Chapter 111: Memories

Hugh held Aric's hand in his heart. All he could hear was ringing in his ears as he looked down at the blood oozing out of the heart's valve.

He did not even know what happened, and his body just moved on its own. It did not even register to him that he had killed Aric.

He could smell the rust-like scent of the blood in his hands, and all he could think about was his hunger. It was taking over all of his instincts, and he could not think straight.

He squeezed the heart in his hand, and more blood came out. It was interesting to see a vital part of the human body in his hands, lifeless and without any purpose.

He raised the heart towards his mouth, and he opened his jaws wide. His mind was blank as he took a bite out of the heart.

The heart was a muscle, but it was as soft as a marshmallow. More blood came out of the heart as he took a bite out of it, spilling out of his mouth and staining his clothes.

The first bite was as fulfilling as a full-course meal. It was a multitude of tastes, exploding all over his mouth. However, the majority of the taste was bitter and spicy.

He did not have to chew the heart as it immediately melted in his tongue. It was smooth, and the consistency was easy to swallow.

As soon as it traveled towards his stomach, Hugh felt a sudden jolt of emotions. He was suddenly angry, sad, and pain all over his body.

The pain was not physical, but mental. It felt like he was going through an innumerable amount of torture. Then, like a flash of lightning, Hugh saw flashes of memories that he had never seen before.

The flash was too fast, and he could not decipher it. It dawned on him that the flashes of memory and the burst of emotions were linked.

He ignored all of these mysterious feelings that he was experiencing and just continued to eat the heart in his hands.

With every bite, Hugh would feel a different slice of emotions and memories that was not him. As he continued to consume the heart, the pieces of memory slowly linked together.

As he took the last bite out of the heart, Hugh had to close his eyes due to the burst of emotions and memory that came to his mind.

The memory flashed in his mind like a movie. It was as if he was experiencing a different person's life from birth to adulthood.

He saw a first-person perspective of pushing a kid in the swing. The kid was surprised and turned around to face Hugh.

It was then that Hugh noticed that he was the kid on the swings. The link then soon came after. He realized that he was looking at Aric's perspective throughout his life.

He relived the times where he and Aric were just kids. They were friends, and that continued throughout their childhood. Hugh was now seeing things from Aric's perspective, and how he felt.

Aric truly did treat Hugh like a friend. However, things quickly changed when they reached kindergarten. Aric's father started to train him and torture him.

He could feel every cut, every bruise, and every pain that Aric felt during those times. With his face buried in the pavement, Maverick would instill in Aric the ideals that shaped who Aric was today.

Maverick did not let Aric have any sort of weaknesses. This was deeply instilled into Aric through corporal punishment.

Then, Hugh's younger self started to become fatter and fatter. Through Maverick's brainwashing, Aric started to hate Hugh for what he had become.

While Aric was suffering from tortures and punishments, Hugh was busy being lazy and eating all the time. While Aric was having the worst time of his life, Hugh enjoyed his.

It was unfair, but Aric still treated Hugh as a friend. However, Maverick's teachings were still in his mind.

This was when the bullying started. Aric started to torture Hugh like the way that his father did to him. This was what Hugh had always thought Aric intended.

Hugh thought that Aric was just angry at his father and just took it out on him. However, these memories proved him wrong.

When Aric stole Hugh's money and made him run for miles and miles, all Aric wanted to do was make Hugh lose weight.

Stand up! Hugh had thought that Aric was taunting him and demeaning him, but Hugh was wrong. Stand up! Aric wanted Hugh to stand up for himself

When Aric trapped Hugh in a burning house, it was Aric's twisted way of making Hugh go to the sauna. If Hugh did not want to run for miles and miles, this was a good way for Hugh to lose weight.

Stand up! Aric wanted Hugh to not give up on his life.

When Aric threw away all of Hugh's food, he wanted to force Hugh to go on a diet. Hugh had been eating too much, so Aric wanted to cut it down.

Stand up! Aric wanted Hugh to take better care of himself.

This twisted way of taking care of somebody was learned directly from his father. Maverick wanted Aric to learn his lessons through punishment, so Aric did the same to Hugh.

Through the punishments that Aric did to Hugh, Hugh never got better. Hugh only got worse and worse, but Aric did not give up.

Aric continued to bully Hugh, but Hugh was always the same. As time passed, Aric forgot the reason why he started to bully Hugh.

The intent became more and more convoluted until bullying Hugh had become normal nature for him. When they were in high school, Aric was bullying Hugh because Hugh had given up.

Hugh looked down towards Aric's cold and pale body. His knees buckled and he fell on the floor. The person that he had thought was an enemy, turned out to be his only friend.

It turned out that Aric only wanted the best for him, but Hugh never got the message. The only friend that Hugh had was now dead on the floor because of him.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

Hugh screamed at the top of his lungs, and a bright reddish fire started to explode all around his body.