The Vipers.

Justin's P.O.V

I heard my phone chime twice. It was probably Lisa asking me where the hell I was and why the hell I was wasting so much of her time. All I could think of was the made-up explanation I was going to give to Lisa when we finally get out of that place as the red-hot metal was being brought closer and closer to my chest by the bully I bullied. It was so funny that he joined forces with Asshole Andrew just because of me- just because he thought he wasn't strong enough. What the hell did he even need the strength for? Certainly for bullying new students! That was utterly disgusting!

I knew me beating him was too much for him to take but did he have to go to that extent? And where in the world did he get those charm bracelets they wore. I guessed they possessed some sort of powers. It was probably voodoo. It was voodoo!

He grinned and looked at me wickedly. He had a mischievous glint in his eyes. Why did he have to make it so dramatic? It's been more than twenty seconds since that Viper slave boy handed the 'stamp' over to him. Maybe he just didn't want to do it or he expected me to defend myself?

That was exactly what I did; I gave Christian- the guy who was holding me, an elbow strike in his guts. He hadn't expected it so I took him by surprise and he lost grip of my arm. I jumped out of the way and Brandon mistakenly stamped Christian. I escaped by the tip of my hair!

The stamp burnt through his shirt and then burnt his chest. He yelled in pain. The wound was pretty large but it quickly healed up. The power of the bracelet shocked me so much… it was amazing!

"That's just one of the many advantages of being one of us!" Andrew declared proudly.

"I'll never!" I yelled tenaciously. I was still on my knees, on the grass when the other Vipers attacked me. Even one of the two guys who were holding Alan left him to attack me. Wow! I must've been really important.

Brandon sent a punch towards my face. Due to my instinctive and quick movement, I luckily dodged it. I caught his fist and gave him a taste of his own medicine… in his guts! He staggered back but didn't look hurt. It was like he was some kinda wall! Hell!

And then my vision turned red. Whatever was going to happen to them, they deserved it.

I saw the Viper who was holding Alan by the neck. He was choking!

I ran to him, jumped and gave him a Superman Punch. He lost balance and fell. I knew he was going to stand up much quicker than a normal human being would after a great blow like that so I quickly removed the bracelet- the source of his power, from his arm. I gave it to Alan and he wore it. He punched the guy who had been holding him a couple of times till he started coughing out blood. I think the bracelet also enhanced your striking power. Cool!

Brandon's P.O.V

He was quick to escape Chris' grip and I mistakenly stamped Chris instead. Thank heavens that his injury took little time to get healed. He helped his friend; Alan, in the possession of one of our charms. The whole event quickly capsized and the tables turned.

I tried to punch and stab him many times but I couldn't. He was just too fast for me. I wondered if he was in a different secret society and that was what gave him that speed.

He just kept running around, dodging punches swiftly. Not one of us succeeded in giving him an actual blow. Such a shame!

Suddenly, he stopped running and stood in the basketball court which was a few meters from where we were. That was when I saw what looked like a red glint in his eyes. He looked dangerous as his eyes glowed. I knew for sure that I wasn't hallucinating. And then it struck me that he was actually part of another different and stronger organization. That totally explained everything! But from my knowledge we were the first and only organization in the Empire. I guess that's why they're called 'secret'.

He didn't even pant or hyperventilate though he had been running so fast. He was perfectly alright; not even a bead of sweat did I see on his face. Who the fuck was he actually?!

"You guys must be searching for your charms." He said with a voice of certainty. "Am I right?" He smiled in achievement. I looked at my right hand- the motherfucker stole them from us. I should have known that was what he was going to do. Damn, he was good!

Without those charms we were nothing; no protection, no agility, no strength, no nothing! Just the normal, lame us.

"Come get 'em!" He shouted out, dropped them all on the concrete ground and trampled on them. As they broke, I felt a heartbreak… it was as if my heart actually broke. My muscles began hurting as I groaned for aid from someone… anyone! No one came to my aid because they were for a surety, in the same situation I was in. The only person that could've helped me was Josh but he had already been beaten to stupor by Alan.

I felt really weak and I was shivering. All that was happening because that asshole crushed our bracelets! And worse consequences were to come. 'Damn, I wish I never became a Viper' I thought to myself with utter regret.

My eyes were teary because of the unbearable pain present in my muscles, even the muscles in my nose hurt. I could barely keep myself standing. When I looked around me, I saw that I was the only one standing. All the Vipers were feeling all the pain I felt and were on the floor, kneeling or lying on the grass. The weakest Vipers were literally sobbing!

That was the time the jackass thought it was best to beat us up. "Let's teach these their place in the Empire." He called out to Alan. I remembered saying something like that to him once. He probably thought it was funny that the tables turned but it wasn't, not even a bit. "-the grass." He ended. I was so mad; I'd have gotten up to beat him but I didn't have the strength.

They started punching and kicking every one of us continuously. They were so inconsiderate as to be beating even the ones that were crying on the floor. They both murmured curses at us as they beat us as if we were slaves. Sincerely, each punch I got felt like a trip to hell and back for me. Guess we were actually the ones getting the free trip to hell. I felt like dying.

When they were satisfied, they left us in the pitch, with us lying down, immobile on the grass. I couldn't move a muscle so I just lay, talking to the crickets and grasshoppers in the grass.

Justin's P.O.V

He begged me to let him keep the bracelet when we were walking through the hallways. I couldn't 'cause it was wrong. They were all supposed to be destroyed. And it was definitely dangerous. Look at what happened to those guys when I trampled on their precious charms.

"Please… Just let me." He begged. "I won't use it for shit. You know me…"

"It's fucking voodoo, man! I don't want anything bad to happen to you just 'cause of me." I defended. It was as if it was already part of him. He was madly in love with the power and protection.

"It doesn't matter 'cause nothing's going to happen to me." He promised. How could he be sure?

"If you keep it, what makes you any different from them?"

"The fact that I'm not going to be using it to oppress students but to help them."

"It still stands wrong!" I argued.

"What makes it wrong?"

"Everything! Why do you want it anyways?" I asked. I wanted to know the true reason behind this unusual craving.

"Because I like the power… and it makes me feel protected… from bullies."

"There are no bullies in this school." I said confidently.

"Yeah, true. So those assholes we just beat up in the football field are called what?" I didn't know what reply to give him.

"Alright… apart from them. Plus, this is the first time something like this is happening in the Empire. It's a new development." I wasn't lying though. The first time, it happened outta school.

"That's the reason I think I need it! Their next attack may probably be worse." He said with his eyes wide open. He made a point though it was pretty weak compared to the points against his keeping of that bracelet.

"What if they get much better voodoo charms form wherever they got this one and then come looking for you? Look, Alan, I can't let you do this." I finally concluded. Case closed!

"Please! I'll never ever do anything bad with it. I'll only use it to protect the bullied."

"We have a Principal, you know." I told him and he face palmed. "And, it's power from a bad source! No matter what you use it for, it's still wrong." We were just going back and forth in the argument. I didn't even know why we were even… why I was even arguing with him over his life. It was his life after all.

Come on. Please." He begged.

Alright…" I finally gave up. I saw him smirk like he had won something really big. I felt so annoyed that I discontinued the argument. "But you gotta promise to me that you will never use the power in that voodoo bracelet to do anything wrong."

"I won't. I swear." He said in a perfectly calm tone and he looked sincere. I was fooled by him. I then remembered that day; that fateful and amazing day when that young innocent boy found out about that life-changing power- this telekinesis. I had promised with all that sincerity and seriousness in the world that I won't 'use it to constitute a nuisance.' But look at what I have become. I was literally a serial killer! And I knew he was going to end up like me… or even worse. I prayed both of us could forgive me for making such a terrible decision just 'cause I couldn't keep arguing- 'cause I couldn't stand my ground. I'm probably going to make a bad parent.

I looked at him, eyeball to eyeball. We had stopped walking then. He kept a straight face and I did too. I guess he couldn't keep looking so serious any longer so he broke into a loud giggle.

"Why are you making me feel so tense?" He asked, still laughing.

"'cause this is no joke!" I shot. "If anything bad happens, remember that I warned you."

"Okay, got it. Thank you." He said quite carelessly. I felt a guilt in me because anything that happens to him 'cause of the bracelet will be my fault. But what could I do? I tried my best, plus, I'm neither his mom nor his dad.

********************

"Where were you all this while?" Lisa asked me when we finally showed up. "I've been waiting for you for the past thirty minutes!" She stated.

"Oh hi Alan" she greeted him in a wholly different tone; a calmer one. Why didn't she greet me that way?

I apologized and Alan responded to her greeting. He was staring at her in some attracted way; I had to give him a nudge to get him back to his senses. "We had some assholes to deal with after practice."

"Whoa! Who could those be?" She asked, interested.

"It was just Cage and Cameroon. Nothing we couldn't handle!" Alan and I looked at each other and smirked at the exact same time.

"Whoa… so you guys had fun without me?"

"Yeah, we did. Sorry… you normally don't like coming to the pitch even when I invited you to come watch me practice." Alan justified.

She smiled shyly. Those two got something cooking!

"So, tell me about it…" She inquired. "Did you guys get hurt?"

"Nah… we made 'em eat grass." He boasted with a feeling of achievement present in his voice. Such a show-off. I was the one who saved his ass.

"Whoa! Tell me more"

He was about to say something but I cut him short. "I'll tell you everything at home."

"Aww… alright!" She accepted. "See you later, Alan."

"Bye Lisa, take care!" He said like he wasn't going to see her again. We walked out of the hall leaving Alan behind.

I heard him whisper my name and I turned back. He revealed his middle fingers, smiling as he did it. I unconsciously smiled back. Lisa didn't turn so she didn't see the asshole he was. He was such an awesome friend and dare I say, he added a whole lot of color to my life. I can't believe I ever didn't want to have a best friend.