Beyond darkness

Chapter 2

Izumi Eru was struggling and feeling awful. He needed his medication, or else he feared he would go insane. Izumi began to scream for help, but the dark sky and quiet street offered no response. As a teenager diagnosed with schizophrenia and other disorders at a young age, he felt like no one would want to help him. Two men walked by, and Izumi tried to limp up to them, but they started toying with him, making fun of him.

Frustrated, Izumi kicked one of the men in the guts, causing him to scream, and the other man hit a brick wall. Exhausted, Izumi sat down to catch his breath when two officers arrived. The officers pointed at Izumi, accusing him of causing the commotion, and arrested him despite his attempts to explain his disorder.

Izumi was handcuffed and thrown into a cell, where he heard officers speaking negatively about him, calling him names, and picking on him. In a fit of rage, Izumi shouted at the officers, and they didn't take kindly to his insults. Despite a shadowy figure urging him to harm the officers, Izumi banged his head on the wall, wondering when the madness would stop.

Izumi, found himself in trouble when the officers arrived to restrain him. They saw him as a dangerous animal and were ready to subdue him. Izumi jumped on one of the officers and started punching and kicking him until another officer intervened and restrained him. Despite his efforts to break free, he was unable to do so. Suddenly, a voice interrupted their struggle, telling the officers to let Izumi go and not lay another finger on him. The chief officer had arrived and recognized that Izumi was schizophrenic with other disorders that made him act out. He ordered the officers to take Izumi to the hospital, keeping him restrained until he arrived there.

Izumi asked why he was being treated this way and acknowledged that he needed help. He felt insane and didn't understand why he went berserk like a criminal on steroids. He giggled nervously, making the officers even more uneasy. Izumi was then escorted to an ambulance, where he eventually fell asleep.

When he woke up, he felt someone holding his hand. It was Noelle, his close friend. He tried to speak, but she shushed him, telling him that he had hurt himself again. She scolded him for being careless, but then she smiled at him and teased him about never learning from his mistakes. Izumi tried to smile back and told Noelle that he enjoyed her company and that it made him feel joyful with good emotions. Despite being hooked up to his medication, Izumi still worried about seeing things and going crazy.

As long as Noelle was there, Izumi didn't have to worry. "Izumi, I hope you get better. I have been here for about an hour, rest well and let me know when you are discharged," Noelle said before leaving. Now alone in the dark room, Izumi found it boring and empty. The lights were off, making it even more unsettling.

He tried to tuck his blankets onto his body, but it was freezing cold. He turned his head to the window and saw that it was snowing in mid-April. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and assumed it was the guard outside. However, the door opened and the officer who walked in looked shocked and froze in time. Izumi greeted him, but he didn't respond. Blood was gushing out of his lower back, and he collapsed to the floor. A robed figure walked into the room, wearing a creepy mask and red robes. The figure pointed at Izumi with arms held up, and a beam of light shot out from their hand. Izumi panicked and shouted, "Why do you have such military-grade items!?" He tried to dodge the beam, but it reflected off her and hit the figure, sending them flying. Izumi quickly ran out the door, but it was too late. The figure picked her up and threw her into the wall.

Izumi coughed a good amount of blood and looked pathetic as the figure held him to the ceiling, making it difficult for him to breathe. Izumi knew that this was the end when another beam came out of the figure's arm. He needed to find a way to distract them fast. With all the oxygen left in his lungs, Izumi tried speaking,

"He...y, what do you want from me...?" The red figure was silent,

but his voice got their attention. "We...need... you.."

Suddenly, Izumi delivered a powerful kick to the crotch, causing the figure to drop him. He pushed the figure into a number of wheelchairs and ran as fast as he could to the hospital doors. Despite the red figure having trouble getting up, Izumi knew the murderer would try their best to find him.

After reaching his apartment, Izumi locked the door and jumped onto his bed, feeling extremely tired. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, only to see a news report that "6 Officers were murdered tonight in front of Jerry's clinical hospital. Please be safe as the suspect has not been detained." Izumi was shocked and wondered why the red figure would do such a thing.

He turned the TV off and tried to catch some sleep. However, after 5 hours, he heard knocking at his door. Half-asleep and panicking, Izumi thought, "Why would someone knock at my door at 3 AM?" He feared it could be the red figure and looked through the peephole but saw nobody. After freaking out even more, he opened the door and said, "Please don't kill me."