School of Elementals: Karen Killer

4 | Gangster

On the third evening, his grandparents dropped him off at a place where his friends were waiting. They planned to have a feast together, and as Clara ran up to him, he expected a look of happiness, but instead, she looked worried.

"Keith," she said, "something's wrong here."

A scream was heard from inside, and Keith ran towards the restaurant, Clara following him. The moment he burst open the doors, he found Alexandra and a few other friends cornered by a gang with weapons. A gun was aimed at them, and the man holding it shouted, "Hand over the money."

The inside looked like a Chinese restaurant, but no one except for the kids and the gangsters were there. "What do you mean, 'money'? I got nothing on me! There's someone else who's paying for it!" Alexandra shouted.

The man then instinctively aimed straight at Keith's head, but before he could shoot, Clara got in front of him.

"Wait no-" he tried to say, but it was already too late.

The moment a bang was heard, blood splattered out from her head. She fell on the floor, lifeless, and Keith looked at her for a brief moment, before saying, "You've taken it too far, motherfucker."

He cracked his knuckles, and just as the gangster was about to fire another shot, Keith grabbed the register and used it to block the attack. He threw it straight at him, knocking him down with the weight, and said, "Ah, fuck. I just remembered I haven't eaten yet. When's the food going to come?"

As if on cue, the chef came out from the back, only to find a soon-to-be battle scene. Keith said, "Please put it at the table over at that corner. We'll eat it later." The chef obeyed, and the moment he left the room in fear, he shouted, "All of you, quickly get out and call the police. I'll deal with these motherfuckers who dare to beat the shit out of you."

His friends ran out of the restaurant, and Keith placed Clara's body by the wall. He opened a nearby drawer and took out a knife, and counted the enemies. 3 in total, 2 with a knife and one with a gun. He ran straight at the nearest one, and just as he was about to get shot in the head, he jerked himself backwards to avoid the bullet, before slamming his head at the man's face. He then lashed out with his knife at the other knife holder, and the two of them fought for a short while until Keith disarmed him, the knife falling to the ground. He picked it up, and then instantly threw it at the man with the gun, cutting his finger. He fired a shot, and it grazed his shoulder, a bit of pain flowing along with the blood.

He sliced the gun, then sliced the man's hand, causing him to shout in pain and drop the gun. Keith picked it up, and threw it at the trash can like a basketball player tossing a ball into the basket. It went straight in, and while the chef was placing the rest of the food on the same table, Keith stabbed a nearby table with the knife, and left it there. He said, "I'll pay for any damages, but you'll pay for killing my friend over there."

The police station wasn't far, so by the time Keith finished his sentence, a group of police walked in on the scene. He grabbed the 2 men on the ground by the collar, and dragged them over to the police, saying, "These men are part of this guy's gang over here."

The men were handcuffed, and just as the last one tried to land a punch at Keith's head, he blocked it with his right hand, saying, "Good game."

The assailant was immediately arrested, and one of the police asked, "I know you're trying to do good, but you've caused some property damage over here-"

"Don't worry. I can cover the cost."

He handed the police 2 entire wads of cash, and said, "Keep the change. If you'll excuse me, I have a friend who needs a proper farewell."

He walked over to the table with the food, and took a bowl of rice along with a bowl of soup and some chicken, and brought them over to Clara. He placed them down, and said, "I've done what I must now. Don't worry. I'll delete each and every single person who dares to injure my friends."

The food disappeared all of a sudden, and he looked around to find who else took it aside from her. The bowls were still there, and he said, "Enjoying it? Must be good, right?"

His friends got into the room just as he took the knife embedded in one of the tables, and Alexandra said, "What else happened here?"

"Those bitches got arrested, this knife needs to be cleaned, and Clara had her last meal. This was supposed to be a happy time, but..."

Tears started coursing down his face, and in a fit of rage, he slammed on one of the tables, shouting, "DAMMIT!"

The moment everyone calmed down, Keith finished his dinner while the others were talking in the background. He sat separate from the group, and thought of his family. He took the knife, and only had 2 thoughts with it: either aim it at his throat, and push it in, or aim it at those who dare threaten people he knew, and thrust it at them, no matter the cost.

He went with the second option, and sneaked the knife into his pocket. He then walked out the restaurant, and walked the 10 meter pebble road towards the road. He caught a taxi, but once he got inside, he found that the driver was none other than Jacob, who had driven him to the bar last night.

"I didn't expect to meet you again, Keith." he said.

"Yeah."

"Why do you sound a little too down today?"

"Things happened."

Keith went from being his cheerful self to absolutely depressed in just the span of a few days. At the very least, there were his grandparents and friends to cheer him up. The taxi drove off, and he said, "Welton Hotels, please."

"Eh? Not to Valin Tower?"

"Nah. I already met up with my friends earlier, so I want to go back."

"I see."

The taxi turned in multiple directions as he stared out the window, counting the stars. "So no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars" read part of the lyrics of a certain song he had heard many times. He said that line in his head, then thought it over. The same thing happened to him, and he closed his eyes, pushing away the thought, when all of a sudden, he heard an explosion from far away.

"Shit," Jacob said, "the road seems to be blocked. You'll have to walk there."

"Alright. Here's the fee."

Keith handed Jacob $50 in total, and walked out the door. He made his way through the cars, approaching the fire in front, when he saw a man creating explosions wherever his knives landed. Keith took out his own knife, and approached slowly.

"Hm? You're approaching me? You do know that this is suicide to approach me, Gabriel, right?" the man said, a grin on his face. His clothes were half-burnt, and he looked like a serial killer seeing their next prey.

"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting any closer." Keith said, walking up to Gabriel, the former's blue jacket apparently starting to catch fire by its tip. He put it out, and the latter stepped forward as he said, "Then come to Death, child."