The fifteen-year-old woke up screaming from what felt like a nightmare, eyes full of tears, his heart frantically beating, shaking, and covered in a cold sweat, compelled by immense fear and checking his surroundings. Paranoid and suspicious of unknown danger, wondering whether it was just a dream or reality.
“That felt too real,” he said to himself as he was rubbing his eyes to fully awaken himself. “Why did it feel like it actually happened? And what was the meaning of it?”
He sat down for a few minutes, attempting to remember his dream, and the more he tried to recall what happened, the more he was bombarded by the memories of that dream, more than he could handle. Suddenly, his mother’s voice from downstairs interrupted his thought process, telling him to wake his younger brother up and get ready before they miss the school bus.
“Wake up Abe…,” she shouted. “And wake Brennan too before you’re late to school.”
Abaddon wiped the tears from his eyes and carefully stepped out of his bed. His feet barely able to hold him, he stumbled to the bathroom and washed his face to wake himself up. He looked at the mirror and for a very brief moment, he saw what looked like a scar on his left eye. He jumped back on the floor and started breathing heavily. He tried to feel his eye to check if what he saw was real, but it felt completely fine. He slowly looked back at the mirror; there was no scar on either eye.
“Crazy morning,” he said to himself. He looked at the clock and realized that the bus was about to arrive. “Crap! Mom’s gonna kill me.”
He ran to his brother’s room to wake him up. Abaddon usually wakes his brother up with sudden loud sounds for the sake of why not. He always told Brennan that he was a heavy sleeper and that to wake him up, he needed to shout very loudly, which was a complete lie. Abaddon did it for the fun of it, although it was traumatizing to his younger brother.
Today, as Abaddon was about to go on his usual malicious ways of waking up his brother, he stopped for a second. For some unknown reason, and for the first time, he chose to wake his brother up calmly and soothingly.
“Wake up little brother,” he said in a calm voice, “we’re gonna be late for school.” Abaddon was feeling differently about his younger brother that morning.
**
As he was walking down the school hall, Abaddon met his closest friend Das as he
used to every day.
“You got the stuff?”, Das asked in a low voice. “Yeah, I got the stuff.”
“All right, good, because we got some hungry clients on the wait.”
The moment Abaddon heard this sentence he suddenly stopped walking, frozen in place, goosebumps going down his body. His hands were shaking again.
“I’ve been through this very moment.” “What do you mean?”
“I have already lived this moment before.”
“You’ve lived this moment before? Like what? déjà vu?”
“No no… it’s not that, I know what will happen next. Hold up, you see the principal’s office?”
“Yeah…?”
“A girl with her parents will come out of there in 3..2..1” “What? How did you know that? What a wild coincidence!” “It wasn’t just a coincidence. I knew it was gonna happen.”
“I don’t know man, it felt like a coincidence to me. Anyways, I need the stuff, a lot of people are waiting for it.”
“Fine, just remember…”
“Always make it quick and only make transactions when no one is around I know I
know.”
As Abaddon was reaching for the packets in his bag, he remembered seeing things
not ending as smoothly as usual. He put the packets back in his bag and said: “Let’s leave it for another day.”
“Are you serious? I promised some of our clients that they’ll be getting their stuff today, what am I supposed to say to them?”
“Just make something up, anything.” “Is this because of that ‘Déjà Vu’ crap?”
“It’s not déjà vu. Bad things will happen if I give you the packets today.”
“Listen, nothing bad is gonna happen. I always make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. When have I ever made a mistake?”
“Uhh, I don’t know…”
“You have to trust me on this. If we don’t deliver today, we could lose our clients forever. Plus, I’ll be extremely careful. No one will notice.”
“Fine, here are the packets. I’ll see you after class. Do not mess this up!” “I won’t!”
Physically in class but his mind was in a place far away, with sweaty palms, frantically tapping his feet, and his eyes darting around the room. Something was not right with Abaddon. He was hearing a distant voice calling his name.
“Abaddon…Abaddon…ABADDON!”
Suddenly he was brought back to reality to find the principal’s secretary telling him he wants to see him right away.
“Principal Brown wants to see you,” she said in a serious tone.
Immediately his heart began pounding. His legs turned into jelly, barely capable of standing up. Slowly walking, trying as much as possible to delay whatever unknown danger is waiting for him. The secretary grabs him by the shoulder and pushes him forward to make him walk faster. He enters the principal’s office to find his friend Das sobbing in tears. The moment Abaddon saw his friend in there, he knew that things did not go as smoothly as he was assured.
“Hello, Abaddon, please have a seat. Do you know why I called you both here? Surely you can make an accurate guess.”
“I couldn’t think of the reason why I was brought here,” Abaddon replied in a shivering voice.
“All right, I thought you might say that. So let me refresh your memory.”
Mr. Brown grabbed Das’s bag and took out the packets that Abaddon gave him and said, “Do these look familiar to you?”
“I have never seen those before in my life before. I have no idea what those are
and…”
Mr. Brown suddenly slammed his hand on his desk and burst in complete outrage.
“Cut the bullshit! I know that the two of you have been selling these filthy drugs to students around this school. I will not allow two punks like you to ruin the reputation of this school.
Do you have any idea the kind of felony this is? And what it can do to your life? I can make one phone call to the police and you two are done.
He looked at Abaddon and said, “But you can consider yourselves lucky. The luckiest in the world. If it wasn’t for the respect that I have for your mother Hope, Abaddon, and how much she sacrificed for you to have a decent life, you’d be arrested by now. But she’s already got enough on her plate. How could you do this to her? This is how you reward her for all the that she has been through for you? You disappoint her, and you do not deserve a loving and caring person like her.”
Suddenly, Abaddon’s posture changed. He no longer was that little frightened kid.
He said, “Don’t you dare bring my mother into this, who do you think you are?” “Watch your tone with me boy. Do not try me, or I will make that phone call.” “We all know you’re never gonna make that phone call, and I am sure that my
mother has nothing to do with that. The only reason why cops are never getting involved is that the very moment the word gets out that students deal drugs, the reputation of this school will go downhill. I can see it making headlines across this town, and you are not ready for that.
Abaddon laid back and crossed his hands and legs with an arrogant smirk on his face.
There was a moment of silence.
“Get out of my school, the two of you, you are suspended,” Mr. Brown said “Fine! my time was wasted here anyways. Come on Das, let’s get outta here.”
Das seemed disturbed by what just happened, but he knew that this was the best outcome regarding the circumstances. When they got out of the school, Abaddon slammed Das by a wall and asked what happened.
“How did you manage to mess this up? It was a straightforward job. I should’ve never given you those packets.”
“I…I am so..”
“You…you…you’re what? Incapable is the only thing that you are. A useless punk!” “I’m so sorry, I did everything by the book.”
“Then what the hell went wrong?”
“I was at the usual spot, behind the stadium where there is a blind spot for security cameras, and as I…”
bag…”
“You got caught by a security guard as you were reaching for the packets from your
“Yeah…how did you know that?”
“I…don’t know…God…this weird dream that I had…it’s like I’ve seen things before
they happened. I don’t know what to make of it. Never mind. I gotta go now. They probably called my mom, she’s gonna kill me.”
“Lucky me I live with my grandma, and she doesn’t even know what school I go to.” “God your life is so miserable. Who loves you then?”
“I’m sure she does.”
“I doubt it, alright gotta go.”
**
The very moment Abaddon set foot in the house; he heard his mother’s voice
shouting his name louder than ever. The school indeed called her and told her about what happened. She was furious.
“Is it true? That you were selling drugs in school? Tell me right now! Is it true? And don’t you dare lie to me, Abe.”
“Yes, mom.”
“Are you out of your mind? Why? Why would you do such a filthy thing? For what good reason would you go into ruining your life like that?”
“Honestly, I wanted to make money.” “Are we that desperate for money?”
Abaddon chuckled and said, “Is that a serious question?”
“Look, I know that we’re not living a perfect luxurious life, but we are not desperate enough to go through such unlawful roads, you could end up in jail. And that would destroy our family.”
“But I am doing this for our family. Why live like this when we could have the chance to do better, to live better? you need to understand that I can change our life for the better. You’ll no longer have to work a double shift just to barely make a minimum wage. You’ll no longer have to worry about money.”
“What I worry about is none of your concern. You might think that what you’re doing is going to end up helping us but it’s not true. It will only bring more chaos than we need.
Nothing good ever comes out of such an evil act.”
“Sometimes a man has to cross a line to provide for his family.”
“A man? God, you’re fifteen! What happened to you? I don’t know who you are anymore. I don’t even know whom I’m talking to.”
These last words were repeated in Abaddon’s head, it sounded like someone was saying them repeatedly and louder each time. Trying to run away from the sounds, Abaddon ran to his room without saying a word and went straight to bed.
“Would you rather be loved or feared?” “…It’s entirely on you…”
“I welcome back my nightmares.”
Abaddon woke up the next day screaming from an even worse nightmare than the one before. His heart was pounding, and his body sweating heavily as if he just got out of an oven. He hurried and opened his room’s window to get some air and cool down his body.
This nightmare felt even much more realistic and scarier than the one before. He had to make sense of it. He sat down and tried to think it through.
He thought about how he was able to predict some events that happened yesterday at school. The only reasonable explanation that he could make out of it is the dreams that he’s been having for the past two nights. He realized that they were not just random events but rather future ones.
Days passed and Abaddon kept having dreams, some of which would end up happening on the next day or in the near future, while others did not happen.
**
After seven years of seeing future events before they happen, Abaddon has become an unstoppable force. At the young age of 22, he became the dominant drug dealer in his city. His territory was marked and well-known, no one could deal drugs in that area, except for him. The youngest drug lord to ever exist.
Between the ages of 15 and 22, Abaddon became very familiar with the strengths and constraints of his power. The only strength was being able to see the future, which kept him a step ahead of his rivals and made it possible for him to make the right decisions and ensure success. A constraint was that Abaddon had no control over his power, he was a hostage of his own dreams. He would often only get nightmares, which felt too real. In addition, for him to see what will happen in a particular situation, he had to initiate the
event leading to that situation before going to sleep, otherwise, he could not dream about it.
Abaddon has reached the peak of his dominance. Money, power, and control over everything that happens in his territory. However, none of it was enough to satisfy him.
Taking over only one territory could not satisfy his giant ego, so he decided to expand his market. The problem was that other territories were under the control of other drug lords, and nobody likes to have competitors in this business. So, simply entering their market and starting to sell there was not an option. He had to get rid of the competition to become the only source of distribution.
He couldn’t yet see in his dreams what potential outcomes this could lead to because he hadn’t initiated the actual planning for it. The following day, he began with his plan with Das who remained loyal to him all these years and is the only person working for Abaddon who knows about his ability. They both began working on their plan to take over the new territory.
“So, we know that every drug cartel has its drug lord who is responsible for all the major drug operations, which include production, sales, and transportation,” said Das. “However, there is a very crucial part about the drug cartel that makes it run smoothly and helps maintain its power and dominance…”
“The minor players.”
“Exactly Abaddon! Those who maintain key connections between drug outposts. The entire thing is like a giant network.”
Das added, “Another kind of these members are what they call ‘betweeners’. These people are the only link between the legal and illegal parties in the area. For a drug cartel to survive, it relies on its close connections with the law.”
“Why don’t we have these types of people?” Abaddon asked.
“We never seemed to need them. Your ability to foresee future events is what compensates for their absence.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. That’s kind of a good thing since it saves us money. Plus, we don’t have to worry about their loyalty to us. So, going for the head of the cartel is not the right way to approach this.”
“For now, it is best to avoid it.”
“Alright, how can we tackle these minor players?”
“They shouldn’t be too difficult to find. I’ve already sent men to locate their positions without raising any suspicion. They should get back to us in a couple of days.”
“Good, that’s enough time for me to use the dreams and try to foresee what could happen.”
A couple of days later, Das went to Abaddon and asked him about what he saw in his dreams. Abaddon gave him a fierce look and said:
“…You know I cannot tell you that, if you know it will alter the future. What is it that you want to know? Is there anything you want to tell me? Because I suggest you do so now.”
“What did you see? I have nothing to hide from you.”
“Time will tell. So, you came to let me know that the men are back.”
“Yes, they are. Ten outposts scattered throughout the area, five people per outpost, and two out of each five have machine guns.
“All right, good job. I’ve got to go now. I have somewhere to be.”
Abaddon thought about his mother, he could not remember the last time he saw her, in real life at least. Although he did not visit much, she was always on his mind. To him, she was the only person who truly loved him. He went back to his old home where she remained, not knowing whether she would want to see him after all this time.
He got out of his car, slowly walked to the front door, and lightly knocked twice hoping no one would answer.
“One second!” he heard from the house. The door opened, and Abaddon saw his mother in real life for the first time in years.
“Hey mom…” he said in a low shy voice. “Abe! Hi! What took you so long?”
Abaddon remained quiet; what could he say to justify his absence? “Would you like to come in?”
“Yeah…yeah, I would…”
His mother made some tea and peanut butter cookies.
“You used to love these cookies, they were your favorite,” she said with a smiling
face.
“Ha, yeah, it’s been too long since I had these cookies, I missed them a lot.”
“I hope they weren’t the only reason why you finally decided to pay a visit. How long has it been?”
“I…don’t…”
“You don’t know. It’s been five years, seven months, and thirteen days, but who’s counting? But it could’ve been worse, I guess. I am very glad to see you back safe to me. You know I’ll always love you, and I’ll always be there for you.”
A moment of silence has passed.
“You look tired my boy, is everything okay?”
The moment he heard those words, tears streamed down his face. His eyes were red and puffy, and his breathing was heavy and labored. He looked defeated and exhausted like he’s been through a lot and can’t take much more.
“I can’t sleep at night; I am haunted by my own dreams. I haven’t slept for the past two nights, afraid of living nightmares. I am cursed!”
“Cursed? What do you mean?”
“I…I…uhh, just forget it. I shouldn’t have come here.” “Why? Talk to me son!”
Abaddon sat back down, sobbing and laughing at the same time as if he completely lost his mind. His mother rushed to him and gave him a hug trying to calm him down. After a while, he became calm and went back to his senses.
“It’s okay my boy, everything is okay,” she said as she was caressing his back. “I’m sorry mom, I didn’t mean for things to go this way.”
“It’s okay abe, that is completely normal. This is what I’m here for. Everything is going to be fine.”
“Thanks, mom, I haven’t felt this much relief in so long.”
Abaddon stayed at Hope’s for a couple of hours. They talked and laughed and suddenly all his worries were gone, he felt hopeful again.
He got into his car with a smile on his face and went back to his headquarters to let Das know that he wants to abort the plan. He made up his mind and wanted to retire from drug dealing. This was the only way he could stop having nightmares.
When he made it to the headquarters, he was stunned to see dozens of his men lying dead on the ground with bullet holes in their bodies. No sign of Das.
Abaddon took out his pistol and walked slowly and carefully to the warehouse ready to shoot anything that moved in front of him. He unlocked the front door with his key and smashed it open with his foot to be confronted by twenty men, all pointing their machine guns at him. There was no way out for him except for dropping his gun and raising his hands.
A guy sitting in a chair who seemed to be the leader of the group stood up and said, “put your hands down man, we’re not the cops. But we are worse.”
“Who are you? And what do you want?”
“I’m surprised you don’t know me; my name is Zigor. You’ve sent some of your men to spy on me and my operations.”
Das walked into the room, and when Abaddon saw him, he understood exactly what was happening.
“You damn traitor!” Abaddon shouted to Das. “I trusted you!”
“You trusted me? More like you used me! You’ve made me your slave from the very moment I’ve known you. Now, it is time for you to pay for the lifetime that you stole from me!”
“I swear I will kill you!” Abaddon shouted.
“Relax boys!” Zigor interfered. “Let’s keep things under control, okay? I think we’ve killed enough people today.” He said sarcastically.
Zigor smiled and added, “Let’s play a game, shall we? I like to call this game, ‘Would you rather?’”
Zigor looked at Abaddon and said, “if you had to choose, would you rather be loved or feared for the rest of your life?”
“What?”
“It’s a simple question, just answer it.” “…Feared.”
“Wow! I did not expect that at all! I thought she fixed you. I guess not. Alright, bring her in.”
Abaddon was shocked to see his mother dragged in by Zigor’s men. Her hands and legs were tied. Blood was all over her face and her mouth was sealed. Her face looked beat up and her eyes were full of blood and tears. She was dropped to her knees and grabbed by her hair to hold her still.
“No, no, no please don’t do this…” Abaddon begged. “I’ll do anything, just please let her go!”
“You chose this!” Zigor shouted. “But don’t worry, your wish will be granted, you will
be feared, but you will never be loved again.”
Zigor took out his pistol and shot Hope in the head. Her body immediately dropped to the ground. Blood squirted out of her head and created a blood puddle around her corpse.
Abaddon collapsed on the ground, he covered his face with his hands and began to sob uncontrollably. Zigor grabbed Abaddon’s hands and removed them from his face, he then grabbed him by his face and forced him to look him in the eyes.
“Look at me! You did this. Your mother’s death is entirely on you. Now, I don’t wanna sound too greedy, but I’m gonna need to take something else from you. I want one of your eyes, just as a constant reminder to never come close to my territory again.”
Zigor then grabbed a knife and proceeded to poke it into Abaddon’s right eye.
Abaddon was screaming from the immeasurable pain while being immobilized by Zigor’s men.
“Alright, we are done here. Let’s get out of here.”
Abaddon was left alone with his dead mother. He truly lost everything. He used whatever strength he had left and reached out to his mother and grabbed her hand.
Although he had nothing left to live for, something in him wanted revenge. “I welcome back my nightmares.”