Seeing Red

Prologue

All he could hear now was his sneakers scratching against the concrete sidewalk. The traffic buzzed by, yes, but Matt mostly tuned it out. He let his mind wander as he continued to walk, thinking about all the things that led him up to now. Funnily enough, he couldn't remember quite a large chunk of his life. It was childhood, teenage years, a significant blur, and then adulthood.

God, adulthood was the worst. He was lucky he could land himself a job; Putting so much effort into his own appearance everyday allowed him to gain fundamental skills as a hairstylist. It wasn't too bad, he only ruined a few people's lives. Just a few.

Edd was continuing to do his freelance art, and Tom was merely living off the funds he acquired working in the fast food industry. They had all gotten used to the apartments fairly quickly, although years had passed by now since they first got them. Ever since... he came back.

Matt shuddered slightly. He didn't usually care when thinking about him, but as he grew more mature he grew more wary of the things he did. He seriously blew up their house. Matt's entire room was decimated. Nothing remained except charred pieces of drywall, ash, and a half-broken staircase. None of his personal belongings came with him to the apartments, causing him to have to start from scratch and get new self-portraits...

And it was all his fault.

Feeling a sudden wetness on his cheek, he glanced up. There were hardly clouds, it wasn't raining. Oh, he thought, that's me. He wiped his face on the sleeve of his green overcoat. Instead of his baggy hoodie, he went with a simple turtleneck today, as well as jeans and his sneakers. Deciding his mind had enough time overthinking, he looked around.

The street was dimly lit by lamps, some buildings in the city having their lights on while most remained dark. Those buildings were typically businesses that relied on the evening people, like bars and such. He wasn't the type to go to such places. The only reason he was out walking this late in the evening was because he wanted to take a walk and escape from the cramped apartment complex. The whole thing wasn't nearly as big as his old bedroom! He despised it with a loathing hatred.

Suddenly he realised his mind was wandering again, physically shaking his head to get the thoughts out of it. He decided to look up slightly at all the people he was passing by, as opposed to his slight slouch and aimless stare at the sidewalk. He saw groups of friends, other adults just trying to make their ways home, and on the other side of the street, he noticed someone walking their dog. How nice.

Just as he was looking back to his side of the street, a smell hit his nose, causing him to stop in his tracks. It was the familiar smell of cigarettes. Why is this stopping me, he questioned in his head. Tons of people smoke, it's not unusual! With that mindset fresh in his head, he finally willed himself to take a couple more steps, before stopping again in front of an alley. He couldn't keep his mind off it... why was the scent familiar when he doesn't know anyone who smoked?

Then, it hit him.

Not a realization or anything, no. This was a physical object. Something small and sharp had pierced the skin just below his ear next to his jaw, causing him to flinch at thr sudden pain. It sent a ringing noise through his head, and Matt stumbled into the alley, leaning against a wall. He tried reaching up to yank it out of place, but his hand wouldn't move. Something had ahold on it. Looking up slightly, he could barely make out a figure in the dimly lit area. In what he presumed to be his mouth, a cigar was blazing away, embers falling off the end.

A sudden force hit him square in the face, and everything faded away...