Chapter 2 - Accusations
The man in the mirror stared back at Nick, accusing him of being the cause of all his problems. He shifted in and out of focus, grimacing with each change. 'Why, why did he have to cause us such pain?' Finally, one man came up with a solution: a black wire frame holding two concave pieces of shaped glass. As Nick placed these glasses over his emerald-coloured eyes, so did the man opposing him.
"Try copying someone else for a change," they smiled. Nick straightened his deep blue hair into his usual sweep-fringe and inwards flick affair before applying a modest amount of eye-liner to his eyes to contrast with his paper-white skin (although he would always claim that it was his glasses that gave his eyes this impression). He turned to admire his high-maintenance visage - perfect as always. As he left the room, his double chose to depart simultaneously. In unison, a thought ran through their minds: 'We'll meet again. I'm sure of it.'
The towering gates of Azure University were open, but the grounds were deserted. Nick checked his watch.
"3:27PM - hopefully everyone should still be in a mass lecture right now." He panted. Drained, he ran through the near-endless network of corridors leading to the conference room where everyone should be. Lost in though about what his excuse for being late was going to be this time, he was brought back to reality around the same time his face was brought to the ground. His glasses were chipped, but aside from that, he remained relatively unharmed. As he turned around to see what had made him fall, he was paralysed by the sight his eyes met. A body lay on the ground covered in bloody gashes, its face mutilated beyond all recognition.
Nick's brain was running on instinct - he had almost no control over his actions by this point. He frantically tried to get a reaction from the person lying on the ground in a growing sanguine pool. The cadaver's gaze remained glazed, its expression of agony and terror etched into its face unchangeable. Nick's attention was drawn to an ornate knife lying where the body originally was, its blade crimson with proof of the sinful deed it had carried out. Without thinking of the consequences, Nick held it up to the light and read the inscription on the edge of the blade:
"The truth is never painless."
Nick's reflection on the matter was shattered by screams piercing the air.
"Oh God, what is he doing?!"
"Nick, what have you done?!!"
"What the hell are you thinking!?!"
"Quick, call someone! Anyone!!"
End of chapter 2