Fix Volume 1 Chapter 1

Chapter 1--The Transfer and The Experiment

Middle School days are always so boring. So many social opportunities are out there, but I choose the life of a shut in. I think this is how I will always be. I believe I will just go and spend my days remaining under the blissful curtain of my lonely, apathetic world. There are plenty of nice girls that could be in my life, but I just choose the pathway suited for a cursed individual like myself.
They always try to go ahead and talk to me, but the conversation is always the same sack of shit. They are just interested in my jet black hair and my red eyes. It is not my fault that I was born with this appearance, therefore it is not my fault that I always get these glances from those that think I am something unique. I always end the conversation with the same sentence. I have a peculiar appearance, but I am the same as you. From there I enter into my silent state. If they continue to talk I just look away from them until they shut their worthless slutty mouths. I have considered contact lenses and hair dye to make everybody just leave me alone. I found an easier solution more recently though. I simply do not speak with any classmate even if I am spoken to.
There is a blank seat next to me in every class. I think of it as a projection of the emptiness that engulfs my blackening heart. I wonder if there is anything that will ever fill that void.
Today is that day, and nothing will ever be the same. At the start of my first class, a new student is introduced. As the girl enters the room, my heart skips a beat. Her method of walking is strange. She takes normal looking steps, but her torso seems to waver unnaturally with every single one. She is wearing excessively baggy clothes, like something a girl hiding a weight problem would do. The thing is though, that she is clearly extremely light. That is not the strangest thing though. She has the same attributes that drew peoples' eyes to me. Indeed, even the delinquents from the back of the room are strangely awake for once and the entire classes gaze is on her. It's her hair and her eyes. Long white hair that is halfway to the floor. Yellow eyes. Yellow? Are they contacts? She appears rather emotionless. Perhaps she has gone through the same ridicule that I have gone through.
"Class, this is Rin," the instructor begins. The girl gives the instructor a strange glare. I understand perfectly why this glare is happening. The instructor just made a blunder in the pronunciation of her name. Being a friendless outcast made me into a bit of an otaku. Although the girl does not appear Japanese, her name must be at the very least. The teacher give it an American pronunciation not knowing that the 'i' should have been pronounced 'ee'. I gave the teacher the same glare and then spoke up.
"It is probably Rin," I noted with what I believed to be the proper pronunciation. Rin's glance moved over to me and she simply nodded.
"Thank you Zack," the instructor commended. Shit. I just drew attention to myself. "Well, go ahead and take a seat in the empty desk next to Zack, Rin.
Questions still remain for me. The teacher only wrote Rin on the board. How about a last name? Is she afraid that she is going to fuck it up? And why did Rin not say anything? Is she shy? And what are with those yellow eyes?
For the rest of the class period, I feel a really strange aura. I have a hunch and I am going to confirm it. I slowly divert my gaze toward Rin while moving my head as little as possible. My eyes meet up with Rin's. She's been staring at me? For how long? Normally when these things happen, the person that you look at who has been looking at you will divert their gaze as a way to claim innocence. She just continued with that stare. Fuck it. I'm not playing into this. I will be the one to look away. Through the rest of class the aura continues.
The class-change bell rings and I quickly arise from my seat. I grab all my things and quickly race forward in hopes of a quick escape. I feel a choking sensation as I am pulled back and fall to the floor. Did I slip? Rin is continuing to stare at me as I rise to my feet. Her gaze follows mine as I rise. She grabs a hold of my sleeve. Fuck it, I'll play along and drag her along to my next class. She will give up when she realizes she is in the wrong place.
As I prepare to enter the next room she releases my sleeve. Good. Back to my normal quiet life. The class begins with a girl entering the door. My heart drops. It is Rin again. I hope I am just having a nightmare of this deja vu. Please let me wake up right away with Rin gone.
I do not have such luck as this instructor once again introduces Rin (with the wrong pronunciation, which I do not bother correcting this time), and she again takes a seat next to me. This cycle repeats for the entire class day, including the sleeve grabbing. It is even the same thing for the lunch period. I just let it roll and eat my lunch, trying to ignore Rin sitting beside me. As the day finally reaches it's close a wave of relief overcomes me. I can finally go home and take a breather from this day of the world's strangest abuse.
I have no such luck. Rin grabs my sleeve and I give into her selfish demand to follow me. I'll just introduce this psychotic stalker to my parents and remain uninterested until she goes away. She can't follow me forever. Nobody could be interested in a dull guy like me.
I get to my house with a Rin still attached and the driveway is strangely vacant. Maybe my parents both have to work late. That must be the case. This scenario still just feels too wrong though. A strange stalker. No parents home. I decide that Rin and I should part ways and go to speak. As soon as my mouth opens, Rin covers it. Fuck. What is going to become of me now? Normally a girl being overbearing like this would be a turn on, but, to a shut in like me, this is just a mere continuation of my living Hell.
I try to push Rin away but she does not budge. Is she glued to the ground or something? No. This is sheer force. And it is from a wiry little girl like this. Something is clearly amiss. Why are there no bystanders to help me at a time like this? And why has Rin not said a single word the entire day? As if she can read my thoughts she releases my sleeve, but her grip on my mouth is so tight that I am still unable to move. She takes her free hand and reaches into her pocket and pulls out a cell phone. She goes into its notepad function and opens a message that has already been composed. She places the phone to my face so I can read the message.
'Sorry Zakku. I would love to speak with you, but in your current form you would not be able to understand. We are going to enter your house and I will begin your transformation and start the experiment. Then you can finally be happy, Zakku. I am doing this all for you, Zakku. If you value your life do not resist, Zakku. Lightly tap your foot if you understand.'
I understand I can not escape this strange power. Still though, words of comfort and a threat. Rin is weird and might be powerful, but maybe I am just anemic or something today. That must be the case. I'll play along.
I tap my foot. She releases my mouth but immediately puts me in a chokehold. Is she going to kill me? As my thoughts race, everything fades to black.
I come to inside my house. I am chained to a metal chair. My house didn't have any metal chairs. I look down. The chair is bolted to the floor. My mouth is taped shut. There is a pain in my left arm. I look at it and notice a needle mark. Is this all a crazy dream? I shuffle around to try and break free and make a ruckus. This gets a response by footsteps. As the footsteps approach I look out my window and notice that it is nighttime. Why did I not notice this before? Then it clicks. There are no lights on in a house that has no working streetlights near it on a cloudy night. But I can see clearly. I can see in the dark as if it were daytime!
The footsteps stop and I see Rin in the room.
"Experiment success," she reports in a soft and monotone voice. Why did she not speak earlier? "I know what you are thinking. It is the most common question from every subject I have ever converted. Why did I not speak earlier? I'll show you."
Rin reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cellphone. She pauses, and then decides to speak again. "I will remove the tape so you can talk under one condition, Zakku. If you try and yell out for help I will kill you immediately and disappear. Nod and blink twice if you understand."
Why no foot tapping this time. Whatever. I nod and blink twice. She walks over and removes the tape. It is duct tape. She forcefully pulled it off, yet I felt very little pain from the process.
"Why was that not..." I begin but am cut off.
"I have bestowed upon you a wonderful yet accursed gift," she interrupts. "Your body has gained resilience at the cost of lifespan. Your sensation of pain will be incredibly dulled. Your strength has been dramatically increased. The other drawback is that you will no longer be able to speak in public."
"Why not?" I inquire.
"Watch this stopwatch function on my cellphone and everything will become clear."
She starts the timer. Shock overwhelms me and I feel a strange chill. I can see all the numbers on the clock moving. A second has yet to pass. One second passes and Rin puts the phone away.
"How long did that one second feel like to you?" asks Rin.
"It felt like at least five seconds," I reply.
"Not too bad of a guess, Zakku. It was roughly eight seconds. So you know, this makes you eight times quicker, eight times stronger, and you will tire eight times faster. Also, you will obviously speak eight times quicker as well, so that is why you cannot speak in public. Your speech to the rest of the world is now nothing more than gibberish."
"Why did you do this to me?"
"You are a shut in without a purpose in this world. And I need you."
"You...need...me?"
"That is correct. There were 50 people like me sent to this town to find others to recruit for the mission."
"What is the mission?"
"We need to find the other 98 that are like us, assuming everybody found subjects, and kill them."
"Why kill the others?"
"Our sponsor only wants the strongest in order to take on the missions that will follow this one."
"And if I refuse to participate?"
Rin let out a sigh. "There is no way to avoid participating. The kind of competitors that were sent to this town are something I already researched. Everybody was given a sheet of competitor names to make it easier to find the opposition. Our primary opponents are mostly killers that were supposed to have been executed."
"In a town swarming with powerful killers, why choose me?"
"Simple. I am not a killer. I am a researcher. The majority of the others are going to choose delinquents and will probably tear up the town, killing indiscriminately during the hunt. You are an apathetic shut in, but you are not violent. I confirmed that at school. Your first kill is going to be tough, but it helps that we are only going to go after bad people. Thinking of it that way, we can be defenders of justice."
"Beautifying the extermination of other human beings is not something that pleases me, but if it is to protect tranquility, then I might as well find some meaning in life."
"I am glad that you understand. By the way, you don't have to keep sitting in that chair."
"But what about the chains."
"They won't constrict you in this form. Just stand up."
I stood up and the chains broke with ease. So this is what it is like to have power. I walk to the bathroom to take a look at the new, stronger me. It is surprising that I look exactly the same as I have always looked yet have so much power. Wait. There is one change. My eyes are green, and they are glowing. A set of glowing yellow eyes are watching me from behind. It's Rin.