[Content Warning. Reader discretion is advised. The following chapter contains elements that may not be suitable for younger readers.]
Sixteen Year old Dean Evans was currently board out of his mind as he listened to his fourth period algebra teacher, Mr. Ross's Monotone voice drone on about quadratic equations. He was pretty sure he was ADHD but with his current living situation he was undiagnosed. His mind tended to wonder quite often, resulting in a fair bit of detintions from various teachers including his current one. Mr. Ross had already confiscated his cell phone at the beginning of class. This was an everyday requirement in every single one of his classes as part of the action plan that they had him on due to him not paying attention. They had tried to call home to his legal guardians multiple times but stopped when they discovered that they didn't care. They even called child protective services on his guardians for not taking an active role in his life, believing he was being abused at home. But when school administrators caught wind of a rumor that his guardians had payed off the investigators, their suspicions only grew. Unfortunately they were unable to prove anything so the school districts lawyer hired a private investigator to look into the situation. This ended with the school district getting a cease and desist order from the families attorney stating that further harassment will be met with a lawsuit. immediately following this, the principle, the superintendent and the teacher that reported it resigned. The new superintendent that was hired told all staff members that CPS was not to be called unless undeniable proof exists that a child is being harmed.
Dean was failing in pretty much all of his classes. The only ones he did well in was his music classes like Band, and choir as well as his after school activities such as drama club but that wasn't a graded class. He also did well in gym class. Dean knew that he needed to buckle down and try to at least get his grades up to a C average if he wanted to go to college. Getting into a Great collage such as The Ohio State University or Harvard was out of the question even though he was only in tenth grade. He would have needed a 4.0 grade point average in order to even be considered for those collages. Due to the no child left behind law, he was passed onto the next grade even though he failed his ninth grade year. Part of this was due to the school districts fear of his guardians.
"Mr. Evans if your not going to at least pretend to pay attention why are you even here" said his Teacher.
Deans friend Mike elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention "ouch, what" asked dean as he rubbed his side.
"Dude, where's your mind at bro? Teach has called your name three times." he said with a worried look. Mike had noticed over the past school year that his friends attention span was getting worse and he knew for a fact that his aunt and uncle who he lives with full time care not for his well being. They would much rather spend their Billions on their two biological kids then worry about an orphan. "are you ok bro? Your heads in the clouds a lot more than usual."
"im fine" he said "i just find this all to be pointless. Hell bro I could drop out and live as a homeless bum. My aunt and uncle would be glad to be rid of me"
"Well Mr. Evans if you feel you can survive as a short sixteen year old who cant even work without a permit then by all means drop out if you think you can." said Mr. Ross "i'm sure the school would also be happy to be rid of you"
Dean thought about doing just that but what the teacher said was true. How would he survive without a job? Nobody would hire him without a workers permit. That wasn't even the main reason as to why they wouldn't hire him. He didn't look his age. He looked more like a prepubescent boy of eight to ten rather than a boy who is supposed to be half way through puberty. And with no way to prove his age, potential employers wouldn't even ask if he could get a workers permit. They would have him removed from the building. With no plan in place currently he decided against dropping out. "nah, i'm good" he said
"then please pay attention. I know that's a hard concept for your underdeveloped brain to grasp." he said
The rest of class passed without another disturbance but Dean was still unable to concentrate. Thankfully the bell rang signaling the end of the class. "bro, you really need to see a doctor" said Mike as they walked down the hall towards the cafeteria "you know my little brother. He has ADHD and can concentrate more than you can and he's four years younger than us."
"I thought best friends were supposed to pick you up, not tear you down even more by comparing you to their little brother" said Dean as he picked up a tray and got in the lunch line. "Tim might be four years younger then you but he's almost a foot taller than me and more developed where it counts"
"That's why you need to go to the doctor bro. This isn't normal. Your sixteen years old and i can carry you on my hip" said Mike as they sat down at a table outside.
"boy who needs bullies when you have friends" said Dean with a downcast face "if you're trying to make me feel better its not working."
"i'm trying to make a point because im worried about you" said Mike as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"do you honestly think my deadbeat aunt and uncle are going to take the time out of their busy lives to take me to the doctor?" he said poking at his sandwich. He didn't have much of an appetite.
"They wouldn't want someone like me to put a black mark on their perfect rich family"
"it's almost as if they dont want you" said Mike
"according to my older cousin my dad was adopted and my uncle never considered him family so by proxy he doesn't consider me family" said Dean
"That still doesn't answer my question" replied Mike "I think you told me that before."
"Did you know that the state of Ohio offered my aunt and uncle the opportunity to adopt me but they refused. My case worker wouldn't tell me the reason why when I asked him. I think it's because they're getting paid to care for me" Said Dean "basically i'm just a paycheck and free labor to them"
"that's sad" Mike said as he stuffed the last of his lunch in his mouth. "if i was old enough I would adopt you"
"you know for a big weight lifting meathead you're not a bad guy" said Dean with a smile "i think youd be a good dad."
"To bad it'll never work" said Mike with a laugh
"why not? I could pass for a six year old" said Dean
"hmmm....you might be able to get away with being a seven year old but any younger than that would be pushing it too much. why are we talking about this?" said Mike
"because you said you would adopt me if you could" said Dean
"oh yeah. Anyway you coming over after school? We can play some Halo"
"what is it with you and these retro games man" Said Dean with an eye roll "Halo, Super Mario Brothers, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, all games that came out when your dad was a kid"
Mike gasped at this statement "i'm going to tell my dad you said that"
"Oh no, please don't tell the aging millennial. He may get offended" Dean laughed
"That's messed up man" said Mike "are you coming over or not dork"
"Probably not….i have too many chores to do, it's Friday…remember " he said "it's great to think about though. I would do anything for even a generation one Nintendo. My cousins have multiple consoles but I'd be grounded for a month for even thinking about touching them"
"If you're going to daydream at least dream of a console with better graphics"
"Says the man who plays a first gen Nintendo most of the time" said Dean with a laugh as they walked back inside to dump their trays in the garbage.
"Hey, don't be Hating on the older games. Their really good" said Mike
"I'm sure most of the human race would disagree. The only reason those games still get played is for the nostalgic feeling millennials and gen X get when they play them. With the invention of virtual reality games, gaming with regular consoles is fading quickly. In about 15-20 years, maybe less, that's all you'll find on the market."
"You don't actually believe that do you?" Said Mike
"Sure I do" he responded "people are so quick to move on to the next best thing. Take our ansesters for example. The games they played before the invention of electricity and the development of the first console are all but forgotten. Name five games that your ansesters played." Said Dean. Mike thought hard but couldn't think of a single one "you've got nothing. People don't care about old my friend"
Mike rolled his eyes. This was a typical attitude for Dean. His mom would call Dean an old soul. When he asked her what that meant she shirked off the question by changing the subject. Which Mike found very odd behavior. It was an honest question. He didn't fret about it though because he could just look up the definition on his phone. Which he did. And found out that the definition varies depending on your beliefs. People that are spiritual and worship the earth and it's creators believe that someone with an old soul has reincarnated many times and are beginning to wake up spiritually. Folks that don't believe in reincarnation, like Christians and other religions, believe that someone with an old soul likes old things over new modern things. Like music for example. If a gen Zer likes to listen to Elvis Presley or the Bee Gees they would be considered to have an old soul.
"Alright man I'll see you in choir" Mike said as he ruffled Deans hair.
Dean tried to knock his hands away but with his strength on par with an average little boy he made no headway. "Every day" he said with a glare that slowly turned into a grin "see you in choir meat head" he said as he dodged Mikes hands as they tried to grab him.
"Don't make me tickle you till you pee yourself again" he said
"That happened once" said Dean in defense. "And I warned you"
"Whatever you want to say to make yourself feel better dude" Mike called out as he rounded the corner into the tenth grade hallway.
Dean walked in the opposite direction to his sixth period class that just happened to be jazz band. When he entered the band room he said hello to the band director and walked to his locker to get his clarinet. Dean hated the clarinet because he was the only boy that played the instrument. The rest were girls and the boys would call him a derogatory name for a gay boy. When he brought this up to his aunt and uncle they said that the clarinet was free and they didn't think he could handle the Weight of the other instruments. Dean suspected that they just wanted to humiliate him but didn't want to openly say that because it would make them look bad to the media. According to everyone in town he was just an orphan with no actual ties to the family and that my aunt an uncle wanted to do something charitable so took him in. They do just enough to make themselves look good on camera but that's wear the generosity ends. And technically speaking he really didn't have ties to the family. His claim to any money ended with his father's death.
"Hey girl" said one of the trumpet players in reference to Dean as he sat down behind the boy.
"Hhhh hi Sam" he responded as he sat down and got the sheet music for Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy out as that's typically the first one they start with.
"I didn't know you were transitioning to a girl" he taunted.
"I'm not" Dean said. Sam always had something to say about the way Dean looked. His features were very elf like. He was fair skinned with not a single blemish to be found anywhere on his body. He had baby blue eyes, a small button nose, long straight blond hair and a height of 3' 5". He was mistaken for a young tomboy all the time. the only thing he was missing was the pointy ears.
"Could have fooled me" he said back, causing his friends to laugh hysterically "better be careful, someone might mistake you for a pretty little girl and have their way with ya"
"And you better be careful because people might mistake you for an ork with such an ugly face" he whispered that last part because the band director had come out of his office. Dean smiled at Sam which pissed him off.
"Boy Sam the way you pick on poor little Dean I'd say you had a crush on him" said one of the girls in the saxophone section.
"Yeah, everyone in the school knows your bi. Why not profess your love to him and get it over with" said another saxophonist.
"That's enough of that" said the director "any kind of bullying will be met with severe punishment. I don't care why you were doing it?"
This was the first time Dean was hearing about this and to say he was creeped out is an understatement. "Is that true" he said standing up and looking at Sam. To which the boy blushed and tried to hid his face. "Oh my god, it is." Said Dean in disgust. He was not a homophobe but with him looking like he should still be in preschool or kindergarten, any of his classmates that were attracted to him was a problem. "You do realize I haven't even started puberty yet. I look like a little boy about ten years younger than you. Your little brother looks older than me Sam."
"Dean this is not the place for this conversation" said the band director
"He needs help Mr. S" said Dean "for his pedophilic tendencies"
"ENOUGH" he yelled causing everyone to jump Including Dean. "Do not throw that terminology around without proof of such a crime. Am I clear" Dean nodded "if this leaves this room and becomes a rumor I will personally see to it that all of you are suspended. Now let's start with our usual order. Horns up and a one and a two" he counted off and the kids went into their rendition of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. In choir they were beginning to learn their Christmas lineup of songs which included classics, like jingle bells, sleigh ride, The first Noel, and Mary did you know. And also included Mariah Carey's all I want for Christmas is you and a song that he's heard on the radio a few times around Christmas called the Christmas shoes.
Once school let out for the day he stayed in the auditorium for drama club. They we're rehearsing A Christmas Carol, where of course he was cast as tiny Tim. Mike usually stuck around to watch the rehearsal and also to walk Dean home so he didn't have to be alone. Mike always used the excuse that creepy people lurked everywhere. but today he had to leave right at the end of choir due to a minor family emergency.
"should I call Home for a ride" he thought for a split second " who am I kidding? They're not gonna come get me." he said out loud as he proceeded on his usual route. He had found a path directly through the woods behind the school that lead about half a mile from his aunt and Uncle's mansion. It was a 5 mile walk one way so he had to leave the house at four in the morning just to get to school by seven. If he walked on the sidewalk, it would take him an additional hour to walk the additional 2 miles that would be added to his already 5 mile journey. It was a pretty dense forest so the canopy did a really good job at blocking out the sun. It seemed extra scary today. But he chalked it up to being alone. He normally walked with Mike Who had yet to get his drivers license? His friend lived in the area where he did so it wasn't too much out of his way to meet Dean at the forest line.
After taking out his flashlight he took a deep breath and entered the dark forest. Beginning the long five mile long journey. About a mile in he noticed that he couldn't hear the typical noises one would hear in a wooded area. No birds singing, no bugs chirping. There wasn't even any croaking frog in the stream he passed just now. There was nothing but an Erie silence. Almost like when they react to the presence of a predator. Dean had an uneasy feeling. About two and a half miles in he knew that it was a mistake to walk this way without Mike. The uneasy feeling he had turned into a feeling of being watched. A feeling of being followed. At one point he thought he saw something large with scales but thought that it was a trick of the light. At that moment Dean felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and his vision went dark.
*****************
When Dean came too he was tied up. He noticed that a bunch of Boys were sitting around a small fire. They were laughing and joking and just being boys. Nothing out of the ordinary, so why did they hit him in the head? That's when he noticed the older two boys were Sams goons that would hang around with him, but he looked around and couldn't find Sam.
" well well well look who's finally awake" a voice said from behind him. Dean Craned his neck to see who it was only to find Sam.
" Sam" said Dean in confusion "why am I tied up to a tree"
" so you don't get away, obviously" said Sam with a evil laugh " it would make what I'm about to do very difficult if you were able to run away"
Dean was confused as to why Sam would do this. He racked his brain trying to figure out if he did something or said something to upset him. That's when he remembered what happened in jazz band. He vaguely remembered calling Sam a pedophile. Everybody was making fun of him. " does this have anything to do with me calling you a pedo?" He asked
" wow, so there is a brain inside that tiny head of yours. Yes, that is exactly why I am doing this. You basically destroyed my image. And now I'm gonna make an example out of you." Said Sam as he punched Dean in the stomach.
Dean felt all the air rush out of them all at once. The pain was instant, and he had the urge to cry but he managed to hold himself together. " you've never had an image to begin with, so how was I able to destroy it? Everybody knows you're gay."
" shut up" said Sam in anger "I am not gay. Now not only does people think I'm gay but they think I'm a pedophile and it's all because of you." Said Sam as he pulled out a pocket knife. He grabbed a hold of Dean's head and ran the blade of the knife across his cheek. But his anger only got worse when Dean didn't cry out in pain. " I guess I'm going to have to take this up a notch" he said " i'm surprised such a small boy like you has such a large will. We'll have to see if we can destroy that like you destroyed my life." He continued.
After about an hour of torture Dean had lost all of his fingernails and toenails due to sam pulling them off one by one. He had more cuts on his body than he could count, which caused him to be completely covered in blood. He had been punched in the private area more times then he could count, as well as being punched in his face and other parts of his body. He was crying now because he couldn't handle the amount of pain that he was in.
"Finally" said Sam " but Just because you're crying now doesn't mean I'm done"
" please…stop." Dean begged "I'm sorry….i'll do anything…just stop" This however, was just an act. Dean had stopped feeling the pain a while ago as an Energy built up inside of him the more Sam mutilated his body. His anger also kept building as well. Sam punched him in the stomach again and Dean felt a rib brake.
The energy that was building up inside of him built to a dangerous level this time. He was trembling with the built up energy. "I think you should stop, sam" he said through swollen lips.
"awww.....look at the little boy trembling in fear" taunted sam as he picked up his pocket knife "everyone knows that your aunty and uncle despise you. That means that nobody will miss you but that pea brained meat sack you hang around with....what's his name....Mike." said Sam with a smile
"you know, you didn't need an audience if all you were going to do was beat me up" said dean as he coughed up blood.
Sam laughed at his response "well little boy, my original plan was to have my way with you after i ruff you up a bit and these guys wanted in on it as well."
"why are you telling me this" Dean said as he continued to tremble with the built up energy "aren't you worried that i'll turn you into the police"
"unless your ghost can figure out how to communicate to the living I'm not worried" he said with another evil smile. Dean was confused by what he said and it must have shown on his face. "ugh...How are you going to tell anyone when your dead?"
That registered in Deans mind and he got a worried look on his face that was real. He didn't want to die. Sam was right though, nobody was going to miss him if he did die out here in the middle of the woods. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the blade of sam's knife enter his abdomen. He gasped when sam twisted the blade.
Sam backed away from Dean because he began to glow with a golden hue. He turned to run but it was to late. Dean roared with all his might and an energy blast came rushing towards him. He felt a pinch around his midsection but ignored it and tried to run but his legs were no longer listening to his brains commands. "What is happening" He yelled in fear "why can't I feel my legs" was the last thing Sam said before his top half slid off his lower half. When he saw that he had been cut in half he screamed for help. but his friends and brothers didn't respond. "Guys, help me please" he pleaded. But they still remained motionless. He looked back at where Dean was and noticed that He was on his hands and knees. All the blood and cuts were gone and his clothes had been replaced. What unnerved Sam the most was the eyes that glared back at him. they were full of golden light. Dean stood and walked over to where sam lay on the ground. "stay away from me demon" he yelled but Dean didn't stop until he was right in front of him. When dean spoke it sounded like multiple people talking at the same time.
"Normally I wouldn't do something like this" said Dean as he stood over Sams top half "normally you would be reincarnated as well as your friends and you would pay back this Karma in your next life but I have a better Idea. As punishment for trying to kill me I am going to absorb your soul and you will be used at a later date. Once I have completed my awakening and remember this event I will find a good use for you.
Sam felt a suctioning deep inside him as his energy was being siphoned off to the point he couldn't move anymore. Then the pain hit him, It felt like something deep inside was being ripped away. He began to plead "please stop...it hurts" he cried out as blood spurted out of his mouth. He felt something rising up his throat and screamed out "MOMMYYYYYYYY.....AAAAAHHHHHHHH" the life left his eyes as a ball of pure light lifted from Sams throat. The soul continued to scream as it floated towards Dean and entered his chest. Once the soul was settled in Deans Inner would the golden hue faded as well as any memory of what just happened.
Deans hands flew to his abdomen feeling for the stab wound and gasped when he felt nothing. "I swear sam stabbed me" He said out loud. he felt around his body and noticed that all his wounds were gone as well "Maybe I'm going nuts" he said but then noticed the fire and the boys still sitting around it but they weren't moving at all, unlike earlier. "hey guys where did Sam go? I swear he was right her in front of me a second ago" he yelled to the others but they didn't respond. He started to walk over to them but tripped over something and fell to the ground. He looked back at the thing that tripped him and screamed while backing away until he hit another tree. In front of him was two pieces of Sam and his mind whirled "who did this" he said out loud. He closed his eyes and calmed his racing mind. He looked at Sam again and noticed his eyes were cloudy and he was still as the grave. It was quite say for the crackle of the fire. "he's definitely dead" he thought to himself. he spent some time trying to figure out how this could have happened. "I must have passed out.....no, I was standing up when I came to. How did I get untied? Why was I so far from the tree I was tied to? why weren't the boys around the fire moving?" he thought. These were the questions that swirled inside Deans mind. He stood up and went over to the fire. They had the same cloudy eyes as Sam. He went up to the smallest boy and noticed that it was Sam's Youngest brother who was nine years old. A line of blood trickled down from the middle part of the boys face, telling Dean that the top part of his head had been cut through. He touched the boy and noticed that he was as stiff as a board.
"No wonder they haven't fell over yet" he said
He moved onto the next boy identifying him as Sams middle brother who was eleven years old. "The other three where the guys from his class that were always seen around Sam. All of them were dead. Their parents would never hear their voices again. The thing that was bothering Him the most was the fact that he didn't feel any remorse whatsoever.
Dean found the trail and his book bag and continued on his way like nothing happened. A thought was blooming in his mind, "maybe I did this" He thought "it would explain why I don't remember it. Maybe it was like a werewolf thing. They don't remember anything when they change on a full moon. but I can say that i'm not a werewolf because its not late enough for that. there was nobody else around so It has to be me" He concluded "it has to do with that energy build up I felt. Maybe I let out a wind slash or mana slash or something and don't remember. But wouldn't i be tired if that was the case?" He sighed "I read why to many WebNovel stories. That can't be right. There's no such thing as mana or magic." Dean kept walking down the path thinking to himself.
He was about three quarters of a mile from the massacre when he saw a dead deer with similar injuries to the boys. "It has to be some sort of energy blade" he thought. "A powerful one at that. Then another thought hit him. If it cut through the flesh of everything in its path wouldn't it have cut through the trees as well" he said out loud as he pushed on a small tree. This was a mistake because the sudden pressure was all the severed tree needed to topple over into the tree next to it starting a domino effect that saw tree after tree falling to the ground. Dean ran as fast as he could until he was sure he was safe. finally he exited the woods.
Following closely behind Dean was another boy with baby blue eyes just like Dean that had remained invisible as well as a bigger beefier version of the boy. Once Dean was out of sight they turned visible and revealed their scales as they faded back into their bodies.
"You were right daddy" said the smaller boy "it is him. I wasn't sure at first but now that his power was awakened im sure of it"
"yes, I am to baby" said the older one "we should go before the humans show up and begin their investigation."
The younger boy looked in the direction that Dean had walk in "I finally found you"
"quit wasting time son. I don't want to be here when the humans show up"
The boy ran to catch up to his dad. "hey daddy can i ask you a question?"
"I suppose"
"Why did you manipulate Sam like that. He could have killed Dean had he not woken up at the last second. And you got his two little brothers killed as well." said the young boy
"His little brothers weren't innocent, they were going to take advantage of Dean as well. With no help from me"
"I don't feel good about it" said the boy as they walked in the front door only to be met with a very angry woman.
"you are in big trouble" she said as she tapped her foot. "I felt the energy fluctuation from here. I also felt the deaths of all those trees and animals and the six human boys that were diced up like potatoes"
"will you calm down" Tera
"don't you tell me to calm down Mikey. Don't you dare" she said as she stomped her foot.