Chapter 20: The Children Will Like You Too

Ryan was utterly confused. He stared at the albino kid in front of him—his instincts suddenly firing signals through his mind.

This isn't right. He thought.

His previous victims weren't like this. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Victims should be victims, they cower. They begged, cried—and they definitely didn't smile like that.

No. This wasn't just wrong. Ryan was seeing something else, himself. Riley's face was a mirror that was reflecting him.

And just like that, the storage room's shadow seemed to deepen as Ryan finally understood. The temperature around them felt like it had dropped.

"You… you're like me," Ryan whispered, "Something is also wrong with you."

Riley's head tilted to the side. The smile on his face slightly faltering, replaced by a brief moment of confusion. He then looked Ryan in the eyes, something he rarely does, if ever, to people who weren't Hannah.

"I do not think so, Mr. Ryan."

"Huh?" Ryan's eyes narrowed, the blood from his face splashing on the floor, "No. We're both monsters."

"That I agree with, Mr. Ryan." The tone of Riley's voice remained flat—but the smile on his pale face that was still stretching from ear to ear was becoming eerily grotesque.

"Ho?" Ryan's lips twitched as he felt a tingle crawl down the back of his neck—a twisted sense of belonging, slowly rising from within him. And once again, he smiled, revealing his yellow teeth.

The throbbing pain in his head was forgotten, replaced by a sick excitement.

"This... this is going to be so much fun," Ryan whispered, his body fading from view as he held his breath. The air where he stood shimmered slightly before emptying completely.

Riley couldn't hear a single breath from his invisible opponent, but he didn't panic. His eyes remained fixed, unblinking.

He didn't need to hear Ryan to know where he was—because he wasn't interested in finding him at all.

"Agh!" Ryan's scream tore through the silence as he materialized behind Riley, his foot impaled on one of dozens of wooden splinters on the floor.

Riley didn't need to know where he was, as he had telekinetically arranged a circle of spikes around him. He may not be confident controlling his new-found powers, but he was confident he could hold it.

That he could hold the sharp stakes on the floor and turn them almost a part of the floor.

"Heee…" Riley hummed, glancing back with his face now almost twisted from his wide smile, "…Found you, Mr. Ryan."

Riley then flicked his finger, and as he did so, the clothes rack across the room started to tremble. And then, with a click, it shot toward them with a force that even Riley didn't expect.

He quickly, but awkwardly leapt to the side, avoiding the clothes that he himself propelled with his mind. He tried to control its trajectory, but he couldn't.

Still, there was no need to control it since its only path was forward, barreling toward Ryan like a battering ram.

"KUKH!" It slammed into his chest, driving him backward. But unfortunately for him, his foot that was impaled twisted against the wooden spike, tearing through his muscle, flesh, and skin.

It completely shredded his foot—not even sparing his boot.

Ryan couldn't even scream as his chest partially caved in. Only a wheezing snarl and a mist of blood escaped his lips as he struggled for air. He gripped the metal rack with trembling hands, his face turning purple as he fought against the crushing weight.

Even with his mild super strength, the rack pinned him down like he was a butterfly ready to be framed.

His muscles strained, veins bulging at his temples. But finally, after another breath, he managed to create just enough space to fill his lungs.

It wasn't only a gasp that escaped his lips, a scream also tore from his throat, loud enough to echo and seep outside the storage room.

"GRAH!"

"W…what was that!? Aw, hell no! Run!"

Riley's eyes widened, his head snapping toward the door as someone also screamed outside upon hearing Ryan's wail. And it was a voice he recognized—Bella.

"S...shh!" Riley gasped, pressing a finger to his lips. Panic flashed across his usually emotionless face as he stared at the door frantically. "Please be quiet, Mr. Ryan. Sister might hear you. Shh!"

Fortunately for him, he could hear Bella and the others scampering away.

Still, Riley began pacing the room. He scanned the cluttered shelves and props to find something to stop Ryan from screaming. And soon, his eyes very slightly lit up when he spotted a roll of dirty bandages on one of the shelves.

Riley quickly snatched it and scurried back to Ryan, his steps slightly awkward as he tried to push the objects scattered on the floor away with his mind until he reached Ryan.

"Here you go, Mr. Ryan." Riley stood on his toes, stretching his arm to reach Ryan's mouth. The first attempt failed as Ryan shook his head, but Riley glanced at the metal rack—and it pinned Ryan to the wall even tighter.

Riley tried to reach Ryan's mouth again, this time hopping slightly—and after a few clumsy attempts, he finally managed to press the bandage into Ryan's opened mouth.

"Uhm…" Riley tilted his head to the side as he heard Ryan's muffled screams. And when he saw the bandage slightly being pushed out from his mouth, his eyes once again darted around the room.

Quickly settling on the wooden splinters littered on the floor.

His eyes slightly narrowed, brows furrowing as he extended his non-broken hand toward one particularly sharp and long piece.

"Hmm." The splinter wobbled, then lifted unsteadily into the air. It floated erratically, tilting and spinning as Riley struggled to control it with his mind.

"Aha…?" His fingers twitched with each adjustment, guiding the spike through the air until it hovered directly in front of Ryan's face.

Ryan's eyes bulged with terror. He thrashed against the rack, but his movements only drove the metal rack deeper into his already damaged chest. No matter how he strained, he couldn't free himself.

Riley's hand trembled slightly as he positioned the spike beside Ryan's cheek.

"Almost there, Mr. Ryan. Ssh." Sweat beaded on Riley's forehead from the effort of maintaining control. With a deep breath, he made a subtle pushing motion with his fingers.

The wooden spike slowly pierced Ryan's flesh, sliding through his cheek with a sickening, squelching noise.

Sibnce the spike wasn't particularly smooth, the small sharp strands started breaking apart as it tore his flesh, shredding his cheek without any resistance at all.

Only a small amount of blood dripped from the wound, however, as the bandage inside Ryan's mouth absorbed most of it.

Ryan tried to scream, but the sound came out as nothing more than a muffled gurgle behind the gag.

"Okay…" Riley let out a long and deep sigh of relief as he saw the spike emerge from Ryan's other cheek, "…you will not be able to spit out the bandage, Mr. Ryan."

Ryan tried to scream, but couldn't anymore.

Ryan tried to speak, but couldn't. The wooden spike impaling both his cheeks made even the slightest movement agonizing, and the blood-soaked bandage stuffed in his mouth turned his words only into gurgles.

"What was that, Mr. Ryan?" Riley tiptoed again to hear his muffled words, but Ryan suddenly let go of the metal rack to grab him. His fingers stretched desperately toward Riley's pale neck.

"No." Riley quickly took a step back—before pointing at the spikes on the floor again. His eyes narrowed slightly as one of the wooden splinters trembled, then shot upward with unexpected force, piercing straight through Ryan's forearm with a dull thunk.

"Oh..." Riley tilted his head, a small breath of disappointment escaping his lips "I was aiming for your hand, Mr. Ryan... I will try again."

Another spike shot out from the floor, wobbling unsteadily in its trajectory.

Tis one, however, completely missed Ryan and pierced through the wall next to his arm instead, embedding itself deep into the plaster with a crack that sent dust raining down.

Ryan's eyes widened as he stared at the spike in the wall, which had gone through the surface like it was nothing but paper. His mind couldn't process what was happening anymore.

And before he could even blink, another spike flew upward and tore through his hand—shattering bones and completely severing three of his fingers. The sound it made, caused Riley's head to slightly shiver.

"Oh…" Riley nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied with what he had done. He then stopped, his brow furrowing slightly as though considering something important before looking Ryan directly in the eyes. "You said you were called Butt Endah by your friends, correct?"

Riley moved his hand again, and a mop suddenly flew across the room toward him. He, however, stumbled a few steps back as it slammed into his palm—he clearly couldn't control it to stop properly.

"Wop… op…" He quickly regained his balance. And when both of his feet were planted on the floor, he slammed the mop against the floor with surprising force, breaking it cleanly in half.

"Hmm." Riley admired the sharp, splintered end of the wooden shaft before looking back to Ryan. He then let out a slow, slightly giggling breath.

And the next thing Ryan knew was that he was slowly sliding up the wall along with the metal rack still pinning him.

Ryan screamed in pain behind his gag as parts of the wall also crumbled beneath him—the rough edges of the debris completely shaving and grinding his back into a pulp as he was dragged upward.

Blood smeared the wall in his wake, leaving a gruesome trail.

"Oops. Sorry, Mr. Ryan," Riley sighed and shook his head. "But you do not have to worry—this next part should make you happy."

Riley let go of the spear he was holding, and it slowly floated upward through the air, positioning itself with its splintered end pointing directly between Ryan's thighs.

A soft giggle escaped Riley's lips, but Ryan started flailing around in horror as he realized what was about to happen. His legs kicked wildly, his remaining fingers clawing at the metal rack as panic consumed him completely.

"You like children. Do you not, Mr. Ryan?" The smile on Riley's face returned, "I heard the news, and Mother also told me that there was a pedophile on the loose in this area—that was you, is it not?"

"Hrngh!" Ryan's head violently shook.

"You do not have to worry, Mr. Ryan…" Riley sighed, stretching his arms to the side. His broken arm, flailing without care,

"…I will make sure that the other children will start liking you too from now on."

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