Outsider ||ONC 2024|| {Currently Editing} ✏️

Chapter One

I stood at the front door.

They made me be the watch-person and I had to wait for the signal that it was okay for me to come in.

The only thing was, I didn't want to go in. I wanted to fall into the ground and close my eyes. I wanted to imagine that none of this was happening.

But it was, and the sound of screaming was too much for me to convince myself that this was all just a dream.

Whatever was going on in that house, that was what we were paid to do.

My brother, Jonathan was in charge of the group. He told me to stand out here. I could tell he didn't want me here by the look on his face.

Even though he tried to hide it when he pulled down his mask, I knew, and it almost felt like I was some sort of embarrassment to him.

I wish he could accept that I never signed up for this. I never wanted to be a part of this this business.

But it didn't matter what I wanted, life told me that things happen, and our job as humans were to find ways to survive.

This wasn't the old world we used to live in.
This was ground zero, year 173C.

I looked up at the stars and a tear slid down my face as the silence hit me.

I couldn't even begin to imagine what was happening to the people who lived here. I didn't even know why they were being targeted.

Honestly, no one ever asked questions. One, it created suspicions—a lack of trust. Another, people were usually too afraid to say anything.

But at the end of the day, it was never our business to know. The money spoke for itself and that's all that mattered.

My stomach tightened up. This was the worst feeling every. It was that kind of pain that stuck with me for weeks and I often couldn't eat or sleep.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to find comfort, but all I wanted to do was throw up.

I had to keep myself together. I didn't have a choice. Jonathan knew I was weak. But the others, they haven't given up on me yet.

They are the reason I'm still alive.

The sound of whistling came from inside. I knew it all too well. It was my signal to go in. But my heart quickened and my breath choked me.

I pressed my back against the wall, paralyzed by fear.

My eyes were closed when hands wrapped around my shoulders, shaking me.

I opened my eyes and Jonathan was standing there. His mask was up and his lips were moving, but there were no words coming out.

I was out of it, drawn into a world that turned the night cold. I was standing but falling at the same time and there was nothing I could do about it.

My back hit the wall of the house. It happened a few times as Jonathan tried to hold me up.

There was no life in his eyes, but they've been that way for a while. And when I looked down, there was blood on his shirt and little droplets on his hands.