Small kittens

✙◇ Chapter 2 -: ✧ :-゜・．

The train station was worn out, gray, and completely abandoned. In a city where technology no longer held any value, two men stood facing each other on the cracked tile floor. One was a young man in a leather jacket, sporting a nasty scar across his lip and a red, infected eye. An orange chew sat wedged between his torn teeth, his entire body language oozing careless hostility. The other was older, dressed in a dark hoodie with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, hiding a heavily muscled frame.

"You're a rogue weasel who doesn't know how to pay for what he takes," the older man hissed, his tone dripping with insult.

The younger man just laughed it off, a sly grin spreading across his lips. "Chill, old man. Nobody is going to drink your wallet completely dry."

A sharp cat’s hiss echoed from the ruined train. A pair of black cats hopped out, chasing each other until they bumped right into the red-haired man's leg with a low, wicked purr. The young man spit his orange chew directly at the older man's face, turning his attention to the animals. Crouching down, he grabbed one of the cats roughly by its spine and hoisted it to eye level. The other cat hissed a useless threat, which only amused the older man as he stepped closer.

"Small kittens," the older man sneered. He kicked the second cat with his polished shoe, letting out a sharp, mocking laugh that seemed to vibrate right through the animal's small body. The empty station felt freezing, leaving more than enough room for shadows to fill the space.

Seeing the two men looming over them like monsters, the cats' eyes widened with terror.

"Oi, let go of my cats, old geezer!"

A demanding voice cut across the station. The two men looked up to see a girl standing a few blocks away. She looked young and fragile, hugging a worn bag tightly against her chest, but her eyes were fierce and determined.

Standing up in a slow, deliberate motion, the red-haired man tossed the cat aside. He tilted his head, taking in every inch of her appearance before a wicked smirk crossed his face. The cats backed away on shaky paws, then bolted to hide behind the girl, who immediately scooped them into her arms.

She turned to run, but her escape was cut off instantly. The older man was already at her side. He grabbed the back of her neck and, with absolute, careless force, hurled her straight against the iron wall of the dead train.

Her body hit the metal with a loud, heavy thud.

"Going to run, huh, little girl?"

"Don't run yet. The fun's just starting."

The two men laughed loudly as they stood over her trembling form, the older one using his boot to pin her flat against the iron wall. Tears spilled from the girl's eyes as she desperately tried to shield her cats. They hissed wildly at the men, but she just wanted her pets back.

"Cry... Cry all you want. It won't help you here," the red-haired man grinned.

His hand shot out—not to grab her chin, but to clamp violently around her throat. Backed by the darkening shadows of the station, he dug his fingers deep into her windpipe.

She writhed, suffocating.

Her vision went dark and her head throbbed as the pressure cut off her blood flow.

"N-no, please—!" she choked out. Her grip on the cats loosened, sending both animals dropping to the ground with a thud. Her body went completely limp, her head lolling back as blood began to drip. The man's face twisted into a sickening smile.

The scene was pure horror. With absolute, insane strength, he literally ripped the throat tissue right out of her neck, tearing the skin apart.

He tossed the bloody tissue to his companion, who casually kicked the girl's convulsing body to the dirt. Catching the bloody mass from his friend, the older man grinned maniacally. The two of them walked away, leaving the pathetic girl behind as the cats scrambled into the dark. As they walked, the older man actually dug his teeth into the raw tissue, swallowing it down like a wild animal.

*Hhhsss—BANG*

A sudden vibration shook the ground, followed by a deafening roar. The entire station exploded. For a split second, the debris, the ruins, the cats, and the bodies of the two men seemed to freeze in a thick pause of time—before shattering piece by piece as the building crumbled, burying everything inside.

Outside, the world was a gray, red, stinking mess. There was nowhere left to hide. Corpses littered the pavement, and the military had gone completely crazy, bombarding every single fiber of the remaining structures. People covered in a strange black ink walked naked in a massive circle, moving toward the looming obsidian church. High around the building's rooftop, poles faced every direction, displaying the bloody bodies of human beings hung up like dirty secrets.

"Pray for the angel, walking toward God. May God bless us, may God bless us, may God bless us, may God bless us, may God bless us, MAY GOD BLESS US"

The frantic chanting echoed through the freezing streets as the worshippers marched closer to the dark building.

"Move! Move! Move!"

Another massive explosion tore through the air as military jets dropped a heavy payload right into the center of the praying crowd.

*BANG*

No one here had the right to build a heaven, but they were entirely free to create a hell that looked like colorful candy.

Candy by candy, the pieces spread through the air—or at least, that’s what a mind warped by madness would say about the exploded organs and souls bursting into the sky like a shower of sweets.

Nothing was normal anymore.

Even the sky had turned a sickeningly colorful shade. The air smelled heavily of drugs, and the butterflies fluttering past your eyes were nothing more than the illusion of a bullet aimed directly at your brain.

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