1 Last picture together

Along the streets of crowded cities, people walk like nothing matters to them. In a similar city, a young boy walks his way home. Boy with curly hairs and bruises all over his face, hand covered in blood, and trembling legs. The boy was about 175cm, his build similar to a pole. Many people look at the boy and then looked away like they saw nothing.

'Shen what happened to you', a man looks at the trembling boy. Shen looks back at the middle-aged man,'Nothing, Uncle Ken', Shen replied. 'It doesn't look like nothing happened, did someone bullied you', the middle-aged man asked with worry.

'I fall from the stairs and that's all that happened', Shen replied with his eyes looking at his feet. 'If you say so', Uncle Ken looked at the boy and can tell he is lying. 'I know your parents are not around and you are alone at home, why don't you come over to my place', Uncle Ken eyes brimming with worries looked at the boy for an answer.

'Thanks for inviting, but I think I need time to recover', Shen's eyes didn't follow the gaze of this kind man. 'You never change your reply, do you', Ken looked helplessly at Shen.

It felt like Shen's mouth moved a little but no word came out and so, he started to drag his feet toward his house.

Ken moved back to his shop. 'What will happen to this boy', Ken looked at the ceiling yearning for his well being.

As Shen reach his home, then his room and removed his uniform and went straight into the bathroom. As the water started falling on his head, tears started to fall from his eyes to his cheeks. It was like a pipe has leaked, tears are falling and falling continuously,

"You little, why your clothes are so dirty", a voice came, " Do you play in dirty, just you wait I will tell your dad and he will handle you", the woman was scolding Shen. "Shen you are making trouble for you mommy", a man in his 40ties scolded Shen. Shen ran out to see that nobody was there in the whole house. Shen fell on the floor and tears running down his cheeks.

As Shen gets back to his room; bandages all over his body and his eyes swollen. His wounds were not from some accident but were the pleasure of his classmates. During recess after school, Shen is beaten up by his classmates and none of the teachers say anything against it, not because the bullies were from prominent families but because they don't care at all. As Shen doesn't have any guardian, no one will complain about it and thus teachers didn't care about it. In their eyes, Shen is just a pebble as he is not good at anything from studies to sports, and many that bullies him are toppers or are school sports representatives.

Shen has lost his hope. Shen turns emotionless in front of these people as if he is not a human. He is tortured so much that he doesn't even care about his own body anymore. All he thinks about to graduate from school and start over when he enters in a university.

Shen lied on his bed hoping underneath that his life would change. As he was thinking about it he started to look at the photo frame his parents gifted him as their last memories. The picture in the frame is him with his parents smiling ear to ear. ' What the fuck is wrong with this picture, why am I so happy in it, no how am I so happy in it', Shen rage was coming out. His tear making his sight blurred.

Shen wipes tears with his hand and looked at his mother, 'Mom you know today is my 16th birthday, won't you wish me'.

The anger he has suppressed for 2 years was coming out, and he was not able to control it. He throws the frame at the wall, the glass shattered on the floor and a loud sound hit the empty walls of his room.

As his temper went off and his senses kicked in he jumps off the bed to reach the frame.' What have I done, this was the last photo we took together', Shen rushed down to clean the floor. He started to clean the floor filled with broken glass pieces. An finally reached the frame. He started to inspect the frame while looking at the picture the leftover glass on the frame hit his hand and one of the wounds that he got early today cuts open again and the blood starts to fall on the frame. As blood touch the outer part of the frame, a golden light starts shining. The frame was getting hotter and hotter on every drop of his blood till he was not able to hold it and throws it on the floor.

On the floor, the frame starts to melt from the heat and was shining bright. Shen a few feet away from the frame surprised, confused what was happening. As the frame melted completely and starts flowing towards Shen. Shen noticed it and ran out of his room and closed the door from outside leaning on the door to catch his breath.

Suddenly his feet started feeling hot, he looked at his feet and shouted very hard,' WHAT THE HELL, GET OFF ME FUCKING SHIT, LEAVE MY LEG,' as Shen was shouting the golden liquid climbed up to his torso and stopped at his chest. As it was climbing Shen started ripping his clothes and was all naked. As it stopped at his chest Shen sighed, as he thought it would try to enter his mouth to reach his brain and take control of his body.

As he was recovering from the shock, the golden liquid made a sharp pin-like tentacle and penetrated his chest. He felt a tremendous pain in his chest, causing him to fall on the floor. Shen cried in pain, looked at his chest as the pain was intensifying his consciousness fading away. He felt that his soul is leaving his body.' Is it my end', Shen thought.

Ding, ding, ding

As he was thinking he heard a weird sound. But it stopped, he felt he was hallucinating. But again, he heard the same sound

Ding, ding, ding

As he confirmed it was not his imagination he lifted his head little to look from where the sound was coming but was not able to look up at all. And the golden liquid has penetrated his chest has completely gone inside his body.

He was not able to move his body, lying on the floor he suddenly felt the warmth of the golden liquid going and in a few seconds, it completely vanished. As if it was never there as he was thinking about what could have happened, he heard the same sound.

Ding...

<<System installed.....>>

<<Host recognized.....>>

As he heard this his head felt like it will blast in a thousand pieces. And he was left unconscious on the floor.