Prologue
It wasn't like he'd meant it to get this late. He hadn't been keeping track of time, rather focusing on helping his grandpa around the shop. He didn't mind doing it, actually he quite liked feeling useful, and it made him feel as if he knew what he was doing, and would be able to cope on his own when such a time would arise. Though he didn't dwell on that thought, the feeling was always there in the back of his mind, brought forward by the wheezing he would sometimes hear when his grandpa had to pick up a heavy box full of games, or the small winces on his face when he would stand after being crouched for a few minutes.
But it was getting closer to the night and the kitchen cupboards and fridge was almost bare. They needed food and, because he was younger and quicker, Yuugi had decided to go out and buy them what they needed. He knew that he could wait until the morning, but he wanted to be able to get up and give his grandpa the breakfast he deserved without rushing to the shop early in the morning. It was understandable, right? Or maybe he was simply lazy.
He gave a small wave and exited the shop, walking quickly and swiftly along the pavement. His dark shoes tapped quietly on the concrete, studded belts decorating the leather and shining in the fading light. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, bowing his head slightly as if that would make him go faster. His wide eyes watched his feet, their colour something that was rather rare – as was most of his appearance. But that's not what the focus of this story is about.
The supermarket was only a few minutes walk away, it wouldn't take him long to be inside the brightly lit building. He didn't think he'd ever be happy to be inside such a place, as normally he was bored to Hell with it, trying to get out of shopping as much as he could. The cold breeze that sifted through his hair and caressed his face, however, made him walk that bit faster, and enjoy the idea of standing in front of a bored-as-Hell woman scanning his items at the till.
Yuugi rounded a corner, not noticing where he was going, and ended up tripping over something he hadn't been aware of. His hands fought to come out of his pockets and his arms flailed as he tried to keep his balance, a yelp falling from his lips. His palms pressed against the cold brick wall of whatever building he was standing by and he managed to catch his breath and let his heart calm. Tripping in the night over unknown things was not something he thought was a good idea. It could be a dead body for all he knew.
"I'm sorry," he said automatically, turning to face whatever it was he had tripped over. He was slightly relieved to see that a man stood there, rather than an object. He would've looked mad if he'd been talking to a lone shoe or something equally as ridiculous.
The man didn't say anything, but shifted his head instead, as if trying to get a better look at the shorter of the two. Yuugi squinted, cursing the fact that the light from the street lamp didn't shine on his face, casting it in shadow. He could be in danger and he wouldn't even know it. What he could tell by the outline of the man's body was that his long, dark hair was pulled mostly from his face into a ponytail, though some strands fell across his cheek. He was tall and lean, not overly muscular. And, though the night was rather cold and the breeze kept brushing against Yuugi's face as a reminder that he should start moving again, the stranger was wearing a tank top and a sleeveless jacket.
The silence wasn't something he liked and he took a step back, not willing to take his eyes off of the man. He didn't know him, after all, or his intentions. He wasn't about to take any chances, either. He wasn't stupid. He knew well enough that men could be targeted for rape as much as women. Bullshit to those who didn't believe it.
When the dark-haired male took a step towards him, Yuugi took another backwards. The other still hadn't spoken, and it put him on edge. Why wasn't he speaking? Could he not speak? Was he trying to lure him into a trap or something? Every time Yuugi took a step back, the man would take a step forward. The tri-coloured adult chewed on his bottom lip, wondering whether or not he should call out again. The yellow light from the street lamp passed above him and finally shone on the other's face.
No, he definitely wouldn't call out.
The man's face was much paler than the rest of his body, – from what Yuugi could see – a palish grey colour that seemed to swim along his skin until it consumed everything, rolling like waves on the shore. Even so, the strands of hair could not hide the features that held themselves on that face, not even with their shadows. Where his eyes should be two deep black holes were instead. Deep purple veins spread from the corners of his eyes outwards, along his cheeks and up his temples.
His lips were pulled back, the colour a mixture of blue and purple, to reveal sickeningly long teeth. Yuugi's mind couldn't help but think that they didn't belong in a human's mouth, rather a mutant piranha's.
A clawed hand swiped at the young man as a hiss escaped those horribly twisted lips, cracked claws only just missing Yuugi's cheek by inches. Eyes wide and mouth parted slightly, he stared in horror as this. . . This thing started to advance faster, no longer playing the game, no longer taking one step at a time. The stench that wafted through the air made the amethyst-eyed male gag, his heart now stammering into overdrive.
He turned on the balls of his feet and ran.
The sound of blood pounding in his ears and his ragged breathing drowned out any other noise that he would be able to hear. He didn't know if the man was following him, or if he had hallucinated what he'd seen. Maybe that was it. He had simply stayed up too late watching documentaries and they'd all meshed together in his head to create something that obviously didn't exist.
At least, he let himself think that until he ended up skidding across the floor, trying to stop even though it was impossible at the speed his legs had been carrying him. He banged into the solid body of the creature – which he noticed didn't move an inch after the collision – and scrambled desperately to get away before those clawed hands came and trapped him. He sped down the way he'd come, turning the corner and running past the place where he had first bumped into the stranger.
Going home was his safest bet. He didn't know what the Hell that thing was, but being alone and vulnerable was not an option.
Yuugi breathed quickly through his mouth, the cold air drying it almost instantly. He didn't care that the breeze hurt his body and his muscles ached. He would keep running all the way until sunrise if he had to. He wouldn't let that weirdo catch him, oh no. He didn't plan to be anybody's prey.
The tri-coloured boy stumbled as he rounded a corner, nearly tripping but managing to catch himself in time. He heard a hiss and a grunt as the creature behind him smacked into the wall next to him. He shrieked and tried to run faster, his body feeling much colder, even with his jacket on and done-up. He balled his hands into fists, hoping that the pain from his nails digging into his palms would awake him from this nightmare.
He yelped once more – he didn't scream. Psh. He wasn't some girl – as his hood was grabbed and he was yanked backwards. He choked, fingers coming up to grab at the fabric and try to pull it desperately away from his tender throat. He looked up and could vaguely make out two gaping holes staring at him. . . Hungrily? How did that even work? He didn't allow himself much time to think as he elbowed the man as hard as he could. Unfortunately it didn't do any actual damage, but the stranger seemed to be surprised enough that his grip loosened.
Yuugi struggled to get the fabric from unusually long fingers. After what seemed to be an eternity he managed to succeed. He took off running once more, his leather shoes slapping messily against the concrete as he all but propelled himself forward. Golden strands flittered about his face, not making his vision any better with the now lack of sunlight.
If he'd been paying attention, he'd noticed it had been gone for a long while.
Turning down another street, he could see the Game Shop, even though the lights were off. He let a small smile come across his face before he heard a groan and menacing hiss come from behind him. Chancing a look over his shoulder, the monster that was coming after him was stumbling as it raised itself from a crouching position. Whatever it was, it didn't appear to be very graceful. For that, Yuugi was thankful.
He ran to the shop as quick as he could, now very aware of the footsteps that followed him, much quicker than his own. He skidded along the floor and grabbed onto the shop's handle for support. It wouldn't be good now if he suddenly ended up dead because of his goddamn shoes that had no grip what-so-ever. He yanked the door open and pushed himself inside. The door closed behind him and he shoved his hand into his pocket, grabbing his keys. He rushed up to the door to lock it when it was forced open. The glass slammed into his body and caused him to go flying across the room, landing in a heap on the floor.
He groaned, unable to keep the noise from escaping his mouth. He pushed himself up onto his hands, gasping when he felt his jacket was grabbed once more and he was yanked up, dangling helplessly in the air. He winced as the thing's breath washed over his face. Smelling of rotting meet with a metallic hint that he just couldn't put his finger on. He winced again and struggled, kicking anything in reach as those black holes got closer and closer. His foot connected with the beast's knee, then its shin and then its groin.
With a yowl it let go of Yuugi, doubling over on itself. The smaller of the two backed up, eyes still wide, mouth opening and closing, as if he wanted to say something yet not at the same time. He looked around frantically as the being launched itself at him. He yelped and moved out the way just in time to feel the thing crash into the glass case that held a few games on display. Glass littered the floor and flew threw the air. Yuugi skidded along the floor, a few shards of glass making his way even more difficult, heading towards the kitchen.
The stranger made his way after him, reaching out a clawed hand as he tried to swipe him once more. He hissed as he missed and launched himself at Yuugi, tackling him down and pinning him to the floor. The nineteen year old let out a scream – yes, he admitted it this time – and struggled, balling his fingers into fists as he tried to free himself.
The black haired male hissed loudly, opening his mouth as far as it could go and leaning down to stare into Yuugi's face. His breath hitched as he tried hard not to breathe. He struggled harder, trying to kick out with his legs. He momentarily noticed just how short his legs were compared to this creature's. It was a stupid time to feel jealous, but the man's overall strength made him feel weak in those grey hands.
Yuugi managed to kick the man's shin so hard that he felt it in his own foot. The man snarled and looked down, letting Yuugi rise his knee enough to hit him hard in the stomach. The thing howled and he tried to push him off. His amethyst eyes flickered around the room, trying to find something he could use to defend himself. He didn't want to truly hurt whoever this was, but he wasn't even sure what the actual fuck was going on. He moved to cross his arms over his face, to protect himself from both the hideous view and the disabilitising stench.
His eyes locked on a fork that was on the counter, its handle poking over the side slightly. He pressed his lips into a thin line as he tried to come up with a plan when his arms were forced back down on the ground. He let out a gasp then growled as he headbutted the noiret in front of him. With a yowl, the creature backed off enough for Yuugi to push him off and grab the fork, jamming it into the thing's shoulder.
An inhuman scream seemed to crawl its way out of the thing's throat and Yuugi couldn't help but wonder how the Hell his grandpa hadn't woken up and come down to see what the commotion was about. He didn't want to think the worst, and just wanted to think that maybe his grandpa was just a heavier sleeper than he expected, but that in itself was a push.
Yuugi watched in shock as the human-looking thing grabbed the fork, snarling under its breath, and yanked it out of its own flesh. Black liquid seeped out of the wounds and the tri-coloured boy just couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. He took a step back subconsciously, swallowing loudly. Black holes were now trained on him.
Quickly, he looked around trying to see what he could use to defend himself. In a blind panic, he grabbed a plate from the side, not caring whether it was dirty or not, and chucked it at the black-haired freak. It broke upon contact with the man's head and he grabbed a cup, throwing it. The object was caught in a clawed fist, where it was smashed into a million pieces. That startled him, causing him to gasp and gape, body not responding as the pieces were thrown to the floor, unnecessary.
He looked around again, all the while backing up. He didn't want to be any closer than he had to be, and if he could help it, he would escape whatever hellish nightmare this was alive. Eventually, he found a kitchen knife in the sink and made a grab for it, the wet handle slipping slightly in his palm. He tightened his grip and pulled it out, water splashing over the sides and a little onto the floor. Before he was even able to spin around the stranger was there in front of him, snarling.
A fist connected with his cheek and he gasped, stumbling backwards, body no longer responding. He wasn't sure what to do, his hands hanging uselessly by his sides. His grip on the knife loosened. The stinging pain he felt radiate from his cheek consumed his attention until a hand – too cold, too dry – wrapped around his neck and held him up, shoving him against the wall.
Without another thought, Yuugi choked on a gasp and gripped the knife tighter. Before he lost his strength, he plunged the blade deep into the creature's chest.
The noiret looked at him with wide eyes, stumbling backwards. His hand dropped from Yuugi's neck and, in turn, the boy fell to the floor, gasping for air. He watched with horrified eyes as black gushed out from around the knife and the figure dropped dead on the floor. He wasn't moving.
The young adult sat there in the silence of the night, eyes wide, throat sore and dry, hand rubbing his neck gingerly, staring at a man he'd just killed lying not three feet away from him. He tried to control his breathing, but the more he looked on, the more he didn't understand, the more he couldn't comprehend that out of all people, he had been the one to commit man slaughter. He could feel his eyes burning and his throat clogging up for a completely different reason, but he didn't dare let the waterworks start.
He was in shock, his mind unable to compute just what it was that he had done. It had been an act of self-defence – of that he was 100% sure – but it didn't make it any better. In order to save his life, he had had to end another. Only then did it dawn on him that the. . . Thing had wanted to kill him, had been trying to, even though he was sure the both of them had never met before. It didn't make sense. Just what the Hell was going on?
And it was in the dead of night, where a young boy watched in absolute horror, disgust and fear, that the beast's head snapped over to look at him, mouth gaping open and black holes poised on him. The stranger rose from the ground slowly, first pushing his torso up, then crouching, his head rolling bonelessly upon his shoulders, then standing, leaning against the counter for support. The noiret's head snapped up once more and an animalistic hand reached up to grab the knife. The weapon was yanked from the chest, where a slash stayed in its place.
Yuugi could feel acidic bile rise in the back of his throat.
Looking around as quickly as he could to try and find something, his gaze fell on the only other weapon close to him; a dainty looking silver knife that was lying on the floor, less than half a foot away. He reached for it quickly, feeling the grooves of the pattern in his hand. He vaguely remembered how it had once been owned by his grandma. Even if it wasn't as sharp as a kitchen knife, it was all he could reach before that creature of the night was upon him, teeth bared and hissing like an angry cat.
Without another thought, Yuugi plunged the small knife into the wound, making sure it pierced the thing's heart. Maybe he'd missed it on his first try and that had been why it hadn't died. Maybe that was the possibility. Maybe this time he would do it right and save himself from whatever torturous things had been planned.
A pained scream filled the air and the man – if one could call him that at the height of the movie – almost immediately was engulfed in a flame that lasted less than a second, turning him to ash.
Yuugi looked down. His eyes were burning, his throat was sore and the bile was rising once again. Quickly turning his head to the side, Yuugi promptly threw up over the linoleum floor.