"The future!" repeated TJ laughing. 'This kid is crazy' he thought. "Alright, come on seriously, where am I?" He said, calming down, and managing to suppress his laughter. The boy said nothing, and just stared at him. TJ's smile vanished instantly. "You're serious" he said. The boy nodded. TJ took a moment to let this sink in. He had been sucked into another time. Alright then, exactly when is now? "What year is it?" he asked the boy as he walked back over to the wall, leaned against it for support, and looked up at the single incandescent light bulb on the ceiling. He didn't think he could stand on his own right now. With what he just learned, he didn't think he would be able to stand on his own for a long time.

"It's 2018 kid" replied the boy.

TJ quickly did the math in his head. "So, I jumped twenty years into the future" he concluded. "And in those twenty years, my bedroom, which is on the second level of my house, becomes a cellar, below ground?" he asked, more for the purpose of making himself believe it than wanting an actual answer.

"If you were in your bedroom when you were pulled through the vortex, then yeah" the boy said, and then realising what TJ had just said, "This was your bedroom!?". TJ nodded, staring off into space. The boy was utterly bewildered. "And it was on the second story of your house?" He nodded again. The boy raised his eyebrows and blinked. "Guess that goes to show how much can change in twenty years, huh?" said the boy. There was a brief moment of silence before the boy spoke again. "You've got a lot more questions, I can see it in your eyes". TJ nodded again, turning his head to look at the boy. "Well, I've got answers, but we shouldn't talk in an unused storage closet " he said, "Follow me, kid" the boy gestured toward a door.

"Big closet" remarked TJ, who took one last look around the room before pushing himself off the cold concrete wall and somewhat unsteadily following the boy down the hallway, which looked remarkably like the enormous closet had.

It was all concrete as well. It didn't look like very clean concrete. TJ observed the brown stains on the floor that he passed by periodically, not daring to wonder what exactly it was he was treading on. Above him, there were long fluorescent lights lined up along the center of the ceiling, separated by a few feet in between, which gave off a dull greenish light that flickered every couple seconds. Every eight feet or so on both sides of hallway there were large black metal doors with large white numbers painted on them, which he assumed led into other rooms. The boy stopped at the door numbered #34. He took a card out of his pocket and slid it in the slot where a doorknob would usually be. TJ watched as the red light under the slot turned green. He heard a small metallic click and a quiet buzzing noise as the boy pushed open the large metal door and stuffed the card back into his pocket. He stepped inside and held the door open for TJ, who stared into the room.

Once the boy had turned on the lights TJ could see that the room was a decent ten feet across and maybe fifteen feet back. It was actually furnished. The walls looked like painted wall plaster. The floor was tile in front of the door, and a few feet into the room, carpet began. There was a coatrack to his left and a bunk bed in the far corner of the room. There was a piano in the corner opposite the bed, a nightstand on the side of the bed closest to him. Against the wall behind him and to his left there was a large desk, and in the center of the room there was a fair sized table with two chairs pushed into it.

"Well" said the boy, "you just gonna stand there or are you coming in?". Snapping out of his daze, TJ stepped into the cosy looking room, still a little shocked at the massive transition between the hallway and the room. "Welcome to the den" said the boy letting the door go and walking past him.

"Well, this is different," commented TJ as he continued to take in the room.

"Yeah," smiled the boy as he walked over to the bunk bed. "It used to look just like the rest of this concrete maze, but I was able to make some uh, improvements" he said proudly.

"You did this yourself?" Asked TJ in shock, looking at the boy.

"Yeah" the boy replied smiling. "They all laugh at it, but if I'm living in this room all my life, I might as well make it worth it. And plus, because of all this, I'm the only one who hasn't gotten sick within the last year besides my sister. The others get sick every other month or so. They've only got concrete surfaces and a bed in their rooms. My sister's doing good cuz I did this to her room too. She's on the other side of this place." He said, plopping himself down on the bottom bunk, kicking off his shoes, and once again flicking his long hair to the side.

"There are others?" Asked TJ.

"Yeah. Two behind every door, it used to be everyone except me had a roommate, now it looks like I got one too".

"And you have a sister?" He asked, staring at the floor.

"Yeah. She'd be in my room with me, but our quarters are separated by gender. Plus, she's not really in the resistance, she's just under our protection because she's my sister, you know? I worry about her sometimes though. She's the youngest kid in the fort and there are bullies around this place. She's tough and all, but she's got an attitude on her" he laughed.

TJ managed a smile. He couldn't help but think what his sister was doing now. Well, twenty years ago. She would have unscrewed the doorknob already, and burst into his room to find he was gone, and the window was open. She and mom were probably going crazy trying to find him. Little did they know, they'd never find him. His smile vanished and it became a small frown as the reality of this swept over him.

"What'ya standin' up for, kick off your shoes, leave them at the door and have a seat. Now, about those questions..." said the boy, prompting TJ to ask what he would.

TJ pulled his shoes off, leaving them tied as he always did and tossed them to the side of the door. He took the chair at the table closest to him and sat himself down sideways so he was facing the boy and thought of the question that he wanted answered the most. That was too hard for him to decide so he decided to just ask any random question that came to mind. Eventually he asked "what is this place?".

"It's the resistance. More specifically, resistance fort 1, living quarters, west wing, room #34".

"Resistance?" said a now concerned TJ, "against who?".

"The Tyrant" said the boy grimly. "Just as his name implies he's taken over the world".

"The world?!" exclaimed TJ, horrified.

"Well, parts of China are holding on still, the Philipines are still going strong, as well as Maui in the Hawaiian islands. Southern India and Sri Lanka are faltering and Japan is about to surrender" said the boy, as he looked down at the ground as well.

"Tyrant is right. Jeez, you would think president would be enough" said TJ more than a little angrily.

"Yeah kid" said the boy. "And speaking of the Tyrant, could ya take that hat off? He had one of those".

"A red baseball cap?" TJ asked.

"Yeah" said the boy. "And trust me, the other guys in here won't ask you nicely to take it off, they'll just sock ya and leave you bleeding on the ground. I learned the hard way". He said, opening his mouth and pointing to where his right front tooth no longer was.

TJ quickly removed his hat and stuffed it into his back pocket. He had both the necklace and card on him so that was okay. If a hat like his belonged to this "tyrant", he didn't want to wear it anymore. At least as long as he could go without it. Especially if he was going to get beaten up over it.

There was a new question that had popped into TJ's head. It wasn't important, and he knew that it was most likely classified information, but he decided to ask anyway. "The resistance has a whole system of underground forts? All over the world?"

The boy nodded. "They're scattered" he said. "There's at least one in each small former country, and larger countries have at least three. The former US has five though".

TJ frowned. "And all of these were built without the Tyrant knowing anything about them?".

The boy smiled and looked up. "The top of this place looks like an old house. A bunch of people came in, got rid of the old foundation, and made a new one to make this fort. No one except the people in the resistance know that this fort exist. To everyone else, it just looks like a bunch of people coming into an old house for shelter".

TJ nodded, and despite not being entirely satisfied with the answer he was given, asked his next question. "Who are you?" He inquired.

The boy flicked his hair to the side again and said "The name's John Becket. Age eleven, and I'm the youngest kid here in the resistance".

"Not anymore," said TJ smiling.

"No? How old are you?"

"I'm only nine." TJ said quietly, not knowing whether or not to be proud of this fact or not.

John smiled. "My sister's eight, but like I said, she's not really a part of the resistance. Next question".

TJ thought for a little while and then asked "Why am I here and how did I get here?".

"It's a part of the General's plan to restore the world back to it's former state" replied John. "He has what the world was like from the point of view of an adult, but he wanted the point of view of a kid too".

TJ frowned. "He could have just asked a kid on the street" he pointed out.

John shook his head. "The Tyrant was able to wipe out everyone's memories of what the world was like before his rule. The General needed someone from before twenty years ago".

"Wiped out people's memory?" TJ asked, not believing what he had just heard.

"Remember, it's 2018. We've got tech like ya wouldn't believe" John explained.

TJ was still confused. "Wouldn't that mean that the General's memory was wiped out too?" he asked. John shook his head.

"He was lucky. He was in the same room as the Tyrant when the memory wiping wave was sent out. The walls of the room could deflect the wave".

"So he was in the same room with the Tyrant. Even if he kept him memory, I'd say that's pretty unlucky. Unless he was about to take him down." TJ said.

"Yeah" said John. "He was trying to stop him from sending the wave out, but he didn't get there in time. Fortunately he managed to kill the machine before he split the joint".

"Oh" said TJ. "Well that answers why I'm here, but not how".

"Time machine" said John.

"Of course" said TJ, realising that that was kind of an obvious answer. "So when can I go back?" he asked.

John went silent and just stared at him. TJ looked up and saw the expression on his face. He instantly knew the answer would be something he wouldn't like. At all. TJ came to a conclusion.

"I can't can I?" said TJ, once again looking down at the carpet under his feet. John said nothing and slowly shook his head. The room stayed silent for a while. 'I'm stuck here' thought TJ miserably. 'I'm stuck in a time that I don't belong in. Years away from my friends and family and they'll never know where I am'. TJ shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm here now, might as well make the best of it" he said in a somewhat falsely optimistic tone. Apparently, John believed it.

"Yeah kid" said John. "Keep that mentality and you'll be able to survive this place a lot better than the most of us here".

TJ smiled. "I guess". He mumbled. "So" he said looking up again, "Looks like I'm going to be here a while, I might as well learn the history".

John smiled a little. "You want history? The Tyrant took over the world, the planet was sent into poverty and famine, almost everyone's homeless, plague is all over the place, and the Tyrant doesn't care. The General formed the resistance and here we are. There's your history".

"All that in twenty years?" asked TJ in shock.

"You got it kid" said John sadly.

TJ wondered if there were still sunsets. He guessed not. He assumed smog clouds must have replaced the blue sky. He then wondered who this General was. It occurred to him that he mustn't be too old to find it necessary to have a kid's point of view. He sounded cool. He decided to make this his next question. "Who is this General?".

At this John smiled proudly. "General Griswald. He's lead multiple operations to slowly cut the Tyrant down, all of which have been successful. I'm proud to serve under his command, and so is everyone else here. You should be too".

"Griswald!" TJ's eyes widened in shock, "Griswald as in Gusav Griswald?"

"The one and only!" Grinned John. "Why, d'ya know him?"

"Yeah" said TJ, "I knew him".

"Really?" Said John excitedly, "What was he like as a kid, huh? He never tells us that!".

TJ smiled. He knew if Gus didn't tell someone something it was for good reason. "I don't know," he said "what's he like now?"

"He's big and tall, he's buff..."

"Okay!" TJ interrupted, "that explains that." he laughed.

"What?" John frowned.

"He was uh... short when he was a kid. Very, um, yeah short."

John's jaw dropped. "Get out! He was a squirt?!"

"Yeah" TJ laughed, "bully target, safety man and great friend. That's the Gus Griswald I remember".

"You two were buds?" asked John, even more shocked.

"Yeah. He was coming over my house when I was..." TJ trailed off. He realised that his friends would also find he was missing. They would find stuff all over his bedroom fallen to the floor. And when they found the knife they would panic. "But that's all in the past" he finished, not wanting to think too much about the past now that he was stuck here.

"Cool!" exclaimed John. "It always helps to be on his good side kid, you being an old friend an all, he might go easy on ya!"

"Maybe" said TJ, not so sure. His older self was most likely brainwashed now, nothing like he formerly was. Roaming the dark, cold, and dirty streets. Doing nothing to stand up for the rights of the people like he normally would have done.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound rang around the room, rudely interrupting TJ's thoughts. He jumped sky high, making John snicker, and turned to find the source of the noise. A large speaker above the door that he somehow hadn't noticed before.

"Chow time" sighed John, getting up from his bed and heading over to the coat rack. TJ turned back to look at John, who he noticed he wasnt very enthused about the prospect of dinner. In fact he seemed particularly unenthused. In fact, he looked rather displeased. John took a large dirty towel from the coatrack. TJ heard an giant uproar in the hallway outside as doors were opened and all the occupants of the rooms flooded into the narrow cement passageway, and quickly made their way toward wherever the food was being served.

"What's the matter?" TJ asked him, standing up and pushing in his chair.

"Just uh, stand clear of the door" John said, as he leaned his head against the door, and put his hand on the doorknob.

From the other side of the door came loud shouts directed at room #34. The loudest of which was a prominent kick, which hurt John seeing as his head was lying on it, followed by a shout of "C'mon kid you can't hide in your hole forever!".

"Ah" said TJ, walking over to John's side.

"Stay back" warned John as he took a deep breath and prepared to face the pandemonium outside. Using it as a shield, John opened the large metal door but stayed behind it. TJ was about to peer out when bucket fills of water flew into the room. TJ jumped back in surprise and let out a quick gasp. John looked through the hinges of the door to make sure there weren't any more buckets waiting, and once he found there were none, stepped out from behind it, and once again flicked his hair to the side.

"Is that what they're all like around here?" asked TJ.

"Every day" said John miserably as he laid the towel he was holding down on the now soaked floor and patted it down to absorb some of the water.

"Jeez" said TJ as soon as he knew the rowdy crowd had left the hallway. "And now I know why you put tile down here".

"Yep" grunted John as he stood back up blowing the hair out of his eyes. "Jerks".

"Bully target huh?" Asked TJ sympathetically.

"Worse" replied John. "Bully magnet".

John left the towel on the cold tile floor and let the door close behind the two of them, waiting to hear the click of the lock before starting down the hall. The last time his door hadn't closed all the way he had returned to a room flooded with an inch of water by the other boys in the west wing.

"Why don't you stand up to them?" Asked TJ as the two of them walked down the hall, back up and past the closet.

"I've tried" John said, "but it cost me my tooth".

"Well, how long ago was that?" asked TJ.

"I think I was your age. I had just joined the resistance because it gave me and my sister food and a roof to sleep under, and there was even a chance to revolutionize the world".

"It's been two years John, you're stronger now!" TJ encouraged.

"Same goes for them" John pointed out glumly. "Listen kid, sometimes ya just gotta accept your rank in the world. I had to, it's best you do too".

"I cannot in good conscience do that" stated TJ, following John as he rounded a corner into a larger, and much longer hallway.

"Please!" John implored him, "you shouldn't have ta learn the hard way".

"Just hear me out," said TJ. "When the cafeteria ladies at my school wouldn't give us the good food we deserved, I tried to bring it to the people myself. When General Gus was a kid and got his name taken away by the king of the playground because he was the new kid, me and my friends helped him fight to get it back. When we were all forced to stay inside for recess because it was raining and kids were turning into mindless zombies from being inside for too long, me and my friends defied the ones in power and went outside anyway. Whenever the big guys knocked us down, we wouldn't just sit there and let it happen, me and my friends, we'd stand and fight until we got what we deserved!"

"Really?" gasped John. "Didn't you get in trouble with em'?"

"Well, yeah but it was all worth it. There are things in life worth fighting for John. You've got the world to fight for yeah, but don't you ever forget. You're important too".

"You really did all that?" asked John more than a little awed.

"Yep, and that's just the start" said TJ proudly. "There are plenty of others, but it'd take me a while to think of all of them".

"Wow. Guess you could survive this giant cinder block" said John.

"And that's exactly the attitude that'll get you nowhere. You gotta stand up for yourself, just as you would for the world" in a way making a plead of his own.

"I dunno kid," said John. "There are billions of people in the world, most of which are worse off than me. They'll always come first, and my little sis too".

"So you're not doing anything about it?" asked TJ.

"Nope".

TJ sighed. He had assumed John would have changed his mind by now. Obviously, he had assumed wrong. He was stubborn, and that was good if he used it when it was needed, but now, all it did was hurt him. He knew that he was going to have to be stubborn then too, and like he had done for the last nine years of his life, not give up. He knew he had to get John to start fighting for his rights but, how to get him to do it? Blackmailing wouldn't work, and besides it would just hurt him even more. Encouragement through speech wouldn't help either, judging by what he had just tried, and failed. So if there was nothing he could say, what could he do? He thought through some of the possible options, all of which he knew had no likelihood of success. Then it hit him. This is what he did, this is what he was good at. He could just simply show him how it's done. Maybe that would encourage him to do it himself. He'd have to get him to start fighting, so maybe if he set an example... "Then I will" TJ said.

John stopped dead in his tracks. "What?" he said, not believing what he had just heard. TJ turned to face John and walked backwards.

"Then I will. Trust me, I know what I'm doing". TJ said calmly with a sly smile starting to spread across his face.

"You're crazy" John said as he began to walk again.

"Maybe" said TJ, "but at least we'll be free from them".

"Like they're gonna listen to you" said John.

"They probably won't, but right now they don't need to".

"Your point?" asked John, confused.

"You just gotta get your voice out. You really don't need to be listened to, just be heard".

"What good'll that do?" asked John hopelessly.

"Hey, at least it's something. Isn't that better than what's going on now?" asked TJ

"I guess so, but..."

"Ok then. Leave me to it. Like I said, I know what I'm doing". Said TJ smoothly as he turned on his heel and continued to walk forward down the hall, then he stopped and turned back toward John. "And where the heck am I going, I don't know my way around this place".

"You got that right" said John as he walked up to a set of double doors on the left side of the hallway that TJ had passed and not even noticed. TJ shook his head and followed him through the doors.

The same pandemonium that had been in the west wing earlier now occupied the cafeteria, and this time it was worse. There were Girls. It was a large, and yes, concrete room with the usual things you would find in a cafeteria. Long tables filling up most of the room and a long line of hungry people snaking it's way around all of them. They were all waiting somewhat impatiently for their third meal of the day. It terrified TJ that there was nothing telling him whether or not the meal was even worth waiting in line for. With the added factor of still processing the fact that he was now twenty long years from home, and struggling with it, he eventually decided against eating that night. At least what he assumed was night.

"Where do you normally sit?" he asked John over the roar of the crowd.

"In that corner over there" he said, pointing to a corner in the room where there weren't any people sitting around. "Why, you're not gonna eat?" he asked.

"Nah. Still a little too stirred up about what happened today". Said TJ.

"Your funeral" shrugged John as he quickly walked toward the end of the line.

TJ walked over to the table where John had pointed to and sat down in the seat next to the one closest to the walls. He guessed John would want that one. He surveyed the scene in front of him. Jeez. When John had said he was the youngest person in here, he wasn't kidding. Everyone else looked so much older. Even though there weren't any adults compared to John they were all so much older. Speaking of John, he decided to see how he was doing. TJ looked over to the line to find it wasn't there anymore. It had already made significant progress around the cafeteria. In fact, there were only six people left in line waiting for their food. He was at the back of the line, and holding a brown cafeteria tray drumming his fingers on the bottom. He looked... excited wouldn't be the right word... alert would have to do. TJ figured he'd have to be. With all the other kids in here waiting to bash him to pieces and all, there's no telling when it would happen or where it would come from. He watched as John got his food, left the line and began to walk toward the table. On his way he was joined by a smaller looking girl that loosely resembled him.

TJ assumed this was the little sister John had told him about. She was tall for her age, just about the same height as John, who was short for his age. She had straight, extremely long dark hair brought back in two neatly tied pigtails. They were long enough to reach down to the middle of her calf as they swung back and forth. TJ wondered how much it hurt to have that much weight constantly tugging on the back of her head, and pulling every time the pigtails swung back and forth too. John had asked this question a million times before and had always got the same answer. "It don't hurt, and I like it this way" she would always tell anyone who asked that question, and almost everyone did ask that question. Except for the boys without sisters of course. They didn't understand the girl stuff.

TJ watched as the two of them talked and came closer to the table. He heard the tail end of their conversation as they sat down in the seats he has assumed they would. John in the seat closest to the walls and his sister in the seat next to it.

"Are you the kid?" the sister asked.

"Yeah" said TJ looking down at the table. There was a moment of silence between the three kids as two of them ate their food, which actually didn't look half bad, and the remaining kid thought. John could see TJ looking at the table, concentrating hard.

"You're really planning on doin' it?" asked John, a little irritated that he hadn't listened to him.

"Yeah" said TJ quietly, still working hard on his plan, and not really paying much attention to the outside world.

John looked at him and raised his eyebrows before looking back down to his meal and shaking his head. He knew now he wasn't going to beat the kid at this. He was stubborn, just like himself, and he wasn't going to back down no matter what he said or did. He decided he'd just have to let him learn on his own why he shouldn't do this. He took a deep breath and reluctantly said to TJ, "Best o' luck to ya then".

"M hm" hummed TJ, still deep in thought. His plan was really beginning to come together. He knew that sooner or later at lunch, someone would come up to John to harass him. That would be when he would stand up to the guy for John. He knew that everyone would turn against him. He knew that the bully would want to teach him a lesson and show him who was in charge, and he knew he couldn't win against any of the people in here. They were all too muscular for him to even think about taking on. Even the girls. If they were to corner him, he was doomed. He thought that maybe if he was about to get creamed, John might be motivated to fight against them. Either that or he'd let it happen, and he'd be history. TJ grimaced. He knew the latter was more than just a possibility, and that his plan was beyond desperate, but there was a slight chance that the first possibility may occur, and he was willing to take that chance. He exhaled, realising that he had been holding his breath and relaxed.

"Got a plan?" asked John, noticing that TJ had become less tense.

"I think so. It's risky, but I got one" said TJ only semi confidently.

"You're absolutely sure you want to do this?" said John slowly and clearly.

"I've got to". TJ said.

"Do what?" asked John's sister curiously.

"He wants to do somethin' to get us out from under da pile" John explained.

Her eyes widened. "Kid, don't do it! Take my brother's for it, it's a bad idea!"

John sighed. "I've been telling him that since he came up with the idea Riki. Don't waste your breath".

"Your name's Riki?" asked TJ looking over at her.

The girl nodded, and stared at him. She didn't need to speak at all for TJ tell what she meant. Her eyes screamed out 'Just think about it'. He ignored that though, because he had already done all the thinking he needed to. He wasn't doing this for himself, he was doing it for John, who needed it more than anyone else in here. Even Riki didn't seem as down as John did. He looked away. He wasn't going to let her get to him. He had made up his mind and there wasn't anything that anyone could do about it. He was doing this no matter what the others said, and he didn't care what happened to him in the process.

As one of the older kids from the table in the center of the room got up and started to walk toward his table, TJ took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was beginning to regret his decision to go forward with his plan, but he knew that he couldn't back out. He'd have to try. He opened his eyes and, like many times before, made himself forget his fear.

"Oh, not Terry. Not today" pleaded John to the heavens.

TJ saw his window of opportunity and decided to take it. When things start to get heated, he'd get himself involved.

"Well Becket" said Terry, slamming his palms down on the lunch table, making everything on it, including John and Riki, jump. "It seems we meet again".

"The usual, or double duty?" asked John to Terry miserably.

"I was real stressed today" said Terry cracking his neck and knuckles both ways. "Double duty". Terry brought his fist back and hurled it forward.

"Your name's Terry, right?" asked TJ calmly.

Terry's fist stopped less than a centimeter from John's nose. John had closed his eyes and flinched, and when nothing came, opened his eyes again to make sure he was still alive. When he did, all he could see were five bony knuckles less than an inch from his face.

"Well Johnny boy, you got yourself a little friend" said Terry smoothly, removing his fist from John's face, and putting it back in it's normal position. "And yeah. Terry Sullivan. That's me".

John groaned and let his forehead fall to the table with a loud thud. He was actually doing it. The kid was going to get his head cut off, and he didn't plan to watch it all go down.

"Well Terry, I've got a little something I'd like to say to you".

Terry immediately became angry, and pointing his finger in TJ's face and said, "you better watch your tone, kid". This of course caught the attention of the whole cafeteria, which went silent and turned toward the action in the corner.

TJ stood up and looked the bully in his cold green eyes and said "you'd better quit this thing with John, or be prepared to face my wrath".

Terry and the rest of the cafeteria laughed hysterically at this. TJ kept his firm, no nonsense look, and continued with, "what's so funny about that? It'll be like hell on earth for the next few days if you don't cut it out".

"What can you do?" asked Terry, still laughing. "Your just some dumb kid".

"And you're just some dumb teenager. Now scram". TJ said, sitting down again.

The cafeteria gasped and an expression of rage washed over Terry's face. "What'd you say kid?" He asked angrily.

"You're just some dumb teenager" TJ repeated, still calm. "Now scram".

"No one, talks to me like that!" screamed Terry as he grabbed the front of TJ's shirt and lifted him up out of his seat. Still TJ remained perfectly calm. "No one!"

"I just did" said TJ, smoothly as ever as his legs dangled in mid air.

Terry screamed in anger and carried the still calm boy up and over the table and over to the middle of the cafeteria. John stood up in terror, feeling TJ's weight leave the bench. He gasped at seeing his room mate being lifted into the air and brought over to the other kids at the center table. John didn't know what to do but he felt he had to do something. Terry was going to do something terrible to that kid if he didn't. He knew there was one thing he could do, but he knew he shouldn't, no, couldn't. It would make life even worse than it already was.

"Do it" said Riki to her brother. "You know it's the only way to get Terry off of him and you've hidden it long enough". John closed his eyes. He knew his sister was right. He needed to do it. It was fine if it was him being bullied, so he didn't reveal it then, but a new kid? Unexceptable, and it was the time to do what he now felt he should have done long ago.

TJ was being held up in the air by Terry, and preparing to get socked in the face until he bled, and then some. Everyone in the cafeteria except for John and Riki had surrounded the bully, waiting to see what would happen next. He had assumed his plan had been an utter failure, but he wasn't going to let that show, nor was he going to show his fear to Terry. He just remained calm, refusing to give the older boy the satisfaction of reducing him to nothing.

Terry hated this. Why was this kid so hard to crack? Why was he not scared of him? Everyone was scared of him. Everyone. He decided he'd have to teach the kid a lesson. A lesson he'd never forget. He once again drew back his fist. He was about to drive it into TJ's face when what look like a bucket's worth of water flew out from nowhere and hit Terry in the side of the head, making him jump in surprise and drop TJ.

TJ fell to the cold, hard concrete floor and looked around for the source of the water. He found no bucket, but a very angry looking John standing in the corner with Riki, now holding a black stick in each hand. TJ was confused. He hadn't seen these before, what the heck were they, and where'd all that water come from?

"Get off that kid!" He heard John yell.

TJ allowed a smile to creep across his face. Apparently his plan did work after all!