"I wanted to give you something."

The man leaned back and opened a drawer from the bottom of his desk, pulling out something before shutting the drawer. Both of his hands stretched outwards as he revealed what object he had in store with him, a sketchbook. His cold fingers sprawled over the leather cover as he waited for Isaac to take the gift. He did so, with caution.

"I've seen that you have a fondness for drawing."

Isaac observed the leather cover as he opened it, revealing a vast amount of empty pages as he flipped through with unease. As if the book would come out and attack him at some point. Pages and pages waiting for his handwork to be graced with. A canvas waiting for his painting.

"Something that I want you to do, whenever you start to get those emotions or thoughts again, I want you to draw out what you feel. Sketch it out on this sketchbook. Create a picture of what you're thinking and sketch it for me. Can you do that, Isaac?"

He looked up and stared blankly at him for a moment, before slowly nodding his head in agreement. The man pulled out a sharpened pencil from his mug and handed it to him. Isaac took the pencil as he felt the pointy, sharp tip against his fingertip. He glanced at the blank page and thought for a moment. He began to imagine a picture of a horrible blobulous beast that looked like a giant disgusting misshapen head, spewing out blood all over from its mouth, bouncing all across the room, which contained only about 5 rotten teeth. He exhaled, taking in a breath as he pressed the pencil onto the paper, and began sketching out the figure in which he saw.

CHAPTER ONE
TRAIN TRACKS

FIVE YEARS LATER

...

It was the sudden shaking of the train that woke him up, as he suddenly forced his heavy eyelids to open, as he was forced out his dream. His breathing a bit shaken from the awakening. He looked around at the location he was set in. A dimly lit train heading off east to the town he was moving to. Few people filled the seats of the train, all busy with their own problems. He sat in the back of the train, next to a window that was littered with raindrops from the rain. Isaac closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, as he stared out the window. It was cloudy and raining, as trees and a few scattered houses zoomed by. If he could call the scene he saw anything, it would be grey. He looked at the sketchbook that sat on his lap, curling his fingers around it. He wore a long sweater and jeans, in the other seat was his bag full of belongings. His mind was...Uneasy. An uneasy feeling of discomfort that was pitted in his stomach. He dared not to let his mind linger to those thoughts of before. Of what led to him being on this train. Of them. Of her.

"Damn it." He thought to himself.

"Not here. Not now." He focused on the window again, the sun beginning to set past the trees as darkness began to make it's way into the land. He relaxed his breathing a bit, as his grip tightened on his sketchbook. He was nervous a bit, he wouldn't lie. Moving to a new town and all those problems faced with that. It was the uncertainty of it, most likely. Although deep down he knew exactly what would go down. They would just find him weird and unlikable. He would just be alone, as he had always been. Still, it would be more bearable with the support he had now. And as far he was aware, none of IT would appear. It would be lonely, but it would also be livable. Painfully livable. He tried not to think too much it, rather focusing on the world zooming by, as he neared his destination. The rumbling of the train as it chugged it on forward easing his mind. It was monotonous. The train tracks he watched seemed never-ending. Much like most things in his life.

...

He focused on the faint footsteps of his shoes against the sidewalk. It was late now, the sun gone as the moon shined brightly in the sky, half full. After getting out the train and taking a cab, he decided to walk the rest of the way. His head was held low, as his discomfort grew. His hands stuffed in his pockets as he continued to walk through the neighborhood, streetlights Illuminating his path. The weight of his bag started to grow on his side after the long trek he made. He stopped finally at a house. It was a cozy two story house with a garage and a weathervane with the silhouette of a rooster on the top. There was no wind to blow it, as it idly stood there, motionless. Even through the darkness of the night he could see the worn down paint red paint that showed the age the house carried. He pulled out a small scrap of paper from his pocket, unfolding it and looking at the scribbled address.

37148 EBOTT EASTSIDE ST.

This was it. This was the place. He stuffed the paper back as he took a few steps across the lawn, to the door. He stepped on the porch as stopped inches from the old wooden door. His mind was racing. Was he really ready to live with it all again if it all again? What if was worse? He took a small breath before forcing his hand up and knocking before anymore objections came into his mind. A few moments later the door was answered. it was a small elderly woman with with curled and messy grey hair, wrinkles around her eyes and nose, wearing a wrinkled dotted dress.

"And who exactly are you? Bothering me at thi-" Her words were stopped as soon as she was able to fully get a good look at the boy. His bald head, big blue eyes that always looked like they could burst into tears any minute. A timid face along with that frail body of his.

"Isaac? Is it really you?" He nodded his head as she came forth and gave him a hug. He was a bit taken aback, but couldn't help but hug back. It was possibly one of the only people that would care for him in this entire world, his mother's old friend. Grace.

"Oh, when I heard about it all... Isaac I'm sorry. I knew when your father left, it would only make her worse. Please, come inside. You must be tired after that trip." He followed her inside, closing the door behind him.

...

It had been a surprisingly short day for Isaac. It had felt like only hours of what was an entire day of a journey. After finally setting in and heading on to his room that was given to him on the top floor, he dropped his bag on the cabinet and unpacked his things. His clothes, some personal belongings, and his pills. He held the pills in his hand and examined the bottle closely.

TAKE TWO PILLS EACH DAY DURING BEDTIME AND MORNING. He sighed a bit as he walked down to the bathroom. He set the pills down and washed his face a bit, before starring himself in the mirror. He could still see it. That horrible version of himself was still there. He was still a monster.

You can't get rid of me. A faint voice said. He knew who it was.

Were the same, you and I. You are as corrupt as I am. We are one. You cannot hide what is yourself, and you know that. Don't you know Isaac? You know that it'll all happen again. Do you really want to fight against the inevitable? Against fate?

He spent no time longer before grabbing the pills bottle, and stuffing two pills in his mouth, as he cupped his hands to drink some sink water to help wash it all down. He stared at his reflection again. It was just him now. The faint whispers that began to return vanished again, leaving only himself. He grabbed the pills and brought them back to his room. After changing into some comfortable clothing, he stared out the open window of his room. It was nighttime. Crickets chirping as the moon beamed into the night. This was it, his new life. His new self. But was it really different? Would things really change? Or would it go back into the same usual cycle of pain and sadness? Could he really escape it all? Was he even out that wonderland of his mind? He was lost in his thoughts, before shaking his head and instead focusing on less troubling things. That's when he noticed her.

She had dark, long straight hair that went to her shoulders. Her cheeks was odd, with a noticeable pink blemish to them that made her look like she was always blushing. Her eyes were red. A dark red that seemed to made them look like they were glowing. Her hands looked oddly pale. As if she was wearing some sort of gloves on. But the most perplexing feature to him was her eyes. They was something about him that enticed him, but also scared him. He couldn't help but find her somewhat beautiful and dangerous. She had her arms crossed as she stared out her open window to her room. It was on the top floor, much like his own. She had an annoyed glare, as if she had gotten in argument with someone and was blowing off steam. He didn't even notice how long he was looking at her until she noticed him. They both locked eyes for a second, staring each other down as it was her turn to analyze him. He quickly realized the awkwardness of the situation after awhile, and in an attempt to lighten the situation, he waved at her. A small simple wave as some sort of greeting. She waved back, before looking behind her, as if someone was telling her something and her expression returned to annoyed. She gave him one last stare. It wasn't an angry stare or a confused stare. It was a friendly one odd enough. She then closed her window and headed to her own room, before the lights that shone out turned off.

He stood there for a moment and thought about the whole experience for a moment. Who was she? It seemed like his next door neighbor, but why was he so fascinated by her?

Maybe things would be different after all.