Obscenely Noxious Cruise

CHAPTER 1

BANG BANG!

Gunshots fired within the bank. Those that didn't know what was happening screamed. Those that did were silently panicking, hoping not to draw the attention of the masked gang that had entered.

"Oni, with me. Xerxes, get everything."

With a nod, the henchmen followed his lead. Their leader was a slim man who did not look at all like he should be wearing the armoured vest or holding the sub-machine gun. His suit barely fit and looked like it was an afterthought. Apart from the obvious oddness, such as the gun and armour, the weirdest part was his eyes. In fact, all of the gang seemed to have odd eyes. This man had purple eyes; Oni eyes were bright red; Xerxes were a deep orange. They didn't seem to have anything in common; no marks or crests; no weird baseball bats.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. You may refer to me as Sebastian, if I ever let you speak."

He paused, letting that sink in. As he turned to Oni, he had a sadistic smile on his cruel

face.

"Why did nobody laugh at my joke, Oni? I thought long and hard about that one."

Before Oni could answer, Sebastian whipped around to face the scared crowd. After scanning the crowd for a second, he pointed at a middle-aged man, probably a banker, based on his outfit.

"You there, stand up. Why didn't you laugh at my joke? Doesn't matter either way, I don't like you."

It was as simple as that for Sebastian. That was all the reasoning he needed to shoot the man in the foot.

Oni wasn't sure he would ever get used to that type of scream. The scream of a man who is both in pain and no longer sure he will ever leave this situation alive. Luckily, his mask showed none of this. It would never show his distaste for Sebastian's methods. It would never show the hate for his old friend. It would never show his cowardice; his inability to stand up for himself; his self-loathing. In fact his favourite thing about the mask was the it's amazing ability to hide a list of character features that he would never have to explain to anyone. All anyone would see was his unblinking red eyes

"Now, Oni, I think it's time we had some fun. Which game would you suggest this time? Eye-spy or red light, green light?"

Without waiting for the answer, he continued.

"Yep, you're right Eye-spy was boring last time. Red light, green light it is."

"Okay, everyone, stand up!"

After his earlier outburst, people were quick to follow his orders and not upset the crazy man. The banker was weeping but still stood, albeit with the support of a younger man.

"Good, good. At least you're quick to follow instruction. Hey, Oni, do you remember that hospital we went to and only half of them stood. We were so upset to shoot so many people and have less friends to play with. Though I will admit hide-and-seek would have been too easy if they had those wheelie chairs with them. They made so much noise.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand. For those that didn't have a childhood, this is how it works. I will say 'Green light,' and you will slowly walk towards the door. At some point, I will say 'Red light,' and you will become completely still. If you move at all during the red-light section, we will shoot you. However, if you reach the doors, you are free. Are we good? Great!

"Green light."

There was a confused shuffle as people were unsure if he was serious. The man who had been shot was basically being dragged along by his new best friend. Surprisingly, to Oni, it was an older couple leading the pack. Once a quarter of the group started towards the exit, the others got the message.