A young teenage boy with black hair was walking down the school's hallway. By his side were three young kids—two boys and a girl. They were walking closely to him, all three of them taking each of their steps carefully. They were new to this school, so they were afraid.
The girl, by the name of Amanda, was walking on the right side of this boy, who went by the name of Kyle Matter. She was so jumpy; whenever she saw students walking in her direction, she'd get shy and hide behind Kyle.
For Kyle, it wasn't like Amanda and the two boys. He wasn't new to the school—this was his second year, which made him a sophomore student.
"You know, no one will hurt you here, Amanda. This is a safe place," Kyle reassured her.
Amanda felt relieved after hearing those words coming from Kyle, who she really looked up to and took as a big brother. But Amanda wasn't the only one who was feeling a little jumpy and scared—so did the boys. They were twins, Michael and Mitchell. They were a little bit younger compared to both Kyle and Amanda.
They were walking on the other side. The same thing that Amanda did—when they saw someone come in their direction, they would hide behind Kyle and hold on close to him.
Kyle was walking in front, which meant that he was the lead, and every student he saw he smiled and greeted nicely. Most of the students did the same to him too.
He stopped. "Okay, guys, I know that you are all new students here, but there's nothing to be afraid of. Like I promised your sister Amanda, this is a safe space, and I give you my word—no one will hurt you. I'll protect you just like I always do at home." Kyle crouched and looked at them.
Kyle's words did more than assure them—they gave them strength and hope that everything would be okay. These four kids were all from the same orphanage that goes by the name St. Pride's Home for the Love and Worthy.
"So, you really promise us that no one will try to hurt us?" Mitchell asked.
Compared to the other three, Mitchell was more obvious in showing that he was still a child.
"Hey, I promise," Kyle closed his eyes and gave him a gentle smile.
After seeing him smile, all three kids gave him a warm hug. Then they all continued on their way. Kyle was taking each of them to their designated classes.
A static sound came from the speakers, and a man's voice came alive.
"Kyle Matter, would you please report to the principal's office," the principal called.
"Okay, guys, I'm needed somewhere. But if you don't mind, why don't all of you go find your lockers, and I'll be there as soon as I'm done, okay?" Kyle handed all three of them pieces of paper with their locker numbers written on them.
"Hurry back," Amanda raised her pinky.
"I'll be back in the speed of sound—before you can even introduce yourself to the new friends you'll make." Kyle locked pinkies with Amanda and left.
He went through the teacher's lounge and took two doughnuts and coffee.
"Is this for the big guy?" Kyle asked the receptionist.
"You just saved me. I'm really not looking forward to seeing him, especially this morning. You know, I'm a little bit troubled," the receptionist whispered.
"Oh, so you went wild like you planned? Well, in that case, where's my share?" Kyle joked.
"Just go inside," the receptionist chased him away jokingly, then answered the phone that was ringing.
"Knock, knock, knock! I heard you summoned me," Kyle let himself in.
A beefy man, maybe in his late forties or fifties—it was hard to tell—was sitting behind his desk. From the looks of it, he had just finished eating cookies and his first coffee.
On his desk, there was a nameplate that read: Principal P. Stevens.
"Oh, Matter, come in, my boy," Principal Stevens welcomed him warmly.
Kyle first placed the doughnuts and the coffee on top of the desk before sitting down.
"Oh, this is yours from the reception. Mandy is busy taking calls, so she was unable to bring it to you, so she asked me," Kyle said as he got settled in.
"Really? You know, I think she went out with that punk, no-good boyfriend of hers again. She might have committed a sin, and she doesn't want me to find out," Principal Stevens leaned in to whisper to Kyle.
Kyle pretended not to know anything and acted clueless. "What? No, she couldn't."
In Principal Stevens's office, there were portraits of different religions—from Christianity to Buddhism—showing that he was a very religious man.
"Anyway, your mother, Sister Prudence, called and informed me that you were bringing three new students," Principal Stevens said, offering one of his doughnuts to Kyle.
"She's not my mother, and yes, I brought three new students to join our school. Their names are Amanda, Michael, and Mitchell, and they got transferred from their old school to here because they are prodigies," Kyle said coldly.
"Forgive me. How are things at home?" Principal Stevens's voice was low.
"I'm still here and alive, so that's a good thing," Kyle responded.
After that, the room felt cold and awkward all of a sudden.
"Anyway, if you don't mind, can you tell me more about these new prodigies of ours?" Principal Stevens tried to break the ice.
"Well, what can I say? All I can say about them is—" Kyle was cut off by Mandy.
"Dad—I mean, Principal Stevens—there seems to be a commotion in the cafeteria," Mandy reported.
"Do you know what it's about?" Principal Stevens asked.
"Can't really say, but from my experience, it's safe to say it involves you-know-who of you-know-which investor," Mandy answered.
"Okay, thanks. I'll go check it out." Principal Stevens pressed the end call button.
"Now, if you don't mind, why don't we finish our conversation another time? I have something to take care of."
Principal Stevens looked at Kyle, but he was nowhere to be found—the chair was just spinning around on its own.
Kyle was rushing to the cafeteria. He didn't care about hearing much; all he cared about was making sure that his siblings were okay.
He burst in and saw a commotion—a crowd of students surrounding whatever was happening.
"You better tell me, kid, what are you doing in my school? And aren't you a little young to be in high school?" a boy shouted inside the circle of the crowd.
"We were transferred here!" another voice said weakly.
"No! Leave my brother alone!" a girl's voice cried.
"Shut up!" The boy slapped the girl.
Kyle's heart sank, because those voices were familiar—and he knew them. Those voices belonged to Mitchell and Amanda.
He knew something was going on, and they were crying for help.
Kyle rushed in and pushed everyone out of the way to check if they were all right. Upon his arrival, he saw Michael unconscious on the floor, Mitchell all bruised up, and Amanda crying while touching her cheek.
He looked at the person who had done this—a teenage boy who was a year older than Kyle.
"What are you looking at, orphan?" The boy was so cocky.
Kyle clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He walked toward the boy and kicked him in the chest. The kick was so loud that it sounded more like a thunderous storm than a kick.
Kyle's kick was so powerful that it sent the boy flying. Principal Stevens and Mandy, along with the other teachers, walked in, and all they saw were students afraid and the boy unconscious against where lunch counter.
The next thing—Kyle, Amanda, Michael, and Mitchell all walked into their home. Inside, it looked more like a scene from a haunted house than an orphanage.
Waiting for him was a scary, mean-looking lady. She didn't say much—she just slapped Kyle five times on both sides of his cheeks.
"But Sister, it wasn't his fault!" Amanda tried to explain.
"Shut up! All of you go to your room, now!" the sister shouted.
Amanda, Michael, and Mitchell all jumped and were now trembling. They looked at Kyle, who looked at them and said, "It's okay, go. I'll be fine."
They went upstairs.
The sister pulled Kyle by his ear and took him to the office.
"Strip now, and don't let me ask you again!" The sister was now whipping a whip.
Kyle did exactly that. He stripped, then faced the other direction, and the sister just let it all out with the whips.
Kyle was then sent into a small room that only had a single bed, with an old and smelly mattress and a bucket that smelled like something had died in there.
"You will stay here for two days without food or anything, until you've thought about your actions!" The sister slammed the door and locked it from outside.
Kyle tried to put back his clothes, but his back was so bruised that he had a hard time wearing his tee.
He went and sat on the bed and waited, but eventually, he got tired and slept.
In the middle of the night, Kyle woke up because he felt like he was getting burnt alive.
"Why is it hot in here?" He was confused.
It wasn't like he could open a window or something. This room looked more like solitary confinement than a room—the window was way up there, small, and had bars.
All that Kyle could do was take off his tee. Blood covered his back, and the pain from the scars of the whips was gruesome, but he managed to bear it.
As if that wasn't the worst part, his stomach was grumbling. He hadn't had food for more than three days—with these added days, who knew how long it was now.
Just as he was feeling his grumbling stomach, something appeared in front of him. First, a burst of fire came alive, and as it toned down, a floating flaming skull head appeared.
"What in the Hail Mary?" Kyle backed up.
"There you are," the flaming skull said with an otherworldly voice.
Then it opened its mouth wide and swallowed Kyle's head whole.