My real ability

I groaned as I saw Dane, Jane, and Jerry walk into my favorite ice cream shop. The annoying trio always made fun of me and my friend Dwayne, who was sitting next to me. "So where's your new loser friend?" Jerry sneered as he nudged Dane.

  Jane rolled her eyes and looked down at me with contempt. "Hey, Dwayne, why do you even talk to this loser?" Dane asked Dwayne. Dwayne paused for a second and then replied firmly, "He's not a loser. He's my friend. And he's way better than you."

  Jane snorted and walked away to a table. "Just leave them. They're not worth our time," she said to Dane and Jerry. They followed her with smug looks on their faces. Dwayne glared at them as he finished his ice cream.

  "Damn, what are they doing in our spot?" he muttered. "I don't know, but it sucks," I agreed as I got up to leave. "Hey, Tinashe, did you finally find your real dad and mom?" Dane shouted after me with a smirk on his face. 

I felt a surge of ang in my chest and I clenched my fist, but I controlled myself. I knew something bad would happen if I lost it. I ignored him and walked out of the shop with Dwayne by my side.

  "Don't listen to him. He's the real loser here. He's just a bully," Dwayne said as he gave me a reassuring smile. We arrived at a mall where I had some business to do. I wanted to buy a device called Voltify that measured the amount of electricity in my body. I was an electric user, but I had trouble controlling my power. 

Dwayne had to go home early for some reason, so we fist-bumped and parted ways. I bought it and then proceeded to go home. 

As I was heading home, I took a shortcut through the back alleys that led straight to my house. The sun was setting and the shadows were growing longer. I heard a girl's voice crying for help in the distance. My heart skipped a beat. Why did I have to stumble upon this? Why couldn't it be Dwayne, who was always looking for trouble? I was too weak for this kind of situation.

I crept forward along the alley wall until I reached a corner that led to another path. I peeked around the edge and saw the source of the noise. A girl was surrounded by four men, all of them Chosen. Two of them had beastly abilities that transformed their bodies into animals. One looked like a buffalo, with horns and fur. The other looked like a rhino, with a horn and thick skin.

"Help me! Someone!" the girl screamed.

"Shut up!" the buffalo-man roared. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her closer.

I felt a surge of anger and fear. I wanted to save her, but I knew I was no match for them. I had always dreamed of being a hero, but this was not how it was supposed to be.

"Fuck this," I muttered to myself. "Why should I risk my life for some chick I don't know? That would be stupid." I tried to convince myself that it was none of my business. That someone else would come along and rescue her.

"I hope you find someone brave," I thought sarcastically as I turned to leave.

But fate had other plans for me. As I stepped back, I tripped over a banana peel and fell over a pile of rubbish. Cans clattered and bottles smashed as I landed on the ground.

"Who's there?" the rhino-man shouted.

I scrambled to my feet and tried to run away, but it was too late. Two other men grabbed me by the arms and dragged me to their leader.

"Hey kid," one of them said as he flashed a knife in front of my face. "What's your name?"

"M-my name is Joe," I lied, stuttering.

"What did you see?" the rhino-man asked.

"Nothing," I said quickly.

The four men looked at each other and snickered.

"Smart guy, huh?" the rhino-man said as he leaned in closer to me. "Too bad we can't let you go now. We have to kill you."

I froze in terror. I thought they were just going to scare me off, but they were serious. People with animal abilities were known to be very aggressive, and these ones were no exception. Maybe I could still talk my way out of this. Maybe I could appeal to the other two men who didn't have beastly abilities.

"Please don't kill me," I begged, tears streaming down my face. "I promise I won't tell anyone. Just please don't kill me."

The girl beside me sobbed louder, hoping for some mercy.

But there was none.

"Shut the fuck up, brat!" the two men shouted as they kicked me in the ribs. They were just as twisted as the others.

"Any last words?" the buffalo-man asked as he raised his knife.

"Too bad, kid," he said mockingly. "You're still in school and you end up in the wrong alley. Life's a bitch, isn't it?"

He swung his knife down at me.

The girl beside me looked at me with shock in her eyes. "Hey, do you go to Hillnei school?" I asked, trying to distract her from the horror. 

Before she could answer, I felt a sharp pain in my gut. The buffalo-man had stabbed me with his knife. "What the fuck?" one of the two normal-looking guys said. "Did this kid just ask her where she goes instead of screaming for his life?" They all wore masks, so I couldn't see their faces. But I could hear the mockery in their voices.

  "Kids these days are crazy," the rhino-man said. "Maybe he wanted to ask her out before he died." He grabbed her jacket and ripped it off. 

She was wearing her school uniform underneath. She tried to resist, but he was too strong. "OK, at least you'll enjoy yourself with us before you die," he said as he reached for her shirt. "Ahh, she's cute, so it'll be sort of fun," the buffalo-man said as they all laughed wickedly. 

There are all types of characters in life, that's what I know for sure. Some people who have power bully the weak, but not all of them. Some people find pleasure in bullying those who are evil…

  "Hey, look at that kid you stabbed," the two normal-looking guys said, pointing at me. "What now?" the buffalo-man said, turning his head. "He's moving," they said, their voices trembling. 

I was an individual who found pleasure in bullying the evil. My stomach wound healed itself. Electricity coursed through my body. My sense of self faded away and something dark took over me.

  The four men sensed my bloodlust and backed away. "Regeneration abilities, no he's emmiting electricity" the rhino-man said, his eyes widening. "What's going on here ?," the buffalo-man said, his voice cracking. "I just thought he was some brat from a Chosen school." I took a step forward and felt my bloodlust growing. " Ha ha ha, would you like if play a little?" I asked with a twisted smile.