Evading The Dark

Chapter 1

All I knew was pain. I was consumed by it, unable to think or focus on anything else. I struggled as an unwilling passenger of my own mind, as muscle separated from bone and each individual tendon tore as they were twisted in a direction they were not meant to go. I let out a scream as agonizing waves of pure fire raced down my arm and settled in my fingertips, only to shoot back again. My shoulder throbbed and bulged, swelling until it felt three times in normal size. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

I wanted to give up and just let the agony overwhelm me until it hurt too much to stay conscious. When my body could no longer take the torture, I would be free.

But before I could give in, my attacker made a crucial mistake. As he made another tug on my arm, a twinge shot through my shoulder forcing a strangled yelp from my mouth, and he laughed. The bastard stood there and laughed.

Oh, hell no.

His laughter reached a part of me that I hadn't noticed until that moment, a part of me that was literally fighting to get out and kick this guy's ass. Anger fueled the adrenaline that now pumped through my body in full force. Muscles coiled and tensed in preparation to fight. My foe felt my change in posture and went to tug on my arm again, but I was already moving.

I let instinct guide my free hand right into his nose. The sickening crunch of breaking cartilage filled the air, but I didn't have time to enjoy the surprised look on his face before my well-practiced side-kick sent him flying toward the back wall of the gym. Reality came back to me slowly; I was still standing in a fighting stance, blood roaring in my ears, heart pounding in my chest, as I became aware of the other students in our training class.

"All right, Casey!"

The sound of a single person's applause echoed from behind me, becoming louder and louder until a friendly clap on the back jerked my injured shoulder.

"Sorry."

I looked up into the deep, emerald eyes of my best, and only friend, Cedric Blake. Of course he was the one clapping. I sighed and held my injured arm close to my body. Even that small movement hurt like hell. The abrupt thud of a door hitting a wall brought the disorderly room to a screeching halt. Whispers could barely be heard over the shuffles of shoes against the mats as the other students backed away from me.

Shock, outrage, and anger-fueled frowns surrounded me on every side. Not-so-subtle whispers of insults circled me in a whirlwind of unsupportive voices as the other students began to trash talk me behind cupped hands. I rolled my eyes, as if I couldn't hear them.

"I think it's safe to say that I still hold the number one slot for 'Most Likely to be Pushed Down the Stairs Before Graduation.'"

Cedric smirked and threw his arm around my neck,

"Nah, it's not thatbad."

We watched as a classmate helped my attacker to his feet. I fought the urge to roll my eyes again as that aforementioned classmate threw a bird my way. As if this whole thing was my fault.

"I take that back. You may just have to avoid stairs for the next two years," Cedric laughed.

I gave him a solid punch with my good arm.

"Hardy har."

I knew he was joking, but the sad part was, he was probably right. I didn't know what the other students had against me, but it had always been this way. The other students had two common routes they chose when it came to interacting with me: ignore me and pretend I don't exist, or ridicule me and join the club of classic, cheesy high school bullies. Three guesses on which one the majority chose.