In the midst of my terrible home life, my classmates would often gossip about my past actions and misdemeanors.

“I feel bad for him though…”

“What, why? They say he killed his mom and dad!”

“Yeah, they say he made them crash into a store.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. I bet he feels good about it too.”

I was so degraded after hearing those words. In their eyes, I was a cold blooded monster who sought nothing more than the demise of my own parents. A lie that I openly denied over and over, but to no avail. They believed every word they had heard other than mine, leaving me powerless against them.

Before Seth was the once peaceful village, now consumed by a ravenous inferno that had burned everything in its path. He stood there, paralyzed by fear and anguish, with only his jaw and fingers twitching. Despite the emotions rushing through his head, he stumbled forward, putting one foot in front of the other, and faltered toward the place he once hoped to call his own.

As he went past the small huts that the people had once called home, his eyes remained bloodshot, wide and trembling, as if he was going to finally break. His mouth hung open, tired and grim. He staggered through the village, hearing the near and distant cries of terror and desperation, each one interrupted by their own silence. The ghastly bodies of the people laid motionless on the ground, in their own pools of drained blood. He halted his movements and gazed upward at the structure he remembered from earlier that day. It was the place the girl entered with the older man who guided her inside, and it was ablaze, illuminating everything near it. Seth’s legs gave in, and he toppled forward onto his knees. Then, out of the thin silence, he began to giggle under his breath. It started slow, gradually morphing into a booming, hysterical cackle. His eyes had widened further than ever before, and a wide, psychotic grin had formed across his face. He put his hands up to his head and aggressively scratched his scalp, making it bleed and sting. But he had drowned out all external stimuli, and felt nothing at all, only the violent emotions that flooded his mind, driving him insane.

“Why? Can’t I just have one, simple question answered? WHY?!” He shouted at the ground, paired with his uncontrollable laughter. “IT'S THE SAME DAMN CYCLE, OVER AND OVER, AND IT'S LITERALLY KILLING ME! HAHA, WHAT A FUCKING DILEMMA!”

Suddenly, unbeknownst to Seth, a small figure came sprinting toward him and tugged at the right sleeve of his jacket. He peered up with his demented eyes to see the little girl, the very one who saved him. But she had no smile, her cute, cheerful laugh was gone. They were replaced by fear and grief. Tears were running from her eyes and down her cheek, and her entire body was trembling. Her sniffles were followed by deafening screams and cries, shifting Seth’s attention from his thoughts and emotions, to her. He grabbed her shoulders with his bloody fingers and glared at her, that same deranged smile still on his face.

“Yes, YES! You can be with ME from now on!” He boomed. The girl responded by shouting something back, but it was totally incomprehensible to him, and he kept indulging in his newfound fantasy. “WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE WANT, FREE OF PAIN, FREE OF SUFFERING, FREE OF BLOODSHED! ALL OF IT: GONE!” He gripped her shoulders with more force, causing her to grunt and whine. He then stared directly into her tearing eyes and continued. “WHAT DO YOU SAY, LITTLE GIRL? LETS GO, TOGE—“

Seth watched as the girl was instantly pulled upwards out of his hands and eaten alive by two massive jaws. Blood splattered onto the ground, and before he could comprehend it, she was gone, consumed by a wild beast that brought hell down upon the village. He recognized this creature, it was all too familiar. Those ears, that snout, that tail, those deep crimson eyes. It was the giant wolf-beast, but this wasn’t the one he encountered before. This one had dark grey fur across its entire body, and upon ingesting its prey, it expelled blue flames from its gaping mouth. Seth’s demented grin disappeared and he stared helplessly up at the monster that just devoured that little girl. Then, from behind him he heard growling mixed with steady rumbling, and felt the bloodlust encroaching behind him. He turned his head around, and saw more of them. They were all glaring at him and only him, licking their chops and salivating simultaneously, as if he were next. The terror in his eyes returned, as he could only do one thing now.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” He screamed at the top of his lungs before promptly turning his body away from the dark grey wolf and launching himself forward onto his feet. He ran and ran, never paying any mind to his surroundings, nor where he was going. Before he knew it he was outside the village, swallowed by lethal destructive flames and overtaken by a pack of giant wolf-like monsters that killed everyone within.

Seth had reached the bottom of another nearby hill, and collapsed onto the grass ridden ground. He pulled his legs and arms into himself as if he was a ball, and simply sat there under the night sky, devoid of color.

“What the hell…” he said dismally. “I give up… I have no choice, do I?” Tears started to run down his cheek, triggering a runny nose. “I’m the lowest of the low.”

Just then, a bright green light shone above him, shrouding the area with its life-bringing atmosphere. He wiped his tears and attempted to gaze up at it, until he realized it was blinding. When it ceased, he peered back up, and witnessed something stunning. A woman with green hair and light blue eyes, covered in a white robe and emitting a dim green aura around her, was floating in the air looking down at him with a slight smile.

“Hello, Seth.” She whispered. “It seems you… need some assistance.”