An Ordinary Path through an Incredulous Life

Fear in his heart swelled thick and the confusion in his mind flowed throughout every vessel within his body as a slender arm reached into the sudden darkness and clutched at his stunned face. The imposing figure wore black robes of fine silk and stared him down with eyes of unbridled hatred. The expression he wore was neutral but his ever tightening grip was a keen emotional indicator. The boy's head swelled with fear, confusion and unimaginable anguish as a constant stream of blood rushed from a number of orifices. "Urk—" He almost cried out when it happened. But he realized his throat had been sealed off by an otherworldly power...He couldn't breathe! He panicked. Gaping for air—mind numbing from the pain and fear—the boy clawed desperately at the hand stuck to his head as if it were the limb of a leper. "Ack—urk—gak!" He wailed to establish diplomacy...The attempt failed. Yet still the pressure from the hand holding him receded within that instant. "Trash. Not even worth the effort. Come along, Xiaobai." The young man wheezed through coughs, staggers and a delirious gaze to get away from the imposing figure. He wandered aimlessly throughout the bushes with no idea where he'd even go. But after being given a chance to escape that predicament he dared not to waste it! Falling to his knees just outside an alley, a ways away from the bushes he'd escaped, with a face of blood, confusion and bottomless fear merging into one big ugly mess of anguish—the boy cried. …