CHAPTER: BLOOD OUTSIDE THE GATE
The school canteen was almost empty, echoing with silence.
Alex and his friends sat at a back table, bruised, battered, and breathing heavy.
Alex broke the silence.
"Hey, you guys… I have a question."
Everyone looked up.
Mark, Liana, Hannah, and John responded in unison, "What is it?"
Alex leaned in, eyes serious.
"What actually happened before I got to the rooftop?"
Mark took a deep breath, then began.
"It started at 6 a.m., bro. Everything was normal. Peaceful. We were forming our study group, laughing, getting ready…"
He swallowed hard. "Then… Ben, Liloyd, and a bunch of guys showed up. They just started creating chaos. Terror. We looked for the school guard, but… he was already knocked out. We didn't know what to do, so we waited, hoping you'd show up. But Liloyd didn't wait."
He paused, his voice shaking.
"He attacked us. John tried to fight them, but he couldn't hold them off alone. That's when Liloyd grabbed the opening… he yanked Hannah and Liana by the hair—dragged them away while Ben and the others beat me down. I tried to resist, but there were too many of them. To buy time, Ben ordered someone to fight John… just to distract him."
Mark wiped a tear from his cheek.
"They dragged me to the rooftop. I was bleeding. Weak. And then I saw it—Hannah and Liana, tied up like animals. It was 7 a.m. when you came. You saved us."
Alex sat back in his chair, stunned.
"So all of that… happened between 6 and 7?"
Mark nodded. "Yeah."
Alex clenched his fists. "Then we're done here. Let's get out of this school."
Liana and Hannah looked worried.
"But how?" Hannah asked. "Liloyd said Sean's waiting for you outside."
John scoffed. "So you wanna stay trapped here forever?"
"I'm with John," Mark said. "What about you, Alex?"
Alex stood, his voice low.
"Here's the plan: all of you—leave through the back gate. I'll go through the front."
Everyone froze.
"What?! That's suicide!" Liana cried. "Sean could kill you!"
Alex gave a calm smile.
"You don't trust me?"
A beat of silence passed. Then Hannah said, "Fine. But promise us you'll come back."
"We'll be waiting at the place we talked about," Mark added.
Alex nodded.
"Yeah… My old gym. Wait for me there."
They all stood. The group split.
The others slipped quietly through the back gate.
Alex walked alone toward the front.
OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL
The sun blazed overhead.
The street outside the front gate was empty—except for a dark circle of figures waiting.
There they stood.
Ben, Liloyd, Zack, Daniel, and Leo.
And in the center, sitting on a chair like a king on a throne, was Sean—smoking calmly.
Alex stepped forward, eyes locked on the gang leader.
"Hey, Sean. What do you want from me?"
Liloyd shouted, "You know what he wants!"
Sean leaned over to one of his men and whispered coldly,
"Kill him."
Then he stood and walked away, flanked by Ben, Liloyd, Zack, Daniel, and Leo.
Alex tried to follow—but a massive guy blocked his path.
Behind the big man, the rest of Sean's goons surrounded him.
They attacked.
Alex fought like lightning.
He broke bones with precision.
Every punch was a message.
Every movement—a symphony of pain.
One by one, they dropped.
Until only the giant remained.
The big guy charged. Fast. Unnaturally fast.
Alex dodged, ducked, countered—
Hook to the ribs. Elbow to the chin. Spinning kick to the face.
CRACK.
The giant staggered. Blood poured from his mouth.
But Alex didn't know…
That while he was fighting—Sean had made his move.
DOWN THE STREET… OUTSIDE ALEX'S HOUSE
Sean and his crew stood across the road.
He looked at the white house ahead—quiet and peaceful.
"Which one is his?" Sean asked.
Ben hesitated… then pointed. "That one, boss."
Sean lit another cigarette.
"Good. Burn it down. And if his mother's in there…
Kill her."
Ben and Liloyd froze. "But… boss, his mom—"
Sean cut them off with a glare.
"You deaf? I said kill her."
They didn't speak again. Just followed orders.
The wooden door shattered.
Masked men stormed into the house.
Inside, Alex's mother stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot.
Hearing the noise, she smiled faintly—thinking it was her son.
"Alex?" she called.
But when she reached the front hallway, she saw them—
Dozens of masked men. Knives. Guns.
"Who the hell are you?!" she shouted.
She stepped back, panic rising, and rushed to grab a kitchen knife.
One of the men stepped forward, fake-smiling.
"Relax, ma'am. We're just Alex's friends. We just wanna—"
STAB.
A flash of silver.
A sudden silence.
The knife pierced her chest.
She collapsed.
Ben and Liloyd stood frozen, unable to move.
Just watching.
Sean's men tore through the house, smashing photos, furniture, everything.
Then they vanished—
leaving Alex's mother in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.
Moments later, a neighbor peeked through their window, shocked by the broken door.
They ran over—only to find the horrifying scene.
They called the cops.
BACK AT SCHOOL…
Alex crushed the big man to the ground.
Bloodied. Done.
Breathing hard, he looked around.
Everyone was down.
He ran.
Straight to the gym.
To the only family he had left.