9 – The Harrowing.

A scream tore through the calm of the hallway.

A pained, disgruntled scream from the bully named Sid.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"

Sid kicked Bart aside. He flopped to the ground like a fish out of water, eyes leaking in tears and expression riddled in agony. His hands  circled tight around his leg. On that leg was the ballpoint pen Bart stabbed him with, its metallic writing end -and most of its head- buried deep within skin. Drops of blood began to leak from his pants and to the ground.

"FUCK- FUCK- FUCK- IT HURTS!!! YOU FUCKING SHITHEAD!! "

Sid's two lackeys scrambled to their boss's side, trying to help him up. Their faces flustered into panic. Sid swatted their hands aside and continued to hold his leg, looking around to see everyone  watching them from afar gasping in fright - and eyeing him with contempt.

Eyeing him as though he deserved it.

Sid's trembling turned into rage.

Gritting his teeth and cursing, he gurgled out an order.

"GIVE HIM HELL... GIVE HIM FUCKING HELL!!"

Spurred by motivation, one of the lackeys shifted his attention to Bart. He wanted to beat the crap out of the boy -

- but before he could make another step.. he felt his own feet rooted to where he stood.

Staring at Bart... all he saw was the visage of a man whose face was almost undiscernible, tottering to his feet as he stood up with his back hunched. The shadows that trailed across his face left only his eyes tinged in red. He was breathing hard, shaking and glaring at the three people before him.

The glare alone sent pangs of dread crawling up his spine.

In an instant, the will to move abandoned him. A single, gnawing thought entered his head.

<Am I....still looking at the same guy ...?!>

"..the fuck's wrong with you...?!"

Unfazed by Bart, the other lackey stood up. He plowed past his friend, pushing him aside in the process. He raised a balled-up fist at the boy.

"THINK you're FUNNY, LITTLE PUNK -!?? "

His senses flying into a panic, the frozen-stiff lackey uttered a cry.

"ROVIC, SOMETHING'S NOT - "

"GHAAAAAA--!!!"

The fist never reached Bart's face.

Rovic - the bully who was just about to land a punch - was hit by an object hurtling towards him at breakneck speed, sending him nearly 10 feet away from where he was. The impact flung him to the ground. The sound of bone breaking was unmistakeable.

Rovic howled in pain, tears rolling down his face. His arm was cruelly misshapen.

All were greeted by the sight of the object thrown to the bully-

- the 240-litre college wheelie bin, its contents of hallway trash now spilled across the floor.

The string of events prompted many to leave, terrified out of their wits. Others were dumbstruck, unable to explain what they had just witnessed.

"HOW THE FUCK DID HE DO THAT?!! HE WAS RIGHT THERE! RIGHT FUCKING THERE!!" screamed Sid. He pointed at Bart - and the strength for that action alone left him.

The soulless form of the boy they bullied, leering at him in a cruel light..

It was as if .. the person in front of them wasn't even human anymore.

The mere thought of it gripped Sid with cowardice.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!", shrieked the senior as he pulled himself up. Dragging the leg with the pen still stuck on it, he limped away, tearing through the people in an effort to flee.

The last bully standing stared at Rovic. At Bart - his composure near breaking point. His breathing was nothing more than panicked heaving.

In desperation, he grabbed his broken-armed friend and ran. Yelling from the top of his lungs.

"SID YOU BASTARD, DON'T LEAVE US HERE!!"

....

.....

Left alone, Bart's rigid form stirred. The darkness shrouding his face faded until his consciousness returned. His movements sagged and his strength nearly left him.

The bullies were gone.

He looked up. He saw the wheelie bin on the ground - and the frenzied faces of other students still in disbelief. The sickening feeling from before gripped his chest.

He knew the reason why.

That whole time.. Bart was aware of what was happening. He saw it all unfold with his own eyes, and yet..he couldn't even stop it.

It was as if his body listened to something else.

Something else that filled him with nothing but hate.

Something else that spurred him to stab Sid with the pen.

Something else that threw that wheelie bin at the bully Rovic.

And that something else.. hasn't left.

Forcing himself to get a grip, Bart ducked his head and ran. He ran past students who jumped aside at the mere sight of him. There was terror in their eyes. Terror at something they never seen in him before.

Bart headed straight to the men's bathroom. He locked the door and vaulted for the sink. Turning the tap, water gushed at his hands and he washed his face.

<Calm down.. calm down.. calm down.. calm down..>

He simply couldn't.

He turned against his bullies. It would only be a matter of time before his uncle is notified, and he is sent straight into the prefect of discipline for disciplinary action. Even worse, for inflicting harm on another student, expulsion.

Everything he had worked for, the promise of a good life in the future - ruined.

"It wasn't me."

With his hands clawing at his forehead and the sides of his face, Bart gazed through the gaps of his fingers, trembling. His heart was palpitating to a point it would tear his chest open.

".. it wasn't me... it wasn't me -"

Bart's eyes moved upward.

....

"!!"

He froze.

Bart's beating heart slowed. His trembling hands fell to the side.

One by one, the hairs on his body stood on end.

All the thoughts that plagued Bart...  were replaced by one primal emotion of helplessness.

At that precise moment.. all he felt was fear.

From the mirror, standing right behind him, was a cruel, towering form that was far from human. It was a scaly being absent of eyes, its body muscular in a heightened degree and its back hunched. Its arms were huge, ending in clawed hands that rested the back of its palms on the ground. Teeth jutted out of its mouth and misaligned in such a way that they was almost forced into its orifice. Jutting from every direction of its Frankenstein-esque body like quills of a porcupine were rusted metal blades. A tail swung behind it, its end akin to a spiked mace.

It was a being straight out of a twisted horror film -

- and it was there, standing behind him.

Bart reflexively turned to the creature, hands gripping at the edge of the sink. The being lowered its head a bit, but didn't inch closer. He kept his wits alive. Every fiber of his being screamed of terror.

This thing.. was the shape that had been stalking him all this time.

"...who are you...?!"

Teeth chattering, Bart watched as the being ... tilted its head at him. Defiantly, he shouted.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!!!"

.....

...

The being's mouth opened, saliva flying as it uttered a single word in a primordial, deep voice.

A voice almost as feeble as his own.

<"...YOU...">

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NOTE: @JeielYozama here! Now we have Bart facing the unknown. A being that appears out of nowhere, its form just ghastly. What is it doing with him? Is it around just to torment Bart for the rest of his life - or something else? Don't you worry - he'll get his answers soon enough.

Like what you're reading ? Add this story to your library, and I promise I'll make your read worthwhile! Stay tuned! xD