10 – The Greeting.

There was always a defining factor in humanity when facing the unknown. Either they flee from the jaws of terror, or stand their ground in hopes of finding a glimmer of connection between them and the enemy.

Bart could find no such 'connection' with the entity standing before him.

With his wits barely keeping him from racing out of the bathroom in a screaming fit, Bart stared at the being whose visage and presence evoked the very essence of fear. Its hulking mass of muscle and scales, its body that jutted out rusted metal blades, and its eyeless countenance that had more teeth than face - all of its defining features seemed like it was a creature born straight out of Hell.

He expected it would start moving. Reaching for him. Crushing him like the human bug that he is.

It didn't.

It stood there, staring at him with the face that didn't have eyes.

Bart eyed the beast from all angles, its creature features becoming more and more vivid to him. He certainly wasn't hallucinating this. He knew all too well he was wide awake, and he had no prior medication that could have messed with his head.

This creature is real.

He wanted to run - but his legs were glued to the floor. There was a manic urge in his head that kept him from leaving.

He wanted to know what this obviously-sentient being wanted with him - yet he didn't know what and where to start.

Just as his body seemed to angle to the left, the being moved.

It angled its head in the same direction.

Bart shifted his orientation, turning his body to the left where the bathroom door was. The creature, in all its quiet eeriness, turned the same way.

<... is it... following me?>

This action guaranteed Bart one thing: this creature isn't about to leave him alone. If it had managed to keep its presence discreet up until this point in time, it definitely had all the power in the world to do the unthinkable to a lowly human like him.

Oh, how he wanted to run. Otherwise, he would've already cowered before this thing, pleading for his life in the likeliest scenario that it would reach in and devour him -

-but the fear he felt staring at this beast for the first time started to disappear.

What lingered instead, was rage.

The more he stared at the face of this creature, the more he wanted to throw his fists at it. Smash its face until its teeth broke in and blood gushed out of its mangled jaws. Beat up anyone else that would give him this same, unmoving reaction.

The more he stared at it, the more he wanted to lay waste on everything.

"!!"

And in an instant, Bart found clarity - and figured out what was going on.

"OY." He glared at the being on where its eyes should have been. "You're the one that got me riled up this morning, aren't you? You're that voice that told me to hurt them."

The creature growled a bit, but didn't speak.

"The anger that came over me.. you were standing right beside me when those guys went for me, weren't you?"

The creature still didn't speak.

"You threw that wheelie bin at that guy when he went for me, didn't you?! SAY something, DAMN IT! WHAT do you want with ME?!!"

.....

The creature stirred. Its mouth lolled open and its primordial, yet surprisingly familiar voice.

<"YOU... WANT... ME.">

That answer... was almost as if it used parts of what he said as a reply.

It still didn't make sense.

What part of him ever asked to have some sort of giant monstrosity popping out of nowhere to straighten out his life?

....

At any rate, Bart understood something: this thing isn't here to kill or take his life. It's watching over him.

And at that same time, it's affecting his mentality. Whenever this thing stood by his side... he'll inadvertently feel enraged.

Bart eased his breathing. He felt hatred -his own, not the creature's- boiling up.

With all the crazy that had been happening, any normal individual would've already gone crazy. But not him.

His life was already fucked up from the start. How was this any different?

"Whatever the heck you are... you already got me through a LOT of trouble. I didn't ask for you. Now I'm about to lose what little things I worked for."

Curled fists shaking, Bart shouted.

"YOU HAPPY!!?"

.....

The beast growled. Unfazed. Nothing more.

Bart heard the bell ring - the signal that lunch time had already ended. He looked on to the creature. It followed him in whatever direction he turned or moved - but never acted once in contrary.

Except when the bully threatened him before, that this thing threw an object right at the one it saw as the enemy.

Bart didn't have the leisure to stick around interviewing this creature. He had to go to class - and face the punishment he deserved for what happened.

But this creature....

What will people think when they --

"HEY!!"

Lost in his thoughts, Bart never realized the school janitress had already unlocked the bathroom door and walked in. She approached Bart, pushing a cart full of cleaning materials and wearing a sour expression on her face. "Were you the guy who kept this bathroom shut? You're not the only one who uses this bathroom, you know! People were complaining!!"

Bart blinked repeatedly, his mind nearly at a standstill. He glanced at the janitress - and at the creature.

It was right there, in the woman's line of sight -

-yet the janitress addressed him and only him.

"... sorry. I... needed time alone and... I wasn't really thinking straight."

The janitress looked around. "Were you talking to somebody, kid?"

Bart lowered his head.

"No."

The janitress scratched her head and motioned to the doorway. "Well, run along then. Lunch time's over."

Glancing at the creature one more time, Bart gripped at the straps of his bag and ran out of the bathroom, the thing turning its head just as he exited the door.

<I'm the only one that can see 'it', huh...> Bart said on the back of his head.

What followed was a gigantic sigh.

<God. It makes it all the more assuring that I might just be crazy.>

Bearing that in mind, Bart tensed as he neared the classroom door. There was no sign of the professor inside. He entered - and found exactly what he expected.

Everyone seated as far away from him as possible.

Barely five minutes had passed after he sat waiting for the professor to arrive, when he heard an announcement broadcast over the campus radio system.

"MR. BARTHOLOMEW OWENS, PLEASE REPORT TO THE PREFECT OF DISCIPLINE'S OFFICE, IMMEDIATELY."

Bart calmly went for the door. The gaze of his classmates followed suite. Down the hall and past the peering windows of nearby classrooms, other students and teachers alike turned his way.

From the distance, he could see the Prefect's office. People were already gathered there. People waiting to judge his fate.

And behind them, towering in height and unseen was the entity, its menacing teeth forming what he can only interpret as a twisted smile.

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NOTE: @JeielYozama here! The dynamic between Bart and the being is something I've been planning for a while now. A human boy, fragile and tormented - and a creature so twisted and disfigured, it looked like a bringer of torment itself. Bart's life is definitely whacked up now-  but things might just end in his favor because of a little hand. For now, stay safe guys, and peace!