Kai was already pissed off when he walked into his English class.
That little bitch.
He saw her cowering in the corner, flashing him fearful glances. The terror in her eyes pleased him. She should be scared.
He was going to make her sorely regret her actions.
But not now.
She'd managed to find the only person in this school who he wasn't prepared to mess with. Not after last time.
Kai wasn't prepared to go into a fight he might not win. It was a waste of energy.
He swanned in past the teacher and as usual, failed to hand in any homework.
"Homework, Kai?" she asked.
Kai stopped and pursed his lips.
He turned slowly.
"You said I could have a break from homework on account of my nan dying, remember?"
Mrs Connell sighed heavily and gave him a look that wasn't unfriendly, just... annoying.
She was the only teacher he got on with, mainly because she was desperate to be mates with the students--even the bad ones. He figured she had been a friendless nerd in school and wanted to validate herself by getting the cool kids to like her now. She was desperate to be the 'chill' teacher. Still, Kai had the feeling he'd pushed the boundaries with her too far this time.
"Your nan is fine, though, isn't she?" Connell raised her eyebrow. "Nice try, but it's time to pull it out and get studying, yeah?"
A flash of anger rippled through his entire body, but he managed to keep his face straight.
'Don't let them see,' he thought. 'Don't let them know when they get to you.'
He could almost hear the thoughts of his classmates rejoicing that the evil Kai had been put in his place twice in one day.
His teeth ground, bone on bone, as his brain began to formulate plots. If only he could focus his mind on studying, he would have excellent grades. But it only ever wanted to scheme, finding ways to do less and less while gaining more.
Someone had to have told her about his nan being alive, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was. Her son was in the year below--a spindly little prick with a big mouth. He had to be the one.
At break time, he left Jenna alone. She would wait till later when she was trapped in a house alone with him.
Now, he had his sights on Tom Connell.
As usual, that prick was running his big mouth, sitting with his mates on the red bench and telling some story with such intensity he was spitting over his friends.
He looked up as he saw Kai coming, and his lizard brain must have told him to run because seconds later he was halfway across the courtyard. This guy was fast, but it didn't matter, because Kai was smart.
He'd already stationed Ray and Kenny at either exit. Sadly for Tom, he had chosen to turn left and ran into Kenny--his right-hand man.
What most people did not know, was that if Kenny and Kai were to fight, Kenny would win 100% of the time. The kid was a purple belt in Jujutsu. No matter how much Kenny helped Kai train to fight, he would never catch up to him.
What Kenny did not have was the size or the attitude to rule over the school, so he was happy to be Kai's best friend.
Kenny had the frightened kid in an armlock before he knew what was happening.
"Bring him here," Kai shouted and took a seat on the bench. All of Tom's mates quickly moved away, scattering like ants. They knew better than to try and save their friend. Tom was a lost cause. There was nothing they could do for him now and they knew it.
"I think we both know you've been a naughty boy," Kai said as Kenny dragged his victim into range. "And what do naughty boys get?"
Tom frowned. He didn't know what was coming.
"Answer me," Kai demanded.
He loved this part.
Making someone squirm was too entertaining.
Anything Tom said would be wrong and they both know it. They knew that everything Tom did from this point on was only going to get him deeper into trouble. He was helpless.
Nothing made Kai happier than seeing others helpless, floundering before him.
"I--I don't know," Tom stammered.
"Are you stupid?" Kai growled, feigning anger. Anger that invoked fear
"I'm sorry," Tom muttered. "I--I'm really sorry."
"He's been a naughty boy, so I have to teach him a lesson, right?" Kai asked Kenny with a huge grin.
"Of course, he needs a spanking," Kenny replied.
"Pull down his pants," Kai demanded and watched Tom's face turn white.
Before the boy could formulate any kind of protest, Kai pulled him into his lap and slapped him on the behind with all his strength.
"We. Do. Not. Snitch."
He hit him again and again, iterating the line word by word.
He glanced up at Julian who winked and nodded, putting his phone away. That bitch Connell would see what had happened to her kid because of her. But there would be no evidence because he'd specified to Julian not to film his face. She would know it was him. Everyone would know. But nobody would be able to prove it.
Kai shoved the boy from his knee and sneered as he watched the loser desperately pulling up his pants. He saw the tears streaming down his cheeks and knew that he'd won.
He scanned the area for his bitch of a stepsister, wondering if she'd seen the display.
'I wonder how it would feel to spank her bare ass?' he pondered.
The thought made him unexpectedly horny.
Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea.
He would have to think up another way to punish her.
Kai paused as he passed Miss Connell's classroom, staring in at her until he'd caught her attention. He gave her the creepiest smile he could manage before turning away.He hadn't decided whether or not to take out his anger on her or just Tom. She hadn't actually done anything, but still—messing with her would hurt Tom.But Tom could wait for now. He saw Gordon up ahead and he wasn't going to let that little weasel escape. "Get him," he whispered to the others."Kai," Jenna asked, placing a hand on his arm. "Do you really have to do this?""They almost killed me, Jenna," Kai said through gritted teeth. "I know what they did was wrong. But what you did to them in the first place was wrong too. If two wrongs made a right, then..." Jenna waved her hands in the air. "I don't even have the math skills to figure out who is right, who is wrong, and who is just a total psychopath."She was looking over at Damien as she said that last part."Just don't go after him," she said, pointing her
Jenna sat on the corner of the bed, her hand inside Kai's weak grip. It felt foreign seeing him so vulnerable. So weak. He gave her a thin smile as he looked up at her. "You can go home, you know? You don't have to stay here the whole time.""I want to stay," Jenna insisted. She felt like he would disappear again if she let him out of her sight.'I can't believe Jacob is dead," Kai muttered. "I've never seen anyone die before. It—""It was—" Jenna agreed, though neither of them could find the word.There were no words for the sinking, dark feeling that was creeping up inside her brain. It was always there, lurking in the shadows of her mind, even if she wasn't actively thinking about it. 'It will go away,' she assured herself. 'It can't stay forever.'The doctor had mentioned counselling, and while Jenna had been happy to accept the help, Kai had refused. He said he didn't need to talk about anything that had happened, or that he would find a friend to talk to about it. He wouldn't
Kai found it too hard to sleep inside his hole. It was uncomfortable and freezing since he'd wet himself.'I should have asked him to let me go toilet,' Kai realised far too late. He probably would have refused the request, but still, it felt weird to pee himself without even asking for a trip to the loo.He'd tried screaming again and again until his throat was raw but to no avail. 'This place has to be in the middle of freaking nowhere,' he realised.Still, it was his only hope, so he had to keep screaming in the distant hope that a dog walker would happen to amble by.When footsteps finally sounded outside—he knew it was Jacob. He could hear the familiar sound of his keys jangling as he dropped them. Jacob swore under his breath as he finally entered the shed. Then Kai's world was flooded with light. It was so bright. 'Maybe I'm already dead,' he thought, feeling dizzy. It had been a while since he'd had anything to eat or drink, so his blood sugar was all over the place. It t
Kai chewed the warm sandwich, not caring about the fact it was tuna and he hated tuna. It was food. And he was hungry. After he swallowed, he stared up at Jacob. "Why are you bothering to feed me if you're just going to kill me?" he asked. Jacob shrugged. "Honestly... I have no idea."Kai knew. Deep down he knew. Jacob had revealed his secret to Kai. He would keep him alive so he had someone to talk to about it. Someone who would listen and not judge. This theory was confirmed when Jacob took a seat beside him and opened up. "I was just a child," he said. "I never even understood anything about death. The permanence of it. The... consequences.""But you do now," Kai pointed out. "Just let me go. I swear I won't tell a soul. Like I said... I'm not a snitch."Jacob ignored his request."I sometimes dream about it. I dream about killing all the time," Jacob went on."But you don't have to do it," Kai said. Jacob passed the sandwich to his mouth, letting him take a bite. Kai did so
After spending the morning at the police station, Jenna was no closer to finding Kai. They had listened to her statement and said they would take Jacob and Gordon in for questioning. But questioning them was all they could do without any actual evidence.Harry was pacing the waiting area when she got out of the interview room. He turned to face her so fast he spilt the paper cup of coffee in his hand over his jacket."What is all this?" he asked. "Who is this Jacob guy, and why do you think he has something to do with Kai going missing?"The barrage of questions—questions she had just spent hours answering—made her brain hurt."I honestly don't know. All I know is, Jacob pretended to shoot Angel, Kai chased after him and I haven't seen him since. Jacob is... weird. He's obsessed with Kai," Jenna said. She was trying her best to explain it, but it was hard to put into words. Jacob was an enigma."Do you know where this Jacob lives?" He asked. "The police said they were going there no
Jenna waited with Kenny, both of them huddled behind a wheelie bin on the corner of Jacob's street. "He's not usually late," Jenna whispered. "Hmm." Kenny nodded, his face taut with worry. It was strange to see him without a silly grin. He had to be really worried about Kai.'I'm worried too,' Jenna thought. She was deep in thought, imagining the worst when Kenny pounced out from the hiding place and landed on Jacob.Jacob's things spilt from his bag, splattering his lunch and notes over the pavement. He lay there underneath Kenny, looking shocked for just a second.Then he smiled."Hello, Kenny," he said in a creepy voice."If you don't tell me where Kai is, I'm going to break your arm," Kenny told him. He already had his arm cranked into a position that his arm did not usually want to bend.Jacob laughed. Even as Kenny pulled at him, he continued to laugh. "Go on," he taunted. "Break it. I'd break it myself to get a week off school if I had the body strength."As Kenny pushed h