Manifesting in a suspicious alleyway, Schrodinger let out a sigh of relief after having successfully escaped from the troublesome situation he had caused his fellow allies. Still, it's not their fault, as he was to blame for being overly rude to the god of time.
Looking around, the entire alleyway is filled with trash and very dirty. The walls between him were stained with soot and grime, making him feel nauseous just by seeing them. It was as if someone had thrown the entire town's garbage here and then forgot about it.
As the air was thick and oppressive, he could almost smell the odor of decay and rot that lingered in the atmosphere. He tried not to breathe too much, but he still felt himself coughing from time to time due to the foul stench radiating everywhere.
Even the warm, bright sun is having a hard time piercing the gloom and darkness of this place. It was as if all light had been sucked out of it, leaving nothing but a dull, lifeless patch of emptiness where nothing good could ever grow in it.
He should go home now at the mere sight of this, but because of his overworked mind, he needs enough energy to recover in order to use his abilities. For all their omnipresence, the mental energies that flow through their beings can become depleted over time if they work too much.
Recognizing this fact, he sighed to himself in pure annoyance at having forgotten about something so important: "As much as I hate resting here, taking a long nap on the scorching roofs or the noisy streets is a less ideal alternative of choice," grumbling under his breath.
Either those options or he rests in this filthy alley, a tough choice since he can't teleport for the time being. "Great, I really screwed myself this time," groaning loudly, Schrodinger eventually chose the latter despite how much it pains him to say it, "so, I guess that settles it then. I'll be sleeping on the disgusting ground in a back alley. How wonderful," he murmured in irritation.
Looking over to the left side, where the ear-splitting sounds of people can be heard from outside, this horrendous place is also an impossible place to rest. Knowing full well that doing so makes it incredibly difficult to even sleep in a very loud environment while bad actors could potentially kidnap him in the open,.
There was another choice, of course, which was traveling by foot to his temporary home. But that would be extremely tiresome at the moment. He barely had any good rest last night from the gut-wrenching feeling of guilt over being an ungrateful companion to the person who saved him countless times.
Quietly walking to the corner, he laid down and rested with his eyes closed while ignoring the terrible smell lingering in the area. The moment he began to drift off to sleep, an uncomfortable feeling made him awake for the time being in this god awful place.
With that said, Schrodinger curled himself up in a tight ball and tried to forget about all his troubles and worries by thinking about something else. He wondered how things would act if he had been a little more careful about his choice of words.
But what's done is done, and there's nothing he can do about it except apologize, as the thought of it still reminds him of how much of a fool he made himself look. Hopefully, he didn't go overboard to the point that Janus would become overly upset.
However, he doubts Janus vengeful nature since the guy appears to be a strangely relaxed individual with no care in the world, despite his apparent apathy. This alone makes Schrodinger question if that god has any care or love for anyone around him.
Should he apologize to the young woman? No, that can't be right. It was he who brought it up and teased Janus. Saomi wasn't even his responsibility in the first place. Just the very fact of even asking himself such a question is ridiculous.
Yet, no matter how he looked at it, the guilt continued gnawing at him, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. And regardless of his pride and ego, Schrodinger needs to make up for his mistake and apologize. It shouldn't be a hard thing to do, but here he is, complaining about it.
Truly, his people are one of the most pettiest or prideful species to ever foot in the dreamlands or otherwise. Being too proud to admit their wrongdoing or fault. But then again, if that were the case, then he wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place.
All he needs is to apologize, and it's still difficult to do so because of his nature as an overly prideful cat. "I guess this is all the punishment I deserved then," Schrodinger grumbled bitterly once more while he finally shut his eyes closed in hopes of being able to sleep and gain his strength back.
"Just...a hour..."
As his mind slowly drifted into darkness, he suddenly heard loud voices and approaching footsteps from behind, forcing him to instantly wake up and stand on all fours with an alert expression. With his ears perked up, he swiftly turned to see who it was.
There were three boys, around in their early teens, judging by appearance while they're dressed in rich garb of clothing that could make a peasant jealous of their wealthy status. Seeing this, Schrodinger almost couldn't contain his chuckles from his relief at seeing harmless children. However, he nonetheless kept his composure, regardless of the circumstances.
In the middle of the group was the oldest, appearing to be fourteen, with a chubby face, a fat belly, and slightly short brown hair that reached to the sides. He is clearly the leader of the three by the looks of his superior attitude in ordering the two youngest ones around.
The second was eleven years old, skinnier than the first and taller in height with his short blond hair that covers half of his eyes while having slightly visible freckles over his face. He seems to be unsure of what he is doing there while not uttering a single word of disagreement or reluctance to join.
Lastly, the smallest of the group appears to be nine years old. Wearing a red beret hat. He is clearly the weakest link in the group, as he could barely keep up with the other two. His expression was stern, with a hint of mischievousness, and he was clearly looking for trouble.
When the group finally got close, the fat boy pointed his finger to the white feline sitting just ahead of them and said, "Hey, look! A dumb animal!" He exclaimed as he and the rest of them stepped forward with arrogant grins while the eleven-year-old boy remained frozen in his spot.
Alan wasn't a fan of being with these two kids after seeing what they did to any defenseless bystanders who were unfortunate enough to catch their attention. Having firsthand seen the bullies tormenting his classmates, he chose to join them in hopes of not getting in and not being targeted.
This alone is both beneficial and worrisome to him, as while he was spared of their aggression, Alan's now a witness to their malicious acts and is considered to be an associate. It was horrifying what they had done to elderly people and even animals in some cases.
And still he's here, unable to do anything once again but forced to watch or take part in just so his befriended bullies won't target him next. He can't imagine the hell he would suffer if they turned their rage and fury against himself.
The fat teen, named Eriksen, smirked at the sight of a defenseless creature and was immediately thrilled to let their twisted sadism of inflicting lesser beings and their cries of pain and fear go. "Come here, little kitty!" He called out as he walked forward to it.
But Schrodinger wasn't impressed, not one bit but before he could even open his mouth; the youngest of the group, Jody, appeared behind him and firmly grabbed his back neck, squeezing it tightly to the point that he couldn't breathe or speak properly.
"Got it!" Jody said in pure joy, "Let's throw it into the river! Its going to be fun watching it squirm!" Grinning evilly at the many things they could do to him, "or stomp its head and tear it apart!" Innocently asked the youngest boy, who in return scoffed at the idea.
Crossing his arms together, Eriksen shook his head in dismay. "We have done that already!" Boredom laced his voice as he said, "Let's see, let's see." The fat boy hummed loudly before a bright light seemed to shine inside his empty skull. "Ah! We can cut its stomach open!" Opening a sick suggestion that would make any ordinary person vomit out of disgust.
He is clearly the most creative in coming up with new ways to inflict pain on others, and Eriksen is willing to go to great lengths to achieve it from the get-go. At first, the bullies started only harassment, eventually leading up to committing these terrible crimes.
Alan, however, is smart enough to know that everyone is twisted or sick like them but is greatly afraid of his own life; he doesn't know what to do or say other than just obey whatever they ask him to do. There is literally nothing he can do to stop them.
Eriksen rubbed his hands with sickening delight. "Okay, Alan! Remember the knife I let you borrow?" Turning his head over him as the desperate screams and hisses emitted from the poor cat, "Come on, dude! Why are you just standing there like a statue?" Growing annoyed at how long it is taking him.
He simply doesn't have to do this; he could walk away and no one would question why, but then either of them could target him next for refusing to comply. Alan doesn't want to imagine himself being killed the same way their victims have died.
"Yes..." He weakly uttered, being forced to comply or face the consequences if he were to disobey, "I have it," stating in pure resignation, greatly fearing what he was going to do. Walking up slowly yet steadily to the begging cat while trying its best to free itself from the tight grip of the nine-year-old kid, the sound of whimpering and yowling can be heard from the struggling feline.
When he got close enough, he slowly took the knife out with trembling hands, expressing visibly how much he didn't want to do this, holding a deep sour feeling inside him that this wouldn't be the first time he'd done this.
Both of the bullies grinned at the sight. "Cut him," the duo said in unison, urging their supposed friend to act as he watched the cat wriggling and desperately hissing. clawing its small paws in an attempt to get free. "Make it cry, make it suffer," the voice of the leader said without even a shred of remorse. "Go on! Cut him; do it! Do it, now!"
With tears welling inside his eyes, Alan does so, hoping for this nightmare to end. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do," forcing a thin, shaky smile as the tip of the blade touched its white fur, piercing the soft flesh underneath with ease, causing the wailing and meowing to increase further.
His fingers became slick and warm from seeing the bleeding dripping, staining the ground beneath as he continued to stare in horror. "I don't know if I could do it anymore guys."
Jody, tired of having to deal with his shenanigans, swiftly snatched Alan's knife and said, "You're so slow all the time!" He said in pure annoyance, "It's painful watching you, so I will do it for you instead!" The bully added angrily.
Before any of them could say or do anything else, a voice suddenly interrupted the group's evil deed, causing them to halt in their tracks after realizing they had been caught. The bullies then paused, fear gripping their hearts as they looked at each other, then towards Menes, who was currently accompanied by other two grownups.
"Hey, what are you kids doing here?!"
