Tevun-Krus #10 - TKX: Best of 2014

Inhuman: Superhuman

Inhuman
A superhuman short by @ZakaryShupe.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.  Is that how I’m supposed to start a story?  I’m not Charles Darwin... Dickens... Whatever.  Surrounded by whimpering police officers, all their guns drawn on me, I realize that I am in control here.  They think that they can scare me.  They even think that they can harm me.  But it wasn’t my fault, none of it.  I’m only seventeen years old.  I didn’t know how to control it and the angrier I got, the worse I became.  But for you to truly understand my predicament, we’ll have to go back.

“Back off my girl, piece of shit!” Ace screamed as he swung his fist at my head, knocking me to the ground.  He stood over me, triumphant.  Ace was one of the popular kids of the school and a huge bully.  His clothes hung loose and wore a Red Sox cap twisted slightly to the right; his aviator sunglasses hung from his Abercrombie shirt.

“Back off me,” I told him, refusing to stand back up, knowing all too well that he would just slam me back down.  By now all the other kids of the school had surrounded us like hungry sharks, craving a fight and cheering for the victor, for Ace to break me.

“What did you just say to me?” Ace replied and pulled his fist back.  I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

“Back off, man!” I heard a cry.  Jake busted through the crowd and stood before me.

“What are you going to do?”  Ace laughed.  “You want some of this too?”

“Bring it on, asshole!” Jake growled.

Ace lowered his fist and smirked.  “Whatever, man. You can’t protect his lame ass forever.  Fight’s over!”

The crowd moaned and split up as quickly as it had formed.

“Sorry, no blood today!” Jake yelled.

“Your friend better watch himself,” Ace said as he started off, scowling.

Jake turned around and helped me to my feet.  “You all right, man?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“You gotta learn to stick up for yourself.  You see what I did there?  I stood my ground and he backed off.  He does this to you because he knows he can.”

“I know, man.  I guess I just don’t have balls of steel like yourself.”

“Let’s get to class.  We’re gonna be late.”

Jake was my best friend.  We had known each other since before we even started preschool.  Both our dads had worked together for years and as they did, we became friends.  Jake was always very protective of me and would make sure no one messed with me...sometimes.  It’s not like he could always be there.

The driver opened the door to the bus to let me off after the school day.  I didn’t know why I still went to school.  I always tried to convince my parents to homeschool me, but they never took to that idea.

“Hey, punk,” came the voice of Ace.  I stopped in my tracks, stunned as I heard the bus drive off.  I slowly turned around to see him and two of his lackeys.

“This isn’t your stop,” I spoke with terror in my voice.

Ace smiled and shrugged.  “Well,” he said as they walked closed to me, “I still have some unfinished business.”  Both of his lackeys immediately grabbed me and shoved me to my knees.  “This is gonna hurt you way more than it’s going to hurt me.”

“Go ahead, asshole,” I told him. Suddenly he tossed a left strike at my face and I could feel my nose crack under the pressure.

“Damn, that did hurt my hand a little!” Ace laughed and hit me again.  He kept hitting my face until I had been knocked unconscious, leaving me to drown in the now storming streets.