Unstoppable: Revitalized

-17-

"Liam's dead."

I spat as I coughed, shocked to my core. A shudder ran through me as I searched his face for a twinge, a smile, something to tell me Callum was lying, but nothing. He picked at his food, keeping his eyes down. I blinked, trying to keep the image of Liam's broken, bloody body out of my mind as I continued to wolf down the food.

He might have murdered me, but he can cook, and cook good.

"We called an ambulance, but by the time it got there, Liam was next to nothing. He barely had a pulse. His parents were calling for your blood, but in a couple weeks, they'll disappear. It'll be covered up, and life will go on. Well, except for everyone at school knowing you beat him. Lucky for you, he's already being framed. A suicide, at hospital, for the guilt he felt after 'relentlessly bullying so many students,' or something like that."

"I- I'm sorry. I, I killed him?"

"Yes, Adam. You killed Liam, and to keep you in school and out of jail, The Boss has dug you out of hell once again. Maybe now you'll finally realise what's at stake."

"Maybe you guys will let me live my normal life again" I muttered, more to myself, but Callum still caught it, leaning over the table slightly.

"Adam, you can never go back to normal life. There is no 'normal' anymore. You know what you are. Stop abusing it. I've been told to tell you, if you do something like this again, I have every right to lock you in a dark hole and leave you there for as long as it takes. So, behave, alright?"

Bones littered both our plates, wounded soldiers after a war, with both of us now facing each other, Callum barely able to keep contempt off of his face. I wanted to wipe his face clean, the anger I felt still bubbling like Poppy's skin, but I knew all I'd do is end up dead again, so biting my tongue seemed like the safer option.

"And what if I don't?" I pushed, against my better wishes, knowing it would only result in trouble. "What if I just run away, never come back here? What would you do then? You'd never find me, all of this would have been pointless."

"You won't. It's that simple." His face didn't shift, keeping the same dull expression I'd grown tired of at this point.

"Why not? Nothing's stopping me."

"Imagine the pain we'd put you through. The things we'd make you feel. You'd wish you could die." Callum's final words said all that needed to be said as he stood up, taking both our plates and cutlery, washing and hanging it on the rack to dry. I remained seated, more curious than ever to push the idea, but decided against it.

It's not worth the trouble.

"The Boss says I don't have to stay here tonight. Your on your own. Don't be stupid and run, we'd only find you. And after Liam? I'd really enjoy hurting you."

I kept my mouth shut until I heard my door slam, walking over to the window to watch him walk away. He didn't turn back once, his frame stalking into the early hours of the morning. Checking the time on my phone, I found five forty-seven AM, Tuesday. I'd clearly slept well, I felt no need to sneak in a few minutes, so instead I found myself dressed and ready for school early, sat by the TV, aimlessly flicking channels. No matter how hard I tried to focus, all the colours eventually blurred together in a mass, my brain struggling to concentrate.

What if my outside builds up first? My brain could be retraining itself, or reconnecting the stem, or anything. I have no idea what the inside of me looks like. What if I'm just constantly knitting myself back together again? Christ...

Finally, the time rang out to seven-thirty: I turned all the lights off, and stepped outside, the morning breeze causing a shiver to escape my body. Walking down the same old streets, I noticed how everything seemed darker than usual: Tree's adopted a grey, unnatural tinge to them, whilst the sky became a faded blue, tinted metal streetlights breaking my view of it occasionally. It was as if I'd stepped into an older version of the world, one in which my life was still somewhat normal, where I had some form of peace.

Who am I kidding? I never had peace. Every day, I was a target for Liam. I went unnoticed, I barely even spoke. I talk to no one, keep up with no one, and do nothing. Am I happy? Will I ever be happy again? How long can I fill this void with papers and work, before the thing I'm hiding from starts to stare me in the face? I'm burning out, I can feel it.

The school loomed over me, like a tiger sizing up smaller, easier prey to snap onto. It seemed malicious today, the shine of the gates seeming dimmer as more paint peeled from it's spiked walls. Kids talked a lot less today too: Everyone seemed to walk in on their own, head down and tail tucked between their legs. The silence that hung above everyone seemed unbreakable as I stayed at the front gate, trying to find someone who would break the unspoken vow of calm, but to no avail. Taking a deep breath, I stepped in, noticing a few kids parting ways to let me through, hushed whispers the only thing passing through their lips.

Everyone knows what I did to Liam. It was probably recorded, sent around. Everyone knows. It's going to be hard to stay invisible now. I can't tell if it's a good or a bad thing. What am I saying? Of course it's a bad thing! I beat someone to death. Not 'near death,' no. To. Death.

I stopped, taking a look up at the sky. Every time I do it, I hope for something other than what I normally see, but it never changes, its always the same colour:

The colour of shit.