Chapter 1
It was in an alley that our story began. A young man was rushed into the narrow walkway by a couple of older men who were wearing black suits. They wore dark shades on their faces, despite the fact that there was little light in the trash-ridden alley. The young man stared at his reflection in the suited men's shades. A denim shirt was worn over a crisp red v-neck while a black cord with a sword-shaped charm was dropped over his neck, which was something that he always wore. He wore a stoic expression as he stared down the suited individuals.
"Alright, you little snot-nosed punk," the goon on the left said as he cracked his knuckles. "Are we going to do this the easy way, or do we need to rough you up?" He wore a menacing expression on his face. The buddy also gave the boy a menacing look. The young man just looked at them and sighed as he quickly brushed his black hair to the side.
"Seriously?" he asked. "How many times are we going to do this old song and dance? Your boss must realize by now that his plan isn't going to work. You can't hold me hostage to get my old man to do what you want, not like you would be able to catch me in the first place." He smiled as he finished his statement.
The suited men both looked annoyed at the young man's statement. The one on his left pulled back his fist to throw a punch, the youth quickly and effortlessly deflected the blow and used the momentum to toss the assailant to the ground with a soft thud. The other goon cursed and tried to grab the young man from behind, but he only got a red high top shoe thrust into his nose. The grunt doubled over in pain and received the other high top shoe to the side of his head. Both of the goons were now unconscious and the youth dusted himself off and began to leave the alley.
It was at this point that he noticed there was someone standing there. He appeared to be around the same age and stood there holding a plank of wood as if it was a baseball bat. Upon seeing that the red-clad youth was fine and walking his way, he tossed the plank of wood down. He stared at the red wearing youth and simply said: "Not bad" with an impressed tone. He clearly was not expecting him to be able to beat the goons that easily, if at all. He popped the collar on his leather jacket and pulled a pair of shades out from one of the jacket's interior pockets, and began to leave the alleyway. The red-wearing youth ran after him.
"Hey, I want to thank you properly." He said with a smile. He reached out his right hand and introduced himself. "My name is Axel, Axel Dullahan," Axel said with a smile.
The leather-clad youth just stared at him for a moment before pushing Axel's hand away. He began to move on and leave the alleyway. Before he left it he stopped and said one word: "Maverick". After that he left and turned the corner, leaving Axel's sight. It was silent as Axel was now the only conscious individual in the alley. Axel stood in that spot, hurt for a beat, but quickly recovered. He exited the alley and proceeded along his way, going east.
After a few more minutes of walking, Axel reached a building that was labeled: "Mythic Pines Youth Center". Axel entered the building. After walking down the short hallway that turned to the left into a big open room. He saw a familiar face wave to him and he crossed the room to meet it.
Inside the youth center were many people around Axel's age and younger. All of whom were doing various things from doing homework to martial arts, to gymnastics. A few were sitting at a counter drinking juice. At one table was a girl that Axel recognized as being on the school's swim team. He was not sure of what her name was. Was it Grace? Was it Gentry? All that Axel knew for sure was that her name started with a "G". As he passed her, the girl's brown eyes remained focused on her friends. Axel crossed the room and reached the waving person, who was sitting near a punching bag.