“I-I’m telling you sir, there is absolutely no reason for you to have taken me here and are-“ I pause as a dark smile cracks across his face. His voice is deep and gravely. “Are what?” He questions, taking a step forward. I back away and slam my back into a wall. My heart thumps in my throat and I let out a small whimper. “And.. try and kill me.” I say, not meeting his eyes. Another step forward. “Well, Elliot,” he snarls, and outstretches a long dagger-like claw towards me. I shiver. “Why shouldn’t I kill you? Your family is already gone, and I’ve already gotten half of this world disintegrated into dust.” He snaps his fingers and a cloud of dark red ashes fall to the ground slowly. “You have nothing to live for. Why should you?” How does he know my name? I internally freak out, but I know showing terror will only convince him that I’m a weak piece of work for him to prey on. I stutter, at a loss for words. I look him in the eyes and notice the murderous blue shine of these eyes. The eyes that once a mother cooed over. The ones that have been infected with the sight of carnage. And yet, the same ones that a young child carries with joy. “Well?” He growls. “Any answer?” I look at my shoes. The man lets out a deep sigh. “Okay, you got five minutes. If you can’t convince me otherwise why I should let you live, then you’re mine.” My thoughts burn through my head as I blink. I meet his eyes once more. I just stare at him with a blank gaze, as my brain racks through reason after reason. “Well, for one, my friends. I have them at home. What if I die here? They will have to be left behind.” I inhale deeply, knowing this next part will either go down in a good way, or possibly my death. “Don’t you miss your friends?” Even as I tread lightly, I see his fist curl. A gentle growl escapes his throat. “I don’t miss my friends.” He turns his head slightly to the left. “After all, they should be the ones missing me. Though it’s my faul-“ He clears his throat and this time his shadowed eyes meet mine with such a force I can’t look away. “It’s their own fault. Not mine.” He mouths words I can’t understand, as if it were a part of the sentence that he paused at. “Why don’t you miss them?” I question. He takes another step towards me. I can feel his breath. Ew. He doesn’t respond, just his eyes still piercing my head. “Why don’t you miss them?” Now I don’t lay against the wall; I stand up. It makes him feel a lot closer then he is. The man stares at me, his expression now blank. “I don’t miss them. I don’t have any reason to.” His dark eyes slide above my head, as if there were something there. “I don’t have a reason to miss them, not when he was the one that put that gun to my head. I told him to fire if he wasn’t a coward. I didn’t think he would. And yet he did. Why should I miss him? Hawk was a horrible man. But his charm could blow away the crimes as a wind carries sand.” I feel some sort of empathy pass over me, but then I remember who this man even was. I stand up straight and look at him. “What else?” He exhales and turns his head to the side. He obviously doesn’t want to talk about it. But he does anyway. “Then there was another man. While Hawk had the gun to my head, he stood there dying of laughter. I don’t see why. It was no laughing matter. Especially when I had known him for four years. That man was my best friend. And yet he found me being on the rink of death the funniest thing ever.” He stares at the floor. “Then we have Fritz. The sweetest thing ever to exist. But I don’t know why he did what he did. Fritz would, like Hawk, lure people in with his beauty. And he worked for Hawk. So. Hawk taught him all of the things that a gently boy like Fritz should never have known for his age. He was just an eighth grader. Never should have had to know how to hang someone, how to make the traps he made. And yet he was taught.” The man sighs. I stare at him, perplexed. “If he shot you, how are you still here?” I ask. He eyes me for a moment more. “I was Hawk.” I blink. I can’t comprehend how. Then I remember. Hawk had those dark blue eyes that glinted even in the utter darkness, the ones that glittered with the thirst of murder. The ones turned psycho after his mother died and couldn’t give him her affection. “It’s you. You’re Hawk. The murderer that I thought was a legend.” I say, my eyes wide as I meet his. “Yes. I’m not dead yet. Though I wish I had been multiple times. But that’s not the point.” He flicks his eyes to my wrist and notices the time. I was hoping he forgot. “Wait.” Hawk says. I take a deep breath of the icy cold air. “I’m not going to kill you. You were the one person that listened to me. The one that didn’t take off. The one who understood.” Hawk examines one of his claws. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Hawk!” I sniff. He rolls his eyes and mutters something. “Now go, Elliot. Do not tell anybody about this. If you do, I’ll have no choice but to take these claws down your damn throat.” He pulls his hand down and it goes limp at his side. I nod. “I won’t. Thank you.” I leave the room, and spin around right before I leave. Those eyes. They aren’t filled with sorrow anymore. They seem. Joyful.

The way I never would have thought to have to do this. Never would I thought I would have to reveal my identity, to potentially ruin my own life. How can I destroy something I’ve worked so hard for, just for it to be gone in an instant? Well, let’s rewind a little bit. Anyway, I’ve even known as a little bit of a villain here. In this tiny little town. So then it shouldn’t be that big of an idea, right? Wrong. Huh, there are unfortunately pros and cons. Pros? I’m known. Like everywhere. Cons? I’m known. Can’t go places without being feared or scared. But I cannot help it, the way that the claws are grown from my nails, the wings sprouted on my back, the sharp, beady black eyes of mine that watch in every direction. Believe it or not, I’m feared for that. Shocking. But it’s just a distraction from the actual person I am; a costume. In reality, I’m just a man. That’s all. Just your local neighbor. seriously someone you see at a supermarket purchasing a bouquet of flowers for his mother on Mother’s Day. I hated myself forever, the way I looked, talked, laughed, anything, really. And so when I got the chance to get to alter my life (changing into the so-called villain I am now), I leaped for it, unaware of the potential consequences that would come for unsuspecting me. Oh, how I wish I could go back, but how I wish I couldn’t. I yearn to be a human, a small unfeared creature by society, but the way I would have to deal with my own fear of myself? I could never go back and overcome it. So, instead, I stay here, my long, shiny black claws sharpened and my dark eyes locked on a building. I wonder what I would do if it suddenly caught fire, hmm? Being a small, fragile human being in a gigantic building such as that; it would be too much to bear. Too many people packed into that building. And in the events of an attack or fire? I would have no clue what to do. And that is why I wait here, crouched on top of this small little steeple, my claws dug into the top as I’m leaned backwards so I don’t get poked. My wings are tucked neatly into my back, letting me launch if needed. I’ve grown quite used to this new body, with the unhumanly long claws, the wings of a vulture, the eyes of a crow, cold and unsightly. It still shocks people that aren’t fully afraid of me to see how well I can function. Anyway, I’m sitting on a church steeple, ready to launch. I scan the area, then peer at the building once more. I’ve always had a strange fascination with that building. The way it’s configured, the layout, the walls, and the fountain. Oh the fountain. It’s beautiful. How I wish I could stick my face in it, the icy cold water stinging on my face. I grunt and shake out my wings, and notice a feather falls to the ground slowly with grace as it swiftly twirls and sinks. A shrill wail coming repetitively from the building catches my attention and I fling my head upward to see. I strain my neck and am in shock as I hear the squealing still continue. I watch the people flood out of the building, screaming and crying with utter terror and despair. What happened? I notice the burning glare out of one of the windows, near the top. I reach into my head and am barely able to recover the layout of the building. But how? How can I remember this building with a passion? How can I remember all of the layout, where the kitchen lay on the fifth floor, where the dark green couch is sleeping in the conference room, the sweet secretary greeting me with a bright, cheesy smile? I don’t know. I slip down the steeple quietly, landing on the roof of the church with a tiny grunt. I back away, until I stand on the edge of the roof. I take a deep breath and start at a sprint before leaping off almost as soon as I started running. My wings beat heavily as they struggle against the wind. The smell of fire overwhelms me and smoke starts to rise from the building. Did it catch fire? Assumingly it has, with the people rushing out with many squeals and screaming. I fly faster, the smoke getting up in my face as I ascend. The fire starts to burn through the top and middle of the building now. Frantically, I rush through the layout in my head. Where could it have started? Why? I rack my brain for an answer. Then it hits me like a sack of wet mice. The kitchen has caught fire. The kitchen is right near the stairs leading upstairs. My heart is pulling in both ways. Stay away. Or help. I take a deep breath and dive towards a window. (Really proving my bird like point) I slam into it, hoping the fire would have make it easier to break. I protect my neck with my wings as I form a bullet like shape. It works. The window shatters in a loud crash, sending glass shards all around me. I let out a hiss of pain as one digs into my leg but I suck it up. Gotta go upstairs. Gotta go upstairs. I keep repeating this to myself as I make my way past the burning blaze, hoping it doesn’t hurt me too badly. “Why am I doing this?” I snarl as a flame nips at my heel. I yip like a small dog as I jump and sprint up the stairs. Ashes are scattered everywhere, the heat unbearable. I cough as I breathe in a lot of smoke, and my eyes water. Still, I push on. There’s people up there still. I know there are. That’s why I got to get up there. I inhale deeply, and race up the steps. When I get to the top, I quickly scan each room, calling out. “Anyone here?” I shout. No answer. I’m trusting that nobody was here, as I turn and go up the next step of stairs, the sharp smoke burning in my throat and nose. My eyes water and I blink frantically, trying to see out of the water and smoke. I repeat this for two more floors. “Hello?” I holler. I hear a whine from someone, and start running towards the sound. There are two people huddled up in the corner. They look at me with terror and I realize who they are. Those were my coworkers. Were. I sigh and start to quickly claw at the window. They whimper in pain as the smoke has burned their throats enough to make it hard to talk or breathe. I spin around and I notice a hammer on the desk, laying on top of a blue painting with a cat on it. I pick up the hammer and swing into the window with it. It shatters with a loud crash and I peer out at the glass shards falling. “Come on!” I hiss, picking up someone and putting her on my back. Jill Taylor. Used to be the secretary, moved to sales. She shivers with terror and stares at the other young woman, hidden away. “Come on! We don’t have all day!” I snap, and I stare at the door. Fire waits patiently behind it as it figures out how to get through the door. She continues to look at me like I’m crazy. Kyla Shrew. Just joined as soon as I left, is an expert in sales. “KYLA SHREW, GET OVER HERE. WOULD YOU RATHER BURN TO DEATH?” I scream at her, and she scurries over to me. Jill helps her onto my back, and they both whimper in fear. Kyla shoves her face into my back as I leap out the broken window. I sink down a little, and Jill screeches. “We- We’re going to die!” She wails. I grunt and soar upward, my wingbeats even stronger than ever. I tilt my head a tiny bit to see the building, and shake my hand out. The room is now being engulfed in fire. I land onto the ground, and sniffle as I set them down. “Y-You aren’t really a monster,” Kyla coughs. “Are you? Why did you s-save us?” She stares at me, her bright brown eyes shining and red. Jill shakes her head. “I know what you are. Aren’t you.” She whispers. My eyes widen in terror as I realize why she looked so familiar. Her face is the same one peering over me as she shoved the needle into my throat, the same one who smoothed down my wings after they were attached, the same one who drug a knife through the back of my spine, all the way down through my spine. The same one who kissed my forehead and told me I was going to be dead soon. I snap back and my eyes narrow into dark slits. “Of course you do.” I snarl. Jill stares back at me, emotionless. Her face hasn’t aged a bit, and she looks even more horrific as I remember the things she did to me. Kyla scratches at her head in puzzlement. “Uhm. Details? Who is this?” She asks. Jill whirls on her. “Shut up, Kyla.” “Uhm. Wow.” Kyla rolls her eyes and sinks back onto her knees. Jill takes a step towards me, her eyes filled with joy and despair. “Lorenzo.” She says my name so softly. With a gentleness that makes me want to rip her face out. I stare at her. “Don’t ever say that name again. You have ruined the Lorenzo I once was. You destroyed my life.” Jill smiles a bright teethy smile. “Oh, Lorenzo, you’re practically a son to me. How could you not be?” Something inside me roars and I feel something crack, like a thin sheet of ice. “A son? Excuse you? Do you know what you did?” I growled at her. I lunged forward and smacked her across her face. I don’t care if my claws were out. They should have been. Kyla and Jill stared up at me in shock. Yet I felt no remorse. “Lorenzo.” Jill whispered as she clutched her face and gave me a glare that dug into my heart. I can’t feel bad for her now. “Jill. It was you.” I say with anger burning in my throat. My stomach aches and I feel nauseous, but I have to put that feeling away. “The way that I could care less for you. Anything you did to me? I still remember it. You talk a lot of nonsense but I know how your mind works.” I lower my jaw to the side of her head. “Might as well light a candle for the you that I knew.” As I swing my claws into the side of her neck, I can see the regret. But it’s too late. Better pray, I hope you’re ready for death. A strangled whine escaped her and blood gently leaks out of her throat slashes. It drips down the sides of her neck and onto her shoulder. I turn around. My eyes narrow back to slits and I see Kyla standing there in front of me, covering her mouth with her hands. She backs away as I walk next to her, but she’s not the least of my worries. I take off at a run away from Kyla, and beat my wings. I launch myself into the air and start flying. I know what I must do.

I must leave this world behind.

help why is this story so long lol??

I stand there, my eyes locked on the black cat. She meows at something in the window, and I look. I see a dark shadow rushing towards me and I let out a shriek of terror, and get slammed backward into a bookcase as it crouches over me. I squint my eyes to see the strange figure peering at me. “I’ve been feeling so alone, trapped in my mind. I’ve been dying inside, Kyla. I really need help.” It snarls as I feel a sharp burning across my throat. It sprints away as I claw at my throat, struggling to breathe.

When I look in the mirror I never see the full picture I only see hatred My unknowing love wasted For myself It takes me back to when I was twelve I see the fragile young boy I used to be How little was he To deal with the weight of his world on his shoulders He would haul boulders He was a soldier Who just needed closure He got through it Bit by bit And has escaped the dark claws of life Not threatened by the knife Now he lives as he should have And he lets out a laugh I enjoyed my life It was perfect The powerful drive Of a young child’s energy What are core memory The way I smiled Just a small child The way I enjoyed the morning sun It filled me with joy But now when I look for it I only see a dark void The darkness I feel drags me back into its corner Forcing me with its powerful order To keep me trapped here Filling me with utter fear The way I would try to escape it Only to be hit back with its spit And I collapse To its terrifying traps The horrendous darkness inside Now lays beside I tried to get help It it would attack me randomly with a yelp My heart would burn with a fire As it spoke with the tongue of a liar Once I was able to, I leaped at the chance To become a better man It worked But still I find Myself going blind I’ve gotten out of that cave My feelings now gone, in the grave Emotionless Yet nobody notices They are all too focused on themselves Overworking at their jobs like elves May this world hurt sometimes May it commit horrible crimes But yet you have it this time Take it with a side of lime And I promise With an everlonging fondness With an aching sharpness That everything will go back to normal As I am just a small mortal Who has suffered many quarrels Just your local employee Or perhaps your enemy I shall never know. My story inspires you, I hope So go enjoy yourself As I escape himself You are on top of the world So let your wings unfurl Fly into the real world And hurl yourself through the bad times And now, that’s why I am here Didn’t give in to the fear If I could do that, so could you Even if you have to wait the queue You’ll make it Saying you won’t is just a myth Now get out there Take care! Watch your back! And listen to the air Even when you only see black You can always bounce back.