In still waters

The high school doors burst open as a teenage boy staggers out, his agonized screams piercing the air. His hands clutch at his face as he stumbles onto the rain-slicked grass, slipping and falling. A crowd of stunned classmates surge out after him, forming a circle around his writhing form. The teen lies on his back, his cries of pain echoing across the schoolyard. Slowly, he lowers his hands, revealing a horrifying sight to the onlookers – his face is a mask of blood, streaming down his cheeks and neck…

"Who did this to you?" someone in the crowd cries out, their voice quavering with fear and shock.

The injured boy's screams subside as he stares up at the turbulent sky, rain mingling with the blood on his face. After a moment of eerie silence, he utters in a low, haunting voice:

"It was him… The Outcast…"

The doors of the Green Vault bar swing open, spilling a cacophony of music, voices, and laughter into the quiet street. A petite brunette emerges, her shoulder-length hair damp from the misty air. She wipes tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her red turtleneck as she sets off down the sidewalk, passing by streetlights that cast long shadows across modest middle-class homes. The road ahead stretches out, deserted and dark. Suddenly, a taxi's horn blares, startling her. Without turning, she steps aside, allowing it to pass. Lost in thought, she trudges on through the drizzle, oblivious to the figure that has begun to follow her. It's only when she glances back that she notices – a tall silhouette in black, face obscured by a hood. Her pace quickens; the shadowy pursuer matches it. Heart racing, she looks back once more, realizing with growing dread that her follower is a man. For a moment, she hesitates, nearly stopping in her tracks. Then, with a burst of desperate energy, she breaks into a run. Without looking back, she veers into an unpaved alley, hoping to lose her pursuer in the darkness.