Thursday, 31st, 2012
Time-11:20am. MICKY
My hands trembled for the first time in 3 years as I stared at the gallow, particularly who was being brought over it. They were not using trapdoors, they wanted him to struggle before death. I don't know how I'm supposed to watch this....watch my best friend die in front of me and powerless to stop it.
Those stupid detectives....those lying Lawyers and that blinded Judge....The thought of them made my blood boil....
....I want to END them....
They made the wrong judgement, punishing only one of the many people involved in this cult scandal.
If only I had reported all of this those years ago, would it still end like this?
The noose was placed around Meffi's neck but he didn't look up...he looked so pale and skinny and I could tell his fever was back and high. My phone beeped just as the executioner was pulling up the rope, a message from the stupid detective.
[Micheal, we found out the truth....we are almost there, we must put a stop to that execution] D. Whyte.
Reading that, my eyes found my friend jerking and dangling around, I cover my mouth with my hands as I shook my head from side to side. The way the frustration written on his face turned to surrender.....his jerking reduced and he looked at me, closed his eyes and..tears dropped.
My heart skipped, where was the detective.....what should I do?.
Just then, the sound of screeching tyres made my heart run wild with expectation and hope and truly, it was the stupid detective Whyte and his troup.
The detective came, saw and pulled out his gun.....'no, no, no...he is very bad at aiming'
Now I didn't think Meffi would make it but the detective proved me wrong by aiming perfectly well at the noose which seemed about, probably 79 feets from him.
Meffi fell to the platform and I rushed to help him up....together with his mother, we took him to the hospital while the detectives stayed to explain to the executioner and Lawyers what that was all about.
We got to the hospital and Meffi was taken into an emergency room while his mum and I waited outside...in the waiting room, memories of Meffi complaints about going to the hospital flooded my brain. 'if he were conscious, he never would have agreed to come here'
Sorry....you must be wondering what the hell is going on here? Well, it started 3 years ago, when we newly got into Elite Academy as Freshmans.
Monday, 5th September, 2009
Time – 8:17am.
I stepped through the school gates and spotted Meffi walking in a few seconds after me.
I won't lie — I was excited. Having a friend on the first day made everything feel less overwhelming.
We took a cab together to the 10th District. The school was huge… ridiculously huge. While wandering around the block trying to locate our first class, we ran into Ace...the same guy who had almost attacked us on registration day.
Surprisingly, he helped.
He showed us to our class and even exchanged contacts, telling us to call him after lessons so he could give us a proper tour of the Academy.
Meffi was sceptical.
Truth be told… so was I, but I acted normal. I assured him everything was fine.
And for three weeks, everything really was fine.
Until they came....or rather, we went.
It was a Friday. We had a late class and closed around 4 p.m. Meffi and I had just stepped out of the classroom when his phone buzzed.
It was Ace.
He wanted both of us to meet him at the boys' hostel.
We didn't think much of it. For the past three weeks, he had been nothing but friendly.
So we went.
Had we known…we never would have trusted him.
We never would have even made friends with him.
The boys' hostel was massive — wide enough to hold two two-storey buildings, a football field, a swimming pool, and several other recreational spots.
Ace led us toward a secluded garden tucked into one corner of the hostel grounds. It was quiet. Quiet!!.
No one was there except Ace… and his books.
He started talking about his assignments, explaining how we could help him with it, but something felt wrong.
My stomach tightened.
My ears strained, picking up sounds that didn't quite exist.
Why would a senior, two years ahead of us, need freshmen to help with his assignment when he had classmates and friends?
I could have sworn I heard footsteps.
Soft.
Like someone walking on their toes.
Everything Champ ever taught me screamed one thing.
This isn't right.
"Ace," I said calmly, though my muscles were already tightening, "did it ever occur to you that this place is too secluded? It could be dangerous if you're alone."
"Yeah, it did," he replied casually. "That's why I'm never here alone. I'm usually always with friends and—"
The words hit me instantly.
I'm never here alone.
That meant we weren't alone.
There were people in the bushes.
I stood abruptly, scanning the shadows.
"Micky, are you okay?" I heard Meffi ask as he stood up too.
He must've sensed the shift in me because he started looking around as well.
Ace laughed.
"What? You think there are people hiding in the shadows?"
"We never can tell," I answered.
He stopped laughing.
His face went serious — but the smirk stayed.
"Actually," he said slowly, "you're not wrong."
One....
Two.....
Three.....
Seven.
Seven boys stepped out of the bushes.
Dressed in dark clothing. Masks covering their faces, each mask carried the same symbol.
A wolf badge.
We were surrounded and from the way they moved…I could tell they were armed.
Fortunately, we weren't really harmed that day.
But that encounter...that was the beginning.
And somehow…It led us to the gallow.
That night, I realized I was being followed. I didn't know how many people there were, but I made sure to stay where there were crowds. As long as people were around, I felt safer.
The next week, Meffi told me he'd noticed the same thing, people following him too.
"I'm reporting Ace to the school authorities," I said.
Meffi let out a small laugh. "You're brave, Micky… but I don't think this is just normal school bullying."
"You think so too?"
"Well… they were dressed the same. Same masks, same symbol. That can't be coincidence. Feels like a group."
I leaned closer. "I've heard cults are common in universities. For all we know… they could be part of one."
Meffi went quiet for a moment. "If that's true, then we need to be careful. People like that are dangerous."
I don't even know why I decided to keep the cult suspicion between just me and Meffi. But a few days later, something about him started to change.
He skipped school for two days straight. When he finally showed up that Thursday, his head was wrapped in bandages.
"Christ, Meffi, what happened to you?"
He smiled. "Nothing serious. I fell into a pit Tuesday night."
"What? Thank God you're okay."
That was when I noticed the gaming glove on his left hand. I didn't think much of it at first.
But after that, he avoided eye contact. Every question felt like something he was trying to dodge. And when he answered, it never sounded right.
"Did you at least go to the hospital?" I asked.
"I didn't. I hate hospitals. Besides… my mum's a doctor."
"…Right. Okay."
Another time I asked, "Are those guys still following you?"
He hesitated, looking anywhere but at me. "Yeah… they are."
I frowned. "That's weird. They stopped following me two days ago."
"Oh… yeah. Same here actually. I forgot."
He smiled again, and somehow, it bothered me.
One afternoon I touched his forehead. "Bro, you're burning up, You've got a fever."
He quickly pulled away. "I'm fine. Just my medical condition."
"And you've been wearing that glove for—"
"Yeah," he cut in immediately. "New style. I'm keeping it."
Every answer felt forced. Insincere. And he never took that glove off. Never let anyone touch it.
The one time I accidentally brushed against that hand, he flinched hard like it hurt. When I asked, he just said he was fine.
But nothing felt fine anymore, it started feeling like he was avoiding me… like he didn't want me to care.
Then one day in the locker room, we ran into Ace.