RUNNING. THAT’S ALL DEREK WAS CURRENTLY THINKING ABOUT.

  He thought about running away from his horrible, terrible, no good, UTTERLY WORTHLESS life… HATING who he was and how he was perceived amongst his peers at Keokuk Senior High.

  The troubled teen tried to make one last, desperate attempt at leaving his life behind.

  As Derek ran as if he were running from the Devil himself whilst tears streamed down his cheeks and his bad eyesight blurred without the aid of his destroyed glasses, he accidently tripped over a fallen tree branch which then, in turn, sent him tumbling down a steep hill.

  Whilst the emotionally shattered nerd rolled down this rocky, dirt hill all he could think about in his head was the events that recently played out back at the Russell Family Cabin.

  ALL HE COULD THINK ABOUT was how embarrassed he was by his NUMBER ONE tormentor, Brent Fuller, in front of, pretty much, the WHOLE POPULACE of K.H.S. (the mid-HIGHLY popular ones, that is).

  After rolling for what seemed like forever, Derek finally met a ‘sudden stop’ at the bottom of a massive tree’s trunk.

  SLAMMING HIS BACK up against the rigid tree’s aging bark outer layer, the stuttering geek let out a painful cry.

  Then, a few seconds later, he temporarily passed out.

  Re-living the painful memories that were most, if not, ALL caused by Brent and his vicious cronies in his head, Derek rested down in the dirt on his belly.

  Then, before Derek drifted any further into the ‘dreary void’ of unconsciousness, something else hit the tree that he had collided with.

  Reopening his heavy eyelids, Derek looked over at the ‘something else’ that turned out to be… LIEUTENANT DEXIUS SOLAS, who laid directly across from him.

  With his massacred body being covered from head to toe by severe and bloody scratch and bite marks from the Vexan Mawl Beast, the barely living Last Guardian Warrior laid on his right side facing the confused nerd.

  Dexius stared at Derek with his turquoise eyes, which were glowing through their contacts, as the disgraced nerd stared back at him in utter shock and fright.

  “RUH-RUN,” Dexius muttered before passing out from the pain that was caused by his severe wounds from his brutal battle with the Mawl.

  “GRRRRRRRRR,” growled the slightly damaged Mawl Beast as it crept towards both Derek and Dexius.

  Frozen in total fear, Derek stared at the dark-furred alien monster with a horrified expression on his pimple-face.

  The Mawl glared at Derek with its four glowing, blood red eyes whilst saliva oozed down from its razor sharp fangs.

  Not knowing what he was looking… STARING at, Derek watched, still as a statue as the Mawl nudged its big, black nose upon Dexius’s torn up back.

  Still bearing a look of sheer terror on his face, Derek did nothing but watch this all play out.

  After nudging Dexius’s body, the Vexan Mawl Beast opened up its massive mouth.

  Its teeth then extended outward slowly as it went to bite off Dexius’s head.

  Right as the Mawl went to end the Blue Guardian’s life-cycle once and for all something grew deep inside Derek’s shriveled body.

  It was a strange feeling. A new feeling that he had never felt until this very point RIGHT NOW. It was a feeling of… COURAGE.

  “HEY!!!” Derek cried without thinking, causing the Mawl to cease its devouring of Dexius’ head.

  Reading Derek’s body heat signature with its eyes, the Mawl feral growled at the horrified human teenager.

  Realizing what he had just done was probably a big mistake, Derek remained motionless due to how terrified he was.

  Needing to act fast, Derek slowly started to back away from the alien monster, but every move that he made the Mawl reacted to by pawing forward.

  Derek was now driven up against the tree’s trunk again… Left with NO OTHER CHOICE but to do what the ‘strange guy with glowing eyes’ had just told him to do before passing out: RUN.

  Jumping up to his feet after the Mawl let out another ‘warning shot’ of a growl, Derek turned around and SCALED UP THE TREE’S THICK TRUNK like a spider monkey.

  Managing to successfully climb up to a strong branch, Derek hurled his torso over it and straddled the branch whilst the Mawl jumped a remarkable TEN FEET up in the air to claw him, but it could reach the terrified nerd, thankfully.

  So, as the angry alien beast snarled and clawed at the tree’s trunk down on the surface below, Derek had no other choice… BUT TO SCREAM.

  _

  “DEREK?! DERRRRRRRRREEEEEEK!!!!!!!!” Kyle called out in a very worrisome tone of voice as he cupped his hands around his mouth to make his voice sound even louder.

  As Kyle continuously called out Derek, Eric, Jim, John ,and Josh all followed him closely from behind.

  Rubbing his sore head, Jim said, “Urgh… Man, I feel like fucking hell. Ugh… At least I took out that PUNK-BITCH Fuller though.”

  “You didn’t ‘take out’ anyone, Hunter… I DID,” John firmly stated.

  “SAY WHAAAA?! No you didn’t!”

  “Uh… Yeah he did, Jim,” Josh awkwardly stated. “John cracked Brent in the eye after he UPPER CUTTED YOU out of your shoes.”

  “WHAT?! NO FUCKING WAY!” Jim wildly denied after turning to face the Star Athlete. “YOU LIE!!!”

  “Nope. Sorry, dude. ALL TRUTH. I mean, EVERYONE who was on the back deck saw it happen… Unfortunately.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “He’s right… DINGUS,” Eric crudely agreed. “Fuller knocked your shit up into the stars… IN FRONT OF EVERYONE.”

  “AH, WHAT THE FUCK?!?!” Jim angrily shouted, causing Eric to snicker. “FUCKING SHIT!!! I thought I straight up KNOCKED that fool!”

  “JIM, SHUT UP!!!” Kyle suddenly snapped, silencing the Dingus immediately. “Remember why we’re out here!”

  “To escape our social problems?” Jim asked with his brow scrunched.

  “TO FIND DEREK, YOU FUCKING DICKHEAD!”

  “Ahhh… Yeah. Right, right. Gotcha, Chief.”

  Eric then smacked Jim upside the back of his head, causing the douchey seventeen-year-old to let out a brief cry of pain… Followed by a SLEW of expletives that I honestly don’t care to write out at this point.

  “THE FUCK DID YOU THAT FOR, ERIC?!” Jim angrily demanded from the Stoner.

  “FOR BEING A THOUGHTLESS IDIOT, DINGUS!” Eric slammed back, causing Jim to fume ragefully.

  Jim then gritted his teeth and clenched his fists down at his sides, causing Eric to challenge, “DO SOMETHIN’.”

  Knowing that Eric would most likely win their potential scrap (like he ALWAYS did), but not wanting to show his fear, Jim just uncurled his fists, called him a ‘bitch’, and turned away.

  “YEAH. THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT,” Eric speared as John looked for him and gave a slight smirk for his fearless grit.

  “Hey, Kyle… Any ideas as to where Derek might’ve gone?” Josh asked the seventeen-year-old who was still giving him the ‘cold shoulder’.

  “No,” Kyle gruffly replied, to which Josh felt greatly. “With his asthma, he couldn’t have gone too far without stopping to catch his breath.”

  “I dunno, man. From what I saw, he was runnin’ pretty fast.”

  Kyle chose to ignore Josh in reply.

  Lowering his brow, the All Star Football Player continued, “LOOK, KYLE. I’m sorry about everything that went on back at the Cabin. I REALLY had no idea things were gonna turn out so…”

  “INCREDIBLY FUCKED???” Eric asked from behind, causing Josh to look back at him.

  “Well… I wasn’t gonna say it like that,” Josh awkwardly replied. “But… Yeah. I guess.”

  “HOW ELSE can you describe the PRETTY FUCKING SHITTY events that went on back at your STUPID FUCKING Kegger Party, Jockstrap?”

  John smirked again at Eric’s ‘no fucks given’ attitude. He just kept his hands dug in the side pockets of his leather jacket whilst tailing the group as Josh pressed back, “ERIC, I get it, alright? You have EVERY RIGHT to be angry…”

  “ANGRY???” Eric repeated in an overly aggravated tone. “No. No, no, Rich Boy. I’m not just ‘angry’. I’M DOWN RIGHT FUCKING PISSED OFF!!!!!”

  “YEAH! ME TOO, BROMIE,”” Jim then erupted from off to the side.

  “SHUT UP, JIM!” Eric slammed towards the Dingus before turning back to face Josh, who had a very visibly stunned expression on his face.

  “I get it, Eric. I really do,” Josh stated in a calm and collected manner. “But what happened back at my parents’ cabin was NOT my fault. I was Bre--”

  “Not your fault??? OF COURSE IT’S YOUR FUCKING FAULT!!!” Eric irrationally thundered. “All this fucking SHIT is your fault, Josh!”

  “HOW SO, ERIC?! I didn’t cause what Brent did to you guys back at my family’s Cabin. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON!”

  “It’s STILL your fault, Jockstrap… SO STOP DENYING IT!”

  “HOW?!?! How, Eric?! How in the fuck is this my fault, Eric?!”

  “Because if you hadn’t of invited us to your DUMBASS KEGGER at the Mall earlier today then NONE OF US would be in this fucking situation right now scouring through the fucking woods… AT FUCKING NIGHT looking for Derek!”

  Josh suddenly drew scarcely silent as did everyone else in the socially ‘mixed-up’ search party.

  “DAAAAMMMMNNNN, SON!” Jim then erupted, ending the brief silence.

  “Ditto,” John nodded.

  “LOOK,” Josh said in a stern tone of voice as Eric still stood toe to toe with him. “I’m sorry for everything that happened to you and your friends, Eric… I TRULY AM. I’d change all of this shit if I could... BUT I CAN’T. So, we have two ways we can go about this; Either we squash this bullshit between us right now and continue on with looking for Derek… OR WE FUCKING FIGHT.”

  Eric’s eyes then widened as did John’s from the back of the group.

  “It’s your move, Eric,” Josh continued. “Just keep in mind that every second that we waste here… Arguing like a couple of bitches, Derek’s getting further and further away from us finding him.”

  “ERIC… COME ON,” Kyle ordered firmly as he got between his friend and Josh. “Let it go, man, and keep moving.”

  “BUT, GORDON,” Eric started until Kyle quickly and sternly cut him off.

  “LET IT FUCKING GO, E! Let’s be done with this pointless shit and get back to looking for Derek!”

  Eric looked at Kyle and then back at Josh.

  Letting out a deep breath, Eric ultimately backed down from All-Star High School Football Player.

  “Urgh… Whatever!” Eric grunted as he fell back in line alongside Jim. “Let’s just find Derek so we can all GO THE FUCK HO--”

  SUDDENLY, cutting off Eric’s sentence was a faint cry, which sounded off from a distance… BUT NOT TOO FAR AWAY.

  “WHAT WAS THAT?!” Jim cried out fearfully as he immediately clung onto John’s left arm.

  “GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” John barked, frightening Jim so much that he leapt away from the towering loner like a cat jumping out of a puddle of water.

  “MY BAD, DUDE!” Jim whelped whilst holding up his hands in defense. “I just…”

  “TOUCH ME AGAIN AND I’LL THRASH YOU HARDER THAN FULLER DID.”

  Fearing the tough loner’s wrath, Jim backed away with his opened palms held up before himself still up as a sign of surrender.

  “KYLE,” Josh uttered in a scared tone. “Did… Did you just…”

  ANOTHER cry then sounded off in the distance… With this one sounding louder and more terrified than the first.

  “Did anybody catch that???” Eric asked in a spooked tone.

  “No,” Josh replied whilst shaking his head from side to side. “I… I couldn’t make it out.”

  “Neither could I,” Kyle followed.

  “I know what it said,” John revealed, causing Kyle, Eric, Jim, and Josh all to turn their heads and look back at the outsider.

  “You did?” Kyle asked, to which John nodded.

  “Well… What’d it say then?” Eric asked curiously.

  Looking off into the distant dark of the forest with a grim expression on his face, John gritted with his heavy brow lowered, “HELP.”