Chapter 8

My head feels like someone just hit it with a shovel, I can hardly walk straight. Walking through the town early in the morning has some advantages, like more silence. Or an attempt to make your head feel better. This usually calms my mind then I return home. Tonight was different though, it feels as if something bad is about to happen.

The pain is slowly going away from this relaxing of mine. As I walk, it feels as if the streets of the town I've spent my whole life in are longer than they are. This is probably just a delusion from the head pain. But something is rather amiss.

The convenient store should be open by now, serving cheap breakfast to morning dwellers. There are no lights other than the ones on the street. Worst part of it all, around this time, a car or two would have passed me. Not one single car have I seen.

This was starting to really freak me out. Never in all my years have I seen this, it's always run on the same schedule. Taking a turn, I decide it's time to go back home before it gets too late and becomes dawn.

Walking down this new sidewalk gives me slight comfort. I'm not too far from the apartment. It's only a few more blocks away. When I would get in there it would all be normal again, I'd sleep for another hour, then I'd go to school. Simple plan yes, but almost impossible on account of what happens next.

A hand goes on my shoulder. Naturally, I turn around quickly and punch the unknown person. But when I turned around, nothing was there. If I didn't piss my pants before, I have now. Running now instead of walking, I want to get back home as soon as possible. My target is clear, and something invisible wants to kidnap me.

"Jack… Jack… Jack…" A faint voice is calling my name.

Paying no mind to this, I continue the sprint to home. I was scared of this, I haven't been scared in years. I don't know who or what was after me, and I didn't care, I just wanted to go home. I could soon hear footsteps getting louder behind me. Not wanting to look, I kept my head forward, but still cried for help.

"Help! Help! Can anyone hear me!?" No responses came.

After that, the hand grabbed my shoulder again. To avoid capture, I made a sharp left into an ally. Probably not my best idea, but hey, I needed to get away. Making another left turn at the end of the ally, what I saw next would scar me for life.

It was a person in a cloak standing about seven feet away from me. He was sticking stakes into a wall, wait not a wall, he was sticking them into people. I got a closer look, I knew the person who the ripping and mushy sound was coming from.

"Nepgear!" That's right, this person was sticking stakes into Nepgear, my new friend. Her face was hardly recognizable at this point. It was tore up and scratched all over. And I even think that one of her eyes sockets had a stake in it. The sight almost made me throw up right there, but I held it back. Bad goes to worse as I saw there were other victims. All seven of my other friends were upon the wall, suspended with her with stakes.

I could see and hear the blood of them trickle down the stakes. This wasn't real, it couldn't be. It was some bad dream, or a bad acid trip if I did drugs and didn't know it. I couldn't watch this anymore, I had to run away, but something, more like someone paralyzed me.

The cloaked person turned around, the shadow of the hood covering the face. I was sure I'd be next, it would only make sense. They didn't though, instead, all they did was stare at me. Until I managed to let out a cry in a combination of anger, grief, and depression.

"Who the hell are you!?" I yelled at the top of my lunges. Tears could be seen flowing down my red cheeks. This guy ruined my whole world, they had killed my friends.

"How could you not know?" He says, it's a male voice, how could I not know what, who the hell he is? Then he takes the hood of the cloak then throws it back. I was shocked at who was under the cloak. I knew the voice sounded familiar to a certain degree. "Who I am." I take it that he was finishing the last sentence.

It was me, no it wasn't but it was. I killed them, wait he killed them. This is getting confusing to the point I might actually not be angry just confused. There are noticeable differences though, his hair is all messy unlike mine. And more importantly, there is blood coming down from my… his eyes.

"You're not me, you're a monster! How could you kill them!?"

"You did this, you cannot avoid this." He then starts slowly walking towards me. Stake in hand, to my best guess, he plans to kill me. I have nothing left, all of them are dead, and I'm about to join them. Time to accept fate.

He is standing right in front of me. Raising his stake into the air, I feel the imminent demise I'll have. It goes down, and strikes me.

"AH!" This scream was real, it was just a dream, and a bad one at that. I'm all sweaty and hot, it feels rather uncomfortable. Under me was a pool of my own sweat. Man I must've had a really bad dream. Part of me though told me that the dream was real. After that, it was hard to get comfortable, so I looked at the clock, it was six thirty in the morning. Deciding to get up, a shower is the best option right now. Grabbing a towel, I head to the bathroom, and turn on the water, cold to wake me up.

After I'm finished and dried off slightly, I look at the clock in there. "7:00" it read. Guess I needed some extra relaxing today. After the dream I had, anybody would need a nice shower. At this point I don't feel as tired or frightened as I did earlier this morning.

Finally exiting the bathroom, I return to my room. Drying off completely, I select a new outfit to take on the day with. After it's put on, I start mentally preparing myself for what weirdness awaits me at school. The dream is forgotten after a little time as most dreams are. Lying down until my brother gets up and ready, I can rest up a little. After the time passes a little but, Maurice opens my door. When he does my clock reads 7:24.

"Ok, you ready to get going?" It's nice having a brother that cares about me so much.

"Yeah, let's." I grab my messenger bag and a deck box to put in it. I walk out the door with my brother and proceed to his car. Something across the street catches my eye. In front of the apartment build opposite is none other than Neptune and Nepgear. I didn't know they lived there, this is interesting.

"Hold up a minute Maurice, I have to do something." Putting my bag in the passenger seat of his car, I begin to walk over to them. It's not that far of a walk, only about a small parking lot. Only after about half a minute I get to my two purple haired friends.

"Hey, I didn't know you too lived here."

"Hey! Long time no see right?" It's only been a day Neptune.

"Hello Jack, Good morning." Nepgear says in the nicest tone I've ever heard.

Out of all of my friends, Nepgear has been the nicest to me by far. Not saying the others aren't nice, they are, she's just better at it.

"If you two want, my brother could give you a ride to school, and home as well. He won't mind."

"Really? I hate this whole bus thing, they take too long." Nice to see Neptune is on board with it. "Well… if it's not too much trouble." That's a green light from Nepgear. Having everyone in agreement, we walk over to my brother. At first, he looks at them weirdly, and then pulls me over then whispers. "If you want me to give these girls rides, then yes. You need to score Jack."

That last statement troubled me a little bit. Not even knowing if I could possibly date one of them is one thing. But my brother wanting it to happen is another thing. I can't get too worked up over it, time to continue on. Nodding to both sisters, they get in the back two seats. The ride to school is an annoying one with Neptune asking my brother all sorts of weird questions.

When we arrive at the all too familiar building. After getting out of the car, my brother drives off almost instantly, but not before giving me a suggestive glare. I really hate him at times. Enough of that shit, time to at least have a peaceful morn… "Ugh!"

"Onward my noble steed!" Since when is it a good idea to jump on a person's back Neptune? She can really get me mad at times. With the nonstop texting after school yesterday, and now treating me like a horse. Well, time to give her the ride of her life.

"Hang on then." I begin running towards the door making her hang on barely. "Let me off, let me off!" Knew that my plan would work. Letting her down gently, I can now get inside the scho… "Ugh!" Another great force hits me, this one knocking me down to the hard stone. Vert had jumped on me much to the degree Neptune did, except she was trying to knock me down, Neptune just wanted a ride. Why does this kind of shit happen to me all the time?

"Good morning dear, I trust now you're saved."

"Are you talking about last night?" As soon as I uttered those words, Neptune's ears perked up and she got a wolfish grin. "Last night? Oh tell me what happened, did anything juicy go down?" I'm not sure if I should be telling Neptune of all people about last night in the dungeon. "Honestly Vert, are you trying to kill him?" Noire just joined in this little group, from what the past day, the rest of the gang is about to show up.

I was right, behind Noire was Uni. "Why does this kind of idiotic stuff always happen?" Uni is one of the people in this group who I could probably have an intelligent conversation with. The others being Noire, Nepgear, Blanc, and Rom. Keep in mind the whole time this is happening, Vert is still on top of me, and I'm about to die. If anyone knew what we did with our avatars I'd never hear the end of it.

"Hello Ja… What the hell are you doing to him!?" A wild Blanc appears, along with her two younger sisters. At least she's concerned about me not getting squished to death. Blanc is covering the eyes of Rom and Ram, probably to keep them away from profanity. My theory is since Blanc is self-conscious about her chest, she doesn't want them to like or see people with bountiful chests.

"What's the matter? Is it wrong to show someone love?" Her definition of love is crushing me under her chest? At this point I regret everything I did yesterday.

"By love you mean crushing." Thank you Noire, you get it.

"This is wrong, so WRONG!" Uni, you also get it.

"Get your boobs off my steed, he still has riding to do you know?" I'm not a damn horse Neptune.

It's amazing that I was able to survive one day with these crazy girls. Two day on the other hand, that may be asking a little much for anyone. I'll try though, I want to be there friend as much as I can. Everyone is laughing at Neptune's statement, even Blanc cracks a smile at the remark. One person remains, Nepgear is looking off into the distance, her cheeks flushed red. Shaking her head a little after a minute, she joins in the laughing. What is up with her? I think she may be broken, or just crazy like the rest. Either way, pushing Vert off of me. Of course to do this, my hand had to touch her boobs. They are unbelievably soft, and anyone would love to feel these. Much like yesterday, my body wants me to go in for more. No, be gone worldly desires.

I get up and look at the outside clock, it reads 7:57, only three minutes left. "Come on, we have to get to class. If we don't the teachers will be pissed." With a nod from all of them we enter the building. Unaware of the horrors ahead of me today.