Excerpt of a lost nightmare - Later night
Have you ever felt as if the day wasn't enough? As if there's something empty that always tries to fill you up? It's natural, after all. Losing yourself to the crowd or the dark is just a normal occurrence to some, but for others…
Yeah, I won't describe it at all.
This night is just like any other, dull and hot as if a summer night presents its banal progression. I looked back at the handle. It's been minutes since I started to patrol the town as a daily routine. After finishing my homework and my responsibility as a full heiress, I decided to do this as a way to vent my feelings with these wheels.
The moon stood brilliantly in the sky, illuminating the dark skyline of the city. For some, the light comforts those who live under the shadows, while for some, terrify those who live their whole life fearing the light, as if running away from the sight of being watched.
The wheels keep spinning, progressively moving away from the residential district to the alleyway of the business district. Not many people would stay awake at this hour, but there are a few areas where those types of business roam, so it's better if I avoid it until later.
.Sounds of crickets call for mating deafens the surrounding, added with the chirping of birds high up in the sky and roams of stray beasts, raising its voice in its shallow defence.
The wheels are turning. There's almost nothing here besides a few stragglers. A shame though. As if she had something to help them, but the day wasted any allowances for her to keep. But the temptation of the cake was so high, and it's bad to break your friend's heart, after everything she did for you.
Spare the thought. She has now exited the business district to a more distant area than most of the city. After making a full round, then she can call this a day and go back to sleep. Not like her house is of any use with only her and her maid. The more she thinks about it, maybe set in a smaller one would be her life goal. But…
It's the edge of the city. Surrounded by only trees and a filthy road, she makes her journey. Since there isn't much light installed in the area, she has to rely on the headlights her bicycle has. And so, the dark road was illuminated with her blaring, white light. Poor beasts who were interrupted with her mingling.
It's okay however since there aren't any hostile ones that dare to attack her in this area. The city did a great job exterminating them for everyone's sake.
She took a great look at the unpaved path. In her mind, she would have continued to cycle towards it, completely mindless of any consequences.
"I wonder if the Edelfelts trap would still trigger." The girl murmurs. Since this is the only real path of reaching the forest, one would be enthralled by cycling to the abandoned castle with nothing but her sole body. It's been a long time since anyone has entered the compound, right?
She thought about it, as her cycle continued through the rough road. With only her headlight at work, there is absolutely no one here except herself. It wasn't as if there's another reason to. Her impulse is one most people would ignore and cure once they were stuck with it.
Annoying.
It wasn't one she could cure though, and so, she did this ridiculous routine almost every day. Like an owl, it's better if she remains at home doing anything despite the feelings attached to it.
One of these days, she hopes that something more dangerous will happen.
The track is worthless. She has gone so far, but there's nothing special happening as well.
The castle remained dark.
The road remains empty.
The forest remained silent.
The sky remains empty.
The moon remains bright.
Her heart seethed with frustration. With a quick glance to the castle, she turned back to the road and head back to the city.
It remains the same. Always. Why wouldn't it? Asking for something out of the ordinary will be nothing more but dominoes to a disaster. Nobody's going to listen to her words just because there's something wrong with her impulse. The world owes her nothing.
Heh.
The lights of the business district could be seen gradually from her eyes, ending this normal sham of a night. And the next day, she would do the same again. It is an endless repetition, an exercise in futility, after all.
The watch she carries began to ring. Her eyes focused on the time there.
11:35 p.m.
Yeah, it's time. She can't stay outside any longer. Any time beyond what was allowed is the treachery of her own routine. Even with all of this, she's still a functional high-schooler. Her guardian will exorcise the **** of her should she broke that vow.
Her cycles went faster. The lights have gone closer. With a few more minutes, she will return to the sleeping civilization and follow suit. Things deserve to remain this way. A sheep shouldn't steer far away from the herd, even if they are a wolf.
"Failing to find any. Failing to stop any. Failing to wish for any. Are my life is going to be filled with failure over and over?" she grumbled. An alien should just fall down the sky. People would die anyway, so why don't at least make it worthwhile for her?
Damnit, it's coming back up. She really needs to go home.
The buildings, the stores and then the houses. It's a few more metres before she returned home, so she no longer has a need to continue her speed. Slowing down is a pleasure in itself. The familiar city air that brushed through her jet black hair, brushes her nose in its cold breeze.
It's just how it is. The cycling slows down even more where it's comparable to a common walk. Her mind slowed down as well. No need to continue thinking too much. A single greeting and a few trivial matters, and it's sleep for her.
BARK!
Hmm?
There seems to be a stray beast running around. Weird. Didn't the municipality already do their job?
GRRRRR…..
Maybe it's a new arrival here.
Disgusting.
The cycle starts picking up speed.
BARK!
BARK!
Why is there another thing that came at her way? What a pain. She would have wanted to have a little bit of entertainment before the night ends, but not in this way. No way she's going to deal with this every time.
Damn you, pest control! Do your damn job already!
At this point, somebody has to deal with them. She's not going to let these two pesky demons terrorize her neighbourhood for much longer. This is her home. Doesn't help the fact they're noisy at night. Those are the kind that did nothing but annoys people with their incessant barking.
Disgusting.
The noise keeps on getting closer to her. Her heart, which has been filled with certainty and belief, chose the absolute fact.
CRIIICCKKK!
Beneath the dark alleyway of the buildings, the bike stopped. The girl cycling forward has now chosen to take a stand. Gently, she pulls down from her bike and cooly face herself against the vicious hounds.
Within her calm expression, however, a thought keeps on spinning across her burning mind.
The face.
It's disgusting.
Whether it's from ages of ransacking the trash or travelling through the dirty world, it's still something that she can't accept. Not once in her whole life.
The face.
They keep on getting closer, their disgusting fangs aimed directly at her. Her face remained resolved, looking at them with nothing but a calm disposition. She can do this. It's just part of a routine should this occur. Take a deep breath. Don't go too far. Calm down your head.
GRRRRR…
But, when in presence of two beasts, sometimes, those impulses just…
Disgusting. This beast is disgusting. Its faces are disgusting. Its teeth are disgusting. Its fangs are disgusting. Its eyes are disgusting. Its noses are disgusting. Its smell is disgusting. Its furs are disgusting. Its legs are disgusting. Its tail is disgusting.
Closer, and closer.
Why are creatures like you are so disgusting? Why does God create a disgusting beast like you? You, who are nothing more but a worthless menace, a man-eating beast who only serves as an enemy to mankind, you who are born from nothing but a beast's disgusting womb, you only scrape this world with your purposeless existence, on that four hind legs. Creatures like you...
Squeamish saliva flows down their mouths.
Baring fangs ready to maul.
Disappear.
I open my mouth.
.
.
.
.
CHOMP!
.
.
.
.
.
.
As usual, they taste absolutely disgusting. Their whimpering dies out in its pathetic state. Its struggling, pathetic pair of legs stopped squirming, falling to a flaccid state and never returning to life. It wasn't her fault after all to finish these beasts. What little of its survival instinct should have never stepped into the city in the first place. As she thought, those in the wild don't try to understand the difference between a human and a beast should there be one who didn't work on both classes.
A beast's instinct still belongs to that of a beast. Static and straight. You can't teach them how to think. Better to take advantage of it instead.
SKEEETCCH
She took another bite. Crimson, raw blood widely flows out of the jagged opening. Ripping apart the beast's flesh one by one with her sharp teeth, she took careful notice as to not taint her outfit too much with the spilling blood. Since this is summer, she won't have to worry about wearing too much. It also makes for much versatility.
In just a few minutes, half of the beast was already eaten. It's hopeless for her. Continually hungry, it's just a matter of time before a full buffet is finished by her. That's just the kind of person she is.
"Huuuuuh…...why couldn't be a little fatter?." It's already finished. Besides the more unneeded organs and bones, she could say that the first one is fully inside her stomach. It's a shame that it's made of bones, but it made for a good night snack.
Now then….
What to do with the other one?
Unlike the first one, this one's barely alive, hanging on a thin thread with the amount of blood coming from its head. She was sure that the blunt force she gave is enough to send that beast straight to the grave, but it seems as this thing does have a little endurance going on.
She thinks heartedly for quite some time. She can't afford to finish this one here. There's not much time left, even with her incredible eating speed, before she comes down herself and exercises the hell out of her. Her mind's racing. Between her habits or her need, the world forces her to accept only one choice.
CLICK!
Huh…...a shame, a shame. I'll pay you back for this.
With great reluctance, skinning it alive was the next process. She can just do it with her bare hands. And with quick efficiency as well. But she wasn't in that kind of situation anymore.
SHRRUUKKK
She brings out something from her pocket. A dagger was released. Stainless steel imported straight from Austria. The equipment she brought as part of her routine patrol for the purpose of self-defence and offence. Not many times she has to use her dagger for this though.
"Don't disappoint me, you 300-dollar waste." With a clean-cut, the stomachs were sliced in half, spilling out all of the guts from the beast's insides. No point in keeping them with her. And so, she properly cut the organs from the main body and incinerated them with a small spell.
With that going out of the way, she could now focus on cutting out the parts. The knife just isn't enough to cut it whole, so she needs to use some extra forces.
"Reinforcement" With a little grunt, the bones was broken away like paper under the weight of her enforced arm. For her to use magecraft on a mundane use like this, her parents might be screaming from heaven for this.
Fine, fine. It's not like this is used for research, to begin with.
It's done as was thought. Pieces of meat and bones, with all of the organs and worthless flesh separated from the rest. It is something to be celebrated, being able to suppress her impulse as she cut through the meat. Should she be proud of herself? Does this mean that Sister's job is actually useful for her? Is this a sign of maturity?
She laughed.
Maybe I am. If she were the same person as she was younger, then maybe she might already be in another round of torture by her. Her body might be layered enough to endure the pain, but it's still skin, and after repeated offences, she's not taking any more chances.
Though, she wondered. Where is she going to pack all of this?
Her hand searched through every creak of her shirt and pants. Suddenly, she could felt the rustling of familiar material.
This is it!
A plastic bag is brought out from another pocket. It's a large convenient plastic bag that she once put in after she bought the junks for her time-out. It wasn't important enough, so she just inserted it in her pocket in passing. Really, junks do save her from time to time.
The girl then began to pack her hunt inside the plastic. And after a quick evaluation, she can proudly say that she has finished packing it all. Luck must be on her side if it can fit through all of the meat and bones.
It's time for her to make a move now. With a mineral bottle she packed on the bike, she washed her tainted face on the corner and drink the remaining water inside before throwing it in the trash bin. Her refreshed face breathed in the cold night air.
Within seconds, she contemplated her actions. Looking at the remnants of the beasts, a sigh was heard.
It isn't like her to bring it home. Usually thinking, she might have finished the beast at the spot. Her superiors might have taught her proper ethics, but once she was put into a situation she can't ignore, all remnants of logic were thrown out of the window of pleasing herself. And it's not like she hated it. In fact, she has already got used to it by the point. It isn't wrong to be yourself once the cards are stacked against you. That's what she wanted to believe, but now…..
Damn you Sister, stealing all the fun.
She gets back on her bike, hanging the plastic of meat on the handle. With little force, she returned to her routine onwards and cycled back home. Sister isn't cruel enough to let her consume this thing.
Maybe she'll even let her cook it if she likes.
Her smile comforted her previous frustration. At long last, she could finish this night.
The moon continues to shine brilliantly to the night sky. The buildings continue to stand stagnant, statically fill the silent night. Her mind soothed itself to the calm atmosphere, away from the crowded noise of the day. For once, she relaxes, bringing about the relief that's rare for her nowadays.
As she cruises the night, another chapter of her life ends.
And so, the routine repeats itself, under the new light came the day.
-BZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTT