Chapter One
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It was only three weeks ago… There was a stir after school a few hours after school. Kids were walking home, trying not to get themselves involved with the large crowd. Birds of prey were encircling the carcass of a dog, pecking its intestines and guts out. It was just after school, no one had gotten home yet. The dog, it wore a collar, a very old and cheap collar, perhaps homemade. It said, “Duke H.”
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Duke Harrod.
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Liam rushed to the crowd outside the gate, whispering and looking over what had happened. He had a feeling, a small tinge of realization. He knew what he was going to see, he knew what the whispers were about. He pushed his way through the crowd and saw the body of his dead pet brutally killed with a blunt weapon,
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Expecting and knowing is far different from experiencing and seeing.
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It was such a gory sight. Elijah told him what he’d do if he didn’t show up for their sessions. But… he… didn’t know he’d actually…
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The buzzing of the flies rang loudly in his ears. He fell to the ground, eyes bloodshot. This wasn’t anything to him but all of the things that Elijah did piled up. It kept piling and piling and adding and adding, there was no end.
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What did he do, what did he do?! Why wasn’t it me???
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The crowd started dispersing. One by one they left. Maybe because it was getting hot out. Or maybe they didn’t want anything to do with this. With the pitiful boy on the dusty ground. With the cold carcass which was almost infested with maggots. They were normal people. They had nothing to do with this. This doesn’t concern them. It can’t. It shouldn’t. Children, parents of those children, workers, and people who were just simply passing by.
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While Liam was left alone. He felt something else. Rage? Anger? Sadness? He can’t feel any of those. His voice was hoarse, his throat clogged up. What was it? What’s he feeling? He wants to… break… What? Break Elijah? Break him into pieces until he can’t even talk, like what he did to him? He can’t do that. He doesn’t want to. Then what? What is it?
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So, so many questions, too many questions.
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The sun was starting to set. He had been sitting there for how many hours, looking at the ground, sorting his thoughts but, in the end, was unable to do so. He lifted his head and dragged his knees. One hand in front of the other, one knee in front of the other. Doing it slowly, carefully. Prepare for what you’ll see. He crawled towards the body. The pebbles on the ground scraped against his knees, making them bloody and scarred. As he got closer, the rotting stench became stronger. There was a burning sensation in his nostrils.
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The ground was so hot. But the sun which brought the scorching heat was already halfway gone. The cold started to settle in the air. But the ground soaked up the heat. Perhaps the body was hot, too.
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He doesn’t know. He can’t feel anything anymore.
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The sun had gone all the way down. He was still there, his bloodshot eyes staring at the ground. His mind was no longer on the dog. He was thinking about tomorrow. What would he eat for breakfast tomorrow? Will his mom get home on time tomorrow? Will they have homework? Will he get home unscathed? Safely? Just like he did before any of this happened? Will he… stop feeling this way? Maybe, just maybe? This feeling which he felt was so wrong?
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Tomorrow does not have any answers for anyone. It leaves one with an empty feeling, a longing to live for just another day. To find out. What will happen tomorrow?
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He stood up, leaving the carcass behind.
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Two… Three… four… He stopped counting his steps and stopped in front of an oddly-shaped rock.
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Picking it up, he mumbled, “four… Okay.”
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He knew Elijah’s circle of friends. There was Wyatt, a boy his height and build; Nico, a smaller boy, his family was almost always around him; and Rome. Liam always thought Rome was a strange name. Rome was the tallest and thinnest.
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Four. He categorized the four: Elijah was zero, he was the strongest. Nico was two, he was always beside Elijah. Wyatt was Three because his strength was neither greater nor lesser than Liam’s. Rome was Fourth. He was weak. All he had was his height. His face is insufferable, Liam thought.
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He ended up with four.
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It’s good he did.
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* * *
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“I don’t know euphoria”
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A song played faintly out of the left headset connected to an old phone discarded on the floor.
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“Would like to meet her someday”
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Zero, Two, Three… Four is not present. The teachers say he is in the hospital after falling off a roof last night. He fell off a roof by himself, no one else was there. No one was there to testify.
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A body alone cannot testify. A body needs its spirit to be alive. Liam reasoned.
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One is on the ground, thrashed and beaten up. Why is he One? Because Two is not the closest to Zero, One is. It’s only reasonable. It just makes more sense. He is the closest one to Elijah. He knows his pleasures and pain. Especially pain. He felt it himself, how could he not know?
“I don’t think he could take another hit, Eli, just leave him alone.” Wyatt tugged on Elijah’s shirt.
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Elijah grabbed Liam and pulled him closer. The details on his face were clear. The creases on his forehead, his eyebrows. His breathing was unsteady. His eyes never showed weakness or self-pity. There were no tears.
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“Well?” Elijah asked, “Do you think you could take more?”
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Liam exhaled. The warm breath almost appeared visible. He nodded. “I could, I will take… more.”
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He gasped as he hit the ground once again when Elijah let him go. Elijah’s eyes darkened at the sight of Liam gasping for air, his lips slightly parted for just enough oxygen to go through while his chest was rapidly pumping as his own body fought just for him to survive. His hair in complete disarray and his clothes slightly torn, exhibiting the blood on his lined collarbone. His eyes turned away from Elijah for a second as he hit the ground but he maintained contact, glaring intensely at Elijah’s eyes. They both knew what was in each other’s minds. But they didn’t want to accept what was in their own.
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His hand nudged where the old phone connected with the headset. It came loose. The song escaped.
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“C’est la vie”
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* * *
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“So is life. It happens to everyone, and worse. But they get through it. We can get through it. You don’t have to ‘stand up and speak.’ If others live and survive then you can, too.” A girl spoke.
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There was a class debate about what the bullied should feel. One team taking the stand with them, the other against, as how things should be. Sam, the representative for those ‘against,’ had a petite body and curly hair. Her eyes were big and shiny like pearls.
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“Agreed. So is life. It happens to everybody, right? You’re saying that, basically, if others could do it, I should be able to do it, too, right? ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’ correct?” The representative who ‘stood with,’ Eana was considerably taller than Sam. She had a strong build and fierce eyes.
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Sam nodded, “That’s correct.”
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“Hmm, but what if it does? What if it does kill you? ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you–’ what?” She motioned for Sam to continue.
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“It makes you stronger,” Sam answered.
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“Wrong!” Eana slammed her fist on her table, “What doesn’t kill you… might kill someone else. Just because YOU can brave through it does not mean others can, too. You, of all people, should know that.”
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The teacher chuckled lightly and raised her hand to signal that the debate was over.
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“Okay, and we’re finished. That was more than 15 minutes, I enjoyed myself, I’m sorry.” Ms. Auburn jested.
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There were giggles scattered throughout the classroom. Eana and Sam shook hands and went back to their respective places.
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“Okaaaaayy…” She scanned the room, “Liam still isn’t back, huh?”
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A girl raised her hands, “I think I heard he was sick from Wyatt.”
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“Wyatt? Are they close? Isn’t he a senior?”
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“No, I don’t think so. Oh! But I think he heard it from Eli. Eli’s close with Liam, I think.” The girl said what everyone else was thinking, ‘yeah, they’re always together. They’re friends.’
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Ms. Auburn sighed, “Okay, uhm, can you tell Wyatt to tell Eli to come to the office later?”
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“Yes, Miss.”
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She adjusted her glasses and sat back down on the teacher’s desk, dismissing the girl. She opened the textbook and continued writing down the contents on the chalkboard.
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.
.
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The 4th bell rang, screaming into everyone’s ears that time was almost over. At this time, students were encouraged to study alone for the remaining time. Ms. Auburn went outside of the classroom and into the teachers’ offices. She pulled out a pink folder from her bag which she struggled to lift up because it was a bit thick. Inside were all of today’s quizzes and tests from the students that she had to grade. She sighed, smiling. There was too much work, she shouldn’t have given that surprise quiz. The clock ticked slowly as she worked. Other teachers were also working, but she had started earlier. Finally, after a few more hours, she was done, standing up with s satisfied sigh and reaching for her phone.68Please respect copyright.PENANA5nQarfVYHR
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She thought of calling her missing student’s parent in order to inquire about his well being. First, she sent a greeting through text:68Please respect copyright.PENANAfa6xqK3RQh
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“Good afternoon, Mrs. Harrod,”
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Then she mentioned the subject:
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“How is Liam doing lately at home? He has excellent grades but he’s a quiet kid.”68Please respect copyright.PENANAHpz5V4la93
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Finally, she addressed the cause of concern:68Please respect copyright.PENANAj369i6fB5o
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“He didn’t come today, which is unusual. Is he sick, maybe?”
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She waited for a few minutes. A notification popped up in her phone. It was from her desired sender. It went:68Please respect copyright.PENANArpmzkgpL9a
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“I’m sorry? He’s not at school? He left this morning, I… <tap to see more>”
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She was about to click on the notification when the final bell rang. School’s over. Everyone gets to go home, or maybe just hang out, but otherwise, it was after-hours already. Sighing, she replied without even reading the whole message:68Please respect copyright.PENANASD8HPtc2Mw
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“I’m sorry, Mrs. Harrod but I have to go. Maybe we could talk about this tomorrow over the phone.”
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Ms. Auburn wasn’t a particularly bad teacher nor did the students think she was a really kind one. A teacher’s workplace is the school and she is just there to, well, work. Anything that draws a person’s attention– a perfect attendance student being absent for a day, for example– she would try to find out why… as long as it’s in her jurisdiction. And, who’s to blame? She’s doing what she has to and she doesn’t want to do more, that’s no problem. Students were always gathered behind the school watching ‘a fight’ going on or whatever. Was it her obligation to look even after school hours? No. She thinks herself an ordinary but lawful woman. Nothing more, nothing less. Ah, for the ordinary people to look over the wrongdoings of others to remain ‘ordinary.’ Who’s to blame? Who’s to blame indeed. For, she believes, ignorance innocence is not going against the law. Keep your hands clean and keep your mind cleared, hands in pockets and eyes ahead. Neither blessing nor cursing. Be good, not kind. Keep yourself ordinary.
Chapter one: - END -
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