Chapter 1 – Demons

(Hayden)

Birds chirping, crows croaking, cold weather under the shade, hot as hell under the sun.

An average day for an average guy, just a perfect day for me.

Sigh, I hate going for lectures, it’s so boring, lecturers teaching things that we would never use in our lives. I might be learning new things about diseases and how dangerous inflammation is and all these knowledge but seriously will I ever need to use it. I mean sure it’s useful to know about these things but that only just the general knowledge, what I’m learning is super in detailed.

I’m not even going to be a doctor, I’m just at a dead end now. I took a science course that leads to nowhere. Everyone here is aiming to be a med student or looking to work in a lab or doing research while I’m here just being here. Why can’t I find something I want to do? Sigh. Pathetic. I’m probably gonna end up doing something I told myself I never would do and end up hating my job for the rest of my life. Oh it looks like the lecturers almost done.

“That’s how TP53 is relatively important in making sure we do not have cancer. Next week we will learn more about how malignant cells avoid the detection of our immune system which ultimately leads to the uncontrolled proliferation of tumours. Any questions?”

I probably should do find something to do with my life. I tried lots of things, sports, martial arts, art, music, programming, gaming and all sorts of stuff and I still can’t find something that actually makes me love it truly. I mean I’m a huge martial arts fan, I’ve learned tae kwan do, muay thai and maybe watch and tried a few other martial arts on youtube and whatnot but I’m just too lazy to get anywhere significant enough to be considered good by my standards. I also tried kendo for something different but it still couldn’t get it to be my passion. Frankly, I just get bored too fast. I’m still physically fit, I mean I go to the gym like once every 2 days but do I enjoy it? Maybe a little. But do I love it? No that’s for sure. I’m still doing kendo since my uni has the club but I can’t say I enjoy it truly, I mean who loves getting hit. Only masochist would love getting hit and I have a far too short of a fuse to love kendo. I mean if someone hits me too hard I’ll get really pissed and I literally have trouble controlling myself in my anger. There was this one time I nearly threw my shinai on the ground when one of my kendo mates, a tall guy who for some reason ends up sparring with me despite me being the shortest in the group, constantly hits me really hard, in kendo you’re not supposed to hit someone like your trying to kill them, I mean come on it’s a sport. So anyway in kendo you’re not supposed to disrespect your sword in this case my shinai, you can’t even hold the shinai with the tip touching the ground as that is disrespectful so you can imagine what throwing the shinai on the ground would do.

So something new I learned about myself throughout my 23 years of life, I have a really short fuse not to say I didn’t already know that. I mean maybe it’s my upbringing? Nah I had a pretty good childhood, bad parents? Nope my parents are the nicest people in the world? Sigh I don’t even fully know anything about myself. I just feel as though there is a beast inside me waiting to be unleashed. It was much worst though, when I was younger I had very little self-control and the only way I could actually unleash or relieve my anger was thinking about dark things. When I mean dark I mean really dark gory stuff, like smashing peoples head in or burning their faces in a frying pan. It was pretty dark for a kid I guess, but it wasn’t towards random people though, just towards people who were mean to me.

While I was rambling in my own mind and pretending there was an audience who would listen to me the lecturer finally finished with the questions, I packed my things and nudge my friend beside me.

“Hey did you manage to pay attention throughout the whole lecture?”

“Not really, I kind of dosed of near the end, I stayed up late last night to finish my pharm assignment” with a very tired sounding deep voice

The guy beside me, Dain is a friend I met in uni, we took the same course most of the time and he ended up being my lab partner usually. He’s a chill dude, really tall not including the fact that I’m pretty short. He’s a yes-man and literally has girls head over heels over him. Me on the other hand, no such luck, I blame it on my lack of self-confidence and height.

“Haha you should really get some sleep, you look terrible man”

“I know mate, I know. Im thinking of heading home now”

“Hey Dain, Hayden want to get something to eat first we’re planning to get some food and discuss the assignment Niel gave us”.

The guy who was sitting next to Dain during the lecture, Rowen spoke. Weird guy I tell you that Rowen, I met him first before introducing him to Dain in a lab in one of the classes I took a year back. He didn’t start a conversation in a normal way, for example,

I’m like “Hi names Hayden” and he’s like “Hi, I’m Rowen” and that was it. No further conversation there. I couldn’t even continue the conversation because he sort of made a face like he didn’t want to talk anymore.

Anyway after the lab, he started talking to me asking where I’m from and when he realised we were from the same country and state he was like oh shit, I’m your bro now. He totally wanted to follow me back to my place. I was weirded out but like I’m sort of bad at socializing too so I just you know allowed it I guess, anyway that’s how we became friends.

I also met the 2 girls he was referring to when he said us there too. Cute girls, Jolene and Lana. Now who said guys and girls can’t be friends without having any ulterior motives. Okay I wouldn’t deny it but I kinda had a little crush with one of them butttt I’m certainly not telling.

Oh in case you’re wondering we’re all Chinese, pretty weird considering we’re in Australia. Haha, I certainly didn’t plan on only making friends with Chinese, I’m not racist but hey, you can’t blame me, I sort of have bad social skills that are currently in the stage of improvement and these guys well they sort of were the only ones who stick with me in the end.

This is basically my gang throughout uni, their all aiming to be med students while it’s only me rotting away as I like to say and them chasing their dreams. Sigh well enough sappy thoughts for now.

“Yeap, I’m up for it.” I said while nudging Dain to join us too.

“Okay” he says in a tired voice.

So our gang while walking to our favourite restaurant near uni, discussed about the assignment Prof. Niel handed us. We were asked to write an article which has to be novel idea with anything to do with cell, gene, or transplant theraphy. Anyway I was talking about how we could do something ingenious by putting the results gotten from a gene research article about using adeno-associated virus as vectors and a research article about how gene theraphy was successfully used to allow for the growth of genetically modified blood cells that can be transplanted into patients with low red blood cell count like people with anaemia or thalassemia. My plan was to write an article about how we could use aav as a vector to genetically correct blood cells without having to transplant a the genetically corrected cells into the patient’s body.

While my mind was focused onto what I was saying, I noticed none of my friends responding and noticed they were only focusing on the sky. What I say shocked me to say the least. I would like to say I wasn’t terrified but I probably was and I would also like to say I was not afraid of death but when your life flashes through your eyes you probably will discover that maybe you would like to stay alive a little longer. *Sigh* As I steeled myself and calmed my mind.

And with a voice that was loud enough for everyone in the entire district to hear especially for those who were so stunned that they stood still like statues, I shouted.

“ RUN!!!!“

Author’s note

Damn it’s so tiring to write, and it’s so late here it’s considered early already. Sigh I totally understand how author’s feel now when their writing and trying to increase their word count. Well hopefully you guys enjoy. Please don’t hate too much. Thanks for reading!