Wake Up (Part 2)

Zane quickly stuffed the materials on his desk into his black leather backpack and swung it onto his shoulders. Not wanting to gain the attention of the class, Zane camouflaged with the rest of his peers and sped walk towards the door. Five seconds passed. He had reached the hallway without being pulled back by Mrs. Pauper.

'Mission success!'

Zane felt the urge to celebrate but quickly suppressed the desire. He might've gotten past Mrs. Pauper, but he still had to escape the students. He resumed his speed walk down the hallway, keeping his head low inside the crowd of students to divert attention away from himself. Another five seconds passed. He was reaching the end of the hallway. He would finally be able to camouflage into the crowd. He could escape!

'Yes! I've done it!'

He swerved around the corner.

BUMP!

Zane walked head onto another student, his belongings leaving his arms and scattering across the tiled floor. He froze as he recognised the student and companions.

'Fuck. I've just bumped into Chad.'

Standing directly in front of him was a group of three boys. They wore an unorthodox combination of clothes, donning a formal blue uniform, which signalled their allegiance to the Prolifian Faction, along with latest top-of-line sneakers. Nearly everyone respected these three teenagers. Their parents held reputable positions in their faction and they were expected to succeed them. After all, they all embodied the core values of the Profilian Faction. They were strong. Fearless. Assertive. Indomitable. But that also meant that they were arrogant. They had to trample upon the weak in order to make themselves stronger.

They had to trample on people like Zane.

"Hey, watch it twerp!" Chad walked forward. "Ya think you can bump into me and get away with it?"

Zane gulped. Fear surged through his body like a raging current, rendering his stomach to a queasy mess. The fear tempted him to fall on his knees; enticed him to admit defeat.

'No. I cannot admit defeat.'

He couldn't do that. He knew that if he surrendered, they would still instigate a fight and beat him to a pulp. They would call him weak and worthless, and he would be humiliated before the entire school.

He could not let that happen again.

He had to be strong and find a way out.

With great effort, Zane managed to push away the fear and stared at Chad in the eyes. He gulped. Chad dwarfed Zane by at least a foot. His girth combined with his olive skin and black hair made him look quite intimidating. However, Zane was not worried about fighting him. He was definitely huge, but he was also dumb and sluggish. With Zane's fighting experience in Quest, there was no way he could lose.

At least against him.

"Yeah Zane. Because of your ignorance, Chad's school supplies are all over the floor now." A skinny white kid named Clive stepped up beside Chad. "Perhaps if you pick them up, he'll forgive you for forgetting your place." He said wryly before chuckling arrogantly.

Zane remained silent and did not move. If he bent down to gather Chad's belongings, he would leave himself vulnerable to their kicks.

"You think you can get away with the silent treatment Zane, do ya?" Chad said, aggressively placing his gigantic hand on Zane's shoulder. "Do you really think you are on the same level as me?"

Zane clenched his jaw in frustration. He hated how these kids always acted like they were better than everyone else just because of their status. It wasn't fair.

"I'm sorry." He said aloud, barely suppressing his frustration. "It wasn't intentional. I'll be more alert next time."

Zane shrugged Chad's hand off his shoulder and walked past him. His apology was not exactly heartfelt, but Zane hoped that it would be enough to satiate their arrogance long enough for him to escape.

"Hey!" A short kid named Evan shouted loudly, coming from behind Chad. "Who said you could leave?"

Zane winced subtly. He was expecting this from Evan. Every time Zane thought he had an excuse to escape the group, Evan would somehow find a way to keep him behind.

'I need to leave.'

"I told you that I'm sorry." Zane said defensively, his eyes locking with Evan's. "I recognise my place and I won't do it again."

He hastily tried to push his way past Evan but was stopped by Chad's hand grabbing onto his shoulder from behind.

"What do ya think you're doing?" Chad shouted aggressively, tugging on Zane's shirt and jerking him backwards. "Wanna have a go?"

Zane swerved his backwards to find Chad's face consumed with rage. Zane clicked his tongue in irritation. Leaving peacefully was no longer an option. He would either have to run away or face their fists.

Zane elbowed Chad's arm off his shoulder and charged head forward at Evan hoping that he would instinctively step to the side and let him by. Unfortunately, he didn't. Zane rammed Evan head on and force barely pushed him back at all. He was now stuck in a shoulder lock.

'Shit. My body is too weak.'

Zane suddenly sensed a fist approaching his head from behind him. Chad was also joining the fight. Zane crouched down to avoid the punch and tugged Evan by his shirt forward.

SMACK!

Chad's fist collided with Evan's face at full force, giving him a bloody nose.

"You idiot!" Evan shouted furiously at Chad. "I can deal with him myself!"

Zane took advantage of the distraction. He simultaneously thrusted his right arm backwards and threw his left arm forwards, hitting both Chad and Evan in the crotch.

"Ahh!" Chad squealed out sheepishly.

"Help me mother." Evan whimpered quietly. "My friends..."

Zane ignored Evan's slightly disturbing comment and shoved him out of the way. He would use this opportunity to escape. Unfortunately, as he began sprinting away, a hand clasped around his forearm and held him back.

"Did you really think I would let you go after you hurt my friends in such a shameful way?"

Zane's eyes widened as he caught Clive's kick approaching his shins. He hopped over the kick in the nick of time, but received a punch in the ribs soon afterwards. It wasn't a strong hit, but enough of those hits would bring him down eventually.

'I can't sustain this forever. I gotta get outta here.'

Zane suddenly lunged towards Clive and shoved him into the wall. While Zane was definitely quite weak, he could still manage to pin a skinny person like Clive on the wall for a few seconds. And a few seconds was all he needed. Pinning his hands on Clive's shoulders, he kneed Clive in the crotch with all of his might. Clive sagged to the floor in shock.

'I think he's finished for today.'

Zane left Clive on the floor and looked towards Evan and Chad. They were still whimpering helplessly on the floor. That was good. He could escape now.

"What a coward! Could you fight any more shamefully?"

Zane tilted his head towards the sound of the voice. His heart sank. He had been so focused on repelling off Chad and his friends that a crowd had gathered around the fight without him noticing.

"Yeah!" A girl with a Profilian uniform shouted angrily. "Only a commoner scum would stoop so low!"

Zane's breathing began to stagger as realisation hit him. He was surrounded by a crowd of student spectators on both sides. His escape was cut off completely.

"You piece of shit! How dare you hurt Evan like that!" A tall boy yelled, stepping forward out of the crowd. "Let me remind you how painful that feels!"

The occasional taunts slowly transformed into a wall of threats. Zane had taken out three highly respected classmates using shameful methods. And it had backfired against him.

'No. This is not good.'

The crowd began approaching him from both sides, their fists clenched at their sides.

"You fucker!"

Zane gulped.

"Fight us!"

He may have beaten three students.

But now he had to face hundreds.