Chapter 2: The Awakening, Part II
Leo put his hands into his jean pockets and began to count how long it took Brock to recover. His muscles twitching with excitement, as his breath slowed down, his rate pumping proudly in his chest. Brock, groans, as the world echoes in his ear. His body unresponsive as he slowly manages to stand on his oafish feet, dazed from the vicious attacks. He turns around to face Leo, his head ringing with a sharp whistle.
Brock: "You got lucky... That last hit was a cheap shot! You talk about being strong, but you're not even man enough to face me!"
Leo gave a quick laugh under his breath that broke into a happy sneer. “Brock is ignorant or in denial.” Thought Leo. “Of course maybe I gave him too much credit.” Hector and Leo spar with each other on a daily basis spending countless afternoons testing each other's skills. Their fighting skills have rarely been seen, but every opponent that's ever come their way has lost. There was even a rumor at one point that Hector and Leo had fought off an entire gang called Ghost that specialized in bullying at their school and were even rumored to have raped female students. Leo had also put a few troublesome kids in the hospital for fighting that year. Any normal student would have been expelled by now, but because of his "special case" he was given “second chances”.
Leo: "You have no idea really? The weak always talk too much... If you think I'm not "man" enough then the rest of my attacks will be to your face just to prove you wrong cabron (bastard)."
Leo flashes Brock a quick grin, overconfident of his own abilities, while the crowd of students and teachers alike watch the fight, as if it were some free spectacle to 'ooh' and 'aw' at. Leo could care less about their thoughts or their want for a free show, but he didn't want them getting hurt by Brock's blind rampage. He knew he would have to end it as fast as possible. Leo rushed over to Brock stopping half a foot away from him. He then went into his fighting stance, raising his arms in front of his chest. His breathing slowed down as he kept a loose fist, the crowd watched while he lowered his center of gravity bending his knees, he then put his right foot forward and his faced showed focus.
Brock was still dazed, but like a mad beast he swung his massive arms horizontally. Leo reacted leaning back jumping off the ground onto his hands did a backwards handspring, letting Brock taste his foot in the process. Brock's head was whipped backwards facing the ceiling as he began to stumble backwards from the blow. His head smashed into the wall with a loud *THWACK!!* And before he could recover Leo was already using his advantage in speed to jump through the air, locked to his location. Brock had no chance of dodging as Leo's fist connected with the right side of his face! Leaving a nasty mark in the process.
In another part of the school Shana, Monica, and Hector were wandering in a an aimless effort to find something to do until the end of lunch. They suddenly heard distant chants and cheers echoing around them. It came from down the hall signifying that an event was happening and their good friend Leo was probably in the middle of it. They followed the noises until they reached the source, a large crowd of students was gathered around in a circle with faculty struggling to control them. All three of them looked at each other with a questioning look trying to figure out if they should or shouldn't join the excited mob of people. All of a sudden a few students rushed past them enthusiastically yelling, "Fight! Someone is beating the living shit out of Brock!" Hector looked at Shana with a sarcastic grin.
Hector: "You don't think Leo's the one fighting Brock... righttttt?"
Shana: "I hope not considering what day today is..."
Monica: "Um... guys... Isn't that Leo right there flipping like a monkey through the air?"
Shana and Hector both slowly raised their heads above the mob. At first only the ceiling showed, but in a quick flash Leo was seen doing back,front,side,even double-flips through the air. Without saying a word they slowly walked inside the crowd pushing their way towards the front to see their good friend, and as soon as they reached the inner sanctum they witnessed Brock's face covered in large amounts of sweat and blood as Leo repeatedly jabbed him in the nose causing multiple sickening *CRACKS!*
Hector: "Well looks like Brock is getting his big ass handed to him! (bout time).”
Shana: "Do you think I care?! Leo better have a good excuse as to why he's fighting this piece of garbage! Ugh! Why today of all days..."
Hector: "I know Leo, he wouldn't fight unless Brock did something bad... oh who am I kidding Leo would fight any nigga who looked at him with an attitude..."
Shana: "So?! No me importa! (I don't care!) He shouldn't be fighting! I swear Ima kick his ass when he's done with Brock!"
Monica: "Shana, calmate (calm yourself) or else I’ll- I mean please...”
Shana: "Don't tell me to calm down nena! (girl!) Do you not see what's going on here!?"
Shana points over to Leo to make her painfully obvious point even more fucking obvious. Leo, who has focused all his energy to doing some major ass kicking, hadn’t even noticed that his friends were in the crowd; 2 out of 3 enjoying the spectacle. The world just seemed to disappear to him. Brock on the other hand was throwing a flurry of punches, looking like a distressed gorilla trying to land a single blow on Leo, but Leo’s quick reflexes allowed him to simply keep avoiding his slow attacks.
Brock: "JUST STAY STILL SO I CAN HIT YOU!!"
Leo enjoyed the moment laughing to his heart’s content and with a slight grin said, "Uh... No." And then proceeded to aim his leg to Brocks forehead swinging it down with such force that it left a dark shoe print on his head. Brock was getting ready to collapse; he had taken an abnormally huge beating and was losing a lot of blood, but he somehow managed to find the superhuman energy of standing on his two legs even though he was at his limit gasping for oxygen. Leo took pity on him thinking he had gone a bit too far on this one.
Leo: "Ok I'll tell you what, Brock. I'll let you hit me once right here." He pointed at the left side of his face, "Give it your best shot." He gave Brock an over confident smile as he slid his hands into his jean pockets.
Brock couldn't believe what Leo was saying! It was a shameful insult, but he couldn't let an opportunity like that slip away either. So he bull charged at Leo, absorbing all of his might and energy into a single right hook. Leo stood his ground unflinching as Brock closed his distance, as soon as Brock was in range, he threw the deadly punch at Leo which hit him across the face with a loud *POW!*
A silence fell over the mob enjoying the fight. Leo faced Brock, not one inch moved since the blow, his left side crimson red from the blow, minimal blood trickling down over his lower lip. He licked some the blood off his lip wiping away the rest with his thumb. "Damn... he made me bite myself." Leo muttered softly under his breath. Brock stared at Leo not believing that he could even still be standing up after that blow!
Leo: My best friend's baby sister could draw more blood than this cabron." (bastard)
Hector burst into laughter at Leo’s insult to Brock. Suddenly a movement caught the retina of his eye. He noticed Eddy trying to sneak up on Leo from behind. His goal had been set.
Brock: "What are you?! You some kind of freak!"
Leo smiled, but his eyes began to burn. He reached up slowly touching his forehead, as the world around him began to spin. He broke out into a small cold sweat and sensed something wrong. He saw Brocks eyes tracking something or someone from behind. He turned around to see Eddy readying a punch at him, when out of the blue Hector grabbed him by the throat and elbowed his chest! Eddy stumbled to the floor with no strength or oxygen, Hector had successfully done his heroic duty watching his friend’s back.
Hector: "Thought you could use some (clears throat) back-up. After all two on two is a lot fairer well except in our case since we’re both overleveled."
Eddy rose slowly behind Hector. Causing the two friends to go back to back facing each other’s opponents.
Hector: "You know security is going to show up soon right? Like with a taser y todo (and everything). So lets set a time limit."
Leo: "A time limit huh? Yeah sounds fun, shall we say 30 seconds?”
Hector: "Bitch please I’Il throw that nigga down in 10."
Leo: "Oh someone’s feeling like a badass, ok 10 seconds it is!"
Hector: "Well I’m not the one fighting the big one, ok lets do this!"
The two best friends proceeded to defeat their opponents swiftly, bringing out their most ruthless moves as the security team showed up to disband the fight. They put Leo in handcuffs, dragging him and Hector away, they looked at each other in disappointment for their fun had ended.
A while later, Leo is in the Principal's office sitting in a defiant manner with his hood on, covering most of his face. The principal stood by an open window with his hands behind his back in a formal authoritarian pose. Leo took a look around the old room. As the air kept filling with tension in a long awkward pause, he examined the old musty white walls, along the granite tile floor. The principal’s long mahogany desk filled up the middle of the room, but more importantly it created a barrier between the two. Leo squirmed in his chair knowing all too well, he had fucked up his last “second chance.”
Shana’s cute face had formed in his mind; it was the only thing he could think about. The disappointment that it would show; the bitter tears that would come out, it all made his heart sink, the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. The principal turned around, his middle aged features were hard to look at. He looked weary and depressed, his brown hair was slowly desaturating on the sides, and his stomach was as rotund as a circus ball. Leo could tell the principal was stressed out and that he was just adding more oil to the fire. The principle sat in his dark leather chair. It squeaked and ached under his weight as he slowly sighed positioning himself in his desk. He took another long deep breath before looking directly at Leo.
Principal: "Leo... what can I do with you? You've been in 6 fights in just the past 3 months..."
Leo: "Actually its 9..."
Principal: "Brock is the 5th person you've sent to the hospital this year!”
Leo: "Um, I believe he's the 7th actually... yeah 7th. That Raul kid doesn't count..."
Principal: "My point is, I can't protect you anymore! I have to take action! If I don't, the school board is going to come knocking on my door along with the parents of these students to get rid of you! Do you know how many parents have come in here threatening to sue the school system, as well as me for not expelling you?! Do you have any idea the trouble you're not only causing for me, but all the other students in this building!?" He takes a moment to catch his breath and Leo notices how the veins in his forehead are beginning to pop out. "Well I don't know what could happen exactly if I try to keep protecting you, but either way I can't deal with it!"
Leo: "You haven't even asked me for my side of the story. My actions were righteous! I was protecting an innocent kid that BROCK was getting ready to pulverize. If I hadn't distracted him that kid would be the one in the hospital! I know for damn sure the school wouldn't have done anything! He would've just been another victim! So go ahead say it! I don't care cause in the end we all do what we have to do..."
The principal pressed the heel of his palm into his eyes and began to rub his neck absent mindedly. He and Leo sat in their angry wake, as the tension slowly died for a while. They locked eyes for a moment before the principal decided to break the silence.
Principal: "I'm sorry Leo... I really am, but you leave me no choice. You're expelled. You can stay the rest of the day as long as you don't cause trouble. I know you want to at least say goodbye to your friends, but as soon as school is over I'm calling the superintendent and the mayor to let them know of your status and let them take you away and put you God knows where."
Leo slowly got up and walked to the door with his head hanging low. He gave the principal one last look and left slowly closing the door behind him. Later that day, as Leo and Hector are walking home from school, he is completely silent. The cool afternoon breeze rustled the air around them, the sun hidden behind grey foreboding clouds. He looked at his friends tired face, and back towards the cold, grey cement ground. Leo suspected that today was probably the last day that he would ever see his friends. He figured that child services would be at his home to pick him up the next day. He didn't want to leave, but what other choice did he have.
Leo: "So... How long did you get suspended for?"
Hector: "Three fucking days man... My mom is gonna kill me, but that's not gonna stop me from visiting you today. You, Shana, and...what was her name again, Monica? Anyways we still have to celebrate your birthday together you know... Hey...porque estas tan fucking callao? (why are you so fucking quiet?) Usually you can’t shut up around me.”
Leo stops walking, and begins to look for the words he needs to tell his friend. He begins looking at the dreary sky. He wonders how it went from sky blue to dark grey in a few hours. He faces Hector again and takes in a deep breath as the skies continue grow with misery.
Leo: "I got expelled..."
Hector: "Bwahahaha your funny man, expelled. Nigga please that was like what you're 6th guy this month, hell I've seen you take down like 20 guys in one week once....granted that happened off school... and I did fight the other 15 guys..."
Leo: "Bro I’m not fucking joking with you!! They seriously expelled my ass from school... and they're going to take me away... (I fucked up)... it could be tonight... it could be tomorrow either way I don't know, but it's going to be soon and I don't know if I can tell Shana the truth..."
Hector: "Oh....well damn...Shana...she's going to find out eventually you know... She was bitching about you fighting today, but I think she understands why you did it though. You do know you just broke her heart right? She's in love with you there’s no doubting that, you can see it written all over her dumb face even if she hasn't said it, and now that you're going to be taken away... I hope she can recover from it fast...at least in a year or two."
Leo: "Yeah... I don’t need you reminding me of that shit... I feel bad enough as it is. What time are you going to come over with the girls?"
Hector: "What girls? I’m bringing bitches son...man I don't know maybe around seven? Is that cool?"
Leo: "Yeah I know you like to be a dick sometimes, but I’m not in the mood nigga... but yeah seven is fine... I guess."
Leo walked off into the cold concrete city, leaving Hector standing there as a car rushed by. Hector watched as his best friend faded into the distance and wondered what will become of him, he thought to himself shit happens through life, then he walked home in the cold afternoon. He had decided, however, that he wasn’t going to throw Leo into the wolves before first throwing him the best birthday party of his miserable life.
As Leo arrived home and closed the door, he grabbed a small wooden picture frame. He stared at it for a while examining a young happy couple on their wedding day. He rubbed the old worn frame for a bit before he set it down again saying in a soft depressing tone, "Hi mom, Hi dad, school was a mess again... sorry I was misbehaving, but I had no choice this time, I swear. Well, I'm kind of tired so I'm gonna take a nap. Oh and um Shana and Monica, and Hector are coming over around 7 to celebrate my birthday. I promise we won't make a mess ok. Well... talk to you guys later, goodnight."
Leo entered his room removing his jacket when he remembered the book; he took it out and threw it on his desk, then walked over to his bed and crawled under the warm blanket. He began to think about his late parents and how much he missed them, how alone he felt in the world, how much he was going to miss his friends; and so his tears of loneliness started to fall down his face and he began to cry quietly to himself until he passed out, entering another deep sleep.
"SHANA!" Leo quickly sat up in bed, breathing hard and covered in a cold sweat again. "These damn nightmares..." he uttered to himself. He sat in the lonely darkness for a while, until something flashed dimly in the corner of his eye. He looked up and there in front of him, a mysterious blue light glowed on his desk. Leo got up and walked over slowly to the source of light and with trembling hands began opening the book slowly; the blue light glowing even stronger and brighter! The light crawled up engulfing the entire room and out of the book strange creatures made of the strange blue light started to creep out of it. Leo couldn't believe what was happening in front of him, the only thing he could do was stare in awe, but then he started to feel light headed again.
His head began throbbing, feeling as if his temples were gonna burst! His chest began tightening as his heart rate accelerated at an alarming rate, skipping beat after beat! A sickening cracking noise, as if bone was being cracked filled the air. He looked at the mirror, and began to notice that small white horns were growing out of his skull, his teeth growing into fangs, and that the pupils in his eye had become sharp like a demon's eye. He looked down at his nails and noticed that they were growing into long and sharp claws!
Then Leo slammed the book shut with a heavy *THUD!!* He started breathing hard and looked in the mirror again. His features were perfectly normal. Not understanding what happened he began to walk back to his bed muttering to himself, "No more sugar and anime before bed..." He crawled back under the covers knowing he had about 30 minutes before his friends would show up. He drifted back into a deep sleep as his head hit the pillow.
As he slept a sudden movement came from Leo's desk. The book Leo had just slammed shut reopened. The strange blue glow began anew, but not as radiant. It projected a small sphere a few feet above the desk.Inside the sphere stood a man in a dark hooded robe. His facial features hidden besides his square jaw that was covered by a thick beard, his long thin nose, and his small but curvy lips. He began to speak in a dark echoing tone, "Ah the portal has been opened... it's been ages... someone with an extremely powerful spirit must be nearby. I must thank him for releasing me from my prison.”
“Now that the portal to has been reopened, I can exit this dimension and resume my conquest of the mortal realm! So as a gift of my appreciation I will transport you, this world, and the ones you care about most into this dimension as a means of sparing your lives!" The sphere begins to glow brighter in the room! Leo wakes up turning around to see what is happening, but before he can make a noise or react his body is engulfed by the light, he can feel the pupil of his eyes turn sharp like a demon's eye before being engulfed completely.
Shana, Monica and Hector were headed towards Leo's apartment. The clouds still dark, giving off a rumble, threatening to bring rain to the city. Hector, keeping silent knowing the truth about Leo, refused to say anything. He didn't want to upset Shana, even though she would find out sooner or later. Still Hector knew it was not his place to tell her, at least not yet it wasn't. Shana was happy, knowing she was going to go see Leo. She was carrying a box that contained his favorite ice-cream chocolate cake. She had worked on it all afternoon from what Hector understood.
Shana: "Do you think he'll like my cake?”
Monica: "Yeah, I'm sure he will. You're an awesome cook! Kinda..."
Hector: "Sure, Plus if he doesn't eat it I'll kick his ass all over the block!. (But then again who could stand your cooking.)"
Hector pulled out his phone texting everyone he knew to come to Leo’s party around eight. He wanted to give him a surprise visit from the whole school and neighborhood. Shana and Monica had done the same earlier hoping that they’re small get together turned into a block party that no one would forget.
All three of them stopped just half a mile away from Leo's apartment. They noticed the strange blue light coming from the apartment complex.
Hector: "The fuck is that?"
Shana: "I don't know, but it looks like it's coming from Leo's apartment..."
Monica: "I'm sure he's fine Shana, I mean it's just a light after all when have lights ever harmed someone..."
In that instant the blue light burst from Leo's apartment! Rapidly expanding and engulfing everything! Hector, Shana, and Monica had no time to react. Shana managed to utter a "Whoa!" before it swallowed her completely along with Monica and Hector. The blue light traveled faster than anything on Earth, and soon the world was enveloped in the mysterious blue light. In Space all you could see was Earth ensnared in a bright blue blinding light and then in the next second the Earth vanished along with the mysterious blue light. The only thing that remained was the Moon, floating alone in the empty dark void of space....