by bret Wellman
“You’re not so cocky now are you?” Blake yelled into my face. I could feel blood trickle down from my cheek. I wanted to really show him how cocky I could be. Instead I let him throw another devastating blow.
It was for the better, I had to keep telling myself. To fight back would only make things worse and increase the chance of retaliation in the future.
“I told you to stay away from her!” He threw a third punch. I wasn’t sure how many more I could take before losing consciousness. My guess was two.
“We’re not dating Blake!” I heard Brianna yell. She was still standing next to my car. “William, let me help.”
“No.” I struggled to say. The last thing I needed was her to get into a fight on my behalf. I would never win over the others that way.
My lungs inhaled a rough breath of air as Blake stood up and took a step to the side. Anyone could tell he was about to kick me. I’ve gone this far why stop now? I decided to take the kick rather than send Blake crashing down. My ribs were still sore from Adrian attacking me, making Blake’s kick all that much worse. I doubled over in pain.
“Don’t ever cross me again.” He spit on me after he spoke.
Before I knew it he was walking over to Brianna. I wiped the spit off my cheek and got to my hands and knees. It felt like there was a knife in my side.
Brianna tried to run but he caught her arm before she could. The hairs on my skin stood up on end. I knew she must have been playing dumb like me, she could have incapacitated him a thousand different ways but she didn’t.
“I made you Brianna!” He grabbed her by the neck and forced her face against his. She pushed against his chest but he was too strong. I could see the air begin to ripple around her hand and knew she was about to conjure up an ice spear.
Blake pushed away and threw her by the neck before she could. She stumbled and tripped. With all the strength and speed I could muster I dove and caught her before her head hit the ground.
My breathing was labored. As far as I could tell she hadn’t been hurt but that didn’t mean Blake hadn’t just crossed a line. This fight just got real.
As calm as I could muster, I helped Brianna up to her feet. Blake had already started walking back toward the school.
“Hey Blake.” I called after him. I could feel Brianna take a few steps away.
“Go back to my car.” I said in a low voice. She didn’t hesitate.
I watched Blake turn, a smirk on his face.
“I was trying to let you off easy.” I used the back of my hand to wipe blood from the corner of my mouth. “But you just crossed the line.”
It had the desired effect. He was once again sprinting in my direction.
This time when he tackled with that sloppy dive I stepped to the side. While he was still in the air, I shoved his back forcing him hard into the ground.
Anger, it was something the Kingdom had tried to burn into my soul. I had fought it my whole life, at times like this it felt like I was losing control.
Before he even knew what was happening I had already pinned him to the ground and unleashed a heavy string of punches. Each punch felt better and better.
It was like I was scratching an itch that could be scratched no other way. The warrior's itch.
I pushed him to the edge of unconsciousness. His blood covered my knuckles. With every punch I wanted more. I had been brainwashed to want more.
Before he could pass out I decided I was being too easy on him. I was going to make him pay for what he had done. I got off of him and stood up.
He came staggering to his feet. Blood covered his face and clothes. Not enough blood if you asked me.
He took a mighty swing in my direction. I blocked his hand and responded with two quick punches of my own. He stumbled backwards, stunned. Before he could get his bearings back I ducked under his arm and maneuvered behind him.
Though he fought to free himself from my grasp he was no match as I locked my hands around his waist. I knew how much what I was about to do would bring him pain but yet I searched my mind to find a way to make it worse.
With my knees in place and my weight adjusted it took little effort to throw him backwards over my shoulder. Years of training made my movement fluent and graceful. I never let go of his waist as I guided his upper back to the pavement.
I could tell by the way he gasped for air that I had knocked the wind out of him.
I hated myself for what I was doing, but I was so enraged. Brianna and I, the countless other victims, we had done nothing to deserve the way Blake treated us. Just because we seemed smaller and weaker he thought he could control us and bully us around. In a way he represented everything the Kingdom stood for. He was a smaller version of their tyranny.
He was wheezing, I decided he had had enough and stood up.
With stubborn stupidity Blake followed and grabbed my wrist. I easily flicked my hand free with no effort and spun, letting my foot find his head on the way back around.
That was all it took to send him falling back down to the ground. Right then I decided there was only one way I was letting him out of this fight.
In one hand I took a fist full of hair from the back of his head holding him in place. With the other I made a fist and held it ready to strike so he could see it.
“Apologize.” I said and turned his head so it was facing Brianna.
He struggled to get away so I struck him with my fist.
“Apologize!” I repeated.
He tried to punch me in the ribs so I struck him again.
“Apologize!” I said again.
“I’m sorry!” He cried.
“Good. Now get out of here.” I picked him up and shoved him toward the school. He stumbled at first but didn’t turn back. Defeated, he walked away.
Looking down at my blood stained hands and breathing heavy, I was ashamed. It would have never come to this if I still had my old mind. The rain was beginning to pick up, I wished it could wash away what I had done just as easily as it was washing away the blood.
“You didn’t have to do that” I turned to see Brianna standing next to my car, her arms folded.
“He shouldn’t have done that to you.” I said as I made my way around to the driver seat.
Brianna hopped in at the same time I did. Before I had time to turn the key she was dabbing my cheek with a tissue.
“You still want to ride with me?” I half expected her to run away.
She didn’t say anything, she just browsed through her backpack to find another tissue.
I started the car and headed out of the parking lot. I wonder what she thought of me now.
“That’s never happened to me before.” I said. “But when he grabbed you I just-“
“Did the right thing” She cut me off. “Sort of.”
“He shouldn’t have touched you.” I said.
“He shouldn’t have laid a hand on either of us.” She added.
I turned on the radio and started listening to the music. The rain had made the roads foggy but it didn’t bother me. In my mind I could still see Blake’s bloody face underneath me struggling to get free. It bothered me to my core.
“What’s it like living in that big house you took me to?” She asked after a while. She was staring at me with genuine curiosity.
“It’s not bad.” I said. “It can feel a little empty from time to time but other than that it’s great.”
“And Adrian and Lillie are nice?” All the stress from the fight had vanished.
“Lillie is great. She makes sure I’m on top of everything all the time.” I paused. “Adrian and I haven’t really spoken too much since you last saw him.”
“He wasn’t very happy with us.” She said.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What?” A smile was playing at the edge of her lips.
“I’m pretty sure the only one he was angry with was me.”
She scowled and looked out her window. “I seem to get you beat up a lot.”
“I don’t mind, it’s not as bad as the Kingdom used to do.” I said.
“Is it?” She turned to face me, a frown on her lips.
“So far” I paused. “It’s pretty fun actually. I mean, not getting beat up but sharing my secret with somebody.”
Sharing a secret, I was using the term as a tool, creating our own little world that nobody at school knew about. It was true which made it that much more powerful.
“Why is that?” She asked.
“It just is.” I shrugged.
“It just is?”
“Yea.”
“You’re getting beat up all the time and somehow that is making everything else more fun?”
“Do you have a problem with that?” I asked.
She scowled.
“I think you might have lost a lot more than your mind.” She said.
“I don’t get it?”
“You’re insane!”
“No I’m not.” Or maybe I was. “Besides, who can grow up like we did and not turn out crazy?”
“Actually I think it is you, I turned out just fine.” She was content with staring out the window as she spoke. “Though, in all seriousness, you kind of have a point.”
“What’s the deal with the rest of your family anyway?” I asked in a hurry to change the subject before she could start feeling bad for us.
“What about them?”
“Isn’t your family mad at you for hanging out with me?”
“In this matter.” She gazed into my eyes. “I don’t care if they’re mad.”
I pulled up next to the trailer she lived in and put the car in park. I was very aware of the blue eyes peering out from the window.
“Do you like it here?” She asked when I expected her to get out.
“The trailer park?” I asked.
“No, the town, Newberry.”
“I don’t know, it’s better than before.”
“Anything is better than before. Can you see yourself living like this for the rest of your life?”
“Maybe.” I said.
“I guess I’d better go.” She said with a hint of disappointment.
“If you have to.” I wanted her to stay. To hang out for a while but I decided to let it go, for now.
“Are you going to be at school tomorrow?” she was hopeful.
“I don’t see why I wouldn’t. Lillie would throw a fit if I were to skip.”
“Good, I’ll meet you in the parking lot.” She grabbed the door handle but didn’t open it. “Hey.” She turned back with a piercing gaze. “Let me take care of Blake next time.”
“You think there is going to be a next time?” I asked.
She shrugged. “If there is, I want to be ready.”
Before I could insist that I could defend myself she had shut my door and was walking up to her trailer.
She stopped at the door to watch me drive away.
Chapter 7
I was confronted by Lillie at the door when I got home. She assessed my various cuts and bruises after I had explained my situation. I could tell that she was angry but she hid it well.
“Are you sure this couldn’t have been avoided William?” She asked.
I shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t know. It’s impossible to tell when my mind is all clouded.”
She had her hands on my forehead and chin, she was turning my head to inspect a cut over my eye. “Make sure you clean this well, right now there is a twenty five percent chance of infection.”
“I will,” I said slipping out of her grip.
“And William, you must be circumspective to avoid fighting. Not only is it barbaric but there is a considerable amount of attention drawn to us,” she said as I was walking away.
“I have been trying.” I didn’t add that I could have let Blake walk away after he had kissed Brianna. That part slipped my mind.
On the floor in the living room Adrian was sprawling over a group of papers printed off of the computer. He shuffled them rapidly marking random words every so often with different colored markers.
“What’s all this?” I asked while peering over his shoulder.
“I can’t be sure.” He answered with a frustrated sigh. “It’s a coded message.”
“You can’t solve it? That should be a piece of cake for you.” I made sure to sound disappointed in his ability.
“Should it?” He rubbed his hand on his temples. “There are over two hundred separate encrypted codes and not so much as one key word.”
“And that’s supposed to mean something?” I laid the sarcasm on heavy.
“It means this message was designed specifically to block out you, Lillie and I.”
I could tell by the way he was breathing he was very angry.
“Who was it sent to?”
“Every armory in the entire Kingdom.” Lillie said from the couch.
I knew there was nothing I could do to help so I grabbed my gym gear and made my way outside to go for a run. I went three miles down the main road before turning around. At first I thought it would be creepy running down the barren road with the dark forest crowding in from either side. It was actually pretty cool. The rain had passed and the sun was bright enough to illuminate deep into the woods. Birds were chirping like crazy and a few rabbits darted out in front of me. It was the first time in my life that I could actually say that I was stress-free. Blake was a stress contender but Brianna washed away any sour feelings toward him.
After a long shower I was surprised to find Adrian and Lillie hadn’t moved an inch. I was a little curious to find out what was on the encrypted letter so I took a seat next to Lillie on the couch.
“If Reno is to Match what Match is to Hurricane.” Adrian flipped to the next piece of paper. “Then Hurricane is blasphemy… No that makes no sense.”
I remember solving riddles back at the government building and I don’t ever remember it being so boring. Adrian had only said one sentence and I was already yawning.
“Maybe, match means rocket?” Lillie chimed in. I strolled back to my room having heard enough. It felt wrong not being able to help. Once upon a time, they would have been looking up to me for the answers that even they couldn’t figure out. Now it felt like it would be easier to fly. I decided it would be best to go do some homework instead of getting in their way.
Later that night Lillie strolled into my room with a defeated look on her face. It was a face she didn’t wear very often. Did they not break the code? Or had they found out that what was on the documents was bad news. I desperately hoped it was the first.
“How would you like to skip school tomorrow William?” She asked like she wanted me to say no.
So I did. “Actually I wouldn’t like to skip school at all… but thanks.”
“William.” She said skeptically.
I held my breath. This could not be happening. I was finally starting to make progress with the others, wasn’t that more important?
“Why?” I finally asked.
“Well as you probably figured, Adrian and I haven’t solved the code yet.”
“I didn’t figure that.” I cut her off.
“Yes you did and anyway we need to know what is on that document.” She kept a firm expression.
“What does that have to do with me skipping school?” I was struggling to not sound like I was whining.
“We need you to sneak into the armory and steal the pass keys.”
I nearly fell of the end of my bed. “You want me to what?”
“Please William, you heard me the first time.” She placed her hands on her hips.
“No, because what I heard was 'hello William, Adrian and I have lost our minds.'” I could feel my heart start to race.
“Nothing is going to happen. Adrian and I are going to be watching every second. We will get you out if something goes wrong.”
I wanted to protest but it was hard to find the words. It was hard to find any words fo
r that matter. Lillie casually walked to the door.
“Get some rest. Once everything is planned out in the morning we will come and get you” Then she was gone and I was alone in my room that had suddenly become much too dark for my taste. The walls seemed to be closing in on me.
My eyes burned when I woke in the morning. I looked at my alarm clock and sighed, it was six in the morning. I had only gotten three hours of sleep. Who knew it could be so hard to sleep when you thought you were going to die in the morning.
I laid silently in my bed grasping for more sleep that wouldn’t come. Around seven Adrian burst through my door holding a blue jump suit stamped with the Kingdom's logo on the chest. I didn’t bother to complain, there was no point. Instead I slipped into the uncomfortable one piece jumpsuit and let Adrian zip up the back.
“Try not to die today.” He said in a cocky voice. “I imagine it would make Lillie rather annoying if she was pouting all the time.”
I chose to walk out to the living room instead of giving him a response. Lillie was sitting on the couch frantically typing away on her laptop.
“Everything is going to be fine William.” She didn’t look up as she spoke. “Try to relax.”
“Can we stop by the school before we go?” I asked in a desperate attempt to get a chance to tell Brianna why I wouldn’t meet her in the parking lot today.
“Please, this is important. We can’t risk our mission on Brianna. I’m sorry.” Lillie said. I winced when she mentioned Brianna’s name. She figured that one out quick. “The others can wait.”
“Who’s Brianna?” I asked sarcastically, hoping to drain some of the tension in the room.
Lillie looked angry, she placed her hands on her hips and squared off with me “This is not a game. Your life is at risk and I’m not taking any chances. Until you decide to be serious, go hang around Adrian. You both seem to think this is all one big joke.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be serious.” I said, rubbing my sore eyes.
She nodded and closed her laptop. A cold chill ran down my spine as I realized it was time to go.
“Shotgun.” Adrian called and hopped into the passenger seat of a large black suburban that had materialized in our driveway overnight. Before Lillie turned the key she handed me an ear piece and explained that Adrian would be giving instructions in my ear the whole way.