Darkness Rising part 2

The next day is the same. All the judgmental looks he gets, the whispering they do behind his back. Why did he even go back to school?

The next few days get worse. The rumors are becoming unfounded. He overhears them, saying all kinds of disguising shit about him. That he's a pedophile, or he gets off to animal porn. 'Why is this happening to me?'

The following week. Daren sits in his digital art class working on a project. His mental toll has been affecting his art grades. He usually does well in this class, but he finds that his creativity is suffering. He looks down at his backpack that sits next to his feet. He brought his pistol today, unloaded. He doesn't plan on killing anyone, but if the thought were to cross his mind. He did bring some bullets.

"Daren!" The teacher says. "See me after class." His arts teacher Mr. Lopez has always been kind to him. He probably just wants to discuss his recent performance.

After the class ends and everyone starts leaving the classroom, Daren strides up to Mr. Lopez to see what he wants to talk about. "This isn't something that I normally do." He says to Daren. "This isn't high school. I don't care if anyone passes my class. I only care about doing my job to the best of my abilities. I see how talented you are. But I have to ask, are you doing the best that you can do?"

Daren is stunned. He didn't expect to be lectured by any of his teachers. 'Doesn't he know about the rumors? Why does he think I've been doing poorly?'

Mr. Lopez takes a deep sigh after a few seconds of silence. "If you don't want to talk, then you can leave."

The following week. Daren feels like a wild animal that is being pushed to its limit. A caged one that is ready to fight back and escape its torment. He brought more bullets this time. He even put a full magazine in and loaded a round in the chamber. 'I can't keep doing this. I'm going to end up killing someone.'

He manages to get through the school day without an incident. He walks inside his parents' house. His mother tries to greet him, but he ignores her and walks straight to his room. He pulls the pistol out of his backpack and sets it on his counter. He stares at it for a moment before picking it up again. He feels the cold steel in his hand, gripping the gun tightly. He places the barrel under his chin, ready to pull the trigger. 'Something isn't right.' He sets the gun back down, wondering why this happened to him. No matter what happens, he won't go down without a fight.

His phone vibrates. It's a text message from his friend Alex asking if he wants to go drinking at a bar. He's been turning him down lately. Ignoring him as best as he can. He can't let his friend see him like this.

He turns off his phone and turns on his television. He opens up one of the many anime streaming apps and turns on his favorite anime. 'There's always time to watch a show with fan service in it.' He wants the life the main character in the show has, a harem of women. An overpowered character that gets all the girls. Although, he never understood why they clung onto him when he treated them all like shit.

After watching a few episodes, he turns his TV off, grabs his gun, and heads outside for some fresh air. There are fewer people walking the streets at night. The less, the better. He ignores his mother once again as she tries to strike up another conversation before he leaves. 'She has no idea what I'm going through right now.'

Daren makes the long walk towards Central Park. He just needs to clear his head. At least that's what he tells himself. He rumiges to find that he accidently brought one of his pocket knives. 'This is perfect. A gun would be too loud.' Daren stops and shakes his head, wondering why the thought of killing a random person crossed his mind. Control.

'Yes, that's it.' I'll feel like I have some control over my life again.' He's watched many fictional characters kill on TV all the time. Secretly wondering what it would be like. What it would be like looking into their eyes as the light fades away. Then he could do whatever he wants with their body. 'NO. Stop it.' Daren tries to push out the evil thoughts. 'I'm not that kind of person.'

As he steps into Central Park, the thoughts come flooding back into his mind. There's no doubt about it. Thinking about killing someone makes him feel extatic. A wave of dopamine washes over him as he imagines stabbing someone to death. 'I want to hear them scream. I want to see the look on their face.'

The sun may have set, but the park doesn't close until 1am. There are always people here, someone to stalk, to prey on.

He heads to one of the restrooms to calm his nerves. His hands are shaking too much from the excitement. He splashes some water on his face. 'You can do this.' He says to himself while looking at his reflection in the mirror. 'You want this.'

He takes a few deep breaths before heading for bathroom exit. Two men and a woman walk in before he gets to the door. "Well, look who it is." One of the men says. Daren recognizes the man from school. He's seen the other two who are with him hang out on a regular basis. They're nothing but trouble. Rich college kids who are a part of a fraternity that looks down on everyone else. Bullies.

"Up to no good." The tall and muscular guy of the group says while showing off the baseball bat in his hand. "A little birdy told me that you like touching little girls."

Daren clenches his teeth. 'These rumors are getting out of hand.' Daren notices that the other two have weapons as well. The other guy weilds a switchblade. The girl is holding a hammer. If Daren pulls his gun on them, it would be in self-defense. Even if he shot them. There's nowhere for him to run. Killing them would be his only recourse.

He goes for the gun that is still in his backpack. The guy with the lunges at him, holding the bat over his head and down onto Daren. He manages to dodge out of the way at the last second. The bat smacks the sink, breaking off one of the metal parts. He prepares to swing his bat again, but Daren manages to pull the gun put and points it at him.

His hands start shaking as he stares down the sights, aiming at his target. They all take a step back. Darens wipes the sweat off his face with his shirt. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME." Daren yells. He's not sure why he hasn't pulled the trigger yet. This is what he wants. So why is he hesitant to kill?

The man weilding the switchblade runs out the door, and the rest shortly follow his lead. Daren is still holding the gun up, just to make sure they don't come back inside. After the adrenaline wears off, he sets the gun on the sink and falls to his knees. His hands cover his face as he sobs. "I couldn't do it. Aaaaahh." Daren screams into his hands. His emotions turn into anger. "I'm so fucking useless."

The bathroom door opens again. Daren peeks through his spread fingers to see who it is. A tall figure, dressed in all black. Sporting boots, a cloak, gloves, a plague doctor mask, and a hat. Daren doesn't know what to make of this thing. But then he sees what it's holding in its right hand. The severed heads of the two lackies that were following the lead of the baseball bat guy. Holding them by their hair. The man and woman's dead eyes and open mouths may be the scariest thing he's ever seen. Blood is still dripping, and tendons are dangling from their neck wounds.

It takes a few steps towards Daren, who is in too much shock for his body to move and to grab the nearby gun. Its boots hit hard on the tile floor. For a moment, Daren thinks he's going to be next. But it stops and turns towards the sinks, placing a head on each side, and it turns on the water to wash the blood off its gloves. After its finished, it dries them off with some paper towels.

It turns its head quickly towards Daren with robotic precision. Daren's whole body starts shaking as he thinks it's going to come after him this time. It ends up turning around and walks out the door.

It comes back inside before the door closes, dragging the man who was holding the bat. He's tied up and has duck tape over his mouth, preventing him from speaking. The man struggles to break free from his restraints after seeing what happened to his friends. It drags the over to Daren and leaves without saying a word.

Daren notices a note taped to the man's chest. He picks it up and reads it. 'This man is responsible for spreading the rumors.' Daren has so many questions for the figure wearing the black doctor costume. But right now, he has a chance to take vengeance on the person who wronged him. That's what this is all about. 'That person is giving me the chance to kill this man for what he did to me.'