"Kenny… Kenny!!"
A soft, gentle voice called out, growing louder as Ken's eyes slowly opened. Being greeted by a brilliant light blinking slightly as he tried to make out his surroundings, the light shining warmly as if welcoming him, the light rays softened by a shade just above him.
"Oh... so soft," he mumbled, still blinking. Digging his head deeper into what he presumed to be a pillow one with just the right firmness.
"Smells nice, too, like mom's perf—" he cut himself off as his mind raced; he was sure this perfume in the air was the exact one his mother wore.
His eyes were still hazy. The damned things hadn't cleared up after so long of him being awake. He moved his hands to wipe his face, and finally, he could see clearly. Slowly, he put down his hands, too scared to find out the answers to the questions that raced through his mind. His eyes slowly locking onto a familiar face gazing down warmly at him, a smile that drew you in, blue eyes as deep and vast as the oceans that surrounded Pangea. He wasn't under a tree. It was his mother.
"Mom?" Ken whispered, his voice shaky, as tears welled up in his eyes blurring his vision he wanted to look at her face more, fighting the tears back, his efforts failing as they fell freely, without a care in the world not paying heed to his pleas for them to stop. He leaned into his mother's lap, letting it all out, crying uncontrollably.
"Stop! Stop crying, you WEAKLING!!" He cried, digging his head deeper into his mother's lap, begging his tears to cease.
"My dear child… Kenny" she called a name only she called him.
But then she paused. The air around them started to grow hotter; his tears evaporated as they poured out, until the air became so hot that his body seemed to have lost all its reserves.
Her hands once softly caressing his back, now pressed down. Her once-soft, calming lap turned into hard, brittle bones, Ken collapsing forward as they broke from his weight, falling face-first onto the ground. The earth beneath him slowly morphed into a mushy mass as it absorbed him into itself, glowing with unbearable heat.
The once brilliant light drastically dimmed into a blood red, its once-warm rays twisting into something hostile and uninhabitable. Ken squirmed helplessly, sinking deeper into the burning ground, unable to move a single part of himself, feeling trapped in a container set to detonate.
"There... is no Heaven!!!" his mother screamed, her form now totally devolved into an unrecognisable monstrosity. Her voice, once gentle, had distorted into a twisted dehydrated screech. Pushing Ken further into the burning landscape.
His entire body felt like it was on fire. When he opened his mouth to scream, molten earth rushed in, searing his insides; his screams muffled and unheard.
---
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
Ken jolted upright in bed, writhing in panic. He felt like he was burning alive, but there were no visible flames. His sheets were soaked in sweat, evidence of the hellish nightmare he'd just gone through. He collapsed on the bed again, out of breath, his face pale.
"Ha!... Ha!... Ha!..."
His chest moved erratically, still unable to regulate his breathing, due to the shock that still clung to him like a fever.
"No heaven?" he muttered, wiping his face with the hem of his nightgown. The temperature regulator was on, yet the heat persisted. He brought his skinny hands to his face, and he tried to recall the dream in full. It made no sense. None of it did; the events of the dreams were simply surreal, an anomaly. In the seven years since losing his mother, he had never once had a dream about her, and now, the first dream and this happens?
BOOM!
A loud explosion echoed from outside the mansion, jolting him upright again and out of his thoughts, fear washing over his face at the unknown source of the sound.
Ken hurried to the window and yanked the curtains open. He blinked in disbelief; He recognised the figure standing outside.
---
Meanwhile, outside the mansion — moments before the explosion...
Thud!
"What was that? Did you hear that?" one guard asked his partner. Both were part of the New Metro Estate security, patrolling a dimly lit area inside the mansion walls. Small flower bushes lined the estate's outer wall.
"Are you seriously asking me that?" the second man scoffed.
"I thought you guys were joking about my hearing. No, I didn't hear anything. Might just be your ears. Go get them cleaned," the partner snapped, hissing at the end of his reply, the first guard chuckling at his pathetic attempt at a comeback.
"Ha! Seriously though, we could stand right behind you yelling your name, and you still wouldn't hear it," the first guard laughed, unable to keep a straight face while he spoke, patting the back of his partner.
"Yeah, that's true. I mean, I just jumped in and he didn't hear a thing — he might as well be deaf, right?" a voice came from behind them, laughing hysterically at its statement.
"Hahahaha! So true. I mean, even the other day..." The first guard trailed off. His brain finally caught up to the situation; he had heard a noise earlier... and now, someone was behind them a voice he had not heard before.
As realisation hit, he quickly moved to shove his partner to the ground in panic.
Thud! Clatter!
The partner fell to the concrete ground, his transceiver falling from his belt as he did.
Shlick!
A warm liquid splashed down his skin.
"Shit man! Hey! What was that for, asshole? I mean, I was already not taking the teasing we—" The second guard stopped. His partner's body fell in front of him, the top half of his head severed cleanly, slowly sliding off of the rest of his body, blood pulsing out to the ground, the whole world seemed to slow around him, lifeless eyes locked in a blank stare. His mouth hung open as he watched the life drain out of his partner's body, his mortality dangling before him.
Horrified, the remaining guard looked up at the killer stealing his resolve, prepared for the worst, only for it to immediately shatter as he recognised the person standing bloodied before him, running his right hand through his hair while playing with a dagger in the other, spinning it on his finger.
Hands trembling, he desperately patted for his handheld transceiver that had recently fallen. The device screeched to life as he finally got a hold of it, the sadistic killer just watching him squirm around.
"Hel—!" his voice immediately ceased. His body froze, as his eyes locked in on the glimmer of a dagger shining under the moonlight, ripping through the air straight towards him, he swallowed a large gulp of saliva, resigned himself to his fate, and closed his eyes.
Ding!
His eyes opened after a few seconds of nothing happening. In front of him stood a large, broad-backed man, now holding the dagger that had been hurled towards him.
"District Head...? Sir?" the guard gasped, eyes welling with tears.
"Thank you! Thank you for saving m—" he cried out as he scurried to his feet
"Get the fuck out of here and go protect Ken! I'll handle this joker!!" Justin barked, his gaze fixed on Desmond the entire time.
He took a deep breath as steam flared up from his body, the surrounding air surrendering to the intense heat as flames erupted from Justin, consuming all his clothing. The heat was so intense that even untouched grass around him lit up in a blaze without the fire on his body even coming in contact with them. Without another word, the guard turned and ran to carry out his orders.
Justin turned to face the intruder.
"Now, Joker, who dares enter my domain?" Justin growled, the flames clothing his body reducing in intensity as he spoke, revealing the ground around him charred from the impact.
"Give me a name before I end your existence," he added as the flames roared back to life ferociously, almost surpassing the height of the large mansion a massive wave of heat blowing through the environment; ornamental flowers lining the walls burst ablaze, the sound of glass shattering on the top floors echoing melting as the shards fell to the lower floors. with a slight squeeze, he crushed the dagger in his hand. The shards sizzled and melted as they hit the ground.
Desmond, sweating bullets now, forced a nervous grin.
"It was pretty easy to get in if you ask me," he said, raising his hands as if to surrender, the smell of flames flaring in his nose.
"I mean, I just scaled the walls to get here. Would you believe me if I said I was invited... to test your security?" he squirmed, tossing the second dagger away, the sweat dripping faster now; he was definitely in trouble. He'd tried to contact Jack a while ago, but it seemed the flames were interfering with the signal.
Just my damn luck…