Voices in My Head

Chapter 9: Phantom

The first thing that stuck out to me was the white and red fox mask on the kid's face.

"This is Phantom, one of the elite members" Ashton said. His tall frame behind the desk made his calm demeanor even more intimidating. His rimmed glasses were polished and his suit precise, making him seem more like a butler than a gang member. He looked to be around 25.

Like before, Dante stood off to the corner, leaning against the wall, content on just watching the scene and not participate.

I nodded my head to the kid who just stood there. The kid was about a head shorter than me.

"Phantom, this is Raiden, the new recruit."

Phantom didn't move at all, which crept me out, but Ashton seemed used to his behavior because he moved on.

"There is a building 30 minutes away from here. On the outside, it looks like an office building, but there is a secret base underground. That is where Henry is."

Henry? Was I supposed to know who Henry was?

"Henry used to follow Leader until he betrayed the gang and joined a rival one."

He lifted one gloved-clad hand to push his glasses up on his nose.

"Raiden will hack into the building's security cameras and disable security. Phantom will pick the locks and enter the building unnoticed. Leader and a few other guys will be going along with you to see your skills in action Raiden and to deal with the rival gang."

Hold on. I'm supposed to fight? I let out a low breath. Be the perfect puppet, Raiden says. And in return, I get the peace I want.

Ok. I can beat up a few guys. I hardly think getting a few more scars will make any difference.

Wait. Something felt off. What's the point of going into their base? Doesn't the rival gang have the advantage of it being in their territory?

"I told you before," Dante began. I was surprised to hear him speak. "No one escapes me until death comes for him. Henry will know the consequences for betraying me."

His calm gaze bore down on me, as if he knew his enemies will fall and is biding his time for the right moment to swoop in for the kill.

"Let this be a lesson for you." No one can defy Death.

I met his calm eyes with my own determined gaze.

Don't worry, Leader. I know all too well how Death works. If I could defy Death, I would've done it a long time ago.

Ashton stood up from the desk, taking my attention away, making me lose the staring contest. And I was so close in winning. Yeah. That's a lie.

He handed me a sleek silver laptop. And I understood what to do. This was the only thing I was good at. The only thing I couldn't mess up.

I opened the laptop and found everything was already prepared. That's nice of them. All that's left was for me to hack it.

My fingertips flew on the keyboard and I couldn't help smiling a bit as I felt that familiar rush of adrenaline burning through my veins.

All I hear are the clicks of the keyboard as I type code after code. Eyes scan the computer screen as numbers rapidly appeared, line after line. I was vaguely aware of the presence of the other people in the room with me. When I'm in front of a computer screen, the world vanishes.

When my hands stopped moving, I finally register I'm done. I blink my eyes a few times as I return back to reality. I glance around; the people are silent, staring, watching.

I should've been used to attention since I get a lot of it from school. But I wasn't. And I could feel my nervousness threaten to talk a hold of me. I felt my palms grow sweaty. I forced myself to take steady breaths.

I handed the laptop to Dante (When did he get that close to me?) who accepted it while giving me a critical eye.

"Good" was all he said. There was something odd though. I could hear a sliver of amusement in his otherwise authoritative, cold voice.

But I could be imagining it. For some reason the voices started to grow in intensity and volume that I could no longer ignore them as background noises.

'Demon!'

'Devil!'

'Monster!'

'Murderer!'

But the strange thing was the voices sounded angry, not mocking. Also, their insults and cries doesn't seem to be directed at me.

I know it sounds crazy. Okay, to be honest, my whole situation seems crazy, like something out of a fantasy story or some maniac's twisted imagination.

'Always an outcast. Why live? They never cared. They never will.'

A voice stood out from the rest.

Not because it was the loudest but because it was the quietest. And there was something familiar about it.

Not to mention, there was something different about this voice. It wasn't quite like the others. When it spoke, I could see snippets of memories that were not my own.

'They never understand so why keep living this meaningless life?' Standing on top of the rooftop, feeling empty and numb. No moon tonight, allowing the darkness to suffocate everything in sight, the black abyss holding the world in its miserable prison for all eternity.

'I don't want to kill anymore.' Covered in red. The walls splattered with red. Even the ground was stained red. Why? Why was there red everywhere? He wrapped his arms around himself tighter, his frame trembling. He hated this. Why can he only see red?

'Human. I'm human too.' Staring at the lake, a hazy reflection looked back at him. But the loneliness in his eyes was clear.

Something was wrong. I didn't just see these memories. It felt like I was reliving them.

How?

'What's the use of getting back up again when the world pushes you down?'

The voice sounded like a male.

When I listened closer, I realized why it sounded so familiar.

It sounded like me.

The voice was mine. But the memories were not. A dream? But they felt too real to be something I made up.

'Finally, you're starting to get it.'

The voice didn't sound like a distant memory anymore. It sounded more prominent, like it was there right next to me. It sounded like me but more blank and emotionless as if it finally gave up. It was creepy and put me on edge.

What was going on?

'I thought you were smart, Allan. I'm you.'

But that would have to mean....

'Did you really think Raiden was the only one?' A humorless, hollowed laughed followed. 'Nice to finally meet you in person. My name is Len.' 

***END OF ARC 1***