1 Chapter 1 Who said I want her?

BANG! BANG! SPLASH!

BOOM!

The sound of a pair of claws or something familiar slapping hard and stamping heavily across the ground while splashing liquid on the way could be heard from behind. Once in a while, something bursts and gives off a stream of dim light.

TICK-TOCK ... TICK-TOCK ... TICK-TOCK ...

Millo swallowed hard. He could sense someone or something was very close to him now. He could even feel a few drops of liquid or that sort of thing landing on the back of his neck.

BANG! BANG!

SPLASH!

TICK-TOCK ... TICK-TOCK ... TICK-TOCK ...

Probably just a few metres behind?!

'And what will happen to him if that thing catches up?!

Is it a mutated beast or monster?!

Will he be torn into pieces?!

Will he die a painful death?!'

Millo didn't dare to look back nor slow down the slightest bit. Instead, he ran with unusual 'passion', embracing the space ahead of him whole-heartedly, as if Audrey Hepburn was standing in front of him, waving and smiling merrily in that famous red dress.

Well, a reasonable person can figure out that that was all imagining. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. After all, what else could a 300 pounds 5.5 feet fatty do?

Had it not been for his vivid and joyful imagination, that thing would have caught him up long ago.

Luckily, his positive attitude paid off. Just a few distances ahead, Millo could see a light beaming constantly. It was getting brighter and nearer every second. The shape of a door was quickly forming just below it.

Closer!

Nearer!

Inches by Inches!

'Finally!' Clenching his fist, Millo shouted internally.

"Ouch! Ahhhhhhh ...!"

BANG!

Millo suddenly sat up, fully awake, his mouth still wide open. He looked even paler in the reddish moonlight that passed through leaves hanging from the huge tree outside the dorm window.

He puffed and panted as he tried to take in more oxygen. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and slowly they slid down his chin, landing on the quilt.

'What the ...? Why am I having this nightmare again and again?!' Millo swallowed hard while his mind went roaming.

You see, it's normal to have nightmares once in a while, everybody has bad dreams, but it doesn't sound right when you dream the same nightmare every night for 30 days in a roll, does it?

'No, of course, it doesn't!' Millo thought.

Fortunately, his roommates had already moved out of the dorm. Yesterday was the last day of school and he was the only one left, so he didn't need to face ugly faces or explain again and again that he wasn't having nightmares because of being anxious about the coming Distributing Test.

Millo looked at his watch. It said 5.59. Almost 6 o'clock in the morning. He put on his extra extra extra large-size T-shirt and went to the bathroom.

The sun was popping out of the horizon when Millo went down the stairs, heading for the school canteen.

"Guys, look who is approaching! Welcome, OUR FAMOUS FATTY BASTARD!"

A brown-headed young man with brown freckles clapped his hand in an exaggerated way. At these words, the others surrounding him roared with laughter.

Millo knew this boy too well to take his words seriously. Ferary Fry, one of his biggest enemies in school. Millo didn't want to make trouble at the moment, so he kept his distance and stood at the edge of the ground in front of the school gate.

Lots of boys and girls Millo's age had already gathered here. They were waiting for the bus heading for the Distributing Test Center.

"So, I heard you enrolled too? Are you mad or are you insane?"

Ferary didn't want to leave Millo in peace. He came up with his gangs. Voice mocking and annoying.

Millo rolled his eyes inwardly. He didn't want to behave like a girl but his temper was rising a little bit. Why couldn't these flies just leave him alone?! All these years of torturing weren't enough already? Was he so smelly that he somehow attracted them? He remembered having a shower this morning.

Oh, God! He hates trouble, yet trouble does love him.

"Looks like our famous fatty bastard isn't mad, oh poor dude, he is DEAF and has a problem with his eyes too!"

Another teenager in a green and silver suit curled his lips and murmured as if whispering. Yet his voice was in fact loud enough for Millo to hear quite clearly.

Millo knew that Fordy Malls meant it.

"What do you say, hon?" Fordy turned his head to face a gorgeous girl, who was standing between him and Ferary.

She was about 5.8 feet tall, long-legged and amazingly good shaped. She had red curly hair so long that it grew past her butts.

"Why ask me? You know how much I hate him, son of a bitch and a bastard."

The girl spoke straightforwardly, but not directly to Millo. Her words were strong yet her voice remained emotionless. She didn't even give Millo a side glance while speaking. It was as if Millo was too dirty and vile that looking at him would make her vomit.

Millo couldn't help but narrow his eyes and blinked. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

Millo had known Sicilia since the day of his birth. They were born on the same day in the hospital. Their mums had been really close friends. Their dads had grown up in the same community and had even worked in the same department.

And they had been like brothers and sisters until seven years ago, the day their parents died.

"Oops! I forgot! Sorry, hon." Fordy apologized insincerely and then looked Millo's way.

"See, dude? She has no affection for you. Don't look at her like a dog wagging its tail begging for attention, you bastard."

Without warning, Fordy closed in and punched Millo on the jaw, and then his stomach, sending Millo's head up high and then forcing him to fall on his knees. Ferary's slap followed closely, landing on the back of Millo's head. Sicilia held up her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned.

'Who on earth told you I desire her attention? You idiot!'

Millo bent down in pain, moaning in agony. How keenly he was to refute!

Millo's nose was now bleeding like a running tab. His stomach was turning upside down. His back was burning as if on fire. He had sensed the hostility and Fordy's fist coming but he was indeed too fat and not flexible enough to dodge.

'What a shame!' Millo laughed at himself quietly. Tears were forming in his eyes due to constant pain.

Before he could regain strength and get on his foot, another deadly punch sailed its way through and ended on his temple, sending his head downwards.

'SHIT! NOT AGAIN!' was Millo's last words before he bumped heavily into the ground.

Looking down at the motionless Millo, Ferary took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands thoroughly. Meanwhile, Fordy took out a bottle of perfume and sprayed it on himself from top to bottom.

People watched while Millo was being bullied. They have been too used to this circumstance to even raise an eyebrow to show the slightest bit of surprise. Not everyone enjoyed it though, but again no one came up to stop it. Now that it was over, they naturally turned back to what they had been doing.

Unbeknownst to the people around him, Millo wasn't fully unconscious. Although his vision was blurred and he was still dizzy from the punch on his temple, he could still feel the rocks beneath him, so he lay down still, allowing the pain to ease.

The ground in front of the school was full of students by now, every now and then, people passed by, narrowly escaping stepping on him, but it didn't matter. In fact, all Millo wanted was this ignorance, so he could relax and calm down.

Unlike Ferary, who liked teasing Millo for pure pleasure, Millo knew that Fordy hated him because he thought Millo loved Sicilia and longed for her, given that they were so closed to each other when they were younger.

But that was years back. And how was it possible that he wanted Sicilia?! The truth was he detested her as much as she hated him.

For most people, Sicilia was attractive, but to him, Sicilia was a long-lost acquaintance.

Ever since Sicilia, along with her aunt and uncle dropped in to curse his parents, calling them betrayers right in his face, and taking all the photos and documents his parents had kept in the study without an explanation, he had vowed to himself that he would never ever forgive her and her family.

What he really missed were the old days when his parents were still alive, and things were normal, and the future looked promising. Not this dump present.

[BEEP!]

Just as Millo regained strength and was about to open his eyes and pull himself up, this beep sound invaded his ears.

'Am I hearing imaginary voices?' Millo wondered.

Had the punch on his temple been so severe that he was suffering hallucinations now?

[Host successfully detected]

[Nightmare System Activating]

[59 seconds left]

[59, 58, 57, … 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

Millo's eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, yet no sound escaped.