Chapter 1- Awakening

A full year had passed since the patient had awoken from his coma to discover that he had evaded death once again, such a feat was a dangerous accomplishment for

someone like Johan Liebert. A year ago, when he had first come to, Johan had opened his eyes into an empty room in the middle of the night. His awareness flooded with

the memories that belonged to no identity and all he could do was smile. He slowly and with much effort managed to sit, his eerie smirk, which was only for his own

benefit, ceased when he was reminded of broken conversations that had occurred during his slumber.

'I had the opportunity to talk with your Mother... She still loves you very much ... She told me what your real name is, Johan ... You have a name.'

Johan, for a brief moment wrapped up in the darkness and the solitude of this tiny hospital room, allowed his eyes to glaze with excess water, albeit only for a couple of

seconds before his face fell expressionless once again. He gazed into nothingness and remained deep within his own mind for several moments before suddenly swinging

his feet from his bed and standing. The lack of movement had made him weak but he ignored that and let his determination guide his frail body.

His former goal, the perfect suicide, had quickly become discarded. Johan had come to the conclusion that he couldn't die and nor did he want to, for now. For now he had

a new goal in mind. He exited the room and eased his eyes to dip into the darkness at the end of a long corridor. He made little effort to hide his escape, after all, he

feared nothing. Sure enough at the end of the corridor stood a man ready to sabotage Johan's escape, or so he had first thought.

'Who's there?' Came a slightly shaky voice of a middle-aged man.

The corridor was sheltered in obscure shadows and Johan could understand why one should feel intimidated by such an eerie setting, although Johan himself didn't share this experience.

'I'm here.' Johan murmured with a kind reassuring whisper.

There was a long silence before the stranger answered.

'Do you work here?' the man asked 'I'm lost. I'm here visiting my wife, Kate. I left to find the bathroom and I can't find my way back.'

Johan took several steps closer to the stranger in order to get a clearer look at him although Johan remained shrouded in the shadows.

'I know she's in one of the rooms along this corridor.' the man confirmed.

'Kate, you say?' Johan replied with a monotone voice.

'Yes.' The man nodded 'Do you know-?'

'Certainly.' Johan grinned 'Right this way.'

Johan turned and began a slow pace, retracing his steps.

'Thank you.' The man seemed genuinely grateful 'I feel so embarrassed. Though it would help if they had a little lighting in here... I suppose it's not really necessary

though in a ward full of coma patients, and it is really late. I'm here this late because of special circumstances.'

Like a lot of people, in Johan's opinion, this man spoke too much. Johan had really said very little so far and already obtained so much information from this foolish individual.

'Special circumstances?' Johan uttered, half bred of curiosity and the rest a facade of politeness.

'Well my wife, I'm all that she has.' He replied blissfully unaware that Johan was the last person you should tell these kinds of details to 'And because of my job I can only

visit her at night.'

'You must be a very devoted husband.' Johan nodded 'Whilst you're around she has a very good reason to recover.'

'Thank you, sir.'

Johan didn't reply. He simply kept walking his slow pace down the corridor with his arms held behind his back and his head held upward.

'You know.' The man began as he stopped walking 'I think we may have passed her room. I'm pretty sure it wasn't this far down.'

Johan continued his tiny steps down the corridor, enticing the stranger to follow him.

'Sir?' he whispered.

'Right in here.' Johan forcefully pushed open a door.

A very tiny amount of dim light shone onto Johan's stern expression, as he held the door open with an outstretched arm, and it was the first opportunity for the stranger

to see Johan's face. His eyes pierced into the stranger's and gave a commanding glare. The man returned the gaze for several seconds before deciding to enter the room

despite knowing that this was definitely not Kate's room. Once he had entered, Johan also entered and carefully shut the door behind them. This room was the original

room that Johan had awoken in only moments before so needless to say the bed was empty. The man defying the reliability of his sight went to check the bed anyway.

Johan carefully crept behind him whilst silently pulling a pillow from a visitor chair that was parked at the bedside.

'I don't understand?' the man began before turning to see Johan stood in very close proximity with the full extent of his callous stare burrowing into the man's soul. Johan

acted swiftly he pushed the man backwards, the mattress cushioning any noise from a struggle and he quickly and with exerted effort thrust the pillow over the man's

face and held it firmly in place. The man struggled frantically but it was of no use. Johan didn't relent, even in the man's final futile bouts of attempting freedom. Even after

several moments after the stranger's suffocation Johan held the pillow firm, before he was completely satisfied, and then he discarded it carelessly onto the floor.

Johan began to strip the man; he had been wearing a grey business like suit and although he had a heavier frame than Johan this attire would be suitable for now. After

changing from his patient gown into the newly acquired suit, Johan looked down at the corpse that was still slightly warm to the touch. He had noticed that the dead man

also had blonde hair, even if there was less of it then what Johan possessed. Johan decided to use this to his advantage he carefully tucked the body under the bed

sheets, so that only the top of his head was poking out. Perhaps this would work as a small diversion until the truth would be discovered. Before leaving the room, Johan

also thought to open the window, though, not to use as an escape route he'd already decided to simply walk out through the hospital's main entrance. The purpose

behind opening the window was to give whoever entered the room next, their first clue into something not being quite right.

Johan was done here so he exited into the corridor once again. He headed once again down the dim corridor before halting his stride midway. Then he turned to his left to

see a door, which unlike the others, was slightly ajar. Johan allowed himself entry and crept into the room. In the centre there was a hospital bed with a middle aged

woman lying down on it, she looked to be peacefully asleep. Johan took a seat and peered over the middle aged woman, as he watched over her he feigned the same

angelic demeanor that so many of his other victims had fallen for.

'You must be Kate.' Johan sneered finally 'I would introduce myself... But I don't have a name.'

Of course the coma patient had no power to respond to any of his words, but he continued to talk anyway.

'They say that when someone is in a coma.. they are able to hear people talking and that when they wake up... they are able to remember everything that was said to

them whilst they were sleeping.' Johan gave a thoughtful pause 'I know this to be correct. This is why I am talking to you right now.'

Johan gave another pause and he pulled his chair closer, close enough to allow him to be able to whisper directly into Kate's ear.

'Your husband is dead, Kate.' He spoke with a loud whisper 'The only reason you were clinging onto life was for him ... Was it not?'

Johan pulled his chair away again and stood, but before leaving he gave the woman another once over with his soulless blue eyes and a morbid satisfaction that she

didn't have long left for this world. He left the room and exited the corridor. He continued navigating through the hospital, surprisingly drawing little attention from the few

staff members that he had passed. After all no one would recognised him, no one knew him. The whole time he had been in a coma he had only received one visit from

one person and that was Dr Kenzo Tenma. To the few nurses that attended to him he was nothing more than a sleeping patient. Johan's arrogance led him, undisturbed,

to the outside of the hospital's main entrance.

Since there was no one left... The boy went on a journey ... He walked for many, many days...