Kid Flex

My name is Kyle Damian. I live with my mom, Dorothy Damian. My dad passed away when I was five, and recently, I've been seeing things—the kind that makes your heart skip a beat. And in this chapter, I met a . . .
The museum was a dome-shaped structure adorned with statues and ornamental trees. As Kyle approached, he spotted Bart waiting by the door—two giant, rectangular metal doors with an ancient design. Bart waved, making Kyle speed up to meet his friend, and Kyle waved back.
Kyle and Bart stared at the museum in amazement, its pillars glittering as if made of gold. "So how are we going to get in?" Kyle asked. Bart smiled, having already planned this out. He led Kyle to the left wing of the museum, where there was another door—a normal one, to be exact. Bart took out a key bundle with over 30 master keys, which he had gotten from a mystery shop. The shopkeeper had told him that with this bundle, he could open any door. After a few tries—maybe 25—Kyle got tired of waiting and handed Bart the keys he had stolen from his mom's wardrobe. They worked like a charm. "Yes!!" Bart yelled, clenching his fist in excitement. Kyle and Bart quietly walked into the museum.
They found themselves in a hallway, half the size of a football pitch. They stared at the ceiling, made of glass with giant metal beams connected to a ring at the center of the dome, allowing the moonlight to stream in. Kyle was confused as the hallway led to eight other rooms, so Bart decided to explain.
"A normal museum has five sections: general, natural history and natural science, science and technology, history, and art. But Draken City Museum has six. The sixth section is called the Supernatural Gallery, which speaks to the heart of the people of Draken City, known as the Phantom City. The number of supernatural stories, objects, and more we have is legendary," Bart said, ending with a smile.
"So are we going to the Supernatural section to see...?" Kyle asked gently.
"To see the legendary cursed box. I heard that anyone who opens it will have their wish granted," Bart answered. Kyle couldn't help but laugh at Bart for believing in such fairy tales, but Bart replied, "I also thought it would make a cool adventure."
Kyle stopped laughing and told him, "It already is," with a huge smile on his face.
The two boys found the doorway leading to the Supernatural Gallery, and this was where Kyle took his first step in a long journey . . . his journey to hell.
The room was dark, so Bart and Kyle took out their phones and turned on their flashlights. As they illuminated the room, their eyes began to adjust. The room's size met the basic standards of a museum, and the walls were milky white. There were many spooky objects on display, as well as sculptures of ancient monsters, demons, and other creatures, accompanied by models of haunted houses and supernatural-related artwork, both old and new. Kyle and Bart were dazzled by what they saw. Words couldn't leave their mouths, but their faces said it all: 'WOW!'
"Well, let's get this adventure over with," Kyle said, his mood completely changed, now happy and excited. "Yeah, that's the spirit. TIME TO FIND THAT BOX!"
They searched the room like pirates hunting for gold, carefully reading the captions of each artifact as they shined their lights over them.
Ten minutes passed, and they still couldn't find the so-called legendary cursed box.
"I've seen it! I've seen it!" Kyle screamed. It was located at the center of the room. Bart immediately stopped his search and went over to check if it was the real deal.
"This?" Bart said in confusion as he looked at the artifact on display. It was a skull with many scars, two curved horns—one of them broken—and normal teeth for a skeleton. No light could penetrate its eye sockets, leaving its inner parts completely dark. A darkness that Kyle began to stare into; it was so deep he couldn't take his eyes off it. He stared into the never-ending darkness.
"This isn't the legendary cursed box!" Bart said in disappointment. Kyle directed his attention to the caption, which read THE LEGENDARY CURSED BOX.
"Someone must have stolen it and put this here!" Bart said angrily.
"Can we just take a pic and go?" said a tired Kyle. Bart calmed down and gave him an "OK."
Suddenly, someone switched on the lights. Kyle and Bart feared they had been busted until...
"Now, what do we have here?" said a thunderous voice—a voice Kyle and Bart knew all too well. The owner of the voice was Larry, the leader of a trio of bullies who had been trying their best to frustrate the two friends. Behind him were Mark and Jone. Though these three weren't much older than Kyle and Bart, their statures made them look two years older, and they were well-feared in Bailey Academy's class nine.
"Could you guys just leave us alone?" Bart said in annoyance.
"Are you yelling at me?" replied Larry, intimidatingly. Kyle tapped Bart, his depressed look had returned. He signaled Bart, trying to tell him to let it go, but Bart refused. He walked up to Larry, so close that he could hear his breath. Bart raised his head, looked Larry in the eyes, and whispered, "F**k you." Immediately, Larry punched him in the face, flinging him into the stand holding the skull, causing it to come crashing down. The display case shattered to pieces, and Bart screamed as shards of glass pierced his leg.
Kyle stared at the skull, now out in the open. It reminded him of the ominous feeling he had in his dreams. Hurriedly, he put the injured Bart onto his back and tried to make his way to the door, but Larry, Mark, and Jone blocked his path. Then, the lights in the room started blinking. Larry, Mark, and Jone turned back to check if someone was playing with the switches, but no one was in the room except the five boys. Then, the lights went out, and everyone froze in the darkness. It was as if they had stepped into a horror movie.
BWAH!
In the blink of an eye, a dark flame extended from every hole in the skull, forming a creature with a demonic appearance—an embodiment of evil. The top of its head was like a raging fire, its crimson red eyes shone with the color of death, its countless fangs as sharp as swords, and its tongue like a serpent. The demon scared Larry, Mark, and Jone so much that they wet themselves, falling to the ground, completely frozen in disbelief. Bart was also in shock. He climbed off Kyle's back on instinct and fell to the ground. Even though it hurt, he tried his best to crawl away. Kyle was the only one standing, but he had never seen his friend so terrified and pathetic before. That gave him a little courage—it was his time to thank Bart for always being there for him. He stood in front of Bart and faced the demon, spreading out his arms and legs, taking up a protective stance, and shouted with all his might, "STOP!"
Everyone was on the ground in the presence of the demon, except Kyle, whose entire body was trembling as he ordered the demon to stop...
The demon let out a devilish smile and lunged at Kyle. Kyle squeezed his eyes shut so hard it hurt, as he was engulfed in the dark flames that made up the demon. Everything froze, and all Kyle could see was black, black, black.
Kyle grew numb as he entered a state of death. He found himself standing in a white passage where he saw another version of himself at the other end. This other Kyle had spiky hair that fell to the left side of his face, covering his left eye down to his cheek. The double let out a devilish smile, just like the one the demon had, and said, "卄| Ҝㄚㄥ乇 |'爪 尺卂Ҝ几卂尺, ㄚㄖㄩ尺 卩乇尺丂ㄖ几卂ㄥ ᗪ乇ᐯ|ㄥ."