Dream Chaser (Preview)

Chapter 1

Every morning played out the same way as the building awaited me. The structure itself was nothing out of the ordinary for our quaint little neighbourhood, that is, as long as you were sane of mind. The building that sat upon the hill was a prison to those who entered its four walls. The layered brick exterior was enough to trap the screams of the damned within it. However, no one would ever hear those screams in the neighbouring residential community. Cross Lake Park Middle School was hell on earth in the rundown suburbs that comprised most of our community. The school was known for being filled with all of the city's outcasts. Even though we may have been just that and isolated from the rest, there were still cliques of people born in these four walls. I was a seventh-grader in the school at the time. I wasn't one of the popular outcasts, but I was on the bullies' most-wanted list purely because of my looks. Normally, I was a fun-loving yet rebellious teenager with longer hair than most boys. I also had a taste for rock music in a school that mainly enjoyed hip-hop.

I was an entertainer at heart, but in the wasteland that consisted of seventh-grade angsty teenage predators, I was fresh meat that they smelt a mile away. Always wanting to make it change, I woke up every morning with higher-than-life hopes that maybe this day would be different from the last. I wanted to finally be given a chance and show people who I really was while also being accepted by them. Today was no different as I held onto the hopes of no longer being a target. Yet, when I walked out the door of my house and into the prison on the hill. I quickly became hopeless. Each day ended up being the same as the last. The vultures would swarm me once I walked into the school, having no respect for my well-being, let alone my life. When my foot landed past the threshold of the school's entrance, the game was on. I was covered in snow, and my enemies were already waiting for me in the foyer of the building. Leaning up against one of the columns in the room in unison, they all turned to face me as if my footsteps were a bell ringing around my neck. Stepping the rest of the way caused them to reposition themselves and slowly form around me. Zack was the leader of the popular bullying crew. His hair was cut short, appearing as if it was completely buzzed off and ready to go to war. His physique was equivalent to that of a linebacker on a major league football team. To sum it up, he looked like an immovable wall. Which I had found out the hard way.

"Well, well, well, boys. It's our favourite person." Zack chirped as his goons all smiled around him.

I did my best to stay silent, keeping my eyes on the ground to avoid making eye contact with them. If I did, then that would be the end of me. They were like raging bulls, and given the attention, they would put on a deadly show for everyone willing to watch. Although staying silent was a risky option as well. They made sure I was aware of it.

"What? Are you too good to look at us today, Drew?" Zack called out again, and with my eyes looking at my feet, I didn't notice my bullies approaching.

Zack's shoes came into my view, and I knew if I lifted my head, I would be face-to-face with him. I tried to move around like always, but Zack did his best to block my path. Even if I tried to get close, he would shove me back, causing me to stumble and desperately struggle to rebalance.

"Can you please just stop," I asked them, as the defenceless tone of my voice fueled my words.

"Oh, look, boys, it speaks. How about you make me Drew, or are you too much of a girl with your hair like that?" Zack teased again, just like any other day.

Again, I avoided answering as I tried to walk around Zack and his goons. Only to meet the same fate. This time, the shove Zack gave me was more brutal and nearly knocked me off my feet completely. Still, I rebalanced and immediately attempted to go in a different direction, but my defiance only made them angrier.