"Ah…!"
The darkness of night blanketed a small alleyway as Logan stood on his knees and roared. Right on cue, lightning crackled across the sky, soon accompanied by the loud boom of thunder. Tears freely fell with the rain droplets, masking the resentful and despondent expression on his face.
Logan fell on his hands as he sobbed, his spirit crushed. So much of his aspirations depended on his awakening; it counted on the fact that he would awaken a powerful ability. Long had he dreamed of proving that hateful woman wrong.
And yet…
'Damn it!' Tears continued streaming down his face, his eyes closed, and his teeth gritted. 'Is this it for me? Am I really that useless?!'
Today was the grand day of his ability awakening; the day he was supposed to feel the flow of essence through his body, stimulate his physical body and awaken a powerful ability. He was supposed to be one of the special ones!
But things had taken an unexpected turn when he was awakened with no ability at all. Logan felt his body change; that much was certain, but without an ability to accompany it, he would be stuck as one of the many enhanced humans out there.
Stronger than the average human but below the truly awakened.
How was he supposed to face everyone after what he had done? He hated running out of school, but what choice did he have? Logan had pissed off so many people. And he knew… they won't let it go.
He had only managed to slip out of school because of the storm. Logan could not face the gleeful looks in his schoolmates' eyes; he could not stomach the humiliation of knowing he would be nothing after arrogantly parading the school grounds for three years unimpeded.
He was doomed to be hunted by the very people he mistreated, mocked and bullied whenever they crosspathed. How the tides had changed. Logan stared into the night sky and let out a self-deprecating laugh, raindrops streaming down his face.
"That woman might have been right…"
"Ooh… what woman might that be?"
A shudder ran down Logan's spine as he heard a round of mocking laughs from behind. He gritted his teeth and slowly stood up, soaked from head to toe. Turning around, he met the scornful eyes of four guys — his schoolmates.
"What do you morons want?" Logan snarled, a fire burning in his chest.
"Come on, man. We're all friends here. Isn't that right?"
Another round of mocking laughs echoed. A flash of lightning briefly lit up the sky once more, lighting up their hateful expressions. Logan wanted nothing more than to smash their heads into the surrounding walls.
But things were not the same as before.
The hateful morons would have never had the courage to stand up to him like this. With their awakened abilities and enhanced strength, however, they were more than capable of putting Logan in his place.
"Cut the crap, Philip. We both know why you're here." Logan growled.
"Hehe… Why the rush, Logan?" Philip snickered. "We've always had some kind of interaction over the years. They might have been unpleasant for us, but an interaction nonetheless. This here is no different. So relax… We're getting there."
"Imagine our surprise when we came by your class, only to learn you had made an early exit. That is so unlike you, Logan. What changed?" Logan's gaze shifted to Philip's left, where another moron by the name Jackson chipped in.
"Enough nonsense!" Logan swept his hand to the side, his chest rising and falling. "Come at me if you dare…"
He might not have awakened any power, but he was not going to take their nonsense lying down. Even a cornered rat would lash out when threatened. Logan ground his teeth, drowning in self-loathing. He had just likened his situation to a rat!
How the mighty had fallen!
A moment of silence passed, the only sound coming from the splashing of raindrops on the pavement. Lightning and thunder would crackle every once in a while. Philip and his friends exchanged looks before turning their attention back to Logan.
"Since you're in such a hurry to die, we'll oblige." Philip sneered. "But Logan, we wouldn't have found ourselves in this situation if you had only known your place. An orphan like you had no business acting all high and mighty."
As soon as those words left his lips, he and his friends closed in on Logan.
Clenching both fists, Logan crouched slightly and dashed to meet his opponents, his steps splashing water as he ran. Philip was the first to reach Logan, his speed making him grit his teeth bitterly.
Logan threw a blow forward, aiming to bash Philip's face in before he could do anything. But he had underestimated the speed of a truly awakened person.
"Pathetic!"
Philip sneered as he easily veered his head to the side, avoiding the blow while directing a right fist into Logan's face. Logan groaned as the blow knocked his head back. He instantly tasted the sharp metallic taste of blood, a wave of vertigo hitting him a second later.
"You should have skipped town when you had the chance!"
Before Logan could recover from the blow, he felt the world overturn, a sharp pain flashing through his legs. With a splash, Logan fell on his back with a heavy thud, hurting his head in the process.
He almost lost consciousness, but the bastards were just beginning.
"How does it feel to be on the receiving end, Logan?!" Philip's laugh echoed along the crackle of thunder. "Did you ever stop to think you'd end up like this?! Screw you!"
They ganged up on him and unleashed a flurry of blows and kicks. Logan was forced to close his eyes and shield his head. He refused to give the bastards the satisfaction of hearing him wail. A heavy kick to the stomach caused him to gasp and cough, spitting blood.
His body skidded across the wet ground, crashing into a wall. Logan felt like he was drowning in a world of pain, blood dripping from his mouth and nose. Struggling to see through the pain and bleeding cuts, Logan glared at his assailants with vengeance.
"What's with the look, Logan?" Philip snickered, looking confident. "Nothing's going to change the outcome. In case you haven't realised, you're all alone."