Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

???

That day had been the worst day of my life. I was walking home from school after having a pop quiz in math that no-one had been ready for, earning a failing grade on my mid-term report card, and all while sitting in clothes that still stunk of the pasta sauce that had been dumped on my head during Home Ec.

I was 15 years old. I had blue eyes, dark brown/black hair, fair skin, and was completely average. I wasn't anyone special, wasn't a member of any team, no special skills.

All that was about to change.

As I was walking home, I saw something strange. A large garbage truck was heading down the street, even though it wasn't garbage day. As it passed by on the other side of the street, I saw something that made my blood run cold.

Big Billy and his gang.

William Peterson was the resident tough guy at my school. He considered it his life's mission to annoy, threaten, and abuse anyone smaller or smarter than him. Seeing as he was 6 foot 9, weighed at least 220 lbs and had the learning capacity of a third grader, that meant pretty much the whole school. He had gathered himself a group of followers who were like blind worshipers that did anything and everything he wanted. He was the one who had dumped the pasta sauce on my head earlier that day.

I considered running, but he had seen me now, and running would only make it twice as bad when they caught me, for I was a skinny, lazy runt of a boy compared to them, and most of them were on the high school track team with collections of medals and red ribbons to prove it. So, I decided to keep still as the gang approached me. Billy waited until he was right in my face to speak. Probably so that he could see the look on my face when he drenched me in his cigarette smelling saliva.

"Hey Runt," he said, "You didn't thank me for the sauce I gave you earlier. You wouldn't want me to think you were ungrateful, would you?"

"Sorry, I didn't get a chance before the teacher sent you to the office. Speaking of which, I thought that you had detention. How did you get out of it?" I said all this with a neutral tone that could be taken for worried, curious, or rebellious. I just happened to be all three.

"I had a note saying that I had a dentist appointment right after school." He replied impishly and still at the same time managing to be good natured.

Maybe I can get out of this after all, I thought. "Well, don't let me keep you. We wouldn't want you to be late."

"Seeing as I am about to be your dentist, that should be the least of your worries. Hold him down boys."

They grabbed me before I could take five steps.

Five minutes later, I had a black eye, the beginnings of a goose egg size bump, and two teeth that were no longer in my mouth. Fine way to start June. The month where everyone is busy and excited because school is about to end, Billy decides to show it by going into total destruction mode. As I started once again for home, I watched Billy's gang walking away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the garbage truck from earlier come this way. As it passed the gang, it slowed down to a crawl. When it pulled away, it wasn't what I saw that made my blood run cold for the second time that day.

It was what I didn't see.

Big Billy and his gang were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

The truck began to pick up speed, heading straight towards me. I turned and started sprinting as fast as I could, hoping that I could make it to an alleyway before the truck caught up with me, and whatever happened to the others happened to me too. Unfortunately, the street was in the suburbs, with tall fences and hedges blocking any hope of escape. I was racing flat out, faster then I had ever run before, but the truck still caught up beside me. Keeping pace with me, one of the vehicle's side doors opened, and with incredible force, I was sucked inside by a vacuum-like vortex of air.

For one brief moment, before I was entombed in complete darkness, with the sound of one of the gang member's cries for mercy and help filling my ears, I caught a glimpse of a twisted, curling symbol with one word printed in bold, boxed letters on it.

Itexicon.

Then everything in my world went black.

This is my first fanfiction! I hope you like it, more chapters to come. –Dygen Entreri