The Red Tiger

The beginning[1]

RING!!!!!

The loud sound of an alarm ringing could be heard, a teenager could be seen rolling on his bed while grumbling. 

"Arrgg it's morning already", Alfred complained as he was still feeling tired and wanted to go back to sleep. He stretched his hand lazily from the bed and put off the alarm. 

    Alfred Winston is a sixteen-year-old boy who is quite skinny for his age. He has black hair and deep blue eyes. He also uses a corrective lens as he doesn't see clearly without them. He lives in Greenville city and he's also from a comfortable family.

    His mother is late due to some mysterious reasons which he still doesn't understand, so he lives alone with his father.

     Alfred then stood up while rubbing his eyes, he then made his way to the bathroom to start getting ready for school. 

    "ARRRG!" Alfred suddenly felt a sudden headache as he felt like his whole head was going to explode.

He started seeing some flashes of scenes he couldn't understand, flashes of a man being attacked by a huge creature. He doesn't understand why he keeps on getting these flashes, they also seem to happen more frequently than before. All he could make out from them was that the man was bitten.  

"ALFRED!!!,are you okay!?" He heard his father scream worriedly from the sitting room.  

     "Am okay dad it's just a little headache" he said even though it felt like it wasn't the case as headaches like this happen to him once in a while and he kept feeling like something was missing deep inside him like something was trying to break free but he just ignored that feeling.

    After a few minutes he was finally ready for school and as he stepped outside he met his best friend or rather only friend Kelvin waiting for him by the door.

  "Ohh you're ready to let's get going Alfred," Kelvin said.

   Kelvin Stern is also sixteen years of age, the same age as Alfred. He has brown hair and black eyes and is also quite handsome. They have been friends since they were kids and Kelvin has been the only friend he has ever had. 

    As everyone seemed to distance themselves from him due to his condition of falling sick regularly even though he wasn't a sickle cell carrier as he sometimes feel a burning sensation in his chest. 

    So all his classmates distanced themselves from him in case it might be contagious but kelvin has been the only one who talked to him and also became his friend. He could still remember the day when he met kelvin which was ten years ago. 

     *TEN YEARS AGO*

    Six-year-old Alfred could be seen sobbing at a particular corner in the class after everybody else has gone home. "Why?, why do I have to be different? Why is everyone avoiding me?", he kept muttering to himself. 

    Then another boy of his age came to him while consoling him saying, "I don't think you're different". Alfred turned to him surprised that someone was talking to him and saw another kid of his age sitting down beside him. "Ohh I'm sorry, my name is kelvin so what's your name?", he asked him. 

    Alfred was still in shock as someone was talking to him and not only that but also asking for his name but he replied In a low cracking voice, "My name is Alfred". 

     After that conversation, they became best friends as they are always seen talking together and playing together. 

*BACK TO THE PRESENT*

    "Yeah let's get going"Alfred replied. 

Then they started walking together to their school which is not too far from Alfred's house. 

   *At Greenville high*

"Hey Alfred", a tall boy called him, he was walking with a group of boys who he calls his friends or gang as Alfred likes to call them.

   His name is Shane Williams. He is the son of Dave Williams who is a very popular inventor and scientist in the city of Greenville, he has blonde hair and is also about six feet tall. He's also quite muscular, he is also a bully as he likes bullying and insulting the other students and because of his father's wealth and fame he always got away with it and he doesn't miss a single day to make fun of Alfred.

   "Alfred let's just ignore him and keep going", Kelvin said as he didn't want any trouble when they just got to school. 

  "Fine", Alfred replied as he's still feeling a little headache after the morning incident. 

   And to his surprise Shane actually let him go. He couldn't even concentrate in the class as he was feeling some weird connection from a particular area but he also brushed it off as this wasn't the first time he was feeling that type of connection.

    After some hours when it was time for him to go back home, he suddenly felt that connection again from that same area and he tried moving closer and he felt that the connection got stronger also.

   'What's this?, why do I feel attracted to that particular direction? It's almost as if something is calling unto me. Perhaps I should check it out today', Alfred thought to himself and he decided to at least find out what keeps on causing that weird connection.

   "ALFRED!!" "ALFRED!!" "ALFRED!!"

   Kelvin kept calling his name but he wasn't even listening as he kept looking at the direction where the strange connection seem to he coming from. 

   When kelvin finally got to him, he was panting heavily as if he had just run a race. 

   "Are you sure you're okay?", kelvin asked worriedly as he noticed that his friend seem to be acting strange today. "Yeah, am fine", Alfred replied nonchalantly. 'He has been acting weird since we started walking to school', Kelvin thought and then he decided to ask again "Are you sure you're okay?".

   "Yes, I'm fine you don't have to worry about me, I just have to go pick something over there", Alfred said while pointing at the direction where the connection was coming from. Kelvin was surprised as Alfred was the one always rushing home most of the time.

   "Okay, what's that?", Kelvin decided to ask as he was still worried about his friend's strange behavior. He looked at the direction where Alfred was pointing and couldn't help but worry once more as he couldn't find any reason why he needed to go there. 

    "My father actually asked me to get something from the next street over there so I have to get it now", Alfred told Kelvin as he doesn't want him to know that he was actually going there to trace the weird connection he has been feeling."Fine, I'm coming with y…",

   "NO!", Alfred suddenly interrupted him. "You don't need to come with me I'll be back soon, very soon", he said hurriedly, then he just ran off without even giving kelvin a chance to argue any further.

    A few minutes later after Alfred left kelvin to search for where the connection was coming from, He still hasn't found it but he kept going towards that direction. He doesn't know how long he has been walking while trying to find where the connection was coming from and he didn't care. All he currently cared about was finding the source of the connection.

     He finally came across a tree that looked very old, then he felt the connection coming from that tree and he felt compelled to place his hand on it. He haven't noticed it yet but he had walked into a forest, he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings, he was only focusing on the connection and where it would lead to. 

    'Wow, I'm so stupid, placing my hand on a weird old tree without caring if it's poisonous or not', Alfred said inwardly but he still didn't make any attempt to leave. He doesn't really consider himself as curious person but something about this strange connection made him feel that he needed to find the source of it. 

   He then placed his hand on his tree and he felt something awakening inside of him almost as if a seal was breaking inside of him.

     Then it became a little painful, the pain kept increasing with every second he spends placing his hand on the tree. Unknown to Alfred a pair of green glowing eyes has been watching him all this while since when he entered the strange forest.

    When it started getting too painful, he hurriedly removed his hand from the tree then he remembered that kelvin was probably still waiting for him.

     As he was about to leave, "Wait!". He heard someone say to him, he then turned around and saw a man with glowing green eyes something that was weird even to him and unknown to Alfred his eyes also glowed slightly bright red which the other man noticed.