Vice and Virtue

Chapter - 1

   It was a fine evening, with a clear sky and a warm mood to just let me feel grateful to be alive.

Even though it was the clichéd atmosphere of an uneventful day, I had this strange feeling that made me quite uneasy. This feeling was hard to describe but I was sure it was not just a random mood swing of sorts caused by my puberty with all its complications. At seventeen years of age, I think I was quite experienced with the harsh reality of this mundane world. Always the odd one in my circle, I’m used to feeling awkward but this time it feels more real, more serious as if all this time, everything I experienced has been a lie. I had always been quite understanding and talented in nearly everything I tried. With an above average intelligence and a quick learner, one would think I had a perfect life but no human can ever be perfect or live perfect.

To cut it short, I would describe myself as an average guy with a fluctuating personality, who is quite lazy due to boredom with a bit of a twisted mind and an unconventional idea of ‘normal’ compared to the so called ‘society’. With a questionable past and a lot of social issues of mine, this evening still feels quite strange to me. My eye was twitching but it’s justified by the amount of caffeine I consume. I felt really tired and kind of nauseous but it’s nothing new to me. I was curious about this unusual feeling of mine but I just decided that, whatever it was, it was not worth the effort to think about it.

So I dropped all my thoughts and started home to just sleep away some of this miserable life. I lived alone in a small villa with the minimum amount of furniture needed and enough money to live a peaceful, jobless lifestyle. School was a way to kill time and also for me to learn something that is useful to make myself even more carefree and modest. It’s been a couple days since I had this odd feeling that kept popping on and off at random times. At the least, it’s not like I didn’t get used to it but I got to admit it’s not that comfortable either. 

Grocery run was especially hard at this time cause I have this thought about me feeling weird has something to do with my unhealthy lifestyle but that wasn’t going to stop me from getting an assorted range of chips and popcorn with a few of the premium cup noodles and mint-chocolate chip and blueberry with strawberry ice-cream to binge away my week. I started off from home in high spirits, only to end up with the most unexpected stuff I thought I would ever end up with. By the time I’m back in my senses, I found myself in front of a burnt building with one of the most well maintained gardens in my whole block.

In one hand, I got a Beretta 92A1 and 2 whole cartons of 19mms along with a pacific combat knife that probably cost me a whole lot more than a full month’s worth of binge eating and impulsive shopping and in the other, I was holding a bag full of power bars, medical supplies and everything else that were probably used in a cold war or something. The sun was nearly set and I didn’t know what has happened or what I was to do with all of this stuff now. I wanted to throw them away but I did not know where and it’s not like I could just take them back home either. I figured that since I was in front of a burned up building, I might as well bury them in there but as soon as I got over the fence, my mind went blank…

After I thought I had passed out, I woke up in a locked room with shattered windows and cracked walls, without any recollection of how I ended up here but what really bothered me was how calm I was, as if I am used to waking up in strange rooms without any idea, as to how I ended up in them. My mind started to zone out and as if I had been reset, I suddenly knew about a thousand ways to escape locked rooms with all of my body parts intact. Setting the fact of the sudden change of my surroundings and also my new wisdom, I had to get myself to a less creepy place to figure out what’s wrong with me.

I nearly burnt my face off when I tried to get out the window. Now, that the window was not an option anymore, I looked around but the room was completely empty except for the signs of struggle on the floor. I tried to remember every locked room escape from all the movies I had seen, only to realize how awfully convenient everything went by for the protagonists as if the whole world was built just for them to act like that.

I got on my hands and knees in a desperate attempt to find anything that might be useful for me to escape. The floor was rough and sandy and unbelievably cold in contrast to the heat outside. With my head down and my fingers running through every small c***k on the floor, I heard a sudden loud pounding on the door. I slowly got up and waited with clenched fists to calm myself down as the sounds stopped and suddenly the pounding on the door was back but this time louder and strong enough for me to feel the vibrations.

I quickly got down on to my knees again, shivering with fear and for a second, my life flashed before my eyes. I rolled over my back and stretched out my limbs as to make snow angels, I slowly swayed my arms up and down as I tried to keep my mind blank as the pounding grew louder and faster than the last. Nearly out of hope for survival, I shot up as a sharp pain travelled up my hand. I seem to have nicked my finger on something. The door was nearly out of its hinges and I cursed myself for giving up.

I darted across the room feeling the walls and every corner I could search for a way to escape, a way to live and then I hit a loose brick. I pulled it out using all my strength and a faint light wrapped the darkness in the room. I slid my hand into the space and found a handle but the pounding stopped with a loud slam at the same time. Too scared to look back, I quickly pulled it out but nothing happened.

I could hear a low growl behind me and small heavy steps coming towards me. I turned around slowly to look at my mystery friend and found myself in front of a tall, slender figure shrouded in flames staring back at me with bright crimson eyes. I froze stiff at the sight and thought about how painfully it would be to be ripped by claws that are literally covered in reddish flames. The monster took a step back with its body arched forward and charged at me without any haste. I sprang myself aside from its path at the final moment and it rammed into the wall, tearing right through it. I let out a scream in pain and fell to my side. My body ached all over and even if it was only a graze, my right arm was nearly burnt.

I picked myself up in pain and the midst of all the rubble and smoke, I saw a spiral stairway that went up as far as I could see. The monster was getting back up and I had to make my choice to live. I did not want to go the way it came through, so I sprinted to the top, as fast as I could. I kept running without even taking a look down below to see my pursuer but instead I looked up to find an exit. I kept running up even if it felt like my lungs would collapse because my fear is keeping me alive. Slowly, the stairs were getting narrower and also steeper. I think I lost my pursuer but I did not stop to see. I nearly stumbled on a broken step but somehow held my balance and managed to not fall off to a horrible and painful death.

I leaned against the wall, exhausted and breathing erratically. I was more concerned about getting out of here to even think about surviving two near death situations. I slowly made my way up again but this time I was more cautious. As I climbed up higher, it got colder and darker. After a while, I can see the end of the staircase, so, I got hasty and a bit hopeful. As soon as the steps ended, I found myself in front of a narrow tunnel. I just made my way forward since I have no other choice. The steps were exhausting but this was more taxing but after a while, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I pulled myself together and sped up to the exit but as soon as I stepped outside to an incredibly bright sky. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to it but as soon as I can see normally, I was awestruck by the view in front of me.