Young Writers Society

Chapter 01.

“Hey, Lucius, do you happen to know that Isac guy from our class?”

“Drakenberg? Well, he sure is a quiet one. I don’t know much outside the rumors, but I imagine those aren't what you’re looking for.”

“Yeah...”

Me and Lucius were hanging out on the backside of the school after class ended like we always did since summer vacation. He was doing his homework like a diligent student probably should, and I was laying down on the grass, my mind on the... event that I just witnessed on my way here. I mean, it’s not everyday that you see thorns painfully coming out of a guy’s skin, and even tough it probably would be best if I just erased that from my memory, as someone who probably had the means to help, I simply couldn’t do it.

And all that leads to my questioning to Lucius here and now.

“But why the sudden interest on Isac? You are not the kind of guy to get interested in someone out of nowhere, did something happen?”

Lucius asked, giving me a side look without even stopping writting.

Well, you got me there.

“Nothing much, I just got curious because of his reputation and all, do you think he actually stabbed somebody?”

Let’s see if this works.

Lucius chuckled.

“I think it’s not very likely, it would be pretty hard to get into a highlly regarded school such as this with a criminal record, and also, even tought he can be seen as scary, he actually used to be a pretty kind person.”

He’s got a point. Wait.

Used?

“Hey Lucius, you said ‘He used to be a pretty kind person’, does that mean that you knew him?”

“Well, as I said, I don’t know much outside of the rumors, but I happened to go to the same middle school, and from the few we talked and from what our commom friends back then told me he was a really nice person, and even helped people doing poorly on his class to get back on their feet, but apparently arround eighth grade he... changed, for the lack of a better word, and became who we know today. That’s about all i know.”

That’s definelly more than I do.

“Heh. So, what do you think happened for him to change this drastically?”

“Talking behind people’s back? That’s not very respectable of you.”

“Guh...”

He teased. That hurts.

“But if I had to say” Lucius started “I feel it's more like he realized something, and adapted to that than necessarily 'changed'. But that is just what I think.”

“Adapted, huh...”

That’s a rather interesting way of putting it, but what could make someone shift their attitude so much? It really seemed like he had rounded himself with walls, and walls with spikes that pierced anyone who came close.

Does he feel lonely, I wonder.

I don’t think I can do anything about his walls, and really, his life is none of my business, I shouldn’t even be talking to Lucius about him, but... I really want to help him.

Cut that, who am I trying to deceive, I just want to help myself.

But I already decided that at least, I would give him the option to help himself.

After that short dialogue, we stayed silent for quite a few minutes until Lucius, against my will, made me do my homework with him. We stayed there until school closed, and then, he walked me home, and I started worrying myself on how to approach Isac the next day.

Chapter 02.

Before we continue the story, why don’t we regress bit to the moment where I witnessed that event with Isac, I think this will help move the tale along.

It happened after classes ended, I needed to go to the bathroom, but since I didn’t, or better, don’t, really have a really nice self-image, I prefered to go to the single-stall bathroom that our school had, which is a fair distance away from my classroom.

On my way there, I happened to see someone trying to talk to Isac, something very unusual since by this point it became very clear that attempts to approach him would be turned down with cold rejection, and the thing most noteworthy of it all was that the interaction lasted more than 5 seconds, wich was the time they were on my field of view, but, unsurprisingly, it did not seem to last much longer than that, since a couple of moments after I witnessed him dashing down the hallway in the same direction i was heading.

Looking back at it now, I wonder if my life would’ve been the same if I just had turned back at that moment, it probably would have been, in the end, I probably would have reached the same conclusion, but if you really think about it, we all reach the same conclusion at the end don’t we? But it’s not that conclusion i’m talking about, i’m referring to the end of my story, independently of my choice there, my arc would end the same way, but, personally, I think it would have had way less value.

You may think that my choices right there were ‘keep going’ or ‘turning back’, but if anything, it was more like ‘go on’ or ‘stay still’, and looking at it that way, i’m really glad I decided to go after Isac.

You may have noticed that I changed my wording, or better, my approach towards Isac in this last line, and that way of thinking would be pretty accurrate.

What brought me to change my stance?

The face he made while storming off.

He wasn’t angry, he wasn’t sad, he wasn’t frustrated, he was looking genuinelly hurt.

And for some reason, I really couldn’t stand leaving him like that.

It’s none of my bussiness.

I shouldn’t get involved, most likelly the guy didn’t want anyone involved, most likelly he didn’t want any help, but... I wanted to at least learn why he was so upset.

And with that mindset I ran behind Isac’s silhouette

The destination was pretty ironic, he was running to the same place I was trying to arrive at before seeing him, the practice building with the single-stall bathroom, wich was empty at the time, but then, sudendly he stopped running and in the empty hallway he put his hands on his knees abruptly.

“H-hey Isac...”

“Don’t look!”

He yelled at me, and then I witnessed, the event I mentioned on the first chapter.

After yelling at me he spat out a gruesome yell like his throat was being pierced and shrunk into the ground like something was pushing him, and then

A thorn came out of his back

A fucking thorn, 

And then came another one, and another one and they just kept apearing, each one looked like they were growing from his skin and when they grew large enough they just pierced it and became porcurpine-like thorns.

He was curled up in the ground.

Crying and screaming, but his screams were muffled up, he was bitting his coat to muffle them, muffling them so no one could hear, and in this way, he suffered

Like a hedgehog that leaved the group on the winter. Pretty much dying

I just stood there, dumfounded,

What the heck just happened?

What the heck is happening?

No, actually I knew what was happening, I was just shocked. A scene such as this could only have one cause:

An aparition, or like someone I know calls them; neighboors.

I am telling you my toughts now, but I won’t lie, I took my sweet time to be in shock at the moment.

“Ghhh!... Ah!”

At that moment, I stoped looking away from the situation in front of me, and I saw all of those thorns get back into his skin on a nothing short than agoniating way, i’ll leave that one up to your imagination.

After all that I tried to talk to him, but this is how he brushed me off:

“Get away from me you incopetent nobody. I don’t need your help.”

Please, you can’t even walk.

But part of me was simply hit by those words, and I couldn’t help but watch his back as he stumbled his way through the halls.