The Mystery of Darkness Trapped by Light

Chapter 1: Screams of a Painful Night

It was a cold and dark night. The streets were silent, too quiet to be normal in fact. Most of the people who would have been awake and euphoric by day now were sleeping peacefully in their house, which was tightly locked. Why? Because of fear. They were all afraid of something. Or rather, of someone. A single person who could cause disaster in less than 10 minutes if necessary.

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It was still in this circle of deep silence, no sounds of car engines or people chatting. Just a stillness that wasn't meant to be disturbed. That is until someone decided to get out for a walk. It was an average teen who couldn't sleep unlike most of the town. So in order to get rid of this restlessness and try to get rest before his busy day tomorrow, the boy decided to get out of the house. However currently unbeknownst to this boy... that was a very bad idea. He wasn't the only one there regardless of the previous stillness this night had possessed, and he knew it. Someone was following him, and he could tell that whoever it was, wasn't doing it for a good reason.

So doing what most people would do in a situation like this, he started to run while trying to get away from whoever was pursuing him. And yet regardless of his efforts to shake this stranger off, it wasn't working. Because the stalker started to run after him, staying hidden in the shadows so the teenager wouldn't be able to see their identity. And they were doing a good job. The teen tried to identify the stranger, however he couldn't make out a single detail of the person following him, not even the size or shape of the person other than the shadow and echoing footsteps that haunted him.

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The teen didn't know how long he had run, but apparently it had been long enough for his leg to give out as he tripped over a rock and tumbled to the ground, scraping his hands and knees and making pain shoot up his body. But regardless of the pain that made him wince and the slight amount of blood that stained his jeans, adrenaline and determination fueled him and gave him the boost he needed to keep going as he knew if he waited too long, the person following him would catch up. So with that thought in mind, and the faint sound of footsteps coming closer, he started to run again, without thinking of a place he could go and hide as anxiousness blocked logic. The only thing he wanted at that moment was to get rid of that stranger, even if it meant running all night.

Without noticing, the poor boy ended up walking into an alley, and to complete his misfortune, there wasn't a way out. That is unless he ran back from where he came from, but that would only be possible if it wasn't for his pursuer standing in the entrance, effectively blocking it.

As soon as the teen sensed that presence, he froze. He looked around frantically for another exit, but he only saw the alley darkness, knowing that the other person was standing in the middle of that darkness, watching him closely. Even without seeing the features of the other due to the low light, the teen knew that the other was looking at him with something that chilled him. Seriousness? Anger? No, it was something else... It seemed to be a calm look, something that someone would give right when knowing they were going to win a game. But it was much more unsettling... much more...psychotic?

That confused him as his brain refused to accept what exactly could cause that kind of look. Why would that person look at him like that? Deep down somewhere he knew the answer, but he couldn't process it, wouldn't even. His heart was beating faster than usual, and his breathing was coming in shaky bursts due to the fact he was still recovering from all this running. Cursing himself mentally, as he was trying to readjust his breathing, he also decided to stare back at the shadow.

"W-Who are you...?"

The teen asked for the first time, and yet sadly didn't receive an answer. Everything was silent again. Neither of the two sides said or did anything, besides glaring at each other. It seemed like one of those silly competitions that friends do with each other. But in this case, it wasn't some kind of competition, it was something else, it was something much more serious that wouldn't end well at all when one of them finally did decide to act.

Waiting for a few moments longer, the boy was surprised to find that he was getting a little impatient with all of this. Of course, he still blamed himself for getting out of his house in the middle of the night because he couldn't sleep, but he also hated being ignored as it made the questions he didn't have answered burn brighter in his mind.

"Who are you?! What do you want from me?!"

The same question was asked, but now with his voice raised slightly as his breathing returned to normal and his frustration was used to influence his tone. However regardless of the change in how the question was asked, just like the first time, he never received an answer. Which only angered him more. However, as much as he wanted to attack the figure, partially out of anger and partially out of wanting to get away, his body wouldn't- maybe even couldn't- move. Leaving the teen very confused again.

Why isn't my body answering? What is going on with me? I'm definitely not scared.. am I? No, I'm not. It's probably because of the cold. That's why I'm shaking, it's the cold night.

While the young man was lost in his thoughts, debating with himself and trying to convince himself he wasn't scared as well as deny the situation he was in, the mysterious figure who was standing quietly until now while studying the boy, decided to finally make a move. Walking quietly towards the now distracted boy, he grabbed something from an unseen pocket. Fortunately for that same person, the lights on the alley were still very low, which hampered the possibility of him being seen doing this action. This combined with the fact that there weren't any cameras around, made this the perfect place to do something that should never be done..

With the sound of the object - grabbed by the figure - scraping the wall, the boy snapped out of his thoughts as he looked in front of him, only to see little movements in the middle of the darkness. Making him a little frustrated with himself for not having gone to a brighter place. Suddenly his eyes landed on the object scraping the wall as his eyes tried to focus on the small amount of light hitting it. What was it? It was small... and silver... It was shaped like.. a knife.

Why does he have a knife? What he's planning to-

His thoughts cut short as he realized something his brain had desperately tried to deny. Something that made his heart beat faster again and caused his body to begin shaking. The reason he had been chased, the reason he had been cornered, and the reason this man had that knife. The boy started to feel something. A feeling that he hadn't felt for a long time, a painful, sickening feeling... Fear. He was panicking out of fear. That's why he couldn't move, and that's why his heart beat like it did and his body shook uncontrollably.

"Y-You're not going to actually do that, right?"

The question was given in a disbelieving and nervous tone, that also held a little bit of hope as he desperately held onto the possibility that this wasn't really happening. However that hope disappeared as soon as he saw the other's smirk, something sick and twisted that confirmed what the teen could no longer deny.

"P-Please don't do this! I-I'll do anything! N-No please! Stay back!"

He begged several times to be spared, trying so hard to hold onto the little life he had lived and to deny what was about to happen to him, but this attempt only made the smirk on the other's face grow. The figure that was still walking to the young man's direction, finally stopped a few steps before the boy, holding his knife and bringing it closer to the other's body.

"Wai-"

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It ended. The knife had instantly silenced the pleas as it hit the teen's heart in a way that was too accurate to be a first kill. The boy's body was lying dead on the alley's floor with his blood spreaded everywhere. His eyes were unseeing and glassy with no soul behind them to give them life. His body still warm but losing it rapidly as he grew paler and more and more minutes passed since his death. With that simple action for one and last for the other, the mysterious figure destroyed everything that could have been used as evidence. Walking away with a cold smile and no remorse for the life he ended or the others that would be affected by it, the thing that could barely be called human let the only thing be heard through the night be his footsteps as they signified that the figure intended to do this again very soon.