CHAPTER TWO: DEEP DARK INSIDE

Dark, lonely, scary, all of it playfully existing In the depths of Paul's memories, as a chilling moment continues to unfold, to hopefully damage a once stable mind.

A tense encounter gripped by raw emotions of sorrow clashing with anger, love tangling with confusing betrayal.

It was a silent storm raging in the young child's mind, an unresolved past looming large.

In the haunting maze of Paul's memories, we zoom into a shadowed alley, where young Paul stands, trembling with fear, his eyes filled with despair, as his body was frozen due to it.

His eyes wide open with horror, witnessing his elder brother's tears streaming down his face, being forced by an unseen person to harm their dad by stabbing his dad in the chest over and over and over again.

A heart-wrenching realization looms over Paul as he understands his brother's unwilling suffering,

Forced by a menacing figure compelling him to commit this devilish act, Paul who was already frozen in fears, unable to do anything, felt an overwhelming hatred for himself starting to boil up.

"Please! I'm begging you, stop it, STOP!!!", Paul's voice quivers with desperation, echoing through the darkness as his cries resonate with overwhelming terror.

His heart races wildly, pounding against his chest like a pounding drum.

"No please," timidly he said as the shock could feel like it was gripping him by the neck.

"PLEAASEEEEE!!!" Yelling with Every syllable ripped from his soul, drenched in fear and helplessness.

The bulky figure slowly turns its gaze towards Paul, a devilish grin stretching across its face, sending shivers down Paul's spine.

Paul breath freezes up, horror consuming him, and he is forcefully pulled out of his flashback, as he wishes to remember no more.

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Back to reality, he sees The same devilish smile on the figure before him, igniting a fierce rage within Paul as he could no longer see reality for what it was but only saw him and that man from his past.

His veins bulged with fury as he clenched his fist.

"Back then, I was just a helpless kid, powerless, yet you revelled in the pain my dad and brother were feeling, relishing in the suffering you put me through".

"Why? What satisfaction did you gain from that much evil?" Paul said, shaking from overwhelming rage, his words fueled by years of torment he had gone through.

Veins protruded from his trembling arms, his face contorted into a chilling psychopathic smile.

"Every day, that moment haunts me, like a twisted obsession, making me question if insanity is what it will takes to make you suffer as you made me suffer," His voice echoed with a chilling calmness.

"Huh? What the hell do you think your talking abo...." The bulky man in front of Paul was saying before his words were abruptly interrupted as Paul immediately lunged forward with lightning speed, delivering a swift upward kick that landed on the bulky figure's face.

"Huh? Impossible! How did he move so quickly, there no way he is the same guy I just punched right now, is he?" The bulky man wondered, but before he could react, Paul retracted his kick, springing higher for a devastating blow that connected with precision to his chin.

"arghhh!!!,"

The bulky man was pushed back in pain, refusing to fall, the bulky figure launched a counter punch towards Paul while he was still mid-air.

"No chance of you dodging this!" He shouted internally as the punch drew closer to Paul's face,

but with Paul's quick reflexes he skillfully used the momentum of the punch to twist in the air and counter, delivering a punishing blow to the bulky man's side.

Pain shot through the bulky man's body, a gasp escaping his mouth as he locked eyes with Paul.

Within Paul's gaze burned a cold intensity, devoid of mercy or restraint, amplifying the fear that was hidden within the bulky man and coursing through the bulky man's veins.

Paul didn't relent, becoming a monster of strikes and blows, with each hit landing with precision and purpose. The scene unfolded like a rapid dance of fists and kicks.

His punches echoed with the weight of desperation and anger, carrying the emotional intensity of someone driven solely by an overwhelming hatred.

As the bulky figure fell unconscious to the ground after the barrage, Paul seized the opportunity, jumping onto him with unrelenting fury.

His blows rained down like a tsunami, the sounds of impact vibrated through the space, and each strike carried the weight of Paul's relentless anger.

"You don't get to escape this fight! Stay awake!" Paul's voice, although blank was still filled with an unmistakable despair, as he continued his relentless attacks with tears filling his eyes.

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"It's alright Paul, he's already knocked out, calm down, he's not the one from that day. Take a better look at him!" Alen yelled holding Paul's hand from punching his face again.

"Paul!! Stop!" Alen's urgent voice pierced through Paul's intense state, finally snapping him out of it.

Immediately all seven of them heard the news that the cops were coming and by the time the cops arrived they were nowhere to be found.

   Only the bodies of fifty-one beaten-up boys could be found, and a critically injured body, leaving the police in confusion.

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"Ring, ring,", one of the cops quickly made a call.

the person immediately picked up, as a  young soft lady's voice and answered saying.

"What the hell do you want," the lady said

"General Nicole, there's trouble. We need you here, urgently," the officer said with urgency.

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Later, atop a building, the group gathered under the beautiful view of the evening sky.

    "Hey Paul, hey Paul, snap out of it already," Alen kept saying while slapping Paul on the face.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch why the heck are you doing that," Paul said while touching his red cheek.

"Well, what else do you expect me to do, when you don't want to snap out of, it you've been quiet for awhile now," Alen said, with a hint of worry in his voice.

"sigh!! Am sorry everyone, I don't even know what got into me like that. All I just felt was the best the crap out of that guy since his smile was pissing me off, that all, so nothing to worry about, he he," Paul said in a tired voice, but soon move to forcing a smile as in though he was hiding something.

"No problem Paul just don't go out on us like that again alright and let us help next time please, remember where all in this gang together, so if you need any help just call," Lola said looking at Paul with concern, as she could still sense his lie.

"Hey, rest up, it's the new year after all. Don't just go kill yourself," Leo quipped, a twinge of sarcasm covering his concern. "I mean, who wants to start the year off with a dramatic exit, right? Save that for April Fools' or something.".

"So cool, Paul! How did you do that, you've got to tell me, you've just got to tell me!" Kazuto kept saying, repeating himself in his excited state.

"SMARK!"

"Shut up you dumbass, can't you see the state he's in?" Tobi said, smacking the side of Kazuto's head.

"Sorry Paul," Kazuto said guiltily.

"We're all going now. Thanks for the Ice-cream Saturday though, we'll see you later man," Leo said as the remaining four left with Leo saying their farewells, leaving Alen and Paul alone.

"Sigh!!!!," Paul sigh laying down facing towards to beautiful sky.

"Want to head to the park and unwind?" Alen asked relaxedly, gesturing toward the peaceful distance.

"sigh!! Sure, I don't know what to do anymore, am a bit confused, but I think I can still find a plan to stop all this pain, and this time not even reality can stop me."

"That place seems like the safest spot around here," Paul agreed, smiling as he followed Alen toward the serene park, both hoping for a moment of respite amidst the unrelenting chaos of their lives.

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"Paul, as always you're still holding back on us, huh? I Can't figure out why, but I'll still wait patiently until you're ready to tell us. After all, the six of us are all in this gang for you," Alen said internally, his gaze fixed on Paul as they descended from the rooftop, heading towards the softly illuminated park.

"But I never imagined our small school gang, the 7 Reckless Crimsons, would grow this big. We formed it for kicks and the thrill of it all. In a world where powerhouse families, mafia mobs, and school gangs roam the underworld freely,"

"we just wanted to have some damn fun, and to support you in any way we can. But deep down, I sense there's something you're searching for, that why we keep going on this strange missions."

"But being with you and the others has been the best ride of my life," he admitted, his tone sincere yet filled with worry.

"I just Hope you feel the same way, Paul."