Evan, November 1st, 1546

  “What did you just say?” Evan stared in disbelief at the young man with bright hair who sat across from him. That was the only way he could react. The only way anyone would've reacted to the news they'd just been told.

  Norman stared back at him with a sad expression on his face. “Even if I repeat it, it won't change anything. But it's just like I told you. You've been asleep for nearly two months.”

  “Don't try to trick me! Who would ever believe that?”

  “You might think it's a trick. But it's true. You hit your head hard. There was a bunch of blood around your body. But you didn't have a single injury on you. It was strange. I expected you to wake up eventually. Even when everyone else told me to give up.”

  Evan knew it should've been impossible. But he remembered someone rushing over to him as he had tried to finish preparing the roof. “I was kicked.”

  “Huh?”

  “I was kicked off the roof.”

  “Oh. I saw you fall really fast from inside the house. I was in disbelief at first. But by the time I got outside, it was already too late.”

  “And then you went off to become a knight.” Evan gestured at the suit of armor the other male wore.

  “Yeah. I wanted to help you. Knights get paid a lot because of how dangerous the job is. Becoming one ensures that you have a place to stay in the capital. So I thought that if you ever woke up, we could share the money and make a living together.”

  Evan shrugged his shoulders. “Lot of good that did. Are you seriously telling me that…this is Akhia?” He pointed to their surroundings.

  The two of them currently sat on top of a large hill surrounded by a forest. The sky was a dark purple. Purple with a mix of black. The Sun wasn't visible. Neither were the stars. So it was impossible to tell if it was currently day or night by sight alone. In the distance, there were pillars of smoke in almost every direction. There was also a set of destroyed buildings that looked as if they'd been blown apart. The only building that looked relatively untouched was a large familiar palace.

  “Yeah. This is Akhia. And that's the capital.” Norman pointed towards the destroyed buildings. “The gates surrounding the city were blown apart too.”

  “How did this happen?”

  “I'm not exactly sure. I was almost always by your side. So I was more of an outsider looking in for most things. I just know one day people began to explode.”

  “Explode?” He looked at Norman in disbelief.

  “Mhm. These bright explosions of pure mana. There were so many of them that the city was reduced to rubble in mere moments. It was some kind of attack. But I never found out who was behind it. I just knew the city was burning and I had to get you out. I've been waiting for you to wake up ever since.”

  “Wait. If this is really the capital, why didn't the king do anything about this?”

  “By the time His Majesty decided to do anything, the damage was already done. He's hardly even in charge anymore. Hard to be a king when most of your subjects are dead and most of your kingdom is in ruin.”

  “It's not just the capital?”

  Norman shook his head. “The smoke in the distance suggests as much.”

  “So the king just sits in the palace all day while his kingdom is destroyed?”

  “Most of the royal family didn't make a habit of leaving the palace anyway. There wasn't much of a difference. Well, most of them except for…”. Norman’s eyes suddenly widened.

  “What is it?”

  “I just remembered something. The prince. Zeke Washington.”

  Evan shrugged. “What about him?”

  “He had this secret identity. Ezekiel Clockwise.”

  “Okay?”

  “That doesn't ring any bells to you?”

  “No. Why would it?”

  “He said it should.”

  “Who is he?”

  “This man. Named Claudius. He was the magic teacher for the knights. He said that Zeke had a secret identity and that I should tell you.”

  “Why? I've never met the prince! What good would telling me that do?”

  “I don't know. But that's what he said! Are you sure you haven't ever met the prince?”

  “Pretty sure. But describe him for me. Maybe I have and I just don't remember.”

  “Umm…let's see. He had blond hair. Blue eyes. He was pretty tall. With muscles. He had this butler guy by his side all the time. And…oh! Right. His gloves were strange.”

  “Strange?”

  “Yeah. The tips of his fingers were exposed. I've never seen anyone with gloves like that before. So it stood out to me.”

  “I can confidently say that I've never met anyone who looked like that in my entire life!”

  “I see.” He sighed. “Oh well. Now that you're awake we can go help.”

  “Huh?”

  “Well, I've been helping people out whenever I can. But I had to stay with you most of the time. Now that you're awake, we can have you join the knights so you can help out with me.”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “Because…it would help people?”

  A look of disgust formed on Evan's face. “I lost nearly two months of my life. And now immediately after waking up, you're telling me to worry about OTHER people?”

  “People could be losing their lives as we speak!”

  “That has nothing to do with me.”

  “Okay. Well…even if you don't want to save other people, won't you at least help me?”

  “Why would I?”

  Norman gave him a strained smile. “Because we're friends?”

  “Friends? Us? Hardly. The only reason we hang out together is because my parents were worried I'd stay in my room for the rest of my life. That's why they made you talk to me. That's why you won't stop following me around. Pestering me. But maybe I don't want to be your friend, okay? Maybe I'd just rather waste away in my room. If I had just wasted away I wouldn't have…”

  I wouldn't have known what I was missing.

  Norman's brown eyes widened. “Ah. I see. I'm sorry then. For always assuming that we were friends.” He stood up with a sad smile on his face.

  “Yeah. Get out of here. Leave me alone.”

  Don't go. Evan pleaded internally.

  “Okay. I hope you have a good life, Evan.”

  He scoffed. “Like you care. Just go. I don't like seeing your face.” He clutched his chest. His heart pounded from within. “I never want to see you again.”

  Norman turned around.

  Right at that moment, Evan heard the sound of something moving quickly through the air. He didn't even have time to scream out a warning.

  Norman flew backward in slow motion. A trail of crimson flew out from his body. As he flew above Evan, he noticed that a large chunk had been taken out of his armor. Evan reached up and his fingers brushed against his hand as he flew by. So close. But unable to fully reach. He watched as Norman fell off the hill and into the trees below.

  “Norman!”

  There was no answer. Just the sound of branches snapping as he fell.

  Evan whirled around to see a strange woman before him.

  Her hair was dark black. Her eyes were as red as the blood that had come from Norman. She wore a black dress and had red heels that matched her eyes. A tilt of her head revealed purple jewel earrings. Her lips were bright red with lipstick. Her skin was pale. She was a very attractive woman. But there was also an emptiness in her eyes. The smile she wore contained no warmth and only made her look like a predator staring down her prey.

  “What did you just do to Norman!?”

  “Oh my. I distinctly heard you say that you never wanted to see him again. I thought I could help out with that endeavor.” There was a playful air to her. “Have I angered you, perhaps?”

  Evan dashed towards her with rage in his heart. He didn't even bother giving her a response. His body was the answer. The only solution to the current situation was forward. He didn't fancy hitting women. But this was no ordinary woman. There was something wrong with her. He balled up his right hand into a fist and swung at her face. A display of determination was clearly…

  “Not enough.” Her smile only grew. The air around her shifted. Dark shadowy shapes began to form around her body. The shapes formed into large dark purple dragons with glowing red eyes.

  Evan tried to stop before he collided with the dragons. But it was too late.

  One of them lunged forward with a roar and bit down on his right arm.

  Pain flared up as the dragon clamped down hard. It was like his arm was on fire. He began to pull away. Trying to get as far away from the dragon as possible. But it did not relent. Blood began soaking through his sleeve as he continued to pull. There was a loud cracking sound and the pain within him exploded. He was free. But his hand was a mangled bloody mess. The skin around his wrist had turned purple due to a lack of circulation. The skin around his fingers had been completely torn off.

  “AGH! FUCK!”

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  “Anger fades so quickly in the face of pain. How beautiful.”

  She sent another dragon towards his stomach.

  It bit down and slammed him into the ground. Then it pushed him forward through the dirt until Evan felt his feet dangle below him. He was now hanging loosely in the air. The only thing that kept him from falling to his death was the dragon that currently bit into his stomach. Gravity began to pull him down so the dragon bit harder. He screamed as a wet crunch came from the dragon's mouth.

  The pain threatened to overwhelm him. But he focused enough to stop his screams momentarily. “Who…are you? Why are you…doing this?”

  “Hmm. I'm not sure I can answer that second question. But I suppose I can answer the first one.” She stepped over to the edge of the hill and looked him in the eyes. “My name is Marianne Xenoheart. Engrave that name into your very soul and remember it in the next life.”

  The dragon released him.

  Evan's eyes drifted over to the capital as he fell. A large purple shadow seemed to be coming closer. Before he could see anything else, he collided with a tree branch. The branch snapped and he fell into another one. He hurt his side. His face. His back. His stomach. Each part of his body gained a new pain as he hit more branches. He stopped hitting anything for a few moments. And then he crashed into the ground.

  Am I dying? It's so hot. It's too hot. I don't even have…the energy to scream anymore.

  His legs were torn open. His stomach was bloody. The feeling of pain was quickly replaced by a feeling of warmth. He glanced over and saw Norman in a similar mangled state. He smiled. The warmth quickly began to fade. And his body began to grow cold.

  Am I dying? No. I don't want to die! I'm not ready! I haven't lived my life at all. All I did was waste away and now I'm going to die a meaningless death. I'm scared! Someone help me! Please! Someone!

  He began to tear up as he reached for Norman's right hand with his left. He needed comfort. He needed someone. He couldn't be alone in his final moments. Norman’s eyes were closed. And he didn't move at all. But when Evan grabbed his hand, he found that it was still warm. Tears slipped down his cheeks.

  Norman probably felt the same way. He's always been there for me. So…I have to be strong for him. Just this once.

  “Hey. Norman. It's okay. I'm not sure…if you can hear me. But it's okay. I can…fix this.” He gave him a bloody smile. “Don't worry. I promise. I'll save…you.”

  His throat was flooded with blood. And Evan Ryder lost his life.

  ***

  Nothingness. There was nothing but a black void as far as the eye could see. Evan floated in the darkness. The pain in his body had disappeared. His wounds vanished. Even his clothes faded away. His bare body floated in the darkness. Ordinarily, he would've been embarrassed at being naked. But there was no one around to see him.

  Nothingness. Evan found himself wishing for the pain he had felt earlier. Surely anything would be better than floating around for eternity. Surely pain would be better than this unending isolation. Surely pain would be better than this meaningless existence. He didn't know where anything ended. Or where anything began. But one thing was certain. He was alone.

  Nothingness. That's all there was. That's all there ever would be...

  “Oh my.” A distorted woman's voice suddenly spoke up.

  Evan wasn't sure where the voice came from. It sounded as if it had come from his left. Or his right. Behind him. In front of him. Or maybe even inside of him. The black void suddenly had a shade of dark purple to it.

  “You lived your life in isolation. You died without being able to protect anything. Without knowing anything. And now you are unable to change anything. A meaningless life. A meaningless death. A meaningless existence.”

  Purple hands darted out of the darkness and reached for his body. The hands caressed his arms, his legs, his chest, his hair, and his stomach. It even felt as if the hands were reaching in and touching his very soul. He looked up and saw a white shape moving through the darkness. It was hair.

  “It would be quite a shame,” her voice suddenly became a lot more clear. “If this was where your story ended.”

  He was suddenly thrown down. He fell through the void with such speed that he could hardly comprehend what was going on. He felt as if his very soul screamed from within. Eventually, it burst out of his mouth as the pain returned. He screamed as a white light appeared before him.

  And then his body fell to the ground. Instead of nothingness, he saw the sky. It wasn't covered in shadow either. It was a bright blue sky.

  “Evan?”

  His eyes drifted and saw the impossible. Norman stared down at him from above.

  He's alive. Norman is…alive.

  Evan's vision grew blurry as tears formed in his eyes again. “Norman?”

  “Yeah? It's me.” Norman nodded slowly.

  “Norman! You're okay!” He wrapped his arms around him in a hug.

  “I'm not sure I understand. But yes. I'm okay. Why are you being so nice?” Norman chuckled as Evan began to touch his face. “And affectionate?”

  He's real. He's alive. This isn't a dream.

  Evan stared into his eyes as relief flooded his body. “You're okay.”

  “Can we go now? See? He's fine.” An unknown male voice spoke from above him.

  He looked over and saw three males. A young male with white hair and a male who walked next to him. His eyes moved over to the third male. The one with pale skin, black hair and red eyes. He was about to look away when his gaze was drawn to the man's gloves. They were very peculiar because his fingertips were exposed.

  Evan's eyes widened. He remembered what Norman had told him before. “Zeke…Washington?”

  ***

  Evan had thought about that interaction long after the man who insisted he wasn't the prince walked away. Now he sat in the house he had been trying to repair earlier. Along with Norman and the owner of the house.

  She was an older woman with dark brown hair. Some strands of her hair had begun to turn white. Her eyes were light brown and she wore a pink gown. Her name was Aubrey. Evan and Norman sat together on a bright red couch. She sat on a simple chair. The two boys had insisted that she could have the couch. But she said guests always deserved to be comfortable.

  “You don't have to blame yourself, dear. You couldn't have known what was going to happen.” She gave Evan a sympathetic look.

  “I know. But I was so close to finishing the roof. If that man hadn't shown up…”.

  “Do you make a habit of fixing things?”

  “Not really. My dad taught me how to repair our roof. He told me if there was ever a time he wasn't around I had to know how to fix it. He tried to teach me a bunch of things.”

  “Good. A parent should always try to be there for their child.” Her expression darkened.

  “Yeah…”.

  “I meant what I said by the way. You two can spend the night.”

  Norman looked unsure. “Really?”

  “Yes! Yes. You decided to help me fix my roof. These old bones might've shattered if I'd fallen. You did me quite a service. How rude would I be if I didn't offer you dinner and a nice place to stay?”

  I don't think many people would be generous enough to do that. But I can't complain, he thought to himself.

  “Thank you, Ma'am. You've been very kind to us.” Norman smiled at her.

  “Ma'am makes me seem so old. You can call me Aubrey, you know?”

  Evan didn't have the heart to tell the lady that it wasn't just words that made her seem old.

  “Right…”.

  Aubrey coughed. “Anywho, shouldn't you be resting?” She pointed her index finger at Evan.

  “Me?”

  “Is there someone else sitting behind you that I can't see?”

  “No Ma-” he caught himself. “No, Aubrey.”

  “Then you should go rest. You hit your head pretty hard.”

  He tilted his head. “Is there…a room? For me to rest I mean.”

  “You have options. There's a room upstairs. Second door on the right. You can use that to sleep. You can sleep on the couch.” She shrugged. “That applies to you too. If you'd like to sleep separately or with your friend here.” Aubrey glanced at Norman.

  “Oh. Thank you. What would you like to do, Evan?”

  “I think I'll sleep upstairs. Alone.” He got up from the couch.

  “Alright. If you need anything, just say so.”

  “Yes. You need a lot of sleep tonight for your plans tomorrow.”

  “Plans?” Evan froze.

  “To become knights?”

  “Huh? How do you know about that?”

  Aubrey stared at him for a few moments and then burst out laughing. “Oh! Oh. You're a hoot!”

  “I don't get it.”

  “Dearie. I've lived in the capital longer than you've been alive. And I can confidently say that I've NEVER seen you or your friend before. Not even in passing. Which means you probably aren't from here. And if you aren't from here, you probably have a reason for coming.”

  “Oh. Yeah. That makes sense.” He scratched the back of his neck.

  Norman gave him an amused smile. “Go and get some rest. I'll keep…Aubrey company.”

  Evan nodded and walked upstairs. He'd wanted to talk to Norman more about certain things. But a part of him was also exhausted and just wanted to rest.

  The house was wooden and a lot smaller than he expected for one in the capital. He approached the door Aubrey mentioned and stepped inside. It was a pretty big room. There were a few paintings on the wall. Most of them had two people in them. A young man in armor and an older woman with a scowl on her face. The older woman was clearly Aubrey. She was much younger in the paintings. The two of them appeared to be in some kind of fancy building in every painting. Aubrey always had some kind of mean look on her face.

  Seems so different from the super generous old lady I talked to earlier. But it's definitely her. Who's the guy with her though? Too young to be a lover. I think. But she didn't mention any family. Oh well.

  He shrugged and took his shoes off before plopping down onto the bed. It was a pretty comfortable bed. Not as comfortable as the one he had at home. But he didn't hate it. His mind began to wander.

  What was that dream I had earlier? It must have been a dream, right? But it seemed so real. And the stuff Norman said in my dream about that Zeke guy ended up being true. Plus, I usually end up forgetting most of my dreams whenever I wake up. But I remember everything about this one. Maybe I'm still in a dream and that's why this all feels so strange. No. Not a dream. A nightmare.

  He shivered. Despite being exhausted, a part of him didn't want to go back to sleep. Having another nightmare like that would not be pleasant. The pain. The death. The evil. He didn't want to sleep. But he felt his eyes drooping. He tried to hold it in but he began to yawn. The bed was so comfortable. Surely closing his eyes for just a second would be okay.

  When he closed his eyes, the first thing that appeared before him was Norman. Evan couldn't see his own body. It felt similar to when he was floating in that black void. Things were happening but all he could do was watch. The two of them were on that hill again. But this time the sky was bright.

  “You said you would save me. But that was a lie, wasn't it?” Norman smiled at him.

  Evan wanted to say no. Say that wasn't true. But everything felt so far away.

  “You can't protect anyone.” Blood dripped down from his mouth. His limbs began to twist. “You couldn't save me. You couldn't save yourself. We died.”

  Evan wanted to say he tried.

  “You told me that we weren't even friends. And then I had to die all alone. But you only worried about yourself. Selfish. Horrible. Disgusting. That's all you are.”

  Evan wanted to scream.

  The area surrounding the hill began to fill with blood.

  Evan wanted to run away. But he could not.

  “I took care of you for almost two months. But then you went and died anyway. How meaningless. Why were you even born?”

  The blood continued to rise.

  “You should've just stayed in that room to rot.” Norman spat at him before his head was completely submerged in blood.

  A few seconds later, Evan was submerged as well. There was dark red blood everywhere. He couldn't see his mouth. But he could feel the blood inside of it. There was too much. It was choking him. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He needed to-

  WAKE UP.

  With a start, Evan opened his eyes.

  Some time had passed. There had been a faint amount of light coming from the rest of the house earlier. But now everything was completely dark.

  He expected the pain in his neck to go away within a few seconds of waking up. But it persisted. It felt like his neck was on fire. He reached a hand up to touch it.

  There was something wet.

  His eyes widened in horror as he tried to yell. But instead of that, there was only a wet wheeze. The pain in his neck intensified as he pushed the sheets away and felt that they were wet.

  Evan crawled out of bed and slammed down hard onto the floorboards. He'd tried to stop his fall but his arms failed him. It felt like he was still in a dream. His body felt so heavy. As if he barely had any control over it. But the pain told him it was real. No amount of trying to wake up would make it go away.

  He could hardly see anything. But he knew if he kept crawling he would eventually be able to reach the door. He just had to get help. He had to get out.

  Aubrey! Norman! Someone! Please. I don't want to die alone. I can't. I can't die alone! Please. I'm scared. I'm cold. I'm so cold. I'm scared. Please, help me. NORMAN!

  He reached up towards where he expected the door to be. Then his hand fell.

  Or rather, his entire body fell.

  He had no more strength left so he collapsed into a bloody heap.

  Once again, Evan Ryder died a meaningless death.

  ***

  Evan's hands shot up towards his neck and he began to feel around. No blood. He was back in the living room.

  “Are you alright?” Aubrey stared at him with a look of concern.

  He glanced around and saw that light from outside was streaming in through the windows.

  “But it was night just a second ago,” he muttered to himself. “I'm back here?”

  “Evan?” Norman frowned. “Are you okay?”

  “Y-yeah! Sorry for making you two worry.” He moved his hands away from his neck and felt the pain subside.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I'm okay. Just not feeling too well. Is there anywhere I can sleep?” He turned to Aubrey.

  “You have options. There's a room upstairs. Second door on the right. You can use that to sleep. You can sleep on the couch. That applies to you too. If you'd like to sleep separately or with your friend here.” She gave Norman a worried glance.

  Norman didn't say anything. He was staring at Evan.

  “Thank you. I'll head up now. Al-”

  “I'll go with him.”

  “Huh?”

  “If there's something wrong, I want to know what it is.”

  “N-nothing's wrong.”

  Norman sighed. “If you're going to lie, you should at least do it better than that.”

  “I'm not l-lying!”

  “Okay. If you really believe that, I won't come up with you.”

  Evan frowned. He didn't want to go to sleep. But he definitely didn't want to be alone. A shiver ran down his spine. “No. You can come. Please.”

  He nodded. “Alright. I'll be upstairs with him, Ma'am.”

  “Oh please. Call me Aubrey, dear.”

  “Alright…Aubrey.” He coughed into his hand.

  “And you!” She waved at Evan.

  “Me?”

  “No. The one behind you. Yes, you. If you ever feel like you need to talk about something, it's okay. I'll listen.” She smiled sweetly at him.

  “Thank you.” He nodded and continued upstairs with Norman.

  The two of them entered the bedroom together. Norman took the time to look around. Evan glanced around the room for a moment and his body grew cold when he realized it was exactly as he'd expected. He took his shoes off and sat down with his knees up to his chest on the bed. He wrapped his arms around his legs and it almost looked like he was hugging himself.

  Norman turned to him after a few moments. The concern on his face only grew when he saw what he was doing. “Do you want to talk about it?” He took his shoes off and sat next to him.

  “It…it's just…okay. You're probably going to think I've lost it. But just listen, okay?”

  “I'll try.”

  “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Have we…ever been to this house before?”

  Norman held his hand up to his chin. “Before today, I assume?”

  “Yeah. Before today.”

  “No. This is our first time being here.”

  “Well, I remember this room.”

  “You do?”

  Evan nodded. “I had a dream. Or something. And I saw everything in this room. The paintings. The bed. Everything.”

  “When did you have the dream?”

  “Just now. Downstairs.”

  “You had a dream downstairs while sitting up and being awake?”

  “I KNOW how it sounds, okay? I know. But it happened. Really. And it didn't feel like a dream.”

  “So it wasn't a dream…”.

  “Norman!”

  “Sorry. I’m just struggling to keep up. So you had a dream that wasn't a dream. And it told you exactly how this room would look?”

  “Yes. There's more to it. But…”.

  “You're not ready to talk about it yet?”

  “How'd you know?”

  Norman shrugged. “It sounded like it really rattled you. It sounds unbelievable. But maybe there's something to it. Can I do anything to help?”

  “Just…stay with me.”

  “Okay.”

  Evan glanced over at him. “Hey.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why do you hang around me?”

  Norman looked at him as if he'd sprouted a second head. “Because we're friends.”

  “Aren't we only friends because my parents made you hang out with me?”

  He huffed and shook his head. “First of all, your parents didn't MAKE me do anything. They asked if I wanted to hang out with you because they were worried. I chose to go up to your room. I chose to stay with you.”

  “Why? I'm sure I couldn't have been pretty fun to be around.”

  “True. It was pretty miserable at first.”

  “Hey!”

  “But I saw how you looked.” Norman smiled softly at him. “You would tell me to go away. Or that you didn't want me around. But sometimes when I'd enter your room, you'd be curled up just like you are now.”

  “I never did that!”

  “You did. You were all wrapped up in blankets. And you would stare outside when you thought no one was around. If someone caught you, you'd deny it and say you hadn't been looking. But you wanted to go outside. You wanted to make friends. But something wasn't allowing you to. A part of you didn't want to leave. But you also didn't want to be alone, right?”

  Evan could do nothing but nod. Norman had seen as much. So hiding it was pointless now. “I just wanted…”.

  The words froze in his throat. He sniffed.

  Norman pulled him into a hug. “It's okay. I'm right here. You’re not alone.”

  Evan felt a lump in his throat. “If I cry, I'm going to punch you.”

  “You'd better keep those tears inside then.” He smiled at him.

  Evan didn't hug back. But he didn't pull away either. He just allowed himself to be embraced.

  ***

  There was a loud bang against the wall. Evan's eyes shot open. He didn't even remember falling asleep. He and Norman had talked for a bit more. Then he didn't remember anything. Luckily he didn’t have another nightmare. But the person who should have been in bed with him wasn't there. It was dark in the room and he shivered at the idea of the nightmare from before. He touched his neck. But it was completely dry.

  “Norman?” He called out and got up from the bed. His voice still worked. That was different. He felt for the doorknob and after a few moments managed to pull the door open.

  Something fell as he did so.

  Evan caught the object in his hands and stumbled into the hallway.

  It was Norman.

  Norman stared up at him weakly as blood spilled from his back and onto the floor.

  “Huh? NORMAN! What happened?”

  “Run…”.

  “No way! Who did this to you?”

  “RUN!”

  It was then that Evan saw that Norman was looking behind him at something further down the hallway. He turned to look. Something dark passed by right at that moment. So fast it was like a blur. Something collided with Evan's hand and sent a burning pain through him.

  He looked to see that his thumb and index finger had been cut cleanly off.

  Something heavy crashed to the floor and Evan's body was sprayed with blood.

  He screamed and felt blood entering his mouth. Coating his teeth and gums with the dark red fluid. It wasn't just his fingers that had been cut off. It was also what the fingers had been holding. Norman’s head. The hallway was painted anew as Norman’s neck sent blood in every direction.

  Evan heard a creak behind him along with a splash. He had failed to protect Norman. But he could at least avenge him. He ignored the intense pain in his hand and whirled around to see who was approaching. There was a bit of light shining in from outside and downstairs. That was the only reason he could see anything. His eyes widened.

  It was a young man. He had his left hand lifted high above his head where he held a sword. His hair was neat and blond. His eyes were dark blue. His skin had a bit of a tan to it and his outfit was white and blue.

  Evan thought that he had never seen the man before in his life. Then his eyes focused on the man's hands.

  His blue gloves with holes at the fingertips.

  “Zeke…Washington?” He looked different than he had earlier. But Norman had told him that the gloves he wore were unique in the sense that you couldn't confuse him for anyone else.

  Zeke stared down at him with an expression he couldn't read. It wasn't quite cold. But it definitely wasn't warm. It looked almost indifferent. “Hello again.”

  Then he swung the sword down into Evan's skull.

  For a third time, Evan Ryder lost his life.