Chapter 4: Birth of a Demon
"What the hell are they thinking they want to abort the project?" said an irritated man seated inside his black Mercedes Benz. He was at his fifties with white, thinning hair, garbed in a white overcoat. "Couldn't they wait for a little while until I find my perfect subject? They really are idiots!"
"Doctor, we are nearing the laboratory," his driver said.
"Slow a bit, Pedro, I want to think a little longer."
"Understood, sir."
Not only that Pedro shifted to second gear, he also decided to have a detour. He steered into the slum district.
Meanwhile, after wandering for about four days away from home, Kukri ended up in an alley between two tall buildings. Every now and then, he would rummage a trashcan to search for food. He became noticeably thinner after days of starvation and thirst. It was inexplicable that he stayed conscious up to this point, considering that he was only a three-year-old kid.
When he was nearing the end of the alley, the black Mercedes Benz of the doctor passed by. The old man and the boy met each other's eyes for a split moment.
The doctor inside the car was frozen on his seat. He must be the one. I know he must be the one. Those eyes…they were beautiful. Filled of confusion and hate. He is my subject. He is the one. "Pedro, stop the car!"
"Doctor?"
"Stop the car!"
Immediately, the driver stepped on the brake.The doctor got out fast and ran for the alley. There he and the boy met face to face.
"You are the one," the doctor said. He kneeled before him with a consoling face. "Boy, can you tell me your name?"
"Bastard," Kukri curtly said.
"What?"
"My name is bastard."
"That's your—" Suddenly, the boy collapsed on his lap. "Your name is bastard?" He stared at the boy for a moment. I see, he thought. You are an unwanted child. I can clearly see how your life has been.
…
Two weeks later…
A middle-aged, longhaired woman scientist came inside the office of doctor Kutzmann. The old doctor had been waiting since the morning for the tests result conducted on the boy. He was seated, his back to the door, behind his desk at the center corner of the dark room. A large aquarium, where a giant hammerhead shark swam to and fro, was keeping his eyes busy.
"Excuse me, doctor," the woman said.
Dr. Kutzmann turned his chair around. "Oh, Samantha, how's it?"
Samantha went nearer the desk. "It's all well, doctor. The boy had exceeded all our expectations."
"Hmmm," was what came out of the doctor's mouth as he smiled. "That's great. So, what did you find out?"
"We had found many things that's incredible about him. He's gifted with so many things. Firstly, his muscle tissues are extremely flexible and highly reactive when some changes in his hormones occur. When he was subjected in an extreme mental pressure, his muscles' strength increased ten folds. We concluded that if we would give him a drug that would ensure the excessive—"
"Stop right there. I told you I didn't want anything artificial inside the boy. Never ever try to put anything inside him."
"I'm sorry, doctor. I understand."
"Go on."
"Yes. The second one, he has an incredibly high IQ. In the simulation tests we conducted on him, he could easily find ways to solve numerous situational problems in a short period of time. To be more specific, we computed that he has an IQ of 212."
"Impressive."
"His body can also handle excessive pain, hunger, and stress for a long period of time that no ordinary man can. His—"
"Doctor, I want to know what was his performance about 'that' test."
"Outstanding, sir. When we instructed him to kill the dog, he didn't hesitate. I think the boy had been confused all his life, letting him no time to develop any emotions a normal human should have."
"Like what I have thought. Well, doctor, that's all I want to know. Continue what you're doing. Make him the perfect soldier this project could ever produce."
…
Three years later…
"Doctor, do you think he is ready?" Samantha asked.
"Yes. His gifts should help him survive. As far as I know, I had taught him already the things that he needed to survive," Dr. Kutzmann said.
Both of them watched behind the large glass window on the second floor of the laboratory as police officers took Kukri inside a prisoner's truck.
"This boy is too young," the fat policeman said. "What are they thinking sending him to that place?"
"I don't know either. You know, there are so many crazy fellows in this world," the mustached policeman said. "If I could only choose, I would take this boy somewhere else."
"I know how you feel. Those scientists should be the ones we're cuffing, not this innocent kid. But orders are orders."
"Yeah. Let's finish this fast and just forget."
They drove the truck to a large prison that could have accommodated houses if it was a village. The walls were high and were crowned by barbwires. It was in a desolate place near a cliff, and the closest town was ten kilometers away. Inside the prison, there were one-storey houses. If a commoner would look at it, it would seem to him that the place was indeed a village, not a convicts' kingdom.
"There you go, boy. We can't go on further. Sorry," the fat policeman said as he shoved Kukri inside the gate. "Just be careful in here, okay. At least live even for a month."
Kukri didn't say anything and went away.
"I feel for that boy. He's so young to die," the mustached one said.
"The world has never been fair before. We are just so unlucky to have met a little boy that's about to die inside a cruel place."
After Kukri had gone from their sight, they left with sadness in their heart. Of course, what would they expect, they had never met Kukri before or had the slightest idea what he was.
…
Inside Dr. Kutzmann's office, he and Dr. Lisk was having an after supper argument.
"What did you say?" Samantha asked. "You didn't tell me about this, doctor. What are you thinking? You just said that you would send him to an ordinary prison."
"This is relevant to test his capabilities," Dr. Kutzmann said. "Understand me, doctor."
"You send him to die in there. How could you bear sending a mere child inside a prison for demons?"
"Doctor, he shall be a demon. Those convicts will be his prey."
"You're seeing this wrong, Ivan. Those criminals are death row convicts. Even though we had trained the boy to be a killer, he will not survive there even for a week."
"Samantha, have faith to our masterpiece."
"Shit your masterpiece stuff! I'll get him out of there. You're crazy." Samantha began walking away for the door.
"Samantha, we're both crazy. Don't do this to me."
Samantha didn't budge. She continued walking.
"Samantha!" His voice became harsh. "Step one foot again…" But he was too late. The woman scientist had already her hand on the knob. "Damn you!" He took out a derringer and immediately fired it to her. Samantha fell lifeless on the floor. "No one will stop me from reaching my goal. I will change this world, you'll see. With Kukri, I will change this goddamn, rotten world!"
…
The next day, the doctor went to the prison on a helicopter. He brought with him boxes of rifles, pistols, and knives. Hearing the noisy engine of the air vehicle, men of different ages and physique went out from their hiding places and curiously looked up at the hovering helicopter above them.
"Hey, fella's, how're you doing?" Dr. Kutzmann said to the voice amplifier he was holding. "I have here a good news for you. You see, I talked with the jail department yesterday, and we agreed on a deal. We will have a survival test. This will be fun for all of you, death row convicts, because the prize for the last man standing is his freedom. The Department of Justice acquiesced to this idea. The one man who will prove to be the strongest will be acquitted from his crimes. All his criminal records will be erased, and he will have a normal life after this. So, what do you think, good deal, eh?" He didn't wait for anyone to reply and began kicking the boxes down. Once they hit the dirt-covered ground, the weapons burst out from them. "You can use these weapons at will. Just remember this: kill anyone in front of you!"
Those last words served as the go signal for the prisoners. As if wild beasts let free from life long imprisonment, they stampeded towards the scattered arms.
…
Weeks had passed since the battle for survival had begun. Everyday and every night, rifles fired incessantly. Nobody was let to sleep because everybody was like a predator just waiting for a chance to slay its prey. Everyone just thought of how to kill their enemies.
Kukri's instincts improved because of that war. To get food and ammo, he ran between rains of bullets. He was wounded numerous times, but every time it happened his bullet dodging skill developed further. In about a month, he could even hear an approaching bullet from a sniper rifle.
The convicts were tough and all were equally skilled. The war had lasted for two months now, but many were still living. Kukri's eyes had already become that of the dead. His body also had evolved to that of an adult, even though his height was still of a boy. Many things had improved about him. His sneaking skill, his planning skill, and his combat skill leveled up spectacularly. He too had developed a liking to knife as his principal weapon.
Another month had passed. Now, Kukri was known to the convicts as 'it.' The remaining eleven of them, because of fear, allied against him. But, they didn't think that that decision might be the last straw of their lives.
"That boy is a demon," a black convict said.
"He surely is," a fat one with stitches running down his left cheek replied. "Did you witness how he killed that sniper using only a knife?"
"I did. That's freakingly crazy man. Damn! I almost shitted in my pants when it happened," a younger one said.
"We should have killed him first. I never thought that a mere boy like him would eventually be a threat to us."
"Yes, indeed. By just looking in his eyes, my breathing could stop anytime."
"I found you," Kukri said, suddenly. "At last, I found you." Behind the shadows of the bar where the convicts were hiding, the boy with the eyes of a demon walked out. He was dragging two bloody corpses by their hairs.
"It's the boy! It's the boy!" the young convict screamed. He didn't notice that he was wetting his pants already.
"Damn it!" The fat, stitched man got up hastily with his shotgun. He aimed it to Kukri. "Die!" He fired.
But Kukri was no longer there when he fired. He was already beside the young convict that time, whose neck he had already sliced.
"What are you firing at?" Waiting no replies, he stabbed the fat guy's heart.
Some of the convicts, out of fear, fired their guns at him, while others flee from the bar. But, their efforts were futile. With his inhuman speed and proficiency in using his knife, he swiftly sliced the convicts who remained in the bar to death. Then he rushed outside and killed the three who had run. That night the full moon shone brightly in the sky. It made the stains of blood on his face and his clothes become more vivid. On that dark graveyard, a demon was born. And there the name Cold Knife became, at the same time, a legend and a nightmare.
Author: Hello! Didn't you like my story? I haven't had enough reviews lately so I don't know if I should delete this or not. Maybe I'll try to wait for reviews in a week. If I don't receive any still, I will delete this. It only means this story is not worth my time and yours also. Thankee-sai!