Edward

In this world, nothing ever goes as planned, and no matter what you do it will always disappoint someone somewhere. Effort is meaningless in the face of real talent, and talent is nothing but the chain that will always drag you down, a chain that creates expectations.

Some people live their whole lives with these expectations forever stuck in a cycle of failure and disappointment, and no one knew this more than Edward Lehmann. A soon-to-be high school dropout and tragic statistic. Growing up, he was hailed as a genius by his teachers and parents. Math, language, and even the sciences were a breeze for him to pick up.

All his life he never faced any adversity with his studies or sports. His home life too was near perfect, everything came easy to him, and never got a chance to grow as he was always at his peak. The older he got the louder his praises got till they became his reason for being.

The older he grew the more he became reliant on these praises for he didn't even need to think or dream all he had to do was well, do. Do what he was told and do what was expected of him. But soon his talent stagnated and he grew too complacent he could no longer keep up. But not the world, it didn't care to wait for him, soon the expectations grew and became chains.

Till finally .... nothing all the praises had ended. He fell from his peak, and then one by one the pillars holding him began to crumble under his feet. It started small with a couple of grades dropping, till all of them had dropped to just the grade point average. Then he noticed that he was no longer the fastest runner or most proficient player.

As if this wasn't enough his mother soon left him and his father for a younger richer man destroying their family. After that, his marks rapidly plummeted, as he felt more and more overwhelmed.

No longer did the teacher sing his praises, and no longer did his friends admire and respect him, in just one year he had lost everything. The chains had finally dragged him down to mediocrity.

With his life in the gutter Edward only felt conflicted. Two opposing feelings took him over, the first being Relief unlike no other followed by a deed suffocating dread. His life till that point was driven by the expectations others had of him, knew he was free. 

Living a life of people-pleasing and facing no challenge Edward never thought for himself or had any dreams of his own, so he had no real motive to live. believing that he could no longer contribute to the world or be of any use to anyone, he resided himself to the fate of another vagrant in training.

In the early morning before even the birds began singing their song, in the middle of a large forest that seemed to go on forever, walked a boy dressed in a navy blue school uniform. Dripping with sweat and blood and gasping desperately for air, his uniform was stained with thick brown mud and dark bloody patches of red. He ran across the canopy. occasionally looking back mid-sprint to check if he was being followed. 

"It's Gone, did I lose it? " He asked himself after seeing nothing behind him for some time. Thinking he lost the creature sense of relief takes him over as his pace begins to slow down, for the fatigue slowly begins to creep up on him. 

He had been running for what to him felt like hours and the adrenalin was beginning to disappear, as with each step his legs ached and pulsated with pain. He considered not breathing as with each his chest burned making it feel like a portable hellscape was inside of him. He could no longer see properly as the sweet and fatigue blurred his vision.

Thinking he was in the clear he decided to take a short break as it had been a while since seen let alone heard the monster.

He'd soon regret this as the moment his legs stopped running, he collapsed to the forest floor staining his entire uniform. "* Gasp, Gasp* I... I thought I was going to die!" he mutters while lying on the ground gasping for air with each breath more pain for the last.

His legs were trembling in pain for the adrenalin that's been helping him run nonstop had well run out leaving him in pain and unable to move. It was as if his whole body was on strike as if nothing listening to him, he found that even moving a finger was nearly impossible.

After a while of recovering, he tries to get up but he stumbles back to the ground. "Lisa is going to be so pissed when I deliver this uniform to her. When mother moved out Edward and his father were in a rut, since none of them knew anything about maintaining a home, their house suffered the most as chores and household duties normally done by his mother soon stacked. Needless to say, it was a mess dirt and grim covered the walls and floors. But Lisa and her family step up to assist them to bachelors.

She was the same age as Edward, despite her petite childlike demeanour. But Edward knew not to let her appearance fool you, as she was the fiercest creature gods ever maid with the maturity of a woman twice her age. When they first met she and Edward didn't get along as he would often teas her on her height and general demeanour. He had a real prick back then, nevertheless when his mom left Lisa was the first to step up.

* Sigh*" I can imagine her now chewing my ear off... assuming that thing doesn't find me and finish the job. Didn't even get a second chance, today was opposed to be my second chance..."

He thought to himself still exhausted as he looked down at his now filthy uniform, why, why is the always punchline in the joke called Why " knowing he hasn't even apologised to Lisa for the past he just couldn't understand why now. If he was going to die why was it known right when he was about to get a fresh start in a new school? His thoi]ugh of confusion and self-pity slowly turned bitter as he remembered why he was even on this site's mountains.

"It's okay we've been worse, ruing from Monster is always better than Dad's Noodle Rice Soup, now just have to get up before that thing finds me again. haa *Huff, Huff*" Edward tries to encourage himself to get back up but it seems his body just didn't get the memo as it refused to move even an inch. "Well, guess that it, for me wise, was I'd got a chance to least apologize to .... why am I such an idiot? it's always her fault...

As he lay on the ground seemingly accepting his fate, he felt a sharp sting where the Moster had cut him. The cut itself was very shallow but wouldn't stop bleeding even as he tried to close it, the wound had a dark purple and orange tint to it as if the flash had been rusting like old metal left out in the sun by the coastline. The pain only adds to the slowly bubbling rage.

Hearing a rustle in the trees near him, Edward tried once more to get up, but the pain was too intense " Dame, I don't have the strength to get up anymore, let alone run. Can't believe I'm going to die like this. Why did I believe her, I never learn..."

"...Dad and Lisa warned me but, I'm so stupid, stupid... sorry Dad, I'm... I'm sorry." Earlier that morning Edward and his father had a not-so-small fight, the reason being he was against him going to the mountains. But this worry ironically was not for his physical safety but rather for something he believed was easier to break.

He was against Edwards's decisions because of the person who requested them, as earlier that day he also got the summons but was wise or as Edward Phrasd cowardly enough not to answer. The person who requested their presence was Edwards's mother.

Edward heard the sounds of the trees rusting get louder and closer. "... and here I thought the monsters at school were going to be the ones to do me in," he mutters while chuckling to himself trying to laugh the pain away. He had promised himself that he would never cry again so the only thing he could do was laugh.

*Thud, Thud, Thud* with each breath Edward took, the ground began shaking more and more violently as the distance between them shrank. The crackling of the trees flapping nearby birds was like a timer to counting down what was sure to be a gruesome demise. Moaning followed by a sharp walling sound could be heard, these defining sounds, came at random intervals constantly keeping on edge and reminding Edwad of the creature's approach.

"Shit how does it keep finding me. I need to get up bu... but my legs won't move!" he growled over on his belly and began to crawl. Didn't think of where he was going or why the creature was so desperate to catch him. That didn't matter nothing mattered the only thing on his mind were his three regrets.

But he could not dwell on them for each inch, he crawled blood and kept guessing out. looking a the scene would justifiably think that this was the location of a mass killing as the litters of blood had completely covered the area. It was more blood than any one normal person should have let alone remain concourse after losing. 

*Think it's about time I took back the keys, don't you think Ed...*

Hearing this voice Edward's vision faded away as he lost consciousness. As the large monster finally exists in the canopy its shadow quickly engulfs Edward

Finally, out of the shadows, its body was in proper view, the strange beast had a frail shrimpy torso with large muscular arms that were built like a professional bodybuilder. It had pale ashen skin with a texture resembling overly moist leather.

With its large humanoid posture, it could easily dwarf Edward. with the hind legs of a lion or some other big cat. Its behaviour was stranger as it cautiously approached Edwards's limb body like a frightened cat edged on by its curiosity.

Wrapped around the creature was a beaming silver necklace which glowed bright red as if was about to melt. The necklaces would randomly burn brighter searing the creature's neck and leaving it in pain.

The creature slowly made its way to Edward occasionally jumping back as if afraid of something. But what could such a fearsome-looking creature have to fear from a powerless human? It approached him nervously with its blood-soaked tail pointing at him?

As it got closer loud crunch sound could be heard coming from within its body. *Splat* From its abdomen a long tectical-like limb bursts out. Changer the red blood dyed growing black, as its tar-like blood was over Edwars.

This was the same limb it used to cut him earlier on. The limb wiggled around leading the law created to Edward. It had an overwhelming amount of control over this limb as when they it got close to ed it tightend it abdom cousing thepratruding limb to stiffin up.In this stat the limb beacme dangers it leaked a strange brown liquad and could cut the grown below it.

The creatured used its new blad and gentaly poked Edward led checking to see if he was still alive. With his body laying still the creature got bolder. it soon walked up to him its eyes constantly locked to Edward's face checking for any hint of him waking.

Looking at his face the creature was taken aback by a feeling of sadness it looked down at its body and sat beside him. it long hand to cover its face. The creature then began weeping, with neckless burning it occasionally. 

*My, my what have we here* The creatures moans and crys are inturupted as voice creeps out of Edwards body 

"You saw ... You Saw ... Saw... " With a soft feminine voice, the creature cautiously walked up to Edward hiding its face, it lowered its body as it bowed out of fear. Edward wasn't sure why the creature was acting so skittish as it cashed him all morning in a fit of what he thought was rage, maybe it was a misunderstanding. Either way, looking at the creature he knew this was some twisted fate he had.

The creature kept asking him if saw but never specified. As he looked at the creature, he felt a strong urge engulf him the urge to look at its face, this feeling only got stronger the longer he looked at it. The creature inched closer constantly asking the same thing.

As he looked at it, it suddenly exposed its face again and rushed over to Edwad Scream *LOOK, LOOKLOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOKLOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOKLOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK!!!* 

The creature grabbed his limb body as if it weighed nothing slamming him side to side chuckling each time. *Bang, smack, splat * It then began mutilating him pulling out his eye and then smearing it on its face. With no hesitation, the creature's attack was merciless as it only attracted his face and family jewels. A sadistic laugh could be heard coming from the creature as it found pleasure in assaulting the boy.

Unable to see feel or even hear anything at that point Edward remembered the promise that he had made to himself. The only promise he ever plans on keeping.

Then suddenly the creature stopped its onslaught to look at its victim its body then shitted and twisted with hesitation, the same hesitation it had before the attack, for it had finally seen the boy's twisted expression. For even with his face battered and bruised ripped and crushed, with broken bones and lacerations across what little of a face he had left.

He was deformed. But even in this condition, his expression had not changed.

Stretching from ear to ear was a large grin on the boy's face more sadistic than the creature's own. The boy was unconscious at this point as he had lost buckets apron buckets of blood. However, even at this point, his resolve did not waiver as not a single tear had hall from his eyes.

Rather the grin stayed there mocking the beast.

This enraged the monster it then grabbed Edwards's legs and head. It then proceeded to pull on them with all its might shooting at Edward to look at it. *Slash, slash, thud* within the blink of an eye Edward had disappeared surprising the creature.

But this feeling of shaking was short-lived as when it tried to scratch its head it then noticed that it had no hands. Its pale leathery skin was socked black and red with not only Edwards's blood but its own. Its head was cut clean off and laid by its side.

"Beautiful you are just beautiful, let it be forever known that from now till the end you are mine, my sweet Ed".