Chapter 2

“Holy shit, it’s fucking hot…” Mykel said as he leaned on his bed and stared at the blazing sun through the see-through glass door to his balcony. He smoke with a can of beer in his left hand, he looked at how his life had become, a life that he never thought he would have after everything he had achieved.

Mykel stood up and flicked the butt of the cigarette out to the balcony and down the road. He went to the bathroom to wash his face and cool down his face from the hot summer. He glared at himself in the mirror as if he despised the person he was looking at.

A fine-looking man with a body of a supermodel that he used to use to attract women and tattoos all over his arms, neck, and back. “What’s the point of being handsome with a perfect body if I have no money,” he said as he wiped his face. “Some ugly bastard is better than me with all those money they have in their pocket,” he continued as he threw the towel and left the bathroom.

Mykel grabbed his phone and checked his balance.

[Your balance is $72]

Mykel scoffed and threw his phone on the bed while he shook his head in disbelief. “I’m broke and I have nothing but this shitty apartment…” he said as he walked to his PC. He turned on his PC and watched some videos on the internet to waste time and to distract his hunger until tomorrow.

Mykel read a web novel on his PC and saw hundreds of books were trending, he had read some of them and he regretted that he made that novel. He used to be one of those authors with lots of money and fans, but it changed when he published his novel called Heritage of a Hero.

“People are still bashing about that shitty novel, huh? It’s been years for fuck sake…” Mykel said to himself while he scrolled down to the reviews and comments on his book. “I wish I can destroy this novel so that nobody will be able to see it or remember it anymore,” Mykel continued as he sighed.

Since his failure, he deleted all his social media to avoid stress and anxiety. One mistake was enough to push a man down into a deep hole with no lights nor hands to help. His failure brought him to his demise because all of his used-to-be fans started to reveal Mykel’s personal life as a scumbag, a worthless piece of shit was what they called him.

The more he read the negative comments and reviews, it pissed him off and decided to shut down his PC and went out to the balcony for a smoke.

Mykel was reminiscing the glamorous life he had a few years ago, he was at the top of the food chain. He looked down at people and they were all looking up at him, so it made him feel superior to the others.

As he was thinking of the good old days, his phone vibrates, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and saw a message from an unknown number.

[I finally got your number after hours of surfing on the internet. I used to be your huge fan but your shitty book is so fucking trash and saw everything about you on the internet and now I want to say that you fucking deserve it!]

Mykel read the message and scoffed. “What a piece of shit,” he said as he put his phone back in his pocket.

He was so used to that kind of thing that it didn’t affect him anymore, he had experienced the hate in person for a whole year so it didn’t bother him at all.

“He thought he would feel superior by sending that message, but the truth is he’s nothing but a piece of shit like me. A piece of shit will always be a piece of shit,” Mykel said as he puffed the smoke into the air.

Mykle’s phone vibrates again, and he ignored it this time, but it kept vibrating that it started to piss him off. He grabbed his phone and saw the latest message, and he was surprised when reading it.

[How is that feel to live in that shitty apartment, you shitty author?]

Mykel smirked and decided to reply to his fan.

[It’s still better than your life.]

The fan got triggered by Mykel’s reply and Mykel was so happy to see that person get triggered by him by sending dozens of messages like a maniac.

Mykel got an idea and immediately reply again.

[If you have a problem, why don’t we meet up? If you have something to say, then say it in front of me.]

With a single provocation, the fan agreed and told Mykel to meet at the convenience store near Mykel’s apartment. Mykel read that reply and immediately put on his shirt and grabbed his blazer then left his apartment.

Mykel arrived and lit his cigarette while he waited for his fan to appear. He looked at the time and it was 11 P.M., it was perfect for Mykel and he couldn’t wait to see what kind of person he was going to see.

“Hey, shitty author!” A guy’s voice could be heard from Mykel’s right.

Mykel smoked his cigarette and stared at the guy who was shorter than him and his body was nothing like Mykel. He smirked and scoffed as he puffed his smoke then he walked toward the guy with the cigarette in his hand.

“You’re the one who has been messaging me?” Mykel asked with his left hand in his trouser’s pocket.

“Yeah, so what? I can say whatever I want,” The guy answered.

Mykel smirked and flicked the cigarette at the guy’s face and it barely miss the guy’s right eye. The guy was in pain because of it and Mykel immediately threw a straight punch at the guy’s nose then followed with a left hook.

The guy fell while he was screaming in pain but Mykel kept throwing punches at him and the guy started to bleed. Mykel didn’t care about all of that but the clerk of the store saw what happened, she immediately called the police.

Mykel stopped beating the guy and immediately checked the guy’s pockets, he grabbed the guy’s wallet and scoffed while he was shaking his head. “Not only you’re ugly and weak, but you’re also poor,” Mykel said as he grabbed $22 from the guy’s wallet and then threw the wallet on the guy’s face.

Before Mykel could leave the scene, the police had already come and he immediately lifted his hands up in the air.

The guy explained everything to the police while the medic was checking his eye, two policemen were guarding Mykel so he won’t run away. “Can I smoke?” Mykel asked as he looked at both of them, but the police were just staring at him and didn’t say a word. “Why should I ask you guys’ permission, I can just light a quick one before we go,” Mykel said as he lit the cigarette.

It wasn’t the first time Mykel had to deal with the police, so he knew what he should do. He gave his testimony and told the truth about everything, but he also gave them evidence of the messages that the guy sent him. The police read the whole message and understood the situation.

“Alright, you come with us,” The police said as he cuffed Mykel.

Mykel cooperated and went into the car as he stared at the guy from the corner of his eyes with a smirk on his face.

Mykel ended up in jail while the police investigate whether it was a serious crime or not. He didn’t bother and used his time to rest for the night in the jail since he knew it might take a while for them to decide.

“Hey! Wake up!” The police said as he shook Mykel on the shoulder.

Mykel opened his eye and looked at the office. “Hmm? Is it done?”

“Yes, you may leave now,” The police said as he left the cell.

Mykel looked outside and it was morning already, he got up and left the cell and grabbed all his things. He checked his wallet and the $22 he got from that guy was still there and he couldn’t help but smile.

The moment he left the building, he followed the road and it took him quite a while to realize that he wasn’t in the place where he should be. “What the…” Mykel said as he looked at the city and it wasn’t the same city he was living in, and the whole area looked unfamiliar to him.

“Wait, where am I?” Mykel said to himself as he saw people walking past him. “Excuse me, Miss? Where is this?” Mykel said as he asked a woman who just walked past him.

“Where is this? You’re in District 1,” The woman said as she looked at Mykel from top to bottom.

“District 1?” Mykel asked as he shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows.

The woman nodded and pointed at the billboard.

Mykel looked up and he was shocked when he saw the message on the billboard.

[Welcome to District 1, the district of the best awakeners born!]

“No fucking way, I’m inside the world of my own novel?” Mykel mumbled to himself.