When The Night Falls

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.   _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Prologue   The night was void of the moon. Even the stars hid themselves. As though they too, didn't want to witness the darkness on the ground below. As though their brightness wouldn't even make a difference. In the middle of the woods a young man was running as fast as he could, as if life depended on it. Who knew how far it had been. He didn't care. He just had to. Run. Far. Farthest he could get. Armed with the little courage he had left. He made a promise. He has to make it safe.       More than an hour ago... "P'Ben! I am not leaving you!!!" The young man cried, his tears glistening under the dim light of the building they were at. "Baby...please. You have to leave. Now!!!" The other person replied with difficulty he tried to hide. "No!!! I'm taking you with me!" "You can't! I... I won't make it...please, my love. You have to go." "P'..." "Don't cry, baby. Please.. I don't want you leaving with tears..." "P'...Your stomach..." The young man was horrified when he noticed the blood staining his companion’s shirt. "It's just a graze... I will be fine." "No, you won't!" "You have to go..." "P'Ben...Why couldn't you just leave with me?" He asked. No, his voice was pleading. "Because I want you to live." "I'll die without you..." "You're stronger than that, baby. You're stronger than me." "I love you, P'Ben..." "I love you too, baby." The younger man began to sob as he looked at the other. "Shhh...don't cry..." "I'm scared." "Don't be...baby, I love you so much... ...promise me, you will run. ...promise me, you won't look back. ...promise me, you get yourself to safety. ...don't let them catch you. ...don't let them know who you are. ...promise me... That you'll live. ...live for both of us. ...my love, promise me." "I p-promise... I promise." He spoke with a broken voice. "I love you, baby. Here. Take care of this for me... ...I will always be with you. ...Now go!" Ben said, almost commanding the other after handing him a small bag containing what appeared to be a piece of paper.       And so he ran. His head had been fuzzy ever since he left the abandoned building. But he ran. He stumbled a few times that his clothes were all muddy. His shirt that was all white this morning after putting it on could not be recognized anymore. His ripped jeans was covered in dirt. His running shoes heavy with mud. Though his black jacket was just as muddy as his pants, it gave him comfort in the cold night. The running didn't seem to warm his body. The gruesome night he witnessed just made his body shiver even as he ran. Inside his pocket were a few things he held safe as he tried to make it to a safe ground. The people. The monsters who ruined the perfect day. They are all behind him now. Way behind him. He doesn't hear their sinister voices anymore. But the man he left. The man he loves. Was back there. Still. His heart sank. It hurt more. More. It broke him to pieces to leave him there. But he made a promise. He had to live. For both of them. For the man who gave everything for him to get this far. 'I love you, P'Ben. I will live.'           Dawn. The streets of Bangkok would be a busy one as it always had been. A figure lay on the cold hard ground in the back alley of a business building. His clothes were tattered. Dirty. Muddy. A man in his early forties walked towards the building through an alleyway. It was his habit to come early to get to his company and that day he decided to take a small walk. Briefcase on hand, newly ironed business clothes, the man walked with a thin smile on his face. 'Beautiful day. Once again.' He noticed an oddity as he neared the building. A young man, maybe a homeless one was sprawled on the floor. "Hey...Young man, this isn't a place for you...Hey..." the older man knelt in front of the figure and tried to wake him up. "Mhmmm..." the figure seemed lifeless. But he is conscious. "Are you hurt? Hey, come on. I'll take you to a clinic or something." The older man tried to make the figure get up as he checked if he was hurt somewhere. The figure painfully opened his eyes. He saw a handsome face. Maybe in his late 30s. He clasped his dirtied hand on the handsome man's suit, eyes hollowed but with a strong spirit that kept him alive and awake. "Save me...please." ___________________________________