The hallway was silent now.
Not literally—students still whispered, doors still creaked—but for Nuela, the world had narrowed into a vacuum. The kind that happens when something breaks inside you.
One moment, she was confessing her feelings. The next, Henry was gone—and the bullies had followed like bloodthirsty wolves.
She hadn't even seen him move.
Just the look in his eyes: fear. Raw and real. Then he vanished like smoke.
And now she was just standing there, hand outstretched to nothing.
Her fingers trembled.
"Nuela..." someone whispered beside her, but she didn't answer.
"Shit, they're going to hurt him again"
She snapped back to life, pushing through the crowd of students who had begun to murmur again. Gossip. Judgment. Laughter. Like the last few seconds hadn't just shifted the ground beneath her feet.
"Henry" Nuela stuttered as her footsteps quickened. Past the lockers, past the teachers who didn't care. Her mind raced with scattered thoughts.
She reached the stairwell and paused, gripping the railing to steady herself. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat.
"Think, Nuela. Where would they go?"
She tried to picture the school's back exit—the one near the art wing. It led into a series of alleys behind the school. A maze of forgotten corners and rusted fences. Teachers didn't patrol there. No cameras. Just shadows and silence.
"Exactly where they'll take him to"
She bolted down the stairs.
.....
Meanwhile...
"Move! Excuse me!" Henry yelled, pushing past students at the hallway's entrance.
"Watch it, Henry!" a girl with crutches snapped as he bumped into her.
"I'm sorry, Pricy," he called over his shoulder, barely slowing down.
"You can't run, Henry!" Jack's voice thundered across the hall. The gang had spotted a shortcut.
"Why do they keep doing this?" Pricy muttered, trying to stand with help.
"Don't ask. Just... don't let them hear you," her friend whispered with a glance over her shoulder. "They're monsters."
Henry burst out the school doors and sprinted for the gate, heart pounding with desperation, hoping he could escape the bullies this time.
*Whack!*
A fist caught his jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Rough hands grabbed him, dragging him into the alley beside the school.
"You thought you could run?" Jack sneered, kicking Henry hard in the stomach.
Henry gasped, curling in on himself.
Laughter erupted from the gang.
"Weak as ever," one taunted, stomping on his chest.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Henry choked out, blood on his lips.
Jack crouched, his face inches from Henry's. "You're the perfect punching bag. And now you've got guts to chase after my girl?" He laughed—a sound without mercy.
Another kick. Henry coughed blood.
"Jack, ease up, man. You'll kill him," one of the bullies mumbled.
"I'd do it if I could," Jack muttered. "He's a freak."
Henry's body screamed, but his hand reached—a brick.
Slowly, he stood, hiding it behind his arm.
Jack grabbed his collar. "What are you gonna do? Stare me to death?"
Henry swing his arms
*CRACK!*
The brick shattered across Jack's face. He hit the ground, howling.
Henry took over the advantage and ran for his life.
......
So That's brings us to where we're.
.....
Henry didn't look back. His legs moved on instinct, pain radiating from every part of his body.
His side throbbed. Blood soaked through his shirt. But still—he ran.
"I can't stop. Not now"
He stumbled toward the end of the alley, the sound of his own ragged breath louder than anything else.
Sunlight broke through as he neared the open road.
"Just a few more steps."
"He hasn't shot… Thank God he hasn't—"
Without looking, Henry hurled himself onto the street.
---
The truck came too fast.
Its horn blared, tires screeching—
THUD.
The impact flung him like a rag doll. His body twisted midair, then slammed into the pavement with a sound that stole the breath from every witness.
He didn't move.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then came the gasps. The shouts. Footsteps rushing forward.
Henry's eyes fluttered, barely open.
The sky was blurry. His chest barely rose.
"So this is it... This is how it ends".
His mouth moved, but no sound followed.
Then—darkness.
Jack and his gang skidded to a halt at the road's edge.
Jack froze, the gun still in his hand.
"Shit," one of the bullies whispered. "He's dead."
"The truck… It hit him."
Panic crackled in the air.
"Let's go. Let's go now. No one saw us"
"No jail, man," Jack muttered. "We weren't here."
They scattered, disappearing into the other side of the alley.
---
Nuela arrived seconds later—just in time to see them vanish.
Jack. The gun. The others.
Then she heard it—the sirens.
She turned the corner and her breath caught.
There, in the street, was Henry.
Blood pooled beneath him. His limbs splayed wrong. His face—still.
"No…"
She sprinted forward, falling to her knees beside him.
"Henry! Stay with me!"
Her hands hovered helplessly over his body, trembling.
"Please—don't do this. Don't leave me."
The paramedics arrived. Strong hands pulled her back.
She screamed. Fought to stay close.
But Henry was already being lifted into the ambulance.