21 TRANCE WILSON: Take It All Away

~[Please hear the voice of the soul within]~

~intro music~

I watch my soulless self walks passed me. He can’t see me but I can see him and watch his every move. Everyone else can’t see me too. I’m like a restless ghost attached to this place.

~You’ve stripped me down, the layers fall like rain, It’s over now, just innocence and instinct still remain~

I saw Peter passes a glance at the soulless me who’s talking romantically with William in the locker hall. There’s sadness in his eyes. I walk to his side to confirm my thoughts.

~You watched me while I slowly disappeared, I reached for you to save me; you were frozen in your fear~

He is looking down and seems to be lost in a deep thinking. A drop of tear sparkles underneath his eyelids. He wipes it away slowly and walks to the men’s room. He locks himself in one of the cubicles. I follow him all the way there.

~Take it all away, Take it all away, Take it all away, Take it all away~

He lights up his cigarette and inhales it deeply. He then exhales and tears just stream down on his face. He pulls up the sleeve of his shirt and he puts the burning cigarette on his skin. It is burning his skin. I can hear the ‘hiss’ sound that it made. He closes his eyes as if he is savoring the pain. “My dear, Peter, what have happened to you?” I asked even though I know he will not hear me. I remember what happened a year ago vividly in my head. I was betrayed by the only guy I ever loved. By him… By Peter Jennings… I started to cry too reliving the memories.

~Circling the pain inside my soul, I reached inside your silence to steal what you won’t show~

They took turns. Peter was the first. Now it was Anthony on me. He was thrusting into me. I could no longer scream as I had gone tired of screaming. I can only cry. They were all laughing but I only had my eyes on Peter. I looked at him.

~I tried to find the answers in my fears, But what was found is lost again as soon as it appeared~

My eyes were begging him to save me. But he didn’t do anything. There was a streak of pity and panic across his face. But he still didn’t do anything. He pretended with all of his might to enjoy watching me being tortured.

~Take it all away, Take it all away, Take it all away, Take it all away~

Anthony was banging my head to the ground as he thrusted in me. It was hurting me like hell. I thought I was in hell. I’ve bled far more than I’ve ever bled in my entire life that night. And also cried far more than I’ve ever cried in my entire life… The tears seemed to flow endlessly. Then I stopped thinking. I stopped feeling hurt and I saw myself lying on the floor. I was not moving. I looked around. They were still there. They were in panic now. They couldn’t see the other me. I thought I was dead and had become a ghost back then.

~music break~

“Is he dead?” Anthony asked.

“I don’t know!” Noah shouted back. “Maybe we should ditch the body,” he suggested.

“No!” Peter said. I saw how devastated he was back then. But that was only because I knew him well. He had hidden his fear so well in front of his stupid friends. “Go! Just go! I’ll take care of it,” he assured them. They all nodded and ran off.

~I’m breaking; I can’t do this on my own, Can you hear me screaming out, am I all alone?~

He kneeled down beside me. He was trembling and then tears streamed down from his eyes. He held out his hand to my neck to feel my pulse. “Oh my God, Trance, I’m so sorry…” he begged. He then felt relieved that I still had pulse. The tears flowed non-stop from his eyes. He then held my face with both of his hands. “Wake up, Trance… Please… Wake up!” He screamed.

~music break~

Then there were flashlights around from the other side of the woods. He quickly got up and with a little hesitation, he ran away. I saw it all happened before my eyes. I was then taken to the hospital by the passerby who had heard Peter’s screaming and came into the woods. I wished he had come sooner but fate decided otherwise. I was in a coma, not death. Though death would have been all that I had hoped for. All the while, I was there watching my unmoving body on the hospital bed. I also know of Peter’s sneaking into the hospital to watch me sometimes. Why, Peter? Why did you do this to me? You said you love me. You said you want to be with me. Is this how you treat the person you love? I feel tears stream down from my eyes now. I get out from the cubicle. I should not care about Peter. He doesn’t deserve my love at all. I was mistaken to even think that he will change. He won’t change. He’ll remain being an idiot for the rest of his life and live in denial. I was stupid to ever love someone like him. If he wants to hurt himself, he can just do it. I won’t care anymore. William looks at me as I walk back to the hall of lockers. Yes. He’s the only one who can see me. Sometimes, he lets a part of me gets back into the soulless Trance to make him ’feel’.

~You take away, You take away, You take away, You take away, You take away, You take away, You take away, You take away, You take away, You take away~

He’s the devil who persuaded me to take revenge. Agreeing to him was a stupid mistake too. Now, I’ll never be able to escape. I’ll belong to him for eternity. I was only wanting for death back then. I never wanted more. Now I’m stuck with him. He came in a horrifying form to me back then but I can’t quite remember in details how he looked anymore. I guess that’s just what will happen to your memory if you meet with a mysterious hidden being. You could never describe them. Nonetheless, he was the only one who’s been there for me. He’s the only one who stood up for me.

~Ending music~

Maybe those people deserve what they get anyway. They all should just burn in hell. Peter, too. No matter how much I loved him and cared for him. No. I will not let him get away. He doesn’t deserve to be cut loose from the revenge. They will all burn in hell.

֍֍֍

LYRICS CREDITS:

RED – Take It All Away

22 PETER JENNINGS: Pieces

~Intro music~

I look at them. They are happy. They look so happy to be in the open like that. I look back to the inside of my locker. A tear is hanging in my eyes. I wipe it away slowly, pretending like I hurt my eyes or something so that people won’t know that I’m actually crying. I take the books and walk away from the locker hall. I pull a little and cling tightly to the strap of my bag and that hang on one side of my shoulders. I walk straight into the men’s room.

Once I’m inside of a cubicle, I close the toilet bowl and sit on it. I have a cigarette somewhere in my pocket. I search for it and when I found it, I quickly light it up. There’s an urge inside of me that I must satisfy. I inhale the cigarette deeply. This urge must be satisfied… I thought. I exhale. There’s no stopping to my overflowing tears right now. I’m deeply hurt. It’s hurt not to be able to let out what you really feel. It’s hurt not to be able to be yourself. It’s hurt to let the one you love slip away. And it hurts to know… that it was all your own fault.

~I’m here again, A thousand miles away from you, A broken mess, just scattered pieces of who I am~

I put the cigarette on my skin once the sleeve was pulled up higher. I can feel the fire eating away my skin. The pain on my skin is overwhelming. However, it’s burning away the pain I feel in my heart.

~I tried so hard, Thought I could do this on my own, I’ve lost so much along the way~

I pull the cigarette away and look at the burn mark it left on my skin. How pathetic. Is this the best I can do? I cry even more at the thought. I lean my head on the wall. I can’t stop crying.

~Then I see your face, I know I’m finally yours, I find everything I thought I lost before, You call my name, I come to you in pieces, So you can make me whole~

Trance… He’s the only best thing that ever happened in my life. And I just had to screw it. How stupid can I be? I was the stupidest of all. Trance was always there for me. He had always accepted me. He just had to go through it all alone. I wasn’t there for him. I was a selfish asshole. Am I regretting it? Yes, I am.

~I’ve come undone, But you make sense of who I am, Like puzzle pieces in your hand~

Why can’t I just go out in the open? Why can’t I just be honest to myself? Being popular and having it all mean nothing to me now. I should probably just tell everyone who I really am so that I won’t have to feel like this again.

~Then I see your face, I know I’m finally yours, I find everything I thought I lost before, You call my name, I come to you in pieces, So you can make me whole~

I miss Trance. The old him… What had happened to him? He had changed so much. It almost seems like he had lost his heart. Like he had no emotions and he just didn’t care. God, I feel really hurt remembering him looking at me in the eyes with no emotions in it at all. It’s painful to notice that. I wipe my tears away and wait for a while.

~music break~

I walk out of the cubicle once I’m sure my face no longer looks like I’ve just done crying. I’ll be late for class. I speed up along the hall. I pass by William. I glance at him. He had a smile on his lips. He always had that smile. A smile like he’s about to crush me to pieces. He really hates me, right? Perhaps he knew about me and Trance? Whatever. I got to get to class.

~I tried so hard! So hard! I tried so hard!~

“Hey, what’s up?” I said to Andy as I saw him walking into the class. We’re both late.

“What’s up? Haven’t you heard, Peter?” He asked me. He’s looking pretty messed up.

“About what?” I asked.

“It’s Chris this time. He died. God, I can’t take it anymore of this suicide circle,” he explained and commented. We both sit down at our seats.

I didn’t say anything. I was deeply horrified. Wait. Hold on.

~Then I see your face, I know I’m finally yours, I find everything I thought I lost before, You call my name, I come to you in pieces, So you can make me whole, So you can make me whole~

I remembered what Trance had told me. “And I can tell you who’s next. The mastermind… Chris!”

Shit! So, it’s true… He’s behind it all. But how did he do it? How did he persuade people to commit suicide? That just doesn’t make any sense. I close my eyes, thinking. So, who’s next? I take out the list Mrs. Cuttingham gave me. I quickly crossed out each student’s names that had already committed suicide. There are 18 of us in the class. I put circles in the names of students whom I knew were good to Trance and had played no roles in bullying him. They are Joanna, Mike, and Patrick.

I crossed Trance’s name with a blue highlighter and the last five names are clear to me now. It’s us. Those who gang-raped him… We’re the only ones left. Anthony, Noah, Andy, Justin, and… me.

֍֍֍

LYRICS CREDITS:

RED – Pieces

23 Your Darkest Fear .I.

The electricity in Anthony’s house went out so suddenly. He jolted up from his bed, looking around at his room’s dark surroundings. Sighing, he lies back on bed. He looks out his window. As he was about to close his eyes, he saw a shadow of someone passes by outside his window from the corner of his eyes. He jerked himself up from the bed in great horror. What is that? He thought. It’s impossible for anyone to walk by his window because his room is on the second floor!

He then quickly ran to the door. He opens it and rushes out. He then opens the door of his parents’ bedroom and looks down on them. They are soundly asleep in their bed, as if they had no idea that the electricity had went out. I’m being silly, he thought. He then closes the door of his parents’ room carefully and walks along the hallway. The lights are flickering now and the whole hall is lightening up again. The electricity is back. Anthony sighs in relieve. He walks back to his room.

Once inside his room, he slumps down on his bed, feeling good at the warmth of his mattress with his eyes closed. He didn’t even realize that someone is standing beside his bed, looking down on him with a sinister look. Anthony opens his eyes as he suddenly feels a presence in his room. But he saw nothing. The man was gone as soon as he opened his eyes. He then looks behind him towards the window. Nothing’s there as well. He looks back to his front and screams in horror as he saw a pair of eyes is watching him deeply and wickedly. He fell down from his bed and quickly stood up to look at the man before him. “The hell, Trance?!” He asked.

Trance did not reply. Something is different about Trance. He had a very sinister looks on his face. He’s not looking normal at all. He only stares at Anthony wickedly with a sinister smile on his face. “Surprise, Anthony?” He asked. But it is in the voice of an inhuman being. His voice is distorted. It sounded like a growl mixed with a whisper. It’s like the voice of a person being possessed.

“What the hell?” Anthony is in fear now. He staggers and he started to move backward, away from Trance who’s coming closer to him. His eyes are now glowing. It is red in color and it splits vertically. Anthony screams in horror at the sight of it and he screams for help. But no one hears him, of course. This is what the devil can do.

Trance looks into Anthony’s eyes and he understood of Anthony’s fear. “Being gang-raped? That’s your greatest fear? How ironic…” Trance commented, still with the same bone-chilling voice. He then laughs… It is a roar of evil laughter and with that horrifying voice of his, it made Anthony started to cry in fear. “Hey, I’ve brought some ’friends’ with me…” Trance then said with a glow of evil in his eyes as he said ‘friends’.

Dark shadows started to appear from behind Trance. They look like men but they wear masquerade masks and they spills out evil inhuman auras along as they appeared. They started to move closer to Anthony. Anthony tries to shove them away but they are too strong. They are holding his hands and legs to stop him from moving. It was as if… they’re about to… gang-rape him. Anthony’s greatest fear is coming to life. He screams and backed away once they let go of his hands and legs. The shadows are laughing evilly with inhuman sounds of laughter. Anthony did not realize that he is backing away to his open window and he slips. He fell down from his window. He screams out loud as he fell down to the ground. He can feel a few of his bones breaking. When he opens his eyes, the shadows are now standing in front of him. They are still laughing the same inhuman scary laughter. Fighting the pain, Anthony gets up with all his might. He struggles to walk away. “Get away from me!!!” He screamed. But they only continue laughing. He then reaches the tarred road when they stopped laughing and disappeared into thin air. There’s only Trance now looking at him. “What do you want?!” He yelled at Trance.

“Death,” Trance replied in his usual voice now with that same sinister smile and that’s when Anthony realizes the headlights that are approaching him. It happened in a split of seconds. Anthony was hit by a car. His limp body flew from the impact 5 metres back. He is covered in blood as his body shook violently before he gasps for his final breath.

Trance walks away from the scene when the driver gets out of his car to check on Anthony. He stops somewhere in the wood, groaning in pain as something came out from him. It’s a shadow of a person. The shadow crawls out of Trance’s body in soul-like material before it became flesh and blood again. Trance was possessed by William to take out his revenge on the final five victims. William smiles at Trance. “Does it hurt?” He asked. Trance only nodded in answer. “Soon…,” William said as he came closer to Trance. “You’ll be completely mine,” he continued and planted a soft kiss on Trance’s lips.

24 Your Darkest Fear .II.

Ever since the news of the death of Anthony, everything is so gloomy for the third years. Nobody is talking happily again. Peter, Andy, Noah, and Justin sit at their usual table in the cafeteria. Moments had passed by with nothing more than awkward silence between them.

“It just doesn’t make sense. Why would Tony kill himself? He seems just fine. No way he would even want to do it,” Justin suddenly said.

“Yeah… They say he jumped out of his window and found himself not successful at dying so he walked to the main road waiting for a car to hit him. That’s just bogus!” Noah exclaimed.

Andy saw Trance and William walking inside the cafeteria and they took a sit at the other table across them. “Do you guys think he really had amnesia? I had this odd feeling like he remembers everything. Didn’t he also tell us he remembers? But it’s odd that he doesn’t seem to bother by it at all,” Andy spoke, gesturing towards Trance who’s sitting opposite them on the other side of the cafeteria.

“If he remembers, he would have told the police, Andy,” Noah assured him.

“He would have. I agree on that. But I also kinda having a bad feeling about him,” Justin made a remark.

Andy stares at them for a while. There’s a bit of a glow in his eyes as he studies Trance. Peter saw Andy eyeing Trance and William once in a while again. Peter started to realize something off about it and that made him want to speak his mind. “You actually have a ’thing’ for Trace, isn’t it?” Peter asked Andy abruptly after being silent most of the time in a bit of an angry tone.

“What are you talking about?” Andy gets defensive at the accusation.

“I knew it, Andy. That’s why you jumped in to fuck him when I’m done that day, right? It was supposed to only be me,” Peter accused Andy.

“Do you want me to punch you, Peter?!” Andy threatened, getting up from his seat with his fist clenched. Noah holds him back by pulling him down by the shoulders.

Peter also stands up. “I was such an idiot to ever be friends with ALL OF YOU! You are all hypocrites. God! Look what I got! Wanting so much to be a part of you jerks that I ended up hurting the only person that ever matters to me.”

“Who are you talking about? What have gotten into you?” Noah asked, worried if they are about to punch each other in the face.

“I’m talking about Trance! He was my boyfriend,” Peter confessed.

“Fuck. What? Y-you’re gay?!” Justin asked in terrible shock.

“Yeah. And I’ve been pretending all this while like I’m not, just for the sake of having you guys accepting me,” Peter said with his voice started to crumble.

Andy looks at Peter in disbelief and is disturbed by a thought. “But wait. That’s just sick. You raped Trance. He’s your boyfriend. You didn’t even stop us! And that just made you even more of a jerk than us,” He blurted out his thought, disgusted by the truth.

“True…” Peter confessed. This time, tears hung up on his eyes as it later slowly flows down on his cheek. “And you know what? I think it’s coming back to haunt me. All of our sins. All of our wrongs! It’s coming back… if that’s just what it takes to right all the wrongs that I did, then I’ll embrace my fate. You guys should too ’coz mark my words; Anthony is just the beginning. Soon, each one of us will die. Can’t you see the pattern? Here’s something for dumb asses like you to look for!” Peter spat and throws the list Mrs. Cuttingham gave him to them. “Cross out Anthony’s name and see who’s left,” he instructed and immediately walks away.

The three of them wear a dumb-founded and dreaded looks on their faces as they look at the list. They then look at each other in disbelief. They pass a glance at Trance and William at the other table and caught the sight of them smiling wickedly at them. They wait no longer. The three of them also walk out of the cafeteria hurriedly.

֍֎֍

That night, Noah tosses and turns in his bed. He couldn’t sleep. He’s afraid… He wishes over and over in his head that he could turn back time and undo all of the wrongs he did. He’s too young to die and he had no idea how he’s going to die. He just knows that he will. He feels agitated.

“Your greatest fear…” He suddenly heard someone whispers into his ears. That made him jump out of his bed in fear. He saw Trance with menacing eyes sitting at the side of his bed.

“What do you want?!” He asked in fear.

“Tch. Tch. Tch,” Trance clicks his tongue at him in a wicked manner. “Are you that afraid of me?” He asked with a slight hint of cynicism.

Noah trembles. “I’m sorry…” He spoke. It sounded like both a beg and a whimper of fearful cry.

Trance only laughs at Noah which sounded normal at first but later the laughter turn into a growl. “Snakes…” Trance said in a distorted voice, his eyes are now red in color and it’s glowing. He looks more like a devil now. William is starting to show himself. “That’s your greatest, darkest fear…”

Snakes… Huge snakes started to appear from behind Trance. They are three times bigger of the size of normal adult snakes. They hiss as they came closer to Noah with their tongues slithering in and out from underneath their fangs and jagged teeth. Noah screams at the sight of them. “No! No!!! Get away from me!” He screamed. Trance hands out a knife to Noah. Noah takes it immediately without thinking and started trying to scare them away with the knife. Trance only smiles sinisterly, looking down on him.

Noah then started to notice that scales are appearing on his leg. Is he becoming a snake too? He thought. He then screams in horror and starts to wipe his skin off of the scale. The snakes around him had disappeared. He is crying. He cries like a frightened child. He’s too afraid that his body is shaking. He then started to peel the scales off of his leg with the knife given by Trance. Little did he realized, he is actually skinning himself alive. And the next day, they’ll find him… drenched in blood,… with that knife in his hand,… his all-red flesh, skinless dead body…

25 Your Darkest Fear .III.

Peter had stopped coming to school as soon as they heard the news of Noah’s gruesome death. So did Justin and Andy. Andy had run away from the town. He went over to his family lake house somewhere north to escape. He can never escape… None of them will escape their fate.

Peter sneaks into Trance’s room that night. He was hoping he could talk to Trance to make him stop. But Trance is not in his room. So he waited. He waited for Trance to come home. It’s already pass midnight. Trance still haven’t come back. Peter shakes any disturbing thoughts away from his mind. All that he could think of is probably that Trance had went out to kill again tonight. Crying, he fell asleep on the floor. He only awakes when he hears sounds in the room and he saw Trance sitting on his bed, staring down at him.

“Oh believe me, if it’s up to me, I would already have you dead by now,” Trance said to him.

“Trance, are you okay?” Peter asked because there’s just something wrong about Trance. He doesn’t sound like him at all.

Trance only chuckles lowly and wickedly at Peter. “But Trance wanted you to be the last one,” Trance continued.

That is just weird. Trance is talking as if he is not Trance. Then, to his horror, he saw something is coming out from Trance. It’s like a spirit of some sort. Peter holds back his scream that only led out to a gasp coming out of his mouth. When the spirit began to materialize into a solid form, he can see that it is William. “Wh-what the hell?!” He cursed in horror.

Trance is panting. The possession is exhausting him. So, he chose not to respond to Peter’s question. He just lies down on his bed and closes his eyes. He is still breathing heavily. “He’s tired. Try talking to this one instead,” William said as he spreads one of his palms open and a light illuminate from the inside of it. The light then materialized into a human form that looks transparent. It’s like he is a spirit. “That’s his soul,” William explained.

Peter looks into the transparent Trance’s eyes. Yes, that’s him. That’s the Trance he knew. That look on his face… “Trance…” He called out sadly to him.

The transparent Trance looks down to the ground, refusing to face Peter’s eyes. “We’ve killed Justin just now,” he stated.

Peter shakes his head at that statement. “Wait. What? What?! Why did you do it?” Peter asked in disbelief.

Trance scoffs at first to the question. How can he not do it? Why not? “Getting my revenge… William is helping me to it,” he said as a matter-of-factly.

“William?” Peter asked, questions are pounding in his head. He then shoots a glance at William and then at the solid Trance on the bed. Everything started to make sense to him. “No way… You sold your soul?” Peter asked.

“Wow… This one is a ‘genius’,” William made a remark.

“And that made you…,” Peter looks at William and got his eyes widened at a disturbing thought inside his head. “The devil.”

“Correct,” William said. “Bravo!” William claps his hands with little excitement towards Peter. His reaction was that of sarcasm mixed together with indifference.

Peter could not say anything to that. He then only looks at the transparent Trance and tears started to hang on his eyes. He could not believe what he had heard and seen that night. This was all his fault, he thought. He had made Trance turned out that way. “Trance,” he called. The transparent Trance looks at him. “I’m turning myself in,” he stated. Trance did not seem to get what Peter meant. “I’m going to confess to the police that I was the one who raped you and got you into coma. I’m going to take responsibilities for the wrongs that I did,” he explained.

William hisses angrily at Peter. “Do you think by turning yourself in, you can take back what you did, Peter?!” He yelled angrily. He then looks at Trance’s soul who’s now sobbing. “Don’t you dare feel sorry for him, Trance!” He warned. He then made Trance’s soul no longer visible to Peter’s eyes. “You best go now,” William suggested. “Or you can stay around and watch me fuck your ex-boyfriend in front of your eyes.” He smirks at Peter.

He then went on top of Trance on the bed. He started to kiss him hungrily. William then takes off his shirt and started to unzip his trousers. Trance started to take off his pants enthusiastically too despite being lethargic. Peter did not even realize that he had tears overflowing down from his eyes now. He did not want to wait to witness them having sex. He feels a pang of a pain striking in his heart. It’s jealousy and he’s also sad to lose Trance. He gets out of the room through the window quickly. He had lost him for good. He can’t win over the devil and he’s going to die in his hands soon. What more hurtful is that, he can’t even make up to his faults and Trance had not granted him with forgiveness for all of the wrongs he did to him. He only wishes for his forgiveness. It’s okay to die if that what it takes for Trance to forgive him. It’s okay… He thought.

֍֎֍

Justin’s greatest fear… was demons. It didn’t take a lot for William to finish him off. He just asked his demon ’friends’ to do the job for him. On the morrow, they will find his mutilated body… scattered all across the floor… in his room. The scene was even worse than that of Black Dahlia…

26 Your Darkest Fear .IV.

Andy enjoys the cool breeze of the evening air at his family’s lake house. He had heard the news of the death of his friends. If it’s true that Trance is on a killing spree to kill them, he won’t find him here. He feels relieved to be away from the lunatic town surrounded by death. He feels sad, yes. But there’s nothing he can do.

He was about to get ready for a bath when he saw a shadow passes outside his door. He looks up at his room’s entrance. “Who’s there?” He asked. He was afraid if a burglar barged into the house. His mom and dad went out for grocery shopping so it was only him at the lake house. They can’t be back so soon.

He walks to the door and take a look outside at the empty corridor. No one was there. He went back inside his room and grabbed his phone. He thought of calling the cops just in case if there are robbers in his house. He dials the number but all he can hear is static sound coming through his phone. He quickly pulls it away from his ear. “What the hell?” He muttered. He looks up at his door again and is in great shock to see Trance leaning against it.

“Boo,” Trance spoke, teasing him in a way. That simple word made Andy stumbled down to the ground and hit his head hard on the floor. He fainted.

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When Andy opens his eyes, he realizes that he is somehow floating in the air. He struggles to hold a side of his head. His head is bleeding. It must be due to the impact on the floor before. His vision was a bit blurry at first. Was he tied to a tree or something that he is in the air? He thought. But when he can see clearly, to his horror, he is floating in the air, hovering above the water of the lake behind his lake house. There’s no rope tying him. He screams in great terror for he can’t believe what is happening. Then he saw Trance levitating on the surface of the water steadily. He had a wicked smile on his face. “Hey, you! This is not funny! What did you do to me? How did you get me like this?” He asked. He didn’t have any theory left in his head except that maybe Trance is a psychic or some kind of a mutant like those from X-Men series. “Put me down!” He ordered.

Trance let out a low laugh evilly. “Gladly…” He said. “But you have to wait for my little ’friends’ to arrive first,” he continued.

“Friends?! What friends?!” Andy asked.

Trance laughs again. And the laugh ended with a distorted voice of a growl and whisper. His eyes are red and glowing now. “They’re here…” He said in that horrible voice.

Andy crooks his eyebrow in wonder and terror. He then looks down at the lake waters. His greatest fear is coming to life. Down there, in the water, crocodiles are swimming back and forth. They look hungry and vicious. “ARghhh!! Noooo!!! Please! Don’TTT! I’m sorry. Forgive me, Trance! Forgive me! I’ll do anything…just please…let me go!” Andy begged.

“Let you go? Okay,” Trance said and he snaps his finger. Andy falls down to the water as gravity took hold of him once more. Trance only smiles sinisterly as he looks down on Andy being eaten alive by the animals.

27 Your Darkest Fear .V.

Peter looks down on a picture in his hand. His eyes are watery. It’s the picture of him and Trance during the first year of junior high. They are grinning widely in the picture and they had each other’s arms around each other’s shoulders.

“That’s tricky,” he suddenly heard a voice. He looks up to see Trance standing at the window of his door. He knew that this day will come. He’s going to take it calmly. “Your greatest fear is losing Trance’s love,” he murmured.

“Is it my turn now?” Peter asked. “So what if that is my greatest fear? You got a problem with that?” He asked. He knew that the one speaking to him is William even though he is in the flesh and blood of Trance.

“Tsk,” William clicks his tongue with a frown on his face. He then slowly came out from Trance’s body. Trance is panting from the exhaustion of bearing William inside of him. “What do we do with him, Trance?” William asked.

“Let me kill him myself,” Trance said. That suggestion from Trance made William’s eyes glow in excitement for a bit.

“Wonderful idea,” William commented. He snaps his finger shortly after that and a knife appeared beside Trance. Trance takes the knife. He is determined to end it but suddenly he hesitated and he can feel an overwhelming pain in his heart.

“William, did you just make me ’feel’ again?” Trance asked in anger.

“I only let a part of your soul in. Maybe I should let your whole soul in, don’t you think? That is his greatest fear, right? Losing your love? If you kill him with your soul intact, then his darkest fear is coming to life,” William insinuated. “And I was also curious to know if you still love him or not.”

“Don’t!” Trance warned. “Take it back! I don’t want to feel!” Trance yelled at William.

“Why? Because you can’t do it, is it?” William asked. Peter can sense jealousy out of William. He then spreads one of his palms open. A faint light glows from the inside of it and he shoves the light towards Trance. The light enters Trance’s body. Trance groans in pain as soon as the light disappeared. He is sobbing now and lies down on the ground bearing the pain.

“You jerk!” Trance yelled at William.

“Do it!” William ordered now in anger. “Kill him!”

Trance holds the knife up to Peter as he gets up to a sit. He is starting to break apart. His eyes are red, waiting for tears to come and it was clear that he is trying with all his might to fight his fear. He wanted so much to just do it. Peter only closes his eyes, getting ready to be killed. Trance’s hands started to shake and he began to lower down the knife. “I’m sorry…” he said as he shakes his head in frustration.

William sighs in a disappointed manner. “My dear Trance,” William called as he squats next to Trance. “I knew all along that you’re not going to kill him,” he stated. A hint of sadness is portrayed in his voice.

“No, I’m going to. Just give me a little more time,” Trance begged. He can’t handle the pain in his heart. Having his soul again makes him weak and disoriented.

“I can see your heart, Trance. Don’t lie to me,” William said. “It’s okay. I was happy being with you all the while I was with you,” he commented. Peter could not say anything. He can just witness the drama in front of him. He had no idea what is happening.

Trance started to cry slowly. He whimpers. “I’m sorry… William… Please do it for me… I’m sorry,” Trance begged and cries even more.

“I’m disappointed in you,” William said. A drop of tear is hanging on one of his eyes. “I’m giving up on you.”

“What do you mean?” Trance asked. He is feeling panic at that statement from William. He never meant to be a disappointment to William and he definitely feels his heart breaks when William said he had given up on him.

“I’m leaving you. That’s what I mean,” William stated.

“No, don’t go,” Trance said. He is pulling at William’s shirt as he begged. “Stay!” He begged again.

“There’s no point in me staying here,” William simply said and pulls Trance’s hand away from his shirt. He stands up and looks down on Trance sadly.

Trance wanted to stand up too. He wanted to cling to William so bad. But he can’t get up. His body feels very heavy and his heart is overwhelming with a mixture of unexplained pain. “But you promised me! You promised me death!” He reminded William.

“Yes. I did and I’ve fulfilled them. I gave you enough deaths already. I promised you death but I never promised that it is ’your’ death that I will grant. I twisted my words just to suit your needs at the time. No, Trance. I will not have the heart to kill you. I love you. So, I’m letting you go. It’s your choice anyway, and you choose not to kill him,” William explained sadly.

“You said you’ll eat my soul!” Trance yelled from the ground.

“Well, I lied,” William simply said.

“Please just kill me! Eat my soul. Don’t leave me like this! I need you!” Trance begged again.

William squats down again next to Trance and kisses him on the lips softly. Trance clings to William tightly. He doesn’t want to let go. When William broke the kiss, he looks straight into Trance’s eyes. “Goodbye, Trance,” He said and his body began to be transparent that Trance could no longer cling to him. He then slowly disappears from sight.

“No,” Trance cried. “NO!!!!” He yelled. He lies down on the ground, bearing a devastating pain in his heart. He can’t take it anymore. The pain is too much. The world then became black to his eyes.

28 Start Again

~Intro music~

It’s been three months since. Trance hasn’t seen William at all. He misses him so bad. He feels a heavy weight in his heart. It’s very painful. He feels lost. He still can see clearly and he can move just fine. That must’ve meant that William didn’t take back the ’gifts’ he gave to him.

~And I remember everything, Everything I loved, I gave it away like it wasn’t enough~

Trance sighs. He’s leaving for school today. To be honest, he hates school. He didn’t want to be in one at all. He just wants to escape far, far away from the place and perhaps he will meet William again. No one at school remembers William except for him and Peter. It was like he never existed.

~All the words I said and all you forgive, How could I hurt you again?~

Trance thought that maybe he should just commit suicide and die and get to hell to see him there. Yeah, that would probably be the best idea.

~What if I let you in? What if I make it right it? What if I give it up? What if I want to try? What if you take a chance? What if I learn to love? What if, what if we start again?~

Peter saw Trance walking to the field. There’s not much to practice anyway today. Half of the football team members and the cheerleaders are gone. Nobody is in the mood to do anything. So, Peter walks to where Trance is sitting. In the middle of the field… watching the sun above him…

~All this time, I can make it right, With one more try, Can we start again?, In my eyes, You can see it now, Can we start again, can we start again?!?~

“Hey,” Peter called to him. Trance did not reply. He just stares at the spaces in front of him without looking at anything specific, like he is lost in his thought. Peter sits down beside him. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“I will be,” Trance simply answered, without paying much attention to Peter.

Peter remains silent for a while. He then looks at Trance again and opens his mouth to say something but closes it back.

~Emptiness inside me, wonder if you see, It’s my mistake and it’s hurting me~

“If you’re going to say something, just say it before I get bored,” Trance said.

Peter smiles at those words from Trance. He’s becoming who he was again. “Um… I was just wondering if we can start again, you know?” Peter then said.

“By starting again, do you mean that I get to be the idiot who let you do everything your way and you get to be the selfish idiot who will fuck me up. Is that how it is?” He asked cynically. “’Coz you know… I’m sorry. I don’t think I want to go back there again.”

~I known where we’ve been, How did we get so far? What if, what if we start again?~

“No,” Peter said. “I wanna make it right this time. I want us to stop being idiots… Ever!” Peter promised.

“I don’t believe you,” Trance said.

“I can prove my love to you,” Peter promised again.

~All this time, I can make it right, With one more try, Can we start again?, In my eyes, You can see it now, Can we start again, can we start again?!?~

Peter pulls Trance closer to him and he kisses Trance’s soft lips at the spot where they are sitting next to each other in the middle of the field. Everyone looks at them as they kiss in terrible shock. Peter is proving to Trance that he no longer cares what people think or say. He loves Trance and this time, he will no longer hurt him. “Will you forgive me?” He asked Trance after the kiss.

~I’m lost inside the pain I feel without you, I can’t stop holding on, I need you with me!!! I’m trapped inside the pain, Can we ever start again? I’m lost without you!!!~

Trance looks at Peter quizzically. He then puts up a smile to his face. He did not say anything.

“Ack!” Peter muttered as soon as he feels a sharp pain at his chest. He looks at Trance in disbelief. Trance still had that smile on his face… as he stabs Peter with a knife to his heart. He then twists and pulls the knife away from the deep wound inside of Peter’s chest. Peter falls down to the ground. Blood started to ooze out from the wound. All the students were screaming now at the sight and they ran away quickly from the scene.

~One more try, Can we start again? In my eyes, can you forgive me now? (Can we start again?), Can we start again (one more try?), Can we start again? Can we start again (can you forgive me?), Can we start again?~

Trance wipes the blood off of the knife using his shirt calmly. He did not care of the people hysteric screams all around him. He then looks down on Peter who’s lying next to him. The ground of the field is soaked with blood now. He can see that Peter is gasping for breath. “Now I forgive you,” he said to Peter as Peter gasps for his final breath and closes his eyes forever.

~Music ending~

Police arrived at the scene. They took Trance in. He did not even put up a fight against them. He just follows them calmly with a smile on his face. It was as if what he did was nothing. He seems to have no guilty conscience at all.

֍֍֍

LYRICS CREDITS:

RED – Start Again

29 The Devil’s Knight

Trance: I am the devil’s knight. I killed them all. I made them commit suicide.

Detective Mona: How did you actually ’make’ them want to commit suicide, Trance?

Trance: I had help from the devil…

Detective Mona: Are you sure?

Trance: Yes. They all deserve it. Trudy… she lied to me. She told everyone I’m gay. Then, people started to bully me. They poured paint in my locker, threw food at me, at worst they hit me and kicked me. They bad-mouthed me. They made me feel worthless. They made me feel down. They deserve to die…. Peter, Noah, Andy, Justin, and Anthony… Those are the five that raped me and beat me until I get into a coma. I lied to you when I said I didn’t remember. I remember everything clearly in my head.

Detective Mona: Why did you lie, Trance?

Trance: The devil told me to lie. He said I need to get back at them myself and that you can’t help me get back to them the way he can help me get back to them. He can make them suffer. He can make them die brutally. And he’s right. He kept all his promises.

Detective Mona: Who is the devil, Trance?

Trance: The devil is the devil. You can’t know who he is… for he does not exist in your eyes. You see, I trade my soul for a wish. And my wish is to have them all dead. Now they’re dead and he’s going to come and get me. He’ll come for me. I know he will. I belong to him. I belong to the devil. I’m his knight.

֍֎֍

Trance’s parents can see him from the other side of the glass of the interrogation room. They cry non-stop watching Trance’s behavior. He seems to no longer be the kid they knew. It was like Trance had become someone else. A cruel, irrational person… Someone who thinks that killing people is okay and necessary…. They feel very sad at Trance’s transformation. They wished they were there for him.

Detective Mona promised them that she’ll sort things out for them. She said that Trance needs to see a psychologist because he seems to suffer from Post-Traumatic Disorder that resulted in Bipolar and leads to Dissociative Identity Disorder. For the night, Trance will be locked up in a cell until he meets with the psychologist on the morrow. What can be concluded by them is that Trance had gone insane.

30 The Devil’s Lover

Trance looks at the ceiling of the cell he is in. He is lying on a hard metal bed. He cannot feel anything in his heart. He knew he had his soul with him now. But he just feels very empty.

“Congratulations,” he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

He quickly gets up to a sit on the bed and smiles at the person in front of him. “William!” He called.

“As promised, I’m here to take you with me,” William said to Trance with a smile.

“I told you I only needed more time, didn’t I?” Trance reminded him.

“Yeah, yeah… To be honest, I didn’t think you have it in you to do it,” William said. “But you did it nonetheless… I’m so proud of you.”

Trance smiles and blushes. “Where are you going to take me?” He asked.

“Somewhere only I know,” William said.

“I never said this before. But I love you, you know,” Trance stated.

“I know,” William said and he kisses Trance on the lips hungrily. “I miss you,” he muttered in the middle of the kiss.

“Me too,” Trance replied in the middle of the kiss as he gasps for breath.

“I hope you’ll still love me when you see my true form on the other side,” William said as he broke the kiss and takes Trance’s hands into his.

“One thing you should know about me is that I’ll always accept the one that I love as he is,” Trance declared.

“Very well,” William said. “Oh and by the way, you’re not the devil’s knight. You’re the devil’s lover, Trance…”

֍֎֍

The police were dumbfounded when they saw no sign of Trance in the cell the next morning. Trance is missing. However, no sign of forced entry or escape at all were left in the cell. It was as if Trance had vanished into thin air. They look at the security tape where there was a camera placed on the wall overlooking the cell. Trance looks like he was talking to someone before he… vanishes, for real… into thin air. The tape sends shivers down their spine. Now, they all believe that it could be true what Trance had said about the devil and him.