The phone alarm blasted away, its unholy sound shocking William awake faster than he could’ve imagined. He was feeling quite anxious for school, having to deal with younger people than he wasn't something he had much skill in.

"One foot forward as always, William, let's go." Cheering himself up was easier now, he moved with precision and speed, took a lightning-fast shower, and was ready to go to school after eating breakfast.

It was at that moment that his sister came out of her room, Juliet was about to head out too, and spotting her brother by the doorway she called out to him.

"Want a lift? Otherwise, you can go with dad—"

"YES! I mean, yeah sure..." William went red in the ears.

"No need to be so eager you know," she smirked, "Let's go, I still gotta pick up a few friends along the way." They made their way to the garage, where William was surprised when Juliet unlocked their mom's Prius.

"You got the Prius sis? What’s mom driving?"

"An Escalade, if you can believe it," she pointed to the car, "Runs like a dream, that car, god I wish mom would let me drive it more than once in a month... Anyway, let's get going."

They got in the car, William claiming shotgun, and Juliet started driving off to school. It didn't take long before Juliet was also blasting old pop songs, and seeing an opportunity to calm himself before his first day, William decided to talk about their soon-to-be passengers.

"So, who are we picking today sis?"

"Well, Melissa, also known as Mel, and Jonah." She pulled up to what William assumed to be the girls’ house.

"They uh, know about me?" He didn't want to cause any embarrassment to his sister, from their talks he had known beforehand that she was a queen bee type.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, little brother," Juliet smirked. The two girls he’d seen before showed up half-running, slamming the car doors as they entered it.

"YEEEAH WHAT IS UP JULIET!" The girl was tall, her shapely body and olive skin made William feel very self-conscious for a second, but what caught William's attention was her bright blue hair in a style that he could only call a shorter version of the female V from 2077. Suffice to say, he was mesmerized by it.

"Uh hi I'm William, Juliets’ brother–," he stammered a greeting, clearly feeling shy, heat rising to his face and ears.

"Great, my brother has a thing for the e-girl aesthetic, ugh." Juliet spat out with a disgruntled noise, to the bell-like laugher of the newly arrived girl

“Don’t give him a hard time about it, I am beautiful after all, hahaha '' the girl certainly had confidence. She turned to Juliet and said, “Hit the gas love, let’s get your boyfriend and get going.”

William was surprised, a boyfriend, huh? Let’s hope the boy isn't an asshole.

“Don’t you start William, don’t you fucking start” His sister knew what he was thinking.

“Woah sis, ain’t saying anything” William put his hands up laughing, no need to upset the driver any further.

They didn’t take long to arrive at Jonah’s house. The boy was friendly enough, William felt, asking about his hobbies and such, and where he’d been these past two years;

“She kept him hidden in the cellar,” Mel said, pointing towards Juliet with a smirk.

"I was living up north in New York, sis wasn't hiding me under the cellar."

“Look at you protecting your sister, aren’t you a cutie,”

---

 

The ride to school was fun in weird ways. For one, it turned out Juliet's group of friends had a ritual where every day someone would play their favorite playlist on the way, so they unanimously decided it was William's turn to put his musical tastes out in the world.

"Look it's not my fault your baby brother is a hipster Jully, he even has a thing for colored hair, give it a few years and he will be vegan, the holy trifecta of hipsterdom." Violet was merciless with her teasing, even if she knew most of the songs he liked from the top of her head.

Juliet on the other hand wasn't having any, cursing them all.

"Tsk, so thin-skinned, Jully, where's the cool and collected big sister act you had a few weeks ago, hm–? Oh, heads up people, we’ve arrived." Mel chipped in as the car screeched to a halt in the parking lot.

"Will, we’re gonna be hanging by the cafeteria near the vending machines, message me if something happens, ok?" Juliet hugged her brother in a quick display of affection as her friends kept up the car banter to the school gates.

William moved fast, he asked for directions to the teacher's office, where he was greeted by his dad and an older-looking lady drinking coffee, a Ms. Oppenheimer, the small tag on her shirt told him, William was perplexed at first, he didn't know her from before he left.

Another thing to ask Juliet, he thought. His father rifled through his desk drawer to grab papers, reaching out with them in hand.

"Here's your schedule, son." William accepted them, and with nothing else being said, he bade farewell and left for class.

Could he start again, he wondered. Doubt began seeping into his mind ever since he had entered school grounds. Could he handle dealing with his ex should they meet again?

Lost in unpleasant thoughts, William found a chair and waited for class to begin. Starting the day with math was a bit harsh, he thought to himself, but there was nothing he could do but grin and bear it.

The boy was surprised to see Ms. Oppenheimer come into the classroom, and once more when she asked that he get up and introduce himself to the rest of his classmates. The faster I get this done, the better, he thought with a sigh as he got up.

"Hello y'all, my name is William, I'm sixteen, and my dad’s the coach." He sat down before anyone could lob any questions at him, and class finally started.

When a lull appeared mid-class, William felt a poke on the ribs. Turning to the source with irritation, he found it was the girl sitting by the side.

"...Hi," the girl muttered.

"...Hi?" William looked to his side, the girl was tan, and thick glasses hid bright blue eyes and a face full of freckles. She was a bit on the tall side as well, and her hair was a deep purple.

After seconds of waiting for the girl to speak, William lost patience and decided to speak up instead.

"Do you need something?"

"Oh! I'm sorry...I'm a bit uh—"

"Shy?" He couldn’t tell if the girl was pulling his leg or if she was just that timid.

Before she could answer, however, another girl sitting in front of William joined in on the conversation. Blonde hair styled in a severe bob, amber eyes and pale skin, small eyebags gave away that she was losing some sleep. Still very pretty, William thought.

"What my friend Alice is trying to ask here, William dear is if you want to hang out at lunchtime, it seems she's taken a liking to you." she smiled, much to the shy girl’s chagrin.

"I uh, I'm hanging with my sister today, but maybe tomorrow?" William was caught so flatfooted, embarrassed didn't even begin to cover how he felt. "What's your name again?" he asked on a whim, feeling even more self-conscious.

"The name's Victoria, my mom is our math teacher," there was pride in her tone "By sister you meant Juliet, yes? Fine then." with that said, the girl took her to leave.

How could've Juliet upset this freshman girl? he thought curiously.

The list of questions grows, must resist making an update of my journal joke William thought to himself, the shy girl waved at him and went back to her books, William decided to do the same.

As the class was about to end, William noticed something strange, he kept having the gut feeling that someone was staring at him every time he lowered his head, and it was making him feel paranoid.

When the bell rang, he made his way to the cafeteria. It was strange how familiar it felt, going through the motions with an odd sense of deja vu. He soon found his sister and her friends at a lunch table, this time as an even bigger group, yet a chair was left for him.

The conversation didn't stop when he pulled the chair and plopped down, and eating his luncheon was met with indifference as the people around him talked and gossiped about school life.

When he finished, one of the new faces decided to strike up a chat, introducing himself as Amir was another of Juliet's friends and as he found out, a fellow fan of Waves of Anger.

Not wanting to waste all lunch break with the current meta for the game he decided to query his sister about Victoria.

"That girl hates your sister's guts cause of her mother my dude, apparently they had a thing back in high school and she told Victoria to hate Jully for some reason," said Mel

"That's messed up, does Miss Oppenheimer think this is a soap opera?" Willaim couldn't hold his tongue, nods all across the table told him he wasn't alone in this.

"The teacher herself doesn't let it show, but her daughter has had it in for me for weeks now, apparently her big party next weekend is making her twice as touchy. Why are you asking, did she do anything to you?" Juliet said with a serious tone.

"No, not really, sis, she asked for my name and left. Her friend was trying to strike up a conversation with me and she intervened cause the girl was horribly shy."

"The purple-haired girl yeah? She’s a shy one for sure," Jonah said with a guffaw.

"Don't laugh Jonah, you know Alice can't help it, plus you are making poor Amir mighty uncomfortable." Said Mel. Huh, William thought, looks like there's more than it meets the eye here.

High School social hierarchies were hardly ever clear-cut as movies liked to portray them after all, he knew his sister enjoyed a huge amount of clout due to her looks and physical capabilities, and the fact the nerd had scored Alice might have also been a reason for this conflict.

It wasn't his problem anyway, all he had to do was keep his head down for the next 3 years...

As William planned his future, a posse of five guys made their way towards his table. It took him an elbow to the ribs to notice it, and looking up, he found a very angry jock glaring down at him.

"Hey, dork with the mopey look, I know you were the one who fucked up my cousin's knee two years ago, what the fuck are you doing here all of the sudden, huh!?" The boy was seething, spraying spit as he spoke.

"That's my brother you are talking to Mikeal, I suggest fucking off before I call the principal, you’re already on his shitlist after all." Juliet didn't even take her eyes out of her food, but there was steel in her voice.

William kept quiet. If the boy threw a punch all he was going to do was block, no point in getting the cops called on him due to his knowledge of martial arts, he had seen it happen even back in Alberta, the kid got sent to juvie, and everything.

It was at this moment that a tall tan-skinned boy walked up to Mikeal, he had a deep baritone voice, "I wouldn't mess with him brother, my sister fought against him at a competition last year and she got the crap kicked outta her."

That got a reaction out of everyone around them except Juliet. It was then that it dawned on him, the boy was talking about Petra Washinton, a long-time competitor and somewhat of a rival.

"You’re Petra's brother? Nice to meet ya dude, I'm William" He was pleased that someone he knew was so near, good sparring partners are hard to come by after all.

"Yeah, I know, nice to meet you as well brother," he shook William's hand, then turned to Mikeal "If I were you I would follow Juliet's advice here, if you get in a fight before the game next week the coach will get mad."

That took the wind of Mikeal's sails, his group left as quickly as they came, which honestly surprised William, was Petra feared as a super bully or something?

Petra's brother must've caught his reaction cause he quickly launched into an explanation, "Last summer she fought 10 gangbangers to a standstill, earned quite the reputation around here." Juliet confirmed with a nod, Huh, William thought, She’s quite something.

"Name's Johnson, by the way, I'll tell Petra you are here now, she's been looking for a sparring partner for months now." He waved William goodbye and left the cafeteria as well.

"Oof—" William was stumped, this was way more than what he expected for his first day back in school.

"You tell me, someone must've made him do the cliché act on you little brother because that doesn't happen around here, ever." Juliet was seething, more school drama William guessed.

"I'll be going to class sis, you uh, holla at me if anything happens, ok?" That prompted a little laugh out of her friends, dispelling the unpleasant mood. Great, William thought, a little bad joke always helps.

"Look at you, the worried little brother, ain't that cute Jully." Mel teased a big grin on her face.
William bid farewell to everyone and left, and on his way to class, he was joined by the shy girl from before. Alice was a bit more talkative now, asking him what his hobbies were and such, he didn't even notice when Victoria had flanked them as they arrived in class.

"So no sports? Just martial arts?" asked Alice with a hushed tone, they were in the middle of marine biology now.

"Last I heard he had a big fight with the coach, uh I mean his dad, I don't think William here will be interested in sports for a long while," Victoria said, for someone who hated his sister she was being surprisingly nice. Too nice, William thought.

As the school day came to an end, they exchanged contact info. Again, William was suspicious of Victoria's sudden one-eighty, but try as he might he couldn't detect any ill will from the girl. They bid each other goodbyes and William made his way to Juliet's car, catching up with Amir on the way.

"So what's up with you and Alice dude?" William decided to ask on a whim, he was bored as all hell waiting for the rest of his sister's gang to arrive.

"We uh, were dating last year but I got pretty drunk at a party and cheated on her..." he was cringing hard "I asked for her to forgive me but she told me to go fuck myself, haaa.." Welp, William didn't think he was gonna dig this kind of dirty goddamn.

He was quick to change the topic to Waves of Anger, something that Amir was eager to jump to.

"—As I said, the Doppelganger spell should be on the Illusion School skill tree, not Necromancy and Soul magic one, It's a solid 3d render..." Amir and William were in a heated debate about the spell classifications in the game, as some were more lore-based than gameplay-based.

"Sure but the lore clearly says all soul and mind magic spells belong to Martius, it makes sense they would put it in the necro tree..."

"I see you are one of those lore-obsessed people, a shame William, a shame." Amir was cracking up, and William couldn't help but laugh as well. The divide between lore and gameplay fans in the community was a long-running joke at this point.
They’d discussed lore and gameplay for a good hour before Juliet finally turned up.

"Pack it up guys, we’re going home," said Juliet once she was done with her own talks, they all got in and went home for the day. As for William he immediately took a shower, got his homework done, and went back to gaming, the earlier talk gave him a nice idea of a Soul magic Spell-Blade build.

He didn't even notice when Juliet got into his room

"You know, some say this game is for girls ‘cause of the female protagonist." She was trying to get a rise outta him, but he wasn't dumb enough to let her win.

"Weak, sis,” he sighed, deadpan, “So, whatchu want?" He asked, something was up if she came in person instead of sending him a message on his phone.

"Watch for that Victoria girl William, I don't like her, and she doesn't like me, if she's chumming up to you there might be something there."

"What's this, a soap opera? Jesus, sis." William had his doubts but they were just him being a bit too paranoid, he didn't think Juliet was also that worried.

"Just giving you a heads up, Will." She left without saying more, thinking nothing of it, William got back to playing.

 

---

A week had passed and life got busy.
Just as he’d promised Johnson, William reconnected with Petra for daily sparring at the dojo she trained in,

“Well, well, If it ain’t the Champion himself, William Luther.” A voice greeted him as he’d entered the practice hall. Looking around, he’d found it was from a wiry dark-skinned woman with a gleeful smile on a face dripping with sweat. He knew her well from the Muay Thai Competition; Hadn’t forgotten how she’d almost broken my legs back then, he recalled.

“Heard you fucked up some thugs Petra, even got a rep in school.” William moved to set his small duffle bag on the wall. All around the dojo he found boys and girls training in numerous styles, from BJJ to Silat, Karate, even Krav Maga.

Her smile deepened at the mention of that.“Limp dicks the lot of ‘em, thought they could muscle in here without challenge, it wasn’t gonna happen,” She got out of the ring, grabbed a water bottle, and eagerly drank all of it. Approaching William, she shook his hand and said “Good to have someone that can actually fight here, these nerds all came when my dumbass of a brother told the school me and coach Arnold was opening a dojo, now I gotta babysit them all.”

She took a breather and then bellowed “Water!” to which she caught a water bottle someone chucked her way mid-air. She emptied it and said:

“Ready for round two William? I didn’t forget how close our last fight was in the end, you know?”

“I’m ready” Willam was honestly hoping Petra might be a little rough around the edges but knew she could throw hands with the best of them. He got ready and met her on the ring.

“Any rules?” He asked.

“Anything goes, no protective equipment." She said, eager to fight. An older man stepped in and gave them the go-ahead.

Petra went on the offensive fast. Rapid kicks aimed at his legs and chest, he tried to bat away a left kick when she suddenly went forward for a tackle. Dodging at the last second, William delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to her ribs. Her eyes widened as she rolled away from his reach and got up in a flash.

“Not a limp dick, eh, William.” She teased him while catching her breath. He knew her shit-talking worked wonders. William entered a guarded stance when she came forward again, jabs turning into left hooks and kicks, he bobbed and weaved a few, and spotting an opening, William tried for a kick straight to the shins.

The kick almost connected when she jumped, both legs tucked in and dodged it, and landing with the precision of an acrobat, she turned and nailed William with a powerful right hook to the nose. He went down and tasted blood.

“Oh, they gonna have to glue ya nose back together IN THE SISSY ALLEY,” Petra pressed the attack going for a grab but William rolled away.

“I’m gonna fuck you up,” he said with anger now budding in his eyes, on the other hand, had the craziest smile plastered on her face. She went for another grapple only to find a left hook on her bruised hips, setting her off balance then William delivered four strong kicks in rapid succession to her upper body, the sheer ferocity dizzying Petra trying to block them.

William backed off and ran towards her roaring, and drawing in his last bit of energy he planted a double-legged flying kick square in her solar plexus, she flew to the edge, the force almost knocking her out, William went for a chokehold, trapping the woman something fierce.

“FUCK! Tap out, I tap out, you maniac!” She screamed, stunned from the unsparing barrage, “Fuck me, William, give a girl a break will ya? Thought you were gonna kill me there for a second,” Petra wheezed, her face was ashen but she has gathered herself in moments and sat up.

“Talk shit…..” William started,

“Get hit, I know, guess I got too used to these greenhorns here. There won’t be a loss next time though,” Petra said, pumping a fist his way.
hey both got off the ring, Petra sipping on her water bottle, William did the same, they chatted for a bit before agreeing; he would drop by twice a week to spar and help instruct the new people.

He was more than happy to.

 

---

At school, he spent some time with Alice and Victoria, and while William was still a bit suspicious, he made a point of not being rude to the girl, and even had lunch with them, their table full of fellow social climbers, with him and Alice being the odd ones out. All were polite of course, but he could tell they looked down on him a bit.

He was told it was mostly his clothes, William's spartan sense of fashion wasn't appreciated it seemed, not that he cared but it was funny in a way, he’d thought minimalism was the new hotness with the kids.

---

In the end, William believed he’d made the most progress in mending bridges with his parents. It’d started a few days ago when William was up at the crack of dawn patching up the fence in the front yard, two years working under his grandfather had taught him much.

"What in god's green earth are you doing at seven on a Sunday morning, William? Your mother is complaining about the racket.”

"Fixing the fence, dad." William didn't even bother to look up, he was hammering, taking measures, filling holes the whole nine yards. Twenty minutes in he was taken aback when his dad showed up with his gear and started helping him.

"Twice the hands, twice the faster we get this done and your mom stops whining."

From then on, whenever he was up fixing something his dad would join him, which according to his mom, was the biggest win he could get with the man.

When it came to his relationship with his mom, William was caught off guard when his mother mentioned that she knew about him and Avers and that she didn't quite approve of it.

"Look son, I'll be honest here, I don't wanna be a grandmother you hear me? Wait a decade or so."

"Juliet has a boyfriend as well!" He was indignant with shame.

"Your sister goes through boyfriends faster than your grandmother goes through a dirty house when she's cleaning ya dolt, no worries there. Now scram, I got work to do." For the first time since he had arrived, he saw his mom’s smile reach her eyes.

"It's all working out grandpa, it really is," William said to himself at the end of the day. He had begun mending the bridge, and his family would be back together in a month or two if he kept a steady pace.

A deep sense of fulfillment and happiness made William giddy, the boy always held his family close to his heart, even at his lowest when they turned on him bar his sister. To see them happy again was nothing short of sublime.

It was in the midst of this revelation that William got a call. Picking up his phone, he was greeted by an insistent Victoria.

"Willy boy, you’re gonna come to the party tomorrow, right? Everyone In the school is coming and I would hate it if a close friend of mine bailed on me, please come, would you? I'll even ask your dad pleaseee?"

"Sure? Everyone at home will be off doing their own thing tomorrow so I'll arrive a bit late, when's happening and where?" William didn't really like parties but he couldn't find it in his heart to say no to her.

"Let me send you my address, the party starts at seven p.m., so be there or be square, lad!" She said in a mockingly British tone.
What was that about? William laughed and looked up the address, Holy shit, he thought, This is a gated community out a ways off,
"Uh Vic, this is a bit too far, can I crash at your place after the party? I don't think there’ll be anyone awake to pick me up."

"Course you can Willy, but you’re gonna have to help me clean up, okay? Alright, see you there, bye—." She didn't wait for him to speak. Someone was hyped, William thought.

Not one to daddle, William decided to set aside his clothing for the party. Still spartan according to Victoria but he always believed in comfort before fashion. Taking a quick shower after it, William went back to Waves, grinding the Necromancer Spell-lade build away while checking the math for the most optimum numbers.

Mid-gaming, he decided to tell Juliet about the party. Again she warned him about Victoria and reminded him she was leaving for a birthday party in Los Angeles tomorrow, so if anything happened she wouldn't be able to help him. Same for mom and dad, both had friend dates, his best bet would be Hannah or Avers.

William assured his sister that nothing would happen, and decided to hit the bunk, he was getting tired all of the sudden.

William had a strange dream that night, he was flying upwards against his will, up and up he went, so high he could see the artificial island on the coast, then the whole state, and then the whole of USA, he kept going up until he fell on his but ice-cold ground.

Dazed, he got up and walked forward, he was in some sort of a boreal forest. Cold winds were already giving him frostbite, the howls growing stronger as he pressed on, until at the eye of the storm he noticed a figure. A woman with alabaster skin and silvery hair looked at him, she pointed her finger, and with a soundless scream, she ran towards him.

William woke up with a jump. He felt as if death itself had touched him for a moment. It took him a good while to calm down and a midnight snack to further calm him enough for sleep to come grace his mind once again.

No weird dreams this time please, was his last thought before going out.

 

---

 

As everyone was getting ready to go, William's mom kissed both children on the head, "Look at that, the entire family off to party, what a blessed day," she was having a grand old time, teasing William for "Breaking stereotypes as a nerd who likes to party."

"Stop it, Carmen, this isn't the ‘90s no more, nerds are cool now." Came a welcome defense from his dad. Ever since he’d told him about the party the man was very pleased with him, and when he told the old man about Victoria and Alice he was grinning like a child.

They hugged out a final goodbye and went to their cars. Lacking one himself, William was more than content to call an Uber.
The ride took almost forty minutes, but he had finally arrived at Victoria's gated community.

Getting out of the Uber, William walked up to the security station by the gate. He could make out three guards stationed on it, and he was sure he saw semi-automatic rifles on the wall.

"What the hell am I walking into here, who needs a Military checkpoint on their...." he was mumbling when a guard hailed him. Schooling his features William walked up to the man, "Afternoon Officer, my name's William, I'm here for the party at Victoria's house"

"Right this way sir, stand on the platform, please." William saw the medium-sized platform made out of pure steel.
Lord, above they had a military-grade ID scanner, he quickly moved to stand at the center of it while the machine did its work. Making what he could only describe as horrible stock sci-fi noises, he saw his ID’s information light up in the terminal inside the boot. The bored-looking guard gave the other man a thumbs up and he was let in with no further fuss.

The streets were empty and dark, yet in the far-off distance, William already saw the party lights and heard the music blasting off. He was halfway there when he was hit with a sudden jolt of introspection, on how far he had come ever since he got back home.

Life is good, William thought to himself, and today marks a new chapter in his, one where he can enjoy life in peace. All was well finally.

And yet something deep inside his gut told him to beware, like a whisper behind his ear, speaking sweet nothings, enticing him, feeding the paranoid side he kept sedated so far. maybe it was the checkpoint, or maybe Juliet's warnings but William decided to take a leap of faith and heed his more paranoiac impulses.

Arriving at the house, William noticed that there weren't that many people in yet, and looking at his phone he noticed it was already 8 pm. Assuming many would arrive in late, he made his way inside, but not before taking a look at Victoria's home. At five floors high and packing two pools, either her parents were dirty rich or someone who was died, and they got the cash because a teacher's salary doesn't get you one of these nowadays.

He also noticed there was a small forest a few minutes’ walk away from her house, with some trees getting pretty close to the windows, That must be spooky on a windy day, William thought.

"William! You came, oh my god! Please please, get in, loads of stuff we gotta move before the party gets going." Victoria saw him and came running and speaking over the loud music, she was drop-dead gorgeous, William was so mesmerized he forgot to greet her, something she noticed right away

"Don't you stare you, silly man, otherwise Alice will get jealous, now come with me, we still gotta fix the lights around the pool and set the drink stations." William found it strange that she would mention Alice, she’s been pushing this "You two gotta hook up" angle for days now.

Weird, very weird.

As they went on fixing the place for the party, more and more people turned up. Soon, the party was going at full speed, music, food, and drinks flowed like water and everyone was having a blast.

Having finished setting up everything, they decided to take a breather in the main living room of the house. William couldn't help but notice the Military memorabilia arranged in it, complete with a pistol and rifle hanging in a fancy glass display.

"Your dad fought in the war?" William was surprised, most vets he knew about were homeless and wrecked with PTSD, the war in Europe was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the century.

"Yes...He told me it was horrible you know, saw most of his squadron die in the first three weeks, and more and more in the four years, he’d spent there. Dad doesn't like to talk about it much..."

Oof, William had stepped on a landmine

"He taught me how to shoot, though," Victoria said with a cheer, "I can even shoot shotguns, they kick like hell and hurt my shoulder but I can hit a target at 500 meters." She was very proud of that, by the looks of it.

"You? You know how to shoot?" he wouldn't have imagined, "Hey maybe you could take me to a range one of these days, heh?" William laughed, the idea of a date on a shooting range was just too funny to him.

"Don't laugh!" She punched him on the shoulder, "I'll have you know that Alice trained under me and she also knows how to shoot, you hear me,” She suddenly noticed a group arriving past the security checkpoint, “Oh, more people arrived, catch you later Willy." The girl bolted out of the house.

The party went on. William had noticed he’d forgotten to bring his phone charger, and the thing was at thirty percent left in its battery. Won’t be much of an issue since I’m crashing here once it’s past midnight anyway, William mused as he comfortably sat in a far corner of the house eating some ribs.

 

---

When Victoria showed up again she was looking...strange; Red in the face, and very excitable, almost twitchy, even.
"Hey Willy, I got you a drinking buddy, drink up, drink up.” She began pouring him a cup, “Oh! And Alice wants to talk with you, she's by the kitchen on the third floor—" Victoria slurred pointing up with drink still in hand, then left, stumbling around the chairs near them.

Watching her go with amusement, William already had the cup to his lips when he noticed something strange, the drink was greenish-yellow, a small bubbling sound could be heard from it and the cup was almost warm in his hands. After a small sip went down his gullet, his stomach cried out foul, he felt dizzy, and a headache was starting to build behind his eyes.

"What the fuck is going on, did she spike my drink?!" He felt betrayed, but that whisper at the back of his mind, the same gut feeling he felt when he got there, they were screaming at him to move, to get out and escape danger as fast as he could.

William bolted to the stairs, the nearest bathroom was on the first floor but someone had just got in. He would need to use the second one lest he passes away right there and then, but when he arrived on the second floor the bathroom there showed it was also occupied.

"Motherfucker cunt shit, FUCK!" He was running on fumes now, whatever the hell was spiked into his drink was destroying him on the inside fast. The third-floor bathroom was blessedly open, and he rushed into one of the stalls and attempted to make himself throw up.

Heaving and nauseated, he was almost done, and it was then the bathroom door opened and he heard voices, in his haste he’d forgotten to lock it up.

"...Where is that motherfucker, I'm lugging almost five pounds of dirty pot here—"

"Keep it down you dumbass, do you want to get us into trouble? Besides, she already doped him, now all we gotta do is wait for him to show up..."

"You sure Mikeal will call his aunt? Won't we get busted for the drugs as well?"

A punch was thrown, and one of the voices cried out.

"Shut it! You retard, why do you think we got sent here in the first place!? Now keep your mouth shut unless you want me to call him and have him beat you tomorrow"

"Shit man sorry, I'm just nervous you know, I thought the girl was friends with the dude, why is she helping Mikeal out now all of the sudden..."

William was in shock, he thought things were bad but not this bad, a setup?! Getting him busted with enough weed to get locked up!?

He immediately held his hand to his mouth and stood still inside the stall. He heard one of the boys come and try to open it, but when he couldn't he laughed, likely assuming that someone had already passed out.

"Look here dude, Why is she helping Mikeal or not doesn't concern you or me, get it? We do the shit we gotta do and fuck off, another word and I will beat you up," the boy said while pissing on the stall to his right

"Ok dude, alright... " he sighed in relief, "Hey, isn't it weird for a house to have stalled in their bathrooms? Like who does that," the lackey asked in a not-so-subtle attempt of changing the topic, he didn't want to get punched today, it seems.

"Fucking rich fucks, that's who. These motherfuckers got more money than common sense and it shows, now let's go, I wanna eat something before we get our sleeping beauty." They left the bathroom after a while, the leading boy complaining about the weight of his bag all the time.

William was a storm of emotions now, outrage, anger, sadness, betrayal, and he could still feel whatever he had drunk messing up his body. He retched a few more before starting to dry heave. Storming out of the stall in a fury, he locked up the bathroom door and washed his face.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK," he almost punched the mirror but caught himself before doing it, "Alright William calm down, calm the fuck down, we can get through this," he took deep breaths, centered himself for a minute.

"There, now I can walk without feeling like I'm gonna trip over myself or punch the drywall" as he talked to himself, the calmer he became.

"Can't go back downstairs, they are all looking for me, Victoria is hostile, unknown about Alice, how to get out of here? The windows?" He looked out the bathroom window, it’d be a drop from the fourth floor straight into the pool... filled with party-goers.

"Not good, gotta look somewhere else—" That's when he saw Victoria talking with two big guys, one with a backpack, and they seemed to be arguing, "Now I know your faces," William said to himself, and if he knew, he could avoid them.
They made their way to the BBQ stand, when Victoria pulled her phone and called someone, then his phone started to vibrate,

Why Vic, why do this? he was hurt, he thought of the girl as a friend, someone who would help him in his new chapter of life. but it was not meant to be. His phone was at less than fifteen percent battery at this point, so he turned the light down and enabled battery-saving mode.

"Gotta move, can't stay here, the fourth-floor bathroom should be towards the forest area I saw." William shook the disappointment away with another splash of cold water to his face, he drank water from another faucet and made his move. Opening up the door to the corridor he saw multiple party-goers enjoying themselves, he bolted past them towards the fourth floor, only to find out that again, the doors were locked.

"Fucking closed, shit!" he screamed past the loud music, to the laughter of nearby people, again he ran up, the fifth-floor bathroom was unlocked and thankfully deserted, its window facing the forest area.

"Fuck me sideways this is too high." William was now getting the shakes, a fall this high could break his legs. steeling himself he opened the windows and sat by the frame, the next moment he leaped across and tried to grab a branch. He felt the bark around his fingertips.

That was when the branch broke and he fell hard, he tried a landing roll but he fumbled it, a nasty crack sound echoed, and William felt an oh-so-familiar pain. His left arm had broken.

William hissed loudly. He wanted to yell, to scream, and come back to the party and beat the crap of those two thugs, but he was up shit creek and his paddle was broken. He sucked in air and moved into the small forest.

It was hard keeping his cool, the more he walked the more it hurt with every step and every shift in his collarbone and neck. His phone was at less than nine percent now and he was walking almost blind, only the lamp post lights far away guiding him as far away from the house as possible.

Breaking out of the tree line, he followed a road to another checkpoint, this one manned by a single soldier. The man looked like a ghost while he did the scan on William, a few blips flashing red were the giveaway something had happened.

"You broke your arm?" The man asked, Not only looking but sounding like a ghost, too, William thought as he nodded a yes and said, "Can I go now, sir?"The pallid guard gave a nod and pointed a thumb towards the exit.

"The bus stop is ten minutes up the road, if you hurry, the final ride will take you to the terminal." William was already trotting towards the bus stop, he had less than a few minutes to make it.

He had arrived six minutes late, judging by his phone. The pain and fatigue proved hard enough to slow him to a crawl, and when he’d tried to hail an Uber with the meager battery it had left, it suddenly died on him.

"Goddamnit, all!" He screamed, the pain almost making him fall on his back. Holding himself with his good hand to the bus stop, William was beyond livid, all those emotions he kept a lid on during his desperate escape were now boiling and threatening to blow the metaphorical lid up.

He decided to sit down on the ground, too mad to even get into the bus stop properly. It was at that moment, at his lowest of low, that William cried. The boy couldn't help it after the adrenalin rush was over, he just felt like pure shit.

"Are you ok, son? What are you doing ‘round these parts at this hour?" A deep voice called out to him behind him. William raised his head and saw a skinny man, weathered by age and rough living, his olive skin cracked, with clothes that saw way too much use, and shoes which were about to have their soles fall through.

"A hobo?" William asked a bit too loudly to which the man laughed, a deep hearty laugh for such an emaciated person.

"Indeed son, a hobo, the last hobo of California!" He extended his hand to William, who took it and got up off the ground, "So are you gonna answer my question, son?"

"I'm uh, waiting for the bus, sir...?" William wanted to know the man's name.

"Ishmael, you can call me Ishmael, son. Well, you’re in luck, the bus hasn't come yet. I was digging for food in the trash for a while here and haven't heard the thing, so it must be running late," he plopped down in the bus stop

"So, care to tell how you broke your arm, son? Did you try breaking into that gated community down the road? Surprised they didn't just shoot you on sight, saw them kill a man in cold blood a few weeks ago...whoever's living there likes his peace and quiet a little too much, lemme tell ya."

"How come you aren't living in shelters or gone to the island?" William asked on a whim, the pain making him feel off-balance.

"Ahh you know how it is son, sometimes you gotta live on your own, you feel me? The island has too many rules, too many people in the rat race, they don't enjoy themselves no more, It's all work work work for them, even if they got a better life there," he took a deep breath, "Me? I'm free son, free to come and go. I live to the march of my own drum, not someone else's, and definitely not to the government's."

William suddenly noticed lights coming out of the checkpoint in the distance. His gut told him something bad was coming and he decided to listen to it, he ran behind the bus stop and dropped down into the foliage.

He heard the car engine stop right in front of Ishmael, and a car window roll down.

"Hey old man, have you seen a tall dude, dark hair coming this way? We are having a party and he's gone missing." William knew the voice, it was one of Mikeal's lackeys, he whispered a No! to Ishmael who looked like he got the message.

"I'm sorry young man, but I haven't seen no one pass here, no siree," Ishmael said, lying through his teeth.

"Alright, if you see him, talk to the guard in the security booth, and he might have something for your troubles." He said, pointing back the way he came. They left shortly after.
With a grunt and feeling pain wash over him, William got up and walked up to Ishmael.

"Thanks for the cover, sir." He said sincerely.

"I won't ask what happened to you boy, I can connect the dots as-is. Come, sit down." He helped William to the bench, "But I can tell you this son, whoever those people were, they will come back for you. Might not be tomorrow, might not be next week, but they will. I've seen that look before, you know? In the war, the euros had the same look, one of pure evil."

"Alright?" William didn't see that one coming, casual racism towards the Europeans was normal with vets but they usually kept it down when they came home, not Ishmael, it seemed...

"Look son, it's your bus comin’ up, let's go." He hailed the bus and helped William get into the vehicle, the bus driver not even glancing their way., Paying the fare for William, Ishmael walked down off the steps and waved him goodbye with a salute, before melting away in the darkness.

 

---

 

"Last stop, kid," the driver said curtly. William got out of the bus, and if his mental map of the city wasn't wrong, it would take him at least twenty minutes to get home from the last stop.

"Two a.m, fuck me walking home at two a.m. is scary." Empty streets and sidewalks were all he could see, his arm throbbing in pain every step of the way. Every once in a while a car would pass by, their headlights a temporary beacon of safety in William's mind.

Amidst the fear of getting robbed, William was constantly asking himself what had he done wrong to Victoria for her to agree with Mikeal's plan, he couldn't by the life of him find a reason for her plan!

Was she that mad towards his sister? Something his father had done, maybe? He had no answers, and he also didn't know how he would explain the broken arm to his parents without spilling the beans. Would anyone really believe Mikeal was gonna try to get him arrested for drug usage?

With zero evidence?

She was probably in on this somehow, anyway. No, William thought, he would have to swallow his pride and ego, along with his selfish desire to enact justice as a compromise to have his happiness with his family intact.

He felt truly saddened by the fact, as he neared home. The cold night air made him feel truly defeated, and his shoulders slumped when he saw the cars in front of his home, some weren't from his parents.

"This is going to be a riot, ain't it." he sighed to himself. William decided to walk in via the backdoor, where he could hear his mom's friends' laughs coming from the living room. He made his way to the bathroom, locking the door this time, and sat on the floor, letting the warm water from the showerhead flow.

"Going to take weeks to heal, and even then, they will likely come up with something worse. There's no forgiving the past is there, huh?" With a grunt William got up, making a mess while drying himself, then he took some painkillers from behind the mirror and went back to his room.

It didn't take long before Carmen noticed someone else was in the house, she saw the mess in the bathroom and went to check around. Her friends hadn't noticed a thing, too drunk to care, but they had left a few minutes ago.

“Alex, is that you?” She asked when she found William in the kitchen nursing his arm. She knew, deep in her bones, that something big had happened.

“What the hell happened to your arm, William?” She moved closer, inspecting the arm in detail, it was fractured and in dire need of attention

“Nothing mom, nothing happened.” He sounded defeated, she decided to not push the issue but said:

“Whatever happened at that party, it died there, you understand?” She held his head, staring him dead in the eyes. He looked at her and simply nodded his head once again.

“I won’t tell dad or sis,” The boy said, tired. Carmen nodded and they took off to the hospital.

It took less than an hour for the doctors to fix him up. The cast was set up, and the bill was paid on the spot with a card William had never seen his mom use before.

Saturday came, and the ripples he had caused were already turning into waves. On TV, there was a newscast about the weed being dumped into a storm drain, and Victoria had called William the entire day but he’d refused to pick it up, same for Alice, he had already blocked them both on their message app and social media.

Tricking his father proved easy, mom said it so he believes it, Juliet, on the other hand, knew something was up, she kept prodding at him but relented when Sunday came.

 

---

 

Monday morning was awkward. He didn't bother making small talk with Juliet's friends, which earned him a nasty look from her, but the car ride banter just felt like miles away and too close at the same time, the painkillers making William feel cranky, annoyed with everything and nothing at the same time. I truly have the worst reactions to medication, he thought with frustration.

Finally getting into school grounds, he made his way to class fast. Today was bound to be filled with drama, he felt, given he gave the cold shoulder to Victoria for two days after the events at the manor.
Who knew what the hell she prepared with Mikeal since then, he thought unhappily.

When he got to class, Victoria wasn't there, Alice was on the other hand was, and she came to talk with him the second he sat down

"William please, you gotta talk with..."

He locked eyes with the girl, "Alice, I don't know if you’re aware of what she tried to pull on that party, but let me just say this, don't talk with me, do not look at me, otherwise, I will scream at you so hard, the teacher will have to put us both on detention." He wanted to say he was gonna hit her but that would've been too much, he got the reaction he wanted anyway, she clamped down fast and let him be.

Classes went by in a flash, but more and more William was feeling uneasy. His gut feeling was more like a gut orchestra at this point and the voice in his head? A chorus screaming at him.
He made his way to the cafeteria, quickly found his sister's table, and plopped down to eat, hoping the food would calm him down a little.

Mid-bite heard a commotion coming from the south end of the cafeteria, a fight had broken out it seemed. He saw Mikeal and some other boy arguing, the two lackeys from the party were by the latter looking like they were forced to eat a salted lime. He couldn't hear what was said from where he was, but it looked serious.

That was when goddamned Victoria herself showed up, Mikeal bolted in her direction screaming and pointing, but she just smiled without a concern. She started coming towards their table when William noticed something was off about her. She had an absent-minded smile set beneath her heavy eye bags looking as if she hadn’t slept in days.s

When their gaze met, her eyes flashed darkly.

William was ready to run away at that moment, his whole body screaming for him to flee.

He was too late. The girl drew her father's pistol on him, and with the smooth precision of a trained gunwoman shot him twice in the chest. It only took seconds but for William, it felt like years. Juliet tackled the girl while Jonah tried grabbing the weapon.

All William could feel was the cold seeping through his bones, the bullet holes no longer burning his chest. He struggled to call out for his sister to put pressure on the wounds when he heard another gunshot.
His world went black, all he could hear was himself gasping for air, and then.

Silence.

---

Earth Prologue: End