Gregg, tall and thin like a praying mantis, with messy hair and round glasses, was considered a freak at school for his hobby of collecting insects. He was timid and always avoided people's gazes.
Even the school bully didn't want to bother someone who spent all day with dirty bugs.
Night had fallen, and Gregg, dressed in a black formal suit, returned home dejectedly.
He still didn't have the courage to attend the dance, walking almost to the school before turning back.
Recently, one of the containers holding his beloved insects had been left open, and he woke up with his face covered in red welts from bites.
He couldn't attend the dance looking like this, especially not to be seen by the person who haunted his dreams.
In the bright living room.
Smack!
"Is this why you're always holed up in your room, Gregg?"
Seeing her son return, Gregg's mother's expression was grim. She threw a stack of photos and several videotapes onto the sofa.
The photos of Lana, his classmate, were taken from various angles, day and night, on her way home... it was like something a pervert would take. The videotapes contained the same kind of content as the photos.
"You can't just barge into my room without my permission!"
Gregg yelled angrily, frantically gathering his treasured belongings.
"How could you do this? You know, Lana's aunt, Niall, and I are in the same club. My son is taking secret photos of her niece all day. How am I supposed to face her?"
Gregg's mother became emotional as she spoke, close to tears.
"I can't let you continue like this."
She had been too negligent, too respectful of her son's privacy, and hadn't paid enough attention to his actions, which had led to him becoming this way.
Secretly photographing female classmates, keeping insects in his room all day, becoming increasingly gloomy and withdrawn.
"Tomorrow morning, I'm calling the military academy."
If things continued like this, she couldn't imagine what her son would become.
"Absolutely not! If I leave, what will happen to my insects!"
"You should have gotten rid of that strange hobby long ago. Tomorrow, I'm throwing out all your insects." Seeing her son yell at her without hesitation over those bugs only made her more agitated.
Bang!
He quickly returned to his room and slammed the door shut.
Gregg looked at the butterflies, beetles, and spiders collected in the jars and bottles. His expression calmed, and he spoke with an obsessive tone, almost as if addressing a lover.
"You are all so beautiful. No one will hurt you. I'm taking you somewhere safe."
The soil in the containers where the insects lived emitted a beautiful pale green fluorescence.
This was from a meteorite he had found a while ago. He had broken it up and added it to each jar and bottle. At night, it glowed, making them even more beautiful.
He had also sent a glowing butterfly as a gift to the girl he secretly admired.
"I wonder what Lana's expression was like when she received the gift. Too bad I didn't get a picture."
After packing everything, Gregg once again wore that obsessed expression he reserved for insects.
He packed all the jars and bottles in the house into the car, planning to take them to the abandoned treehouse from his childhood.
This way, he could also hide there and avoid being sent to military school.
Click!
"Gregg, where are you going!"
The old car started, and Gregg quickly drove onto the road. Ignoring his mother's shouts as she chased after him, he sneered and headed straight for the treehouse from his childhood.
However, not long after leaving the small town, his car hit a pothole, causing a jolt.
Crack!
Under the force of inertia, the jars containing numerous insects toppled to the ground and shattered.
Now free, the insects, carrying the meteorite powder, swarmed inside the confined car, attacking Gregg as he drove.
"No, don't bite me!"
The pain was like needle pricks, unbearable for Gregg. The steering wheel swerved, and the car crashed into the grass by the roadside.
The glowing green insects frenziedly bit at him.
"Ahhh..."
Gregg's screams echoed far into the deserted countryside, eventually fading until he lost consciousness.
...
In the school auditorium, after a terrifying experience that left everyone weak-kneed and trembling.
Everyone was still in shock, drenched as if they had been caught in a downpour. The dance could no longer continue.
Someone called the police, and the town's officers quickly arrived to investigate. Upon hearing that children had nearly been attacked, students' parents rushed to pick up their children and take them home.
The silent night was shattered. In an instant, the school entrance was almost completely blocked by ambulances, police cars, and cars belonging to parents who had rushed over.
"David, Clark!"
Jonathan and Martha received the news and drove over, but couldn't find their two sons in the crowd.
"Chloe, did you see them?"
Martha asked the young girl, who had visited their farm before and left a deep impression on her.
"I'm not sure, Aunt Martha," Chloe replied, sitting on the school steps with a blanket draped over her, accompanied by her father. "They should be fine."
"Dad, Mom, we're here!"
As the couple searched, Clark called out.
"Clark, where did you go?" Chloe asked the question that had been bothering her for a while.
"I... David and I didn't have dates for the dance. Halfway through, we found it boring and went out for some fresh air."
Clark and David walked over and saw Chloe, as well as Pete's parents, were present. Clark scratched the back of his head.
He wasn't good at lying and seemed a bit nervous.
But no one thought much of it; many people had been terrified that night.
"Are you two alright?"
Jonathan glanced at his younger son's newly changed clothes, patted him on the shoulder, and asked both sons.
"I'm fine, Father," David smiled at his concerned father. Clark also replied that he was fine.
Jonathan looked around, subtly signaling his worried wife not to ask any more questions for now.
The couple knew that the attacker had suddenly disappeared. It was highly likely their elder son was responsible.
Furthermore, both sons had changed into clothes that should have been neatly folded in their wardrobes at home, indicating they had definitely gone through something.
"Are you Clark Kent and David Kent?"
"Yes, sir."
"Where were you when the incident happened?"
"We..."
The town's police officer came over to take a routine statement. They didn't suspect Clark and David, who had left midway. Based on the eyewitness accounts from others, their slender build was vastly different from the attacker's.
Besides, it was still unclear whether it was an attack or a prank, so there was no need to make a big deal out of it for now.
Given that the attacker had terrified everyone in the building before suddenly vanishing, it was most likely the latter.
"What a shame, tonight was supposed to be a wonderful evening for the children, Jonathan."
"It's good that the children are alright."
After a brief chat among some parents, everyone took their children home.
...
"So, it really wasn't a prank after all?"
At home, Jonathan and Martha sat on the sofa, looking at their two sons.
"Someone who could generate electricity?"
The couple exchanged surprised glances.
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