Nine-O-Clock

Nine-O-Clock: Prolugue

The sky was already pitch black by five pm. It was about to rain and no doubt that it was about to rain really heavy.
It was still winter, so no harm done.
He hated winters anyway.
He hated d iciness it gave; similar to the iciness of his heart that he felt sometimes.
His mother had raised him up to be good. Although, he sensed like most times, she was really scared of him. He didn't know why, but almost all the time he would awaken to the sound of his mother having a nightmare or nightmares.
He'd sit by her side, smoothening her damp hair away from her face, quietly comforting her and telling her to just breathe, stay calm and wake up, that she should follow his voice and wake up.
She usually did.
But every single time, it came up to one thing: she'd wake up screaming when she saw him seated beside her. The fear would be there in her eyes, like she just saw a...demon. And then she'd say a name. Not his. But a name that didn't sound English. And she'd say it in fright, sadness and a hint of plea in her voice. KahuNis.
He never knew why.
Never knew who or what that was cause his mother never told him.
He did find out who KahuNis was when he turned nine. The day his mother died. They'd been alone as usual. His mother had been sick for a really long time. He didn't know the cause of the sickness then. But the neighbors thought it was contagious so they all stayed away; and they, he and his mother, had no money to pay any hospital bills. So he'd taken care of her on his own. He did all what a nine year old could have done. But it wasn't enough. His mother was going to die on that cold, cold, winter morning. They both knew it.
So she called his name. She said it so gently, with so much love, no fear in her voice for the first time in a long time. He always knew his mother loved him, but there was something she was terrified of. That morning, she told him that morning. Of what he'd been born with. The demon. KahuNis. He was the demon. The demon was him. She gave him deeper information than that, information he couldn't understand yet. All he cared about that moment was that she shouldn't leave him. She was all he had in this life. What would become of him if she left? There was nothing he could do.
She left. Passed away in their quiet little house.
And he was angry. He'd never felt such anger in his life. Suddenly he didn't feel nine year old. He felt a building, surging rage that seemed to make him become bigger, stronger and more powerful.
Stepping out into the cold blankly, he looked around, his chest heaving greatly. His neighbors were in the warmth of their home, all happy and cuddly as if all was right in the world. They could've helped his mother, but they all ignored her. And that made his mother to leave him. From nowhere, he had the undeniable surge of hate, anger, making him want to see them all suffer the way his mother had suffered. Let them all suffer the same sickness his mother had. Let them die in pain, no medicine or treatment would save them.
And that's when he saw it. A figure. Almost shapeless and dark, looming over him. He wasn't afraid. Somehow, he just knew that was the demon his mother was talking about. KahuNis.
A slow smile spreading on his lips, he gave the demon a nod to go ahead with his wish. 
Two weeks later, all the six adults that lived on that block died of a strange, incurable illness.
                               ***
Nine winters later, when he just turned eighteen , he got down from the bus and inhaled deeply. Five pm. Sky already dark. It was about to rain. Again, he thought of how much he hated winter. This moving from town to town had to stop. He had to settle down somewhere. Remembering why he had to leave his old town now, he sighed. He hadn't meant to. He did what had to be done. It was going to be the top story on the news for weeks to come. As the usual, they'd never know it was him. He just hoped this town, Blue Lake, would be the one to finally make a difference to give him what he wanted. With another sigh, he whipped out his phone and put a call through to his new family that he'd be staying with.