Second Wind

Chapter 2: Welcome to Deadlock

AN: Mulitmedia is Snakebite

My eyebrows knit together in a confused frown. Why did it take me to another school? I looked at the sign where it would say the name of the school; instead of an official looking sign, there was just a piece of wood nailed to a stake in the ground. It was painted black, and had crimson lettering on it that said the same thing as the writing on that guy's hoodie...

Deadlock.

The weird thing was that there was a bunch of cars parked in the parking lots, even though it was after hours, even for teachers. The lights in the school were on, so I assumed there'd be people there. I pulled my car into the closest parking spot available, retrieved my bag,and then walked carefully across the parking lot, towards the front of the school. I was ready to get in a fight and win it; this was a shady looking place. A fight taking place was very possible...

I went to the front of the school to find three sets of double doors. I would have looked inside the building first, but all of the glass doors had been spray painted black to the point of not being able to see beyond them. I tried all the doors until I found that the middle set was the only one that was unlocked.

I walked in.

I was assaulted with the loudest cacophony of noises I had ever heard in my life. I grunted in surprise, blinking rapidly and trying to adjust my eyes to the sudden light.

There was music, the bass vibrating deep in my chest. My teeth grated involuntarily against one another due to the huge volume of the music. I heard shouting... Cheering, more specifically.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself, looking around. I was in the lobby of the school, but it was the weirdest looking lobby I had ever seen. There was graffiti, the good kind, painted all over the walls and every surface, even on the floor. There was a front desk, like at any other high school, but instead of having sign in sheets and jars of pencils and pens, it had stacks of those black business cards and a single clipboard.

"Hey you!" said a voice. I searched awkwardly for the source before I found that it came from behind the desk. There was a man that looked like he was in his early twenties sitting behind the desk. I looked over the desk, just like I had done with Mr. Faust's secretary.

"What?" I growled, glaring at him.

The man narrowed his eyes, which we a red colour. They must have been contacts, but it looked so natural that a chill went down my spine. The person shifted in his seat, which made the muscles of his arms roll in a threatening manner. His right arm, I noticed, was covered in swirling black markings; tattoos

This guy looked tired of my shit and I hadn't been around him for a minute.

"You best not have that tone with me if you want to know what the hell's goin' on," he growled back.

I looked around, but I didn't see any other people in the lobby. "Okay..." I said with uncertainty.

He toyed with the double piercings on his bottom lip before speaking again. "Name's Snakebite. I assume you don't really know where you are and what's going on," he said. I thinned my lips, inclining my head in a begrudging affirmative. He nodded, looking around.

"You're in Deadlock. It's a 'community' for the delinquents of various schools in and around this county," he told me in a confidential manner. I had a little bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the concept.

"Well what if I don't want to live here?" I asked.

Snakebite shrugged as if it wasn't his problem. "You don't have a choice," he replied. I grimaced, and decided that I wasn't taking that shit. I turned on my heel and walked briskly away.