CHAPTER 1

Sweat dripped from Tyler's forehead as he quickened his pace. The deserted street seemed to stretch on forever.

"Thompson!" Luke's voice sent a shiver down Tyler's spine. Scared of what he might do if he caught him, Tyler broken into a sprint immediately.

"Help!" He screamed, his backpack bouncing against his shoulders.

His voice echoed off buildings but no one responded.

Tyler's breath caught in his throat when Luke's laughter closed in and rough hands pushed him to the ground.

"What is wrong with you Thompson? I never asked you to run, did I?" 

"P…. please." Tyler stuttered, scrambling to his knees.

"Why didn't you do my assignment?" Luke's kick connected with Tyler's side, sending him back to the ground.

"It was a project." Tyler corrected, wincing.

"Same thing, you little shit." One of Luke's friends slapped Tyler.

"All you had was one simple task, Thompson and you failed." Crouching to his level, Luke held him in an intimidating stare.

   "There were specific instructions not to help anyone." 

The boy couldn't have helped Luke do his project even if he wanted to.

If he had tried to, he would have been expelled but apparently, Luke didn't care about that.

"That's your problem, Thompson. Not mine." He poked Tyler's chest before punching him square in the jaw.

Choking as his breath got knocked off his lungs, Tyler fell to the ground.

Without wasting time, Luke pounced on him and began raining punches on him.

He tried to protect his face with his hands but only got his wrist broken.

"Fuck!" Luke screamed when the pieces of Tyler's broken bracelet pierced his knuckle.

"You really are pissing me off, Thompson." His features twisted in anger as he stared at his bruised knuckle.

The kid knew he was done for when one of his friends handed a big stick over to him.

He closed his eyes and covered his face, anticipating the pain but it never came.

    

    After what felt like several hours of waiting, Tyler opened his eyes only to see that he was the only person on the street.

"What the hell?" He gasped, stumbling to his feet and looking around for Luke and his friends.

He was sure that they were here only a moment ago, the bruises on his body and his broken bracelet were proof that Luke and his friends had been here before they suddenly disappeared.

Whatever had mysteriously taken them away, Tyler gave it a small appreciation before running home.

When he was far gone, a figure materialized from the shadows, with Luke and his friends' lifeless bodies levitating in mid-air. 

"Found him." His lips curled into a small smile as his eyes changed from slits to something more humanly.

Tyler had enough time to clean his wounds and discard his torn uniform before dinner.

At the table, he held hands with his family while they said a prayer in a language Tyler was never taught to understand.

After years of trying to find out what the prayer meant and why his family said it, he gave up.

They ate in silence until Tyler's mother noticed his empty wrist.

"Oh my goodness!" The woman screamed, rushing to her son.

"Where's your bracelet?" She picked his hand, inspecting it closely.

"And what happened to you?" After seeing the cut on his wrist, she began checking other parts of his body for bruises and cuts.

Tyler went ahead to explain everything that happened to his parents who surprisingly looked relieved after his explanation.

"I know you're both busy with work but I need you to come to school and make a report. I would have done so myself but it's just going to be dismissed as a simple fight."

Tyler held his wooden spoon tightly as tears welled up in his eyes, "Please, mom and dad. I can't take being bullied anymore."

Tyler's parents heart broke at the sight of their son but there wasn't much they could do.

They believed if he couldn't take being bullied then he couldn't continue the family legacy.

To them, this was only a way of preparing him for the future.

"Tyler, honey." His mother placed a hand on his shoulder which he pushed away.

"Just this once, please!" He rose to his feet, tears streaming down his face as he looked between his parents.

"How could you sit there while I live everyday of my life like this?! How could you be so heartless?!" He screamed at them.

"We're doing everything we do for you, Tyler." His father responded calmly.

Laughing, he threw the spoon on his plate, "Your only child gets beat up everyday and this is all you have to say? I'm not asking you to tell me what the prayer we say every time means, why I had to wear that weird bracelet around or why we have all these weird wooden carvings around our house. All I'm asking is that you do something about my bullies at school."

"Please." He added, breaking down into sobs.

His mother took his hand, preparing to tell him they were doing all they could to protect him.

Tired of hearing that line, Tyler shrugged her hand off and ran to his bedroom.

He didn't bother to tell his parents about the sudden disappearance of his bullies earlier in the day because he knew that by tomorrow, they would be back for him.

The thought of facing Luke and his friends brought more tears to Tyler's eyes.

He cried until he eventually fell asleep and drifted to the strange dream he always had.

Tonight like every other night, Tyler saw a really tall man with a lean frame majestically standing in front of his window, his hands behind his back.

His chin length hair was as dark as the night and streaked with crimson.

Tyler's favourite part of his dream was the man's hair.

Like every other night, he waited for him to turn around so he could see his face but he never did. 

With his hair as beautiful as that, Tyler was sure his face was going to take the breath away from his lungs.

When he spoke, Tyler melted.

The man's voice was like honey and saccharine.

Tyler tried to accord meaning to the words but couldn't .

His dream began fading away when he heard his alarm from the other side of the world.

Just before he returned to reality, the man turned around and stared at Tyler.