I think I started these stories when I was at College. You can pretty much tell that my state of my was pretty bleak. This opening episode is a bit like Buffy meets The Crow.

"I was angry with my friend:

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow"

Excerpt from "A Poison Tree"

By William Blake

Jake sat in the classroom and pondered the futility of existence. Why was he here?, he wondered, What does this all mean. Looking round the class gave him no answers. He was sitting in a boiling hot classroom at his college. The windows were shut and the heating was on even though it was sunny outside. He looked around to see the people he had seen in this room all year but never actually had the courage to talk to. Lisa, a very attractive girl to who he had only ever said the words "what" and "yes", sat to his left and Sally, who was a rather scary looking Goth, to his right. He looked behind him to see Ken and his mates at the other end of the room looking at porn. He turned away. They were the same kids who hunted him after he set off for home everyday for the last year. The teacher arrived back in the room and said that everyone could go. Oh shit, thought Jake.

As he walked home he could feel eyes watching him from a distance. Should I speed up?, he wondered. No, they would realise that I’m scared, he thought. He heard them speed up. He heard they’re taunts. If only he could do something. If only he could tell someone. There was no one.

The blood spilled from his head as it had done so many times before. The taste of blood was a taste that he always seemed to have in his mouth. The blackness engulfed him. He was going. Going. Going. But wait, the killing blow hadn’t come. What’s happening? The blood pounding at his brain meant that he couldn’t hear anything. What’s happening? Through his blood red vision he saw a hand reaching out to him. Is this death? He took the hand and clinged on as it pulled him up.

"Are you all right mate?" said the owner of the hand.

Jake looked up. The person who had helped him up was of the same age as he. How did he sort out the bastards?! "How?" he asked.

"Martial arts" he replied.

There was something about him that Jake just couldn’t place.

"I’m Ben" he said "Can you walk?"

"I’ll be fine"

"Okay but I think I ought to walk with you just in case"

"Sure whatever"

When they arrived at Jake’s house his mum was waiting with bandages. She knew what always happened to Jake. The college didn’t care and neither did the police.

Jake’s mum turned to Ben "Thank you" she said "There should be more people like you"

"There are" he replied simply.

After a while of talking Ben told Jake that he would hang out with him a bit "just in case". They decided that that evening sounded like a good idea.

After dinner Jake went upstairs and put a CD on "Smash" naturally. As Jake sang along to the words that he truly believed in more than anything in the world he once again felt like he was being watched. Something was lurking. The only question was where. He opened his curtains quickly. Nothing. The cupboard. Nothing. Under the bed? Nothing. He stood facing towards the wall at which his bed was situated. He suddenly sensed that he should turn round. He did.

"What the" he said.

In front of him was a huge white swirling thing of mystical proportions. The shape was constantly changing and it was beginning to make him feel ill. The shape swiftly changed into that of a man in a business suit.

"I’m so sorry. Did I scare you?" the man said.

"Well, er, yeah! Just a bit! What the hell is going on?"

"Let me explain." he began, "Do you believe in magic?"

"No"

"Well this may be difficult for you to understand then. I mustn’t tell you too much about this but… You have a great amount of pain inside you don’t you"

"You could say that"

"Do you believe that your anger could ever be put to good use?"

"I don’t know, I don’t understand"

"You have been chosen by the powers that be to be one of mankind’s saviours. Do you accept?"

"I guess"

A swirling fog left the man’s hands as he pointed towards Jake. Jake felt nothing happen to him and wondered what was going on.

"You are now a creature of the night. Your powers will work in the day but you will only be able to turn into Rage at night. Use your gift well. Use it well or you shall be punished."

And with that the man vanished. There was a sudden knock on the door. Jake opened the door and saw Ben.

"Hey. I want to get a beer. Coming with me?"

"Sure"

In the shop Jake felt like he was being watched. He guessed that the shop owner probably thought that he was underage. They walked back and yet again Jake felt like he was being watched. When Jake got home Ben said that he had some coursework to do and that he would see him tomorrow. Jake entered his house.

When Jake got too bored of wondering about what had happened to him earlier he climbed into bed. He couldn’t even be bothered to get into some pyjamas.

Rivers of pain as infinite as the soul. Laughing seething walls of flesh. Meathooks teared at Jake’s face. "NOOOOO!!!" he screamed. Ken approached him. He was at one with the blackness. It was cold and yet the pain burned. He saw his father crash his car into a brick wall as he had so many years before. Ken was laughing. He pulled two knifes from his pocket and jabbed them into Jake’s eyes. Jake knew this was a dream but he wasn’t waking up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

Jake sat up suddenly. He was so pissed off. He turned the light on and stood up he turned to face his mirror. "Oh god!". His face was so different. His face was mainly blood red but the veins on his face were highlighted and he then realised that he was no longer Jake. His clothes were also different. He was dressed in all black with a black cape. He was Rage. He turned to the window. The glass seemed to melt away and Rage walked out onto his window ledge. "Retribution" he muttered as he jumped out onto the ground below. He landed catlike on the ground and was absolutely fine it was as if the ground had prepared itself for his landing and had become softer. He knew exactly who he was looking for and where to find him. Just follow the reek of evil. The streets were quiet and it wasn’t long before Rage reached the house of his tormentor. He jumped and landed on Ken’s bedroom window ledge without a sound. The glass melted away and Rage stepped through. He realised now that he could see perfectly in the dark. He looked around at the pictures on his wall. All women. All completely naked. "Sluts" he whispered. He walked over to Ken.

"Wake up" he whispered.

"What…oh my god!!! What the fuck!!!"

"Sssshhhh"

Rage picked Ken up easily. He was gonna pay. He threw him across the room. Rage opened a draw and put Ken’s hand in it. He slammed it shut. The screams of pain and anguish didn’t make Rage even slightly remorseful and he carried on. "Bleed" he said. He threw him against the wall and then kicked at his body. Ken grabbed a knife from under his bed and pointed it at Rage. The knifes particles became gaseous and drifted into Rages hand where they became solid. Rage slashed and stabbed at Ken as blood splashed against the posters on his bedroom wall.

"STOP!!!" a voice shouted.

Rage turned and saw the man who had given him this power.

"What?!" said Rage.

Everything went quiet.

"This isn’t right. This isn’t retribution. This is death"

"He deserves it"
"Perhaps he does but that isn’t for you to decide. If you kill him you shall have to suffer the consequences"

"I don’t care"

"You will grieve. You will grieve over his death more than you ever did over your fathers"

"What do you know about my father"

"I know that he never loved you. You were his lap dog. You did everything he said. You still blame yourself for his death. You actually believe that it is your fault. That perhaps if you had tried to stop him from going out that he might actually still be alive. That wasn’t your choice. This is. You choose."

Rage dropped his knife. It was almost as if it was dropping in slow motion.

Ken went to grab it but when he looked up there was no one there.

Jake woke up. It was 7am. He looked around the room. The man sat over on the chair at Jake’s computer. He swivelled round. "Ah" the man said "I see that you have finally woken up. How do you feel?"

"Like I’ve jumped out of my window"

"It’s just a mystical hangover. You’ll get used to them"

"What do you want anyway?"

"Do you remember what happened last night?"

"Vaguely"

"Well I’ve come to teach you how to control that anger of yours. You must learn exactly how much to release and when."

"I’m sorry but it’s just so overwhelming. I don’t think I can"

"Don’t worry you will"

"What do I call you anyway?"

"Call me…The Entity"