Chapter 1

We all bleed differently. Some through wounds, and some through words.

-Unknown.

A few months ago...

|I R I S|

"Why is it so dark?" Tori, my friend asked looking above her at the sky darker than the coal.

"Because it's night?" I answered in a 'duh' and that earned me a roll of eyes from her. Tori is scared of dark, the only reason she is standing here is because I wanted to take a walk at night before we leave this place tomorrow morning.

"You know there is very scary saying," Tori started, scared, looking around as if making sure no one else is hearing, before she continued, "Darkness is the biggest ally of monsters." She finished and safe to say she is shit scared right now.

"Do one thing," I said and she looked at me with uncertainty as if I am going to ask her to find the monster for me. "Return to your room, I'll be back shortly." I told her and she somehow looked relieved for a minute before worry staked over her face.

"Hell no! I can't leave you alone." She insisted.

"Tori, I'll be fine." I assured her and though she didn't looked convinced but she took my words for it and turned around, heading back to the hotel we are staying in for tonight.

I continued my walk in the opposite direction, walking and staring at the little stars twinkling above my head. The moon is half of its size today as it accompany me by moving along with me. Walking has always been an important part of my night ritual, I can't sleep until I know I have done my night walk. I blame it on my father and mother who always took me with them to walk around in the town at late night. The town wasn't as dark as Italy is right now if anything else, the town was bright and peaceful at night.

A shrill piercing scream tore through my ears, stopping me in my tracks. I clutched my chest in one hand as the fear trickled inside my body, immediately. I realized how fast my heart was beating when I heard the sound of dub-dub reaching my ears. By the speed my heart was racing it had be no surprise if it would end up coming out of my body.

I hadn't even recovered from the first scream when a painful cry for help hit my ears, scaring me. Being the curious woman, I am, instead of running in the opposite direction of the scream I followed the sound of that painful cry until it started sounding close.

My mind told me to turn around and run for my life but my heart told me to follow the scream until I calm my curiosity. And, like a dumb person I moved further until I am standing behind the source of that loud painful sound.

A man larger than the life was towering his sitting figure. Because of the dark I couldn't really see any of them. But I know the guy seems familiar and was well aware of what was happening right in front of me. Blood dripping from the face of the boy begging for his life while he only relaxed his shoulder before a dark and evil chuckle escaped his lips.

Leaning down, he rested his gun under the familiar guy's chin and forced him to look up at him.

"Please, let me go." The familiar guy begged tears streaming down his face mixing with the blood droplets on his face.

I felt having difficulty in breathing as I watched the scene unfolding in front of me regarding a murder. I don't even know if it would be a murder but the horror on the scared boy's face feed to my assumptions.

"I am sorry. P-Please, don't kill me." He stuttered his bloody teeth showing looking scary. I kept my palms on my mouth trying to keep myself shut while watching a such horrific scene.

"Pathetic." I heard the man with the gun say in a low tone before he kicked him on the chest resulting in him falling down on the ground.

The boy lying down on the ground tried to crawl away from the monster in front of him only to be dragged back by the man, the ground consisted of a few sharp rocks that probably dug deeper in his skin when he was dragged to which he responded with tortured screams that penetrated like a shape knife through my ears.

A soft gasp left my lips and I tightened the hold of my palms on my mouth. Tears streaming down my face as I watched shockingly a man torturing another man with his life. The boy's shirt was stained with his own blood while he kept screaming for help and begging for his own life in front of a monster, all in vain.

"Time to pay, Ray." He said as his gun pointed straight for his head and before he could pull the trigger I heard myself screaming.

His head snapped behind and just in time the light on the streets not so far away from us glowed. I observed his gray eyes focused at me with nothing but only emptiness in them. His gray eyes were as dark and melancholy as the ashes of people he might have killed.

Being the focus of his predating gray eyes was weighing down on my shoulders as I waited to disappear in the thin air and get away from his dangerous and dark aura that was slowly enveloping me, now.

My eyes moved to the boy who was covered in his own blood, behind him. His blue eyes connected with mine slightly begging me to save his life but the life drained out of his eyes in a matter of seconds when the monster pulled the trigger and the bullet hit between both of his eyes.

His blue eyes that were imploring me to make sure his survival, were now staring back blankly at me. I feel responsible for his death by the way his lifeless eyes are looking back at me. I found myself unable to bring anything out of my mouth.

Neither words nor a scream that I desperately want to get out.

My eyes moved back to the empty gray ones which were already looking back at me with a bored expression, "You weren't on today's murder agenda." He muttered under his breath as if he is bored and just warm to get done with it. He crooked his neck, slightly, bringing his hand up aiming for me, lazily.

My breathing stopped for a quick minute when I realised how close I was standing to death right now. Just a flicker of seconds and his fingers will pull the trigger, bringing me the same end as the guy lying life less behind him.

But before he could pull the trigger, I gathered all the courage and took his unawareness as an opportunity when I ran back towards the way I came from, to survive.