The Deletion - 20th Hour

I fell headfirst onto something soft.

A rough hand pulled me up and I felt something hit me on my face, repeatedly.

I think I lost consciousness for a bit in there.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying under a... tree?

I turned my head left and saw someone sitting beside me.

I closed my eyes and opened them again.

Something seemed to be on my face. I sat up, trying to feel my face.

As I touched my nose, I felt pain.

'Oh. You're awake.', a voice said.

The voice was familiar.

I turned. And there she was, my mother.

'Mom?'

'Yes, Kid.'

'What are you doing here?'

'Well. I had to come help my child.', she said, smiling.

'What happened to my nose?', I asked.

'That was Michael. He punched you until you lost consciousness. I tied him up and put him in the corner.'

She pointed to a corner where I could make out a person tied down.

'Where is Sarah?', I asked

'Oh Enough with the questions. Let's eat something.'

We walked towards my home, leaving Michael under the tree. I could see my Father and my Sister at the table, eating. They were laughing at some joke Dad had cracked.

Mom was stroking my hair, caressing my head in a loving way.

I walked into the room.
The meal sure looked delicious.

'I need to make a quick phone call... you guys carry on', I said, running to take my phone.

A strong hand caught my arm.

'Sit Down and Eat, Son'

My Father never said anything like that to me.

'No Dad. This is urgent. I need to call someone.'

'Listen to your dad, Kid. Sit Down and Eat.'

'What did you call me?'

'Son...', my Dad said, clearly not understanding.

'Not you Dad. You, Mom.'

Dad looked at Mom. Mom looked at Dad.

Mom smiled.

Suddenly, the entire room went dark.

'Not so easy to fool, are you, little Champ?'

Someone was walking towards me, talking. They seemed to glow a bit.

'I tried so hard to get this done. And I have been waiting for so long. You are definitely not going to come in between me and my goal. Not now. Not so close.'

'Who are you?', I screamed at the darkness.

'Don't you understand me... Kid?'

A beam of light fell on the person.

It was Michael.

'Michael? You?', I screamed, shocked.

'Yes Kid. I should have just given your Mom character to a Slave. They would have done it better', he said, glancing behind.

'Who was that then?'

'Vin.'

A bit of light played behind Michael, revealing a shackled Vin.

'Vin?'

'Yeah this dumbass can't even play a character he's known for so long properly.'

Vin looked ashamed. And sad. And Sorry.


'Where am I? What is all this?'

'Well, you clearly am in my Tertiary Space.'

'Why are you doing this?'

'You'll know soon', he said, walking away, Vin following him.

As he walked away, the space started to light up bit by bit.

I was in a room. No windows. Nothing. Just a bed. And me. I couldn't even see a door.

Curiously, there was a table beside my bed. On it were a jug of water, some biscuits and a black book.

I took to read it. The pages were empty.

I was about to close it when a glowing paragraph in the first page caught my attention.

'What water is to Earth
To Men this is
Far Great too Many Men
Lost too much of this
For Wine it may resemble
To Drink it a Folly
Many a Man have tried
Countless, paid the price
Not to drink, a lesson
To drink, not human'

Oh Great. A Riddle.

I suck at this.

I touched my nose.

That bastard really did punch and knock me out.

Wonder where Sarah is.

I sat there, turning the pages of this blank book. It seems, I am destined to turn into a Partial.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to pee.

I got up, heading in a direction I hoped I'd have something to pee in.

And I noticed a mirror on the wall.

There was dry blood caked on my face.

After peeing, I washed my face.

The entire basin was covered in red droplets.

Much like Wine.

I suddenly got the answer to the riddle.

I turned to the mirror. In one hard punch, the entire glass came crashing down.

My hand got all bloody.

The glass repaired itself, somehow. What world was I in?

I ran over to the book, opened it and wiped my blood on the first page.

The gleaming lines now read,

'What a sacrifice, O Noble One
Not in Vain it shall
Find you shall all you seek
To destroy the darkness
You did not see approaching'

Suddenly the page went blank.

And below it, words started appearing in black, black ink.