leader, we all knew who truly had the power here. Not that I wanted it, but if Tracey were to have that power, we would all be in jail right about now.

"So, tell me why you asked Arthur to call me here?" I asked.

Before he answered, Tracey went over to the door and closed it. Locked it as well. He looked back at me, took a deep breath and explained everything. Corpses lying on the ground, his mother being a murderer, his father's response to the whole ordeal and Tracey's resolve for his "justice" as you would.

Gone were the days I would laugh at this ridiculous story, and I took it seriously as the possibility of a war. I had many questions, but one sprung to mind first.

"Did your mother actually kill them, or are your parents covering for someone else? You do have a sister that is currently in prison."
It's rash to assume that his mother did it, even if she admitted it. Mrs Beringer could be lying to hide the true person responsible for the crime itself. Although Tracey quickly replied with, "No, it can't be her," and didn't seem to be convinced otherwise. I put that idea into the back of my mind.

"Did you look over the entire house, or did you immediately go to the phone?"

Arthur flinched ever so slightly at my question. He thought no one noticed, but I was the only one that did. That flinch either meant Arthur thought the idea. He didn't seem to have asked Tracey because he had the look of realising something he missed.

Tracey hastily asked, "Do you mean they could be more bodies?"

"No, but that is a possibility. It's idiotic to believe that the only thing you could have discovered would be corpses, and that's it. Nothing more noteworthy than that. If you had looked more cautiously around the house, you may have found more evidence to an abundance of new conclusions."

I really could not stand how Tracey overlooked such an obvious action he could have taken. If it was Arthur, or anyone else, I would be far more understanding because seeing a sight like that would take away any logical thoughts.

But Tracey was different.
Tracey was able to calm down and do something about the situation. So I would obviously lecture him on his foolish efforts.
He didn't exactly like my rough attitude with him. "To be fair, I did take consideration into my surroundings like the broken doorknob and backyard door!"

I argued back, "But that is too little to go off! That could lead to multiple things outside this murder case and something else entirely. Your observations are completely useless!"

Tracey's face started to go red. Angry, annoyance or hate, I didn't know and couldn't care less.

"You weren't there... You didn't see what I saw-"

"Yes, I know that, but I do know that this is something far beyond anything we could handle! We have too little information, and too little time to create a plan or anything of relevance! You want us to risk our lives for your selfish goal of taking down your parents! Well, give us something to work on!"

"I am... I really am Ashley!" That line could only be quivered out by Tracey like a child having no idea what to say next.

"Sure, sure, just like you tried in Michael's situation and I had to clean it all up! When will you learn that trying isn't good enough for stuff like this? When, huh?!"Everything I have been holding back started up to my throat to voice itself out for once.
I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.
In fact, I didn't want to.
I wasn't going to hold it in anymore and finally say everything I wanted.
"Now that Michael's been defeated, you suddenly want us to do something even more dangerous than that took years to accomplish- and all for your own selfish desire of proving to your parents that you're right. Don't give me that look, Tracey, I knew that is what this is all about. Your father beat you in a debate, fair and square, and now poor little Tracey wants to beat his father. Stop acting like a damn child! Have you ever thought about your own future beyond this? Have you thought about doing something other than putting people to justice? Have you-"

That's when Tracey was about to punch me. Alas, he was too weak as I dodged it and pushed him onto the ground with his left arm behind his back.

"Really, now you're going to use violence to get your way? Just like earlier when Michael beat you-"

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Tears started to bubble up in his eyes.
Honestly, I couldn't stand it, but I could feel Arthur stare at me. He wasn't on anyone's side at the moment, but me harming him had visibly gone over the line for him.
I let Tracey go while Arthur went between us as soon as possible.

"How about you tell her about the plan you told me? Maybe that will convince her otherwise. Use your words, Tracey, please..."

Tracey looked at his pleading face and stopped his tears before they could land. Arthur was right, and I know Tracey would never risk hurting his reputation in Arthur's mind.

"I'm sorry Ashley... I shouldn't have done that."

I hesitated to apologise, but I knew it was the right choice to do so.

"It's alright, I shouldn't have insulted you to prove my point." I forgave him earnestly.

I am usually not so emotional, but Tracey does that to me. He makes me want to go against everything I stand for. He makes me want to follow his ideals. It makes me sick to my stomach. After calming down, Tracey tried his best to look as Stoic as possible.

"Before I tell you the full details of the plan, we all need to check the situation at school. We need to know if Michael's situation is done with, and we can move on to this. Then, I will talk to my informant-No, I can't tell you who it is Ashley and Arthur -where I'll tell him the situation as well. After school ends, we'll come back here, if that's okay with you Arthur (Arthur nodded that it was fine with him, but I doubt he truly meant that), and I'll tell you the plan. Is that fine with everyone? Ashley?"

I'll admit, I rather hear the details about the plan first, but I didn't want to cause more problems. "Yes, it's alright with me."
Tracey looked content with my agreement. "Arthur?"
Of course, Arthur nodded and was happy with what we all agreed upon. If we were happy, so was he.

"Great, now let's rest up, everyone. To justice!" He held up his two fingers.

I hated this.

Truly.

It felt like I was signing away my soul to Tracey forever.
And that he would never let go of it until he had no use for it anymore.
Of course, knowing Tracey, he would always have a use for it.

But, if my own plans went well, this would be the very last time I would do this.

I held up my first two fingers with Arthur, and our fingers turned into a large peace sign.

The last one I would ever do willingly.

~~~

I headed to the guest room where I would fall asleep. I already told my parents I would be sleeping over for the night. They didn't mind but told me to be careful of the two boys. It was nonsensical for them to be so concerned with something so small. If I had a normal life, I would probably tease them about how they had nothing to worry about. But I didn't have a normal life, so I only told them I would do as told. The guest room I entered was practically my own room. My spare clothes and utilities were already there due to the countless visits. I had no trouble settling in and replacing my clothes with pyjamas.

After that, I went to the bathroom to tidy up and end the day with sleep.

Finally.

Tracey was waiting outside the bathroom, but, when I left, he didn't say a single word and went inside without any comments. I was perfectly fine with that. I had already handled enough of Tracey today.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I went back to my room, where Arthur was waiting outside, patiently. He rushed over to me and gave me a hug. A hug that felt sombre and longing for something more. I returned the hug best I could, and he only whispered back, "Good night," and ran back to his room. I could tell something was bothering him. The thought of going after came to mind but decided against it. I think he, of all people, needs time alone.

I closed the door to my temporary room and fell backwards to the bed.

I thought back to everything lending up to this very moment.

The moment everything came to the current present where Arthur and I were forced to follow Tracey.

My eyes started to close, and a dream started to form.

A dream of Tracey holding chains to our necks, pushing forward. Forward on a broken road with no end in sight. Arthur begged and shouted to be let go, but Tracey ignored him. Unfortunately, he pulled his chain too hard and Arthur's neck snapped. Tracey failed to notice that and still carried on, pulling his lifeless body. Upon seeing that, I somehow broke the chains through pure strength. And then, I ran. I ran and ran and ran and ran back down the road with Tracey chasing me. He chased me with the dead Arthur on his back.

Suddenly, I found a road.

A road with no bridge to cross and only a giant hole downward.

I looked back at Tracey and jumped.

Did I jump, attempting to reach the other side, or did I jump to fall down the hole?

I don't know. But once I did, the dream ended, and I would wake up forgetting the whole thing.

And when I did wake up, I would only think, "What a strange feeling I have."

Prologue 3 End.

Prologues are now finished.

The story can now begin.