Chapter 15: The Facts, Part 2 (1)

Chapter 15: The Facts, Part 2

Lying is like trying to cover the sun with your hands. You cannot cover up the shine unless you use it to cover your eyes.

-unknown-

Luna was hugged by Luan, who was crying inconsolably, prompting her worried parents and sisters to approach her.

"Luan, daughter, what happened? Why are you crying like that?" Rita asked.

Luan turned her face away from Luna's shoulder to see her mother. Her eyes were puffy and red. Which means she was already crying before she got home.

"Mom. Benny... he... he..." Luan ran to her mother and hugged her tightly, crying into her chest.

"What's wrong with you, daughter? What did that bastard do to you?" Mr. Loud actually fears the worst when it comes to one of his daughters crying.

"Lynn. Go make some tea for your sister."

"Yes mom"

"Hot chocolate is better. This will make her happy. I'll make it." Mr. Loud began heating the milk while his wife and daughters accompanied Luan to the sofa to rest.

Once the chocolate was ready, Luan drank it while recovering.

"I'm feeling better. Thanks, Dad."

"Now, Luan, tell us. What happened?" Lori asked.

Luan took a deep breath and began telling her story.

"It all happened like this"

-flashback-

In the city of Forest Bell, a bus arrives at the station. Luan came down with a suitcase. The girl's face showed great joy and excitement at being able to spend a few days with her beloved boyfriend.

Luan took a taxi to the community of secluded arrolos del ocazo, where Benny's uncle lived. Although she had never seen them in person, Benny had told her a lot about them and where they lived. Even though Benny told her she didn't need to go there, she couldn't stop thinking about her boyfriend and how he could brighten his sick uncle's day. Moreover, if she spent some time with her boyfriend, she would forget those thoughts she had about her brother.

The taxi finally arrived at the retirement community. After paying for the ride, Luan headed inside the gated neighborhood.

The girl arrived at the easily recognizable house, where Benny had shown her in the past some pictures of what her uncle's house looked like. Luan's heart was full of hope of seeing her boyfriend again, thinking of everything they could do in the week they left on vacation.

Luan rang the bell and waited for someone to open the door. After a minute, the door opened, and on the other side there was a nice-looking old lady who greeted her with a warm smile.

"Good morning, are you Mrs. Vera?"

"Yes, young lady. And who are you?"

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Luan Loud."

"Oh, are you one of the girls who volunteers in the neighborhood community?"

That confused Luan. "Er...no ma'am, I am" Before she could answer, Madam Vera placed her hand on Luan's back and invited her to come.

"Come, dear, come and have some tea. Martin, my love, the volunteer girl is here."

"Mrs. Vera, I'm telling you, I'm not..."

At that moment, an old man was descending the stairs with the help of an installed automatic chair. "Hello, young lady. Have you come to read us the Bible or help us around the house? We don't want to, but we are always happy to have visitors for tea time."

"Oh no, sir. I am not a volunteer."

"Oh, aren't you?" Vera asked.

"No, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"So what did you come for?" asked Mr. Martin.

"Okay, like I was saying. I'm Luan Loud. I'm Benny's girlfriend"

At that time, the elders looked at each other in confusion.

"Excuse me, daughter, but my ears are not what they used to be. Maybe I heard wrong. But did you just say that you are Benjamin's girlfriend?"

"Yes, ma'am" Luan takes out her cell phone and proceeds to show her the pictures she took with Benny. "See? We studied at the same university; we've been lovers since high school"

At that moment, the elders faces turned into complete surprise.

"Benny told me you were sick, but you look good, sir. Benny seems to be taking good care of you."

"Sick? Me?" Martin asked.

"Yes sir. I asked if there was anything I could help you with, but I see that Benny has taken great care of you. I still want to come meet you and help Benny."

The old man actually felt that this girl was a victim of a lie, so he tried to tell her as gently as possible. "Girl, I don't know what Benjamin told you. But the bottom line is, even if I catch a cold, the United States still has 49 states."

This answer left Luan confused. "What do you mean by that, sir?"

"I haven't been sick in over sixty years. The only reason I go to the doctor is for routine checkups. Even at my age, I'm as strong and healthy as an ox."

"Also. If you were his girlfriend, who was the girl he came with?" Vera asked.

Luan felt her heart tighten upon hearing those words. "Another girl? A girl? What other girl?"

"When Benjamin arrived, he brought a girl with him. He told us she was his girlfriend."

"B-but...but then...Benny...he...but he told me you were...he told me you were...and I didn't..."

Before finishing, Vera approached Luan and gave her a tight hug. "Dear. I'm afraid Benjamin lied to you. In fact... he lied to all of us."

Luan began to shed tears that fell like fat drops that wet the carpet. Luan was pretty shocked by the news. It brought back memories of her little sister, Flora. Which was very similar to Luan's appearance, except for the color of her hair and teeth.

Like Luan, Flora also went through a breakup due to infidelity, which caused her to fall into a depression that led to her committing suicide. In Luan, she was able to see her little sister from many years ago. A little girl with a broken heart, but this time she will make sure to save her.

"This is outrageous! Blatant! No great-newheel of mine is going to behave like a thug!" Martin's eyes are red with anger.

"Calm down. Remember your blood pressure."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Vera. This is a lack of respect for the family. My father raised my elder brother and me as gentlemen. And my brother may rest in peace, but he raised his son like this. The least I expected was that he would do the same to him. Now let's start finding this little pervert"

"He's not here?" Luan asked, wiping her tears.

"No, dear. He went out with that other lady. He didn't tell us where."

"Get in the car. We're going to search for him, even under the stones if necessary."

The three of them got into Martin's car, a blue 1950 Ford, and went looking for Benny all over town.

For about four hours, they searched for Benny or his car in places he usually went, but he was nowhere to be seen until they found him. Upon seeing the sign where the boy's car had stopped, reactions were mixed. Luan almost fainted; she started crying more, and Martin squeezed the steering wheel so hard that its skin started to break. The place was a hotel.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that if you're not a casual traveler, there's only one reason to go to a hotel in broad daylight with a girl.

Martin turned red with anger again and proceeded to take a pill to counteract the blood pressure caused by the anger. "I'm going to have a good chat with this s***"

At the hotel reception was a 39-year-old man watching the Asian nations' boxing finals on the ESPN Asia channel. The man was screaming at the top of his lungs, rooting for the fighter from his native Thailand.

"Goo Golang. Finish him!"

Martin approached the man, who kept punching the air as if he were a boxer. "Excuse me, young man."

The man pauses the fight to pay attention to the old man. "Hello sir. Are you looking for two rooms for three? Your granddaughter only pays half. It's family fare."

"No, young man. I'm actually looking for someone," he says, pulling a picture of Benny from his pocket. "Have you seen this boy?"

"Yes sir. He is here."

"I want you to give me a copy of the key to the room he's staying in."

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is ethically irresponsible and inappropriate for me to do so. Additionally, it violates the code of ethics for hoteliers."

Martin roughly grabs the man by his shirt collar. "Listen to me carefully, you inverb boy! I killed a lot in wars before you were born! So unless you want to be caned in the back, you're going to give me this key!"

The man gives him the keys, trembling.

"Thank you, young man." Martin takes the key and leaves the reception.

"Your husband is scary when he wants to be, Mrs. Vera."

The three arrived at the room where Benny was supposed to be staying.

Martin opened the door, something he would regret for the rest of his life, as would his wife and the girl who accompanied them.

Benny was completely naked as he moved frantically between the legs of a dark-haired girl who was moaning with pleasure.

"Oh, Ruby... Ruby! There, I'm going to finish!"

"Oh yes, love. Fill me, fill me all"

"Oh yeah, get all my milk"

A much louder scream than the one made by both teens echoes throughout the room, cutting the action seconds from the end.

"Benjamin Stein! What the hell are you doing?" Martin screams at the top of his lungs.

Benny looked back and discovered that his uncle, aunt, and girlfriend were at the door. "Uncle!? Auntie!? Luan!!!!!?"

Luan saw her boyfriend. "Benny? Ruby?"

The Hindu girl looked at the door in surprise. "Luan?"

Martin entered the room angrily. "What's that, boy? Put your miserable pants on!"

"Benny, what's going on? You told me you and Luan broke up."

"I... I can explain."

"Weren't you and Ruby just friends?" Luan walked towards Benny with an expression of pure hatred that met with tears in her eyes.

"Luan, let me explain." Benny couldn't utter a single word as Luan slapped him off the bed. Benny got up from the floor, still naked. "Please Luan. You and Ruby can..." Now it was Ruby who slapped him on the other cheek, leaving his cheeks red.

"This is what a woman is to you. Are we just fun? One thing you can use and then go with another? Do you feel like a man?" The Hindu girl looked visibly upset. Well, she felt used.

"Ruby, please let me explain everything."

"What, Benny? What? What can you say to justify this?" Luan was out of control. If Benny's uncle and aunt hadn't been there, she would have hit her cheating boyfriend already.

"I also want to hear your explanation" Martin said "But before that" the old man throws some pants at him. "Dress up, for God's sake."

"I loved them both. I didn't know which one to decide. And I didn't want to lose them. That's why I wanted to be with one of them without the other finding out."

"Really, Benny. Do you really expect us to swallow that?" Luan asked.

By this point, Benny was already fed up and becoming so frustrated with the situation that he spoke without thinking. "Really! Do you want to know why I did it? Sex! I wanted to have sex with my girlfriend for the first time. But no! You wanted to wait until the damn marriage. I'm a man. I have my needs. All my friends are talking about it, and I'm the only one who hasn't done it yet. Do you have any idea how I feel when everyone makes fun of me for that?"

"Ruby gave me what you denied me. You caused this with your stupid decision to wait until we were married so you could have sex." Once again, the boy with the curls received a slap. This time from both girls on each cheek.

"Go to hell. Benjamin" Luan took out of her pocket the pictures she and Benny had taken with their dolls and cut them into pieces in front of him. "I can't believe I spent so much time and words on you."

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I hope we can still be friends." Immediately, Luan says goodbye to Vera and Martin and then leaves the room.

Ruby walks to the bathroom covered with a blanket and her clothes in her hand. After a few minutes, she came out already dressed. "Well, I'll go too. But before that," Ruby walks over to Benny, who covers his face to protect his cheeks but leaves Ruby's true purpose vulnerable.

The girl kicked hard, lifting Benny an inch off the ground. The blow left him breathless, and the boy's face changed from red to purple, turning blue, and his eyes seemed to bulge, wanting to snap out of his head. Benny kneeled on the ground, holding his damaged parts. The pain was so severe that he vomited.

"Fuck you, Benny" Ruby spits at him in the eye and leaves the room.

"Ouch... you... oh... please... a... u... Give..."

Martin grabs Benny's hair and lifts him up. "You... you're a disgrace to the family! For the devil's sake, put on pants! Let's go!" Martin hits Benny in the butt with his cane, leaving a mark.

"Ouch. Uncle Martin, please. Aunt Vera, say something."

The old lady was standing there, wiping her tears with a handkerchief. "Benjamin… How could you do this to that poor, beautiful girl?"

"No... Aunt Vera, you don't understand."

Again, he received a blow from Martin's cane in the buttocks. "Shut up. Let's go. Walk to the car, and then you'll explain this to your parents when I call them"

Benny finished getting dressed and walked desperately to the car. At the door, standing outside the room, he could see Luan. There, the girl said some unusual words to him, but in this case, with all the rights in the world, she could say them.

"You know what, Benny? If you really loved us and didn't really want to hurt us... you should have been honest. And if sex was what you wanted from our relationship, you should have asked me to break up instead of causing all this shit."

That was the last time they saw each other or spoke, because she turned and walked to Martin's car, took her bag from it, and then ordered an Uber to take her to the bus station.

On the bus back to Royal Woods, one by one, Luann deleted all the photos and videos she had with Benny from their first date. Although she can select and delete everything at once, she prefers to prolong it as much as possible. Maybe because of the subconscious desire to see all the good memories that happened with her boyfriend for the last time. Even if seeing it hurts her.

-End flashback-

The loud family were speechless. The girls felt a real desire to go where Benny was and give him a good beating, and they weren't the only ones. Her mother was equally angry, not to mention her father. Mr. Loud got up from the chair, took the keys to the truck, and went to the door.

"Baby. Where are you going?" Rita asked.

"I'm going to go find this idiot. No one would do this to my girl."

"I support you, Dad." Lynn Jr. had a metal bat in her hands.

"Us too." Lori, Leni, and Luna were walking towards the door when their mother stopped them.

"No one's going anywhere. Can't you see that Luan needs you here? First, you have to take care of Luan until she feels better. Then we'll look for that filth."

"We will go?" Luna asked.

"That's how it is. No one does this to my kids."

Luan wiped the last tears from her face. Her family really cared about her a lot. In her own strange and noisy way.

Once she finished drinking her hot chocolate, Luan went upstairs to lock herself in her new room. The girl liked the circus style mixed with the theme of the comedy show. With an unpainted background wall tiled, neon lights forming the face of the comedy, and a closet full of costumes. This led her to question her way of life all this time. Since her brother left, her comedic level has dropped a bit. She only remembered being momentarily transported back to her fourteen-year-old self when she learned that Lincoln would return. She missed those days when she was "funny" at home. Jokes from quotes. Well, after she grew up a little, she realized how bad her jokes were, but now her whole life was occupied by the university and Benny. Even her comedy act at the campus café took a hit. He leaned more toward complex, politically charged topics than the sarcastic, abstract humor that once characterized her. She still remembers this act she did with her friend that made her laugh at that party. She hadn't felt so alive and free in a long time. Unfortunately, she was devastated by this arrogant, shallow boy who abused them for not being "pretty enough," even wishing them dead. But her brother put him in his place.

And once again, those feelings overwhelmed her as she remembered Lincoln dressed as a knight and the way he had defended her and her friend, the physical strength he had gained in these three years, how he had insulted that boy, and the beautiful words he had addressed to her while laughing. There was no doubt about his maturity. She shook her head quickly. She had had enough of the situation with Benny, and the last thing she wanted was for those thoughts about her brother to continue to drive her crazy.

Luan closed her eyes so she could rest. That day, she had cried so much that she fell asleep.

____________

Under a tree on a hill of green grass, on a sunny afternoon, there were two people holding hands.

Luan saw the clouds passing by as she looked for a shape. Cake-shaped cloud.

The person next to her laughs and answers. "Ha ha ha. Yes. And that's in the shape of an elephant."

"And this peanut"

"And this other one is in the shape of..." The boy sees how the clouds take the shape of two people kissing each other. The mysterious boy holds Luan's hand.

Luan turns to see the boy and smiles at him. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. Lincoln."

Lincoln kisses Luan's hand and caresses her cheek. "Luan, I promise I won't be like Benny. I will always be honest with you, and I will never hurt you."

Luan changes her position and positions herself on top of Lincoln, resting her head on his chest. "I love you, my cute little bunny"

"And I'm yours, my pretty little clown."

They both kiss each other.

Luan woke up, but unlike the other times, she didn't feel anything, not nausea or nerves. Perhaps the situation with Benny had left her too distraught for something to affect her. "God, wasn't it enough to discover that my boyfriend had put huge hooters above my eyebrows? Is it too much to ask for an ordinary dream?"

Suddenly, someone knocks on the door.

"Come in. It's open."

The door opened and revealed it to be Lincoln. Luan felt like she was going to hit her head on the ground. "Please, give me a break."

Which left Lincoln confused. "I'm sorry, Luan. I understand. It's a bad time."

"No, I wasn't talking to you. Sorry, Lincoln. I didn't mean to sound rude."

Lincoln sits next to Luan. "Mom told me what happened with you and Benny. I can't believe it. You seemed so close. I could almost compare you to Lori and Bobby."

"Relationships don't always turn out the way you expect, Lincoln."

"Yes, I know that very well." Lincoln takes Luan's hand to his. "Luan. I may not be the best person to talk to or advise about this. But remember that no matter what happens, here you will always find your family who loves you. You deserve a man who will love you forever, and you will find him one day" Lincoln kisses Luan on her forehead, followed by a hug. "Don't close your heart or lose your sense of fun because of trash that doesn't deserve you."

Luan started crying again, but this time it was tears of joy. She quickly approached Lincoln and gave him a big hug. "Thank you, little brother"

Lincoln returns the hug and strokes his sister's head. "This is what I'm here for, Luan. I love you so much" Lincoln breaks away from Luan and leaves the room.

After that, Luan felt a little better. Lincoln always had that knack for making everyone feel better about themselves, even if it meant sacrificing his time, his goals, or even his dignity.

As Lincoln went downstairs, his cell phone rang again; he already knew who it was because only one person could access that phone number.

"Hello professor"

"Hey Lincoln. I heard what happened at the spa with your family."

"Oh yeah... about that... I was wondering if I could" Before finishing, the professor interrupted him.

"You want an advance so you can pay the damages, right?"

"Nothing escapes you, Professor."

"I'd like to give you a sneak peek, but I have a better idea. You can win it in the next battle."

"Do you already have another fight scheduled for me?"

"That's the case. This time, it will be against our main rival industry. Advanced Embodiment. It will be next week. His fighter is someone very strong, more so than you have faced so far. So you better prepare well."

"How much is the salary?" The answer was heard only by Lincoln, but when he heard the number, he smiled from ear to ear. "Fuck! Of course I accept!"

"Please don't say rude things."

"sorry boss"

"It will be Monday at seven thirty. I will send a limousine to pick you up. And remember. Be well prepared."

The call ended, and Lincoln was very excited about the huge amount of money he was going to win. With only half of this amount, he can actually pay off his debts. "I'm finally moving into battles. However, if this person is so powerful, I have to start training. Thinking about it, I haven't trained since I started fighting for the professor. Unfortunately, my workout equipment was destroyed in the fire, and I can't ask Lynn to lend me her equipment, or she'll start asking questions.

Lincoln thought about where he could train. "I can go to the gym. But there might be a Dracoviam fighter there, and I can't let him see my moves or take advantage of that."

"I can train in the park. But they don't have the right equipment for me. If this fighter is as brutal as I imagine him to be, it will require very rigorous training" Lincoln scratched his head as he sighed. "Oh my God, this is hard. Master, how useful I need your advice right now. Or practice. No way; I have to find a place where I can practice without anyone knowing." Lincoln went downstairs without noticing someone spying on him through the vents. It was Lucy who tried to keep quiet so as not to be discovered.

Lucy watched her brother through the new larger vents, which she was grateful for, as she could now avoid being trapped in the future. This was not a courtesy to the professor. He was completely oblivious to Lucy's habit of hiding in canals. It was just a big coincidence.

"Training? Training for what? What are you hiding, brother?"

Meanwhile, Lincoln came down the stairs. Lori, Luna, and their parents watched the news.

"This is Catherine Mulligan reporting from the outskirts of Royal Woods, where another horrific multiple murder has been found. Behind me is this car, where the completely mutilated body of a man was found. A few meters away from the truck, two more victims were found heading in opposite directions. Indicating that they were attacked one after another. Both men sustained the same fatal injuries as the body found in the truck. The victims were identified as. Leonard Beckman, Mike, and Todd Fancher. All three are on the FBI's most wanted list for being part of a girl trafficking and kidnapping ring"

"The wounds on the three men indicate they were attacked by some type of wild animal. Although the zoo stated that there are no reports of any animals missing from its facilities, this just makes us think. Is there a connection between this and the massacre?" The brutality in Edward's garage that occurred several days ago? The authorities will continue to investigate."

"Catherine Mulligan was with you."

After hearing this report, Lincoln went for a walk. Maybe it would help him get an idea of where he could prepare for his battle.

It started snowing outside the house. A few days before the end of the year, the old man in winter wanted to say goodbye with one last snowfall before the beginning of January and the end of the snow season.

Lincoln came to the city park. His walk led him to the bridge where Robert was captured. Contrary to what he expected, that was a rather bitter memory, because it was the day that Leni started to drift away from him.

The boy thought deeply when he heard breathing through the trees. But it wasn't normal to breathe. This was deeper and heavier, like panting. It stopped from one moment to the next, as if whoever had caused it had disappeared. For a moment, Lincoln thought this voice was familiar. When he got bored of the park, Lincoln went to the Black Café to have a cappuccino, then stopped at the Strawberry Shop, where he bought some cream cakes. As he returned home, thinking about where he could train wasn't the only thing on his mind now. This report was on his mind. Is it the work of this psychopath, Hideki? But that guy only attacked those who messed with Lincoln. The guys in the truck had no problem with him. Suddenly, he realized something that made him drop the cupcake box.

"Dammit! Chandler's in danger!" The boy ran as best as he could, dodging pedestrians and jumping over the roofs of cars to cross the street to reach his destination. Since he didn't know where the obnoxious redhead currently lived, he had to go to his friend Clyde. Not that he cared much for the boy who had been a fool to him since elementary school and left him half-dead a few days ago. But the punishment meted out by Hideki's madness was something he would not wish on even his worst enemies.

-Meanwhile, at Clyde's house-

The African American boy was playing cards with Andy, who was holding them with his feet.

"Do you have four?"

"Fishing. Do you have seven?"

"Fishing"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Dammit. Who the hell would hit like that?"

"I can think of someone" Clyde said, looking at Andy.

The boys walked toward the door. When they opened it, they found Lincoln. The boy was breathing hard with his hands on his knees because he had to push himself twice as hard to get faster.

"Lincoln, what's wrong? Why did you knock on my door like that?"

Lincoln didn't answer. "I still need to catch my breath"

"Fuck, man. What's wrong with you?"

"Guys... we... have to... go... look for Chandler... he... is... in... danger..."

"What? How did Chandler get into danger? What are you talking about, Link?"

"There is... no time... we have to... water... first give me water."

"Oh yeah. Come in." Clyde ushered his friend into his house. When he caught his breath on the couch, Clyde handed him a glass of water. Lincoln hurriedly drank it.

"Oh, thank you, bro"

"Now tell me, what do you mean by Chandler being in danger?"

"More importantly. Why the hell should we care?"

"Because the man chasing Chandler is responsible for the massacre in Edward's garage that happened days ago"

Clyde and Andy were shocked. They both knew about the infamous massacre of the sexual assailants in Edward's garage. These men were pigs who deserved to be punished. But even what they did to them was beyond the bounds of human morality.

"I repeat. Why the hell should we care? Or why should I?"

"It's our moral duty, Andy."

"Are you kidding, Uncle!? In case you forgot, that bastard left you half-dead. You don't owe him anything."

"Normally, I'd agree to a suggestion like yours, Andy. But Lincoln's right. As much as Chandler and his gang deserve a good punishment, I couldn't live with myself if I turned a blind eye to something like that."

"Oh, what the fuck... okay, let's help that idiot."

"I'm going to call the police." Clyde went to the phone, but Lincoln stopped him.

"No! Clyde, I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that. Trust me. If you do that, you'll only be sending good, hard-working men to certain death."

"What do you mean by that, Lincoln?"

"This man is not normal. That's just what you should know."

"Okay, okay. I understand. Let's go to him."

Suddenly, the door started banging more abruptly than before.

"What is this? Clyde's door abuse day?" Clyde opened the door, but as he did, several of the boys fell to the ground. Clyde recognized them all, especially the one below. It was Chandler and his gang. "What are you doing here?"

"What a shame you have to come here, you bastards."

"Guys, I'm blind, remember? Can you be more specific about who you're talking to?"

"pleavw. Helw uas."

"Chandler? What happened to your voice?"

"Nothing compared to what I'm going to do to his neck." Andy walked towards the boys but noticed something strange: they were all full of wounds.

"Damn, man. I think he already found you."

"What happened to you?" Clyde doesn't know whether to help them or what. He still has many conflicting opinions about these men.

Troy walked out among them. His eye was closed, and blood was coming out of him. "Help us, please. He's after us; he's already killed some of our friends. Please, he'll catch us. Don't let him do it!"

Clyde felt sorry for the boys. Even though they are bad people, his moral code does not allow him to leave them to their fate. Clyde brought the wounded to his home with the help of Lincoln and Andy, and after cleaning and treating their wounds, he made them milk tea. Seriously, Clyde was giving them more kindness than they deserved.

"What the fuck, man? Those bastards wanted to kill us a few hours ago, and now you go and serve them tea and cake."

"Please Andy. Look at these. They are badly injured."

"Va. What an idiot!"

"Yes, I may be nice. But I would rather be that than evil like you."

"Say that again, you asshole."

Lincoln intervened before the two boys started fighting. "Stop it. I agree with you, Andy, but also with you, Clyde. Let's see what they have to say." Lincoln approaches the boys, who were drinking tea, as their hands are shaking. "Tell me. What happened?"

Troy and Chandler proceeded to recount the events that had occurred a few hours earlier.

-flashback-

In the gang's den, the boys were lying, and some were sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, recovering from the almost-rape they received from the three boys that day. Some had ice packs on their faces, others used steaks to relieve swelling, and others were taking a healthy dose of the most effective painkillers ever. Vodka.

Chandler was in his office. The boy drank some vodka and then spit it out. The frozen alcoholic drink came out mixed with blood due to missing teeth. The liquor burned his mouth, his lip was chapped, and he still felt some loose teeth. But that wasn't the worst of the situation. "Fuck that old man; it hurts." The loss of teeth affected Chandler's speech.

"Ouch. This blind guy hits like a brick," Troy said as he took a drink.

"Tell me about it. I can't believe a man with no arms would hit me. I'm glad my father wasn't alive to see that."

"Does this make you happy, Mort?"

"He was drunk and had anger issues. Anyone with half a brain knows that you shouldn't drink while driving."

"You know something? I think I'll leave the gang."

"Hey? Are you leaving the gang? Are you crazy, David?"

"No. I'm wiser than ever. Think wisely. With this trio of monsters living here, Chandler won't be the big one anymore. I'd rather stay out of the devil's way."

"Good point, Troy. You're right. I think I'll do the same thing."

Suddenly, the door was thrown open and came off the hinge. Which in itself was impressive. Well, the warehouse doors were huge, and so were the hinges.

"What in the devil's name was that?" Chandler walked out of his office after hearing a loud noise. There was a long-haired Asian boy at the entrance.

The boy entered the large warehouse with a calm face.

The gang members turned to see the mysterious boy entering with great confidence, as if the place were his own.

One of the biggest gangsters got up and walked towards the boy until he was in front of him. "You effeminate. I don't know who you think you are, but you better..." He couldn't finish, because the intruder's hand pierced his stomach like a knife. The other attendees couldn't believe their eyes. They had never seen someone so Ruthless in their lives.

The gang member fell to the ground face down, holding his stomach to stop the bleeding as he crawled, but he didn't get very far. Since his neck was stepped on which left him unconscious after hearing a crack.

The Asian boy's face turned into a large, annoying smile. His eyes widened, but then his expression changed to one of anger. "Bastards. How dare you lay your filthy hands... on my god!?"

-End flashback-

"That man was a monster. He killed more than half the gang. We managed to escape thanks to the fact that we left him locked in the basement. But after what we saw, it's only a matter of time until that psycho finds us. That's why we came to you. I appreciate you three being here together." "Because you're the only ones we know who can fight him."

Clyde was shocked. Now understand what Lincoln meant. "For the love of God. What kind of mentally ill man is this?"

"Hideki Kurohana"

Everyone turns to see Lincoln.

"you know him?" Troy asked.

"Yes. I met him three years ago at a tournament in Canada. He was disqualified for killing his opponent, a thirteen-year-old boy, and was sent to a psychiatric institution, but not before he tried to kill me."

The boys were surprised by what Lincoln said. Both his friends and the gang.

"Lincoln how did he try to kill you?" Clyde was worried about his best friend.

Lincoln took off his shirt, revealing the scars on his body. Seeing his muscles, the gang members understood why they couldn't beat him more than playing dirty the first time. Lincoln lifted his pendant to reveal what the piece was hiding. Behind the piece of wolf fang, a star-like scar can be seen on Lincoln's chest.

"This is the scar he left on me in our first and last fight."

"Dang. How did you survive?"

Lincoln was silent for a moment and answered. "Let's just say...I was...lucky," Lincoln hated that word. Since what happened years ago with Lynn and after the Louds understood their fault, this word had become taboo in the house, and its residents preferred to replace it with more far-fetched synonyms.

"But now you can face him, right?" Troy asked, clearly desperate.

"You mean can you all? We're a team, Lincoln. We'll take it together," Clyde said.

"Besides, if this man kills you, he will take my revenge from me," Andy said.

Lincoln was touched by his friend's words. Not much for Andy, but at least he was excited. "Alright guys, we'll protect these guys from Hideki's wrath."

"Hey, wait a minute. I didn't say I'd do it for free." Andy's answer left everyone speechless. "To tell the truth, this whole case is bothering me and what's happening to these idiots makes me angry. But if we're going to do this, I want something good in return."

"Andy, we're not doing this to make money."

"Andy's right, Lincoln."

Both boys turned to Clyde.

"I don't know what Andy wants, but if we help them, I want them to stop being criminals. Chandler should publicly admit that he started the rumor and apologize for it."

"Great. That's a good idea, Clyde."

"Do you really like my idea, Andy?"

"Yes. Well, to tell you the truth, I was going to order some burgers. But public humiliation and having the stage fall on him sound better and funnier."

"When I do that, my reputation will collapse."

"Well, if that's what you choose, there's the door. I wish you luck so Hideki doesn't find you."

"OK, I will do it!"

"You didn't have to do that, Clyde."

"Of course I had to, Lincoln. It's not fair that they keep judging you and talking bad about you because of this scum. Remember what you told me? The cave and values metaphor? Well, the fire is already burning."

"Well, you're right. Well, we'll help you in exchange for you admitting that the rumor is false. Also. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't doing this for my own good."

"So you wanted to get something out of this situation?" Clyde asked.

"Yes. But it's not a physical thing. It's something else. Something much bigger than that."

"What could it be?"

Lincoln clenches his fist and responds in an emotionless tone, "Revenge, Clyde. I want revenge."

The boys decided not to ask further, as this was clearly a very personal matter.

"Good. You stay here at Clyde's house."

"Clyde, Andy. Let's go to this warehouse."

"Wait! Are you going to leave us here alone? What if this crazy Japanese finds us?"

"Don't worry, Troy. You can lock yourselves in the panic room my fathers built in the basement. The password is 0, 6, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3, 3. But just in case, I'll give you my number so you can call us if there are any problems."

"Do you have a panic room in the basement? Don't fuck with me!"

"Okay, enough small talk. Let's go."

Lincoln left the house, followed by Clyde and Andy. They got into Clyde's car and headed to the warehouse.

"This car is really cool."

"Thanks. It was a gift from my fathers for making the honor roll at school. Although I only use it on special occasions,"

"Hey, Lincoln, what can you tell us about this guy, Hideki?"

"His fighting style is a type of ninjutsu called kakuryu, which means hidden dragon."

"I've heard of this style. It's very similar to the 'Coverless' fighting style."

"Who taught you how to fight, Andy?" Clyde asked.

"I learned from my mother, and she learned it in turn when she was conscripted into President Guevaro's army when she lived on the island of La Serna."

"Are you from La Serna, Andy?"

"I am part of La Serna. My mother was from La Serna. She met my father when he traveled to Spain to study medicine. She trained me at the age of four. The rest I learned on my own."

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, buddy. You're a very nice guy, Clyde. Even though you're too soft."

After a few minutes of chatting, the boys arrived at the Chandler gang's warehouse.

"well. We're here. Park your car twenty meters away, so we have the element of surprise on our side."

"Hey Clyde, how did you know where Chandler's lair was?" Lincoln asked his friend.

"Everyone at school knows it. We just avoid coming here."

"Ok. Well. Let's walk."

The boys got out of the car. Lincoln tapped his shoe onto the ground, creating a mental image of his surroundings. After that, the boys headed to the warehouse.

The door was still open. A quick glance showed that the hinge had not been torn from the wall but had been split in half, with its ends pointing outward. And with a very noticeable shoe mark.

The boys entered into a triangle formation just as they fought Chandler's gang. They walked slowly into the building with their eyes wide open, or, in Lincoln's case, his ears alert.

When they finally reached the bottom of the basement, where the basement was located, this door had a steel door as thick as a bodybuilder's arm with a lock of the same thickness. This was once a metal ladder that descended to depths of twenty feet. Next to the door were three hammers, which must have been used to defend against Hideki and knock down the ladder. Since he was absent and the iron that once held him was dented and broken, this made it impossible to get out of there once it entered.

At this point, they wonder how they could know the door was locked. Well, it's simple. And it's not like that anymore.

Against all odds, Hideki survived. The cellar door was in as good a condition as the entrance door, if not worse. The iron is dented in several places, which means it took several hits to get out. The iron that formed the lock was bolted to the ceiling and was certainly shot through in the final blow that allowed Hideki to escape.

Clyde and Andy stared at the interior metal on the ceiling in amazement.

"Shit, he ran away!"

"How the hell did he get out of a six-meter-deep well closed by such a thick door?"

"I told you. Hideki's not normal."

Suddenly, Clyde's cell phone starts ringing. On the screen, it said Troy. "Troy? What's up, buddy?"

The answer Clyde received came in the form of shouting, "Here! He's here! We've been found! Please, come quickly. The door won't resist!"

"Use the emergency exit under the large bed."

"Thanks. A thousand..." Troy thanked Clyde as he cried, but then came the scream of one of his comrades.

"The door is already open; we have to go now!"

The next thing Clyde heard was the boys opening a door and going down some stairs, then the noise of the door closing and another much louder one, followed by a beeping sound indicating the end of the call.

The three friends were speechless at the call.

"Clyde, Andy. To the car now."

The boys got into the car and started driving at full speed towards Clyde's house.

"Damn! Shit! This is what happens when you are too convinced without measuring the consequences."

"Now we have to save their asses, because the fucking lunatic is hunting them! And it's not even our fucking problem!"

"Despite Andy's vulgar vocabulary, I think I partly agree with him. Chandler has been abusing others for years. Sooner or later, he would piss off the wrong guy. However, there's something I don't understand that I think you can answer, Lincoln."

"What is this, Clyde?"

"What does Hideki mean by 'his god'?"

"Hey, yeah. What about that? Is he one of those religious fanatics?"

"He's pointing at me," Lincoln said in a serious, almost sinister tone.

"Why is he pointing at you like that?" Clyde asked.

"He considers me a kind of god. I don't know why."

"Unfortunately, Uncle. Little reward. Ha-ha-ha-ha." Andy stopped laughing when he noticed the seriousness in Lincoln's face.

The boys arrive at Clyde's house. The door was separated from the frame, thrown into the middle of the room, and split in half.

"My door! Why is everyone attacking my poor door?"

(😂😂😂😂 Poor Clyde's door)

"It was a good door, buddy. But at least now you can use it to make a good barbecue." Andy's words didn't do much to comfort Clyde.

"Clyde, which way is the emergency exit from the panic room?"

"To the back of my yard"

"We have to go to them."

"I'm afraid it won't do any good. We don't know where they went."

"I have an idea" Lincoln enters the house and searches through the trash filled with cotton balls that were used to clean the boy's wounds. Lincoln sniffed it profusely, much to the boys disgust.

"Damn, man. How a slut you are." Andy held back the urge to vomit, but Clyde couldn't and ran to the bathroom.

"I already smell it. Get in the car."

"You'll have to wait until Clyde finishes pouring the porridge."

Clyde came out of the bathroom with slightly green cheeks. "I'm sorry. But why did you do such a disgusting thing, Lincoln?"

"I needed something that smelled like them so I could find them."

The boys looked at him in disbelief.

"Their scent? Do you think you're a hound or what?"

"No time to explain, Andy; let's go to the car. Clyde, can you still drive?"

"I've already gotten over my disgust. So, burn the rubber."

The boys got into the car.

Clyde was driving. Lincoln opened the window as he stuck his face out of it, like that. The boy sniffs in all directions and tells his friend which way to go.

"On the left. Go straight for thirty meters. Turn right. Their path is still there. Go forward."

"Hey man, are you sure you're not part dog? We've covered four kilometers, and you haven't lost track of them."

"When I lost my sight, I gained something better. My senses of touch, taste, hearing, and smell were heightened. If I concentrate hard enough, I can hear, feel, and smell things far away. And just like that, if I have a trail to follow, I can do so for miles, as long as there is no stronger scent covering the trail."

"It is good that the new law implemented a year ago made recycling mandatory. Thanks to that, there are no more garbage containers."

"You should include that fact in the next tour, Clyde."

The boys continued their march for another four kilometers until they reached a forest on the side of the road. The path continued into the forest, so the boys decided to walk on foot.

The deeper they went into the forest, the nastier it got. The nature noises created the atmosphere of a horror movie.

"Hey man, this doesn't make me feel good."

"Yes. Me too. Keep your eyes peeled, people. The smell is getting stronger. We should be close."

The path led the group of boys to a place that looked like part of a fantasy book. It was the ruins of what appeared to be a castle that appeared to be sixty meters long and sixty meters wide. About two hundred and forty square meters.

"But what is a castle doing in the middle of the forest?"

"It is the castle of Lord Julius of Carveling. An English nobleman settled in these lands with his wife and three children in 1610 under King James the First, with the intention of forming a new British colony in this part of the country. However, the first thing he did upon arriving was to build his castle. It was an almost identical but smaller replica of the king's castle, so he used the labor of both the Britons who came with him and the natives of the area. He compensated them by saying that it would be everyone's new home. Within its walls, there was neither fear nor cold nor hunger. The Britons, blinded by their devotion to the king, did not hesitate. In doing so, he helped the naive natives with the promise of peace to the British by showing them where the most resistant trees were to make good timber and tasty prey so that they would avoid hunger.

"But as the construction went on, the working conditions got worse, and it got to the point that the slave traders were with both the natives and the English. But they thought they were building a refuge and a home for everyone, and that was partly true. In a very small part."

"Six years later, the castle was completed. In honor of the completion of the so-called 'colony', Lord Julius held a dinner to which he invited all those involved in the construction. That night, everyone enjoyed a lavish feast. However, some did not know that this would be the first and last time. Where they eat food inside the walls"

"Lord Julius had offered some servants who had come from England a job there to poison food, except for his family. They distributed it at dinner, and if they refused, he would accuse them of treason against the kingdom and execute them. They had no choice, and they obeyed. But they soon expressed their regret for not choosing to be executed"

"This man's service was like hard labor without the possibility of rest. It is said that he trained dogs to follow his servants, and if one of them sat down to rest, the dogs would attack them."

"However, his yoke did not last long. Five years after the castle was completed, their dogs began to disappear. The servants took advantage of this and fled to another colony. But it was only the beginning."

"First was his wife. She disappeared when she went to the nearest colony to hire more servants; then his eighteen-year-old son disappeared while out hunting in the woods; then his fifteen-year-old son went out one morning to get some air. He left the garden and was never seen again. Finally, his ten-year-old son mysteriously disappeared from his bed while he was sleeping."