Chapter Twelve

Joshua doesn't know how to fight.

And that's the reality.

He couldn't even figure out how he managed to injure three people in that certain incident.

And, right now, he's outnumbered. He has no idea how to fight how he's supposed to fight back.

No one seemed to be willing to help him or call for the adults either.

His vision was blurred, his face felt numb, and he knew he's not looking well.

He caught of a fist coming for his face again.

Should he just receive their beatings just to save Louise some trouble?

Tristan was stunned shortly. He didn't expect Joshua to be able to grab his arm before he could land that punch. He tried to retrieve his arm but he was rather pulled towards the victim.

Cracking sounds could be heard as Tristan landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Kristoff, who was long itching, finally found an opportunity to pull out his pocket knife. He skillfully released its blade, then stabbed towards Joshua.

As Joshua was still in motion, pulling Tristan to the ground and getting up swiftly, The blade pierced his face. It sliced through his cheek, leaving an ugly slit extending his mouth uneven, as the knife was pulled away from his flesh.

Kristoff didn't expect the outcome to be that great.

Joshua touched his throbbing cheek. It felt weird and sticky. Blood bathed his hand.

His body started trembling with overwhelming emotions. His breathing became ragged, dry throat causing audible groans.

What is he to do? His brows knitted.

He should runaway, he thought, and stay away from these people. Why do they bully others?

Joshua's eyes were bloodshot.

Probably because of the violence he's recieving, Jaq thought.

But-- wait... no!

It wasn't as simple as bloodshot eyes, they were glowing red!

Jaq was in a dilemma.

Should she ask for help to keep the situation from aggravating? Or should she just not mind to keep herself from getting involved?

Kids' cries were already polluting the air. And this alarmed some of the adults.

One of the cries came from El.

His mother came rushing to check what happened upon recognizing his voice.

She was pushed aside by a teenage boy when she reached the back door. She was surprised by beaten face she saw.

"What happened?" She asked around as she made her way. But no one cared to entertain her question.

When she saw El, she forgot about anything else.

El's cries pulled Joshua back to reality, but not in any special way. He just heard some noise that stirred his thoughts.

Tristan's arm, the other one this time, got injured. He was left on that spot, crying in pain.

Some people found it funny, though.

Roland and Kristoff chased Joshua, carelessly pushing aside anybody on the way. The others subconsciously stepped aside.

Joshua hastily opened the door he first saw and found himself in an empty small living room. He thought of hiding himself there.

When he was about to lock the door, it was forced open. He was hit on the face and was thrown to a distance.

"Lock the door!" Roland demanded.

Kristoff immediately did so, just in time before any adults could come in.

Knockings violated the door with shouts and yelling.

Myrna and Patrick were on the far corner of the house. They were engrossed in a conversation with a man of common interest.

They had noticed the commotion.

"Ahh... Don't worry about that. Kids here are normally troublesome. They cause such ruckus every now and then," the man said, sounding like he's reassuring them.

But the couple felt otherwise. What the man had said left them more bothered.

Joshua was slammed onto a tall shelf. He had hit his head hard, his thoughts hazy.

"Weren't you strong enough to take the three of us down?" Roland mocked.

Kristoff was grinning crazily behind him, swaying side to side, feet restless.

"Come on! Don't just lay useless there!" Roland was gritting with the thirst for more violence.

Without second thoughts, he kicked Joshua on his side, so hard that the shelf was shaken enough to spill something.

An unnoticed small bottle, cover loosened, on top of the shelf tumbled resulting from the shock. It rolled and fell off from that high place.

It made contact with Joshua's head, giving him a hard knock. The loose cap unfortunately cracked open and spilled its contents onto Joshua's scalp, streaming down his face.

Itchiness crawled on his scalp, spreading to his face, then neck. He was about to scratch himself when pain started eating him. Joshua screamed in frustration.

Pieces of his flesh got trapped under his fingernails as he tried to ease the physical torture by scratching.

Roland and Kristoff were left stunned by this scene, not knowing what to do.

Right then, someone finally got to unlock the door. The culprits then pushed their way through to escape.

No one had thought of seizing them.

Some of the men went in to assist the situation, quite shock of the Joshua's situation. Someone instinctively called for an ambulance.

Joshua was so overwhelmed by his suffering that he didn't get to pay any attention to his surroundings. He was wildly scratching himself, but no one dared to stop him from doing so due to suspicions that it must have been a kind of acid that gave him those burns.

No one noticed but tears have been falling from his eyes. Frustrations from his daily life, specially from when Louise was separated from him. The pressures of life on him that no one else could understand, and the fact that no one knows how to comfort him even himself but Louise.

Myrna finally managed to get through to the room. What she saw was way far from the worst case scenarios she had formed in her head.

Her eyes flickered as she had scanned Joshua.

Her son was crying in pain and yet she couldn't do anything to help him. People kept her from doing so.