Step into the Night chapter 1

Foreword: English is my second language so expect some mistakes. Any comment are welcomed with open hands.



Synopsis:Henry is a normal teenage boy with one disadvantage-he can't dream. Although it seemed an insignificant fact but that weakness is only a piece of the puzzle. There have been an outbreak in Malaysia. A disease called Acute Brain Activity Disorder (ABAD) kills people just by shuting down their brains. Little do the people of Malaysia know, that disease is not your ordinary disease. Rather, it was a tool to set up the stage for an evil plot. And Henry was right in the middle of it.

Dreams...

Are representations of your reality...

Dreams...

It carries a curse and a prophecy...

Darkness...

It fills my special lone time..

The space which is once my mind scape..

That were decorated by dreams.. .

Dreams...

Where are you?

Are you really...

A dark abyss inside my mind?



Tick...Tick...Tick...



         A black haired boy woke up. He sat up. His eyes widened and his clothes was drenched by his sweat. His breath was labored. He was clearly traumatized. After a few moments, his breathing slowed, and he relaxes.

The boy sighed as he rested on his back on the bed post. This boy is Henry Edgewhite. His parents were originally Americans but then migrated to Malaysia, a developing country in South-East Asia.   He lived his whole life just for the heck of it. He tried to be as normal as possible. He thought being too special or extraordinary was downright troublesome.

However, there is one thing that sets him apart from everyone else that-he can't dream.

Every time he sleeps, only darkness accompanied him until the sun came up. That is the reason he hates sleeping and always woke up early.



         Henry looked at the clock. It was 5.30. 'It is still early. Well is it better to get a head start. As usual.' He got up from his bed and ready for school. After he is done making his bed and have a nice bath, he went to the mirror.

His body was normal. It was not muscular nor it is fat and flabby. His face was clean from acne and blemishes. His black hair was still wet. After a few moments, he slid into his school uniform: a white short sleeve shirt and a dark green pants. After adjusting his black tie on his neck, he left his room. Henry couldn't be careless about his messy hair.

His mom was still sleeping so there was no breakfast. Henry likes it better this way. He prefers eating at the nearest mamak stall, a small restaurant ran by India-Muslims. He took his bag and keys and left the house.



         He took a deep breath of the morning air. Same as always. The birds are chirping, the sun is rising and the newspaper boy delivering newspapers on a bike. Your average day. He walked along the road until he reached the mamak stall. Doni's Mamak Stall. A small restaurant near a playground. Well, it was more of a stall than a restaurant. It only had an open-air kitchen,two small miniature kitchen,a few umbrella on top some tables and chairs. Henry sat on his usual spot: the one facing the playground and the farthest from the kitchen. He like this spot because it seems isolated so he could be at peace. He flopped on to the chair.



         "Ah, Henry. Nice to see you." said a male voice. Henry looked at the origin of the voice. An Indian teen was standing beside him. He wore a simple white pagoda shirt with ragged pants. Through the sleeves of the shirt Henry could see the teen's muscular biceps and toned abs. Although the teen has a tough body, he wore a sincere smile on his face. "Muthu, good morning." Henry smiled. "Good morning to you too. May I take your order?" he took out his notepad and pen. "I'll take my regular." "So you will be having Nasi Lemak and Teh Tarik." Muthu jotted down the order. "Anything else?" Henry shook his head. "No, I'm good." "I'll be right back." Muthu walked away from Henry's table.



         Henry rests his chin on his hands. He was enjoying the peaceful morning. A normal, peaceful morning. Next to his table was two men. Based on what they are wearing, Henry concluded they are some people who work in an office. They are chatting animatedly, occasionally laughing out loud.

         "Hey, did you hear the news?" said one of them. "What news? The news of Farhan's engagement?" said the other. "No, not that. The hot news of a mad scientist running loose." "Interesting. What is it all about?" "There is a mad scientist who killed everyone in his department one week ago! The police is still trying to catch him. The worse part is his office is really close to us!" said the first man excitedly. "Seriously? That is a disturbing news."



         "Henry?" Muthu's voice cut off Henry's concentration to the conversation. "Dozing off early in the morning?" asked Muthu. "Nah, I was just thinking." Muthu grinned. "Whatever you say." he walked away.



         Henry sipped on his Teh Tarik. The creamy tea tasted great in his mouth. Teh Tarik was his favorite drink. He tasted it when he first came to Malaysia.The Teh Tarik was Malaysia's signature drink. It is your normal tea, but it is prepared by pouring the tea from one cup to another to create the bubbles on top. The action when the tea is poured from one cup to another is like pulling the tea.Tarik means to pull in Malay. Thus Teh Tarik was born.

         

         Another dish he liked is the Nasi Lemak. A hearty serving of rice cooked with pandan served with a spicy sauce called sambal, anchovies,a slice of boiled egg and peanuts. An almost staple food in Malaysia eaten mostly during breakfast sometimes even lunch and dinner.

         

         He finished his breakfast. He was satisfied and full. The taste of sambal still lingers in his mouth. He picks up his bag and made his way to the LRT station.



                                       *

         It was lively at the station. Taman Melati station, the nearest station to his house. Sounds of people chattering, cars honking and heavy footsteps rang to his ears. As busy as always. He paused for a second before climbing up the stairs. "Normal. Just the way I like it."

         The platform was packed with people even though it is still early. Students, officers, civilians, nurses, businessman you name it. It was like a huge job convention. He could have sworn he saw a wealthy CEO living in a huge bungalow near his house took the LRT. Then again, with all the hype about global warming, it seemed that everyone preferred to use public transport. Surprisingly, Malaysia which was famous for its bad public transport had turned into a public transportation hub. Henry walked into the crowd to reach for the ticket counter. Again, chatters rang to his ears, but he has gotten used to it. Even now, he still gets several weird stares every now and then because of his American face and accent, but he just shrugs it off.

         He bought his ticket at the counter. He cursed himself for losing his monthly public transportation access card. That card simplifies life by 25%. He walked along the platform trying to get a seat but lucky was not on his side. Henry just leaned against a stone pillar.

         “Henry!” a female voice called out for him.Henry smiled. He knew that voice too well. He turned his head towards the voice. The owner of the voice was a Chinese girl a little shorter than him. She wore a blue pinafore with the school badge emblazoned at its left breast over a white blouse. Typical Malaysian school girl uniform. She tied her hair into a ponytail, and it went just below her shoulders. She was smiling with her hands waving at him. She walked toward him.

         “Good morning Henry!” she said with enthusiasm.

         “Good morning Michelle. You sounded happy. Did something happen?”

         She smiled. “Oh yes. I saw a cute little kitty on the way to the station. It was so cute!” Michelle made a cute face trying to imitate the kitten's face.

“Eh? You got excited for a little cat? How old are you anyway?” said Henry sarcastically. “So? You got excited for a...a...” Michelle shuttered. She narrowed her eyes. “You never got excited over anything. How old are you? 99?” “Eh? I can be excited something has given the chance. Like when...”He paused. “When..when...er...” Michelle pointed her finger at him. “See? I told you.” Henry raised his hands. “Fine,fine. I lost. Shesh.” Michelle laughed. “Hahaha, I won.”

         Henry smiled. This was a normal routine between him and his best friend, Michelle. They would greet each other, have a childish fight and laugh. They would get stares but Michelle didn't care one bit. It was their own way of greeting.

         It wasn't long before the LRT came. As soon as the door opens, people rushed into the LRT hoping to get a place to sit. Thank god it was still early, if not he would be trampled by now. Henry and Michelle entered the carriage after the initial pushing was done. There was still a lot of space, so there is no reason to break through the crowd.   There was no place to sit so they decide to stand.

         Michelle sighed. “Man, my head is sore.” She rubbed the sides of her head while closing her eyes. “Why is that? It is rare for you to sigh early in the morning.” said Henry. “I just had a terrible dream last night. I couldn't sleep the whole night.” Henry's face faulted at the word 'dream'. He didn't know why but he felt jealous, whenever he heard that word. That word which is purely fiction to him. Out within his reach. Only Michelle knew about his little secret. Michelle realized his sudden face fault. “Oh Henry I'm sorry!” She put her hands together as a sign of forgiveness. “I didn't know what I was babbling about!” Henry looked at her. “No, I won't forgive you.” said Henry playfully. “Heh? No Henry! You can't do this to me!” said Michelle,surprised. Michelle was practically screaming and is shaking his body back and forth. Everyone stared but he didn't care. He just loves teasing her early in the morning. Henry stopped Michelle from shaking him more. “Okay, I'll forgive you but only after some ice-cream.” Henry grinned. “Heh? That is bribery!” “No ice-cream, No forgiveness.” He grinned wider. “Fine! Hmph!” Michelle pouted. Henry laughed at his little victory.

         “No wonder it is noisy in here.” said a female voice a few pitches lower than Michelle. Think all like an alto rather than a soprano. “A weirdo is disturbing the school idol early in the morning.” TThe sentence had a weird air of sarcasm around it. Henry looked at the owner of the voice. “Zati..” he muttered under his breath. Zati looks like a normal school girl wearing a white baju kurung with a blue long skirt which stops at her shoes. Her tudung was in perfect symmetry, a feat among high school students. Her flawless light brown skin compliments her perfect tudung. Plus with her really curvy figure, Zati is a beauty. Unfortunately, she is only beautiful outside. The self appointed leader of a group of extremely beautiful but evil girls.She is famous for her charms and seduction technique among the boys and extreme bullying among the girls. Oddly enough, even with her bullying, she never got expelled. With sarcasm to boot, she is the girl Henry loves to hate.

         Zati went in front of him. “What is with you disturbing other people's peace. It's 6.50 and you are already making a mess.” Henry just kept quiet. He glances at Michelle.   'Please save me!' Henry cried in his heart. Michelle nodded as if as she heard Henry's thoughts. “Um..Zati let the weirdo be. Let's go somewhere else.” Michelle took Zati's hand and started pulling her  away. “Wa..Wait I haven't finished insulting him! Michelle!” cried Zati hopelessly as she succumbs to the Chinese girl's pulling.

         Henry sighed. Michelle was a popular girl in school. An angel who is bubbly and treat everyone as a person. He was an outcast. Frankly speaking, he was bored with life and wasn't interested in people at all. So, the people at school thought he was a stuck-up and treat him as an outcast. His one and only friend at school was Michelle. The one who talks to him and hears him out regardless of everyone's sayings. Now she had to take care of Zati so basically he was lonely.

         The LRT stopped. “Setiawangsa station.Setiawangsa Station.” said a feminine voice over the intercom. People started to flow into the carriage. Soon, the carriage was full of people. Michelle was nowhere to be seen. Henry leaned against the wall of the carriage. The guy near him was banging his head with his MP3 on full blast. Henry could hear heavy metal music clearly from the guy's earphone. 'Seriously, keep it down. You will become deaf faster.'

         The LRT took a sharp turn to the left. Henry stumbled to his right bumping a person. “Oh sorry.” he said before looking at the person's face. He was awed. In front of him was a school girl wearing his school's badge. A head shorter than him and wore a pinafore similar to Michelle's. She had a hair band and let her hair down, which stops right after her shoulders. Her eyes were hazelnut brown. Beautiful.

         Henry's face flushed. “Um...Sorry about that.”

“No, it is not a big deal.” she replied softly. She moved away from her spot towards the next carriage.

Henry just watched her passed him. “Who is she?”

                                                           *

         “Masjid Jamek Station. Masjid Jamek Station.” Henry adjusted his sling bag. It was his stop. The door opened and he stepped out from the LRT. Henry's eyes searched for the hair band girl or Michelle.

         “Woit!” he heard a familiar voice. It was Michelle. She walked beside him. “Zati was a handful really.” Henry smiled. “Tell me about it. You save my neck. I hate her insults and her sarcasm suppresses mine, which made me jealous.”   “Hahaha, yeah right. You and your sarcasm are worse than Zati's” Michelle laughed as she slid her ticket into the ticket machine. “Really? I'm honored” Henry slid his ticket into the same ticket machine. “You are so full of yourself.” Henry laughed.

         It was a few minutes walk from the station until they reached their school: Kuala Lumpur Bestari School. The school was made of several buildings. The main administrative building was situated between the lower form building and the upper form building. The science and technology building was situated perpendicular to the three buildings. The school field was just beside the lower form building. It was one of Kuala Lumpur's finest school. Sighing, Henry entered the school's compound with Michelle.

                                                 *

         Class 4-F was noisy. The teacher hasn't come in yet. Zati was gossiping with her fellow friends. The netball team was chatting animatedly. The bookworms enjoyed their reading despite the noisy atmostsphere. The nerds were fawning around a Video Game magazine. The remaining boys talked about Arsenal's defeat by Chelsea last night. To sum things up, everyone is with their own groups. He was a neutral person or an observer as Michelle said it. Even Michelle went over to Zati's group after the latter literally drag Michelle from her seat.

         Henry rested his chin on his hands, obviously bored. He did not belong to any of the said groups, and he didn't care to join one. They would just ignore him thanks to the rumor started by Zati that he is cursed. When he thinks about it, maybe Zati is right. He was cursed to not dream and hate sleeping, which explains why he didn't just sleep before class. While the class broke the decibels record, he would just stare blankly or maybe eavesdropped on a little.

         Michelle cast a glance at him. She gave him a forced, disturbing grin and mouthed 'Help me!' before nodding at Zati's blabbering. Henry smiled slightly. “I wish.” he muttered under his breath.

         The class door slid open. The class felt silent. A girl entered the class. Black shoulder-length hair, hazelnut eyes, black hair band. Wait. It is THE girl at the LRT. Henry froze. 'She was in my class?!' The girl paused at the door, realizing that all eyes were on her. Her face turned deep red. “Um...I..I am...I...” She shuttered while looking at the ground.

         The class door opened again. “Good morning students! Please take our seats! I...” the teacher paused as she lays eyes on the new girl. “Oh I see you found your classroom already. Good for you.”   The teacher, Puan Zaleha went to the teacher's table in front of the classroom. “Students, I would like to introduce you to Erika Kang. A new student here is KL Bestari School. I wish you would give her a warm welcome and help her at the first day here.” Puan Zaleha gestured at Erika to introduce herself. Erika flushed again. She was hesitant about a while before taking a deep breath. “I...I am E...E..Erika Kang. I...I h..hope to ha..have a great sch..school year w...with all of y..you.” she spoke softly.“Alright then Erika, you can sit at an empty seat beside umm...”Puan Zaleha pointed at him.   “What is your name again?” she asked Henry. “Henry miss.” “Right. Henry. Erika, you can take your seat beside Henry.” Erika nodded slightly and went towards her seat.

         The whole class whispered to each other, commenting on Erika.

         “The girl is cute!”

         “She is an angel.”

         “What's up with the hair band?”

         “Hey,hey Zati. That Erika is really shy. Perfect for our next victim.”

         “Yeah Zati, she just smiled to herself at the corridor.”

         “Really? That is it! Girls, we have our victim!”

         “Poor girl, not even five minutes in the school she had been shunned by Zati. A new record.”

         'This is not happening. An extremely cute girl is seating next to me.' Henry found this piece of information is a little hard to register. He looked at his right to see Michelle. Michelle had an evil grin on her face. Henry look back to the front of the class, holding back the urges to cast a quick look at Erika. All he can hear was the sounds of books shuffling as Erika took out her books.

         “Alright class, today we are going to learn about functions. First we must..”Puan Zaleha goes on with her lecture. This is going to be one hell of a school year.