The Alphabet Superset: Week 13: My God, What Have I Done

Reference Link: https://katu.com/news/local/gallery/fbi-portland-seeks-tips-from-may-riot-near-justice-center?photo=1

    White Scales was proud of his heritage. Descended from a lineage of human-dragon hybrids that was rumored to date back to the days of Medieval Europe, he had power and strength unmatched by most lowly humans. It had proven to make things rather boring.

    Until he came to Myers High School. The humans were no stronger physically, but they all had magic on their side. White Scales relished in the new challenges he faced. But sparring classes and official matches soon became boring. The rules held him and his opponents back from giving it their all. If he wanted the thrill of the fight, he would have to look elsewhere.

    Thus began the Fighting Den. An unofficial club he formed where students could do all out brawling. The strongest and most brutal students of Myers High School could come and duke it out without any staff holding them back. The only rules he enforced were rules that would protect the secrecy of the club. No obvious injuries, no deaths, no damage. For a month, these three rules kept the Fighting Den out of trouble.

    But thieves have this suspicious knack for infiltrating dragon hoards unseen, and the Fighting Den was no exception. Someone had recorded an entire fighting session and sold out several members. Soon the whole club was found out and White Scales was figured out. He was on the verge of expulsion when Professor Barrymore asked if he could attempt to reform White Scales as a test of a new initiative he was launching. White Scales thought he had dodged a bullet. If he had known what waited for him in the halls of Barrymore Dorm, he would've begged for expulsion.

    It was bad enough having his mind restrained and body controlled like a puppet. But watching Professor Barrymore use his body like an attack dog was insulting. White Scales had been raised to dominate and lead. To be overpowered and used like a pet dog was insulting and degrading. He vowed that if he ever got out, he would never allow anyone to use him again.

    The Entity screamed as the sword plunged into its heart. White Scales found his mind hurtling back to his body as white hot fire erupted from within the creature. He awoke back in his body, bound on the cafeteria floor. Nearby, the paladin and red-haired boy crouched, looking over a makeshift barricade made from some of the cafeteria tables.

    "They stopped." The paladin observed.

    "You think its over?" The red-haired boy asked.

    White Scales recognized the boys as the ones who took him down before the portal opened. Before the Entity died.

    "It's over. Now let me go." He barked at them, raising himself into a seated position. Both boys looked at him then over the barricade, as if trying to confirm his accusation. Finally, they looked at each and the paladin nodded. White Scales merely grunted when the red-haired boy untied his hands. He rose to his feet unsteadily, reacclimating to his body for the first time in over a year. It would take time to get back to full strength.

    He glared at the other two, angry that he couldn't have a match with them now without anyone intervening. He took a deep breath before speaking.

    "I saw your fight against my body while the... thing had my mind. Whenever we are all back to full strength, prepare yourselves. I will be looking for you and I will want a rematch without someone holding me back."

    White Scales walked away, ignoring the boys and the battlefield of a cafeteria around him. He didn't have long to get scarce before people began getting the school back under control.

…

    When Katherine had agreed to become a Paladin, she had done so believing she was following in her father's footsteps. She had seen it as the closest thing to a compromise. She had refused to give up her boyfriend, but there was no reason to not follow in her dad's footsteps at the time. He was a good man.

    Except, he wasn't, was he. One of the oaths of being a Paladin was to abandon desires of the heart and fully devote to God. The preachers said it was the only was to earn the blessings of the Divine Father. But desires of the heart included loving anyone else, according to them.

    When it was discovered that she was still dating her boyfriend despite her oaths, Mr. Martin had been swift in his judgement. 

    "The Father judges harshly," he had said, "and so must I."

    Katherine had been sent to the Barrymore Dorm, a new dorm whose sole purpose was to reform the worst behaving students in the school. Mr. Martin had apparently judged her oath violation as worthy of such punishment. Katherine wondered what he would think of her now.

    Now that her mind was returned to its body, it ran in circles, questioning everything she thought she knew about the world. If she had broken her oaths, then why did she still have her Divine Protection? If she still had the Divine Protection, then why had it not saved her from the torment of the past few months? Was she responsible for the harm her body and her divine gifts had caused? If the Paladin's were a family, why had none of them noticed her plight and come to rescue her?

    A moan pulled her attention away from her mental chaos. During the chaos, she had ended up in the middle of a siege of one of the school buildings. Now, those very same students were scrambling to help each other, many apologizing profusely or pleading to win back the trust of those around them. The scene reminded her of David, a fellow Paladin who had attempted to stop her before the portal opened.

    "Oh, shit, David!" She said aloud, before turning to head back to the courtyard where he had been left behind. She silently prayed that she would make it in time. If there was a God, she hoped He would answer at least this prayer for her.

…

    "No, no, no, no, no!" Catelyn mumbled to herself, digging through her clothes for cigarettes'. She knew they weren't there, but she checked anyway, hoping against hope. In the back of her mind, the memory lingered of watching her give all her smokes away to Mr. Barrymore after she was enthralled. The whole reason she had been sent there was because she got caught smoking at school multiple times. Teachers, students, even the janitor once. She missed the days that that was all she had to worry about.

    But like a damn, the other memories began to flood back. Being attacked at the Barrymore Dorm. Attacking the Scrawler. Attacking Miguel. Drawing those symbols. Ghosting her friends. Attacking Marcus. The blood, the screams of pain, the pleading, the fear.

    Catelyn had landed on a roof after her mind was free. It was the last thing she could focus on before the memories began to flood in. Now she frantically dug around for her smokes. But they weren't there. There was nothing to stop the run away emotions.

    She puked on the roof and tried to catch her breath. Every muscle in her body seemed to tense up as she curled into a ball, wrapping her hands around her head and squeezing her eyes shut. She just wanted the memories to stop. She just wanted to forget. Anything was better then remembering the hell that had been her last couple of months.

…

    The Scrawler had been in control of his body the whole time that the portal was opened. Whatever spell Gabriella cast to cut off his mind from that of the Entity she also used on herself when the three saw the portal start to open. Miguel had raised a stone wall to seal the alley off and then they sat silently, waiting for the chaos to pass. They had listened as the school turned into a battlefield. They had seen the angel stab the Entity with a massive fiery sword and the resulting explosion. Now they watched as the portal disappeared.

    "I wasn't that bad, was I?" The Scrawler asked aloud to no one in particular. He didn't wait for a response. 

    "All I did was draw some pictures on some walls. I thought I could make a name for myself and everyone would think I was cool." The Scrawler walked to the nearest wall and leaned against it, staring at the now empty sky.

    

    "They could've just asked me to repaint the walls. They could've expelled me. They didn't have to give me to him. They didn't have to leave me in that place with him." Tears began to well up in his eyes as he remembered the restrained, the terror, the helplessness of watching his body run amok at the hands of a madman. 

    "I swear, I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just wanted to do something fun. Honest. I won't do it again, I swear. Just please don't send me back." With that, the dam broke. The boy curled himself into a ball, burying his head in knees, and cried his eyes out. Gabriella watched as Miguel sat next to the boy and put an arm around him.