Chapter 1

Dark night. Blood. Lightning.

The sky was rumbling violently outside, while flashes of lightning appeared from the large windows of the room. It was also from there that a source of light could enter and highlight the sea of blood on the bed.

Henry Alexander Cooper stood shaking his head in fear. A knife fell from his trembling hand. He then backed away from the bed, away from the bloodied body on the bed. That was Dianna Cooper. His mother.

"N-no.... It's not me, Mom...." Henry whispered to the cold air around him.

He kept stepping back and then fell down because he couldn't balance. He shook his head again. But, the evil whispers in his head returned. He immediately closed his eyes and ears for fear that he would pick up the knife and stab his mother again.

"No.... I'm sorry! Forgive me!"

Henry shouted quite loudly at the end of his voice. He was really scared. His body then got up forcibly to run away from there. However, he failed to reach the door. He even only managed to turn his back on his mother's bed because someone was standing in front of him.

The silence was gripping.

Albert Cooper seemed to be approaching while staring fixedly at Henry's blue irises. The red robe he wore fluttered in the breeze from the balcony. The balcony door was wide open, which caused Henry to shiver even more helplessly.

"Did you do it, Henry?" asked Albert.

"NO!" Henry answered quickly. He shook his head vigorously. As if that wasn't convincing enough, he reached over and grabbed the red-robed man's hand. "Dad, no! I didn't do it! They did it, Dad! They told me to! They did it!"

"HENRY!"

Albert's booming voice made Henry flinch and fall silent. Henry saw the flash of anger in his father's eyes. Therefore, he then looked down weakly unable to argue anymore.

Albert sighed softly. "You did it, Henry. 'They' are you. Your schizophrenia relapsed. Your hallucinations made you kill your own mother."

Henry fell back to the floor. His legs would no longer allow him to stand. But Albert sat with him and held his shoulders. Albert lifted his chin so that they were face to face again.

"Look, I'm not going to let the world know about the disaster that happened here. So, listen to me!" Albert said firmly which immediately made the tension in Henry's body disappear.

Henry listened to his father.

"You will return to Ireland tonight. No one knows that you came for your mother's birthday today. No one knows that you killed your mother."

"I didn't--"

"You are!" snapped Albert.

Henry gasped again.

Albert exhaled. He glanced at the bed for a moment. A seepage of blood had run down the floor. Henry had stabbed his mother in the stomach many times and made blood splatter everywhere, even on Henry's handsome face.

What a poor son. Albert gently caressed Henry's cold right cheek. He wiped the blood splatter there with his thumb. Then, Albert suddenly stood up. His deep blue eyes glared at Henry from above for a moment before his body turned to leave his son.

Someone was waiting for Albert near the door of the room. He immediately bowed when Albert came towards him.

"Clean it all up!" ordered Albert.

"Yes, sir!" his subordinate replied.

Albert's red robe fluttered again as he walked stridingly towards the door. However, his steps suddenly stopped. He looked back for a few moments, then said quietly to the subordinate,

"Find Alvin Alexander Cooper quickly! We need him now."

The subordinate gasped. His eyes widened as he heard the name Albert mentioned. "You mean...?"

"Yes." Albert knew what his subordinate was thinking. He smiled slightly then turned to open the door. "We'll bring him back!" he said before disappearing behind the door.

***

Who is Alvin Alexander Cooper? Is he the poor 22-year-old man who is currently being cussed out by his boss?

"You crazy bastard! What are you doing, Alvin?! You want to bankrupt my cafe, huh?!"

Alvin was just Alvin Alexander without the 'Cooper' behind his name. He was just a poor young man who was seen as trash by the people around him. That's why the people in the cafe were looking at him with disdain right now, as if Alvin was a rotten piece of trash that shouldn't be breathing the same air as them.

Alvin raised his blue irises towards the boss. Then, he turned to the two young men who were smiling smugly at him.

Alvin tightened his jaw. His hands clenched into fists with emotion.

"You guys! I know you did it on purpose!" Alvin said to the two men.

He then pointed at the two coffee cups on the table. Those were the coffees he had made for them, but Alvin knew that the small frog carcasses floating in the coffees were not his doing.

"Samuel! Jackson! You guys put that frog carcass in on purpose and then complained that I was to blame. Didn't you?" Alvin fired at them. His voice sounded confident because Samuel and Jackson were his classmates in college who always bothered him wherever he worked.

Now, everyone's eyes shifted to Samuel and Jackson.

Not wanting to be cornered, Samuel immediately took a step forward and said loudly, "What are you talking about, huh?! You dumb frog! Don't act like a victim! You've always done this to us on campus too, Alvin!"

Alvin glared in shock at the slander.

Not quite satisfied, Jackson quietly smirked before adding, "Hey, listen! This is our classmate and he used to put frog carcasses in our drinks! This guy is completely crazy! You guys need to watch out!" He shouted out his words to the rest of the café patrons.

Alvin's boss immediately glared. He then panicked when his customers screamed in disgust and ran out of the cafe.

"No! Don't leave! Please don't leave!" he called desperately. The bald-headed man tried to hold them back by standing against the door, but his short body staggered as he couldn't hold back a dozen people at once.

In the end, the cafe was empty, leaving only the poor boss, Alvin who was upset, Samuel and Jackson who were quietly shaking hands in victory, and three workers peeking out from the bar.

Alvin took a deep breath and looked down. He was prepared for whatever would happen after this.

With an angry stomping step, his boss approached Alvin and pointed at Alvin's face with his index finger.

"YOU'RE FIRED!" he said loudly as if he wanted every human in the world to hear.

That, starting today, Alvin had to lose his job again.

Alvin closed his eyes and exhaled softly. It's okay. This has happened many times. Alvin had been working part-time since college and this was his (probably) 100th job. He had changed jobs many times because he got fired, so he was used to it and that was okay.

Alvin finally picked up his stuff from there and stepped out of the cafe. Before going out the door, he glanced at the table in the corner where Samuel and Jackson had been. They were no longer there. Thank goodness!

"You've only been working here for a week, Alvin? That's too bad."

Okay, Alvin took back his gratitude. While walking on the sidewalk in front of the cafe, Samuel and Jackson were actually waiting for him at the end of the street.

The annoying words Alvin had just heard came from Samuel's mouth. He looked at Alvin with feigned concern. At the same time, Jackson laughed while he put his arm around Alvin's shoulders.

"Where are you going to work after this, buddy? We'll visit you again. You'll be happy, right?"

Alvin exhaled loudly at Jackson's equally annoying words. He had always wanted to beat them up, but never managed to do so. Alvin didn't have that much courage. Besides, it would be exhausting to face these two humans.

Alvin didn't have time for that. He was busy earning money to pay the hospital bills for his mother who was in a coma in the hospital. So, Alvin would ignore all their words as usual in order to stay focused on earning money.

"Hey, where are you going, you dumb frog?! How dare you ignore us?!"

Alvin continued to walk past them even though Samuel called out to him angrily. Unfortunately, he was only able to walk five steps because Jackson's muscular hands had pulled the collar of his back shirt roughly.

"You're such an idiot, Alvin! How dare a deformed human like you ignore us?! Who do you think you are, huh?" Samuel was really angry. He pushed Alvin's chest like he wanted to pick a fight.

Alvin jerked his hand away and gave him a sharp look. "Then who you are that I should listen to? We have nothing to do with! I don't even understand why you are always bothering me like this. It makes you happy, huh?"

"Of course, frog! We're happy! Are you seriously still asking us that?" said Jackson, followed by Samuel's booming laughter.

"Hey, buddy! Deformed humans like you is just like a trush!" Samuel suddenly grabbed Alvin's right hand and wagged it. "Look at this deformed hand! You think you can live a normal life like us, huh? Only in your dreams!"

For the moment, Alvin was unable to reply. His throat was dry. He looked at his own hand, specifically at his abnormal fingers.

That's right, Alvin was indeed born 'deformed' just like Samuel and Jackson had said. He had polydactyly. There was a small finger that grew into his thumb so he had six fingers on his right hand. His feet were also in the same condition. There were little fingers growing there so he had 12 toes. Very abnormal, isn't it?

His mom says Alvin was born 'unique', and Alvin agrees. But his friends more often call him 'deformed'. Or, in lieu of that word, they more often call Alvin 'dumb frog' like Samuel and Jackson do.

Alvin took a deep breath. His chest was tight. But, it was okay. He was strong. Alvin had been through all this bullying since childhood. So, this wasn't much.

"Why don't you cry, Alvin? Just cry and Jackson will always hug you, okay?" Samuel was still pestering Alvin with his bad jokes.

Jackson punched his friend lightly on the arm. "No way! I don't want to catch the defect, Samuel! Alvin would rather have you hug him. Right, Alvin?"

Alvin jerked his hand from Samuel's grasp and said sharply to them, "Enough, you bastards! I'm sick of hearing your babbling! Try me if you dare to stalk my workplace one more time. I'll take action!"

As if he didn't want to let Samuel and Jackson hold him back anymore, Alvin immediately turned around and left them. His half-run made Samuel and Jackson laugh with satisfaction. They found it funny that Alvin looked like a scared child, even though they were the same age.

"Alright, I'll see you at your next job, Alvin!"

"Let's celebrate together!"

They shouted while continuing to stare at Alvin's departure who crossed to the other side of the street.

Actually, it wasn't just Samuel and Jackson who were staring at Alvin's retreating back. Someone from behind the windshield of the car had even been watching them since earlier. He also saw firsthand the argument between Alvin and that two young men.

Inside the car, the ringing of a cell phone then sounded.

"Yes, sir?"

There was a moment of silence. The man behind the wheel listened to his master's reply.

"Yes, sir." He was now watching Alvin's back intently. "Alvin Alexander Cooper, your son, has been found. I will bring him to you quickly."

To be continued....