They Called Me FIVE

LANCE

His skin shed off. I'm looking at a twisted tall slender man with blue color as his skin, eyes so big and bulging their black eyeballs might pop out any second. There's not a trace of a bouncer burly guy who round out to us.

Seven suddenly came up in front of me. Her arms spread out as if she's protecting a child (I think it's me) from a very bad guy trying to kill me.

"Five, take Magnus and Sam away from here." She said.

"What?" The bones I raised suddenly crumbles from the spot I bring them to life to.

I couldn't move. From the shock.. And the strange horror taking over me. There's something about this man that made me shiver and tremble like a little kitten in the side street.

"Five!" Seven shouted in my head. "Move. Now!"

My legs function like a robot recharged of battery life and I scooped the weak Sam and the child Magnus from the ground.

I swing them over my shoulder. Turn to the right to get out of the place. Magnus protested.

"Lance no! Inside! Go inside! Jesper is there. We need to find him to bring me back to normal."

My mind is muddled, confused. Seven shouted at me for the first time. She left me in charge to take care of Sam and Magnus.

I can't fail her now. I kicked the door open.

What greeted me is their living room. Lots of posters from famous Hollywood movies are plastered in the walls. Most of them I recognize, crime movies, serial killer movies, zombie gore movies etc. A flat tv screen movie is placed at the top of the cabinet with VC tapes magazines and DVDs. Sam in my shoulder lay unconcious. He's already at his limits in his invisibility blessings. Magnus didn't fight me or insist that I should put him down. He knew his small size can slow us down. Which is totally not true. Yet I prefer like this. I prefer they stick close to me.

I walk to the corridor that leads to the kitchen on the left and bedrooms to the right. The counter is surprisingly clean. No dishes stacked in the sink, the untensils and pots are arranged in the cabinets. But what's strange is the open fridge. Believe me, I almost doubled over when I see the garbage bags stacked in every shelves with a finger or skin sticking out.

Human chopped bodies. Left to freeze in the fridge for preservation. There's a trail of blood, footsteps and handprints coming from the fridge down to the bedroom.

I poke my head in. It's in a state of dissaray and horror. The ceiling, the walls, the cabinets, the bed covers, all of it have blood splash like juicy fruits sprayed on them. This is where they kill their victims.

I see the underwears of women scattered on the bed and floor. Clothes cluttered around like filthy trash, but covered in blood.

How come nobody notice this?

I head out, did not shut the door and turn around the corner. A flight of stairs ascends to the second floor. I begin taking them. My feet groan at the first step.

Somebody from the upper level moves. I see a silhouette of a man coming to me. I hear the door creak open. Footsteps echoing, shadow getting nearer. I hold my breath. Magnus also did not move. I feel him stiffen in my arms.

The crooked glasses man appeared at the top of the stairs. His face frowning, eyes glaring, arms folded at his chest.

"What are you kid? Some thief bringing unconscious brats?"

Another figure came up behind him. It's Jesper's doppelganger.

"Ooh, fresh meat." He licked his lips, a small piercing pearl glint at his tongue under the flourescent light.

"Will they do for dinner?" Crooked glasses asked his son.

"Yep. Especially the little kid. His bones are still soft. Chewy in our mouths."

"How should we cook him? Grill? Stew?"

"I'm thinking stew. I'm sure the soup made from his incarcerated bones will taste refreshing."

"Ooh, love that."

Magnus shifted in my arms. It's insane to think he's scared to be eaten by these guys. In my side, he whispered.

"This dudes are nuts. Put me down. So we could fight them together." I lean my lips closer to his ear.

"Sorry, can't do that. No matter how much you look at it, they'll take you first, put you into hostage, capture Sam and me then kill us on the spot. So, no. You're staying in my arms."

"Then what do you propose we should do? Let you take them on? You just tried to raise three hundred bones out there. You barely have some blessings left."

"Says who?"

"Come on, you heard me. Stop overestimating yourself."

"I'm really not."

"You are. You keep on stretching your limits. Trying to prove your better than anyone - in terms of exercising your blessing. Did you see what happened before? You're lucky that you are Death. Able to draw on strength just by the life force you absorb around you. Same as Seven. But what about Sam and Jesper? There's no way they can do that. While this may be possible for now but as time pass on, this will backfire on your body. Someday you will find yourself destroyed slowly by Death."

"Magnus stop scaring me." I said.

"I'm really not."

Too absorb in our conversation we did not notice crooked glasses guy and his son disappeared to one of the rooms and came back with sledge hammers and axe in hand.

Jesper's doppelganger sat on his knees, legs set apart, axe leaning on his shoulder and grin at us.

"Come on little children. Come up here. Don't be scared. We won't punish naughty kids trying to break in and steal from our home. We're the good guys. Right Dad?"

Crooked glasses dude nods. And squint his eyes into a smile to us. I stop talking to Magnus and face them.

"Where's Jesper?"

They stared blankly at me.

"I said where's Jesper?"

They look at each other and laughed.