Part 1
Chapter 1
Demarco
“Good game on Friday, Damarco!” A blonde kid I’ve never met before says as I’m walking down the hall.
“Thanks!” I say.
“Way to break the record for most yards rushing Friday night,” Toby says as he walks up with his fist out. “You killed it.”
“Dude, you were right behind me in receiving yards,” I say, crushing my fist against his.
“Man, we’re going all the way to states!” he says.
“You bet we are,” I laugh.
“Damarco, there you are!” Gracie says. She looks as fine as ever with her long and wavy golden hair. Her polka dot dress shows off her long thick sun-kissed legs. She’s got a bow in her hair. “I’ve been looking for you. Hey, how come you didn’t dress up?”
“Here I am,” I smile. “Oh shit, I forgot. I’m sorry.”
She lets out a sigh. “What am I going to do with you? Are we still on for later?”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Don’t tell me you forgot. You’re helping decorate the senior float for homecoming, remember?” she says.
“Oh right. I swear I didn’t forget. I’ll be there after practice,” I say.
“Good, don’t let us down,” she says.
“Damarco,” Mr. Isaacson says. “Way to play. Great game.”
“Thanks teach,” I say.
“Now I just hope you got that report done,” he says.
“Right,” I say. “It’s always good to hope, isn’t it?”
His eyes narrow at me. “I’m just kidding, of course, I got it done.”
“I look forward to reading it,” he says as the bell rings.
Everyone scurries off to class as I quickly get my books out of my locker and make it just in time. I see a seat open next to a chick with short green hair and I snag it. She and I exchange looks. She smirks before looking away.
“Good evening class,” Mr. Isaacson says as he walks in. “Now let’s get those reports out and hand them in.”
I pull out my paper and hand it in. Thank god for SparkNotes.
“Today, we’re moving onto a new subject. We’re going to start reading a new book. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.”
Great, sounds like another long book. I hope SparkNotes has a detailed section on this one. “I’d like to assign discussion groups for this one,” he says. He walks about the room and assigns groups of 4. The girl with green hair along with Zack Lambert and Kate Maxwell are with me in my group.
“Awww, are you kidding me? I have to be in a group with the tranny freak?” Zack sighs.
“Zack, do you really have to be an asshole?” I ask.
“Come on, golden boy, how can you be okay with being a group with a dude dressing up as a girl?” he asks, looking over at the girl with green hair.
“That’s enough. As long as you are in my classroom, you will show each other respect. Now apologize,” Mr. Isaacson says.
“Seriously?” Zack asks.
“Why wouldn’t I be serious? Each student has the right to learn without harassment. Now, apologize,” he says.
“All right, all right. I’m sorry,” he sighs.
“Next time make it sincere,” Mr. Isaacson says. “Now, I want you all to read the first chapter, then next class you’ll discuss it with your group. I’ll provide some questions for you to go over. For now, you can spend the rest of the class reading the book. I’ve already taken the liberty of emailing you all a copy, so you’ll find it on your tablet.”
—
Lunch
As lunch rolls around, I load up on carbs and everything else I can find before taking a seat with Toby and the rest of the football team. “Dude, so you and Gracie, huh?” Toby asks.
“No, not at all. She just asked me to help with the float.”
“Suure,” he grins. “I’d tap that.”
“I mean, I would too, but I don’t just want someone to bone. You know? I want something real,” I say.
“I guess…” Toby says with an eye roll.
“But at the same time, I really don’t have time for a relationship,” I sigh.
“You guys, did you see the footage that got posted? Some dude in a mask beat up like 4 guys trying to gang up on some other dude,” Reno says as he pulls out his phone and pulls it up. He shows us the video and presses play. It’s late at night so the video is dark. It looks like it’s the security cam outside of some convenience store. 4 guys are stomping on some other guy. Looks like he’s getting the shit beat out of him. Suddenly some guy in all black comes out from the corner of the footage and kicks the closest guy in the head. Drops him.
The other 3 are caught off guard as he grabs the next guy and throws him aside before. He pushes his foot in the chest of the closest guy who tried to charge him. The guy he tossed aside grabs him from behind as the last guy lands a blow to his jaw. He fights through it and kicks off the guy in front of him, as he falls to the ground along with the guy holding him. He slams his head against the other guy and hits him with a few elbows before breaking free as the other two guys still left standing start kicking him. He catches one of their feet under his arm and rolls against him, sending him slamming to the ground. He continues to roll on top of him and slams his fist against the other guy’s nose as he rolls backward onto his feet. He then charges the last guy standing, slamming his shoulder in the guy’s gut while grabbing the guy’s legs and taking him down. Then his fist connects with the guy’s face. It only takes two punches to knock the guys lights out.
He gets to his feet as the other two try to climb to their feet. He knocks out the first when his foot connects to the guy’s face. The other guy trips over himself as he runs away. He helps the guy they were beating up to his feet before walking away.
“Holy shit, that guy kicked their asses,” Toby says.
“Yeah, you can tell the other guys really didn’t know how to fight,” I add.
“Oh says the Kung Fu master,” Toby laughs.
“I don’t do Kung Fu. I practice several different forms of mixed martial arts, including Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, and Taekwondo,” I say.
“Right…” Toby sighs. “So then, is this guy the real deal?”
“Nah, he fights okay, but it’s obvious the people he’s fighting don’t know how to fight. I’d like to see him up against a real fighter,” I say.
“Do you think you can take him?” Cooper asks.
“That’s not what I’m saying,” I say.
“What are you saying?” Cooper asks.
“That just because you can take on a few idiots who are only good when it’s a 4 on 1 fight, doesn’t mean you can take on someone who actually knows how to fight,” I say.
“Dude, here comes the freak,” Cooper says. “Do you think the rumors are true? I heard she’s a tranny.”
I look over to see them talking about the girl from English class. The girl with the short green hair. Cooper coughs tranny as she passes by. She stops for a second and glances our way, but hurries off.
“Dude, why do you have to do that?” I ask. “You don’t have to be an asshole.”
“What?” Cooper asks like I’m the one being unreasonable. “Are you really standing up for her? She’s a total freak show.”
“Stop. Don’t call her that.”
“Don’t tell me you have a thing for the freakshow?” he asks.
“And what if I did? Are you going to call me a freak too?” I ask.
“Come, guys, let’s just all chill,” Toby says. “Look, Damarco, he was only joking. No one’s saying you’re a freak. If you have a thing for her, that’s cool. I’m not judging.”
I let out a sigh and grab my tray and head off after her. I find her sitting outside watching a video on her phone as she eats her lunch. “What do you want?” she asks. “Come to gawk at the tranny freakshow?”
“No. Not at all. I just came to apologize. My friends are assholes,” I say.
“And yet they’re still your friends,” she says.
“Not all of them are assholes,” I say.
“Oh really? Please, enlighten me,” she says.
“Look, most of them just don’t understand,” I say.
“And you do?” she asks.
“Probably not as much as I should,” I say. “Can I have a seat?”
“It’s a free county,” she says, haughtily.
I sit down next to her as she continues to watch the video on her phone. Now that I have a better look at her, she’s actually really beautiful. Her crystal blue eyes shimmer in the sunlight. Her face is delicate but has an edge to it. Her skin looks as if it was somewhat kissed by the sun and has a glow to it. Of course, it is almost like she hides her beauty in torn-up jeans, a leather jacket wrapped around her waist and a purple tank top that shows off the tattoos on her arm.
“Are you just going to stare?” she asks.
“I was just admiring your ink,” I say.
Her face blossoms into a garden of roses. “Um… Thanks.”
“Tell me about them, what do they mean to you?” I ask.
She looks up at me with the whites of her eyes showing. It’s as if no one has ever asked her that question before. “I… Uhh… Well…” she takes a second to recompose herself. She stretches out her right arm. “Well, this is just an ancient Mayan text. It’s the same one my mother had. I honestly don’t even know what it means.”
“Oh, so what is your mother like?” I say.
“I don’t know… I just have a photo of her holding me. I… I never knew my parents,” she says.
“I know the feeling,” I say. I point to the other arm. “What about that tattoo? A cross? You don’t come across as religious.”
“I’m not. At least not in the formal sense. Structured religion is nothing more than a cult,” she says. “And it’s not a cross, it’s a sword. It’s… It’s kind of a long story.”
“Well, maybe you can tell me about it sometime. I can also definitely see why you would think that,” I say. “Religion definitely is controlling, but it also gives us a sense of morality.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re a bible thumper?” she says.
“I wouldn’t say that,” I say. “But I do believe there is a higher being out there. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, as far as to what, I don’t know,” she says.
“I agree. I kind of feel like every religion has some kernel of truth to it. Like each religion is just a different window into the same house,” I add.
“That makes sense. And here I thought you were just another dumb jock,” she says.
I give her a fake smile. “Not everything is as it seems.”
“I guess not,” she says.
I take a glance at her phone to see the same video of the masked fighter on her phone. “Oh don’t tell me you’re a fan of him too?” I sigh.
“Of course. He’s a hero. He saved my life,” she says.
“Really?” I ask.
She looks up at me and I can see the pain in her eyes before she looks away. “I was walking home one night and I took a shortcut down the wrong alley that was filled with a few creeps with some bad intentions. I really thought I was going to get fucked up real bad. Then he showed up. I couldn’t get a good look at him, but he dressed all in black. He kicked their asses. I mean, I had my eyes closed for most of it, but the bits and pieces of what I did catch… I’ll never forget him. I just wish I could thank him. He was gone before I was able to say anything.”
“Wow… I… I’m sorry you had to go through with that,” I say.
“I’m just glad he came around. I don’t know what they would have done if he didn’t,” she says.
“That still doesn’t mean he’s a hero. He’s a masked vigilante who takes the laws into his own hands,” I say.
“Oh come on. Everyone is right about you, you’re such a boy scout. The law can’t always protect everyone. Sometimes it takes someone like him to be able to do what the police can’t in order to protect innocent people,” she says.
“Now you’re making me sound like a dumb jock?” I laugh. Even she cracks up. Then I look into her eyes as blue as the sky. “But seriously, isn’t there a line? I mean, some of these vigilantes actually kill people. Are you going to say that they’re heroes too?”
“No… But I don’t think they’re the villains either. I mean, even though the Ghost kills people, he kills people who deserve it. They’re rapists and murderers,” she says.
“So it’s okay if he decides who lives and who dies? Who gave him the right to play god?” I ask.
“What if he is a real ghost? Like some kind of spirit of vengeance or something? Wouldn’t the Ghost have every right to decide who lives and who dies?”
“Come on, you can’t tell me you believe in all that?”
“Have you seen the news today? Evolves are popping up all over the world. People can fly and can heal instantly. Is it that far-fetched to believe that a ghost walks among us?” She says, raising an eyebrow.
“I don’t know. Maybe…”
The bell rings.
“I suppose we should get to class…” I sigh.
“It was nice talking to you,” she says.
“Yeah, you too. I guess we’ll see each other in our little group discussions,” I say.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she smiles. Wow. Her smile is more beautiful than a field of wildflowers.
—
After school
After school, I head over to the football fieldhouse and get in a few reps with the weights before practice. I head out to the practice field along with everyone else.
“Golden boy, I heard you have a thing for trannies?” Zack laughs as we gather on the field before coaches get there.
“Dude, give it a rest. It’s not funny,” I say.
“Come on, you take things way too seriously,” Cooper says.
“Yeah, we’re just fucking with you. But for real, what’s the deal with freakshow?” Zack asks.
“Stop calling her that,” I say.
“You mean, him right? He does have a penis, right?” Cooper laughs.
“Fuck you guys. You guys are such assholes,” I growl.
“Come on guys. Let’s all take it easy. No need to get worked up. We’re all teammates here. Right?” Toby says as he walks up.
“Come on, man. We’re just joking around. Just giving you a hard time. If you want to get freaky with the tranny, by all means,” Cooper says.
“Seriously? Fuck you!” I shout.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I swear. I was only joking,” Cooper says, a nervous hitch in his voice.
I shrug him off as coaches arrive and we all jog a lap around the field before lining up to stretch. After running some drills, we run some plays.
“Let’s run the new I formation we went over last week,” Coach Harrison says. “Run the halfback dive.”
A smile goes on my face as we line up. As Samson gets under the Center, he hikes the ball and then hands it off to me. As the defense surges forward, I blast into the small hole made by the line. Zack breaks off the block and charges at me. I stop and spin as he dives forward. He flies past me and gets a mask full of dirt. I stiff-arm Jevonne as Toby smacks into Tan allowing me to blow past Yuan and Ranzi. Nothing stops me from getting into the endzone.
“Come on defense! Can anyone tackle Damarco?” Coach Martin sighs.
“Good job, offense. That’s what I want to see,” Coach Harrison says. “Great run, Damarco. Good block, Toby. Let’s run another play.”
As we get back to the huddle I smack Toby’s shoulder pad. “Nice fucking block!”
“I got your back, man. All-day,” he says.
We run play after play until we finish with sprints. After I get cleaned up, Toby and I quickly rush over to Kate’s house where everyone’s at building the float for homecoming.
“You guys came,” Gracie says as she comes up to us.
“Of course, I said we would,” I say.
Kate and Stacy also come up to us. Both of them look really good in the old 50’s fashion. Kate’s dark brown hair is done up in an old-style bun. Stacy, of course, has her red hair done up in a ponytail with a plaid skirt that shows off her tan legs.
“So, what’s our float going to be?” I ask.
“Well, as you can see we were trying to build a paper mache tiger killing a Trojan… but it’s not going so well,” Gracie says.
“I can help with that,” Toby says as he pulls out his vape pen and takes a rip.
“Seriously?” Kate asks. “You’re going to do that here?”
“What? I can only bring out my artistic nature when I’m stoned as a kite,” he says.
“Don’t you mean, high as a kite? That just doesn’t make sense otherwise,” Stacy says.
“Yeah, whatever. Same meaning, different words,” he says.
“Well, let’s get to work, the float’s not going to build itself,” Kate says.
As we get started, Toby pulls out his brilliance with the Tiger, it almost looks real. For the Trojan, we end up using a stuffed dummy with a Trojan helmet and shield. It looks pretty epic, the Tiger looks as if it’s about to rip the Trojan to shreds.
“Damn, fucking great,” Toby says.
“Yeah, you did an amazing job with the Tiger, who knew you were such an artist with paper mache,” Kate says.
“Hey, with weed, anything is possible,” Toby says, making everyone else laugh.
“Well, I should get going,” I say.
“Awww. Come on? Now that the work is done we still have to have a little fun,” Toby says.
“I don’t have time for fun. I’ve got to help my aunt out with her martial arts class. I also need food,” I say.
“I’ll give you a ride,” Gracie says. “That way Toby can stay and have all the fun he can handle.”
I look at Toby and he only shrugs.
“Don’t matter to me,” I say. After I grab my things and get into Gracie’s car. She pulls out of the parking lot and takes off.
“So… Homecoming dance… Are you going with anyone?” she asks.
“Honestly? I’m not sure if I’m going, period,” I say.
“What! Why not?” she asks, looking over at me with those green eyes of hers.
“I’ve got too much going on to take time out for the dance,” I sigh.
“But you’re running for homecoming king,” she says.
“I didn’t want to. Everyone kind of forced me into it,” I say. “Besides, I don’t have anyone to go with.”
“Why don’t we go together?” she asks.
“As friends, right?” I ask
“Sure… Or we could be a couple. I mean we don’t have to. We could just be friends,” she says.
“I don’t know… “ I sigh. “I just I’ve got a lot going on.”
“What could be so important that you would miss out on a fun night with friends? It’s just one night,” she says.
“Well, I’ve got a martial arts tournament earlier that day,” I say.
“But nothing going on that night, right?” she asks.
“Well…”
“Come on, it’s only a couple of hours. You can spare that, can’t you?” she asks.
“Huh, fine. I guess,” I sigh, clearly disinterested.
“Yes! You’ll have so much fun. You won’t regret it. I promise,” she says as she pulls into my driveway.
“I guess. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for the ride,” I say, getting out.
“Later Damarco,” she says.
Walking inside, my aunt Sako already has dinner ready. The smell of her traditional Japanese cooking makes my mouth salivate. “About time you showed up,” she says.
“I’m sorry, I forgot I promised to help out with the float after practice,” I say.
“It is okay. Just next time a little notice would be nice,” she says.
“Duly noted,” I say.
“Now hurry up and eat, we’ve got our training session at 8. I can’t be late for my own class,” aunt Leyla says.
“Okay, okay. You know I’m a quick eater,” I say, as I dish up a plate of my Aunt Sako’s home-cooked Soba, and join them at the table.
“That’s because you eat like a slob,” Sako says.
“I don’t have enough time for manners,” I say.
“Maybe if you did, you’d have a girlfriend,” she says.
“Well… I just got asked to the homecoming dance by Gracie,” I say.
“Nice, way to go!” Aunt Leyla says.
“Now we just need to find you something nice to wear,” Sako says.
“For real, you can’t go to a dance in sweats and a hoodie,” Leyla says, rolling her eyes.
“Oh come on… You gotta give me a little more credit than that,” I say.
“He must have forgotten about Linda’s wedding,” Sako says to Leyla, both women crack up.
“I still don’t know what you were thinking. You were going to wear jeans and a t-shirt to a wedding,” Leyla laughs.
“Oh come on, I was 10.”
“And you haven’t changed one bit in that regard,” Leyla says, rolling her eyes.
“Oh come on,” I sigh. “Everyone changes.”
“Yeah, but some things will always remain the same,” she says.
After we finish eating, Aunt Leyla and I get ready before taking off to her dojo.
“All right, everyone. Bring it in,” Leyla says. “Today, we’re going to go over the basics of Muay Thai. So lineup. Damarco, you’re with me.”
I follow her up to the front of the class. “Now with Muay Thai, your stance is much different than traditional boxing which we covered last week. In boxing, your hips are turned so you’re giving your opponent less surface area for them to target. But your knee and foot are on an inside angle, so it’s much harder to check kicks. In Muay Thai, however, your hips are squared up to your opponent.”
I demonstrate by getting in the Muay Thai stance. “You see how he’s facing forward, with his hips straight ahead?” she points out.
“Now with Muay Thai, because our bodies are facing our opponent, we can easily check kicks and throw kicks. Your hands should be held high. Pretend you are holding a trophy. You want your hands right in front of your face.”
I put up my fists in the correct position. I turn to the side so they can see. Leyla hands me a focus mitt. “A good practice is to hold a focus mitt. In the correct stance, the mitt should be right in front of your face. Remember last time when we talked about how in amateur boxing you hold your elbows down close to your body so you can protect the rib cage? Well in Muay Thai, you want your elbows out. And I’ll explain why in a second.”
“Now, with this stance, it is easy to throw a knee. Imagine the mitt is someone’s head. You keep control of the head and pull it in. And you’re bringing your knee out to hit the body.” I demonstrate with the mitt, by thrusting my knee in the air as I pull the mitt in.
“Another good practice in Muay Thai is when you’re throwing a kick, you’ll want to run your opposite hand through your hair. Or hold the mitt up to your head. That way, you’re protecting your head from a counter-attack, if you’re throwing a kick in the right way, the mitt should stay against your head, if you move your hand, you’ll drop the mitt.”
I show them a kick with the mitt held against my head. “Now let’s get into the rhythm of Muay Thai. Notice how when Damarco has his stance, he kind of has a march going. He has a rhythm of shifting his weight from one foot to the other.”
“The purpose of this is to help time it so when your opponent throws a kick, you can easily check it with your shin,” Leyla turns to face me and she gives me a nod to let me know she’ll be throwing a kick. As I shift my weight from side to side, I bounce my knee up into the air to block the kick she throws at my rib cage.
“You see?” she asks the students. “So with his foot, he’s pushing into the ground and equal and opposite force is pushing back up into him. And he transfers that force from one leg to the other. So when he pushes down with his left, he can lift up with his right and vice versa. So if he stomps with his right, he can throw a teep kick with his left. He can check a kick, throw a kick or knee as he shifts his weight from side to side.”
I demonstrate one of each. “Now let’s talk about defense. Notice that his hips are squared and his hands are high. You may notice that his ribs are open for an attack. You’re probably wondering, won’t your opponent target that area?”
“Yes, of course. And that’s what we hope. We want them to throw it there. We’re baiting them. With this stance, he can parry with his hands coming down across his body from either side.”
As I dance in the rhythm of Muay Thai, I bring down my right hand across my body and do the same with my left to parry any strikes.
“He can also catch a kick with both hands. Another thing is that he can check with his knee by turning his foot inward on their toes or shin which can do some damage to them as well.”
I throw my knee across my body to show them what it looks like. “Your opponent may try a roundhouse kick to the body.” She demonstrates a roundhouse kick.
“With a roundhouse kick, you can defend it by checking it with your knee.” She pauses to let me demonstrate. I bring the knee up to the elbow to check the imaginary roundhouse kick. “Notice how he brings the knee up to the elbow. Now, with a check, you’ll want to walk forward as you do that, so you can counter. So when they throw the kick, you bring up your knee, check the kick, then step forward and you can throw a knee, elbow, punches or what have you.”
I show them a check with my knee as I step forward and counter with an elbow. “You can also step out to the side and catch that kick with your arm which will set you up for a variety of counters, from a leg sweep to a punch or whatever.”
“Now let’s move up to the face. When your opponent starts attacking the face with jabs, crosses or whatever it may be, you can easily parry because you have this high guard. Let’s say they throw a left jab, you can parry, step forward and knee. They throw across, you can parry and counter with a teep kick.”
“Now, let’s partner up and work on our Muay Thai defense,” Leyla says. As the students pair up and work on checking kicks and parrying japs, Leyla and I walk around to correct their mistakes. After a while, Leyla brings them all in. “That was a great session, you all did really well. I’d like you to go home and practice this on your own. Remember, repetition is how you’ll master it. Let me know if you have any questions. You are all dismissed.”
“Thanks, Damarco. You’re always such a big help,” Leyla says as we pack up.
“Yeah, no problem,” I say as we close the place up.
After we get back home, my aunts both relax in the living room. “Well, I think I am going to get some homework done before going to bed.”
“All right, goodnight honey,” Aunt Sako says.
“Goodnight, babe,” Aunt Leyla says.
As I head to my room downstairs, as quietly as I can be, I creep out the sliding doors. I sneak out through the woods by the side of the road where there is an old abandoned shed, uncover my motorcycle with my bag and take off.
—
Chapter 2
Naomi
“School is such a drag,” I sigh…
“Tell me about it,” Erin says as we sit in art class. She’s the only person who really understands me. That’s why we’ve been such good friends since I’ve started school here. Although I know she likes that nerd Robert Shaw, I see them together all the time, I can’t lie, I do have a crush on her. She’s such a badass. Not afraid to be herself. She’s so hardcore. She’s into MMA and parkour. I wish I could be more like her. “So what is this that I heard you were sitting with Damarco Flynn at lunch?”
“Well… he was the one who came and sat by me,” I say.
“Really? What did he want?” she asks.
“I guess he wanted to apologize,” I say.
“For what?” she asks.
“For his friends being a douchebag. God, I hate Zack and Cooper. They are the worst,” I say.
“Tell me about it. I swear, if Zack lays one more finger on Rob, I’m going to break all of his fingers,” she says.
“You really like him, don’t you?” I ask.
“Rob? I mean, we’re close friends. I feel like I have to watch after him. He’s such a nerd, but he’s cute. You know?” she asks.
“I guess…”
“Do you like Damarco?” she asks.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know him. Besides, it’s not like I’d have a chance with him. He’s the golden boy. All the popular girls fawn over him as if he was god’s gift to mankind,” I say.
“He is hot,” Erin says. “I wouldn’t mind getting in bed with him.”
“That’s beside the point,” I say.
“He seems to like you. Why else would he go out of his way like that?” she asks.
“Maybe it’s all some sick joke?” I sigh.
“I don’t know. As much as I hate most of the jocks here, he seems different. At least from his past actions. I mean, no one has a bad thing to say about him,” Erin says. “There must be some truth to it.”
“Don’t you find that a little troubling, though?” I ask. “You dig deep enough, you can find dirt on anyone. But there’s nothing on golden boy.”
“Maybe he really is a knight in shiny armor,” Erin says.
“Or another fake,” I say.
“Maybe so… or maybe he’s the real deal. You’ll never know if you don’t spend time with him,” Erin says. “Who else would you rather be with?”
You. Or… The masked vigilante. The one who saved my life. “We are getting way ahead of ourselves. Besides, he could easily be gay for anyone knows.”
She laughs. “Now you’re just giving yourself excuses. Besides, aren’t you at all curious to see if the stereotype is true?”
“Stereotype?” I ask.
“Yeah, about black guys and their cocks… I bet his dick is huge,” she laughs.
I bite my lip. “Okay, maybe I’m a little curious.”
“One thing is for sure, he’s got a great ass. I mean, come on, you can’t tell me seeing him in those football pants doesn’t make you want those chocolate buns?”
“Okay. okay, it’s no secret that Damarco is hot. That’s not the point. I just don’t think he’s into me.”
“You’ll never know unless you talk to him.”
As the last bell rings, we pack up our shit and walk out.
“Oh look, Cooper. It’s a pair of trannies in their natural habitat,” Zack says as he and Cooper walk by.
Erin flips them off. “Assholes.”
“Just ignore them. You’re giving them exactly what they want,” I tell her.
“Someone needs to stand up to them,” she says.
“I guess so,” I say.
“Well, I gotta get going. Just give it some thought,” Erin says as she walks away. My hands are starting to shake again. I quickly run into the bathroom and pull out the pill bottle once I get into the stall. Fuck me. It’s the last one. I’m going to have to go to that shitty fucking club tonight to get more.
Once I get my stuff from my locker I start making the trek back to my place in the trailer park. I’ve tried my best to fix the place up a bit, but it’s fubar at this point. It’s home though. Inside, I go to my room and light up a joint before getting to work on the art commissions for this month.
For some reason, I just can’t help but think about Damarco. He did seem really sincere. But he’s friends with those assholes. Besides, even if he does like me, once he sees this shithole, he’ll run. I would.
But he really isn’t like other guys. He’s kind and funny. He listens. And he’s hot. Not to mention the fact that he is the star football player. Why is everything so complicated?
I finally finish up the commission I’m working on and get it submitted. Fuck, it’s already pretty late. I pull out my one hitter and pack it before taking a long hit off it. Might as well get this over with. I head over to the hole in the wall and pull out my safe. After unlocking it, I grab some cash.
I hit up an uber and head out to the Underworld. The most shady club there is. Not many people know of it. It’s very underground. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to know that a bunch of illegal shit goes down there. The uber reluctantly takes me to the old meatpacking warehouse and quickly takes off after he drops me off.
I fucking hate this place, but it’s the only place to get what I need. As I reach the bouncer, he eyes me up. “You know the rules. No phones or cameras inside.”
“You can search me, I didn’t bring mine,” I say. He nods and lets me in.
Inside it’s pretty crowded as people hunch around stand up tables, talking amongst themselves. Here, you’ll find some of the worst people. Drug dealers, addicts, prostitutes, pimps, gangbangers, and pretty much anyone who has a hand in shit they shouldn’t. In the middle of the large warehouse is a caged octagon. There’s also an upper level that looks down upon the club. And there, you’ll find a woman looking down surrounded by the meanest thugs money can buy.
They’ve got music blaring as naked girls grind up on people. The air is filled with smoke that stinks of weed and the cups are most likely filled with something besides alcohol. This is definitely not the place for anyone just looking for a drink. Especially someone young and vulnerable.
I head up to the bartender. “Aww, shit… Look who it is,” a tatted up, greasy man with a few teeth missing says. “I knew you’d be back for more. Here, let me give you something to drink. It’s on the house.”
“I don’t drink,” I say as I put the cash on the table. “Just get me what I had last time, Zig.”
“All right. Fair enough. Business as always,” he says, taking the money. After he counts it, he walks over to the side and pulls out a pill bottle and tosses it to me. I open it up and inspect the goods. Satisfied, I pop a pill and put the rest in my pocket.
“All right, ladies and thugs. Let’s get this show on the road,” says the woman here with the most sway. Her name is Mistress Faye. “Let’s start the fights. For our first challenger has already started to make a name for himself. He may be young, but he isn’t someone to underestimate. Put your hands together for the dream killer, your very own, Talon.”
No fucking way… Damarco? I watch as he enters the octagon. Holy fucking shit.
“His opponent?” Mistress Faye says. “Not someone you want to cross in a dark alley. He’s put out the lights in many people’s eyes. Crushed a lot of heats and I mean that literally. He’s your worst nightmare with many felonies. He got his name because of the many people he’s buried. Meet Tombstone!”
The biggest man I have ever seen walks into the octagon. He’s bald and on his arm are lined with cuts into his skin. As if he were keeping track of all the people he’s won against. Jesus. Is Damarco crazy? “All right, ladies and thugs. Last call to make your bets.”
“Damn, I know who to put my money on, this fight is going to end in a murder case. Tombstone is going to bury that wimp,” Zig says.
I hope to god not. Come on Damarco. What the hell is he doing here?
“Ready, fight!” Mistress Faye says. Damarco raises his fists above his face and starts shifting his weight from foot to foot. The other guy just starts walking up to him as if they’re just going to have a casual conversation. The look on his face tells otherwise. He like a man about to commit murder.
The size difference between the two of them is like looking at a puppy trying to stand up against an elephant. As the giant gets close, Damarco surprises everybody by throwing a hard punch in the guy’s stomach.
Everyone laughs as Damarco coils back in pain, shaking his hand as if he touched a stove. That’s not a good sign. Tombstone throws a punch back and catches Damarco off guard, knocking him square on his back. He quickly rolls back onto his feet and charges at Tombstone and batters into the mountain’s stomach and wraps his arms around the backs of his legs, but he can’t seem to pick him up. Tombstone bends down and picks Damarco up and pile drives him into the mat. The crowd cringes at the sound of his head smacking against the ground.
“It’s like watching a kid try to fight an adult. Funny at first, but it’s going to be hard to watch after Tombstone stops playing around. He gets a kick out of watching the hope drain out of his opponent’s eyes,” Zig says.
He may be an expert on Tombstone, but he knows nothing about Damarco. And then again, neither do I. Before today, I don’t think we have even talked to each other. I guess he started here just a little before I arrived.
Damarco manages to escape Tombstone’s grasp and scrambles to his feet just in time to get run over by Tombstones boot as the crowd cheers. Damarco rolls out of the way just in time before getting stomped on. My heart is racing as I watch helplessly as one of the only people who has ever been nice to me continues to get pummeled. He climbs back to his feet just in time to block a punch thrown by Tombstone. With his hands held high, he perries a flurry of punches by the giant. He even gets a few in return. But none of Damarco’s strikes hurt the giant.
“Man, his punches aren’t even phasing the big guy,” Zig laughs. Then a big crack echoes through the warehouse as Damarco nearly gets knocked off his feet by a backhand from Tombstone. Then Tombstone charges at the disoriented Damarco and catches him with a hard uppercut to the jaw, lifting him off the ground. Damarco crashes to the mat. The crowd roars and whistles as the giant thrusts his fist into the air. I find myself standing up next to the cage, wishing I could rush to Damarco.
Why is he doing this? Just give up, Damarco. No amount of money is worth this kind of beating. Walk away while you still can.
The room goes silent. To the shock of everyone, Damarco climbs back to his feet. Please, don’t do this. I can’t watch this anymore. He can barely stand. His eyes meet mine and I can see the shock in his face. All of a sudden, Tombstone’s boot slams into Damarco’s head and he falls to the ground as if the life was taken out of him.
I shriek as a tear falls from the corner of my eye. “No!”
The crow erupts like a pack of wild dogs all howling with complete satisfaction. And yet I feel as if I’m the one being punched watching Damarco lay there like a dead man.
“As expected,” Mistress Faye says, but before she can finish, Damarco slams his fist against the mat as he climbs back to his feet, silencing the room. What is he doing? He can’t be serious.
“Man, this kid is crazy,” Zig says.
Tombstone’s smile fades as anger takes over him. He charges at Damarco with a storm of punches. He manages to block and parry them. Tombstone throws a hard roundhouse kick at Damarco, but he manages to duck just in time. He then kicks the back of Tombstone’s knee and brings the big man down. Damarco doesn’t waste any time as he gets his arm around Tombstone’s neck locking it in with his other arm wrapped around the back of Tombstone’s head.
“Holy shit, he’s got the big man in a rear-naked chokehold. How the fuck did he manage to do that?” the guy next to me asks. As the giant climbs to his feet, Damarco wraps his legs around him. Tombstone tries to throw punches at Damarco, but he can’t seem to hit him. He then slams them both into the mat, but Damarco continues to strangle him. Tombstone tries to roll onto his hands and knees.
Tombstone struggles to climb back to his feet… he stumbles forward and collapses back onto the mat. Damarco reluctantly lets go of the big man and struggles to get back to his feet. The room is as silent as a graveyard. No one can believe what they just saw.
“Well, there you have it. Talon wins,” Mistress Faye says tight-lipped. He stumbles out of the cage and collects his money. He puts on a pair of black sweats and a black long-sleeved shirt. Before I know it, he’s making his way over to me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I retort.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to make money. But this is no place for you,” he says.
“And why is that?” I ask.
He just sighs. “Look, this place is bad news. Let’s go somewhere else. Okay?”
I let out a sigh. “Fine. But first, you should get checked. You just took a beating, are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here,” he says. After he grabs his stuff, I follow him outside. We end up by a motorcycle.
“You have a motorcycle?”
“Yeah… Paid for with the cash I make fighting.”
“Everyone paints you out to be some boy scout and yet, here you are fighting in underground cage fights. Who are you?”
“Like I said, nothing is as it seems,” he says as he hands me a helmet as he climbs onto his bike. “Where do you live? I’ll give you a ride.”
“The trailer park by Lake Silver,” I say.
“Wait… The trailer park?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“What’s wrong with the trailer park?” I ask.
“Nothing. Here, hop on, I’ll give you a ride.”
“How can you even walk right now, let alone drive?” I ask.
“I’m fine. Just trust me,” he says with a smile.
His face is so beaten up. His lip is bleeding. His eye is swollen. I shouldn’t let him drive. And yet he seems so composed. I shrug and climb on. I put on the helmet. He winces as I wrap my arms around him, hugging his backpack. “I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t be, you’re fine,” he says as he starts his bike and takes off. It’s crazy to think this boy that everyone thinks is such a boy scout is out late at night fighting in a cage for money and he drives a motorcycle. It just goes to show nothing is as it seems…
—
Chapter 3
Damarco
After we pass this shabby looking worn down house that seems to be packed full of cars, I enter a trailer park. I pull up to a beat-up piece of shit mobile home. She hops off the bike. “This is your place?” I ask.
She nods after she takes off the helmet. Her green hair is all messed up. “Do your parents know you go out to underground fight clubs?”
“Do your parents know you fight in underground cage matches?”
“Touche,” I say.
“Besides, I don’t even know who my parents are.”
“Then who’s trailer is that?” I ask.
“Mine. Well, it is now,” she says.
“You live here all by yourself?” I ask.
“Why? You’re not a serial killer, are you?” she asks, raising an eyebrow. She has one of the most beautiful faces. Her olive skin makes her eyes seem to glow.
“No, not at all. I promise. Why would you think that? Is it because I’m black?”
“No! Not at all. It’s because you fight in underground cage matches,” she says.
“Fair enough,” I say. “But I do need the money.”
She looks around before bringing those clear crystal blue eyes back to mine. “For the record, I do live alone. Really have to be careful these days, A lot of people around here go missing.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Yeah. The girl in the trailer a few lots over has been missing for over a month. And so has a boy on the other side of the park. And a woman that lived by herself,” she says.
“What happened to them?” I ask.
“I don’t know… If I had to guess, I would bet anything that drug house out by the entrance probably plays a part in it. I already know they’re cooking meth in there. Wouldn’t be that far to assume they also human trafficking going on,” she says. She grasps her arm with her other hand and slowly rubs it as she looks around.
“You should probably go inside and lock the door. Stay safe, Naomi,” I say. “I’ll see you at school.”
“Thanks for the ride,” she says. I start my bike back up and take off.
I haven’t fully healed since the fight, but I can’t let this slide. I stop at the shabby run-down drug house with the driveway full of cars that far surpass the quality one would expect. I park my bike in the ditch across the street. I grab my backpack and pull out a piece of chain and my bloodied up shorts and tear off a piece of it. Once I grab a lighter I pull out my black mask and put it on before walking up to one the cars. Thank god one of them is still a gas guzzler. I unscrew the nozzle to the gas tank and stick the long piece of cloth in there. Then I light it up and run to the side of the house.
As I hide in the shadows, I wrap my hand with the chain. I can feel the heat as the sound of the explosion nearly deafens me. Several men rush out of the house. One has a gun. I run out and bash the guy that has the gun across the temple with my chain covered fist.
The next closest guy charges at me. My foot lands in his stomach, leaving him stumbling backward. The sound of bones breaking in his nose as my fist covered in chains collides with his face makes the last guy shudder. He’s too slow to react as I rush him. I bring the chain hard in against his stomach and then uppercut him.
I look around before I hear multiple gunshots. Sharp, burning pain sears through me as several slugs hit me in the chest. I stumble backward and fall down the stairs of the porch as a fourth man walks out of the house holding a gun pointing at me. I hear the blast of the gun as everything goes dark…
Chapter 4
Naomi
I hear the sound of a loud crash just outside my trailer. I stumble out of bed and quickly open my lockbox to pull out the gun and make sure it’s loaded. I stumble through the darkness. My heart is racing at a painful pace. My hands are shaking. I hear something slam against the door. I hold my gun up as my hand quivers. “Noami…” A familiar voice grunts.
I quickly unlock my door and open as a man dressed in all black with a mask collapses on top of me. There’s so much blood all over him. It’s him. The man who saved me! He pulls off his mask. Damarco? “We need to get you to a hospital!”
“No! I’ll be fine. I just need to get these bullets out of me,” he groans as I help him to the couch. He collapses on the couch. “Get me scissors, pliers, and some rags.”
I run throughout the trailer and grab what he asks for and quickly rush back to him. “Cut my shirt off. Quick!” he growls.
I run the scissors up his shirt, cutting it off. He’s got four bullet wounds in his chest. “I can’t do this. We need to take you to the hospital.”
“Yes, you can. We just need to get the bullets out,” he says, grinding his teeth. “Just take the pliers and dig them out.”
“What about blood loss? What about…”
“Naomi, don’t argue right now, just please do what I’m asking,” he says.
I grab the pliers and bring them up to his chest as he grabs a towel and bites down on it. I try to take a deep breath to keep my hands from shaking. As I press the pliers into his wound, a growl bursts out from him. “I’m sorry!”
I manage to get the first bullet out. The pain in his face is almost too much to bear. Each time I pull one out, the sound of him crying out makes my heartache. I finally get the last one out and he passes out. I work to get the bloodied black shirt off him. That’s when I notice there are several cuts all over his body. A gasp escapes my lips as they start to heal up. How is that possible? Is he… Is he an evolve?
—-
Chapter 5
Damarco
I shoot up, bringing my hands to my chest. Not a scratch on me. The memories of waking up on the ground flood my mind. I remember getting up with pain searing through my body and seeing a man pacing back and forth. He didn’t see me coming. The rest of the night floods back to me. The meth house, the fight at the underworld club.
I look around to see a beat-up trailer. Naomi… She’s sleeping in the chair. As I get up, she stirs awake. She gets up. “How are you feeling?” she asks.
“I’m fine,” I say. I look down at her shirt and the couch, there’s blood stains everywhere.“I’m sorry for the mess and… everything.”
“Don’t apologize. You’re the one who saved my life. It’s the least I could do.”
She steps closer to me and puts her hand on my chest. I look down into those clear blue eyes. I find myself leaning in. She brings her head up closer to mine. Our lips find each other. For the first time in a long time, I feel alive. I pull her into my arms and she buries herself in my chest. Her hands run down my body and tug at my sweats. I pull her pajama shirt off to find her small perky breasts. My lips run down her neck as my fingers slide down her back. They slip under the hem of her panties and tug them down. She steps out of them as she pulls me back, turns us around and pushes me onto the chair. She pulls my sweats and underwear off. “Holy shit. Whoever said stereotypes are bullshit can go fuck himself,” she says as she wraps her hand around my cock.
She kisses me, and tugs on my bottom lip with her teeth. “Be right back,” she says as she runs off. I watch her bubble butt bounce as she runs down the hall. She comes back with a bottle in her hand. My eyes drop down to her dick swinging between her legs. She’s got a tattoo running down the side of her leg. It looks tribal, similar to the tattoo on her arm.
She climbs on top of me, pushing her lips against mine. She looks into my eyes. I love how her olive sun-kissed skin directly contrasts with my dark chocolate skin. I slide my hands up her thighs as she opens up the bottle of lube and fills her hand with a glob. She reaches back and lubes up her butt before reaching down and wrapping her fingers around my cock, smothering it in the slick substance. She guides it back as the head of my cock meets the flower of her ass. I watch her eyes roll back into her head as she bites down on her bottom lip while she tries to stuff my dick up her ass.
My hands rub up and down her thighs as my dick slips inside her, causing us both to moan out. She wraps her arms around my neck as she lets my cock slide further inside her. “Fuck… You’ve got a big dick,” she gasps out.
I lean up and kiss her. The touch of her lips against mine, setting my body ablaze. She looks down into my eyes. The way she looks at me is like the way an angel looks down on the one she’s protecting. She brings her hands to my face and runs circles on my cheeks with her thumbs. She moans out as she takes more of my cock. I kiss her as she lifts her hips only to slide more of me inside her.
I let her go at her own pace all the while holding her close to me. She starts slowly rolling her hips back and forth, taking more and more of my cock each time. I feel her walls tightening around my dick as she pulls up, before sliding back down. We kiss frantically as my hands wander up to her tiny breasts. Her own cock slides up and down my abs. Her green hair glistens in the floodlight shining through the window. She leans back and starts to bounce on my cock. Our eyes stay connected as she takes more and more of my dick. Moans escape her lips as she places her hands on my pecs and leans on me well she tilts her head back. Her pace picks up as her hips move to the rhythm of our own making.
She closes her eyes as she takes all of my cock up that tight ass of hers. Her hips move faster as our moans grow louder. I slide my hand up her body and wrap it around the back of her neck, pulling her down against me. Our lips collide as her ass gets stuffed with my dick. Her hips start to bounce furiously up and down as the intense pleasure of our bodies colliding burn through my veins.
Our tongues fight for each other. Her hands wrap around my neck and hold on to me tightly. The feel of her tight ass, sliding up and down my cock nearly sends me over the edge. She moans out as her cock shoots out a load all over my chest. She sits on my dick as the walls of her ass squeeze the life out of my rod. It’s the last straw that sends me falling over the edge as my own cock unleashes a torrent of my seed up inside her. I fill her ass as our moans ring out in unison. We climax together.
She holds onto me tightly as she tries to catch her breath, kissing me with such passion while her hand runs up the side of my face. I have her wrapped in my arms as our orgasms subside. She looks up into my eyes and kisses me.
After our passionate embrace, I pull out from her ass. “I should get going. I need to get home before my aunts realize I’m gone.”
“Okay,” she says, running circles on my cheek with her thumb. “I understand.”
She slowly slides off of me. “I put your backpack over next to the couch and I hid your motorcycle under a tarp.”
“Thank you,” I say.
“What are you doing tomorrow night?” she asks.
“I’ll be going out again. The meth house was a dead end. If what you say is true, someone needs to find those missing people,” I say as I pull out my spare clothes from my bag.
I take out a stack of cash and hand it to her. She looks up at me with an eyebrow raised. “You don’t need to give me your money.”
“It’s not my money, it’s from the meth house. It’s to pay for the mess I left,” I say. After a minute, she reluctantly takes it.
She puts on a long shirt as I get dressed. After I get my stuff, I make my way to the door. I turn to face her as she looks up at me. “Thank you… Please don’t tell anyone about this. We already had to move once because of it.”
“Of course… I’m not going to tell anyone. Just be safe,” she says as she steps closer. I turn my back and walk away.
I can feel her eyes on me as I grab my bike and take off. I hide my bike and stash my cash away in the shed hidden in the woods. I manage to sneak in and get cleaned off, giving me an hour before I have to be out for school. I collapse on my bed, reach over, grab the picture of my mother and pull it against my chest.
One day I will find the person who took you from this world and I will get justice.
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