Take Me ho(e)me

Chapter 1: Dying and Ancient man

Arriving home, her body immediately slumped on the couch. The bags that she carried slipped out of her hands. With narrowed and creased eyebrows, she pondered whether to sleep and cram later before the purge starts or get up and lock/barricade all the openings and turn on the security system, then sleep. Obviously, she chose the latter and grumpily stood up and began to work.

When she was finally done, she went to sleep. The only thing that woke her was when a monotone voice entered her ears,

"This is not a test. This is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the Annual Purge sanctioned by the Government."

Ah, there it is the voice I dreaded to hear. She thought a burning irritation spread across her body. She hated this, clearly, but she could not escape...unless she died, of course. An easy way out at least, but why would she build up security in her home when she welcomes death with open arms? Well, that's one thing she doesn't understand about herself, but it was clear she had given up already. How did she know it was her time? Simple, she feels it. (hehe I don't have a better explanation)

As she lets the rest of the announcement fall on deaf ears, closing her eyes once more, letting her fatigue get the best of her. She didn't need to hear it anyway, she had it memorized.

?You Can Skip This?

After a good hour or so, she again woke up to various bangs, thuds, and a lot of screaming. It isn't even that late yet, what drugs are you all on to start killing this early?!

Sighing, she sat up and went to her PC to see if the security camera was doing its job. Lucky for her it was, she could see a few bodies lying on her doorstep,

She tried not to cringe at how mangled their bodies were. So, worse when she zoomed in,

Oh god,. She froze in terror, eyes wide at what she was seeing. Just who would do this? It was far from recognizable. A body had its other arm nailed to the ground. It wasn't even an arm anymore. The killer left no gap between the nails, and the eyes were pulled out, and blood seeped out from their sockets. It only got worse when she saw the other bodies. They all have one thing in common though; their eyes were missing...

Luckily, Eli won't die this way, :)

✌️You Can Read Again :) ✌️

She crawled away from the PC, her heart still pounding as she recalled that, God help her. She couldn't get the images out of her head! She was crippled with disgust as one thought of it made her want to puke, but she needed to respect the dead. Her head started throbbing as unwanted thoughts came in,

I could have saved them...If I just stayed up to hear their cries, I could have helped!

I'm the reason why they suffered, if only...if only...

She tightened her hands into a fist until they turned white, disgusted with herself. She thrashed, threw, rip anything she held. Droplets of water fell from her face as she cried for help. Someone who could help her banish her guilt, she was sleeping there relaxed while the others were fighting for their lives. So engrossed in her sorrow she failed to see the light, for she thought she was a monster herself. Kneeling down on her bed, she began to apologize and reflect, reflect on what? She didn't know.

As the wind heavily blows and droplets of water begin to flow.

In the neighbouring streets, she could be heard.

Desperate pleas and yells, as if she's a caged bird.

Belwildered, people halt, listening in

Hearing the cries of the fallen heroine.

.

.

.

.

A sudden twitch where her body felt like falling and also being electrocuted in a split second jolted her up from her uncomfortable sleep. Her palms rubbed the sore eyes, the puffy eyes from crying made her vision slightly blurry. A plain white wall (she assumed) entered her sight, and now looking around everything seemed to be white. There was hardly anything in the room except the walls and floor, yet no door.

Did I die? It was the first question that came to her mind. It was plausible. What about Haru? The thought of leaving her only friend behind scared her. He was all she had, and she'd be damned if she couldn't take him to the grave with her. Looking at her hand, it looked slimmer than before. What happened to her exactly?

Now standing up, her back screamed when she bent her body backwards to stretch. Groaning, she now aimlessly walked around the room until she reached a wall. With her hand brought up, placing her hand on the wall, knocking to hear if there was another side.

None, nada, so with her hand still placed on the wall she began to walk to the side, gliding her hand across the wall, noticing the white dust that the wall left on her hand while she already explored the four corners of the white room.

She felt somewhat unfair for her to die on the day she was born(well, if she's dead), who decided to have the purge on her birthday anyway? Lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice the empty wall behind her that started forming some kind of door a while ago. Still observing the walls in front of her, a man looking in his early thirties entered the makeshift door.

The man wore a dark-grey polo shirt with black slacks, a long white hospital robe and a stethoscope hanging on his neck.

He took a couple of steps towards her, observing her form from what he could see. She looked fragile, her clothes barely fit, her terrible posture, and her eyes seemed so tired. Deducing that it may be the effects of her severe trauma, the years she had to endure, well it was only once a year in his defence.

He couldn't understand why it traumatised her so much. Well, he wasn't exactly human, to begin with, so his confusion is somewhat, just somewhat understandable.

A couple more steps he took until the fragile-looking girl finally turned to the man. Clearing his throat,

"Hello, you must be Miss Eli? A pleasure to meet you." He said. The girl looked uncomfortable with his choice of how to approach her. Her hands fiddled with the yellow cardigan she wore, she hummed in response.

"Yes...sir?"

"Well Miss, I need to examine you to know if you're good enough to go to the next place you're off to." The man said, stepping into her bubble. She may have been too calm about this situation, so she began to ask questions.

"To where?"

"A place I hate but you may like..." He responded, flaring his nose. Grabbing his stethoscope, and waving a hand to the side, a puff of smoke emerged, and then he went to a makeshift hospital bed. Motioning her to sit down, she looked at him perplexed.

Unsatisfied with his answer, clicking her tongue and looking elsewhere was her solution in an attempt to lower her rising anger.

"Did I die?" She asked again, barely a whisper this time. If he was human he probably wouldn't hear it, but he wasn't. Putting the stethoscope on her chest, he instructed her to inhale and exhale. The face she gave him was amusing, so he decided to tease her a bit.

It was quite unexpected coming from him.

"Not quite..." He said, done with his test. If I tell her she died because of a severe breakdown that led to her hitting her head at the corner of a table, would she be embarrassed and shut up?

He paused at the thought.

Although, seeing her cry might be entertaining right now, but it's against the rules... He thought, and sighed.

"Then what is this place, anyway?"

Eli's pov.

"Then what is this place anyway?" I pressed further, I have been getting vague answers so far and can't help but feel frustrated about it, and the fact that I don't want to offend this man because he's good-looking! f**k you, stupid. Maybe a demon hunk! I ranted to myself, still bothered by his gaze.

Why is he so handsome though- and here I am a freaking skeleton?

My face morphed into awe as I stared at him more. I may be gawking at him, but dear lord, you don't see a fine man every day. A slight twitch in his lips made me arch my brow. He had a fine-a*s jawline with a neatly trimmed beard, his hair combed and tied to a bun. Damn...

He suddenly took out a...phone?! Are there phones here??

"Sir, her condition is fine, just severely malnourished." I'm not fine then! What's the point of looking like a doctor if you consider someone who looks like a skeleton 'fine? Being beyond angry, you may be handsome, but you're f*****g dumb! I was about to yell at him, but the door burst open.

There stood a man, with a demeanour I couldn't quite get. He seemed kind yet the hairs behind my neck screamed danger, seemingly begging for me to run. My legs started to turn weak as my hand lousily gripped the bed sheets. I was scared to stare at him, so I just averted my eyes towards the mysterious man's side. He walked towards us, while I waited anxiously.

"Child." A firm voice came out of his mouth, looking down at me with a cold-hardened gaze. The man cleared his throat and spoke again.

"In time you will know my intentions. Believe me, I want no harm done to you. So please don't be confused when the time comes." What? I stared at him in confusion, his hand found its way into my head as he gently pat it, gently combing my hair with his fingers. His hand feels warm, I might get used to head pats.

"What do you mean, sir?" I asked him, slightly leaning into his hand. I felt comfortable around him. Is this how kidnappers coax children now? Dress like an ancient and act like a god?

"You will know...Tia, I hope you have a safe trip." With a gentle tap on my head, I blacked out.

Back at the two non-humans



"You got attached...Haru"

"Can't help it, Romo-sama. I'm her guardian." Haru replied with a pout. Meeting his human once more after she died made him ecstatic. Who knew this guardian who had been by Eli's side for a long time would have this part of him? If he was really her guardian, why couldn't he prevent her death?

"I wonder...for a guardian such as yourself to get attached to this girl. Would they become possessive of her as well?"

Next Chapter:

"What's up with these toddler-sized hands?!"