Steven's Perspective:-
It was 11 a.m. I realized it was time for the math lecture. As I opened my bag, which was already in a very poor condition, I took out my 2nd hand mathematics textbook. As I could not afford to buy them myself, I borrowed them from a senior. We began our maths lesson when our maths teacher, Professor Henry Weber, entered the room.
The professor was about to start a new topic today, and everyone except for me was done with him. As the professor started to teach it and explain the concepts, I began to copy them in my old notebook, which was already full, yet I was using it by writing on the cover and between the lines. As the professor halted to drink some water, I observed the other students. None of them looked as if they were interested in the lecture. Some of them were chatting around about their new PS 5's and the new games they were recently playing on them. Others were sleeping and drooling on their desks, while the remaining students were stalking outside the window at the playground and were deciding on teams to play basketball with as the next period was P.T.
I too converged my focus on the topic after the professor resumed his teaching. After about 15 minutes, the bell rang, which meant that the period was over. Everyone was eager to rush down and enjoy their game period. Professor Weber collected his things and was about to leave when I raised my hand and asked him if he could explain the last concept again, as I was unable to grasp it properly. All the students made the 'pchhh' sound irritated as they wanted to play. Every one of them looked at me with a horrifying face, signifying, "You are dead." The professor, without hesitating, explained the concept.
After the explanation, everyone rushed down the staircase to the playground like animals freed from cages. I remained in the class as I had no interest in the games period. I started saving the exercises based on the topic taught in the maths period. I had another completely normal day at school too. The school ended at about 12:30 with the biology lecture. I packed my bag and left for my home.
My house was located on the outskirts of Racoon City. I lived in a small ramshackle house near the Jade Palace, the house of Dutch Arthur, who was considered to be of the sacred bloodline of the Audin Dynasty, which ruled over the Continent of Sinauli when it was a monarchy. The King today has only a handful of powers but is still considered a chosen one, and the majority population of Racoon City also considers him as their supreme leader despite the establishment of democracy. I, being 16 years old, worked as a worker in the Palace part-time.
I still remember the day when my mother left me on the doorsteps of the Jade palace under the custody of her younger brother, who happens to be Prince Arthur himself, which makes him my uncle technically. It was a rainy night and she always kept saying that she would return one day to take us home far away from here. The Royal Family treats me as an outsider and calls me a cursed child, probably due to the dark scars on my face, which I inherited genetically from my father. At least I was told so by my mother. I never got the privilege of seeing my father. My mother told me that he left us immediately after my birth. When I would press down on the topic, she would divert it.
I would get to eat the stale and the leftover food after the family's dinner. They weren't even ready to pay my school and book fees. That's when Professor Weber came to the scene. He saw my potential and agreed to sponsor me till whichever level I wanted to study, but he put forward the condition that he would only sponsor me if I managed to score 1st rank in each grade I went through. That turned out to be my ultimate motivation to study. I wanted to be a scientist and uncover the mysteries of the universe.
At about 1:30 pm, I reached my ramshackle house. I only had a termite-ridden bed, a mattress that was in rags, and some of my books as my belongings. I immediately changed my clothes and entered the garden of the royal palace to do the daily chores. The Palace was a magnificent place, having 4 pillars made up of marble and a huge nucleus with a Wunderbar dome placed just at the top of it added to its beauty.
It was located on a large, lush green pasture, with trees planted in a very planned way. My first duty today was to water the smaller plants, which were located in the backyard. I first went to the storeroom located just inside the gates, picked up the manure and the water can, filled it with water, and started towards the backyard.
When I was about to reach the backyard, I heard some voices speaking something in a foreign language. I had heard of all the 36 languages spoken throughout Sinauli, but this one didn't fit under any of them. I raced towards one of the trees and saw him behind it as I judged that they must be intruders.
There were two of them. Both of them were hooded with white cloaks and had some weird face masks on. They were chatting when one of them suddenly stopped and started looking at the tree I was hiding behind. As he and the other guy advanced toward me, my heartbeat started getting faster. I had read something about these types of people, who most certainly looked like terrorists, mostly from the neighbouring country of Vangeance, which happened to be under a dictatorship. I assumed that they were going to kidnap me. I decided to run away, but it was too late to do so. In that condition, I passed out.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a room. Besides me was sitting the head butler of the Jade family, Mr Reiner. "What happened to you kid? I found you lying unconscious in the backyard," he said as I recognized that I was lying in his room. "It was nothing sir, I have some faint memories but they might be my hallucinations," I answered still feeling a bit dizzy. "It's okay kid, you must keep your tail between your legs while you are here, these royal brats consider themselves as supreme and above everyone, if they had seen you lurking around and having a nap in the garden, I just can't imagine what they might have done to you." Mr. Reiner told me.
After resting a bit, I took Mr Reiner's leave and thanked him for his hostility. His room quarters were just beside 'The Royal Esszimmer or the Dinning room, I walked through the passage connecting the Esszimmer and Mr. Reiner's room, every corner of the palace was made of pure Jadestone, green all around justifying its name. I reached the end of the corridor and saw the Royal Family having their Dinner. I approached the Table and greeted his highness, Prince Arthur, and the Royal Family which included his Wife [my aunt], and his parents[ my grandparents] they paid the least attention to me and ordered the Royal Chef, Mrs Ross to give me the leftover food. She handed me the leftover food and I left.
I ate the food and sat in the Royal Garden, which was just outside my antiquated house. I started looking at the stars. It looked exactly like the Famous painting of an Even more Famous painter, Vincent Van Gogh, 'The Starry Night.' I have always wondered about the incident which happened to me in the evening. Who were those people? Was it just my hallucination or was it a reality, I was wondering about the same when I fall asleep.
When I got up the next day, I realized that I slept on the lawn itself and also I was getting late for my school, I got up that very instant, went to my hut, packed all my books and to take a bath went to the well just behind the Jade Palace.
The area used to be swampy and the air there was moist with fog all around, which was natural here in Raccoon City. I picked up the bucket in the storeroom and advanced towards the well. I released the bucket down with the help of the pulley. After filling the water when I was trying to pull it back, I sensed someone pulling it in the opposite direction towards itself.
I was damn sure that it was being pulled because the walls of the well were drenched in algae and there wasn't any chance that the bucket or even the rope might have been constrained by irregularities or stuff. I continued my struggle to pull it back but the force was so immense that it had started to pull me towards the well this time. I tried my best to hold on tight as I didn't want to lose another bucket. The tug of war continued till the mysterious force had pulled me to the brim of the well that's when I lost control as I sensed more force acting on it, and I was pulled into the well itself.
I nosedived into the water and tried to get out of the well but it was of no use as the walls were covered by algae which avoided me to use friction for my benefit. When I was thinking of another plan to get out, I felt a hand pulling me inside the water through my leg, and that is when I panicked, I tried my best to evade it and stay on the surface but it got the upper hand, I was pulled down in the well, still thinking what the heck is happening with me, I soon fainted when I reached my limit to hold my breath. The last scene I saw before wiping out was a hooded figure similar to the ones I saw the previous afternoon, pulling me by my leg into the depths of the well which now seemed endless...