"What's going on?"
At the sound of the commotion, Alan immediately lifted his head from his books, eyes darting around with curiosity. His focus on studying was completely gone.
Brian also closed his book and slowly stood up. Following the noise, he walked toward the window and recognized instantly that the sounds were coming from outside the library.
He pushed the window open slightly, and the previously muffled chaos became clear. Outside, along the path in front of the library entrance, a group of students had formed a circle, shouting and laughing loudly — clearly watching something unfold before them.
Brian's lips curled into a frown. From the insults and jeers alone, he didn't need to guess much further — this was clearly another case of school bullying.
But Brian had no interest in getting involved unless it directly affected him. He'd rather spend his time improving himself than waste energy dealing with other people's problems.
However, as he turned back toward his seat, he noticed something odd.
The three empty chairs beside him told him everything — Sarah, Dick, and Alan were gone.
His expression darkened instantly.
...
Thud!
Amir crashed hard onto the ground. The burning pain across his face made him clench his teeth to stop himself from crying out. Covering his head with his arms, he curled tightly on the floor, not daring to resist.
Because he knew the more he fought back, the worse they would make it for him. So he could only bury his hatred deep beneath his arms and silently endure — but inside, he swore revenge.
Standing over Amir was Tru , a white teenager around fifteen or sixteen years old, with long light-brown hair. His mouth was slightly swollen, and his face twisted with cold anger as he stared down at the black boy crouched on the ground.
He raised a hand and rubbed his lip, stunned. He hadn't expected the kid he used to torment without resistance to dare hit him — and actually hurt him.
"Tru, you're bleeding!"
"Yeah! Finish him off!"
Behind Tru stood six or eight boys of similar age, some sitting, others standing — all with an air of arrogance, looking like they thought themselves untouchable.
They weren't angry about their friend being injured — they were excited. Their mocking words poured like poison, fueling Tru's fury, eager to see what would happen next.
Hearing the cruel taunts behind him, Tru tightened his fists, his rage growing hotter by the second. The fact that a black kid had dared to strike him felt like a disgrace beyond measure.
His father was a deeply racist man, a firm believer in white supremacy. From childhood, Tru had been taught to despise all non-white races, especially African Americans — descendants of slaves.
Influenced by his family, Tru carried those same prejudices, though he was smart enough to hide them. In the old world, such views were widely condemned, so he kept his hatred under wraps, careful never to reveal it.
Without the apocalypse, he might have continued hiding his beliefs for life, avoiding any close contact with Black people altogether.
Yet now, living within the militarized university-turned-school, filled with endless lessons and physical training and little enjoyment, he found himself suffocating under its strict structure — though he knew better than to openly rebel.
As the saying goes: birds of a feather flock together. Eventually, he met others like himself — kids who shared his racial bias and disdain for the school. Together, they sought ways to entertain themselves.
They never attacked openly using race as an excuse. Instead, they provoked their targets, waiting for someone to lash out first. Then, the entire group would descend on them violently.
To avoid suspicion, they didn't target only Black students — they went after anyone considered weak, even whites. And each time, they chose spots with no surveillance, warning victims afterward not to speak up — or suffer even worse consequences.
If Brian had known about their tactics, he probably would've laughed. The school already knew everything that happened within its walls — they just didn't care enough to act.
But today, something unexpected occurred.
While Tru was enjoying the usual torment of Amir, expecting the same silent submission as always, Amir did something no one anticipated — he struck back.
A cruel smile spread across Tru's face. He took slow steps toward Amir, still lying on the ground, then crouched low and whispered — just loud enough for the boy to hear:
"You damn nigger... I remember your parents died trying to protect you, right? Hahahaha... What a shame. They gave their lives for you — such useless trash. They deserved to die. Otherwise, seeing how pathetic you are, wouldn't they have just crushed you while you were still in the womb?"
"Hahahaa—!"
Tru rose to his feet with a maniacal laugh. His voice had been low enough that only Amir heard the words — the rest of the crowd simply looked confused, unable to understand why he suddenly burst into laughter.
Only his friends caught the meaning behind his words and exchanged knowing glances before joining in with their own cruel chuckles.
"Ahh! I'll kill y—"
Amir, hearing Tru's words, snapped. His eyes burned red with rage. He roared hoarsely and tried to push himself up to strike back.
Tru, still laughing, hadn't let his guard down. As soon as he saw Amir move, he stomped down hard on the boy's head, forcing him flat against the ground again.
The onlookers watched indifferently, none stepping forward to stop the cruelty. After all, who in their right mind would risk trouble to help a complete stranger?
But among the crowd, several Black students watched Amir's suffering with clenched jaws and furious expressions. Seeing someone of their own race humiliated by a white bully stirred something deep within them. Some rolled up their sleeves, ready to intervene.
Yet ultimately, they hesitated. Still children, they instinctively feared the sheer number of attackers. When no one else stepped forward, they wavered, then decided to stay quiet.
"Hmph... You think you can challenge me..."
Seeing Amir struggle under his foot, Tru felt a surge of dominance — a sick sense of satisfaction as he crushed someone weaker beneath him. He dragged his shoe across Amir's head, continuing his verbal assault.
But before he could finish speaking, Amir suddenly grabbed his ankle and pulled with all his strength.
"Ahhh—!"
Caught completely off guard by the sudden force, Tru lost balance and fell backward with a heavy thud, pain shooting through his spine as he hit the ground hard.
Before Tru could recover, Amir shot up, pounced on top of him, and pinned him down. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Tru's face as he raised his fist and began punching wildly. This time, he wasn't holding back — he was done with silence.
The memory of his parents' deaths had always been a festering wound. He had buried it deep, too afraid to face it. But now, that wound had been torn open once more.
Even if these guys outnumbered him, he had to beat them down.
The sudden reversal left the surrounding students momentarily stunned. A brief silence followed, but it quickly shattered into loud cheers and excitement.
"Ahhh! Help me! Why are you all just standing there?!"
As punches rained down on his face, Tru instinctively shielded his head, desperately trying to counterattack. But every time he attempted to fight back, Amir's blows only intensified, forcing him to keep his arms tight around his skull.
After enduring countless strikes, he finally couldn't take it anymore and screamed at his shocked friends:
"Damn it! Are you here to watch or to help?!"
"F***ing hell! You asked for it!"
At Tru's desperate call, the bystanders snapped out of their trance. One of the larger boys cursed angrily and rushed forward, kicking Amir hard in the side.
One by one, the others joined in, surrounding Amir and mercilessly stomping on him.
"Keep hitting him! Kill him!"
After being rescued, Tru struggled to get up, his face bruised and bloodied, utterly humiliated.
Pointing at Amir still on the ground, he shouted furiously:
"Finish him off!"
Just then, a girl's voice cut sharply through the air:
"Enough! You're going way too far!"
Everyone froze.
That single voice silenced the crowd like a whip cracking through the air. No one moved.