The First Blunder?

–Part 1–

I blinked my eyes open, struggling to see anything in the pitch-black room.

Where am I? I can't see anything.

I tried to remember how I ended up in this situation.

Where is this place? Ah, I remember, someone hit my head from behind. "He" said no one was in the house beside us. And "he" wouldn't do that, right? Some thief might've broken into the house.

Many thoughts were wandering in my head.

Suddenly, a faint line of light appeared as the wooden door creaked open. A boy around the same age as mine was standing there wearing a white mask. I already could identify who that person was, It was "him". Was that mask even supposed to hide his identity?

"What are you doing?" "Why am I tied up?" "Did you hit me?"

I tried to ask him those questions, but I couldn't. My mouth was gagged, I couldn't notice before. My senses were dull at that time.

I tried to move my body, but my hands and legs were tied up too. I already more or less understood the situation I was in.

Looking around, I was in a narrow room with two shelves on either side. The shelves were stacked with boxes and crates, some were also scattered around on the ground. It seemed to be an ordinary storage room. I was sitting on the floor, clinging to the back wall. As I was looking at my surrounding, I noticed some bloodstains on the ground.

Are those …my blood?

He started walking towards me. My heartbeat kept rising as he was closing the distance. Every step he took felt like a thunderclap. As he stopped before me, I felt like my heart almost stopped.

He knelt down and looked at me. Our faces were so close. He removed the piece of cloth from my mouth. For a brief moment, we looked into each other's eyes through that white mask of his, before I tried to break the silence by asking-

"Wh-..."

"Amelia!"

Suddenly, in a loud tone, he called my name. I felt like my heart stopped beating for the second time. It felt like he was trying to grab my attention, by trying to interrupt my asking. It seemed he was about to explain something to me. I swallowed a gulp and waited for him to speak.

"Let's play a game."

Huh? A game?

Was he serious? After all the fear and confusion, it was a relief to think that maybe this was just some twisted joke.

"A game?"

Was all this nothing serious after all? That's a relief. Believing that I asked him in a nervous tone-

"...Ah...I see. You scared the heck out of me! Even though it's a game, …you went too far!"

"Ah sorry." -He said casually as if he hadn't hit my head, tied me up, and locked me in a pitched-black room. As I was about to give a sigh of relief, he said-

"But you got one thing wrong. This situation… is not a game nor a prank.

Anyway, let's start the game."

Eh? What does that mean? Is he serious? But he said this is all a game.

He continued- "Even though I'm saying it's a game. I don't know what to play. Hmm… how about this?-

I'll give you three chances. If you can guess why I'm doing this, I'll untie you and let you go."

Frightened and confused I, asked him- "What do you me-"

"Now start the game!"

All I wanted was to get out of that situation, so I decided to go along with the flow. I nodded my head, trying to act calm, even though my heart was pounding violently in my chest.

At that time the most plausible reason I could think of was-

"Are you planning to …assault me? …Are you after my body?"

"Half correct."

"…" Huh? Half?

"I do need your body but I promise that 'I' won't harm you 'anymore'."

Before I could think of anything else he asked- "Your next guess?"

I continued by asking him the next question I had in my mind-

"...Are doing this for money? Are you planning to ransom me or something?"

"Again half right.

I do need some money, but it isn't my main objective. The money I'll be making is something more like- a bonus."

"…" I didn't know what to say…

I thought someone must have ordered him or… threatened him to do this. The probability is high after considering my family background and the fact that we had been friends since childhood. He wouldn't simply betray and harm me without a good reason.

"Though those weren't entirely correct, you guessed right two times. *sigh* As promised, I'll untie you.

But before you go, I'll tell you the 'main reason'."

"…"

"It's because- I've always been hating your personality. You always act so high and mighty, looking down on everyone else. And yet, when you're with me, suddenly you're all fake smiles, trying to act nice. Why? Just because we knew each other from way back then? I hate people like you who put fake masks in front of others. The only reason I was acting like a friend is that our fathers have good friendships, I was forced to be friends with you."

He was calmly saying those things while he was untying me. I didn't react to his words either. If It were some other time, I would've felt a little bad about the fact that he was faking our friendship too. Of course, I was in no position to complain about him. The reason for me to act nice to him was the same, our fathers' friendships.

"Now then, I kept my promise."

I tried to stand up, holding onto the storage shelf nearby to support me. My legs were stiff, I must have been sitting here for a long time. And though he hit my head, I wasn't feeling any pain. My body was feeling tired and my head was aching a bit.

I felt somewhat relieved. My fear shifted into anger. I glared down at him with a severe look though he didn't look back at me. He was still on his knees. I thought he was feeling guilty or something. All I was thinking was- Just let me get out of this situation. I'll make sure you regret messing with me.

My vision started to fall to the ground as soon as I walked.

*Thud*

Huh!? What just happened? Something feels off.

"Do you know what happens when you chop off someone's toes? They can't walk so well."

As he said that, I immediately looked at my legs. My toes were missing. I don't know what expression was making at that time. All sorts of thoughts started to come into my head. I felt like I had fallen into a deep pit that I couldn't climb up anymore. My vision was getting blurry.

"If you're wondering why you aren't feeling any pain, then it's because I injected you with a pain-resistant drug."

"Why!? You promised me …that you'll let me go—!"

I cried, my voice trembling as tears streamed down my face.

He grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. Behind his mask, he had a cold gaze of a predator savoring the moment before consuming its prey.

"I'm not stopping you now, am I? You are free to go."

I raised my head and headbutted him in the face, causing his mask to tear off. It was a hard enough hit to tear off his mask but despite that, I felt no pain. I then took hold of his left hand and bit down on it with all my force. The sensation of sinking my teeth into someone's flesh was …weird.

"Eekh.. you bi-" *Bang—*

A sharp pain shot through my head, but a second later, it faded away. It felt like the world was spinning, and before I knew it, I was lying on the floor.

Through my blurred vision, I saw him standing up and catching his breath. In his hand, there was a hammer with drops of blood dripping onto the ground.

"Hah… hah… I was trying to act nice. But you!-…"

–Part 2–

Where am I? I can't see anything.

As my vision was opening, the gaze of sunlight filled it.

Ah…

Suddenly, all the things that had happened to me started to come back.

It was like a nightmare, but unfortunately, it seems all those were real. I wish that it was all just a bad dream. …I want to be in a better world next time.

I closed my eye, hoping for a quick death.

*Caw caw*

A flock of crows swarmed over a lump of flesh, a common sight in a garbage dump. But this time, they weren't feasting on a dead animal or lump of scrapped meat, but a human being. A young girl, with a broken jaw, missing right eye, and possibly broken limbs, was being picked apart by a herd of crows. It was truly a gruesome sight. She was recapping her last painful memory before the final remnants of her soul faded away.

To be continued…