The Knight in Dark Armor

Chapter 1

My name is Caden Jackson. I go to a average high school with average people, living an everyday life. My life is a simple one, full of friends and a couple people I would really not like to get into a fight with. My one big problem in my life is I can not face conflict. I either will run away or shut down in the midst of an argument or fighting. My best friend Camila, who I call Cam as she hates being called by her full name for some reason, usually sticks up for me if I've messed up with someone. Somehow I always get into trouble more than my other peers. Either by tripping on something which more often than not pisses off one of the bullies by me landing into them or the other way is by saying something I shouldn't to whoever got on my nerves. That's the other thing, not only do I not like conflict but I have a short temper.
On one particular day someone decided to piss me off real bad by shoving my face into my food like it was a birthday cake or something. The funny thing is, I could have decked this other kid... taught him a lesson if you will. I am not a scrawny shrimp but rather one of those scary guys you see in high school that look tough and have muscles bulging from everywhere they can. I went to the gym regularly and if you took one look at me, you would know not to mess with me. That's just looks though, personality wise I had that strange fault of not doing anything about whoever pissed me off. When my face didn't come up from my food the punk who had done the deed started laughing.
"Ah Clumsy Jack." The kid sneered. "Looks like your food is all messed up." He grabbed the back of my jacket by the hoodie and pushed my face farther in. At this point my anger had reached an all time high.
I sort of growled as I lifted my face from my food and stood up slowly the kid still holding onto my hoodie until I was taller than him. I turned around slowly and gave him a deathly stare, my anger seeping.
He didn't even take a step back, or look frightened in the least. "Clumsy Jack?" He said as if waiting for something to happen.
I stared him down, but that's all I could do and he knew it too. Of course it was famous bully Matthew Owens, sneering at me as if he knew I wouldn't be able to take him if I wanted to. That wasn't the case and I knew deep down inside he knew it. If I just took one step forward I could scare this kid away. I couldn't though...
As if on some kind of cue Cam came from the cafeteria entrance and rushed over to me.
"Matt!" She yelled at the still sneering bully. "Go pick on somebody else." She took a step in between me and Matt. "Someone who would kick your ass."
"Well, clumsy Jack could if he would just try." He glanced over cam towards me. "But he's too much of a wimp." He looks down at Cam. "Plus, he's got you to look out for him." All the same though, Matt walked past Cam and to my side and patted me on the shoulder. Then in a soft whisper only I could hear. "You won't always have your bitch looking out for you ya know?" He sneered one last time and he walked away.
All the anger in me was saying to chase him down and tear him limb from limb but my body would not listen to my brain.
"Come on Caden." Cam said softly to me as she grabbed my arm and motioned for me to sit back down. My anger started to subside and I sat back down. I looked at the mess before me and decided I wasn't hungry.
"You can't keep letting him call you clumsy Jack you know." Cam said.
"I know." I said to her, my anger completely subsided. "You have to admit though I am very clumsy."
Cam smiled at me and glanced to her right as her boyfriend arrived. Ethan Wintell was the nicest guy I knew and he was my friend as well. He smiled at me as he sat down next to Cam. "What was that about?" He asked her.
I decided to answer for her. "Just more trouble I got myself into." Cam shoots me a frown. I would rather just not be told how to face conflict at that moment. "Listen guys." I start out. "I'm just gonna go read in my classroom I'll see you later."
Cam hugged me goodbye and I nodded to Ethan before I left. I walked to my classroom said hi to my teacher and sat down to read the book I was currently studying in the class.

****
When school was over I would always have to walk home and this was my least favorite part of the day. With only a mother now that my father had divorced her, she had to work harder to pay for me and my siblings. That meant I had to walk over a mile to get home. I wasn't mad at my mom of course but I did not enjoy walking home as it created ways to have conflicts and impasses with other people.
As I walked home that day I was pondering in thought as usual. Why couldn't I face my conflict with other people. I had the anger and ferocity to do something about it but I just couldn't. I had been tested and there was no chemical imbalance problem with it. I just genuinely did not like conflict. Other people say that as a way to avoid it but for me it was my daily life something I almost had to live by.
My thoughts were interrupted however as I was pulled aside quite roughly. With this jerky motion I tripped over whoever it was that had pulled me and fell to the ground.
I was not in an alley not even too far from home with a man standing over me.
The man pulled me to my feet roughly and punched me in the face. My nose broke and blood started gushing out as the force knocked me to the ground. The man got on top of me and forced me down punching me whenever I resisted.
I got ready to scream as it seemed I was being mugged from my carelessness of not paying attention to my surroundings. I couldn't yell though as the man thrust his hand over my mouth which tasted of what tar must taste like, that was the only thing I could compare it to.
The man pulled out a knife and flashed it at me. He then rose his finger to his mouth to tell me to be quiet. I had no intention to be quiet and deep inside me my anger and frustration were building. Many thoughts flashed of ripping this man apart or even somehow exploding him with my mind. I couldn't even raise a fist though as he started digging through my pockets. Being only about an appearance of a seventeen year old I must have looked like good pickings for the guy.
I couldn't struggle or anything as my body refused to listen to my brain. The man stopped and looked at me.
"What's in the backpack?" He asked in a very gruff voice.
My mind froze I couldn't even speak back to him.
"I asked you a question." He said with a sort of dark smile as he stabbed my leg with the knife and then pulled it out quickly.
I screamed in pain as blood started flowing from that wound. I was now bleeding from both my nose and leg and knew I wouldn't be able to keep my self conscious for long.
The man suddenly turned me over quickly and pushed my head into the concrete. Cars drove on through the afternoon close by not knowing what was happening mere feet next to them as they passed by.
The man jammed the knife into my leg as he ripped my backpack from my arms and started to look inside.
My vision was fading out and I knew I had to think of something fast or I was going to bleed out or worse this guy was going to have his way with me before I would die.
Mustering all the will I had, I tried to make my arms move for me to pick myself off the ground but I couldn't. I was frozen in not fear, but an unwillingness to face this problem.
All I could think of was how I was going to die as the knife felt less and less painful as I faded from consciousness. One word sounded out through and broke my momentary blackened vision.
"Rise."