Darkness Rising part 1

'I've heard some say that they fear death or that they will be forgotten after they die. Some only fear painful deaths, while others only fear for the death of a loved one. None of these fears apply to me anymore. Not after what happened to me. Nothing in this world matters. I'll let the darkness consume me as I wreak havoc upon this world. I'll embrace its wicked charm as I lust for it. A lust for darkness.'

Daren has been average at everything his whole life. Even now, while he sits here on a New York subway train studying for his exams. He's never gotten an A+, and it's not for a lack of trying. His brain just isn't hardwired for school. He'd rather be reading the latest and most popular Manga series. Or playing video games on the Ps5, which he still hasn't been able to buy. Starting college was a bad idea. He'd rather be home than riding on this smelly subway train surrounded by people who could mug him at any moment. Whoever thought moving here was a good idea is an idiot. Well, his parents are.

The train slows down as it reaches its destination. "Someone stole my purse." Someone yells as the thief runs out of the trian as the doors open. It's not like they're going to get caught. People tend not to pay attention to their surroundings until it's too late. There are probably only a few people who saw his face. He didn't see anything either. He was too busy looking at his notes. Who has time for other people's problems anyway? He has plenty to worry about as it is.

Daren pushes past the crowd of human ectoplasm. The more random people you surround yourself by, the less you care about them. If one of them died tomorrow, would anyone else here care? Would they even know? His thoughts become jumbled. All he wants to do is to pass this exam. Then he'll have the rest of the day to himself. He'll go home and masturbate while watching porn. It'll probably be hentai again. He's been addicted to them recently.

He makes his way up the stairs and out of the subway tunnel to the main streets. Police cars roll up. No doubt they are here to find whoever stole that woman's purse. Response time was quicker than Daren expected. But it could be the case that they were already nearby.

He walks a few blocks and reaches the college campus. He couldn't afford to live here on his own. No money means that he has to stay with his parents until he graduates or gets a full-time job. It would be better if he could afford to move here, though. The campus is situated in a nicer part of town than where he is used to.

Daren takes a short break from his notes to stare at the campus in front of him. The architecture of the buildings and welcoming decorations doesn't make him feel special about getting into this prestigious school. He barely got a scholarship, and his father was a big help. He did nothing to deserve going here. The mandatory classes he has to take are taking its toll on his mental health. He was never good at math and doesn't need to study it for his bachelor's degree in digital art. Trigonometry won't come in handy for drawing anime girls. And he'll probably forget most of what he learned in a few years anyway.

Daren takes a deep breath in preparation for his day. He has to do well on this exam in order to pass his class. He's confident enough. He spent all night studying. He ignores everyone as he walks towards his classroom. Passing by some of the old brick buildings that have been kept in good shape. It wouldn't be a nice college if they didn't do maintenance every once in a while.

'I just have to keep this up until I get my arts degree.' He reminds himself. 'One more year of this shit, and then I'll be set for life doing what I love.' He imagines what life is going to be when he can make art for a living. A degree will help get him a job for a large company. But he wants to become his own boss eventually. This is just a small stepping stone that he has to overcome.

Once inside the building, he takes a detour to the bathroom. These are the only bathrooms he trusts outside of his house. Clean.

Since he has plenty of time, he decides to use the bathroom on the far side of the building to avoid people as much as possible. No one should be using them at this hour. He needs his privacy.

He enters the bathroom and is extatic that no one is inside after he checks all of the stalls. He steps into one of the four empty stalls and places his notes on the back of the toilet seat. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks up some hentai videos. 'I should have time to rub one out before class starts.'

He strokes his dick while watching an anime girl getting fucked in both her holes by two large men. "Ahhh." He tries to hold back his moaning as he starts to get close to finishing.

A knock on his bathroom stall door almost nearly makes him drop his phone. He freezes. Too scared to move or say anything. 'Oh no, did they hear me?' He's glad that he kept the sound off on his phone. Now, all he has to do is wait for them to leave. But he still wonders how he didn't hear the door open or them walking in.

There's another knock on the door. He keeps silent, hoping that they will leave. If he says anything to them, there's a chance they might recognize his voice. He can't let them find out who he is. Everyone would make fun of him if they found out he was jerking off in the public bathroom.

The knocking continues. He has to say something to make them leave. This isn't normal behavior. There are empty stalls that they can use. "Daren?" His heart sinks into his chest when the stranger says his name. 'This is it. My reputation is done for. No girl here will want anything to do with me when they hear about this.'

Daren is about to speak up, but the. he hears the door open and shut. 'Did they leave?' Daren sits silently for a few seconds before he bends down to check under the stall door for any shoes. Nothing. He quickly pulls his pants back up and grabs his notes before exiting the stall. He washes his hands to stall for time. Waiting for whoever that was to walk far away from the bathrooms.

After he dries his hands, he masters up the courage to open the bathroom door and walk out. He takes a sigh of relief when there's nobody in the hallway. He tries to clear his mind about the incident before he gets to class. No distractions.

He walks into the classroom with plenty of time to spare. Sitting at his normal spot near the window, he examines the large room for potential suspects. But without seeing the perpetrators' shoes, he doubts he will ever find out who it was. He didn't recognize his voice, so it's obviously not anyone he knows. But they somehow knew who he was. The thought runs shivers down his spine. Has someone been stalking him?

"You have the whole hour to finish your exam." The teacher says as Daren pays no attention to her. He didn't even bother paying attention to what she's wearing today. Which is out of the ordinary for him since he finds his teacher attractive. She's in her early thirties, long dark hair, and always sporting an outfit that shows off her cleavage. This is exactly why he usually watches porn before this class.

As Daren peaks around the room for potential suspects, he notices a woman staring at him. A young blond woman with a grin on her face and a menacing grin at that. He starts to get a bad feeling about her. And his hunch is right as she leans to the woman next to her whispering. "I heard the someone caught Daren masturbating in the bathroom." Darens heart sinks into his chest as he overhears her. If he heard her, then others in the class did as well. 'Who told her that?'

A few people in the class give him dirty looks. Looking down at him like he's some kind of pervert. His hands start shaking even after looking away, feeling their judgmental stares. "You may begin." The teacher says as the rest of the class flips their exams over to start working on it.

Daren can't move. He sits in his chair, wallowing in despair. 'Calm down. Just finish this and leave.' He tries to comfort himself. He flips the exam over and tries to focus his mind on it, hoping that it will distract his mind.

As the class hour nears it's end, Daren only manages to finish half of the exam. The room is quiet, but he knows people are staring at him after they finished their exam. He can't take this anymore. Ten minutes until class ends. He quickly gets up from his seat and walks out the door. His hands are still trembling in fear. His anxiety is through the roof. He needs to get away.

Daren accidently bumbs into another student because he isn't paying attention to his surroundings. "I'm sorry." Daren says as he keeps walking. Not bothering to see who it was.

"Hey." The man says, getting Darens attention. "Aren't you that pervert?" Daren keeps walking, trying to ignore him as best as he can. "I use that bathroom too you sick fuck. I bet you get cum all over the toilet seats."

'Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop judging me.' Daren makes his way to the stair case. But while going down the steps, his foot extends too far, missing one of the steps. He tumbles down the half flight of stairs, hitting his head as he reaches the bottom. He takes to a second to make sure that he didn't break any bones. He feels the back of his head. 'There's no blood.'

Two women walk up the stairs, but they don't offer him any help, even after seeing him on the floor. "Hey, isn't it that guy?" One of the women asks the other.

"STOP IT, ALL OF YOU." Daren can't stop himself from shouting at them. After seeing that he startled them, he composes himself. "Who's spreading these rumors?"

They don't bother to answer him. They head up the stairs, ignoring Daren. 'How are these rumors spreading so fast? Does the whole school know?'

If this is what's it's going to be like for the rest of the school year, he might as well shoot himself. He does have a pistol that he can use. 'Or I can use it on them.'