The Devil's Claw

Reality, The Worst Nightmare

Keith kept quiet the whole time during breakfast with his family, his eyes were still as he was lost somewhere in his own world of imaginations, "What are you thinking? Keith" asked his father in a casual tone. Keith didn't answer, though his eyes were no longer still. "What's wrong with you? Is it Richard's death that's bothering you?" asked his father again in a casual tone. Keith ignored his father again and continued eating creamy fruit salad with fork. "You think your this behavior would bring back your tutor?!" yelled his father. "Calm down honey!" said mother, "He's just a kid, and he has already not eaten anything since yesterday". "He's no longer a kid, he understands everything, if his mentality towards us stays like this, he would one day be our own enemy!" yelled father again while getting up and leaving the table. "Your father has gone crazy, a kid and an enemy! does it even make sense? Just ignore him, Keith" said mother in a sarcastic manner after father had left. Keith got up and left too, leaving behind mother and his brothers there. His facial impressions were as stiff as rock, and his eyes were like successfully holding tears. "No Mom, Keith is really being strange, no one ever in elite's history held such views as he has been holding. If you won't stop him, father would one day get tired of tolerating him" said Jason in a concerning tone.  "Brother Keith is amazing! He taught me how to ride a bicycle few days ago, while you are always busy attending your parties with your fan girls, brother Keith spends time with me," said Watson, the youngest one. "He's a good person, he's not an enemy!" Watson got up and left too along with Jason.

After few hours... 

In the evening, there was a knocking at Keith's room, "Yes, who's it?". "Your Father wants to talk.." said maid named Kate. "Okay, you may go now" said Keith as he was very much disturbed. After few minutes, he wore his jacket, and started walking towards the father's office, when he reached the door and was just about to knock, he heard some conversation between his father and his secretary named Mr. Floyd. 

Father : Install as many cameras as possible with the help of administrator of security department Mr. Smith. Keep an eye on everyone, hear everything and keep note of who's going against us in any way.

Mr. Floyd : Sir, all cameras are installed, we have covered every corner successfully. 

Father : Great. You may leave now. 

Just before Mr. Floyd was about to open door for leaving, Keith knocked it. "O its you, Little prince, Your father had been waiting for you" said Mr. Floyd smilingly. Keith almost ignored his warm welcome like he's just not interested, "Yes father?" asked Keith in a rigid tone. "I have decided to hire a new tutor for you, you can tell him from where your studies should be continued" said father. "Okay so who is it you're going to kill this time?" asked Keith in a serious tone. "I don't like killing people, don't sound like that, you're just a kid who can't understand things and that's why you are continuously judging me wrong and misbehaving.." said father. "You are right Dad, I really don't know the matters between you and all those people you've killed apparently for no reason.. But I will know them for sure no matter what!" said Keith again in a serious tone. "For that you have to grow up and be mature enough, it will take a long time, Son, be patient" said father in a calm tone, while he was continuously revolving his chair a little left and right correspondingly with looking at Keith's face and then looking at laptop's screen repeatedly like he was more focused at his some task in laptop. "What's his name?" asked Keith. "Mr Carl" replied his father. "Have I ever seen him before?" asked Keith. "I don't know, maybe in some party, you might have seen him before" answered his father. "Okay, I got it, when will he start?". "From tomorrow morning just after breakfast" replied his father while he was now typing something on laptop placed on his office table. 

On his way from father's office to his room, he kept on thinking of any idea through which he could know the hidden reasons behind killings of his dear ones... Maybe he should get close to father by being a good son and then ask him directly.. No.. Father would never tell him, or maybe he should hear all the conservations his father has with others.. No.. It's too risky and besides he couldn't hear all the conversations.. On reaching his room, he lyed on the bed, seeing rotating fan, and remembered what he just heard about cameras outside father's office. "Cameras.. Who controls them?... Mr Smith is an administrator...of Security department.. Cameras can tell who's going against us... Cameras can tell who should be killed..." he thought to himself. There he got an idea of hacking all the cameras that were installed in that Mansion. But there was a problem, he had very little knowledge of computer science, except for basics though he knew he could master such technical subjects easily and thus, he resolved to himself that he would use his mind to master all hacking tactics. It was the first act he was going to do against his family, and he knew that if he ever gets caught, he would be declared a traitor and his only destination would be his death. 

After few days... 

It was a hot sunny day, Watson was holding a toy plane in his hand, "Shooooo" flying it through the corridors of mansion, there he saw Keith standing isolated, "Brother! Brother Keith! How's my plane? Isn't it just as perfect as real plane?" asked Watson in excitement. "Yeah.. It is, keep playing" answered Keith while pinching Watson's cheeks. "Shooooo" Watson continued playing, his voice became as low as he ran away. As days passed by, Keith started missing most of the meals at the table in main family hall with his family, he lost interest in almost everything, always having dull expression on his face. He was not a little interested in his new tutor and studies were also as boring as hell for him. He spent most of his time on the laptop and for that, he would even neglect his health and sleep. He had no friends because he would not socialize with anyone in any elite party, rather he would not attend these parties at the first place. 

One night, Dina was continuously changing sides, and then she just sat up, "What happened? Dina" asked Micheal while holding her arm and pulling it towards him, making her breasts pressed against him "Is it something that's disturbing your beautiful sleep?" asked Micheal while circling his fingers through her hair. "Micheal, I guess Keith is mentally disturbed.. He's in some trauma, he's no longer same.." said Dina in a concerning tone while she noticed Micheal's fingers slipping over the curve of her waist down to her buns and his eyes showing his motive very clearly. She decided to talk to Keith tomorrow morning while letting Micheal has his way to their usual up and down pleasurable moments. In that same night, Keith eventually got successful in hacking all those cameras he was trying to hack for a long time and there he got access to all the recorded footages. He found out why and how Richard got killed.. How his fingers were cut down one by one... His body beaten up to a pulp by seven men whom faces he had seen somewhere before.. How Richard continuously begged them to stop and to tell him what wrong did he do to them.. Their laughs and screams of Richard repeatedly flashed back in Keith's mind. Before cutting through his neck to separate his head, they asked him for his last words if he had any and gave him only 10 seconds for that, "Keith... Will... Give.. You.. The same... 10 seconds" said Richard after which his head was ripped apart from his body. Seeing all this, Keith got up, puked on his laptop, pulling his hair, holding his head like it was going to explode, his hands were trembling, his blood pressure rising, tears blurring his vision, kneeling down on floor, he tried to hold himself, hugged himself. He wanted to cry like crazy, but he had to hold all that inside.. Just like he always had to.. Why... Why.. Am I a part of such family?.. His heart pumping fast.. His voice raised as he cried.. He desperately and repeatedly slapped himself for being born here.. He thought he had gone mad.. But there was no one to hold him in those dark moments when all worst realities were being revealed to him one after another in those footages, thereby traumatizing him, shaking him with shocks, ripping apart his empathetic heart into pieces, his perceptions of world into ruins and his personality into someone that world had yet to witness.