Chapter 1: Her
Love…it's what we all call it when we feel that drug of happiness… But yet it doesn’t last for long and that is what makes it addictive. We keep going back to it, begging for more, until we find out we’re not breathing anymore… I experienced this feeling… Oh how I adore it to want it more, but it destroyed me in the process… I am merely no more of a human and yet I still have a thought. I lost all of my hope so long ago… But, a story of my demise would be helpful… of how I came to be… and how I met… her.
I was adopted and taken in by a young, yet idiotic couple. The services told me that my parents died in a car accident after I was born. Their words were: “Days after your birth, your parents took a shortcut; a road near a cliff. It was lined with many dangerous warning signs but your parents didn’t seem to care, all they wanted was to spend time with their son at home. They did everything possible to get you there early, but it ended in tragedy. From the police, their traffic cams caught your father losing control of the car itself, they thought he was drunk and ran the car off the road and into the gorge below—the impact from falling crushed both your mother and father. The car had intertwined itself with a tree and both of your parents' bodies were splattered across the ground. Samples were difficult to obtain, there were so many parts scattered across that it took us a while to clean up the scene…”. I had doubts that this happened to my real parents, but I can’t even imagine what other scenarios would cause them to abandon me. To the couple that adopted me, they had seven other children with them; none were there of course. They told us that adopting kids was much easier than making one and ripping it out of their body. But I've always thought that the real reason they adopted kids was to have servants to take care of them. The only kid who went to school was me, they told me that they were tired of letting the others go because it was too late. So here I was, put into a school called Vas Angelorum Bugs High School in North Dakota. They had the balls to put me in a private school so that they could depend on me when I got out of college to be a ‘doctor’ or a ‘lawyer’. It's tiring to even make a whole dinner course for them or even to clean their room so that they could have a ‘special night’. Sigh… The thought of seeing them on the way home from school is just… it's just tiring in general, everything is tiring! Oh, I forgot to mention; that my name is Arthur Ajax. Weird last name am I right? I don’t know what It means but it's something-“ARTHUR AJAX GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE OR SO HELP ME I WILL USE THIS LEATHER BELT ON YOU!”. That was my adoptive Dad Lucas, he’s probably yelling at me for staying in bed for too long. UGH! Time to go I guess… I put on my Weezer shirt and my black skinny jeans. “God, where are my Converse and stud belt?” I look around and under my bed “Oh here it is.”. “HURRY UP! I WANT TO BUY BEER EARLY TODAY SO HURRY UP!” Lucas yelled once more at me. “I’m COMING! God damn…” I grab my backpack and run downstairs and towards the kitchen. I see that the table has been set for all of us but none have even eaten yet. “I made breakfast, you're lucky I was in the mood to make a whole course for all SIX of you,” a female voice echoed through the halls, it was Aunt Dolly. We call her that because she thinks having ‘aunty’ as a part of her name has some importance that makes her have authority. I don’t know why she wants it like that but I guess she wants to have some relationship with us… I hurry up and chow down on the eggs and bacon, I almost choked through some bites but I managed to swallow. “I made rice, you better eat it 'cause I’m not gonna make another meal with it,” she yelled at me again “Also, you're on dishwasher duty!”. Dishwasher duty… it's the worst chore because we have to manually start the washer; it's broken. Dolly and Lucas are too ‘lazy’ to get one but I think it’s because they spend their money on gambling… I quickly finish my meal and make myself lunch. “I’ll see you around six when I come back from tutoring,” I yelled as I left through the door. My school isn’t that far from home, but it's troublesome when climbing up the goddamn tall hill!
I ran across the sidewalk, down the creepy alleys, and finally up that massive hill, I was at the gates of the school. I ran past the security check-in and towards the front of the school. Pushing through the crowded hallways, I stumbled to my first class: Biology. I sat down in my seat in the middle row, the teacher was always late. Smoking cigarettes in the back of the school with the other old staff. “Hey, Arthur.” I felt a nudge on my shoulder, I turned around to see one of my classmates: Melvin. “Oh, you're surprisingly here… on time,” I sigh and turn my chair back to face him. “I heard a new chick was coming to the school, a freshman from out of state.” Melvin smiled and punched my shoulder “You can finally get some girls, man!”. I sigh, I don't even feel like even forcing myself to get someone to love me. “And why do you think I'll pick this girl out, dude?” I look at Melvin with tiredness. “Do you expect me to hook up with every girl you see!?” I raise my voice for him to hear. “Nah dude, just making sure you have a chick before prom,” Melvin laughed again. I rolled my eyes and turned back around, ignoring his teasing.
Minutes passed, and the teacher hadn't returned yet. Most of the class ditched and I was the only one there. I could leave, skip class, and encourage teenage behavior! But then again, where do I have somewhere to go? I went on my phone, scrolling through TikTok and YouTube Shorts; they were all boring to me. “Nothing is something of interest, only if it concerns the GenZ.” I rub my eyes. “Like that rapper who got canceled.”. In the excruciating minutes of the day, I stared out the window in boredom. A sudden commotion catches my attention outside the hall, I quickly scramble out of my desk and leave. I listened for sounds, giggling, and the squeaking of shoes on the floor that came in front of me towards the right. I walked down and turned the corner; I saw two jocks and a cheerleader from our Football team. I observed from behind to see what was happening. “They're blocking the way, what the hell are they doing!?” I walk closer to take a closer look, but still of course, being stealthy. “There! Is that..? Is that… a student in blue?” who in their mind would come into the school dressed like a blueberry!? I decided to walk towards them, I shoved the two girls out of the way and I peeked behind the jock’s shoulder. A person with face piercings and dark eyeliner. Their hair was long and layered; covering half of their face. He looked down at me and smiled “Yo! Wassup man.” he punched my shoulder “You haven’t been to basketball practice in a while,”. God, not that shoulder- Jesus why does EVERYONE do that!? I looked up and noticed the guy; it had to be the guy who likes to wear his gosh darn sports shoes to school. “Hi… uhh… Micheal?” I put on a fake smile “Yeah, kinda like, doing community service and it got in the way of practice,”. Micheal sighed “Totally.” he then pointed to the student “Hey wanna help record a video for Tik Tok?”. “I uhh… I don’t do Tik Toks-" "You're gonna help us film one,” he cut me off and shoved his phone into my hand. “Hey dude get a good angle on this,” he shoved a bunch of cinnamon powder down the students' throat and forced them to swallow it. I stared back in disgust, the two cheerleaders were laughing behind me as they were trying to hype Micheal. “Say you think she could handle a toilet swirlie?” he gripped her by the hair and yanked her up, the cheerleaders continued to laugh as I just stood there frozen and watched. A girl…. Didn’t even care to notice that.
“Micheal, you think this is too much? Like-" "This isn’t ‘too much’ Arthur,” he stared at me with that look your mom would give you before she gave your butt a whooping. “Now pay attention to recording the video,”. Micheal dragged the girl across the floor; the cheerleaders followed behind him. “Come on Arthur!” Micheal yelled at me from across the hallway. “I'm right behind you.” I quickly ran down and caught up with them before they left. I stared as the girl struggled to break free of Micheal's grasp, I felt pity towards her. But I'm scared to make a move to help her.
We walked for a while, the girl gave up struggling. She was just there, all limp-like while Micheal dragged her by her hair. The top of her head began to bleed a little, I was scared he’d rip her scalp off. But when we finally got to the bathrooms, the school bell rang; signaling class had ended and students were about to pour in. “God dammit, help me drag her inside the stall!” he shouted at the cheerleaders, scaring them a bit. They moved quickly into the bathrooms, I slowly followed behind and held the phone in my hands; still on record. “Let's go to the end of the stalls, just in case,” Micheal sighed “Now, help me lift her,”. The two cheerleaders carried the girl's body towards the end and threw her inside. I watched as he shoved her head inside the toilet and turned the flush on. She was choking on the water and gasped for air, my heart was churning at the sigh. But I was still frozen in place; too scared to move. If I did move, would I get hurt? Would they beat me? Would they… No, they wouldn't… “You like this huh?” Micheal laughed as he shoved the girl's head back inside the toilet “DRINK IT!”. The girl gagged as she held in her puke, god it was… I can't take it anymore. I'm just standing here, watching… I feel so pathetic. I want to help, I want to help her, but I can't. I'm scared to get hurt, I'm scared that something bad will happen to me.
Suddenly the door swung open and a group of teachers stormed in. I hopped into the stall where the girl was and locked us in. I could hear a commotion outside: “Was there more than three?”, “WHERE DID THAT BOY GO!?”, “GRAB THEM!”, “Stop resisting!”. I held my breath, I was scared to get caught. God I have the video, I need to delete- oh no, I left the phone on the ground outside! I saw shadows walk towards the front of our stall, I started to cry; I can’t get caught like this. “What's this?” a female voice echoed in the bathroom “Sir, I found a phone,”. I froze in place, I couldn’t help it anymore; I started to shed tears. “Fingerprints should be on this hopefully.” the female voice began to fade away. “God dammit, I screwed up” I cry to myself “Oh my god… oh my…”. “You did screw up” a soft voice spoke inside the stall “You left a piece of evidence that will throw you in jail…”. I slowly turned to the side of me, my eyes widened “Holy sh-” “You watched me suffer, do you just stand there and watch others suffer… Arthur?”. I gasped “How the- how do you know my name!?” The girl looked at me, her eyes were widened; but I had a feeling her eyes were already like that. “I know everything Arthur, I know too much for me to handle…”. I start to cry, I can’t even stop. “Why do you cry, Arthur?” the girl smiled “Do you want Mama to tell you a story to calm you down?”. I sniff and cough through my tears, I just stare at her frozen; god what have I gotten myself into? “Answer me, Arthur” she leaned closer “Are you scared of me?”.
I ran out of the bathroom, sprinting down the hall and out the doors. My heart races, painfully. God, who is that girl? What the hell is she? I don’t know how far I ran, I just… I can’t stop… I collapsed on a bench, I couldn’t breathe; it was so hard to breathe… Even coughing hurts… A shadow loomed over me, I looked up and my heart had never been terrified… It was her, she was right above me. Her eyes bore into my soul, god I could feel how much pain went through me. “Hello, Arthur~.” she smiled, the corners of her mouth pulling all the way to the temples. “You can’t run from me” she giggled and sat down beside me “You know you can’t”. My breath hitched, I was terrified, but something wanted me to protect her… “Who are you?” I tear up again “Are you an angel sent from above…?”. She smiled wider “They call me Malum,”. Malum…? What a weird name, something special of course. “That's… an interesting name,” what am I saying? Why am I talking to this girl? “It is, it's a special name that someone gave me.” she lay back, crossing her legs “Are you scared of me because of my face piercings?”. “N-not at all, It's just intimidating to me that you're dressed so cool,” what do you mean cool? What are you saying, Arthur? Why are you talking like this!? “You think I’m cool?” Malum laughed, pulling her hair behind her ear. “Eight ear piercings? Could you handle the pain?” stop… stop it… stop saying this… stop it… STOP TALKING TO HER. “Pain is nothing to me Arthur” she looked at me again “If you count correctly, I have eighteen piercings”. Malum stood up and lent her hand to me “I want to take you somewhere Arthur,”. Her aura is so addicting like a moth attracted to light… “Take me with you Malum… Take me away from here…”.
She grabbed me by my hand and walked me away from the bench. “You’ll be well taken care of…” her voice sounded eerie, but I didn’t care… I need her. “You will only need me, Arthur.” she laughed “You will ONLY want me…”. She led me back into the school, the halls were quiet and empty this time. No students, no teachers, just us. “Where are you-” “You don’t need to ask, doesn’t this feeling make you remember?”. Do I remember? Remember what Malum? All I want is you. “The tree… don’t you remember the tree…?” she stopped in her tracks “Do you remember the tree Arthur..?”. I freeze, what tree? What is she talking about? “You’re not him… I keep forgetting-" "What do you mean ‘you're not him?’,” I stop in my tracks “Who is this ‘him’ Malum… I thought there was only me…”. She turned around shocked but quickly looked forward “I told you not to ask questions…” her voice was cold; like a shiver going down my spine. “Yes, I understand… I’m sorry” I look down in shame “But-”. “QUIET!” she shouted, I could see the veins on her neck pulsing. But her expression suddenly changed; to one of fear and shock. “I’m so sorry.. Oh god I did it again… Oh no… don’t leave me…” she sank to the floor, her eyes twitching “I can’t repeat this again…No…NO NOT AGAIN!”. She suddenly stood up and ran off, no she can’t leave m-
What happened to me? What… What was that? What is happening? Why? Why did my body walk when I told it not to? Why did it… follow Malum? Where did she go? Where the hell is that freak? I ran in the directions she ran off to, my mind set on finding her. God Dammit Malum…What the hell did you do to me!? I looked through every classroom, every bathroom, and even the ‘hidden’ corners of the school. She wasn’t anywhere, I looked twice… I looked… I… looked. What do I mean by look? What did I look for? Why? Why did I go around and look for something? WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!? MALUM WHERE ARE YOU!? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!? I ran down the hallway, screaming my head off “MALUM! WHERE ARE YOU?” I started to tear up again “DON’T LEAVE WITHOUT ME!”. I heard silent cries, I stopped in my tracks; listening quietly. “Where is that coming from?” I look around “Is that you Malum…?”. I walk towards the direction of the noise, god… Malum, I’m yearning to hear your voice… Malum… I opened the door I came upon, it was dark; pitch black… “Malum..?” I walk farther inside the room, and to my surprise, the doors closed on me trapping me in. “GOD DAMMIT!” I pound on the door “SOMEONE HELP ME!”. I heard scurrying behind me, I looked behind but nothing was there. My heart was beating, I could hear it in my ears. “What the hell was-” There it was again, behind me… “Stop… stop mocking me… I know you're here… STOP HIDING FROM ME!”. The noise surrounded me, but nothing seemed to talk to me. “Face me god dammit!” I stare into the darkness as I walk further in “Come at me you son of a-!”. I freeze, a figure kneeling over in front of me. What is, who is… What am I looking at?
I stepped closer to the figure, their body becoming clearer in my vision. “Malum… Why did you leave me…?” I start to tear up “Why did you leave me…?”. Malum slowly turned around, my heart dropped as I saw the look in her eyes “From the Heavens that take my body and for the sea that will dissolve my it into nothing, for your eyes have bathed in the sun for too long. Your pupils slowly incinerate as you live in life, you will see no evil, yet the voices and touch will always confuse you. You think ‘Who is the one that gets to touch me without the consent of me? Who has the will to touch me when they please?’. Do you understand my words…? Do you get that even after the suffering you will be going through, everyone will walk over you and ignore your pleas,”. “Malum, what are you talking about? You're not gonna leave me right?” I crawl towards her “Please don’t leave me…”. She stared down at me empty, “You will deal with heartbreak for a while… Arthur Ajax…”.
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