"Ty-"
In one swift motion, Tyler had Josh pinned against the wall, his favorite knife against the boy's throat.
"-Don't you dare, kid," Tyler snapped, his voice barely above a whisper. "Here, you call me Mad Gear, got it?"
Despite the heat radiating off of Tyler's body, Josh shivered. He forced himself a nod.
Tyler relaxed some, his grip of Josh loosening ever so slightly. He looked down, his lips inches away from Josh's neck. Josh could feel his hot breath on his skin.
"Listen," Tyler hissed, pressing his blade harder against Josh's throat. "I like you. I don't know why, but I do."
Tyler paused, as if expecting Josh to say something, but the boy remained silent.
"What you're gonna go through here is worse than you could ever imagine," Tyler continued. "You sure you want to go through with it?"
Josh forced himself to stop shivering and set his jaw. "Y-Yes sir," he squeaked.
Tyler chuckled softly and backed away from the boy pressed against the wall. Josh took a gasp for air and Tyler swiftly put his knife back in his belt.
"I'm glad you said that," Tyler murmured, smirking to himself.
"Why's that?" Josh panted, still trying to catch his breath after being choked multiple times tonight.
"Cause otherwise I'd have to kill ya." Tyler looked at Josh before laughing and continuing down the hall.
Josh didn't laugh.
"S-So wha-what do I have to do?" Josh rushed after Tyler, who didn't bother slowing down. "You said there was some...some kind of initiation?"
That same mischievous smirk as before lingered on Tyler's lips.
"I already told them that you're a softie, that they can't use any real weapons," Tyler explained nonchalantly, lifting his slender shoulder in a casual shrug. "You won't be bedridden for too long."
Josh's hazel eyes widened, but he didn't dare speak. Something was off about Tyler's tone. Despite his causality and sarcasm, his words were dipped in something else.
Sadness. Regret. As if he didn't really want this to happen.
Tyler continued walking down the dimly lit corridor, Josh scurrying beside him.
"Of course, we'll have to keep you in separate quarters until you've proved you can keep up," Tyler's grin widened. "A pretty boy like you would be ripped apart the first hour."
"W-What do you mean?" Josh stuttered, swallowing back his fear.
Tyler and his Clique were obviously not people to mess with. Tyler had already attempted to kill Josh multiple times. Josh had already seen Tyler kill two people. His own henchman, at that. Who's to say Josh was even going to survive this initiation?
"Are you kidding me?" Tyler laughed. "Look at you."
And Tyler did. Tyler looked Josh up and down, from his scuffed Vans to his dyed green hair. He sucked in a breath and licked his chapped lips before averting his eyes.
Josh felt his cheeks heat up. A million thoughts ran through his mind. What are his mother and father doing right now? His brother? His sisters? Are they worried? Do they even know he's gone?
If I had only taken a different way home...
Tyler suddenly stopped at the end of the corridor, in front of a heavy steel door. No window, no light. Josh's breathing quickened. Anxiety began setting in.
"I can't do this," he suddenly blurted out.
"What?" Tyler snapped, half in confusion, half in annoyance. He looked over at the green-haired boy with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
Josh took one last look at the foreboding grey door before whipping his head over to Tyler.
"Whatever it is, I can't do it," Josh explained quickly, shaking his head back and forth. His words came out of his mouth in a jumbled rush.
"Just kill me now," Josh cried. "Tell Jordan I'm sorry for that one time I forgot to get him Taco Bell. Tell Ashley that her birthday present is that old typewriter she always wanted. Tell Abby that I really do like that one song she wrote, even though I pretend not to. Tell my mom I love her. Tell our dad I'm sorry-"
Tyler slapped him. Right across the face. The smack rang out in the empty corridor.
Josh kept his head down, his hand flying up to cover his stinging cheek. Tears brimmed in the corner of his eyes, but he blinked them away.
"You said so yourself," Josh said angrily through gritted teeth. His misty eyes were still trained at the floor. "Either initiation, or kill me. I take the latter."
"That's the easy way out," Tyler replied, his voice breaking. He had no idea why, but something about the kid-man-in front of him made his rough façade disappear.
"I don't care!" Josh shouted, squeezing his eyes shut. "Just do it!"
Tyler's chest rose and fell heavily.
"It's not that bad!" He argued desperately, grabbing Josh's tattooed arm. "You'll only be in your room for a week or so! I-I told them to go easy!"
"I said I don't care, Tyler!" Josh yanked his arm out of Tyler's grasp and backed away from him. "Kill me!"
Anger suddenly flashed across Tyler's face. A bright, almost neon, red color sparked behind his pupils. His usual brown iris turned blood red for a split second, like a flame flickering for a moment on a lighter.
Josh's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
"I told you not to call me by my real name," Tyler growled, his voice barely audible. "Not here. I'm not killing you, that's for sure. Wipe the tears out your eyes and suck it up, getting stabbed only hurts a little."
Josh, realizing he had no other choice at this point, pursed his lips and nodded.
"Y-Yes sir..." he whispered.
"What?" Tyler snapped.
"Yes sir."
"That's what I thought," Tyler scoffed, a smirk on his face.
✗✗✗✗✗
The way Tyler described initiation into the Clique, Josh would have never expected it to have anything to do with a giant red hamster ball.
But Josh was wrong.
So there Josh stood, stripped down to his boxers, on a raised stage, inside of a giant red hamster ball.
Hundreds, no, thousands of people stood below him, on the floor below the stage. Josh could not see any of them. This place-wherever it was-was too dark. Everyone was wearing black except for the occasional dash of red or blue.
Josh tried to swallow back his embarrassment as he felt a million eyes staring straight at him, boring right into his soul. The shouts, screams, even the singing of the Clique made Josh's ears ring. He squeezed his eyes closed and winced. This only made the huge crowd scream louder.
Josh could make out some of what they were saying. None of it was good. They taunted and jeered and laughed at him. The entire crowd was completely chaotic, jumping up and down and smashing into each other. The sheer sight of it all made Josh feel sicker than he already did.
"Hey," a familiar voice suddenly rang out in the grand auditorium. "Hey, guys, shut up."
The entire pit instantly went silent, save for a few murmurs of confusion.
The only source of light in the entire room was coming from a glowing white microphone hanging from the ceiling next to Josh. Tyler was standing somewhere close to it, but Josh couldn't see where. This place was too dark and the screams were too loud and he was too afraid.
"I'd like you all to give a nice, warm, Clique welcome to the newest addition." Tyler's voice sounded muffled and distorted over the loud speakers. "His name will be Missile Kid, and anyone who calls him otherwise has to deal with me, got it?"
Josh found his cheeks heat up with embarrassment even more. Missile Kid. The new name was forever carved into Josh's mind as he heard the Clique members chanting the two words over and over again.
"Glad you all are so...welcoming..."
Josh could practically hear the smile in Tyler's voice.
"Now, time for something much more exciting," Tyler said in a sing-song voice. Josh looked to the side and saw the glowing microphone swinging back and forth. He didn't like it. It made him afraid.
The Clique cheered louder.
"You remember what I said, don't you?" Tyler asked. He reached out and grabbed the microphone, holding it steady. "No vital organs."
Josh's eyes widened. As soon as those words escaped Tyler's lips, the Clique burst into a thunderous applause. Josh opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.
Josh's breathing quickened as he heard footsteps clicking against the stage. A shadow appeared on the other side of the red inflated ball.
"You took off your shoes, right?" A voice murmured.
Josh nodded, mouth slightly agape. Before he actually got into the hamster ball, Tyler had instructed him to take off his shirt, skinny jeans, and shoes. Josh did as he was told. (It hurts more with less clothes on, Tyler had explained). Josh was just thankful he at least let him keep his boxers on.
Tyler nodded, but Josh couldn't see it. No one could. Tyler would never want the Clique seeing him have a soft spot for some kid.
"Try to avoid the middle," Tyler said, his voice taking on a gentler tone. "The Hard Clique likes to hang out there."
Josh swallowed. "O-Okay-"
"I told them no vital organs, so you won't get any fatal wounds," Tyler continued. "When you're ready, just push off into the crowd."
Josh paused for a moment, then turned around so he was facing the crowd again and not Tyler.
The chants had started up again, thousands of voices singing Missile Kid in unison.
Josh took a deep, shaky breath before taking a step forward and pushing the hamster ball off the stage.
✗✗✗✗✗
The stabs came quick.
As soon as the hamster ball rolled off the stage, Josh fell. He slipped and fell right on his bare back. The hamster ball caught him, and he slid right down to the bottom.
And then the first stab came.
Josh's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he saw the shiny point of a knife poke through the plastic, right next to his arm. Someone else took a stab, and it landed inches away from Josh's head.
Josh did not hesitate to quickly scramble to his feet, slipping against the plastic. Avoid the middle, he repeated in his mind, and immediately he scurried over the left, where the crowd looked somewhat milder.
A ripple of pain shot through Josh's left leg, and he cried out in pain. He grit his teeth as he felt something being yanked out of his bare foot.
The Clique screamed and laughed and sang as Josh continued to run the hamster ball across the crowd.
Josh tore his eyes away from the crowd and looked back at the stage, where he could barely make out Tyler's shadow in the light from the microphone.
As soon as Josh looked away, he fell again. He felt sharp, blinding pains in his side, his arms, his legs. His vision became blurry, his breathing became pained. The thought of just giving up and lying there passed through his mind.
Before Josh had a chance to get back on his feet, the hamster ball broke. He squeezed his eyes shut as he was swallowed up by the raging Clique members below him.
He cried out when his bare back hit the concrete. The floor was cold against his skin, but the feeling was immediately replaced by pain when the Clique got ahold of him.
Dirty fingernails dug into his skin, calloused hands roughly yanked him back and forth, silver blades stabbed and cut and scratched.
Josh faintly heard Tyler's urgent voice over the loudspeaker, but he couldn't make out what he was saying. The Clique closed in on all sides, shouting and screaming and laughing in Josh's face.
All the faces were blurry. Josh tried to fight back, tried to get the sweaty, screaming Clique members off of him.
But it all happened so fast, and there was too many off them. Josh soon found himself getting half pushed, half carried to the center of the pit. The stabs did not stop, the scratching did not stop, the shouting did not stop.
But Josh stopped. Black spots covered his vision, his limbs became weak. Soon, the pain of the knifes digging into his skin wore off, and he felt nothing but numb.
"Stop before you fucking kill him-!"
✗✗✗✗✗
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I'm so proud of this book I really hope you guys love it as much as I do.
Okay guys, remember that whole "posting chapters daily" thing?
Well I'm too excited and I worked too hard on this for that.
So starting tomorrow I will be posting TWO CHAPTERS DAILY.
Enjoy this little gift from your mom.
- Liz.