Bang!

  A gun's muzzle flashed with blinding light as a bullet pierced into Ethan Cross’s temple. Time itself seemed to slow down as the end of his putrid life drew near.

  A name flickered in his mind. Arthur.

  Will you ever forgive me?

  Nothing. No pain, no sound, no smell. pure and empty nothingness.

  Suddenly, his eyes opened to darkness surrounding him as his back cried out in pain from the hard wooden floor. The hell? I died, didn't I?

  He tried moving his arms and legs, but he couldn’t—they were confined on all sides. A wooden coffin.

  He mustered what little strength he had and pummeled and banged repeatedly on the coffin lid. Wood splintered off and pierced into his hands yet no escape was in sight.

  Sudden pain erupted from his heart, as if his heart was caught in the devil's hand and slowly being crushed.

  Release. The pain vanished as suddenly as it came. A burst of energy rushed through his veins like a flood. Not painful, but soothing.

  As the energy reached his hands, two silver chains erupted out, lashing and demolishing the coffin.

  The chains disappeared as an influx of dirt fell onto him, making him retch with disgust. His hands waded through the dirt, throwing it out of the hole.

  He managed to move. Finally, just a little more.

  Light. The silver glow of the moon pierced his eyes as he rose. A tombstone rested above the hole he had just ascended from. Hugh Johnson.

  Why am I buried in some other guy's grave? Ethan thought as he looked around. A cemetery. Weathered and worn-down graves surrounded him on all sides. An iron fence enclosed the graves, with only one exit directly behind him.

  Ethan walked toward the exit, each step filled with fear and anxiety. It felt foreign, like he had never walked a day in his life before. This isn’t my body. And what were those chains?

  “Ethan,” a soft familiar voice called out from the graveyard.

  His hairs stood on end as he slowly turned his head . The names on the tombstones had all been replaced by a single word written in gray: “Repent.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ethan muttered under his breath as he quickly turned away. He looked up at the sky. Is this a second chance? You want me to beg, to say I've changed? …Fine. I'll play along—for him, at least.

  He stepped forward through the dirty graveyard ground and exited through the rusted steel gate, Trees surrounded him on all sides. He had no direction except a dirt road standing out from the grass. Seems to be normal. I should try out that chain thing.

  He stood still as he tried to figure out the nature of those chains. I felt a weird energy moving in my veins when it happened; maybe that's the key.

  He pictured the energy moving in the same way as before, from his heart and into his arms. The energy climbed until his palms and burst into two long silver chains. One for each arm.

  Ethan held the chains in his hands; they felt cold and heavy. He tried to swing them around, though they felt heavy, he could move them with ease. Each strike of the chain caused the ground to dent in. Strong. But what's the limit?

  Looking around for a suitable test, he looked at a tree. His hands moved swiftly as he threw the chains towards it. The chains pierced into the tree and latched onto it. He pulled as hard as he could. The tree shook violently. Ethan gasped for air as his strength ran out. It's certainly strong enough to defend myself with. He pictured the energy of the chain dissipating. The chain vanished completely.

  Ethan continued on the forest path, the scenery unchanging. The sound of loud crying broke through the silence, piercing into his ear. The hell? He looked towards the source. As his eyes pierced through the dark forest, a little girl came into view. She was rolling around and crying her eyes out.

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  Why the hell would a little girl be out in the forest alone by herself? Something's off.

  He stepped towards the girl. “Hello. What happened here? Why are you alone?”

  The girl looked at him with tears flowing down her face. “My mom went that way then there was a noise and she didn't come back.” The girl pointed to her right.

  Why would she be in the forest in the first place? This is either a trap, or her mother is stupid. Either way, I'm better off leaving. He turned around to leave. A vision flashed past his eyes. A dying man is held in his arms, a bullet wound sat on the man's chest. The man talks with barely any breath. “Ethan. Don't blame yourself; live on and please be better.”

  Be better. Could you not have wanted anything else? Fine, I'll try this once.. He sighed.

  “Stay here. I'll find your mom for you,” He said through clenched teeth. He moved past the girl while looking at her from the side of his view. The girl's mouth opened revealing a staggering amount of sharp teeth. As she lunged at him.

  What the fuck is that?. Ethan quickly moved back, trying to dodge.

  Pain. The girl had bitten and latched onto the calf of his right leg. Ethan summoned the silver chain and swung it with all his force towards the girl's head.

  A loud crunching sound resounds through the air. As the girl disappears. A fully black big monster whose four spider-like legs connect to a center torso with sets of teeth cluttered across its limbs takes the girl's place. One of its legs was crushed and spewing blood. The creature had no eyes or any face to talk of, just mouths.

  What in the fuck is going on? Is that a demon or something? Ethan held the chain in his hand tight. It doesn't matter what it is. My legs hurt pretty bad. I don't think I can run from it, so I'll just have to kill this thing. I'll be fine. There's only one reason something would resort to deception. It's weak.

  The creature marches towards Ethan, the mouths on its body biting rapidly. Ethan spun the chain around, gathering momentum, and then threw it toward the creature's injured leg. The creature staggered down, lowering its torso enough for Ethan to reach. He retracted the chain and threw it onto the creature's torso, ensnaring it. He grabbed both ends of the chain and yanked it down.

  The creature's legs stood upright, resisting the force. Amalgamated cries of children and beasts alike resounded through the entirety of the creature Ethan pulled with all his strength. “Just die already.” He screamed out.. A loud crack filled the forest as if someone had snapped a tree in half. The creature's legs split apart from the torso as blood gushed out of its every limb.

  See arthur thats what being good gets you a bite mark on your leg or a fucking bullet in your chest.

  Energy beckoned him. It called out to him, screaming for him to grab it. Ethan turned towards the source, which led him to the monster's torso. Energy pulsed out of it with each beat, bursting with power.

  Is it calling to me?

  Ethan puts his hand towards the pulsing mass. He could feel it even through the creature's skin. He pushed his hand in, piercing through the skin and grabbing the source, ripping it out. A purple deformed heart brimming with power. It felt slimy to touch as it almost slipped out of his grip.

  The hell am I meant to do with a heart? Maybe I can figure it out later. For now, I'll just keep it.

  Ethan limped onto the dirt path. This should lead to some sort of civilization.

  His stomach churned and growled with a gnawing hunger, but it didn't feel right. His mouth salivated at the thought of meeting another human. The hunger only grew and grew as he progressed on the path. Intense agony drilled through his insides like they were moving around and unable to properly fit. What is happening? Am I dying again? Whatever brought me here just to do this. Fuck you

  He collapsed to his knees. Something slithered under his skin throughout his entire body; it was a feeling he had felt before. The chains. They burst out of his hands and slowly start to slither around his body like a snake. His mind went blank; there were no more thoughts of god or death. Only one thing remained: hunger.