Theralus awoke in a cold sweat. He had seen that very image before, but it still managed to scare the piss out of him every time. He glanced over at his alarm clock. It read 3:46 a.m. He rolled over and groaned loudly. The night terrors always struck him at the same time, every night. He pondered for a moment the meaning of these happenings, but decided against any more thought. He had a big day ahead, and he needed his sleep more than anything.
He walked into the school the next morning feeling less like himself. He saw his friend Robin eagerly awaiting his arrival.
"Morning Ralus. How did you sleep?" she inquired.
"It was okay. I got my eight hours." he lied.
"Stop lying to me, you bastard."
"Night terrors got me again. Same time, too." He looked down at her, and held his arms open for a hug.
Robin gratefully walked to him, and accepted his offer for a loving embrace. The minute girl didn't appear to be a freshman in high school, but when she spoke, she seemed years ahead of her appearance. Robin only stood roughly 4'9", and she had feathered, dirty blonde hair. She dressed in all dark colors, spoke her mind often, and wasn't afraid to fight someone over chocolate. "Do you know why they're bothering you, Ralus?"
"No clue. Watch out. Here comes James."
"Why do you have a problem with him?"
"Don't you remember last year?"
Theralus walked into 1st period Science and saw Dana sitting in James's lap, giggling. He felt his blood begin to warm up, the bright red color filling his cheeks as he sat down across the room. He chose a spot next to Elizabeth Simpson, the prettiest girl in the 8th grade. She could have had any guy she wanted, except for James. She envied Dana for being able to flirt with him like that.
"Why, hello Theralus. What compelled you to sit beside me?" she asked politely.
"I need you to look underneath the table Dana's at, and tell me if you see anything suspicious. Okay?"
"No problem."
Theralus stared at James. He reminded him too much of his father. His abusive, drunken, narcissistic father. "First he insults me behind my back, and now he wants to flirt with my girl? He's about to learn a hard lesson if what I think is happening is happening."
"What do you think is happening?"
"She's giving him and handjob, isn't she?"
"Yes."
The one word sent Theralus into a blind fury. He felt molten blood coursing through his mind, causing his vision to fade to red. All of his muscles in his arms seized up and relaxed repeatedly. The only thing he was able to guide himself by was the sound of James's voice. He found his way to James.
"What the hell do you...WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" yelped James. "Put me down!"
Theralus choke slammed James into the lab table and began choking him with both hands. He felt James starting to relax and he released his grip on his throat. Theralus immediately went to work punching the winded boy in the face. He was no match for three hundred plus pounds of force behind each blow. James's nose snapped with one blow, and he lost four teeth from the next.
By this time, Dana had already ran for the school's resource officer. He arrived shortly with backup. It took three officers and a stun gun to stop Theralus. After he was unconscious, they dragged him out of the school and detained him. He spent four hours in a jail cell, waiting for his mother to come bail him out. He faced assault charges, but was found innocent due to lack of evidence. Theralus and James still bore a deep hatred for each other, and it had endured for over a year now.
"Hey fuckers!" said James happily. He always had to be the one to swear uncontrollably. Theralus denied him a second look.
"So Robin, how's the new book coming along?" Theralus questioned.
"Robin, give me a hug. I need it."
"Fine, James," said Robin,"but Ralus and I are trying to talk here." She stood up and hugged him quickly and sat back down.
Even though the hug meant nothing, Theralus knew that James had an alterior motive to hugging Robin. He felt the spark of jealousy run through him as it always did, the old hate for James beginning to rise up again.