Samuel: Well, that dream was quite sinister.
Me: I know, Sam, but I am positive you'll be just fine.
Frisk: Heh, Samuel needs to be filled with DETERMINATION.
Me: Frisk, he's bound by LOYALTY. But more of that later...
Enjoy!
The scent of breakfast in the morning was never so sweet. Mom always makes me meat and cheese sandwiches, that go along so well with mint tea. Don't ask why I like tea so much - I would love to try any sort of tea, truly. Tea was the solution for most of my worries, but then again, that dream kept rolling in my mind. The goat monster was intent on seeing me dead...I don't deny, all that killing left me with cold shivers, and as I rummaged the whole bad dream, I didn't even hear my mother calling me.
- Samuel! Sammy? Sam! Are you even listening to me? my mother's irritated voice made me jolt in my chair.
- S-sorry, I managed to choke out as I hastily grabbed the still warm cup of tea. I can't forget that dream I had, mom.
- Oh, come on, Sam, you have to stop focusing on things like that..., she said as a vague smile formed on her face.
For a second, I was about to swear she didn't fully care about my worries, but I shook my head, unable to understand where did that come from. I did nothing but smile back and reassure her I would not dawdle on the bad dream. Instead, I thanked her for the nice meal and headed towards the front door, taking my red jacket from the coat rack. "Don't forget, be back for lunch! And make sure you don't get into trouble!" mom said before I closed the door and headed out in the rather chilly weather.
It was autumn, and the leaves were forming carpets of yellow and brown around me, while the sky was grey and it looked like it was about to rain - I carefully placed the hood over my hair - and began walking down the almost lonely road. I had a few spare coins in my pockets, so I decided I would go around and take something sweet to chew. I know mum hates on me taking candies, but then again, she doesn't really stop me. I guess, in some ways, she doesn't want to fully deny my childhood. As I was walking, I saw a boy, roughly my age, being picked on by two bullies...
- C'mon, give us the candy, you little scum, one of them said to the boy.
- Oh, look, he defies us, Marvin. Let's beat him and take everything, said the other.
The boy was looking at the two bullies with a scared face, and from a distance I could see some of his face - he was red-haired, his skin was a tad darker than mine, and as an outfit he had a striped shirt, with green and blue lines all over. He looked like he needed a hand, and I didn't see any adult around...
Mom will hate me for this...
- Hey, you morons! Why don't you pick on somebody of your size, I yelled at the two older boys.
- Oh, look, Frank's got some backup. What do you want, stranger? the bully named Marvin roared at me.
- Leave the kid alone! I said as I raised my fists. I'm not afraid to fight you two.
- Look, Marv, he is serious, the other bully laughed at my attempt of courage.
- Yeah, I bet he will run to his mommy after we finish him, Chad.
- I bet you two will run away screaming for your mommies, I defiantly said to the two.
In truth, I was secretly training with the physical education teacher, who was kind to show me some self-defense moves. He always said that there's something special about me, and that I deserve some extra lessons, so for roughly a year now I was learning how to properly box. Mom didn't really know about my lessons, but I planned to come out clean at the next meeting with the parents - the head teacher of our class announced there will be a meeting with the parents, and that we will also attend to discuss the class' matters - and the PE teacher was going to come at the meeting too, so technically, that would make my confession easier. Right now, I was focusing at the task at hand, saving the young kid.
- Okay, buddy, the bully named Chad left out a chuckle, if you beat me, we'll leave Frank alone.
- Fine, I said. And I want you to be nice to him, no matter where you meet him.
- Chad, are you really gonna...? Marvin asked his friend.
Chad leant towards Marvin, whispering him something. I had a feeling they wouldn't be loyal to their promise, so I had to keep my head in the situation, because I could hear Marvin cracking with laughter.
- Can we finally start? I asked, impatiently.
- Okay! Chad said as he lunged with a punch to my jaw.
I was caught off-guard, and fell to the ground after the rather strong punch. I could feel my jaw break in that spot, and I knew Mom will hate me one hundred percent after this. He was strong, no doubt, but he wasn't as agile as I was, so I got up slowly, shaking my head, recovering from the blow.
- Wow, gotta admit, the little guy's tough, Marvin snickered.
- At least he is not a big mouth anymore, Chad said, and both howled with laughter.
I managed to catch a glimpse of Frank's face as he looked at the fight from the sidelines. He was indeed worried, and hoped I would be able to drive away the two horrible bullies he fell prey to. I hoped that myself...so, I caught the bully off-guard and kicked him in the ribs with my right leg, driving him a bit away. He instantly shot me a death glare, so I prepaired to run around and evade his blows. "Goddamn you, you prick! Come here so I tear the fuck out of you!" I could hear him yell behind me as I dashed towards the park. Adults were looking with shock, seeing a ten year old boy with a swollen face running from a thirteen year old one, the latter swearing along the way, but my run was skidded to a halt when I bumped into a rather tall policeman.
He gently picked me up and examined the rather large wound I received. "Did that guy hurt you?" he asked me as he saw Chad running behind me, only for him to stop just a few feet from the policeman. I nodded towards the policeman, who then placed me down and made his way towards the now petrified Chad.
- Did you hurt this little boy? he sternly asked.
- S-Sir, I...
- Did you or did you not? the police officer asked again.
- I-I did, Chad sheepishly admitted.
- Where's your other friend?
- He's...down there, on the road, at the Sheila's Candy Store, the bully admitted.
- We're going there, all three, the officer said.
The officer placed himself between us, and walked along until the candy store. In the meantime, he warned Chad that he and his friend will be taken to the precinct, and I was to be taken at the hospital. I was really glad that I bumped into him, otherwise the whole thing would've ended really bad for me, or even for Frank. Marvin was still threatening the young red-haired boy when the police officer bellowed with an icy-cold voice to step aside from the kid.
Hearing all the ruckus outside, Sheila, the owner of the store, came to the door. She asked the officer whatever happened here, and then he gently assured her that the whole incident was going to be solved. For my part, I was glad that Frank escaped unharmed and that he kept his candy - but then I heard the officer discussing through his radio with someone:
- Unit 32 reporting.
- Go ahead, Unit 32.
- Got two suspects, aged thirteen, known with previous charges. Requesting backup at Sheila's Candy Store, on Fifth Street. Requesting paramedic, one civilian injured.
- 10-4, Unit 32. All available units, Unit 32 requests backup on Fifth Street at Sheila's Candy Store.
- Unit 53, arriving at scene in 3, 10-4.
- Paramedic Unit 101, arriving at scene in 5, 10-4.
I could hear sirens wailing from one direction, and no sooner than three minutes, I saw a police car stopping at the shop. From it descended two young officers, a male and a female, and took Chad and Marvin in their car. The policeman who saved me thanked them for their prompt arrival, and just as the police car was about to leave, I saw an ambulance arriving at our position. Frank came next to me and gave me a hug, while softly saying "Thank you." and handing me one of his candies. I felt quite ashamed to receive a candy for free, but I accepted his gift. A doctor descended from the ambulance and looked at my injury, only for him to make a serious face, "I'm afraid the kid's jaw is busted. He must be taken to the hospital. Does he have a family to be announced?"
I picked up the small phone Mom gave me on my birthday, and dialed her number. At the other end, panicked, I heard her voice, "SAMUEL WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! I ASKED YOU TO NOT BE LATE FOR LUNCH! I WAS WORRIED SICK THAT YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP!", but I really couldn't speak with my broken jaw, so the policeman took the phone from my hand.
- Hello, Miss. My name is Constable James Halliday, officer of the 16th Precinct.
- Oh my God, did anything happen to my son?! Is he okay?! I could hear Mom yelling through the phone.
- I'm afraid not. He engaged in a fight with two bullies, saving a young boy's life and candies in the process. He got injured to the right side of his jaw, and he can't speak with you, I'm afraid, the officer said.
- Where are you at? I'm going to pick up my son, I heard her saying in an irritated tone.
- I'm going to escort your son at St. John Hospital, because he needs immediate intervention.
- Alright, thank you Constable Halliday, my mum said before ending the call.
The paramedic that examined me asked his colleagues to place me on a thing called 'stretcher', saying "We have to get him at St John's, asap!" and then he asked me to breathe in the mask he placed on my nose. Breathing in an out, I felt reality shifting again, and I don't remember anything else from then, except a faint dream...
- hi. don't worry, kid. my name is sans. sans the skeleton. and i'm the protector of those ruins. i often come here to see if anyone has fallen down. heh. you're the first human to fall down here in a long time. tibia honest with you, i like humans. now come on, i got a lot of things to show you around here.
- Where are we going?...
- relax, kid. take in the surroundings. the ruins are full of things called puzzles. well, i like puzzles, but i think you'll find them too easy-peasy for your smarts. check out that yellow thing. it's interesting.
As I placed my hand over the yellow thing, I could hear a faint "blip", as if I just reached a point. I could see in front of me these very words...
YOU
ARE
FILLED
WITH
LOYALTY.
