Crimson and Furs

I've never wanted this life for myself-this life filled with perils and evil. It's like a dream I can never escape from-a dream which I'm forever stuck in. Heh, no one ever wanted this life or ever wished for it. You'd be either insane or extremely evil to wish for this kind of life-the life where you don't have a choice over anything-the life where you're bound by your deepest desires.

I never wanted to enter into the supernatural world. I never wanted to come across the Crimsones[1], Lycanthropes[2], demons and the rest. I never wanted to be involved in anything pertaining to the dark and supernatural world. I had always yearned for freedom and not servitude. But of course I was wrong all along. I had been delusional, thinking I'd be able to escape it all-to escape from fate. I never knew I would be pulled into this mess, becoming one of those dark creatures which roam about in the ungodly night. I never wanted to be a merciless predator who was also a prey to another predator (what a food chain!).

But all is good. No matter what I shall not alli myself to degenerate into a heartless monster who only knew how to tear flesh, spill blood and break bones. I cannot allow my desires to pull me down. I cannot be corrupted by the abyss!

My name is Daniel Stark and what I'm about to tell you is a real life horror. I don't know what you call horror or romance or fantasy but this story I'm about to tell you, you need to listen attentively and not miss a bit of information. This is my story-one beginning with pain.

~

Rumble!

There was a roar of thunder as lightning flashed, illuminating the dark and creepy woods.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

Drops of rain streaked through the air, dropping ferociously as if they had been forced to do so. The leaves, the ground and everything was wetted by the torrential downpour which seemed to continue for ages. The dark trees which seemed like humanoid figures swayed to the raging wind, their branches seeming like extended arms-arms which would grab at you from the shadows. Down here in the woods it was very dark, so dark that only tiny bits of light rays could penetrate at the brightest afternoons.

This was the Crimson Woods, a woods rumoured to have ungodly creatures roaming here and there. Wild tales spread like fire, filling the hearts of the residents of Crimson Springs with fear-fear borne out of the natural instinct to avoid danger and not from wild imaginations. It was said there were creatures with dark red hypnotizing eyes and fangs which sucked the blood of people, creatures like wolves which mauled people, creatures in form of water which drowned people, ghostly creatures which possessed people and many more! All these wild tales pointed to one thing: Danger! These creatures spelt danger to the people. So no one dared to wander into Crimson Woods at all. The brave ones usually went in groups or carried weapons with which they would defend themselves. But against who? Against what? Spirits? Ghosts? That was sure vanity.

And at this very afternoon, a kid was running through this same woods chased by a group of bullies. It was as if they had never heard the tales and wanted to bet their precious lives on them.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The kid ran very quickly, panting as he dodged the scary looking trees. He kept looking behind him occasionally to see if the bullies were still chasing and was disappointed to find out they actually were. The bullies were actually very relentless in catching him. Earlier at school they had threatened to beat him at school when it was lunch time. To avoid that he had immediately made a run for it when the bell rang for closing. Who knew they would chase him into Crimson Woods.

As he ran he would occasionally see figures receding into the darkness. He would see countless red eyes staring at him from the shadows, an ungodly presence wavering over him. Of course he shrugged all these from his mind, thinking that they were all as a result of extreme hallucinations. He needed to escape from the bullies!

He stopped behind a large tree and hid, controlling his breathing so that it wouldn't be too loud for the bullies to hear. His brown hair was now wetted by sweat, his entire faced drenched in perspiration and tiredness. His brown eyes had hints of fear in them, his narrow lips quivering uncontrollably. He was very much afraid-afraid of what the bullies would do if they caught him.

"I have to find a way to get out of here,"he muttered as his eyes darted at every angle, wary that the trees weren't just trees but the bullies in disguise. His hallucinations was getting the best of him.

"Daniel!" an angry shout filled the woods. "Wherever you are just come out here and receive your beating! You don't want us to catch you!"

Daniel wasn't stupid enough to reveal himself as he continued hiding. He heard the footsteps of the bullies approaching and he quickly made a run for it, going deeper into the woods. He didn't know how long he had run but then his right foot suddenly stumble against something, causing him to tumble down to the ground. He fell on something hard which he didn't bother to check because he was in so much pain.

"Ah," he groaned as he struggled to stand up. His whole body was in pain making his attempt to stand futile. "Don't tell me I'm gonna be stuck in this woods."

He turned his body so he would be able to prop himself up with his hands. His eyes suddenly narrowed in horror as his pupils dilated. Facing him was a human skeleton! He turned his head to another side and discovered that there was a corpse lying beside him. This corpse had been mangled beyond recognition, oozing with pus and releasing a foul stench.

Fear gripped him as his heart palpitated. He quickly stood up and made to run but his legs failed him, causing him to fall again. This time he fell into something that seemed like a pit with a thud.

"Uh," he groaned as he tried moving his body. It hurt badly. He couldn't even move it without pain. He stretched out his hands to grab something. His fingers clasped around something soft. He moved his eyes in fear to look at what he had touched and to his surprise he was holding to two rotten corpses in the pit.

"Ah!" he yelled in fear as he quickly rolled to his feet, trying in vain to get out of the pit. At this moment he discovered that the whole pit was filled with corpses-real life corpses!

Thud? Scratch? Growl?

He didn't know the exact sound that came from the entrance of the pit but he immediately had an ominous feeling. I need to get out of here quick before I die. The wild tales are really true.

Mustering courage despite his fears, he climbed out of the pit by using the corpses littered around as floorboards. One of his feet even sank into the torso of a corpse, drenching it in smelly blood. He forcibly pulled out his feet, reaching out his hands to grab the edge of the pit. He then pulled himself up out of the pit. He gasped for air as he staggered away from the pit. He had to get out of this horrid place very fast. He was only ten paces from the pit when he heard a deep growl behind him. He turned around in fright but saw nothing.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart began palpitating again as he made a dash for it. He felt a cold breeze behind his neck as he ran but he didn't dare look back to check. He had to escape from whatever demonic creature was lurking in the woods.

Whoosh!

At that time something grabbed his right shoulder and pulled him down to the ground.

"Ah!" he groaned as he crashed to the ground with his back, his panting becoming deeper. His eyes then opened widely in horror as he stared at the thing which had grabbed him. It was like a wolf but then it was way more bigger and monstrous. It was covered in a black fur, its dark brown eyes having an unnatural glow to them. Its whole body was made up of taut and strong muscles which couldn't be explained using the normal geometric dimensions or angles. It was standing on its hind legs, its paws bearing angry claws as it glared at Daniel. It was breathing deeply, puffs of air billowing out of its nostrils.

Lycanthrope! Daniel was greatly petrified as his senses blurred, failing him. He tried shouting but he couldn't as his eyes were fixed on the monster.

At that time the Lycanthrope pounced on him, resting its heavy paws on his shoulders as it sniffed him for some moments. It glared into his eyes and let out a loud growl which caused Daniel's brown hair to sway. It then lifted its left paw and clawed at Daniel's chest.

"Ah!" Daniel yelled in pain as he closed his eyes. Blood trickled down his wound as his vision blurred. He saw the Lycanthrope move into the darkness in a blur, disappearing instantly. He couldn't maintain his consciousness again since he was filled with an unbearable pain. He quickly passed out.

After some minutes, he opened his eyes slowly. Again his pupils dilated at what he saw, his fear numbing the pain momentarily.

Standing before him were four 17-year old teenagers like him. They all wore mean expressions, their lips curling into wicked smiles. This were the same bullies that he had tried to escape from.

"So you thought you could escape from us, huh?" Walter, one of the bullies glared at him as he delivered a kick to his torso.

"Ah!" he yelled in pain as he clutched his torso. At that time the other bullies began raining blows and kicks at him. He curled himself into a ball in order to prevent his vital body parts from been hit but that didn't stop him from suffering the tremendous pain accompanied by the beating. He almost passed out again.

By the time they had finished beating him, he was very weak and covered in bruises. There was no how he was going to get to his feet again. No how. He heard muffled words as the bullies departed, leaving him to the scary fate of the woods. From the distant he could hear curses:

"I hope you die there, Daniel! Next time you won't have the guts to talk to my ex!"

"Hahaha! So weak and pathetic!"

"Just wait till you're possessed by an evil spirit or eaten by a Lycanthrope! Your life is as useless as a white crayon anyway. There's no need to live again! It's worthless."

Daniel lay in pains, his thoughts drifting till he couldn't feel the outside world again. He thought he would die-that he would rot here like the corpses which he had seen earlier. He thought about his mum who was the only family he had at Crimson Springs. He thought about how pained she would be when she would discover his death. He had grown up knowing how pained she was after father's death and now he was going to die too. It was so sad and painful. So painful...

[1] Crimsones: For the sake of standing out different and not wanting to use what everyone was using, I decided to use a different name. Crimsones are vampires.

[2] Lycanthropes: Although these are also widely known as werewolves, they are not widely used so I resorted to using this. They're still werewolves.

Ouch!

So much pain!

Am I dead?

Daniel cracked his eyes open slowly as he groaned, taking in his environment. He immediately began shivering in fear after remembering what had happened, his pupils dilating as he saw himself still lying in the woods. He could see the brown glowing eyes of the Lycanthrope glaring at him, its claws ready to bear down on him.

"Don't kill me!" he yelled in fear as he broke down in fear. "Don't kill me!"

"It's okay," a feminine voice said, warm arms wrapping around him. Slowly he recovered from his trauma and didn't see the Lycanthrope anymore. He then realized that he was no longer in Crimson Woods but was in his own room. He realized that he was shivering at a corner on his bed, his mother's arms wrapped around him in a comforting manner. There were two cops standing in front of them, both dressed in starchy grey uniform.

"It's alright, son," Mrs. Stark, his mother said as she stared into his eyes with her brown comforting eyes. At one glance you would notice the striking resemblance between Daniel and Mrs. Stark. Both of them had the same brown eyes which seemed comforting, brown curly hairs as brown as nutmeg and narrow lips.

Daniel who was very much frightened calmed down after realizing where he was and after hearing his mother's voice. But that didn't stop his heart from beating fast. He had been in the woods some moments ago, scratched by a Lycanthrope but now he was in his room on 17th Woodbury, the street his house was located at. How did he get to his room? How did he survive the creepy woods with demonic creatures roaming about?

Thinking about all these, Daniel couldn't help but feel very frightened as his eyes moved from Mrs. Stark to the two cops who were standing before them, his expression becoming dazed.

One of the cops who had a grey hair and grey eyes coughed as he said, "We happened to pass by and saw you lying unconscious in the woods. Luckily for you, we were chasing some criminals who had run into the Crimson Woods."

He paused and looked at his colleague who was bald and had an ugly face. He then moved his eyes to Daniel and asked, "Can you recount what happened?"

At this point Daniel shouted, "It was the bullies! They chased me into the woods! I saw them! I saw dead bodies and skeletons! The wolf creature, it bit me!"

"Lycanthrope?" the bald and ugly cop asked Daniel in a comforting manner. Daniel calmed down after hearing the question. He felt that the other party knew about the matter.

"Yes, it was a Lycanthrope!" Daniel shouted in fear. "It scratched my right chest and I fell unconscious! When I woke up I was beaten by those four bullies again!"

"You were scratched by a Lycanthrope and beaten by four bullies?" the grey haired cop asked, finding the whole story unbelievable. He even began feeling that the kid had become delusional from fear. When they had arrived at the scene, they saw a wolf hurriedly scamper from his side. Obviously he had seen a wolf and fainted. No one had ever scratched or beaten him.

"Yes," Daniel replied, his body still shivering. "I was scratched by a Lycanthrope in the right chest."

The bald and ugly cop calmly looked at his colleague before looking at Daniel. Then he said, "Show us the mark. There should be claw marks."

Daniel didn't argue as he pulled his shirt up, revealing the region around his right chest. He saw the eyes of Mrs. Stark and the cops narrow before they stared at him with concern. They've seen the claw marks, right? he was relieved that they knew the truth now.

"What's your name?" the grey haired cop asked calmly.

"Daniel," Daniel replied as he still held his shirt without looking down at his body.

"Daniel, there are no claw marks there," the grey haired cop continued. "And since there are no claw marks, there was no Lycanthrope, you get?"

No claw marks? Daniel was momentarily at loss. It was at that moment he realized that he felt no pain. How could he not feel any pain when he had passed out due to the extreme pain? He refused to believe his senses as he turned his head to stare at his right chest. His pupils shrank after seeing what he saw. There were no claw marks!

The bald and ugly cop said, "That was a delusion you got, Daniel. We were chasing after some criminals when we arrived at the spot near you. A wolf was by your side, almost eating you. When it saw us, it ran away. Obviously you had been scared by a wolf and the effects of gaslighting made you think you saw a Lycanthrope and it scratched you. The poor wolf didn't even harm you."

There was no Lycanthrope? It didn't scratch me? I was only affected by gaslighting? Daniel found the whole thing unbelievable. He even began doubting his sanity as he stared at the cops in fear.

"You've listened to so much rumours of supernatural creatures roaming about in Crimson Woods, haven't you?" the grey haired cop asked. "That made you form an overall image of a Lycanthrope, making you see the wolf as a Lycanthrope."

At this point Daniel calmed down as he muttered, "But it scratched me. It can't be a delusion, right?"

"It's a delusion," the bald and ugly cop replied. "And I advice you not to spread wild tales like this. The other cops won't hesitate to drop you at the asylum till you've recovered from your mental illness."

I have no mental illness, Daniel said within him as he stared at Mrs. Stark. He hoped that his mother would believe him but at that moment she said to the cops, "I promise you, Daniel will recover from his delusions. He's always been this way since he was a kid. Once he had sworn to see a vampire in the closet."

"..."

Daniel's expression froze. Mum doesn't even believe me and she's using old incidents to prove that I'm delusional. Why won't you all believe me?

The cops fell silent for some moments as they stared at Daniel with concern. The grey haired cop then said, "If this continues, don't hesitate to send him for medical treatment."

"I won't forget," Mrs. Stark said. "Thank you for saving my son. I don't know what would have happened to him if you didn't arrive on time."

The cops smiled warmly as they said, "It's our duty."

They then announced that they had to go. Mrs. Stark was very polite and offered to escort them outside the house to their car. Only Daniel was left alone in the room.

Was it all a dream? Daniel thought as he wore a blank expression. Was it all a delusion that never existed? There was no Lycanthrope-no bullies? Then how did I get into the woods if there was no one? Maybe after they chased me into the woods, they left me for dead and didn't proceed to harm me. The corresponding feelings I had and things I saw were just a work of my delusion. But then it felt so real...so real.

"This couldn't have been a dream," Daniel said as he couldn't believe everything that transpired at the woods was something he imagined out of the blues. But then he wasn't even feeling any pain to show that he experienced the pains at the woods. If only he could feel pain, he would be very sure that it wasn't a delusion. But no, he didn't even feel any pain much more to have any claw marks on his right chest. It was like a lie which his mind had fabricated for him to believe.

Creak!

At that time the door opened gently, Mrs. Stark walking into the room. Daniel was jolted out of his thoughts as he stared at his mother.

"Son, what made you run into the woods?" Mrs. Stark had a sorrowful expression. "Don't you know it's very dangerous out there? There are wild animals roaming in the woods!"

Mum, actually it should be supernatural creatures, Daniel wanted to say but he didn't say it. It was only his thought. If he said that it would end up proving that he had serious mental issues. Why didn't anyone believe him when he narrated his encounter at Crimson Woods? The rumours wouldn't be entirely untrue, would they?

"Those bullies chased me into there," Daniel explained helplessly. "They chased me into the woods."

Mrs. Stark fell silent for some moments as she sized up Daniel. She pondered on all what the cops had told her and began considering if she should actually send Daniel to the hospital for medical checkup. The cops had confirmed from the bullies that they never chased him into the woods! After school let out for the day, Daniel had been so afraid that he had immediately bolted into the woods!

Taking a deep breathe, Mrs. Stark said, "There were no bullies. They didn't agree to chasing you. The cops firmly believe you're deluded and need mental checkup."

"No mum, I'm fine," Daniel smiled, pretending to recover from his trauma. "I'm actually very fine. Maybe you're right. It's just my scared little mind."

In actuality he didn't want his mum to think that he had mental issues. The asylum was the last place a teenager wanted to be after the juvenile hall. So he decided to pretend to agree to what they had said even when he knew deep down that something was not right. Something was not actually right.

"Seeing that you're now fine, I'm relieved," Mrs. Stark said. "I don't know how I would have survived if anything bad had happened to you in that dangerous woods."

Daniel could feel the pain in Mrs. Stark's words. He could feel the pain stemming from the love she had for him. A mother's love was truly genuine and pure without any blemish. His mum truly loved him and didn't want any harm to come to him.

"I'm now fine, mum," Daniel faked a smile. "I'm now fine."

"Your encounter was just a delusion," Mrs. Stark said. "Don't think too much about it."

Daniel nodded tersely, "I won't."

"Good night, son," Mrs. Stark said as she stood up to leave the room, shutting the door gently behind her.

Good night? Daniel was puzzled. That means I was unconscious at the woods for hours! I actually remained unconscious from afternoon till the evening! Who protected me during that period? Why didn't the wild animals eat me then?

Having all these thoughts in mind, Daniel didn't know what to believe any more. Part of him believed what the cops had said while the other part believed the encounter which he had had at the woods-it was so real. The more he believed what his mind told him, the more he felt he was actually deluded. There was no pain or claw marks to prove that what he passed through was true. In the end he had no choice but to believe that he had been actually deluded.

He lay back in bed with a puzzled expression as he closed his eyes. But Walter, he was there. The bullies, they were all there.

He took a deep breathe and sighed, "I'm actually overthinking things. It was all a delusion."

He removed his shirt, dropping it by his side as he stared down at his right chest. No claw marks. That proved that his encounter had been a delusion-something his mind had brought up to save a scared kid.

Seconds ticked by, minutes ran by and he fell into a deep sleep, forgetting his thoughts. At that moment deep bloody marks appeared on his right chest. The marks seemed to be caused by a scratch from the claw of an animal.

That morning Daniel woke up earlier than usual, his eyes puffy as if he had not had a good sleep. The truth was, he didn't actually have a good sleep throughout that night. Every time he slept he would have a nightmare, jolting up instantly in fright. He still remembered the incident from yesterday and it was plaguing his mind.

Calm down, it's only a delusion, Daniel told himself as he stood up from bed in order to prepare himself for today. He was a 16-year old kid at Grade 10 in Crimson High School, the biggest school in that city. He was well-known to supercede his peers in the classroom. In the aspect of academics, he was considered excellent and very intelligent, always topping the class. He has also made a mark for being one of the most punctual students in his class so he had to maintain that image.

He hurriedly tied a white towel around his waist and dashed to the bathroom to take a bath. In no time he was done with washing up and went to dress up. It was at this point he noticed his room was very scattered. In reality his room was not scattered as there were only two books on the ground. He actually had a tidiness OCD so he couldn't help but want to always keep his room in the best condition.

He picked up the books and arranged them neatly on the reading desk which was facing the window and then turned to glance at other parts of the room. The wooden wardrobe at the right side of his bed was neat, his bed had been well arranged and the red rug carpet was very much clean. Yesterday he had taken his time to clean the rug carpet. Well if he had spotted the slightest dust on the rug carpet, he would have immediately gone mad out of frustration (how did the dust get there in the first place!).

Daniel moved his eyes to the corners of the room, scanning for cobwebs. There was none. The blue walls of the room were very much clean. He heaved a sigh of relief as he proceeded to comb his head as he hung his backpack. He then turned to look at the long mirror standing near his wardrobe as he smiled. He was dressed in a white polo and black jean jacket, a pair of black jean trousers and white sneakers to match. He looked handsome, his face having a natural charm and innocence.

"Heh, Felicia won't be able to take her eyes off me," Daniel said as he remembered his crush. That was the same girl Walter had beaten him because. He shivered when he thought of the incident yesterday as his eyes narrowed. He quickly regained his composure as he shrugged, "It's only a delusion. None of that happened."

He then made himself believe that the bullies wouldn't beat him for crushing on Walter's ex girlfriend. It wasn't his fault the girl had a crush on him and he also had a crush on her. Nonsense! That was naive and stupid to begin with! Why would someone suddenly beat someone else because he has a crush on his ex? That was actually very, very immature. And to think that Walter was 17 made him view him with so much nativity.

"He's so naive and stupid," Daniel scoffed as he dusted imaginary dust off his cloth before walking out of the extremely neat room. He made his way to the dinning room and waited for his mother to prepare breakfast. While waiting he helped himself with a newspaper on the dinning table. The headlines read: Boy found unconscious at Crimson Woods.

His facial muscles twitched after seeing that. When did the incident became a news? I thought those cops were gonna let go of the stuff.

"The boy suspected to be delusional ran away from the school during closure and made his way to Crimson Woods," Daniel began reading silently. "After having so many hallucinations due to fear of the rumours heard, he became unconscious. If not for the timely intervention of two cops, he would have been gnarled upon by the wolf which was beside him."

Kids of nowadays should avoid Crimson Woods and not recklessly dash into that place, Daniel read inwardly. It's not a place for playing hide and seek-wild animals are there having picnics.

Whoever wrote this piece of news had a sense of humor, Daniel remarked after reading the last line. He then scoffed at the cops for not being able to keep his secret. Thankfully they didn't leak out his name or the name of his school or he would have journalists knocking at his door to interview him before he would be transferred to Crimson Juvenile Hall or the asylum to beat the delusion and recklessness out of him.

"I wasn't been reckless," Daniel muttered to himself habitually. "It's just that I was escaping from those bullies. Crimson Woods was the best place to go."

"..."

After saying that his expression became blank as he remembered the 'delusion' his mind had formed. The corpses and skeletons, the putrid smell, the ungodly presence and the huge Lycanthrope which towered over him at Crimson Woods still made him cringe in fear. He was still conflicted if it was actually a delusion or a reality? But then he couldn't believe it was a reality since the claw marks from the Lycanthrope scratch wasn't on his chest at all!

Just to make sure he wasn't mistaken, he unbuttoned his jacket and pulled his polo up right above his right chest. There were no claw marks. He sighed as he brought down his polo.

Just then Mrs. Stark walked to the dinning table carrying a tray bearing a plate and a large cup. Daniel had no way of seeing the contents as Mrs. Stark was yet to place the tray on the table. But then he could smell the aroma rippling straight out of the contents of the plate, filling the whole dinning room. A sweet fragrance wafted the atmosphere, causing his throat to bob as saliva filled his mouth. He swallowed hard as he regained his composure.

"Good morning, Mom," Daniel said. He had to maintain his manners at all times. Manners first before food. Wait! It was food before manners! Who cared for manners when one was very hungry?

"Morning, Dan," Mrs. Stark said as she placed the tray on the table. "How was your night?"

It was at this point that Daniel saw the contents of the plate. They were mushrooms fried in meat fats, flanks of cooked muttons surrounding them. At the bottom of the plate was a thick soup which had the scent of garlic, ginger, pepper and other spices. In the jug was cold milk filled to the brim, the fragrance of vanilla and sugar billowing out from it. It was such an appetizing scene for Daniel.

Daniel picked up the fork lying at the side of the plate and forked several mushrooms at once, stuffing them into his mouth. He chewed on them slowly, the softness and meat fats drilling into his mouth. The taste of the mushrooms was a bit salty and spicy but it was very good. That was the effect he wanted.

He hurried with his food and drank the jug of milk before making his way out of the house. He didn't bother to wait for his mother to drive him to school since he had a bicycle. He quickly made his way to the garage and made away with bicycle, his feet pedalling like crazy.

It was 6:30am and the highway was yet to become busy. Only a few vehicles and pedestrians could be seen moving around. Daniel rode his bicycle without obstruction for thirty minutes before finally arriving at Crimson High School. The school had no walls surrounding it and was very much open. There were lawns on both sides of the path that led to the school buildings, trees standing on the lawns and giving the environment a natural feeling.

Daniel rode his bicycle to one of the buildings on the left and packed his bicycle. The building had two doors. On top of the door to the right was labelled: Grade 10, Science Class. The door to left had the label: Grade 10, Art Class.

Since he was a science student, he made his way to the label with Science Class. As he opened the door to enter into the classroom, his eyes narrowed in shock. Sitting on the desks in front of the class were Walter and his gang of four bullies. He stared at the yellow haired boy in daze as his mouth owned slightly.

Walter chuckled after seeing him, his green eyes boiling with malice. He stood up from the desk he was sitting on, his chest bulging out and his biceps standing erect. He was very muscular and tougher than his age mates who were 17. Technically all his gang members were all 17 of age. They all gave Daniel a mocking look.

Daniel who was still in daze suddenly snapped out of it. He had been shocked because he was the one that always came first to school. Why were these bullies here before him today? What were their intentions?

He secretly glanced at the wall clock near the whiteboard and heaved a sigh of relief in secrecy. It was now 7:05am. Students and teachers would begin arriving so the bullies wouldn't try any nonsense with him. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Walter timidly, afraid to maintain eye contact with him for so long. In reality, he was actually very timid. He didn't even know how to throw a punch or a kick. Compared to Walter, he was so weak and powerless. So powerless.

"You've got a death wish, huh?" Walter said. "Thankfully you didn't die in that woods."

Huh? Daniel was momentarily at loss before realizing what Walter meant. It wasn't a delusion but something that had happened! He glared at Walter as he said, "You! You tried to kill me!"

Walter chuckled as he moved close to Daniel till they were just an inch apart. He then said, "Go on, report us to the fucking cops. No one would believe any word you say."

He then turned to his mean looking buddies and laughed, "The kid is delusional!"

All of them burst into an uproar of laughter as they sized up the weak looking Daniel who couldn't help but boil inward. He threw a weak punch at Walter out of anger but the latter easily grabbed the punch with his left hand and pressed it.

Daniel grimaced in pain as he struggled to break free but he could not. He heard Walter's voice, "This is a warning to you. Next time you'd be found dead in the closet."

Daniel stared into Walter's eyes and discovered they were very much filled with anger. It was very much true that he was capable of killing Daniel. This made the latter shudder in fear as he panted.

Walter didn't even exert strength into his left arm as he easily spun Daniel around, causing him to crash to the ground with a thud. Thankfully the backpack took the impact of the fall and Daniel was not hurt. He was only momentarily dazed as he seemed to see stars.

"Why are we in school boys?!" Walter yelled at his buddies.

"To make life miserable for Daniel!" they all replied as they burst into an uproar of laughter.

Walter glared at Daniel for some time before saying, "That's a warning."

Then he left with his bullies, leaving the weak Daniel fuming with anger. Why were bullies in all schools? Why didn't they leave in alone for one day? Why was he so weak? Why?

He had so many whys and couldn't help but fume with each question. The fault stemmed from himself. He was too weak. Too weak. And that was why he would keep being bullied by those bullies.

"I'm so weak," he muttered inwardly as he shut his eyes, blocking out the outside world. So weak.