New Zion

Cole pulled his blanket over his head as his curtains were thrown open.

“Come on, Cole. It’s time for school!” Cole pulled the blankets even tighter as the person tried to shake him awake. All they received from him was a long, tired groan. Cole felt the blanket slipped out of his grasp too quickly for it to register in his brain until after it was gone. A Lupine girl stood over him, holding the blanket. Cole lunged for it, but she held it just out of reach.

“Don’t wanna,” Cole responded, giving up on the blanket and wrapping his pillow around his head. His pillow was kidnapped as well.

“C’mon Cole, you promised you’d give me a ride to school. I can’t go alone!” Cole sighed.

“Sophie, are you sure that you don’t just want to show off my bike to your new friends?” he responded. Sophie’s snow-white hair only made her blush stick out even more.

“Of course not! I wouldn’t stoop so low as to do something like that,” she said, quickly turning away. Sophie was in grade five. She had inherited everything from Summer. It would be almost impossible to tell that she was Ryan’s daughter without genetic testing.

“I’ll be able to get up if you move. You’re kinda in the way,” Sophie blinked, then jumped off Cole’s bed, staring at him expectantly. “I’m not getting changed until you leave the room,” Cole stated.

“Right, sorry,” she said sheepishly, bounding out of the room. Cole looked at his clock, it’s face telling him it was seven. They still had an hour and a half until school started.

“Jeez, where does she get her energy from?” Cole mulled over that question as he pieced together his school uniform. This was their morning ritual. His school’s uniform was a white jacket with red seams, a plain white shirt underneath, a tie, and white pants. The school crest was a depiction of the regions, all in their respective colors, with a shield as the backdrop. Cole looked in the mirror. His hair was a little messy, with some tufts sticking out here and there.

“Perfect,” he said, smiling. Stepping out of his room, he made his way downstairs. Meandering through the house, he could smell French-toast and sausage. Entering the kitchen, he saw one of the ‘Family’ members preparing dinner. The man looked over his shoulder.

“Mornin Cole! You excited for School?” Cole looked up at the man, Harry.

“You know, I’m about as excited as the next guy is to go to school,” Harry smiled, and turned back to the food.

“Well, I suppose that makes sense. Anyhow, enjoy your youth, Cole, cause it won’t stay forever,” Cole froze.

“Boo!” Sophie jumped from nowhere and snapped Cole back to reality. “Ha-ha! I made you jump! I got you!” she continued. Cole turned back to her.

“And you released the most evil of evils from its cage. The tickle demon has broken free!” Cole began. Sophie jumped back, assuming a martial arts pose.

“What? I didn’t put that much power behind my attack!” she exclaimed.

“Hurry! Get away while you still can! I don’t think I can hold him in anymore!” Cole said, clutching at his heart.

“But, brother! I have to save you!” she proclaimed.

“It’s too late, run! I’ll cage him in again! Argh!!” Cole dropped to the floor.

“Brother! No!” Cole staggered to his feet, and put on a scary face.

“Your brother is gone! Now face my wrath!” Sophie mocked fear, and ran into the living room with Cole keeping his distance behind. She leapt over a couch, and hid behind it. Cole staggered into the room, and began to slowly walk around. “Where did the little girl go?! I must have vengeance!” Cole proclaimed, slowly moving closer to Sophie’s couch. He could hear her giggle, and he vaulted over the couch as well. “Found you!” Sophie made a face of shock.

“Oh No! He got me! Brother, please, I know you’re in there! Come back to me!” Sophie pleaded. Cole shook his head.

“Your brother is gone, I told you that already!” Cole proclaimed, making his voice sound weaker.

“No! He can’t be! We still have to get breakfast! Besides, he promised me he would take me to school!” Sophie countered. Cole shook his head again.

“You may have won this time, but I will not fail next time!” he stated and changed his facial expression.

“Sophie, you saved me from the demon! Thank you!” Cole said, giving her a hug.

“Of course I did! You have a promise to keep!” she stated. Cole laughed and stood up.

“Well, I suppose the food is ready by now. Come on, let’s go,” They walked back into the kitchen to find Ryan sitting there reading the newspaper.

“I was wondering what was going on this morning. So, Sophie, which demon did you beat today?” Ryan asked, smiling.

“The Tickle Demon came back, vowing revenge. But me and brother beat him back,” she said. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“That’d be ’brother and me’, Sophie. Remember, you gotta put the donkey before the cart. Anyways, I can’t help but notice that the demons only seem to manifest in Cole. Why do they dislike him so much, I wonder? Why not go after a more…” He chuckled. “Innocent soul?” Ryan pondered, staring off into space.

“Because an innocent soul is harder to take over. They need to take someone close to them, to take the soul” Sophie explained, pointing to Cole.

“Oh, so I am the bad soul?” Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not bad, but not pure. Like me!” Sophie responded, sitting down and stuffing her face full of food so that she wouldn’t have to answer any more questions. Ryan chuckled and went back to reading the newspaper. Cole managed to finish eating before Sophie, despite her head start.

“Well, let’s get going. I thought you wanted to go to school with me,” Cole teased as Sophie continued eating. “By the way, thanks for the food, Harry,” Cole went back upstairs to grab his books. By the time he was at the front door Sophie had finished eating and was putting her shoes on.

“We’re taking your bike, right?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to get to school on time. But, I might have stuff to get done after school today, so if that’s the case, then Mary will pick you up, ok?” Cole stated, slipping on his shoes. Mary was Harry’s wife, and Cole always did wonder about their names. It made it hard to know which one was going to answer when he called across the house. Cole and Sophie walked out the door and over to the covered area where his motorcycle waited. Cole grabbed one of the helmets on the rack and gave it to Sophie. He put on his own black helmet, and got on the bike.

“Cole, I can’t get it to work,” Sophie stated, her cheeks a little red. Sophie stepped closer, and Cole tied the straps properly. Hopping on the back, she wrapped her arms around Cole. Starting up the bike, he slowly drove towards the gate that led out of the grounds. For some reason, Ryan had set up the grounds just like a traditional Japanese estate. It still seemed a little strange to Cole, but it looked nice, so he didn’t complain. An elderly man, the groundskeeper, Herb, opened the main gate. Cole nodded his thanks, and they took off down the road. The bike glided soundlessly and smoothly down the streets as they made their way towards Sophie’s elementary school.

Cole pulled up in front of it, and Sophie hopped off. After helping her out of her helmet and putting it into a side pocket of the bike, he was just starting down the road when a large, solid object hit him square in the chest. The bikes engine stopped immediately after Cole’s butt left the seat. Cole landed on his back, the breath knocked out of him. He got up and looked at the man that had hit him. He was rather large, and had a few smaller guys around him. The large guy was probably Berg Leute.

“You know, if I had been going any faster than that, I could have died,” Cole exclaimed, pulling off his helmet. People must have heard the impact of the metal bar, as well as the bike clattering to the ground, because they started coming out of their homes. Even a few teachers from the middle school were now outside, trying to usher the students back in: they must have known what was about to happen.

“Well, I suppose I should have waited for you to speed up, then. Here, wanna try it again, or do you want to finish it right now?” the Berg Leute retorted. Cole sighed.

“Eh, the bill for fixing the scratches on my bike will already be high enough. Let’s just finish it here, so that we don’t have too much more to pay on it,” The Berg Leute smiled.

“Kid, do you even know who we are? We are the Night Riders!” Cole looked thoughtful.

“Aren’t you those squatters gathered up in the abandoned apartment building,” He finally asked. The Berg Leute blinked. “But nice name, I like it. Really catches the headlines, eh?” the Berg Leute paused.

“Are you making fun of us?” He yelled, his voice sounding rather harsh.

“Wait a second, did that offend you? I am so sorry. I didn’t think that sarcasm could actually register through that thick skull of yours. I thought you might take it as a compliment,” Cole didn’t laugh, but he kept smiling.

“Why you little…” the Berg Leute began. “Get him!” he commanded his underlings. The smaller guys ran at Cole.

“Aw, c’mon man, it’s too early in the morning for this. Can we please just wait till after…” Cole was interrupted as a man swung a wooden staff at him. Cole ducked, but another man kicked the back of Cole’s knee. He dropped. Another man came at him with a sword, swinging it down at him from above. Cole reached up and hit the side of the blade with his hand, redirecting it as he rolled to the side, barely managed to avoid the fourth man’s axe.

“You know, it’s kind of perplexing as to why the government has banned the use of guns, unless for military purposes. Wouldn’t guns make this situation a whole lot easier? I mean, it would be less messy as well,” Cole said, sidestepping as the man with the sword lunged at him. Cole hit the back of the man’s neck with enough force to make him drop, catching the man’s sword as he fell. It was long and curved, the type made for slashing. Cole shook his head.

“I mean, take this sword, for example. I could do this,” Cole slashed the man with the steel rod in the shoulder, severing a tendon. “and it makes such a huge mess. Look at the blood everywhere! I almost got some on my school uniform, and it’s white! Imagine how that would stain,” Cole admonished, slashing one leg of the guy who had kicked him, jumping back so as to avoid the blood splatter. “And now some poor lad has to come here and clean this off the ground,”

“Don’t mock us, kid!” the Berg Leute began. Cole lunged at him, but the Berg Leute swung the bat with enough force to break the blade. It was the kind built to block other swords and possible body parts such as the arms or legs, not solid objects swung by mountains of muscle. The Berg Leute then swung the bat back at Cole. The metal cylinder hit Cole square in the chest, far too quickly for him to dodge. It sent him flying, smacking him against the school’s perimeter wall. Cole dropped to the ground, and looked down at his chest as his shirt went red, and something was pushing up against the cloth, probably a rib. Cole waited a moment, and watched as the blood was drawn from the shirt, and the bone went back into place.

“You know, that hurt quite a bit. If I weren’t me, I would have been in trouble!” Cole smiled. “I hope that someone has called the police, and hopefully, a couple of ambulances. If not, could someone please do so right now?”

“I already called them. We are also all witnesses that you did not instigate the fight,” an elderly man offered, smiling.

“Thank you very much, sir!” Cole stood up, bowing.

“Don’t you forget about me!” the Berg Leute fumed, running at him. Cole’s smile faded, and he looked sideways at the Berg Leute. As the guy swung, Cole ducked and picked up part of the broken blade, slashing the Berg Leute in the legs as he jumped to the side. The Berg Leute went headfirst into the wall, and dropped. Cole walked over, and checked on the wall. There was a huge crack where the Berg Leute’s head had impacted it, and the wall was bent slightly in.

“Jeez, these guys are tough! The only way to knock them out is by dropping something super heavy on their head, poison, or themselves,” Cole stretched, turning to the crowd. “I sincerely apologize for the disturbance, but I have one more favor to ask. Would someone be willing to wait for the police, and give them my number? I can talk with the police about the whole incident after school,”

“I’ll do it. My store is going to be open anyways, so I can tell them for you,” A woman said, stepping forward with her husband. He nodded his head in thanks, dropping the broken blade, his hand healed. Waiting for her to come back out with the paper, Cole took that time to go through the wallets of the gang members and take the money in them. He then handed the money over to the middle school’s headmaster, who had watched the whole thing.

“Use this to fix the wall,” The headmaster nodded and went back into the school. The woman came back as he threw the wallets onto one of the guys. Cole thanked the woman when she handed him the paper. After giving them his name and number, he watched them walk back into their store. Cole looked down at his watch.

“Oh crap! I’m gonna be late!” Cole put his helmet on, hopped on his bike, and took off down the road. After he had made it away from the rest of the people, the voices began.

I told you that the other guy was going to kick your knee, a gruff voice stated, obviously upset. It was the one called Dwight, a strategist.

“And I couldn’t exactly tell you that I couldn’t avoid it,” another voice sighed, this one deep and hard.

We have been working to train you for the last seven years, and you still can’t beat these creatures without getting yourself hurt, Cole grimaced. This one was Dojo, a mixed martial artist.

“You all want me to master so many different forms of combat that seven years is nowhere near enough. I can’t master them all at the same time,”

Tch, another voice, this one female. I’ve already taught you everything there is to know about what parts of your body are able to bend to certain points, and how to get them to easily bend to that point. You should have been able to dance around those things with no problem, this one a doctor, Devina.

“You know, I didn’t ask for you people to be put inside my head,” Cole offhandedly remarked. A younger voice burst to the forefront of his mind.

Yeah, and we didn’t ask to be put here either, so I suppose that we can at least agree on something! Cole flinched, almost veering to the side and hitting a building from the volume of the voice.

“At least you can choose who you listen to! I have to listen to every single voice at once. It takes almost all of my concentration to listen to any of you at any given time,” the voices faded into the background.

“Would you like to tell us all why you’re late along with a self-introduction, young man?” an unfamiliar voice asked Cole as soon as he entered the room. Looking around the room, the only open seat was at the front to the left, next to the windows. Cole walked forward and put his books down at his spot.

“Hello everyone! I’m sure that most of you know who I am, but for those who don’t, my name is Cole Avalon. I like eating, sleeping, and long walks on the beach at sunset. And before you ask, yes, my father is Ryan Avalon,” He then turned to the new teacher, who appeared to have fox ears and a tail.

“I was late because I had to drop my sister off at school, and I was stopped by some… unsavory types along the way. Also, I may end up having to leave the classroom sometime during the day for, um, legal reasons. That’s all, and I look forward to a good year with all of you,” Cole placed one arm at his stomach, the other on his lower back, and bowed. Alfred tisked in his head.

I taught you how to bow properly, and you still insist to do this lazy one, Alfred critiqued. Cole tightened his lips and clenched his teeth. After sitting down, Cole looked up at the front board. It bore the name ‘Mr. Hunter’ scribbled on it.

“Anyways, continuing on with class. We need to decide who we want to be the class representatives, one boy and one girl. I need to get some papers from the faculty office, so please talk amongst yourselves and figure out who you want to represent you. Also Mr. Avalon, would you please come with me. I need to talk to you,” Cole let out a long breath, and stood up.

“Yeesh. In trouble already, Cole? You need to start being more responsible,” a student chastised from next to Cole. It was a Berg Leute with blonde hair and blue eyes, Peter. A male Feline Terra sitting next to him tisked at Cole. He had somewhat long, dark curly hair and brown eyes. It was Simon, Coles other friend. Simon and Peter had been friends for as long as they could remember.

“I don’t want to hear that coming from you of all people, Peter. All you do is laze about all day. My problem is that I’m responsible, specifically for getting my sister to school on time,” Cole responded to his friend. Peter shrugged, smiling.

“I’m working on that. I’ll have a job soon, so you won’t be able to call me lazy anymore,”

“Naw, I’ll still call you lazy,” Cole laughed. Shaking his head he walked after the teacher. Once they were in the hallway, Mr. Hunter spoke up.

“I sincerely hope that this doesn’t happen again, as it reflects badly on your attendance record,” Cole smiled.

C’mon, Cole. It’s just school. Don’t worry so much. Beside, you’ve got… Cole cut off the voice.

“Shut up,” he whispered. Mr. Hunter blinked, and leaned in.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Uh, I will do everything in my power to keep it from happening again, sir,” Mr. Hunter slightly sighed.

“You know, your reputation precedes you. People have a lot to say about you apparently, and I’ve heard quite the number of rumors from the other teachers, and I’m sure I’ll hear more from the students. Anything you want to say before I tell you what they said?” Cole thought a moment.

“I wasn’t the one that pulled all those pranks,” Cole finally stated. Mr. Hunter Laughed.

“Humor was definitely one of the things I kept hearing about you. I also heard that you tend to mumble, and can be very distracted. Anyways, I believe you on that point. Well, some of the things I did hear, although mostly good, did disturb me a little,” Cole kept smiling.

“Someone finds me disturbing? First I’ve ever heard of it,” Mr. Hunter stopped smiling.

“One such thing was the incident of a man being hung in an alleyway in the Market District. The man survived, but was sent to a mental hospital. They say that he kept screaming about ‘The Devil’, or a Demon, or something… What was it…” Cole stopped smiling, and half closed his eyes.

Be careful what you say here, Cole. You don’t know his intentions, and neither do you know who he works for, Abra cautioned. Cole sighed.

“The Reaper, in reference to the Grim Reaper, who is considered to be either the God of Death, Angel of Death, or simply a spirit that takes the lives of those who no longer deserve to live. He is also known as the Judge, Jury and Executioner of Man for his wrong-doings. Of course, the definition depends on what religion or mythology you are basing it off of,” Cole answered.

“Yes, the ‘Reaper’. The man was not killed, however, so I am wondering what this ‘Reaper’ was thinking. Anyways, how this relates to you is that there were some witnesses saying that a young man with longish dark hair, about your height and build, was seen leaving that same alleyway with his arms linked with an adult woman who looked rather distressed and hurt, and later, said boy returned and entered the alleyway again. It was after this that the man could be seen hanging. As for the man who was hung up, shall I describe him to you, or do you know the details? I have heard that you simply ‘know’ things that most people don’t. Want to tell me about it?” Cole thought for a moment.

This creature is annoyingly persistent. Finish this quickly and make it go away, Alfred said. Cole sighed ‘Should I tell him, or have him tell me? Well, I had my reasons for doing that, so, what would it matter? I was helping someone, and stopping any more people from getting hurt in the future,’ Cole felt a general consensus from the main voices in his head. He finally made up his mind.

“His fingers, no, his entire hand, both of them, were completely shattered. His jaw was popped out, hanging limply, his tongue cut out. His legs were broken, and his shoulders were dislocated. He had a sign hanging from his neck, with the message ‘I have taken advantage of women, and I am proud of it. I have no regrets. I am the evil of this world’ scrawled on it. He was put into a harness, and hung upon a bar running across the two buildings.

“They couldn’t cut him down because the rope was not anchored to the ground, but instead it was all tied on that bar. He was forced to face the crowd in front of him, and had some kind of device that would shock him when he closed his eyes for a certain length of time. After pulling him down, it was found that he was a serial rapist whom they have been searching for about a year,” Cole finished. Mr. Hunter looked Cole in the eyes.

“So, this boy with the dark hair, sound familiar?” Cole sighed.

“I’ve already talked with the police about this, ok?” Mr. Hunter thought for a moment.

“Do you think that what the boy did was right?” Cole furrowed his brow.

“Uh…” Cole blinked.

“Well?” Mr. Hunter pressured. Cole took in a deep breath.

“Sorry, that wasn’t the question I expected. What he did was morally wrong, but it was something that he must have felt was necessary. The man was taking advantage of women, repeatedly, and needed to be taught a lesson. Also, he served as a warning to other people who take advantage of women. ‘Your days are numbered, and if you don’t turn yourselves in, I will do it for you’. Sacrifice one, to warn a thousand. A very effective tactic when dealing with cowards like them. Also, serial anything does tend to be bad for business” Mr. Hunter nodded slowly.

“So, you don’t think he went too far?” Cole looked at Mr. Hunter.

“Something else not released is that he received major damage in parts important to a man. Since I think we both know who this boy is, I will say everything else. He was asked what parts of his body he used against women, and all those parts were broken. The only reason his legs were broken was so that he couldn’t run away as the woman was brought someplace safe,” Mr. Hunter looked thoughtful.

“So if you steal, then the hand used is cut off, or if you insult someone, then you lose your tongue?” Mr. Hunter asked. Cole shook his head.

“The man’s tools were destroyed so that he could no longer use them to hurt people again. His crimes caused irreparable damage to someone who will be scarred for the rest of their lives. People like him are worse than anything else that exists, and I’m sure he would have been killed if he couldn’t have been used as a message,” Cole finished. Mr. Hunter smiled again.

“Anything else?” he asked. Cole let out a long breath.

“When you keep hearing a voice in agony, unable to help itself, I’d like to see you try and do anything different than what that boy did,” Mr. Hunter’s smile broadened.

“So you think that he did it out of a sense of higher moral priorities,” he stated.

“Is that a question?” Cole asked. Mr. Hunter shook his head.

“No. My question is who gets to choose what morals are the right ones. I don’t expect an answer right now, I want you to think on it. Now, back to the boy. I think that the boy went too far. The psychological attack that was perpetrated on that man would have sufficed. He did not need to be physically damaged that far,” ten voices in Coles head began getting loud, while most of the main voices only seemed to shift. Cole winced.

“Well, most would assume that he was just crazy, thus making it pointless to only leave him with psychological damage. Causing bodily harm seemed to be the more effective road to travel. In his case, the psychological damage was only a side effect. Anyways, we all are entitled to our own opinions, don’t you think, Mr. Hunter?” Cole asked, forcing a smile.

“That we are. I look forward to talking with you more in the future. You can return to class, Mr. Avalon, and do take care not to be late again, if you can help it,” Mr. Hunter called down the hall as he walked away.

“Of course, sir” Cole called back and started walking back to the classroom.

That man doesn’t know! He doesn’t understand, yet he thinks that he can have a strong opinion on it? I’d like to see him or his sister get hurt the way I was. Then we’ll see if he thinks we went too far! Cole sighed.

“People are going to be ignorant, whether it’s because they don’t care or don’t know. You can’t expect everyone to understand,” The voice twisted in a huff, fading to the back of his mind. Cole shook his head. “Why is it that whenever I try to comfort someone I always end up pushing them away?”

Because most people don’t like hearing the truth, Elder said.

©2017