The skies are dark. Countless dark clouds cover the city. A storm that seemed to threaten the city's integrity was taking place. The strong gusts of wind formed an abrupt symphony as they met the trees in streets and squares.

Still, the city remained in motion. The roar of engines could be heard everywhere, the light from headlights and lampposts illuminating every corner of the city... well, not every corner.

In a place far from all this chaos lies a remote path squeezed between two abandoned buildings in this concrete forest. Usually, this route remained empty, not a single soul roaming there, but today seemed different.

Desperate footsteps and cries of pain were muffled by the heavy rain permeating the skies, a silhouette traversing the alleys in the depths of the city, seeking to escape from something.

As the fugitive took one of his erratic steps, he ended up tripping and crashing onto the ground. With the faint light seeping through the cracks in the alley, a young-looking person with humble appearance lay there. His hair bore the same brown color as his eyes, a rather ordinary sight in this city. His face was contorted in a mix of pain and despair, in a deplorable state with bruises covering his entire body.

The sound of footsteps resonated from the path the young man had come from, in moments, two tough-looking men emerged from the corner of the alley.

— Damn it! I knew we should have left this to Marco and Antonio, having to finish off a kid is going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth. — Sighed one of the men, his body thin and covered in tattoos, his facial expression deep.

— We had no choice, bro. Those two jerks are too busy licking the boss's boots, and he's already pretty irritated because of the way we dealt with this kid's grandma — Replied the other man, this one more chubby, his arms being the only visible muscular part. —, the cops are on the gang's tail because of this mess.

— Let's just get this over with and grab a bite on the way back, all this money business is making me hungry!

Apprehensively, the young man looked back, only to face the dead-end of the alley, and as he turned to face his pursuers, a punch struck his face.

Before the young man could process what was happening, he found himself breathless again, the chubby man had placed his knee and all his weight on the boy's body.

— Argh! Get off me, you piece of trash! —  Groaned the young man as he received another blow.

— Listen here, you little brat, we want to hurry this up, so don't take it personally and let us finish this quickly. — Said the man as he pulled a knife from his pants.

— Don't take it personally?! You're going to pay for what you've done, you vermin! All of you!

— Heh, tell that to your father when you meet him in hell. It's his fault your granny owed our gang that fortune — Taunted the man. —, after we're done here, we'll go after that junkie, and you'll get to see each other in the afterlife.

With a swift motion, the combat knife the man carried plunged into the young man's stomach. With wide eyes in horror, the young man tried reflexively to scream, but the man forcefully covered his mouth, muffling his scream of pain.

— Shhhh! Come on, kid, keep it quiet.

The man was almost laughing while doing this, the wild smile from ear to ear made it evident. With another sudden movement, he yanked the knife abruptly from the boy's abdomen, worsening the wound.

Little by little, the strength the young man used to keep his eyes open dwindled, seeing this, the man slowly got up from him and casually walked away, as if nothing had happened.

— Is he dead? It's about time, let's hurry up and grab a burger or something, I'm starving,— Said the thin man.

The conversation between the two continued as they left the alley, leaving the boy abandoned in his last moments. Their voices eventually faded amid the heavy drops falling every second.

The young man's body was already cold, his eyes refusing to stay open. The smell of wet concrete mixed with the faint scent of crimson liquid diluted with rainwater that formed a puddle beneath him.

The young man wondered how he ended up there, at what point in his life everything had gone wrong... from the beginning.

Yes, his life had been complete crap since he was born, and as he went through this hell, his only good memories were of his grandma, his pillar in life, the one who taught him how to live. The memories of his pathetic and depressing life flashed through his mind, and when he realized that his grandma had indeed died, his pale face twisted slightly, lacking the strength to show a reaction. Perhaps at that moment, the young man was in tears, but no one could tell, as they mingled with all the water cascading from the heavens.

His last energies were spent there, lying on top of a pool of blood. In his final moments, the young man thought, or rather pleaded, if he could live again, he wouldn't hesitate, he would do everything to keep what was important to him, no matter the cost. With his last wish, the young man finally closed his eyes.

*****************

His mind was in darkness, a strange sensation ran down his spine, and unable to bear that feeling anymore, his eyes suddenly snapped open.

With a jolt in his spine, he sat up quickly, breathing heavily, cold sweat dripping from every corner of his body, along with an odd, icy sensation.

Regaining some control over his breath, the young man surveyed his surroundings, stone walls and a ceiling covered him, faint rays of light seeping through cracks in the wall indicated he might be in a cave, the distant sound of dripping water confirming his suspicion.

It took only a few moments for the young man to realize something was wrong, panic creeping back in.

— Where the hell am I?

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Thank you for reading!