Darkness

On a random street, 11:00 p.m. A man can be seen frantically running. He is of average build, above average height, looks to be in his mid-twenties, and has dark hair. One could say that the man is an average guy that you could find anywhere. If anything is off about the man, it would be his action of running in the middle of the night. The reason for his feantic behavior however, can be seen behind the man. Behind him lies a profile of another man. They are of close to similar build and height. It is hard to see due to the lack of lighting in the street, but if one observes carefully, the silhouette seems to be carrying a blade of about 18 cm in length.

"DAAMN! Give it a rest already! I promise!. I won't tell anyone."

The man yelled to his pursuer.

"What kind of idiot do you think would believe that? "

Quipped the man chasing him. In his mind however, he was still deciding if he should kill the man he was chasing or not. He knew the man. One could say they are even friends. But there lies the problem. The man knows who he is. He knows his identity. He's still pondering this situation and having second thoughts. This encounter with the man could be said to be completely coincidental, after all. Minutes ago, he was just finishing up with his recent victim. All he had to do was take all his victim's belongings and run away from the scene. Bad luck struck for both of them however. The man he is chasing stumbled upon him in the middle of retrieving his spoils. In a panic, he started chasing the man to try and shut him up which ultimately lead to the current situation. He's really reluctant in taking the life of someone he knew. However, there could not be anyone allowed to live who knew of his identity and his activities. Steeling his resolve, he decided. He would kill this man. He reached inside one of his pockets and retrieved his phone. Aiming at the head of the running man, he threw it with force. It struck true.

The man, while running, is contemplating how he got into this situation. It was just another normal night for him. It was just him and his video games when all of a sudden, he felt hungry. He doesn't have food available, as he always procrastinated when it comes to buying groceries. Weighing both pros and cons, he decided to go out and buy something to eat. There's a convenient store just three blocks away from where he lives and this is a relatively safe neighborhood.

On his way, he heard a scream. It was from a woman. For whatever reason, perhaps due to either chivalry or stupidity, he decided to check it out, fully knowing he is unarmed. As a result of following the scream, he stumbled upon his acquaintance. Holding a bloodied knife. While standing, looking down in his victim. He immediately bolted out of there which led to the current situation.

'I should've stayed home! Dammit! '

'I shouldn't have —'

In the midst of his regretful reminiscences,

*whack*

"Ack!"

The man made a sound. The man felt something hit the back of his head. It doesn't hurt much, but due to the speed he was running, paired with his already shaky legs due to adrenaline, it was enough to make him stumble forward and lose his balance. He covered his head to protect it before it met the pavement. The price for that are small bruises and scratches on his forearm. Before he could process his injuries,

*shink*

He had a bad premonition. He immediately dove forward like a frog to get away from whatever was giving him the unsettling feeling. His decision proved to be the right one, as just moments later, the man who was chasing him could be seen lunging with the blade at the spot where he was. Now that he was on the ground, he immediately turned around to defend himself from another attack. He was met with another lunge from the man who was chasing him. Luckily, he managed to grab the attacker's right forearm and deflect the trajectory of the knife away from his body. He then wrapped his legs around the man's torso. Both men were now wrestling on the ground. The one on top, with a knife and the one at the bottom, scared. Desperately trying to survive.

After failing the attack, the attacker twisted his knife to try and cut at his victim's arm and free his weapon hand while he applied his weight to his left elbow and pin his victim's right body to the ground. This move proved to be successful, as he regained the freedom of his right hand. He only needed one more thing to do. He thrust his knife into his victim's unprotected left part of the stomach. His knife dug deep. He could feel more than half of the knife dig into his victim's flesh.

*squish*

"Ack!"

Feeling some sort of shock from the left part of his body, the man instantly knew what had happened. Feeling the gravity of the situation, he knew he had to do something or else. He would most likely die without even putting up a fight. He doesn't want that. If he were to die, he would make sure he would take this bastard with him. Making a split second decision, using his left hand, he pulled his attacker's head closer to limit his movement. It was like a hug. By doing so, he created some space for his right hand to loop around his attacker's head and grab his face. He then used all his force, both upper and lower, to turn his attacker's head to the right. By doing so, he managed to reorient their positions, in which they are both lying sideways on the ground. From here, he made sure to lock his attacker's weapon hand in the middle of his armpit to avoid further damage. This move, however, did not come for free. In the midst of his maneuver, the attacker got to stab him three more times in his left stomach. Adding to his already grievous injury. Sensing he doesn't have much time left, he put all of his force into squeezing his left armpit and loosening his attacker's grip on the knife. He succeeded in his endeavor. The attacker dropped the knife, and it landed just a few inches from the back of the man.

Hearing the weapon drop, the man kicked the attacker to create distance. He immediately turned around and retrieved the knife with his right hand. He then turned towards his attacker, pointed the knife while backing away, and desperately screamed for help.

"Help me! "

"Somebody!"

"Please Help! "

"This man is———- He's trying to kill me! "

The man even shouted the perpetrator's name. He has no idea if anyone could hear him. This is just his retaliation for what this bastard did to him this night. Whatever happens to him, he will make sure this man suffers too, albeit a little.

"Bastard!"

Seeing his victim's actions, the man was stunned. He knew he had to shut this bastard up as soon as possible. Fuming, he lunged forward towards the man who was shouting unsightly. He aimed at the man's right hand to immobilize his weapon hand.

'A chance! '

Seeing the perpetrator's actions, the man was ecstatic rather than scared. He immediately crouched. He placed his left body forward and his right hand back. His stance is similar to that of a rugby player protecting the ball while running. Perhaps due to adrenaline, he didn't feel his injuries or any weakness. Because of that, he too lunged forward. He made sure to crouch and aimed to place his left arm under his opponent's chest. The two clashed.

The perpetrator was surprised by the sudden move by his victim. He is now on top of his victim, but he knows this is dangerous. His victim's left hand and body are preventing him from reaching his victim's weapon hand. It would be very easy for the man to stab him from below. He knew he was open

"Fuck"

*squish*

*squish*

His premonition came true. He felt two shocks from his lower left stomach. He knows what this feeling was. He gritted his teeth and immediately tried to disengage and put distance between them. But his victim pressed forward. Making sure their bodies are close together. He felt another two shocks from his left stomach. He now feels pain coming from that area. He knows he is in trouble.

'Fuck'

As a last-ditch attempt, he used both hands and tried to reach the man's weapon hand, attempting to take control of it, but alas, the man was quick to react.

Feeling his perpetrator shift his weight to his right side, the man knew that this was an attempt to grab his weapon. He immediately transferred the knife to his left hand, then used his right body to again stick close to his perpetrator. With both of his perpetrator's hands on his right side, he knew he could freely attack the perpetrator's right body now. And so he did.

*squish*

*squish*

*squish*

He felt his perpetrator's full weight come on top of him after stabbing him three times. There's a possibility he was already dead or dying. But a possibility is just a possibility.

*squish*

*squish*

*squish*

After another three stabs, perhaps due to adrenaline finally wearing down or the amount of blood he lost, he couldn't hold his perpetrator's weight anymore. They both collapsed on the ground. For good measure, he stabbed his perpetrator two more times while on the ground. Now, he was sure that the bastard was dead. Knowing that the threat was gone, he sighed in relief. Strength left his body as he too fully collapsed on the ground.

'I won! '

'That bastard. Serves him right. Everything will be okay. This street has some surveillance cameras, so I'm sure I could defend myself in court if that ever becomes a problem.'

'Aaaah. I should've stayed home. Dammit.'

'Ouch'

'Fuck'

'I just remembered. I was stabbed! '

He remembered his situation. He was stabbed. He was dying.

"Help!"

"Anyone"

'I don't want to die'

'Anyone! Please help'

'God, please help'

"Help"

He tried to call for help, but no one answered. In desperation, he tried to stand. To his horror, he found out he could not. It wasn't due to the corpse on top of him. He knows he can shove away a full grown man if he is healthy. Rather, he knows it's from his injuries.

'Fuck'

"Help!"

He was getting impatient as he found his voice no longer containing the volume that it should. His voice already had a hint of air in it that would only come from a dying patient. In desperation, he clutched his left stomach with his left hand while using his other limbs to crawl away from the corpse. He doesn't know where to go. He just knows he needs to go somewhere. He looked down at his injury and found that it is endlessly leaking red.

'Fuck'

He looked ahead and was surprised by what he saw. He saw his uncle, his grandmother, and his grandfather. They were rushing towards his locations. He was ecstatic.

'Finally'

"Please help me! Grandpa, grandma, uncle! "

He closed his eyes, relieved, knowing that he might be saved.

'Finally, someone's here. There's a good chance I will survive. There's a hospital just near my area. I read once that a person has a chance of survival from blood loss as long as they get a blood transfusion immediately from a hospital. Knowing my family, they won't let me die. I can rest my mind easy'

'There's one thing I'm bothered about, though.'

'Aren't my grandparents and uncle. Dead?'

That was the man's last thoughts. His last thoughts before his consciousness descended into darkness.