ã€ŠMy Sky is Blackã€‹


 Fresh New Darkness.

    It is my firm personal belief that every person in this world wears a mask. That mask hides the darkness in their hearts. No one could possibly want others to know the darkness inside them. The darkness is a weakness that, once created, will never go away. That is why it''s just so annoying to talk to people. The interactions between people are never true, just a show between the masks they are wearing. It¡¯s disgusting to see it happen in person, with people introducing themselves, talking about their likes and dislikes, and hiding the truth.

    A room that looked thoroughly used and had a freshly imported smell had several tens of people sitting in disorderly rows. A young boy, with short blonde hair and a slightly muscular build, walked to the front of the class.

    ¡°Hello, my name is Student A, " the boy said, smiling. I like sports and history, and I would like to hang out with all of you at some point.¡± However, I see his real personality. Covered by a bright smile and cherry-picked words.

    {When I was 13, I stole from a store}

    {I used my parent''s money on alcohol}

    {I bullied kids for money in middle school}

    Hundreds of his bad deeds encroached on my mind. It hurt my head a little, but I am already used to it. After all, I have had this power since that day, years ago. Some might call it a curse, however, it has helped me more times than I could count. Some may call it evil, however, I see the true evil. I can not give up this gift now. After all, what I see is only the truth.

    The boy sat down in his chair. The next classmate stood and took the boy''s place. This time a girl with short brown hair.

    She introduced herself warmly, ¡°Nice to meet you, I am Student B.¡± Another smile. ¡°I like sweets, music, and dancing.¡± However, the truth is always different.

    {I take my brother''s money to buy bags online}

    {In middle school, I spread rumors, and a girl dropped out}

    It becomes hard not to hate people when I know every evil thing they have done. But I don¡¯t need them. I would rather be alone than be friends with bad people. One by one students in the classroom introduced themselves. Every one of them has their darkness. I am disgusted by them, but this is no different from anywhere else.

    ¡°Hello, my name is Student H. I love helping others, if you need help with anything, just ask.¡±

    The truth:

    {I play pranks on the elderly}

    ¡°Greetings, I am Student K. I like to read books about trains.¡±

    It¡¯s all lies:

    {I hate my parents for not buying me anything}

    ¡°Hi, my name is Student L. I am kinda shy, but I like animals.¡±

    Survey says:

    {I killed my dog}

    Even trying to remember these people''s names would make me feel disgusted. Suddenly, it became silent, the chatter already having died away. People around the class are now looking at me with fake smiles on their faces. Is it my turn? I thought. I stood slowly trying to keep my balance, I made an effort to put one foot in front of the other. Eventually, I got to the front of the class, and I saw my ¡°classmates¡±. Once again, hundreds of thoughts enter my head. A gallery in my mind, a show that I hate to see. However, this time feels different. I start to gag from overexposure, but I hold myself back.

    ¡°My name is Azure Barrett, and you all disgust me,¡± I said simply, still covering my mouth with my left hand. Silence encapsulated the classroom. A weird joke perhaps? He will surely take it back, right? You could tell their thoughts just by looking at their expressions. As I started to slowly walk back to my seat, my ¡°classmates¡± got mad. Their faces turned sour, and they gave me a look that should not belong in a high school. I suddenly froze.

    Staring right at me was a girl. However, contrary to everybody around her, she was smiling. Her eyes showed no malice. With a closer inspection, the girl would be considered objectively beautiful. She had light blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. Her eyes trapped me; they looked at me with an emotion I did not understand. I snapped back to my devices, sure, she was smiling, but what of her true self?

    {I secretly bought myself a snack one time}

    {I made a mistake and got mad at my father}

    {I forgot to do my homework one time}

    This must be wrong, I thought to myself. My power must not be working, but it has never failed before. But that would mean, she was a saint. Is this an opportunity? No, why would such a good person want to be friends with someone like me? Suddenly, my heart gave a tug, and regret welcomed itself to my body. It felt like my heart was being squeezed by a toxic green hand. Then, a wave of dark emotions fell over me. I still can not trust her. My tense muscles relaxed quickly, and I diminished myself back into my seat.

    I ignored all the eyes showering me with violence. While I sat in silence, the class regained its composure, and the introductions continued. I drowned out the voices of poor deception until suddenly.

    ¡°Nice to meet you all,¡± a soothing voice rang out, ¡°My name is Kaede Crimson.¡± I lifted my head and was caught off guard by the girl with light blonde hair. She was staring right at me again, beaming with a smile. A smile that I could not call false. What could she possibly want from me, I questioned. A dozen thoughts spread through my head, but none of them felt right. Her next statement stunned me.

    ¡°I want to be friends with everyone here, I hope we have a good time together,¡± Kaede said. It felt like she was my direct opposite. Accepting everyone instead of rejection. It is impossible to be friends with everyone. However, as an introductory statement, it could not be beat. After all, no one would refuse a cute girl as a friend. My power only knows what evil they have done in their past. I would not be able to tell if she is currently planning something horrible now. The few remaining students introduced themselves, but I was not paying attention in the slightest.

    After school, I tried to leave quickly but I was stopped at the door.

    ¡°Kaede?¡± I asked, surprised.

    ¡°What?¡± she replied with a blank expression.

    ¡°That''s my question, what do you want?¡± I retorted calmly.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°I want to talk to you.¡± She said warmly with a mischievous smile.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t talk here,¡± I whispered looking around, seeing many attentive eyes.

    ¡°Why not?¡± she asked grumpily a frown on her face.,

    ¡°Are you really stupid?¡± I said meanly.

    ¡°What? Why are you calling me stupid?¡± She was surprised.

    ¡°Do you want our conversation heard by others?¡± I inquired firmly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all.¡± She smiled again.

    ¡°Well, I do mind,¡± I said slightly mad, and started to walk away. Kaede followed me, I continued to walk without hesitation.

    When we left the school gates, I took a quick glance back and she was still following, looking back at me brightly. I let out a deep sigh and continued walking for ten minutes to a small coffee shop I knew. Not many people my age go to this shop so it should be a good place to talk.

    I opened the ornate wood door, opening to a room that could only be called old. Wooden chairs and tables, not a trace of the newer style seen everywhere these days. An old man behind a counter and an old woman lounging in a comfortable-looking armchair were the only people in the store. I walked over to the counter near the back of the room and ordered a coffee. Getting a familiar nod from the old man behind the counter. I looked back and saw a stupid little girl staring at everything around her with stars in her eyes.

    I mocked, ¡°You look like a girl from the countryside seeing the big city for the first time.¡±

    Surprised Kaede muttered, ¡°Why do you always tease me, do you enjoy it?¡±

    The familiar old man behind the counter said, ¡°Azure has always been more of an S than an M.¡± Kaede looked confused and pointed at the old man and me.

    I stammered, ¡°Mr. Drake, why would you talk now of all times.¡±

    ¡°Well, it is the first time our Azure brought a girl over, of course, I have to, who knows when this will happen again?¡± The old man said, obviously having fun.

    ¡°Stop acting like that,¡± I ordered.

    ¡°Like what?¡± The old man acted clueless.

    ¡°Like we are that close.¡± my voice was like cold water.

    The old man, taken aback, said slowly, ¡°Azure, I know you have gone through your fair share of problems as well. However, do not try to act like we have no relationship.¡±

    ¡°Or were you just embarrassed in front of my future daughter-in-law?¡± The old man¡¯s face changed in a split second to a grin.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± I said angrily.

    Kaede, still clueless, followed up, ¡°Nice to meet you, I am Kaede Crimson, I just met Azure today. We are classmates, are you Azure¡¯s father, I-¡±

    ¡°He is not.¡± I half yelled, triggered.

    ¡°Is that any way to treat a person who loves you so much?¡± Kaede stated angrily. Both the old man and I fell silent, our faces shocked by the unusual statement.

    The short silence was then broken by an old voice, ¡°You will have to forgive Azure, young girl, like my husband said he has had his fair share of problems, especially with his father.¡± The old lady sitting in an armchair had spoken. She started to get up but was struggling. I rushed over and helped, after she had risen to her feet she thanked me and started to walk over to Kaede.

    ¡°I''m sorry,¡± Kaede said, ashamed.

    The old lady patted her on the head, ¡°I do not blame you, after all, you are young, Azure and my husband are the weird ones here.¡± Kaede looked as if she enjoyed the head pat, and her face jumped back to happiness. I don''t know if her expression was fake but if it was, she would be a minx that could fool anyone.

    The old lady shared a glance with the old man. After some sense of understanding the old man then nodded, silently he grabbed another cup from the shelf behind him. The old lady began to take Kaede back to a group of comfortable armchairs. After the two sat down, the old lady looked at me with a glare that was not mean. I understood her message, walked to the chair next to her and sat down.

    ¡°Mrs. Drake, this is Kaede Crimson, a classmate in my class.¡± I introduced the lady, politely. ¡°Kaede, this is Mrs. Drake, the wife of the man who runs this shop.¡± After this introduction, Mrs. Drake stared at Kaede waiting. Kaede looked at me confused, I did not try to help.

    Suddenly realizing Kaede spoke politely, ¡°Hello it is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Drake.¡±

    ¡°Likewise, Ms. Kaede.¡± The old lady said happily. I breathed a sigh of relief, Mrs. Drake likes to be unusually formal in the weirdest moments.

    ¡°Azure, why did you bring this fine young lady to our shop?¡± The lady asked politely.

    ¡°She said-¡± I started.

    ¡°A date perhaps.¡± An annoying voice from behind me revealed itself.

    The old man was standing behind me with a smug expression, but he had two cups of coffee so it was acceptable. I looked back at Mrs. Drake and saw her cheerful smile and knew I had been set up.

    ¡°I already said it wasn¡¯t like that, she just wants to talk,¡± I stated calmly.

    ¡°I see, well you two should talk then.¡± The old man said while placing a cup of coffee in front of the two of us.

    ¡°Not with you two here.¡± I was exasperated by their relentlessness.

    ¡°This is no fun.¡± Mrs. Drake was sad as her husband helped her to stand. They walked away and sat at the counter.

    ¡°I apologize for them, they can be quite annoying at some points,¡± I told Kaede.

    ¡°I think they are a sweet couple,¡± Kaede told me with a warm smile.

    ¡°Moving on, what do you want to talk about?¡± I asked.

    ¡°What did I want to ask you?¡± she asked herself.

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± I said slightly mad. Kaede dropped her head so I could not see her eyes. Did I make her upset? I thought to myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m-¡± I started to say when I was interrupted.

    ¡°W-w-would you go o-out with m-me next w-weekend?¡± Kaede said nervously, lifting her face to point at mine. Her face was red with embarrassment, but her eyes were scared. Why would she possibly want to go out someplace with me? I considered a couple of possibilities. I concluded that I could learn more about her this way, I must try to find the truth.

    I spoke simply, ¡°Sure.¡± Kaede smiled and drank some coffee. Finding the flavor good, she shifted back and forth in her seat satisfied.

    After I finished my coffee, I walked to the counter and paid.

    When a voice I expected came, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to accept, maybe you do want a date.¡± The old man''s smile disturbed me, yet his eyes were different this time.

    ¡°Do you have the ears of a bat?¡± I asked rhetorically, ¡°There are multiple reasons I accepted, but that is not one of them,¡± I continued simply.

    ¡°Well, have fun.¡± Mrs. Drake said with a smile.

    ¡°Is he there today?¡± Mr. Drake followed.

    ¡°No,¡± I answered.

    I went home feeling more tired than usual. When I opened the door to my father''s house, there was nothing. I walked into the empty room, it was cold, with barely any signs of inhabitation. I put my school bag away and quickly took a shower. I went to the kitchen and illuminated the dark room. The heat from the shower fought the cold air in the room. I cooked myself food, which was good I may add. I thought about how I would make an excellent stay-at-home husband. I can cook, clean, cut hair, sew, and other household skills. All skills I was forced to learn from my environment, however they all come quite useful living by yourself.

    After cleaning the dishes from dinner, I wandered around the house. I do not wander often, but today left something extra to be desired. As I wandered through the big house I remembered my childhood. Earlier it was good, however later on it became bad. Something I do not want to remember. I then, still feeling unfulfilled, walked to the place that linked the end of the good and the start of the bad.

    A standing mirror sat in the corner of this room. I once again thought about this mirror. Maybe this mirror is here just for this day. Perhaps it was created just for this moment. I looked at myself in the mirror. Staring back at me were dead red eyes. Those eyes belong to a face slightly above average in terms of looks. Black hair that almost covered the eyes shortly cut. A stature that was average in height, but skinny.

    This was me for sure, was I ready to try again? Why not, I thought to myself. I activated my ability, however, just like all the other times I could not see my evil. I sighed again, and all of a sudden a wave of black engulfed my body. My heart usually felt gray, now, felt black. I felt desperate however my face did not change expression. I was running out of time however my feet did not move. I cannot live my life like this, I told myself. My heart started to hurt, I could not tell why. The fact I did not know hurt my soul, and my soul hurt my mind. I tried to find the answer to my painful heart, but I was overcome, before I knew it all was black.

 A Devilish Grin.

    I got weird stares when I arrived at school. The bandages around my head did not help my case. Neither did the fact that I was walking funny because my back hurt. When I got to the classroom multiple heads turned my way. I could feel the rumors spreading like a virus. As usual I ignored my surroundings, I already dealt with enough the day before.

    At the first break I could openly hear the rumors.

    ¡°He must have gotten into a fight.¡±

    ¡°I was in his class last year, he often showed up injured.¡±

    ¡°He bullied me.¡±

    The people spreading the rumors obviously did not care about what I thought or the truth. They usually do not even try to find answers. It has always been like this, nothing new, hundreds of rumors have already been spread about me.

    A voice like warm water broke my concentration, ¡°Are you alright what happened to you?¡± To the surprise of the class Kaede had talked to me. Kaede had talked to half the class by now and made friends, but not a single person expected her to talk to me. I was the current roadkill, to be picked away at, to no consequence of others.

    ¡°Does it have anything to do with you?¡± I asked meanly, my intentions hidden.

    ¡°DON¡¯T SPEAK THAT WAY TO KAEDE.¡± A girl''s voice boomed behind me. A girl with short brown hair, a mean look on her face, and arms crossed, stood behind me. The room''s attention was brought and focused on the three of us. Seeing around 40 eyes glaring at me did not make me twitch in the slightest.

    ¡°Does it have anything to do with ¡®YOU¡¯?¡± I emphasized ¡®you¡¯ setting up a conversation.

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®YOU¡¯?¡± She spoke in an imitating voice, trying to insult me.

    ¡°Well, classmate B-¡± My speech was broken by the girl. Caught hook, line, and sinker.

    ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN, classmate B? Can you not even remember our names?¡± She retorted, trying to dirty my name.

    ¡°Why would I even try to remember the name of a ¡®BITCH¡¯ like you?¡± I asked in a smug voice. Leading a conversation is easy. You use what you have, and lead them into your pit. Once in the pit they can not escape and are at your mercy. Tricking stupid people is easier of course.

    ¡°BI-¡± classmate B started to yell, when I interrupted.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you call someone a bitch who spreads rumors about people?¡± I asked once again with my smug voice. My face''s expression could be considered devilish, A grin deemed by many evil, but the eyes were the worst part. Red eyes that looked right through.

    ¡°Are you stupid? I am not one of the people spreading rumors about you.¡± She said looking upright. I did not respond immediately, this caused the class to look at me like I was guilty. Unfortunately, for them I am always right. I activated my power on classmate B.

    {In middle school, I spread rumors, and a girl dropped out}

    I focused on that evil. I concentrated and activated my power again. Power was drained from my brain making me feel sluggish. The reward was more thoughts flashing through my head. Thoughts of that specific incident passed through. Names, faces, words, through these I can tell what happened. After I knew what to say, the devilish grin returned to my face. The students that had been laughing at me fell silent. Some stepped back instinctively. I stood and looked at classmate B. She fell to the ground intimidated by my aura.

    ¡°Why did you assume I was talking about my rumors?¡± I asked calmly. Classmate B eyes widened with recognition. The class, completely silent, started to mutter again.

    ¡°N-¡± The word almost left her mouth when I interrupted.

    ¡°Come on, you remember her right?¡± I would not allow her to speak.

    ¡°Y-¡± I interrupted again.

    ¡°Kathlene.¡± I spoke intently. Classmate B¡¯s eyes started to water.

    ¡°Green.¡± I spoke with my devilish grin. Classmate B¡¯s face was broken, tears ran down her face, the pupils of her eyes were small, a mere dot in her eye.

    ¡°NO, NO, NO, AHHHHHHHHH!¡± Classmate Bitch screemed. The class shocked did nothing, just watched her cry on the ground. It was time for the final move. I walked forward and grabbed her jaw and brought her face close to mine. Classmate B fell silent looking at me with fear in her eyes. The tensions of the class were reaching an all time high.

    ¡°Now again I ask, does this have anything to do with you?¡± I asked with my devilish grin that looked friendly and scary at the same time. She slowly shook her head.

    ¡°Oh, then you may leave.¡± I said politely. She stood up and slowly walked away, her legs shaking. I walked back to my seat and sat down like nothing was happening. Everyone in the class was silent, when I tried to look at them they turned away avoiding my eyes.

    I turned to Kaede and said, ¡° If you really want to know, I just fell down yesterday and bumped my head.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°Oh.¡± Kaede muttered, still shocked. Suddenly her eyes focused and she looked at me intently.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Oh nothing,¡± Kaede spoke suspiciously. Kaede slowly made her way back to her seat.

    By lunchtime rumors had spread across the entire school. When I walked down the people in the hall made way for me. I split the sea of students, however their incessant whispering was annoying. I bought lunch at the school store, a safety circle of three meters around me. I brought my lunch to a table behind one of the buildings that people rarely went to.

    I sat down and said, ¡°I know you have been following me, come out.¡± To my surprise it was Kaede and not someone coming to beat me up. Kaede silently walked to the table and sat. I did not see the usual smile on her face.

    ¡°Are you scared?¡± I asked. I had my reasons, but I was scary, some would even call me insane.

    ¡°No.¡± She answered quietly. Her eyes looked away from me, I could tell she was lying. However it could also help me test something.

    {I lied once to a boy}

    After I activated my power my opinion and thoughts changed. I did not often get to see an immediate evil from inspecting people. Additionally ¡®lied once¡¯, she might really be a good person. It also made me curious.

    ¡°If you are scared, why did you come?¡± I questioned.

    ¡°I want to know?¡± She asked in response, now looking back at me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to play games, just tell me what.¡± I responded calmly.

    ¡°Why did you do that back there?¡± She asked. I sighed, this girl is really vague with her questions.

    ¡°I wanted the class to back down.¡± I answered calmly. Though that was only part of the truth. I had no emotion through the entire play in the classroom.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± She talked yet again.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, do I have to tell you?¡± I showed her my cold eyes. She fell silent and lowered her head. She was really innocent, innocent enough to be naive. By this time I had finished the measly amount of food I had. I left my drink at the table and walked away.

    For the rest of the school day I had no interactions with other people. They were probably too scared of me. Which is weird to a point, because I am pretty skinny and weak looking. It just shows how good my acting was if the buff muscular guys were scared.

    The next day, I arrived at school, once again I split the sea of students with my mere presence. However, today was different, there were more eyes looking at me, more people did not avoid my gaze. I guess this just goes to show how resilient high-schoolers are, one day cowering in fear, the next trying to fight back. I guess that could also be considered being too soft.

    In my class, it was the same, many eyes looking at me fiercely. Classmate B was still silent, but did not look as scared. Even if she had done bad things in the past, right now, she was just a victim. It looks like none would take my words seriously, but now all their attention is on me. It is better this way.

    During lunch, I stayed in the classroom, this time only a 2 meter safety circle was present. They are closing in on me it seems. The whispers this time were worse, they were not as open this time, trying to hide it. I could not hear the rumors this time, but to no consequence.

    Another small break came, this time a particularly muscular dude came to the seat in front of me and sat facing me. In his eyes, I saw no fear. Confidence or lack of intelligence, I did not know.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked sharply.

    ¡°I just wanted to say hello,¡± He said with a wide smile and satisfied eyes.

    ¡°No n-¡± I started.

    He interrupted, ¡°Devil face.¡± You could hear snickering and jeers around the classroom. They found my new nickname funny. It meant nothing to me, however I can use it to my advantage. I remembered this person introduced himself after Kaede. I smiled my ¡®devilish¡¯ grin, and his face went blank.

    ¡°Oh, then I will return the greeting, featureless face.¡± The insult was not that impressive, but that was the plan. The students laughed again, this time at me. My smile did not waver and I awaited his question.

    ¡°Why featureless face?¡± The boy asked. My smile grew a little wider as once again the prey fell into the trap. This time my eyes blazing with greed. On the inside I am emotionless, yet devoted to my plan.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that after classmate Z, you''re not worth the effort to come up with a name.¡± I said humorously. The room fell silent, no one was laughing this time. Some of the people in the room looked at me with murderous intent.

    ¡°Come on up, come and try to argue with me, if you can do well I might remember,¡± A long silence, ¡°Your first initial.¡± My devilish grin and eyes could be seen throughout the classroom. I had insulted just about everyone in the classroom. Many stares through strained eyes and gritted teeth came my way. I ignored them as usual. Featureless face then stood up from his seat and loomed over me. I was not intimidated in the least.

    ¡°Hey, Featureless face is too long, how about Less Face. That sounds good, I look forward to seeing your Face Less.¡± While standing I let out a chuckle and nearly everyone in the room stepped back. Less face, started to shake with anger. I decided to aggravate him further.

    ¡°Oh, is the big guy mad?¡± I mocked. He started to shake even more. I looked at the clock to check the time, one final push.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get mad, afterall I own this class.¡± I said making my words sound obvious. Everybody in the class yelled and cursed at me. I saw Less Face prepare his fist. There wasn¡¯t enough time so I took a step back. The second Less Face swung his fist, two things happened. One the bell for the end of break went off, two the teacher for our next class walked in looking shocked. His punch connected to my face and I fell to the ground. Everyone immediately tried to explain to the teacher the situation.

    The teacher was quite surprised but he looked sharp and listened carefully. It did not matter though, everything will go the way I planned it.

    My laughter overpowered the students'' explanations and they fell silent. I stood up with my swollen cheek in my hand. My cheek could not hide my fake grin. Everyone in the class once again looked at me with fear in their eyes.

    ¡°Hello teacher, are you going to take me to the nurses office?¡± I asked like normal. The teacher stood still for a second thinking.

    Then he said, ¡°Sure Azure, let''s go,¡± He then faced the students, ¡°I want all of you to be silent and wait in your seats.¡± The teacher then came to my side and started to walk with me.

    On my way out I said, ¡°Let us play again, serfs.¡± The teacher walked next to me in silence. It took five minutes to walk to the nurses office. The teacher opened the door for me and I walked in. The nurses office had several beds with curtains blocking each of them. The teacher called for the nurse, but there was no response. He then went to check each of the beds. I prepared myself for what was to come. The teacher walked to me face to face. He was wearing a white button down shirt and slacks, his hair was brown and he wore glasses. Both of us were wearing smiles, his kind, mine like a devil. At the same time we both dropped our fake smiles.

 An Unworldly Ferris Wheel.

    My Teacher and I were standing a foot apart from each other, our faces showing no sign of our intentions. My swollen cheek took away from my demeanor if even only a little. I activated my ability on my teacher.

    {I have lied countless times}

    {I have used people like tools}

    {I have framed others}

    My mind was filled with his evil, it seems like he has the determination to do anything to get what he wants. In this way we are quite similar. I could not plan a conversation on this little information, so I just have to learn more.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked emotionlessly. A good prompt to start even if little is given.

    ¡°I just wish to check your cheek, looks like you got punched pretty hard.¡±  He replied, obviously lying.

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m fine, I don¡¯t think a person like that could hurt me.¡± I answered, we were still staring each other down.

    ¡°I see, that is rather unfortunate, Alexander was rather strong after all.¡± The teacher said, showing the difference in our approach.

    ¡°No, he wasn¡¯t very strong, just big. Some people are just big, and because they are big they think they are strong. I think those people are fools, big muscles, big mouths, big ¡®egos¡¯.¡± I slided in a snide comment. The first person to lose in a battle of wits is the one who loses their cool.

    ¡°So, that''s how you see it, though, I don¡¯t think you should take insulting my students lightly.¡± The teacher was able to keep his cool. It seems most words would not be able to make him emotional.

    ¡°Who said I was talking about students?¡± I said trying yet again to attack his mentality. It will not likely work, but it can help probe a little deeper.

    ¡°You know the people who underestimate others are mostly overestimating themselves.¡± The teacher said, both of us still staring each other down, neither wanting to be the first to break. Our faces are emotionless, neither allowing the other to break in with their words. I hear footsteps, someone coming, possibly the school nurse.

    I put on a normal smile and say, ¡°Are teachers ''really¡¯ that good at teaching?¡± Emphasizing the really is an insult, but would the attack work? The footsteps came to the door and opened it slowly.

    ¡°It''s our job as teachers to teach young students like you, no need to be courteous.¡± The teacher said, the smile returning to his face.

    The school nurse, a young woman likely in her mid twenties, walked in. She had long brown hair, a good face, and figure. Likely an Idol to most students, it was a wonder why her office was empty.

    ¡°What are you doing- oh my what happened to your face.¡± She jittered in surprise when she saw my face. She immediately ran to my side and started to inspect the side of my face.

    ¡°Somebody lost control during P.E, and ended up hitting him with a ball.¡± My teacher said, quite a good cover-up considering that the class before the break, was in fact P.E.

    ¡°I see, well sit down.¡± The nurse ordered. I sat down and my teacher asked if it was fine for him to leave. After an affirmative answer my teacher left, leaving only me and the nurse alone in the room. The nurse slowly but skillfully treated my wound.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, truly appreciative.

    ¡°No need, this is my job.¡± The nurse replied lazily.

    ¡°I would still like to thank you, I know it''s not easy to do this.¡± I replied.

    ¡°You know you have guts right? Most of the boys in this school don¡¯t have the gall to talk to me.¡± While a compliment to most, it only sounded like her wanting me to stop talking to me. I sat still while she treated my cheek, silence filled the room. After my wound was treated the nurse gave me my next orders.

    ¡°You should lay down for a while, maybe you should just go home, want me to call your parents?¡± She said very quickly, yet I would not allow her to call my father.

    ¡°No, I''m fine, my parents'' work is very important so I shouldn¡¯t bother them.¡± I lied quickly.

    ¡°I see, then just rest for now.¡± She ordered me while pointing at a bed. I laid down and started to rest when the nurse asked a question.

    ¡°I almost forgot, what''s your name?¡± She asked curiously.

    ¡°Azure Barrett.¡± As soon as the words left my mouth, she twitched. Most likely scared from the rumors. She walked tensely back to her desk. She was too scared to talk for the rest of the school day.

    As soon as the final bell for the day rang, I started to pack up, and when I tried to leave, the door slammed open. In front of my face was Kaede, sweaty and panting, obviously from having run here.

    ¡°You must have some business with the nurse, well goodbye.¡± I said, trying to slip between her and the door frame.

    Kaede¡¯s hand caught me, she then said, ¡°No, I¡¯m here for you.¡± No sooner had she finished her short bit did I unconsciously let out a ¡°Tcht.¡±  An annoyed look on my face.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    ¡°What did you need?¡± I droned on.

    ¡°Have you forgotten we''re going out tomorrow?¡± She asked with curious face.

    ¡°That''s tomorrow, why did you have to chase me down today?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Kaede said, trying to imitate me.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t agree on a place to meet up last time.¡± She continued explaining herself.

    ¡°How about the coffee shop?¡± I suggested trying to end the conversation quickly.

    ¡°Good, and time?¡± She relentlessly nagged.

    ¡°How about 9?¡± I answered immediately.

    ¡°Good, it''s a date.¡± Kaede teased.

    The very next day, I waited at the coffee shop for Kaede to arrive. While waiting I was getting lectured by Mr. Drake. Mr. Drake disagreed with what I was doing in my class, I sat silent without  response. Once Mr. Drake knew I would not change my mind, he gave up. Conveniently Kaede showed up right after. Kaede greeted the old couple and then we left. We started walking when I realized I did not know where we were going.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked simply.

    ¡°The zoo.¡± Kaede replied happily. I was shocked yet again, regardless of her intentions unless related somehow, who would go to the zoo with somebody you barely know.

    We got onto a bus that would drop us off at the zoo. We sat in silence, but my mind was at work. Why would she go to the zoo with me? Isn¡¯t she scared of me? Will they have pandas?

    When we arrived, we got off the bus and used the tickets Kaede had to enter through the main entrance. I do not like owing people, but it would also be rude to pay for something she already bought. Guess I will have to pay it off another time.

    We had a rather good time at the park. Eventually we got to a special exhibit.

    ¡°Pandas.¡± I muttered silently. However Kaede somehow heard me.

    ¡°Do you like Pandas?¡± Kaede asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered embarrassed. In fact I like most animals. They do not work the same way as humans. Even if I activate my powers nothing shows up. They are somehow innocent. Of course I also appreciate their fur or eyes. Panda¡¯s are quite rare, you are barely able to find them anywhere.

    Kaede and I saw the pandas, they were very cute with their stubby bodies and black and white fur.

    ¡°Soooo Kuuute.¡± Kaede cheered extremely happily. I smiled a bit too. We continued our exploration of the zoo¡¯s animals. This time with a little less stress and formality. It had been a while since I had this much fun.

    I bought us ice cream, I had vanilla, Kaede had chocolate. I was reminded again of how separate we are. As we were walking I noticed something funny about Kaedes light blonde hair. I laughed a bit and Kaede looked at me curiously. She got close to me then probably noticed it herself.

    ¡°Is vanilla your favorite flavor?¡± She asked innocently.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I replied, looking away. This time Kaed had the devilish grin, it did not look horrid like mine, but cute.

    ¡°I like normal chocolate, however I ¡®love¡¯ dark chocolate.¡± Kaede teased, as she got closer. I backed away out of instinct, and bumped into a wall. I dropped my ice cream. Kaede, shocked, immediately started apologizing.

    ¡°It''s fine.¡± I said. I cleaned my ice cream from the ground and threw it away. Approached while not paying attention I was surprised by Kaede again.

    ¡°Do you wanna share?¡± Kaede asked with a smile.

    ¡°No need.¡± I answered immediately. That was the first time I thought of Kaede as dangerous.

    We made our way through the zoo having lots of fun. Unexpectedly the zoo had a ferris wheel. Which is weird since I don¡¯t remember there being a ferris wheel here. I asked an employee and it turns out it had been built recently. I thought about what it would take to do that. It seems like the ferris wheel is here for unworldly reasons.

    For some reason I suggested going on the ferris wheel to Kaede. As we were slowly spinning around Kaede and I talked. When we reached the top and saw the view of the park Kaede spoke.

    ¡°I have something to tell you.¡± I was surprised, a confession, but what kind.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked in response. Her next words would change my life forever. At those moments I realized the Ferris wheel was made for this moment.

    Kaede looked at me right in the eyes fearless. She slowly began to talk, her supple lips moved in slow motion trying to mouth words that had impact. The rest of the world shut out as she began to speak.

    ¡°I have an ability, I can see the good in people.¡± Kaede had said such simple words. The words would often be used in normal life. However Kaede¡¯s aura was pure and the words she said were anything but normal.

    Silence followed her statement. My brain overheated. Others have powers? She can see the good? Why would she tell me this? And most important of the questions; If she can see the good in people, why is she here with me?

    My heart rushed, I would consider my heart normally gray. However after that statement light blue mixed making me feel free. My heart ran wild, so did my head. I was no longer in control of my actions.

    ¡°Actually, I have an ability too.¡± I spoke. Kaede was shocked. Why did I say that? I can¡¯t trust her. Can¡¯t trust? I thought. Was that really true? I felt the familiar black wave building like a tsunami, ready to overcome and obliterate any feeling I had. My thoughts were broken when Kaede spoke.

    ¡°What''s your ability?¡± She quickly put her face inches from mine, ¡°I''m curious.¡± My heart rushed again with more blue.

    ¡°I can see the evil in people.¡± I spoke again unintentionally. Why am I bleeding my secrets to her?

    ¡°Evil, like what?¡± Kaede asked. My brain raced to think about what to show her. What I told her now would greatly affect her image of me and my powers. Then my sky blue heart gave me a thought; That is wrong. The thought was so convincing.

    ¡°I can see what evil people have committed in the past, for example if somebody steals I would know.¡± I explained while avoiding direct eye contact.

    ¡°Then what do you see from me?¡± Kaede kept pestering me with questions.

    ¡°I can see that you lied to me when you said you were not scared.¡± I stated.

    Kaede looked down.

    ¡°You knew from the beginning?¡± She asked silently

    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered quietly.

    ¡°I have a question for you.¡± I spoke precisely. Kaede raised her head to look at me once again. This time her face was not inches from mine, she was sitting normally in her seat.

    ¡°Why do you keep approaching me when you are scared of me?¡± I asked seriously. Kaede smiled for some reason, happy again. Were her emotions this unstable, or was she faking. My blue heart told me the answer yet again. This is real.

    ¡°I will not run away from you.¡± Kaede said.

    ¡°Why.¡± I asked while grabbing her shoulders.

    ¡°Because of the good in you.¡± She said still smiling, while ignoring my contact.

    ¡°What good?¡± I asked, shaking her.

    ¡°I''m not telling.¡± Kaede refused my question outright.

    I knew when to give up, now was the time. Not to my surprise the black tsunami crushed my heart again, along with my heart my hopes were crushed. However there was still a trace of the sky blue left behind.

 A Six Mile Stroll.

    I returned to school on Monday, silent from my deep thoughts. I wondered about Kaede, what could she possibly want? I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn''t even notice the students around me. The students made deeper whispers, more evil thoughts. Ignoring them was my forte, nothing good would come out of messing with them.

    I sat at my desk, ignoring the classmates around me. They were talking to each other, possibly spreading rumors. I laid my head down on the desk returning to my thoughts.

    Lunch had come and I was eating at my desk, when Kaede pulled a desk together and sat with me. I remained silent, almost as if her sitting there was natural. Kaede then turned around and ushered some other students. Two more classmates walked towards us stiffly, avoiding my eyes. They pulled two desks together, sat and very mechanically ate their lunch.

    ¡°Why did you bring them?¡± I asked nonchalantly.

    ¡°I want to introduce them to you.¡± Kaede said with her usual delightful smile.

    ¡°Do you think they want to be introduced to me? They probably think I am going to eat them. You''re special, but who would want to be close to the ¡®devil face¡¯?¡±  I driveled on trying not to pressure her.

    One of the two students who sat with us, a boy sat up straight and adjusted his glasses before saying, ¡°U-um actually your n-nickn-name has c-changed, it''s now um, um, devil faced demon.¡±

    ¡°An upgrade.¡± I said while having fun.

    ¡°You know that''s not a good thing.¡± Kaede said while pouting.

    ¡°Back to the topic at hand, you wanted to introduce ¡®them¡¯ to me.¡± I said with a greedy look in my eyes. The two instinctively flinched away.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kaede said with a proud look.

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, looking straight at Kaede.

    ¡°So you can get along.¡± Kaede spoke with a strange confidence.

    ¡°They don''t belong close to me,¡± I said intimidatingly.

    ¡°Why what''s wrong with them?¡±  Kaede asked curiously. A short silence followed, the two people sitting with me looked down at their hands.

    ¡°The boy hates everyone around him, the girl is dating a senior for his money.¡± I said, resolved to the consequences. The boy only sat quietly, the girl actually stood up and yelled at me. In response I stood and walked over to her. I towered over her short stature, she quickly took a step back. Her light red hair was dancing around, my lips slowly turned upwards and her eyes started to bug out. At this point the entire class''s attention was on me yet again.

    ¡°So many eyes on me I¡¯m starting to feel like a celebrity.¡± I said with an embarrassed smile to the class.

    The girl stood frozen in fear, but I would not pursue. I walked back to my seat and continued eating. Kaede sat silently contemplating.

    ¡°Do you see why people like ¡®that¡¯ don¡¯t belong around me?¡± I asked Kaede and then continued to eat. Kaede was shocked and looked slightly ashamed of herself. All of my lunch was already when she spoke again.

    ¡°Then why do you keep me around?¡± The look on Kaede¡¯s face was determined and I knew she would not accept no answer. I thought and I really don¡¯t know why I kept her around. Actually I felt like I knew but part of me wouldn¡¯t accept that answer.

    ¡°Tell me.¡± Kaede said again insistently. She gave off a pressure that was starting to affect me. She slowly got closer and her frown became more depressing. When she was close enough to grab me, she started to open her mouth, when the bell rang. I quickly grabbed my lunch pail and put it in my bag. Sitting like a model student facing forward, I tried to ignore Kaede even though she was a mere foot from me. Kaede dragged herself back to her seat depressed.

    The rest of the school day passed without incident. But only if you consider; people avoiding me, spreading rumors, and death glares, not incidents. I wonder if the people in this school are really dumb sometimes. Of course students wouldn¡¯t be too smart, but I thought there would be a couple of people who can think of things calmly.

    When the last bell of the day rang Kaede stood up quickly, however I predicted this and was already out the door. I ran out of the school and sat at a park catching my breath. I would not describe myself as a physically fit person. Normal actions that did not require quick movement I could do easily, however quick actions like sports or running were too far for my stamina. I finally caught my breath after about 3 minutes. I then saw a pair of students from my school walking past me. I realized the boy girl pair were a couple. I then realized that the girl of the pair was the girl with red hair that yelled at me from class. Putting the pieces together I realized that the boy was her pay-to-win boyfriend. Yet part of this situation was somehow unsettling.

    When I finally realized the lust I saw in his eyes.

    ¡°Shit I need to find them.¡± I said out loud. I ran yet again following the path they were headed. I couldn¡¯t find them on the path and almost felt despair, when I caught the color of our school''s uniform out of the corner of my eye.

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I yelled, feeling successful. The couple had turned down an alley, when they heard my voice they turned around. The red haired girl''s eyes showed fear and she hid behind her boyfriend. The boyfriend was around my same height, but was very muscular.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± A fierce look on the boy.

    ¡°The devil faced demon.¡± I stated easily. He did not twitch, obviously unimpressed. I took the silence that followed to activate my ability.

    My current physical state was horrible, combined with what I saw with my ability, made me puke. I blew chunks in the corner of the alley. The boy jumped back surprised.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Disgusting.¡± The boy said.

    ¡°I think you are the disgusting one.¡± I said in response after wiping my mouth.

    ¡°You need to get away from her, never see her again.¡± I said unwavering. Our eyes then had a battle neither willing to surrender. I could feel his spirit, he would not give up easily.

    ¡°What are you saying? Why should he leave me?¡±  The stupid red head said loudly. Both her boyfriend and I ignored her.

    ¡°Leave her,¡± I said again.

    ¡°And why should I do that?¡± He asked with a grin.

    ¡°I''ll report you.¡± I said, both of us still standing, still maintaining a fierce eye contact.

    ¡°For what?¡± He asked.

    ¡°You know what.¡± I said fiercely.

    ¡°No I don¡¯t, why don¡¯t you tell me?¡± He said slightly worried.

    ¡°Six victims, about to be seven.¡± I said.

    ¡°What is he talking about?¡± The stupid red head impeded.

    ¡°He is trying to frame me, babe.¡± The boy said, looking back at his girlfriend nervously.

    ¡°Leave him alone.¡± The girl said.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± I spoke emotionlessly.

    ¡°Why?¡± She asked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡± I said with a hint of sadness unknown even to me.

    ¡°Looks like words aren''t going to do anything at this point.¡± The boy said, cracking his knuckles. He walked toward me and raised his fist, I was able to dodge the first punch. However he followed up with a hook to the face. I fell on the ground, my cheek bone felt hard and the skin felt numb.

    ¡°Leave her alone.¡± I said again while standing.

    ¡°Seriously.¡± The boy said while laughing. He ran at me and thrusted his fist forward into my gut. If I hadn¡¯t left my lunch on the ground earlier, I would have now. I fell on my knees clutching my gut. A deep red pain spread across my body slowly. It felt almost unbearable, only almost.

    I stood and yelled again, ¡°Leave her alone.¡±  One of my eyes started to go lazy. The boy quickly pounded hit after hit on me. I could tell one of his fists broke one of my ribs. I was bleeding from multiple places now. I wondered how he could be so strong. He must practice something, probably boxing I concluded by his use of hands. My head started to feel stuffy and it got hard to think. I was laying on the ground unable to move an inch.

    ¡°That''s what you get when you mess with me. Now hear me you bastard, don¡¯t ever approach Abby again.¡± The boy said laughing before he started to walk away. When I heard the name, something awakened in me. I knew names held power, for me I feel connected to people through names. Thus once I heard Abby''s name I remembered why I was doing this. With a resolve even stronger than I started with I struggled to stand and set a guard.

    I yelled, ¡°LEAVE ABBY ALONE.¡± Once our eyes met I could tell he was offset by my presence. My eyes were fierce like a tiger, I gave the aura that once I bit I would not let go.

    ¡°You just don¡¯t learn, do you.¡±  He stated and ran at me, unfortunately I was mostly broken by this point and could do nothing to react. His fist collided with my right hand, and I could hear my bone crack. I once again fell to the ground, silently.

    ¡°Trash.¡± The boxer said and then spat on me. He started to walk away when I grabbed his ankle with my left hand. It felt like an iron grip to me but I was just using all I had. He tried to pull his foot away but couldn¡¯t.

    That was when I said, ¡°This is your final chance, promise me you will stay away from Abby.¡±

    He was furious, ¡°This is my final chance, what about you, you filthy bug.¡± He then raised his other leg and started to stomp me. I felt pain however I would not lose the resolve that I gained.

    ¡°STOP, PLEASE STOP.¡± The red head started yelling and crying. She ran up to the boy and tried to tug him away. It would not work. She was too weak.

    ¡°Why, why would you do this? Why would you do something like this for someone you don¡¯t know?¡± She continued asking questions. But the boxer''s stomping continued.

    That was when I had enough and activated my ability at full power.

    An evil voice came out of me dark, with no mercy, ¡° Rachael Flake, Tracy Jackson, Katy Hoover, Jane Machat, Holly Gosdan, Haven Jolly.¡± Once he heard the names the boy stood shocked.

    ¡°How d-¡± He started before I interrupted,

    ¡°You sexually assaulted all these women.¡± I said feeling darkness fill my heart. He fell on the ground. Abby stood still not knowing who to believe.

    ¡°How do you-¡± He started.

    But I would not give him the chance to speak, ¡°You sexually assaulted all these women and you will surely go to hell. See you there.¡± Abby was in shock and fell to the ground as soon as he practically admitted to the crimes. The boy just stood and ran leaving everything behind.

    Abby sat there in despair for minutes, I lay there for minutes trying to move any part of my body. Once I was finally able to move a little I struggled to stand. I tried to find something to split my arm.

    Once I finished tying my arm Abby said, ¡°Why would you go that far for me?¡±

    An immediate cold response, ¡°You- don¡¯t need to know.¡± I started to limp away when.

    She asked another question, ¡° What are you going to do now?¡±

    I immediately answered with a mere two words, ¡°Move forward.¡± My cold words were simple but they carried a lot of weight. However I could not see Abby¡¯s reaction because I had already limped away.

    On the street though there were many people, they all avoided me. Not surprising though, I was a bloody mess. I continued for five minutes before I realized I did not know where I was going.

    I thought for a second, and came to the conclusion that I had to go to the hospital, even if it meant I would have to see him. The closest hospital was six miles away. I started limping again, my muscles started to get stiff making movement harder. Every step was painful, my phone was broken, and no taxi would accept me. Another reason I hate people, I was different. They would never approach me or talk to me. Even now when I was in need of help more than anyone else all they could do was avoid me and whisper. The whispers are always painful, I can stand against them, but it hurts.

    A nurse on the night shift, was sitting at the counter of the emergency room. The sun had long gone down, but it was well lit. The nurse felt fortunate that they had few people in the emergency room. That would mean there are not a lot of people getting hurt. Suddenly the automatic doors opened and the nurse felt a cold wind come into the building. Looking over the counter the nurse could not see anybody. However the automatic doors would not close. Curious, the nurse walked over and noticed a bunch of rags on the ground. Once she got closer she noticed a deep red that she had seen many times, blood. The body of rags had left a trail of blood apparent from tripping over the curb and crawling. The nurse immediately talked to the communication device on her shoulder. She called backup, but continued to inspect the mass she got in close and checked the pulse. Luckily the bunch of rags had a pulse. She already knew it was a person, however she did not expect a young boy. Up close she noticed his right arm splinted. His fingernails were broken, likely from crawling on the ground. The nurse tried to hear the boy''s breathing but heard words.

    ¡°Live.¡± Repeated over and over again. The nurse, surprised, felt overwhelmed by this young boy. You could now hear a bunch of people running and yelling.

    However, Azure could not hear anything, he only heard the words of the sweet nurse before passing out.

    ¡°You''re safe now.¡±

 Dogs Can Only RUN.

    When I regained consciousness, my body felt heavy. Especially my eyes, my eyes felt like they were made out of lead. I had to struggle to open my eyes. My body and mind felt light, it felt warm but cloudy. When I opened my eyes I saw a white ceiling. I once again closed my eyes, I was about to fall back into the clouds of my dreams, when I suddenly felt like there was something I needed to do. I forced my eyes open and began to search the room. I continued to search but I recognized nothing. I knew what they were, but none of them felt out of place or like they were important. As my eyes continued to wander the room they looked down and saw my right arm. My arm was covered in bandages, a good white color.

    Then, what felt like a black wave flowed through my body. My mind regained its senses, but my body still felt light, likely because of drugs. I remembered the events leading to where I am. The boxer boy, the redhead Abby. The fight, and the path, the path that felt so cold and long.

    Once again my eyes wandered the room, I immediately recognized it as a hospital room. I was laying in a bed, I couldn''t see my lower body since my arm was in the way. I slowly regained feeling over my body. It felt light but tight at the same time. My arm and my right ribs felt tighter than the rest of my body.

    I thought about what I should do after this. My injuries will definitely affect my image at school. It couldn¡¯t get worse, they could turn this around on me. After thinking about school, I started to think about one of my other times in this hospital. That time I was not here as the patient.

    A nurse making her rounds checked in on my room. She yelled when she saw my eyes. The nurse¡¯s voice felt oddly familiar. Immediately the nurse called for backup, she then started to ask me questions. My name, age, birthday, and other simple questions. Apparently to test my memory and cognizance. Eventually a doctor came into the room, he looked tall and his aura was strong. He took me away for some test¡¯s without explaining the situation.

    Three hours later I was back in my room. I was all alone again, the silence in the room was only broken by the sound of the air conditioner spurting air. I lay in wait contemplating myself.

    The door opened and a lady walked in, the lady was the nurse before, but without the uniform.

    ¡°Hello, I came to keep you company.¡± She said with a smile. The nurse walked and sat down in the chair next to my bed.

    I spoke slowly, ¡°Why? You are off your shift, right? There is no need to keep me company.¡±

    ¡°There are a number of reasons actually. You might have guessed that I am off my shift, but you wouldn¡¯t know that all I have at my home is a cold empty house.¡± The nurse said. I suddenly felt a little sympathy for this person.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it has to be me.¡± I spoke simply, a little hopeful.

    ¡°You might not remember but I was the one who found you.¡± The nurse said with a kind expression. All I could remember after making it to the hospital was the light, and a voice. That must have been her.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said truthfully.

    ¡°You''re welcome.¡± She said with a smile.

    We then started talking, I learned that I had been unconscious for three days. I asked more questions about her, she was in her early twenties, working as a nurse, and had no family. She was very patient with me even if I asked difficult questions. Overall I would say she was a good person, however who would know her evil. I activated my ability, relatively few evil memories came up. All of them were evils I would consider acceptable; white lies, and small things others might not consider evil at all. But there was one evil that was different: it was dark. I advanced my ability and learned more, I learned why she doesn¡¯t have a family anymore.

    Once again I found somebody who did not disgust me. I want to remember this person and her past. I felt that no matter what I don¡¯t want to forget her memory.

    ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally asking my name, you asked for practically everything else.¡± She said with a playful annoyed expression.

    ¡°My name is Amanda Alga.¡± She introduced herself with a bright smile.

    ¡°I will remember it.¡± I said determined.

    Amanda giggled and said, ¡°You''re so cute.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I said embarrassed.

    ¡°You act like remembering my name is a big favor. It''s cute.¡± She said smiling and hugging my left arm.

    ¡°But I was serious, I do not remember the names of unimportant people. Names have deep meaning to me, I refuse to learn somebody''s name just to forget it eventually. When I ask for someone''s name it means that I will remember it, and them.¡± I spoke a lot but I was serious about every word. Amanda was a little shocked and her jaw dropped for a second. I took this time to try to remember the face of this important person. She had beautiful, sweet brown hair and brown eyes. Her hair fell past her shoulders, her eyes were big and innocent.

    ¡°T-that''s Admirable.¡± She almost whispered her cheeks blushed with embarrassment. Then looking like she remembered something Amanda¡¯s face went white.

    ¡°You don¡¯t act very much like your age.¡± Amanda¡¯s eyes avoided mine.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± I said, trying to reconcile the conversation. Amanda hesitated before speaking again.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°There¡¯s the thing with names, but your determination, and your mentality.¡± She spoke quietly.

    ¡°Determination, mentality?¡± I asked confused.

    ¡°Do you not realize? With a broken arm, three broken ribs, and countless other injuries you got yourself to the hospital. When you tripped on the curb you started to crawl, you crawled nearly 30 feet. During all of this you did not cry or yell for help. Even ignoring the pain, you did not yell at all, like you weren¡¯t even expecting others to help you. All you said was live over and over again. That can¡¯t be considered normal for anyone.¡± Amanda said this with much worry. But her gaze returned to me and I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. I once again reaffirmed the idea that she was a good person in my head.

    ¡°What''s not normal? The fact that I wanted to live. That I didn¡¯t call for help, everyone ignored me anyway.¡± I said quickly trying to explain myself.

    ¡°How far did you walk?¡± Amanda asked, ¡°People surely wouldn¡¯t have ignored you in the state you were in.¡±  Amanda hugged my hand tighter and I got the feeling she wouldn¡¯t let go for a long time.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t far.¡± I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn¡¯t let go. We stayed like that for a long time, until the door opened again. Walking into the room were two men, a short and friendly looking one and a tall and straight forward looking one. I didn¡¯t know these people, but I could guess who they were. I hid my phone behind my arm.

    ¡°Hello, how are you doing, young boy?¡± The short one said.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± I asked seriously. Amanda returned to her seat and sat patiently.

    ¡°We are with the police department,¡± the short one said as they both flashed their badges, ¡°We want to ask you some questions.¡± Once I realized the situation and immediately cooled my head. I considered how I should play this, but it seems that it would be hard to tell the complete truth.

    ¡°What do you want to ask?¡± I said normally.

    ¡°We want to ask how you got those injuries.¡±  The taller man said.

    ¡°I got beat up.¡± I tried to say as little as possible.

    ¡°We know that, we also know where, what we want to know is why and who.¡± The short one said, he kept his smile, but it was slightly disturbing. I could tell his smile was fake, he was scheming right now.

    ¡°His name is Kurt, he is a senior from my school. As for why, I don¡¯t know.¡± I said again, hiding the truth.

    ¡°Really, camera footage shows that the pair of students went into the alley first, and then you followed them in.¡± The short man said.

    ¡°The guy dropped something by the park. I just caught up to return it, I don¡¯t know why he beat me.¡± I combined part of the truth with lies. He passed by the park, but he didn¡¯t drop anything.

    Amanda jumped to my defense, ¡°Isn¡¯t he the victim why are you interrogating him like a criminal?¡± While true her words don¡¯t stand a chance against the law.

    ¡°First of all nobody knows what happened in that alley except the three of them. Second, nobody would go this far if you are only returning an object. Third, just because he was beaten up doesn¡¯t mean he did nothing wrong. Fourth, we interrogate everybody this way.¡± The short man quickly refuted her argument with many points. Amanda fell silent, not able to refute any of his points.

    The short man went on the offensive, ¡°Now, video footage also shows the other guy running off before you exited the valley, why is that?¡±  I concluded from the information they had that they had not found Kurt or Abby. Which means for now my testimony is all that matters.

    ¡°Because I scared him.¡± I answered truthfully.

    ¡°What makes you think you can scare him considering the state you''re in now?¡± He asked patiently.

    ¡°Because I know what he did.¡± I said with a slight smile. I had considered other paths that I might make for this conversation, but the others might not work as well as what I had planned.

    ¡°And what did he do?¡± The tall man quickly asked.

    ¡°If I told you, would you believe me?¡± I said reasonably.

    ¡°So that means you have no evidence?¡± The short man picked up on what I was laying down.

    ¡°Does it matter if I have evidence or not?¡± I said with a smile. The trap was set now it only mattered whether either of them stepped in it.

    ¡°Of course it matters. Accusing somebody without evidence is wrong¡± The tall man spoke frustrated.

    ¡°But it¡¯s fine for the police?¡± I asked sarcastically.

    ¡°Of course it''s not.¡± The tall man walked even further.

    ¡°But you are doing that to me, are you not? You made presumptions about me without enough evidence and then accused me of even worse things. You didn¡¯t even try to find the other people, even the one who put me in this state.¡± I went on a rant with more in the chamber.

    ¡°Bu-¡± I waited for the short man to start talking to interrupt him.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that you are just lazy, or corrupt, or stupid.¡± I stated, not finished yet.

    The short man got angry, his face was slowly getting red and he started to raise his fist. The tall man only sat thinking.

    ¡°Now the police are bullying kids, trying to conduct investigations without even the child''s legal guardian present. Is this too much injustice? Should I have to go through this in the state I am in? I did not get beaten black and blue, with a broken arm, broken ribs, injuries across my entire body, Crawl six miles alone, just to get bullied by the police.¡± I made a convincing performance with emotions in the right places. I think I should get an oscar for my acting.

    The short man exploded, but he held his ground. Mainly because the tall man was holding him back. Now it was time to finish it.

    I clicked to stop recording the video on my phone and lifted it.

    ¡°Mr. officer, our entire conversation was recorded, so get the fuck out.¡± I said with a cheerful smile. The short officer went white and made a jump for my phone, but was caught by the tall man who dragged him out.

    Amanda sat shocked for five minutes. Suddenly she came up with words.

    ¡°You''re awesome, they retreated with their tails in between their legs.¡± She said with a slightly sad face.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I said humbly.

    ¡°But didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t walk far? Six miles was it?¡± Her face slowly turned mad. But to me it did not seem so bad. It just meant she cared for me. After she played around with my arm for a while she got serious again.

    ¡°Where are your parents?¡± She asked. I did not want to lie to her.

    ¡°My father is likely working, as for my Mother she-¡± It was hard for me to continue but Amanda understood.  We both stood silent for a while not knowing what to say.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± I said heartfully.

    ¡°It was no problem, it''s my job after all.¡± She said cheerfully.

    ¡°Is your job a hero?¡± I asked cornily.

    ¡°Yep, I''m your hero.¡±  She said with a bright smile. She must be happy that I survived, only a good person would be like that. Meanwhile I''m just happy I found another person my heart can be comfortable with. After a long period of laughing I calmed down.

    I then asked seriously, ¡°How long until I can get out of here?¡±

 A Return To School.

    The next day the door to my room opened and a man came in. He was tall with black hair and red eyes. The black water that covered my heart started to swirl creating a violent storm. This man was my Father.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± I said in an annoyed tone.

    ¡°I came to see you?¡± The man said earnestly.

    ¡°I''m fine you can leave.¡± I said insistent.

    ¡°You do know I¡¯m paying for this right.¡± The man said angrily.

    ¡°Insurance pays for most of this, and I''m not a gold digger, you can''t buy my feelings with money.¡± I spoke, afterward feeling I had gone too far stayed silent.

    ¡°You know it isn¡¯t like that.¡± My father tried to plead. He got closer and tried to grab my left arm, but I didn¡¯t give him the chance. Now that he was closer I could smell the stench of alcohol and smoke.

    ¡°I have to admit you''re pretty impressive, to think you have such good balls that you decide to show up after nearly a week.¡± I commented with disgust. In truth I was scared, I was unable to activate my ability, too scared of what it might show me.

    ¡°I just want you to be okay.¡± My father spoke silently.

    ¡°You want me to be okay? So you can make me a killer again.¡± I said, hiding my face from him.

    ¡°That-that.¡± My father struggled to say, but he eventually tripped over his own shoes.

    ¡°Get out.¡± I spoke coldly. My fathers face turned sorrowful, he slowly got up and left.

    The next two weeks passed slowly, Amanda was the only one that visited me. I spent most of my time sitting around or struggling to study with one hand. After two weeks my mild injuries were healed leaving me with only a couple broken ribs, my broken arm, along with a couple bandages on my face. I was told by the doctors that I could go back to school but I would have to be careful.

    I went back to my fathers house. He was not around the apartment. I settled down before cooking for myself. I tried to make eggs but with only one arm it was hard. I tried to relax but the injury hurt. I could only lay in suffering till I fell asleep thinking about the next day.

    The following day, I walked to school early. There was barely anyone around. I walked to the teachers office and knocked lightly.

    ¡°Come in.¡± A hearty voice sounded from the other side of the door. I opened the door and walked in. Inside the room were a bunch of the teachers from the room at desks, working. When I walked in all the eyes fell on me. Suddenly a room with shocked faces, and silence followed for a short period.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± The hearty voice asked. The voice belonged to a tall muscular man, My P.E teacher.

    ¡°My arm and a couple of my ribs are broken.¡±  I spoke without care. The faculty already knew of the rumors. However it seems like they have trouble believing it. They look like they are full of concern for me.

    ¡°How did that happen?¡± The P.E teacher asked. Many curious faces along with ones filled with pity tried to overwhelm me.

    ¡°I will not be able to participate in your classes until I am healed. Here is my doctor''s note.¡± I said as I walked up to him and offered him the sheet of paper.

    ¡°O-ok, during my class you should just go to the nurses office and rest.¡± The teacher said, looking worried.

    I then moved on to my homeroom teacher. A woman which everyone would seem to like. She was tall and had short brown hair.

    ¡°I would like to have permission to wear this jacket until my injury is healed.¡±  The jacket in question was big and rough and it had a camo pattern on it.

    ¡°Sure, but make sure that it doesn¡¯t disrupt anybody. Also please come to me if you need any help.¡± The woman said with worry.

    ¡°Thank you for your time and goodbye.¡± I said respectfully as I left. I did not give them a real chance to ask anything. It would only lead to useless troubles if there was any answer to their questions.

    I then went to the school shop. However, due to the time it was not open. As I thought about where to go next, I saw another student. Early students had already arrived and settled down. There were not a lot of people out and about. This time it was a girl with short brown hair. I recognized her as classmate B, the first one I confronted in my class. I saw her eyes wide, then she started to shake but not because of the cold. Then I saw a firmness in her eyes. She started to walk in my direction. I was confused. She was obviously scared of me but why would she get closer. When she got close enough to see each other''s faces she spoke.

    ¡°How did you know about the rumors?¡± She asked meekly. The look on her face was nervous, not scared.

    ¡°I had a friend who went to that school.¡± I made up an excuse quickly.

    ¡°Oh.¡± She said quietly. I almost started to pity her, when I remembered what she had done.

    ¡°Y-you know I really regret what I did back then. I swore to myself that I wouldn¡¯t do something like that ever again.¡± She spoke quickly, also trying to make an excuse for herself.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± I said, trying to regain my orientation. She then looked at eyes with a burning passion.

    ¡°I know that I probably don¡¯t deserve this, but I don¡¯t want to leave our relationship like this. I don''t want our relationship to be something that just happened and it passed. I don¡¯t want you to just be a passerby.¡± Her words shocked me. Normally you wouldn¡¯t want to get close to somebody who did what I did. However she not only can look me in the eyes, but also say those words. Her words were also in another world of their own. A passerby, it was slightly confusing but I understood how she felt. This year will be interesting.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    I walked closer to her, her body shivered with fear but her eyes still kept their fire. I reached out my hand.

    ¡°How admirable, I guess you can tell me your name. I will remember it.¡± I said embarrassed and lightly patted her on the head. I could almost see her fear break as her muscles became less tense.

    ¡°My name is Bell.¡± Her voice sounded.

    I opened the door to the nurses office. Sitting at a desk alone was the school nurse. Her head turned and saw me. She let out a yelp and in a flash she was in my face checking my injuries.

    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked worriedly.

    ¡°Broken ribs, broken arm.¡± I said nonchalantly.

    ¡°Looks like you already got it treated at the hospital,¡± She said, ¡°I guess the rumors were true.¡±

    ¡°What rumors?¡± I asked politely. I knew there were going to be rumors if I was out for two weeks, but what exactly they were, I need to know.

    ¡°Um, why did you come to the nurses office if you were already treated?¡± The nurse tried to change the subject. I gave up on the idea of finding out the rumors from her.

    ¡°I will be resting in the nurse''s office for P.E class from now on.¡± I said calmly. I then left trying to ignore any more dialogue.

    By this time most of the students had already arrived and were wandering around the school. When they saw me I once again got the royal treatment and parted the seas. However this time their stares were not quite as fierce. It seemed like the new rumors did not put me in the best of light. I decided to zip up my jacket, so instead of seeing my arm in a cast, people just saw a big jacket with only my left arm in its sleeve. I made my way to the classroom, and walked in.

    When I walked into the room the aura immediately changed. Previously the room was filled with a warm vibe and plenty of laughter. After I walked in it fell silent, many eyes were on me. Then laughter filled the room. I ignored it and walked to my seat sitting down. I found a weird object in my desk. Eyes still following me, I looked inside my desk and found a dead rabbit rotten with holes. A group of boys in a corner of the room erupted with laughter. Without hesitation I walked to the corner of the room and grabbed a small box. I walked back to my desk and picked up the rabbit. Yells from nearly all of the girls in the classroom filled my ears. The homeroom teacher then stepped in.

    ¡°Azure what are you doing?¡± The teacher said, looking at the rabbit. I finished placing the rabbit in the box and placed it under my desk. I stood and walked to the door. The entire class stared in silence.

    ¡°Teacher, please excuse me. I must wash my hand.¡± I was listless or more accurately cold. I left the room without waiting for a response. I reaffirmed my will. This is what happens when any sign of weakness is revealed. Even more so they bring the innocent into the matter. They really are evil.

    After I returned from the bathroom, the entire class was waiting orderly for class to start. I walked in and ignored the weird stares and sat down. Gossip filled the room but the teacher immediately put an end to it. I noticed beside the teacher was an assistant.

    ¡°Azure you have been called to the principal''s office. My assistant will teach the rest of you while we are gone.¡± An ooohh went through the class. I stood and walked out the door with the teacher. My homeroom teacher looked nervous.

    We arrived at the principal''s office and were allowed in. Inside sitting at a desk was an old man. He was obtuse and balding, he had a smile on his face that said cunning.

    ¡°Hello, you must be Azure.¡± The old man said cheerfully.

    ¡°Yes I am, may I ask why you called me to your office.¡± I was pessimistic for my next five minutes.

    ¡°First I would like to give you my condolences for your injury. I hope that you recover quickly.¡± He said with a smile, but his eyes were cunning.

    ¡°Thank you, but can we hurry up? I have to return to my classroom to continue learning.¡± I spoke hoping to get straight to the point.

    ¡°Ok, I am impressed with your desire to learn. There are two reasons I called you to my office. First there have been rumors going around. Could you explain your side?¡± He said giving no more context.

    ¡°You will have to give me more context, there have been many rumors of me and even more have been created while I was in the hospital.¡± I said getting slightly angry with the conversation.

    ¡°Then let me clear up the situation, before you were gone the rumors were of you having bullied and threatened your entire class. You got the nickname Devil Faced Demon. When you were out they changed to you getting into a gang fight. Your nickname then changed to Devil Faced Dog. All of these behaviors do not show you in a good light.¡± The man spoke in a calm way but he was trying to demean me the entire time. Too bad dealing with situations like this is too easy.

    ¡°These are just rumors.¡± I said, while getting bored.

    ¡°But rumors usually have a base in truth.¡± He said more of his true personality leaked out. I don¡¯t even need to use my ability to know how evil he is. I try to use my ability as little as possible so I don¡¯t become reliant on it. There was no need to use it now.

    ¡°But in the end rumors are just rumors because they have no evidence.¡± I said cruelly, showing no mind to discuss possibilities.

    ¡°I see, well let''s move on to our second reason, you brought a dead rabbit to school. This behavior is inappropriate to the school, its students, and its staff.¡± You could see how he tried to plan the conversation. First he brings up the more vague topic with little to no chance of successful attack. He asked me about what happened, questioning the validity of the rumors. Now he brings up his real attack, and does not even discuss guilt.

    ¡°I did not bring the rabbit.¡± I started to observe the man.

    ¡°But it was found in your desk.¡± The man said the dirty, his personality bleeding through.

    ¡°If I put the rabbit in your desk, does that make it yours?¡±I rebutted immediately.

    ¡°How rude and distasteful.¡± The man resorted to personal attacks.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it rude to accuse somebody of something with no evidence.¡± I said rightfully.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you didn¡¯t put it there though.¡± The real battle began.

    ¡°When I went to the teachers office I did not have the rabbit with me, the teachers can confirm.¡± Myself.

    ¡°What If you hid it in your bag, and took it out afterwards.¡± Principal.

    ¡°I took the rabbit out of my desk and then people started yelling, They would have seen me put the rabbit in my desk.¡± Myself.

    ¡°Then you might have put the rabbit in your desk before you went to the teachers office.¡± Principal.

    ¡°I am seriously injured. I would not have enough time to move around, and someone would have seen me.¡± Myself

    ¡°Then why would someone put the rabbit in your desk today,  you''ve been gone for two weeks nobody would have known you would come back today.¡± Principal.

    ¡°The rabbit was rotting, it could have been there for days.¡± Myself.

    With an end of topic the principal said, ¡°There is no point arguing further, go back for now.¡± He would probably try to find some type of evidence. However he could also do some very bad things.

    I walked back to the class with my teacher.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would be able to argue on level with the principal.¡± She said nervously.

    ¡°It''s nothing, you just have to take away everything without proof. But even more so he could have easily crushed me with his position as principal.¡± I said respectfully. Why didn''t he? I asked myself.

 A New Goal.

    I returned to my classroom and held silent until lunch. I intended to stay quiet for longer, however some interrupted my scheming.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Kaede was sitting in front of me. I was not feeling especially into it that day.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Fine.¡± I responded. I lied once again. I always blame others for being evil, but the evil I have done is no different, it''s even worse.

    ¡°Stop lying.¡± Kaede said her eyes pierced through the facade I had tried to employ. ¡°People always say they''re fine when they''re really not.¡± I started to wonder what she saw in me. She claimed to see the good in people, but how would she find something like that from me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± I continued trying to push off the conversation. At this point I had attracted the ears of many classmates. It did not even seem unusual anymore, like it was natural.

    ¡°Just what did you go through?¡± Kaede asked sympathetically. What have I been through? It was just how disgusting people were. Beaten by someone I would barely consider human. Abandoned by society alone in the dark. Trying to grasp at life desperately. Returning alive but still people will never change.

    I remained silent not wanting to share.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good part of you.¡± Kaede said. To my suprise Kaede had said there was some part of me that was good. I did not believe, but she had powers the same as mine.

    ¡°What''s good about me?¡± I asked pessimistically.

    ¡°It¡¯s not time to tell you yet.¡± Kaede answered. Curiosity and annoyance started to overcome me.

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t tell you.¡± I said, barely thinking about my actions.

    ¡°That''s quite childish don¡¯t you think.¡± Kaede said while giggling.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± my voice came from my hidden face. I was putting my face down on my desk and feeling the warm wood. I ignored any other conversation that came my way for the rest of the day. I tried to regain my mentality and thought about the many things I needed to do. After school I had regained my bearing on my situation. I would have to push off my plans for the class and deal with a criminal.

    When I tried to leave Abby was there blocking the doorway. I started to wonder if these people knew the uses of a doorway. They would always block it without thought but people need to get through and I wasn¡¯t the only one.

    ¡°I want to talk to you.¡± Abby said, looking straight at me. Why would I want to talk to her? Even if I knew her name, It could not fix what she had done.

    I suddenly looked past Abby and said, ¡°Squirrel.¡± I pointed over her shoulder. The second she turned around I slipped past her and started to walk away. I wished to run however I could not in my current condition. Because of this she quickly caught up to me, this time with Kaede.

    ¡°You''re so mean, why would you do that, I¡¯m not a dog.¡± Abby said grumpy.

    ¡°If you''re not a dog then why did you look?¡± I asked sarcastically. Abby got embarrassed, and Kaede laughed a bit.

    ¡°I do not want to talk to you.¡±  I spoke quickly.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you talk to her?¡± Kaede asked.

    ¡°Why would I want to talk to her after what she did?¡± I said slightly angry.

    ¡°Are you talking about the time in the classroom? I don¡¯t think that would be enough to make you act like this.¡± Kaede spoke curiously. Abby looked away, ashamed. Obviously not wanting to tell the truth.

    ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t know? or did you think I wouldn¡¯t care?¡± I spoke meanly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± Abby said while cowering. I walked closer until her face was inches from mine, I stared fiercely into her eyes not allowing any wavering.

    ¡°I saved you from such a cruel fate, but you spread rumors in return. Maybe you are a bad person. You should just get out of my face and never enter it again, you will only poison my efforts. I will forget your name now.¡± I spoke like a storm, unstoppable. When I said forget Abby had a pained look on her face.

    ¡°Abby is not a bad person.¡± Kaede spoke proudly. I wanted to trust Kaede and her abilities but it was hard. Even if Kaede saw good in a person, what if the bad outweighs the good.

    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You know what.¡± Kaede responded dead serious.

    ¡°That will not make me go back on my decision.¡± I said unwavering. Suddenly Abby grabbed my arm and looked up at me.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t forget me.¡± Abby said tears started to form in her eyes.

    ¡°What part of you is worth remembering?¡± I asked, still pained from her. The pain came from her; she never actually saw me. She just wants to comfort herself. Abby stood there shocked. Kaede looked like she wanted to approach me too. Luckily I currently had only one arm.

    ¡°Please.¡± Was the only word that came out of Abby¡¯s mouth. She was looking quite pitiful, but I did not want to reward such a look.

    ¡°Please.¡± This time came from Kaede. The thought came to me that if Kaede was going this far, then there could be something I''m missing out on. I activated my power, I had already seen this person''s sins, but this time there was a new one. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    {I spread rumors of my savior}

    ¡°Fine, but I won¡¯t forgive you, I will just use you.¡± I wanted to bide my time and try to see if there was anything else.

    ¡°You''re going to use her.¡± Kaede said with an angry look on her face.

    ¡°I will get you to forgive me, then I will make sure you remember me for the rest of your life.¡± Abby said, slightly reinspired.

    ¡°Ok, but make sure you follow my orders no matter what.¡± I said not wanting to allow any room for discretion.

    ¡°Even if they are lewd?¡± Abby asked. Kaede¡¯s eyes got wide.

    ¡°Yes, even if they are lewd.¡± I said. Kaede got angry.

    ¡°Ok.¡± Abby said happy.

    ¡°I want to help too.¡± Kaede added, with a grumpy look on her face.

    ¡°Good then you can help too.¡± I responded.

    ¡°What do you need us to do?¡± They both asked me curiously.

    ¡°I need you to help me find some girls.¡± I said simply.

    ¡°Girls?¡± Kaede said angrily, ¡°Why would you need to find some girls?¡±

    ¡°Are you cheating on me already?¡± Abby added.

    ¡°What do you mean cheating, we aren¡¯t in that kind of relationship.¡± I replied sensing a bad ending.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we are, I agreed to do lewd things to you.¡± Abby added with a grin, having already recovered from shock. Highschoolers have a good mental recovery ability. One day they will feel like their world is over, the next they are standing proudly. Though some people might see that as being superficial or careless.

    ¡°I do not have those intentions, I need to find these girls for a reason, not for my own lust.¡± I said, trying to move the conversation back on track.

    ¡°Who are these girls?¡± Kaede asked curiously. I wondered how much I should tell her. Those girls probably do not want to be found.

    ¡°I just want you to tell me where they are, if they are at this school, what class. If they do not attend this school where they live and where they spend most of their time. If you meet them do not talk to them.¡±  I told them very seriously.

    ¡°Are you a stalker now?¡± They both asked in sync.

    ¡°While what I request is similar to a stalker, my intentions are far from one.¡± I answered calmly.

    ¡°Who do you want us to find?¡± Abby asked.

    ¡°Rachael Flake, Tracy Jackson, Katy Hoover, Jane Machat, Holly Gosdan, Haven Jolly.¡± I repeated from memory. I swore I would remember these names for my entire life. Afterall, no one is more innocent than a victim.

    ¡°Those names, are they-¡± Abby began to ask but I interrupted.

    ¡°Yes, but it''s better if Kaede doesn¡¯t know. Don¡¯t tell her.¡± I spoke sharply.

    ¡°Better if I don¡¯t know what?¡± Kaede asked curiously.

    ¡°If it''s better that you don¡¯t know why would I tell you.¡± I answered, unwilling to reveal what happened to them.

    ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t blame me if it goes wrong somehow.¡± Kaede said before walking away. With just Abby and I left, our conversation continued.

    ¡°Are you trying to do that?¡± Abby asked, her eyes sad with a hint of fear.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered immediately.

    ¡°Am I not enough?¡± She asked both of us knowing the context.

    ¡°No.¡± I answered coldly.

    ¡°Why not?¡± She asked sadly.

    ¡°They deserve justice too.¡± I answered, unwavering to my ideals.

    The next three days passed with a few strange happenings. Those happenings just happened to be named Kaede and Abby. They would try to get closer to me at times, however I would ignore it. Whether trying to skip P.E to talk to me or asking me weird questions during lunch I only had a few things on my mind. I would not allow myself to be distracted from them.

    The weirdest thing that happened was Bell got hurt during a class and rested with me during P.E. The fact she got hurt was not weird but Bell trying to get closer to me was strange. We had talked before on the day I came back to school. However even with our conversation I don¡¯t think we would be that close.

    ¡°Hello.¡± Bell said weirdly.

    ¡°Hello.¡± I greeted her back. We were both laying down on beds right next to each other. Additionally there was the school nurse sitting on a chair writing something down.

    ¡°I have been curious for a while, but how did you get your injury?¡± Bell suddenly asked. The nurse stopped writing, I could tell she was trying to listen to my response.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you know already, with all the rumors.¡± I answered in response.

    Bell got a grumpy look on her face and said, ¡°I of all people should know about rumors, I want to hear it directly from you. I won¡¯t trust any information from anybody else.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ got beaten up by a person.¡± I decided to try not to reveal too much. Both Abby and the nurse had a shocked look on their face.

    ¡°So the rumors ¡®are¡¯ true¡± Abby responded.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you wouldn¡¯t trust the rumors.¡± I responded meanly.

    ¡°But you just confirmed the rumors, it''s not a matter of trust but truth.¡± Abby answered.

    ¡°Do you think that''s all of it then?¡± I asked meanly. Abby layed thinking for a second.

    ¡°If you say it like that does that mean there is more?¡± The nurse suddenly added in.

    ¡°What if there is?¡± I asked, trying to take the high ground.

    ¡°Then you should tell us.¡± Abby added on.

    ¡°And why should I do that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, first of all we both want to know the truth. Second, it would improve our opinions of you. Third, if there is more to the story then we can try to do something about the rumors. Fourth as the school nurse I feel it is my job to know more about this.¡± The nurse immediately responded lightning quick with reasons. Abby looked convinced, but it also wouldn¡¯t be any good for them to know.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be any good for you to know.¡± I showed my real thoughts.

    ¡°Then just tell us what you can.¡± Abby responded desperately.

    ¡°I got beat up for a person.¡± I answered meekly.

    ¡°For a person? Let me guess, a girl.¡± The nurse immediately conjectured.

    ¡°Yes.¡±  I answered.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were so romantic.¡± The nurse teased.

    ¡°So who was it?¡± The nurse added.

    ¡°I will not tell you, it would be bad for her, and considering what really happened it would be bad for anybody that knows. At least until I am done.¡± I responded unwavering. Both Abby and the nurse took some time to process this information. I could see the curiosity grow in them.

    ¡°Done? Done with what?¡± Abby asked.

    One word was sounded from my mouth, it was clear and obstructed at the same time. Cold and hot at the same time.

    ¡°Justice.¡± As soon as the words came out of my mouth both Abby and the nurse shivered.

    They then started to laugh. I was slightly embarrassed, so I decided to take my revenge.

    When I left the two behind to go to my next period I said, ¡°Goodbye my second favorite nurse.¡±

    I left before I could see their reactions.

 Kaede Is Too Good.

    My original plan had been to find the six victims. However it had been several days and we had found no traces of them. It seems like I can turn my attention back to the class. In class I painfully activated my ability and found the ringleader.

    {I make my classmates bully people}

    Not surprising the one who put the rabbit in my desk was not him. As I investigated there were only six other people under him. Each having committed a number of evils. I could investigate them deeper but I felt that would be a disgrace. Why would you try to get to know the people soon to be underfoot?

    I quickly schemed how I should get revenge. Then when I saw one of the crimes the ringleader had committed I knew why people would say ¡®an eye for an eye¡¯. Even more so it would help me regain the position I was in before.

    In our school when you go to P.E you leave your bag in the classroom. It must be a coincidence but I don''t participate in P.E class, I thought to myself. I suddenly had a beautiful thought that would combine several different circumstances to elevate my plan to the next level. In fact next week our school had an event, an event that would bring many people to our school.

    I let out an evil giggle that made several people near me twitch. Suddenly Kaede walked up to my desk.

    ¡°Did you find anything?¡± I asked carefully.

    ¡°No, but may I ask something of you?¡± She said quite shy.

    ¡°Sure.¡± I answered.

    ¡°Can we go out to look for those people this weekend?¡± Her question surprised me. Looking for people especially given the circumstances won¡¯t be achieved by just looking out and about. But perhaps Kaede knew something.

    ¡°Sure.¡± I answered.

    ¡°Do you want to meet up Saturday morning?¡± Kaede made schedules ahead of time.

    ¡°Sure.¡± I answered.

    ¡°At the coffee shop.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± I answered.

    ¡°Is all you say sure?¡± Kaede asked, upset.

    ¡°Sure.¡± I answered yet again.

    Kaede stomped away upset. I didn''t even have time to care about her. I have too many things to focus on.

    I gathered all the materials I needed for revenge now I just had to wait for the opportune moment.

    The weekend came and on Saturday morning I went to the coffee shop. The only people inside the shop were the old couple, Mr. and Mrs. Drake, they were sitting at the counter chatting away happily. When I walked in Mr. Drake¡¯s head turned and a smile infected his face.

    ¡°How are you doing, Azure?¡± He asked happily. When I got closer they both got a sight of me. I was dressed in casual clothes though still with the thick jacket.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± The old pair asked in unison. After I explained what happened they sat with a calm expression, clearly thinking. I cared what they thought of me, though it wouldn¡¯t change anything.

    Suddenly Mr. Drake outbreaks, ¡°That''s so sad,¡± and he started to cry. Mrs. Drake just sat with a calm face, but her eyes were filled with emotion. I saw pity mixed with worry and slight anger.

    ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡±  The old lady asked, completely serious. I hesitated which I usually don¡¯t, you must act immediately or else it will be bad is usually a creed I stick to.

    ¡°I will serve justice.¡± I finally answered.

    ¡°That justice is not yours to serve.¡± She commented immediately.

    ¡°I am not going to do it alone.¡± I said.

    ¡°It is still not your burden to bear.¡± She once again answered immediately. All the while Mr. Drake was just sitting silently knowing and slowly his eyes turned to those of a puppy dog.

    ¡°I want to do this.¡± I said feeling insecure.

    ¡°It won¡¯t make you feel better. This is not the answer.¡± Mrs. Drake started to pressure me with her words. Though by some this might be the time to start the fight of words. For me it was not, lies and deception do not matter in front of the truth. At least, in times like this.

    ¡°Then you know the answer?¡± I asked desperately. Suddenly that dark feeling came over me again. The waves pitch black like the abyss. It overcomes my heart, slowly but surely.

    ¡°I can not give you the answer.¡± Mrs. Drake said. Useless, it''s all useless, nobody can help. The abyssal wave¡¯s calmness started to turn into pain like the deep ocean.

    ¡°Then how do you know this is not the answer?¡± I asked, trying to force my opinion.

    ¡°Even if I explain it to you, you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± She said still like a boulder.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I understand, have I not gone through enough? Am I stupid? Am I missing something?¡± I berated almost yelling. My emotions were starting to overcome me, the doubt and pain I had kept in my heart were eating away at my mind. Suddenly a bell sounded throughout the shop and in came a girl, Abby. She looked at me and my disheveled appearance and looked confused. I immediately composed myself, hoping for this not to cause any complications. Silence filled the room and I was starting to get bothered by it.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Azure, I can not tell you how to live, I can only teach you to understand it.¡± Mrs. Drake said calmly, distracting me from many problems.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I said, trying to end the conversation. I took a deep breath and turned around, standing still like a moose in the headlights was Abby.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked meanly.

    ¡°Kaede invited me, um- did I interrupt something?¡± She responded quite shyly.

    ¡°You know her?¡± Mr. Drake finally got a speaking line.

    ¡°Yes, she is in my class.¡± I answered dully. I could sense danger coming.

    ¡°OMG, Azure, you know two whole girls. This has never happened before. I never knew you would awaken to become a true casanova.¡± Mr. Drake teased annoyingly. His words frustrated even me, once again I doubted his character. I decided to check again with my ability.

    Nothing. My ability got nothing on them as usual. Neither on Mr. or Mrs. Drake. I have checked them with my ability often since I have met them. To have no sins, is a crazy thing. I wonder if they are just special, but no possible variable came to mind that hasn¡¯t been disproven already.

    Hearing my silence Mr. Drake decided to continue, ¡°Azure, are you keeping any other ladies from us? You are my good boy, bring home a bundle of daughter-in-laws and build yourself a harem.¡± His words turned more disgusting the more he spoke.

    ¡°Shut up.¡± I said annoyed. Meanwhile Abby was standing still probably thinking her way through our words and suddenly blushed.

    ¡°Hello, nice to meet you. I am Abby Hathy. You must be Azure''s parents? Grandparents?¡± Abby introduced herself.

    ¡°Why do both of you make the same damn mistake? I have no blood relation with these people.¡± I started to rant.

    ¡°Oh- no relation, my mistake.¡± Abby said embarrassed. The bell signifying the door rang again, this time it was Kaede. I realized quickly and took Abby¡¯s hand and started to exit.

    ¡°Have fun on your date.¡± Mr. Drake said obviously not allowing no such statement to be said. When I got to the door I let go of Abby and opened the door. Luckily both Abby and Kaede followed me out. Unfortunately the door did not close soon enough and I heard the words from Mrs. Drake.

    ¡°Wear protection.¡±

    Frustration once again built itself inside me. I felt like I was surrounded by a bunch of children. After both Kaede and Abby stopped laughing we decided to walk around the area.

    ¡°So how were you going to look for them?¡± I asked Abby as we entered a fast food shop.

    ¡°How? Weren''t we just going to go around and look for them.¡± Kaede said simply. My jaw dropped, was she really this stupid? Looking for a person only knowing their names was near impossible without some kind of support. Like looking for a needle in a cornfield. Literally like trying to find Waldo but at least you know what Waldo looks like.

    ¡°You''re incredibly stupid.¡± I stated.

    ¡°How am I stupid. We don¡¯t know anything about them. How are we supposed to find them?¡± Kaede said, pouting. We were approaching the front of the line and other people were starting to stare.

    ¡°Did you think we were just going to run-.¡± I started. The cashier was wearing a name tag entitled Haven Jolly. I fell silent.

    ¡°What?¡± Abby asked.

    ¡°Hurry up, other people are waiting .¡± Kaede added. God really likes people like Kaede, and he must really hate people like me.

    ¡°Hello my name is Azure Barrett, could I possibly have your phone number?¡± I introduced myself to the young lady in front of me. Obviously shocked, she started to stammer.

    ¡°Why are you trying to pick up girls Azure?¡± Abby said.

    ¡°Men.¡± Kaede added exasperated.

    ¡°Um, I am working right now. I cannot comply with such requests.¡± Haven said embarrassed.

    ¡°Stop flirting, I need to eat my chicken.¡± A fat lady in the group behind us almost yelled like a demon.

    ¡°I am not trying to flirt,¡± I started staring right at the black hair green eyed girl in front of me, ¡°This is about Kurt.¡± The instant she heard the name she froze. Her eyes went wide and her breathing sped up.

    ¡°Kurt, do you mean she is?¡± Abby asked.

    ¡°I swear do either of you even remember the names I told you?¡± I was insulted.

    ¡°How do you know about ¡®him¡¯?¡± Haven asked.

    ¡°I know what he has done, I want justice.¡± I spoke. She paused a while to think. While she was thinking, the fat lady behind us started to breathe down our necks.

    ¡°Here.¡± She spoke, giving me a piece of paper.

    ¡°Thank you, it can¡¯t have been easy. We will talk later.¡± I stated. She nodded.

    We ordered quite embarrassingly. After we walked away from the counter a loud cheer came from a group of guys. Getting a girls number might be an achievement that they thought was worth cheering for, and honestly being supported by someone else felt quite good. However there are more important things right now.

    ¡°Now that I think about it I don¡¯t have your number yet.¡± Kaede said.

    ¡°Neither do I.¡± Abby Added.

    ¡°Give.¡± Both of them said in unison. The same group of guys that were cheering are now staring daggers. I ignored them and decided to share my number with the two of them. Communication would be more convenient this way, though with a couple of costs.

    ¡°We found one.¡± Abby said.

    ¡°You said you wanted justice for all of them. Are you really going to gather them all?¡± Abby added.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered quickly.

    ¡°That''s going to be hard, near impossible.¡± Abby said.

    ¡°So?¡± I said quite depressed.

    ¡°So? We were lucky this time. How are we possibly going to find the others?¡± Abby asked, emotions rising.

    ¡°Do you want me to give up?¡± I asked, Abby froze, I was staring at her with cold eyes.

    ¡°Do you think they don¡¯t deserve justice?¡± I added, gaining momentum.

    ¡°But-¡± Abby started but I interrupted.

    ¡°But? You didn¡¯t go through what they did. Stop sitting on your high horse. Enough people have abandoned and given up on them. My will is still strong, how could I give up simply because of some difficulty?¡± I ranted, my face turning more and more fierce. Both of them sat still and some of the other people in the shop fell quiet. I quelled my own anger and went back to my food.

    ¡°Why are you like this?¡± Kaede asked.

    ¡°This?¡± I asked, feeling quite insulted.

    ¡°You are cruel to your classmates, cold to anybody trying to come close to you. You ignore everybody and everything. You are stubborn against people to the point of yelling.¡± Kaede said.

    ¡°Everybody has a reason for who they are. What happened to you?¡± Kaede said.

    ¡°No they don¡¯t, some people naturally become who they are through their experience or their own self.¡± I argued.

    ¡°But you aren¡¯t one of those people.¡± Kaede said.

    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, I want to know who you are.¡± Kaede said, determined. The people around us were waiting with bated breath. This was obviously a form of entertainment for them. The group of guys who cheered when I got the number even pulled out a watermelon. Many eyes were on me, but I had nothing to be ashamed about.

 Below Yet Ahead.

    I began to tell a story, I had no need or desire to lie. The entire restaurant was silent, I knew they would listen, but I had not the care to hide anything. I began speaking my words reverberating through the silent fast food restaurant.

    ¡®I was in 6th grade, I had just gotten adjusted into the new school. At this point I had already lost faith in people for various reasons. However unlike the present I just sat away in a corner by myself. I did not have any friends or talked to anybody. That earned me a bad reputation, along with my appearance, people spread rumors of me being an evil demon. However I did nothing, I had no trust and no expectations in other people.¡¯

    The people in the restaurant were still listening, but now they frowned a little bit.

    ¡®One day, I was approached by a girl. She didn¡¯t try to make fun of me for my looks. She talked and listened to me, and she invited me to play with others.¡¯

    I was still naive back then.

    ¡®I had slowly grown closer to her. I built trust in her, enough trust that I wouldn¡¯t doubt her. She helped me stop the rumors in class. I was still uncomfortable with other students, but the communication was slowly getting better.¡¯

    The audience in the restaurant were slowly getting confused. Kaede and Abby had expressions that were curious but also worried. After all they probably knew that this story did not have a happy ending.

    ¡®Near the middle of the school year the class was fortunate enough to be able to go on a field trip. We were going to go on a boat and sail around and I was excited. I had fun on the boat with my friend. However, all good things come to an end. I accidentally overheard my friend talking.¡¯

    At this point my throat started to squeeze and my heart felt unruly. I felt a chill across my body. The faces of the people in the restaurant also started to show more concern. Their concern was not for me but from the disruption of their normally perceived lives.

    ¡®She had been playing around with me all along. She had been the one to start spreading the rumors about me and she had kept the rumors out of my sight. She never intended to be friends with me and she considered me a dog. At the time hearing this shocked me and they found out I was listening. Then the entire class gathered, turns out all of them looked down on me and were just hiding it. They started to threaten and bully me as they cornered me, and then¡­ ¡®

    At this point everyone in the restaurant was waiting for my very breath. Many wore faces of concern, some looked like they were wronged. Abby and Kaede only looked shocked.

    ¡®I fell off the boat.¡¯

    I ended the story there not wishing to continue anymore. The entire restaurant was silent enough to hear the hot oil in the kitchen and the air conditioner spurt air. Nobody dared to move, obviously there was more to the story. But nobody had the guts to act.

    I stood, already finished with my meal, Walked over to Haven and said, ¡°I hope you learn that you have to put your heart forward yourself to move on. No matter the method.¡±

    Haven slowly nodded.

    I walked to the door, turned back and offered my final words to the restaurant, ¡°I don¡¯t want or deserve your dirty pity.¡±

    I walked out the door.

    We had managed to find one of the victims. However I will not take the easy route from here. Things need to speed up, I guess I could reduce the punishment of the rabbit killers a bit. My rage still burns against them, but that would be the fastest way. Mr. Rabbit is already dead, but these girls can still be revived.

    I had been walking aimlessly, enough to become lost, when I found myself in an alley with some bad memories.

    ¡°You don¡¯t usually see the victim returning to the scene of the crime.¡± A voice called from the other end of the alley.

    I slowly walked closer, I expected it to be the stubby police officer from the choice of words. However, instead it was a child. The child had pure white hair and dazzling blue eyes that had an arrogant tendency.

    ¡°Of course, that''s only because you consider yourself the victim.¡± The child said playfully, then laughed and giggled much like a child. However, something about the kid was off. From just appearance and voice it was hard to define a gender, but that isn¡¯t uncommon in children. The eyes were playful and the mouth was smiling. Something about the sight made the child look empty.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked cautiously. A normal child would not be in such an alley, additionally they knew something about me.

    ¡°I am God, or at least something close to it. For your convenience you can call me Godfrey, and use masculine pronouns.¡± Words that would not usually come from a child spoken in a childish tone felt weird.

    ¡°God?  I don¡¯t think so, prove it.¡± I worded cautiously.

    ¡°Azure is this how you treat your benefactor especially when I gave you such power?¡±  The boy continued. The fact that he knew about my power was a good piece of evidence. However complete trust in his identity was far.

    ¡°You, gave me this power?¡± I asked.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t you ask for it?¡± he remarked.

    ¡°If you really are God, then you should know what questions I have right?¡± I imposed a test, with the key being more information.

    ¡°You are such a schemer, not only do you want me to use my power to find your questions, but you also want me to answer them.¡± The boy responded, he saw right through me. I fell silent not knowing how to continue.

    ¡°Well, I will be kind since I intended to answer your questions.¡± The boy said with his smile turning closer to a grin.

    ¡°First, the question of why I am answering your questions. You see, answering these questions will do something.¡± Godfrey giggled.

    ¡°How could you call that an answer?¡± I replied in slight anger.

    ¡°I''m not lying am I, and what is considered an answer is subjective isn¡¯t it.¡± I got the feeling Godfrey is starting to play with me.

    ¡°Fine I don¡¯t care as much about the question.¡± I replied, trying to move forward.

    ¡°More like you already have the answer, right?¡± Godfrey¡¯s lips curved upward unnaturally. A face no longer human was staring up at me.

    ¡°So what if I already have the answer, isn¡¯t it within your expectations?¡± I answered while calming my mind.

    ¡°Second, why does your power not work on the Drakes? your power does work on the Drakes.¡± Godfrey replied as soon as I finished my words.

    ¡°Then they have no sins?¡± I asked seriously.

    ¡°Bingo.¡± Godfrey was giggling again, it became unsettling considering the context.

    ¡°Then they have never committed anything evil?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Third, why does your power not work on yourself?¡± He obviously did not intend to answer the previous question.

    ¡°Your power does not work on yourself because¡­ well, telling you won¡¯t help. Let me give you an analogy; you can not see anything but the ground you stand on, you have walked to the end of a cliff and do not jump because you can not see.¡± His words were put together simply but I understood them partly, but how could that be related to my powers failing?

    ¡°You really have given me little help.¡± I said. I turned around to leave, all my questions answered.

    ¡°Fourth.¡± He said. I turned around not expecting another answer.

    ¡°Kaede''s three sizes are-¡± He started and then broke into giggling. I got mad, however, how could one get revenge on God especially when he looked like a little boy.

    ¡°I answered your questions so let me ask one.¡± Godfrey said.

    ¡°Fair.¡± I answered annoyed.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The words he spoke were very common. However I did not have an answer for them.

    ¡°Answer me next time.¡± Godfrey said after seeing the confusion on my face. Godfrey then got showered in a glow of multi-color light. A small noise escaped.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show up as a girl next time, just for you.¡± The words angered me, but the anger felt useless and was discarded quickly. The multi-color light turned into a single strand of bright light and blasted to the sky.

    Today was not that enjoyable of a day, however what was gained could not be discarded for anything. Even though today I met an annoying god, I got important information from him. Even If I had to recount a past that traumatized me, I had met an important person. What does the unfortunate part of my day matter when what is good is on the horizon.

    I was walking down the road, when I expected another encounter. After all, my day could not get busier than it already was. However nothing happened which wasn¡¯t surprising either.

    When I got back to my fathers house I was already expecting a hard night. Having a broken arm didn¡¯t help, but the biggest difficulty would be in my mind.

    As I lay trying to fall asleep, memories flashed through my head. Few were warm, but there were a few. The few memories that felt warm made me feel even more disrupted. I then felt the cold, it was the same as the two nights in my memory. The terror of the cold heightened my mind, however it wasn¡¯t a good thing. My heightened mind feared everything, feeling the darkness from all my memories gave me a certain feeling.

    Fear filled my body. Terror filled my mind. Darkness filled my vision. My skin tightened. I then felt a chill too cold to describe. I started to sink. I turned myself upward gasping for air. All I could see was a small light surrounded by the darkness above. My ears did not work. My skin is numb beyond feeling. My eyes were slowly forced closed. Right before everything diminished into nothing a jolt ran through my body and I felt one thought in my head that was invincible.

    Live.

    The next morning, I opened my eyes, the ceiling was bright. I slept for a long time. As I stared at the familiar ceiling I recounted the previous day''s events which were many. When I got to the part before my sleep I shivered and let out a sigh. Today was Sunday, I did not have many goals. But I had one important one. I slowly forced myself out of bed and made myself food. I was forced to only cook simple things due to my injury. Luckily my ribs were mostly healed by now. I decided to make the call sooner than later.

    ¡°Hello, Haven.¡± I said speaking through my phone.

    ¡°This is?¡± A feminine voice sounded through my phone.

    ¡°Azure, we met yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Oh I guess you want to discuss ¡®that¡¯.¡± Her voice changed after she heard my name. It was now less formal, but still tense.

    ¡°Yes, first I will make my intentions clear. I want you to testify against Kurt.¡± My words were completely honest. However a silence on the phone likely represented worry.

    ¡°I would have to testify in person right?¡± She asked meekly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered immediately.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do it then.¡±  She spoke with no emotion. This might make it harder. Words flashed through my head, ¡®not your justice to serve¡¯. However they made little sense to me right now.

    ¡°I understand why you might not want to. But please let me talk to you in person.¡± I spoke earnestly.

    ¡°Okay.¡± a voice small enough to be washed away by birds chirps sounded on the phone.

    ¡°Do you want me to bring Abby, One of the two girls with me yesterday?¡± She might not be comfortable alone with a male.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Were her only words. After we set up a time to meet she hung up.

    Progress does not come easy.

    I went back to Mrs. Drake''s words. Not my justice to serve. I don¡¯t think any of the girls would not want to serve justice. The things stopping them were probably social, and physiological. It might be that Kurt had some support. However my blood boiled and I would tear down anything in the way.

    I could ignore anything else in the way, even myself. The future became bleak and all that mattered was those six girls. Who knows how they have lived their lives since the incident. I thought that maybe it would be okay for them to get over it. However I knew that no matter what I would not be able to tell them to their face to just suck it up and get over it. They might have been abandoned, or scorned even by their own family or friends. I felt sympathy for them, going through such things myself. They had it even worse, all that happened to me was my own fault. What terror they faced was of no fault of their own. They stood above me but behind me. Such a weird phrase came to mind.