Chapter 24: Chapter Twenty Four, Oliver The Monster

Oliver looked up as August rushed towards him, his face twisted in wrath. He moved to get up, but was too slow—August kicked him back down. 

 

“F-fuck…”

 

“O-OLIVER!!!” May screamed, starting to run over. 

 

“N-no, stay back!” He sat up slowly, staring August down. “Let him.”

 

August grabbed him by the collar and started to punch him. 

 

“OLIVVEEERRRRRR!!!!!!” 

 

August froze again, hearing those same voices in his head. He saw Marilyn and May—his Marilyn and May—standing with him. “OLIVEERRRRR!!!” they both screamed. But they weren’t screaming because he was in danger. 

 

They were screaming because he was the danger. 

 

August clenched his fists. “I’m…I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!”

 

“Oh fuck.” 

 

Marilyn burst over and shoved August away. “I WON’T LET YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!!!” she cried, punching him to the floor. 

 

He got up slowly, wiping the blood from his mouth, contemplating his next decision. He wouldn’t look Marilyn in the eyes. 

 

“Move…”

 

“NEVER,” she yelled, teeth clenched. “WHAT? YOU MUST BE A DEMON TOO, RIGHT??”

 

“I said, move.” His eyes stayed down.

 

“I’M. NOT. FUCKING. MOVING.” 

 

“...fine.”

 

Mairlyn stared at him, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for him to move. But he didn’t. Instead, Oliver watched as she whimpered in pain, clutching herself before falling to the floor.  

 

“W-what the hell!??” 

 

August knelt down to her, picking her up. “I said to move, Marilyn. I’m sorry; I had to do it.” He set her to the side, away from them. 

 

Oliver, meanwhile, had gotten up. 

 

“You can hurt me,” he said, “BUT NOT HER!!!” August ran to hit him, but Oliver was mad now. He grabbed his fist and dropped him. “Stop, now!!!”

 

August made a fist and punched the ground, shaking the floor violently. Oliver lost his footing and fell, while the rest of the kids in the cafeteria ran. 

 

In the Underworld, a servant of the Ruler approached him. 

 

“Hey Ruler, Oliver is fighting someone in his school,” he said, walking up to his throne. 

 

He sat up, bright eyed. “Oh shit, really?” 

 

“Yes, sir. Do you want me to do something about it?”

 

The Ruler thought about it, rubbing his chin. “Yes, I do. Get any humans there to leave the school immediately—we can’t have any of them seeing the fight.”

 

“Right away, sir,” he said with a bow. He left to the nearest phone and dialed a number. It rang twice before picking up. 

 

“Hello? This is the high school secretary, how may I help you?”

 

“Hello,” the servant said, “this is the Mayor’s assistant. I’m calling to inform you that the school needs to be evacuated immediately—all persons need to exit the school right away! It’s an emergency situation” 

 

She stuttered. “O-of course. I’ll inform the principal right away!” 

 

“Thank you,” he said, hanging up. 

 

She assumed it had to do with the earthquake, so she acted without hesitation. On the intercom, the secretary issued the warning: “All students and staff need to exit the building immediately! This is an emergency situation! I repeat, all students and staff need to exit the building immediately!” 

 

Oliver could see out of the corner of his eye hundreds of kids leaving the school, spilling out onto the lawn. 

 

“Wh-what the hell? What’s going on?” But he didn’t have time to worry about that. He turned his attention back to the fight. 

 

August’s fist was glowing, radiating a black flame of light. 

 

“What the…?” 

 

August threw a punch, and Oliver rolled out of the way, thinking he dodged it. But behind him, an explosion went off—BOOOOOOOMMMMM—and sent him flying. He crashed into a wall and hit the floor. 

 

As he lay there, struggling to get up, his arm felt like it was being cut with hot knifes. “SHIT!!” he cried, grabbing it in pain. Written across his skin in red read the words FIGHT BACK. 

 

Oliver stared at it for a moment, then faced August. He took it as a green light. 

 

May watched as the two of them stared each other down. The last time Oliver had that look in his eyes was when he was fighting Marco. 

 

Oliver charged his arm and ran towards August and hit him. But August didn’t budge. He didn’t even turn to face him. Oliver only hesitated for half a second before charging his arm again, hitting him with even more force. But again, nothing. 

 

Still looking away, August’s arm began to glow black again. He turned and hit Oliver, sending him flying again. He crashed through the floor, sending him to the first story. The trajectory of the impact caused him to slide down the linoleum until he hit a wall at the edge of a large hallway, surrounded by doors that each led to their own classroom. He looked down and saw that his stomach was burnt, and his clothes were blackened in that area. 

 

August jumped down through the hole in the wall and walked towards him, and Oliver struggled to get up. Everytime he did though, his stomach would clench, forcing him motionless. August got closer. 

 

He grit his teeth and forced himself up, fighting the pain. He looked up at August and started to limp towards him. As the blood pumped through his body, adrenaline replaced the pain. Limping turned into walking, and walking turned into running. He ran at August as quickly as he could, jumping and diving a charged blast into his abdomen. This time, he didn’t stay still. 

 

August fell to the floor, holding himself up with his arms. “Fuck,” he muttered. He was beginning to worry that this Oliver was more powerful than he anticipated. 

 

He started to get up, but was met with a kick to the face. Oliver kicked his head to the floor. Everything went dizzy. August got a pit in his stomach as thoughts started to crawl in his brain. Thoughts that threatened his thirst for vengeance. Thoughts that made him question himself. 

 

“N-no, August! Don’t give up!!!”

 

He opened his eyes. 

 

He stood in the center of a intersection. Buildings burned all around him into a darkened, hopeless sky. The smell of smoke and destruction consumed him. 

 

In front of him stood Marilyn. His Marilyn. The one he had known for so long. She was older—as old as his mom. Not like the one here. She held his shoulders urgently, her eyes filled with desperation. 

 

“Don’t you dare give up on us, August!!! If you do…all our hard work, it’ll be for what??” He looked into her eyes. He wanted to make things better. He wanted everyone to be okay. 

 

A single tear fell from her eyes. “Please.” 

 

August started to get up. 

 

Oliver tried to kick him again. Like a snake, August snapped his arm forward and grabbed his ankle. 

 

“Shit,” Oliver said. 

 

August twisted his arm and knocked Oliver to the floor. August moved quickly, jumping on top of him and punching him as hard as he could in the face. 

 

Something crunched under his fist, and Oliver’s nose began to bleed. He charged his arm and hit August in the chest, knocking him backwards into a wall. 

 

He needed time—he needed to regain some of his stamina. Oliver started to crawl away, getting up and trying to step out of the fight for just a moment. But by that time, August was already up. He struck Oliver down again. 

 

He needed help. 

 

“MARILYNNN!!!!” he cried out, hoping she’d hear him. 

 

Meanwhile, Marilyn started to open her eyes. “s-shit…” she mumbled, struggling to get up. Her thoughts were still hazy from the impact. She propped herself up and looked around. Where was August? Where was Oliver? 

 

She saw a hole in the floor. “What the hell?” She stumbled forward and looked down. It was a hallway. Down below, she saw August on top of Oliver as he lay there, struggling to get an advantage. 

 

A sense of urgency kicking into to her. She broke into action and jumped down the hole, catching herself as she landed. Fury burned through her blood. 

 

“Get…OFF OF HIM—NOWWWW!!!!!” she screamed. She burst towards them, summoning a dagger out of the summoning circle on her hand. 

 

She slashed at August, but he got up and dodged in time. She screamed and continued to swipe at him, back and forth, as he dodged again and again. 

 

Oliver watched her as he caught his breath. She was enraged. Her eyes looked different, like they were blood red. He couldn’t remember where he’d seen that, but didn’t have time to think. He had to help. 

 

Marilyn stabbed at him, but August dodged again. “ERRRRRR!!!” she screamed. She threw her knife at August, aimed for his chest. Oliver stood up to help her. But as he did, the knife stabbed into his chest. 

 

Marilyn gasped in horror. 

 

Oliver stood motionless, confused for a second. He looked down at the knife. His heart pumped loudly in his ears. He didn’t feel any pain at the moment, just a sting in his chest. Blood poured out through his shirt. 

 

“O-OLIVER!!!” Marilyn cried, horrified by what she’d done. 

 

Oliver fell to his knees. His breath was short. All he could do was stare at the knife. His mind stopped working. 

 

He reached out and touched the blood. As he pulled his hand away, it was covered in bright red. He started to realize what it meant. 

 

“s-shit…” he breathed as his eyes widened. He was shaking. 

 

“OLIVER, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T TAKE THE KNIFE OUT!!!” 

 

Oliver looked up at Marilyn. She was covering her mouth, her hands shaking. Her eyes were wide in terror. He could see the fear in her eyes. It was the first time he had seen her that scared. 

 

Naomi checked her phone amongst the group of students outside. She texted Oliver earlier, but got no reply. She looked up at the school building anxiously. She had been looking for him outside, but he was nowhere to be found…

 

Is he…inside the school, still…? 

 

Inside, August walked towards Oliver, blonde hair shadowing over his eyes as his fist glowed black. 

 

Oliver crawled back, shaking and coughing blood. “I-I…” he started, “I d-don’t w-want t-to d-die…”

 

August laughed. “The monster is scared,” he grinned. 

 

A tear rolled down Oliver’s face as August walked closer and closer. 

 

“AUGUST WAIT, NO!!!” 

 

Naomi jumped in front of Oliver, blocking him with her arms. She didn’t understand what she was walking into, but she didn’t care. 

 

“Naomi…?” Oliver sputtered. 

 

August stood there. His hair blocked Naomi from looking into his eyes. His expression didn’t change, though. 

 

“Y-you don’t want to do this, August—please!!” she begged. “Look at yourself! Y-you’ve completely lost it!” 

 

But she didn’t understand. She could never understand. She could never understand what she would tell him, what would become of her. She could never understand how her life ended. How he was fulfilling her dying wish. 

 

Naomi glanced back at Oliver, covered in blood and bruises. And that’s when she saw the knife. She looked at him in terror. 

 

“O…Oliver…?” she said, covering her mouth. “Are you oka—?”

 

August backhanded her with such intensity, she went shooting into the wall and hit he floor with a SMACK. Blood covered the wall she hit, and started to pool around her head. May, who had silently made her way down, ran over to her. 

 

Oliver just stared in shock. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t react. Everything around him felt rushed and slowed at the same time, like static. All he could do was watch. White noise started to fill his ears. He thought he heard voices. 

 

“Oliver, you’re completely useless!!” one yelled. 

 

“You’ll never amount to anything in life!” 

 

Everything around him started to melt away. Wh-where am I? he thought. 

 

“I HATE YOU, OLIVER!!” 

 

He couldn’t see where the voices were coming from. 

 

“LEAVE, AND DON’T YOU EVER COME BACK!!!” 

 

Fuck, where am I?? Oliver thought, looking around. He started to cry. 

 

“I-I’ll prove you all wrong—everyone!!” he heard his own drunk voice yell. 

 

Why am I seeing this???? 

 

“I’m sorry, Oliver…you’re just not worth my time. This is goodbye.” 

 

Everything built faster and faster. The voices started to play over each other—everything happening faster than he could process. In the midst of his confusion, he could sense something happening around him, but couldn’t see or focus or breathe. Then all at once, his vision was consumed with August’s face. 

 

“OLIVER, YOU MONSTER—GET UP AND FACE ME!!!”

 

SNAP

 

Something in Oliver broke. His patience. His understanding. His consciousness. 

 

The air around his body started to swirl. August took a step back. Everyone looked up as his body rose slowly, showing no sign of pain. The ground shook as it did. 

 

At first, August could only make out what sounding like a low groan. It’s head started to form a black ooze on one side, and it’s teeth started to change. 

 

What was left of Oliver screamed in agony. “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” he writhed, clenching onto his face. 

 

“OLIVER!!” May screamed, getting up to help him. 

 

“No!” Marilyn yelled, holding her back as she watched. “Let him be.”

 

“MARILYN, HE’S IN PAIN!!!” 

 

“Just for now!! Don’t worry!” she said. “He’s gonna be okay.” 

 

The screaming diminished as it completely took over. Oliver was no longer there to feel the pain. 

 

Marilyn smiled. “He did it quickly,” she said. “He’s going Berserk. I’m so proud of him!!” 

 

Silence filled the halls.

 

Oliver’s body stood there. One horn stood out of it’s disheveled hair, and one of it’s eyes burned bright violet. A dark fog surrounded it. There were still traces of Oliver’s appearance, but Oliver himself was gone. 

 

It smiled at August with a guttural growl, a purple energy forming around it. August stood, watching. 

 

“So, the monster finally comes out,” August said. He smiled. 

 

The monster looked down at the dagger, grabbing it’s handle. He pulled it out halfway, causing some of the blood to splatter to the floor. Then, slowly, pulled the rest of it out. The blood stuck to the blade, and grew as he continued to pull. The blood on the floor flew up and stuck to the blade. The knife was now a sword of shimmering blood. 

 

Marilyn watched, surprised at what she was looking at. 

 

He flipped the knife in his fingers. The blade went through his skin, but nothing happened. 

 

“Ha. What a lame sword,” August said. Dark energy formed around his fist. He reached into it and created a sword. 

 

He faced the monster that destroyed his world with a satisfied smile. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

 

“En guard.” 

 

They ran at each other, blades poised back, as they swung. The swords collided for a moment before they both pulled away. Oliver slashed at August’s neck, but he dodged. The blade cut through the wall, slicing it wide open like a wound and leaving behind a bloody residue. 

 

August looked back at it. “Wh-what the fuck…?” The monster laughed. 

 

Like lightning, August slashed at him, knowing the sword was strong enough to kill it. But just as quickly, he had snapped at the blade, grabbing it between its ragged teeth. He bit down, shattering it. August gasped. 

 

“TH-THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE!! YOU CAN’T—” 

 

He swung his blade at August, slicing across his torso. He screamed in pain, grabbing onto his chest. 

 

“IT BURNS!!”

 

He laughed and kicked August, sending him crashing through a wall and into a row of desks. 

 

As Oliver stapped through the hole and walked into the classroom, August looked into his eyes. They were different. The shine that was normally there…it was gone. All that was left was an empty stare and a wicked grin. 

 

August started to feel fear. The same fear he felt as a child. The same fear he felt every time he had met this monster before. 

 

“Get up, August,” he said to himself. “You trained for this day. You will win.” 

 

He got closer. 

 

“DON’T YOU GIVE UP!!!” he screamed. 

 

May and Marilyn stood near Naomi, assessing her. 

 

“May, we need to do something!” 

 

May looked down. Blood poured from her head and mouth. 

 

“Um, she looks fine to me.”

 

“Are you fucking stupid?!? Look at her jaw!! It’s not supposed to look like that!! And all the blood! She’s going to bleed to death if we don’t do something!!” 

 

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May thought about it. “W-would that really be a bad thing…?” She thought of a world without Naomi asking to take Oliver to the Arcade. 

 

“Yes!!” Marilyn scolded. “If she dies, Oliver is going to be heartbroken!! They’re really good friends!” 

 

“Uhh, fine!” May said. “But I don’t even know what to do!!” 

 

Let her drink your blood! the voice in her head told her. It’ll help her heal quicker! 

 

“Oh, o-okay,” she said. She bit down on her finger until she could taste blood, then put it in Naomi’s mouth. As her body processed it, her bones and wounds started to heal themselves. She still lay unconscious, but she was going to live. 

 

August stood up, blood seeping from his chest. The monster charged towards him with his blade, aiming to plunge it into his chest. August attempted to kick it away, but was met with too much force. The sword cut through his shoe and stabbed his foot, going completely through. 

 

“SHIT!” he screamed, trying not to give into the pain. His entire right leg burned. As he tried to steady himself, August was met with a hard elbow to the face, knocking him to the ground. 

 

“What’s wrong, boy?” the monster taunted, “S-scared?” 

 

August looked up at his mocking grin.

 

“Y-you monster…”

 

He laughed haughtily in response, looking down at a broken August. 

 

* * * * *

 

Oliver opened his eyes. 

 

It was dark. Dark and silent. And empty. 

 

He wondered where he was. 

 

He looked around in the cavernous darkness until his eyes caught a light in the distance. Not knowing what else to do, he walked towards it. 

 

As he got closer, he saw that it was a giant screen. There was motion on it, but he couldn’t make it out yet. 

 

Eventually he saw August on screen, battered and bloody. 

 

“Well hello, Oliver.”

 

Oliver looked. There was a large chair seated in front of the screen. Someone sat in it, but he couldn’t see who. But…something told him he had heard that voice before. 

 

“How are you?” 

 

Oliver didn’t know how to answer. “I feel…well, I don’t feel anything.” 

 

“Yeah,” the voice said with a lighter tone. It sounded like he smiled. Oliver took a few steps forward to see who was talking to him. Sat in the chair was a tall man, with black hair and red irises. He had a friendly air to him, and dressed modestly. 

 

“Feels nice, huh?” he said. “Feeling the worst pain in the world, and then…poof. Nothing. Not feeling anything. It’s just the best!!” 

 

Oliver looked up at the screen again, watching it for a while. “Is that me?”

 

“Well, you could say that, but it’s not really you,” he said. “It’s my pet—I’m watching him play. He’s just using your body.” The two of them watched intently as August was slashed down again and again from the eyes of Oliver’s body. 

 

The man leant forward excitedly. “He seems to be having fun.” 

 

“Wh…what…?”

 

He looked over at Oliver. “Oh, you mean his name? It’s Rage,” he explained. “He feeds off your rage, Oliver.” 

 

Oliver shook his head. “W-wait, who the hell are you?? And why are you here?!?” 

 

“Oh, my bad,” he said. “I forgot to tell you—my name is Zack.” 

 

And then it hit Oliver: The voice. This was the voice in his head, the one that that spoke to him and told him how to beat Ralph. This was him. 

 

He continued. “As for why I’m here…I’m not sure, honestly. I was just put here. All I do is watch this screen every day. Trust me: it gets boring when you sleep. I can see your dreams, though.

 

“Anyway, Rage is…well, he’s the closest thing I have to a best friend, right now. I mean, he tried killing me once, but let’s just say I taught him not to do that again.

 

“And yeah, I’m not sure how or why I’m here, but I actually really like it here. Your life is weird, man!! And you live with humans!? That’s so fucking cool. Humans have always been so—”

 

“Dude, I only asked you two questions,” Oliver interrupted. He walked closer to the screen and looked up at it. It was like he was watching himself live through his own eyes. “So your…’pet’...it has my body right now, right?” 

 

“Yup.”

 

“Well, how do I get my body back?”

 

“Well,” Zack started, “there’s that.” Oliver followed where he pointed, and saw a something that looked like a suit. “That’s Rage. His body, at least.” 

 

“Why does Rage look like a suit?”

 

“Well, so you can get in, obviously.” 

 

Oliver looked at it. Unbeknownst to him, it looked exactly like what his body had become. 

 

“It normally looks more human,” Zack explained in the background. Oliver took a closer look at the suit. 

 

* * * * *

 

“M-MONSTER, WAIT!!!” August screamed in the classroom, crawling back away from him, “I b-beg you, let me live!!!!” Tears started to fall from his eyes. 

 

“HAHAHAHAHA!!!!” he laughed. “AW, LOOK AT THE BABY CRY!” He grabbed August’s collar, holding his face up to his. “WHAT? YOU WANT YOUR MOMMY??”

 

August flinched, pathetically trying to kick out of it’s grasp. 

 

He chuckled. “FINE. LIVE. CLING TO YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE.” He let August drop to the floor, and turned to walk away. 

 

August got up, slowly scowling as he built the energy up in his hands. “BIG BANG!!!” he screamed. A black ball of energy started to grow, bigger and bigger until 

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

…

 

After the smoke cleared, the monster still stood. 

 

The school was destroyed beyond recognition. Marilyn and May had protected Naomi from the worst of the explosion, and crouched next to her a distance away. 

 

“O-Oliver…” May mumbled. 

 

The monster turned to face Oliver. He was almost knocked out from the energy the attack had took. He walked over to him. 

 

“You fucked up, kid.” 

 

Zack watched from his chair. “Oh shit, I think he’s going to kill him…”

 

“W-what?!?!!” Oliver saw August’s broken body on the screen. He was right. 

 

He ran over to the suit, struggling to put it on. “COME ON!!” he yelled, trying to pry it open. It fought back, resisting Oliver’s strength. 

 

August’s head bled, staining his blond hair and covering one of his eyes. He staggered as he tried to stand. He had to do this. He had to try. He could still do this. He… had to try. 

 

The monster got closer. 

 

“FUCK!!” Oliver screamed, trying to rip open the suit with all this strength. He could feel the pressure building in his arms. 

 

Just as August steadied himself to face the monster, he threw his fist forward, and stabbed through his chest. 

 

August was in shock for a moment. He looked down at his chest—at the monster’s arm—and screamed. 

 

He laughed. “Let’s see what’s inside here.” 

 

Oliver screamed, using everything he had to try to rip the suit open. It was starting to give. 

 

The monster yanked his arm back, and with it, August’s heart. 

 

May looked away and Marilyn cheered. 

 

Both August and the monster looked at the heart in his hand. Then he looked at August. 

 

“Such a beautiful thing, isn’t it?”

 

“YES! I GOT IT!!” Oliver cried, ripping the suit open and placing himself inside. The second he did, he opened his eyes. 

 

There, in his two blood stained hands, was August, and August’s heart. 

 

He was too late. 

 

Blood poured from the hole in August’s chest, and leaked out his mouth. He looked at Oliver. 

 

“k-kill…me…already…” 

 

Oliver shook his head in panic. His heart raced and his eyes burned. “N-no, I…I didn’t mean t-to…”

 

August winced, unable to move. “Kill…m-me…f-finish…what…you…started…” 

 

August’s vision blurred together. He could make out a bright light in the distance. He struggled to speak. 

 

“So…this is how it all ends…huh? It’s funny…I wasted my whole life training for this very day…and then I go and die…” He mustered what tried to be a laugh. “All for what?” 

 

His eyes watered. “...what a waste of time…”

 

Oliver held him tightly, not knowing what do to or think or say. He just stood there, shaking. 

 

“August?” asked a voice in the light. August looked. A hand reached out for his. “Come to me, August. Take my hand.” 

 

He cried, struggling to do so. He used everything that was left in him to reach for it. As he grabbed it, the light shined brighter and brighter, until all that was left was white. 

 

He opened his eyes. 

 

“Where…am I?” he asked. He looked around. He was in a field of flowers, underneath a blue sky. His wounds were healed, and all the blood was gone from his clothes. He realized he was still holding the hand that reached out to him. He looked up to see whose it was. 

 

“M-m-mom…” he said, starting to cry. 

 

She smiled tearfully, holding her arms out to him. “August!”

 

She wasn’t the Naomi he had started to know—the young teenage reporter. This was his Mom. 

 

He pulled into her embrace, weeping bitterly. “Mom!” he cried, “I-I’m so sorry, Mom!! I-I didn’t do it! I c-couldn’t!!!” 

 

“It’s okay, August,” she cooed, holding onto his head like she used to. “Everything is okay. I’m so happy to see you!”

 

“I missed you so much,” he sobbed. “I was so alone!! I-I-I didn’t know what to do when you died! I did everything I could—but it was all just for nothing!! I failed you, Mom! I’m sorry!!!” 

 

She consoled her sobbing child, trying to mend his broken soul. “No you didn’t,” she said. “All that hard work, it wasn’t for nothing, August. You’ll see it soon—what you did is so important.”

 

August buried his face in her shoulder, crying all the tears he couldn’t cry before. 

 

“You did good, August. I’m so proud of you. But right now, I think you owe someone an apology.” 

 

He pulled away from her slowly, sniffling. “Huh? Wh-who?” 

 

“Him,” she smiled, nodding behind him. August turned around to see a man, his back facing them. 

 

August walked over with his mom and tapped him on the shoulder. 

 

“Huh?” he said, turning around. It was Oliver. 

 

“Wh-what?!??” 

 

“Oh, hey,” Oliver said with a smile. He was older than Teenage Oliver, but his eyes had the same shine. 

 

“What are you doing here??” August asked. 

 

“Well, I’m dead.” 

 

“WHAT??” he yelled. He didn’t understand. “B-but, if you’re dead, then…who’s been destroying our world??” 

 

Oliver shrugged. “I don’t know. They do look like me, though. But I’ve been dead for years.”

 

August was floored. All this time…all those years…

 

He continued. “All I’ve been doing is watching out world from this screen, waiting to see if something good happens. But…it’s always just the same.” 

 

August tried to understand. “Then…you’re not the monster?”

 

“Nope. I’ve been dead.”

 

“Oliver!!!” cried a woman’s voice. Oliver looked over, and his eyes lit up with a smile.

 

“Ahh!!!” he screamed, running over to her. He picked her up and hugged her, twirling her around. 

 

“Wh-who is that?” August asked. 

 

“It’s Marilyn!” Oliver said. And so it was. She and Oliver embraced each other. 

 

August couldn’t believe any of this…it was too good to be true. Was…was this how it ended? Was this how his story ended?

 

…

 

Oliver held August’s cold, bloodied body. He started to shake, and tears started to fall from his eyes. He ached all over, and his mind hurt in a way he hadn’t felt before. Something sat in his stomach like a boulder. 

 

“I-I…didn’t mean t-to…”

 

Marilyn walked over to him. “Oliver?”

 

His left eye started to twitch. She winced and took August’s body out of Oliver’s arm, setting it on the floor. He still held his heart. 

 

“Oliver, a-are you okay?” 

 

“I d-didn’t mean to…” he repeated.  

 

“Oliver, it’s okay,” she said uneasily. “He…he tried to kill you, Oliver.”

 

But he didn’t move. He just stared. 

 

Marilyn put both of her hands over the heart, taking it from Oliver’s grasp. The blood on his hand was starting to dry. 

 

She opened a portal and took both the heart and August’s body to the Underworld. May sat in still silence and watched as Oliver hardly even breathed the entire time she was gone. 

 

When she came back through, she found everything just as she left it. 

 

“Come on, Oliver,” she said, grabbing his arm. “Let’s go home now.” 

 

He started to cry again, hands shaking violently. “I didn’t mean to do it,” he said. 

 

“O-Oliver…?” Naomi asked, stirring from her sleep. 

 

“Shit!” Marilyn muttered. No way she could explain away any of what happened here. 

 

“What happened to the school?” Naomi asked. 

 

“Fuck,” she said under her breath. “You know what, I’ll explain later, just come with us. May, open another portal.”

 

“O-okay…” she said. 

 

“Woah,” Naomi said as May opened a portal right in front of her eyes. 

 

“Oliver, let’s go!” Marilyn said, grabbing his arm. He was still shaking, looking down at the blood on his hands. She tried to snap him out of it. “Oliver! OLIVER!!!” 

 

“Wh-what happened to him?” Naomi asked. When no one answered, she asked, “Is…that a horn?”

 

Marilyn hesitated. “Yeah.” 

 

“Is…that a stab wound…?”

 

Marilyn looked. The wound from her dagger was pouring blood. She went white. 

 

“O-oh shit…” Her voice shook. “M-MAY, GR-GRAB HIS LEGS!! WE NEED TO GO!!” 

 

Oliver stared down at his shaking, bloody hands. 

 

“I…I didn’t mean to…”

 

End of chapter 23          

[Half Demon, Even Demons Can Be Heroes chapter one in comic is coming soon, I will post a update soon when the first chapter is out, follow my Instagram @halfdemon_official]  

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