14***Bullies

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"S*** d*** that f****** prick! He wants to come mess with my deal, he gets f*****!!!" a deranged young man shouts out in rage, screaming at the top of his lungs!

"Oi boss, calm down! This is Fred you're talking about! He won't let you be if he finds out you've been talking s*** around his back.

"Shut the f*** up!" the youth yelled, throwing a punch at the lakey that spoke, "I don't give a f*** it's that damned **** Fred's falt anyway! I don't care if he's my boss! When I grab his neck I'm gonna... I'm gonna...!!! AARRRRRGHHH!!!!" A trash can was felled by a swift kick from the youth, causing it to roll down the street noisily!

"Damn it!I wish that goody two-shoes nerd was here so I could wail on him!!!" he shouted, causing everyone to give him dirty looks as he walked by the stores of the town.

"Boss, what are you crazy? Nynn is protected by the old people on the west side of the town! They won't let you get away with just a slap on the wrist if you mess with him next time!" A bespeckled boy broke in, but to his own demise!

"Don't you think I know that 4 eyes for brains!!!" the youth barked, bashing in the speaker's face!!!

"Damn it! Beating up you pansies isn't working! What the heck are you all worth then?! Huh?!!!!" He barked at them with spit flying, making them flinch in fear before he continued his walk.

'Man, if only I had a....' he started thinking to himself before being interrupted by someone bursting out of the door of the convenience store!

"Wait, isn't that...?" one of the lackeys started. Who they saw was none other than Cenus rushing to get to the throne!!!

"Heh. Come on boys, let's go get ourselves some snacks with our dear old friend." The youth said, his words filled with venom!

"Yap, Yap, Yap!!!"

"Eh? Who's dog is this?!" He shouted out again, this time with no one there to answer with a disgusted stare, as there wasn't a soul in the vicinity!

"Change of plans fellas, we're having some fun with this meat!"

Nylon

"Yap, yap!!!"

"Shut the f*** up damn mutt!" That outburst was swiftly followed up by a muffled *thump* and shortly after that, the sound of something crashing into a metal stand. The yapping was replaced by soft whimpering.

As the events transpired, only one thought ran through my mind,

'Crash!!!'

There was no one in the store right now, even the clerk went to take his break soon after giving Cenus the bathroom key, so there was no one nearby to witness this or the the following sequence of movement I was about to execute!

The doors parted for me as I bolted, holding no intention to stop. With the momentum, I tackled a boy who was closest to the door. He went down with a *oof* when my head successfully connected with his gut. I shot up from off the ground and took a look around for Crash.

What I found was an overturned newspaper stand, and a trail of blood leading to a mangled version of my puppy!

"Cra....oof" Before the word could leave my mouth I felt a sharp stab of pain to my side and my body went flying with the kick.

"What, you want beef with us b*tch?!!" Its at this time I look up and saw just who I was dealing with.

"Roden?!"

"Well well, if it isn't little Nini." said Roden Stark, the school bully. I use "school bully" for lack of a better term. This block of a boy actually has a gang, filled to the brim with the riffraff of the town. What makes it worse is that this gang actually has some power over the town and he has family connections in the local school and police station!

The only reason why I wouldn't call him a gang leader is because he limits himself to the petty stuff like mass pick-pocketing, pranks, corner store heists, and, of course, what they consider as "establishing dominance" (a.k.a. bullying).

Now normally I would run out of their as fast as possible. Why? Because: a) I'm what you would call a scrawny kid who could easily get beaten up by any human being over the age of 7, and b) I don't really have the best history with these guys. Let's just say it has something to do with a carton of milk and the ring leader's $500 Dexters.

But normal seemed to have left me out to dry when I bought BMO.

"Okay mutt," he says while facing Crash, "I'll deal with you after I deal with this mutt." If looks could kill, he would have been dead the moment he said that.

"Leave my dog alone, jerk!" I spat at him, my throat feeling sore as I coughed up blood. What the heck am I doing! I've only know this pup for a day and yet, here I am playing the hero!!! Yet still, I held my ground.

He looked at me then looked at my new dog, a smile crawling up on his face. "Ah, he was you're dog." he said, his words filled with the creepy energy of a serial killer! "Well then, if that's the case...." He bent down to grab the closest thing to him, a jack, and held the dog down by the neck.

I felt my world slow down. Without a second thought I made to bolt after him.

"Hold him!" Roden commanded to his other two lackeys and in no time, I was restrained and forced to watch, the gruesome scene I knew was to come.

"Wait, no!!! Please stop!!!" I called as he raised the jack over his head in preparation for a strike!

"Consider this as payback Denson!" He yelled as he brought the jack down hard and fast on the body beneath him. A sickening *thump* echoed in my ear, drawing tears from my eyes.

As soft whimper sounded from Roden's grasp!

'Crash! Your still alive!!!' I thought doing a mental victory dance. My victory was short lived though as I realized that if I could hear him, then that means that, being the closest one to him in the first place, Roden could hear him as well!

"Oh, looks like he still has some life in him." He said as he raised the jack again for another strike!

"Crash no!!!" I tried to break free but I was too weak!

*thump* "Awrrr!!!!" Whimpering starts again, but this time the block head has no intention of stopping! Why does it always have to be like this?! If only I was stronger, I could save him. But now thanks to my weakness, Crash is going to die!!!

'Just like with dad.'

I felt the flashbacks start again and felt my mind fall into darkness again. I went numb all over, barely registering my surroundings.

What I DID notice though was a different sounding *thump* resounding in my ears, followed by two, much closer, skull cracking thumps which somehow resulted in the pressure on my arms mere moments ago disappearing.

Then out of nowhere, I felt a slap across my face, so sharp that in pulled me out of my remorse and back into the land of the living.

"Oi Nynn! You still in there?!" Cenus called to me.

"What happened?" I asked, the sting of his slap still evident.

"I saved your **s for you. Sorry I'm late though....." He answered, only to get cut off when I bolted up all of a sudden.

"Crash! Where's Crash?" I asked him frantically.

"Oh was that your dog? He's right over there." The moment he pointed to his location, which was right beside a groaning Roden, I ran over to him, snatching him up gently cradling his tiny body in my arms. he had a cloth over him

"Crash are you okay?" I asked.... like would give me an answer.

He lifted up his little head weakly, slowly sticking out his tongue to lick my hand, his tail twitching slightly.

I felt tears of relief threaten my eyes, but I knew that now was not the time for it.

"Cenus," I turned to my best friend for assistance.

"You can take my bike," he answered, already knowing my request and having no intention of stopping me. "but I'm taking you to the doctor afterwards. Deal?"

I was already on the bike and pedaling when he said that, shouting a "Deal!" over my shoulder.

I hate the real world. People die, and when they do you can't do anything about it.

And in the real world, I'm not strong enough to do anything to stop it.