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Chapter 10 - Who's First?

Dave jolted from his bed, panting heavily. He had been having dreams he couldn't understand, and today was no exception.

At first, he thought it would go away, but it kept returning, that same dream. He held his chest, his eye bags visible and shoulders slumped.

"Not this same dream again."

He held both hands to his face, gently caressing it, hoping that when he removed them, he would feel at ease. But he soon realized something.

During his gentle head movements, his eyes met the square metallic clock that hung on the wall inches from his bed. It read:

'9:00'

"Holy shit! But I fucking set an alarm."

Dave sprinted into the bathroom, which was also inside his room. Minutes later, he was dressed, though not entirely. From one sock to half-combed hair and a missing wristwatch, he could still see the time:

'9:20'

Dave reached for his wallet. He opened it, and there it was. He let out a soft breath through his nose, calm, quiet, and full of relief. He still had some cash.

"No breakfast today. I still have some cash with me."

He hopped down the stairs on one foot, the other caught in a half-worn sock, wobbling slightly with each landing as he tried to keep his balance.

He reached the sitting room, seeing his mom on the chair, absent-minded and looking slightly downward, her back to Dave.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

The voice from Dave seemed to wake her from a trance-like state. She quickly turned to Dave, who was already holding the doorknob.

"What do you do in that room of yours? Look at the time."

The very statement pierced Dave's soul. It always made him look irresponsible. Despite the dream, he still couldn't figure out why the alarm he always set for 5:30 a.m. never woke him up. Something had to be wrong.

"Heh heh…"

He reached behind his back with his right hand, gently playing with a strand of his blonde hair near the nape of his neck.

He was trying to think but he wasn't. Clearly, he didn't have an answer.

"You should head to school. Quick, quick. You're already late."

Dave flung the door open like he was having a fight and sprinted out.

Rita looked at Dave and smiled. He was the happiest thing that ever happened to her, but that wasn't what was bothering her right now. She had been experiencing strange occurrences, something she couldn't explain.

She glanced at her hands once more, they were back to normal. Just moments ago, they had been covered in scales. Strange and unfamiliar. Before Dave distracted her, she had almost fully grasped what was happening.

She just hoped it was a dream, because what she saw her hand turn into was indeed terrifying.

She reached for the grocery bag beside her and left, heading to the supermarket just a short distance from home. She went in, got all the things and food items she needed, and dropped them for the cashier to price together but she wasn't ready for what she was about to witness.

The reflective metal just above the cashier wasn't showing her reflection. She cleaned her eyes just to make sure she wasn't daydreaming.

'i'm not crazy, I can't see my reflection'

She was so focused on trying to understand what was happening that she didn't hear the cashier repeatedly calling her.

"Madam!"

This time, Rita caught the annoyed tone in the cashier's voice and snapped back to reality, turning to look at them.

"I'm sorry. What's the bill?"

"40.99."

She reached into her purse, counted the money, and paid. She walked out still confused, yet she saw her reflection again before leaving.

"I need to see a doctor."

Dave arrived at school and, without hesitation, walked into the class, disrupting the topic currently being discussed. He hadn't seen this face before, it was a new teacher. Normally, he would expect insults from the teacher, but that wasn't the case this time, since the man standing in front of him was new.

"Are you new?" the man asked, looking at Dave with a calm voice and plain expression.

"No, stuck in traffic. Really bad."

The man raised his brows, staring at Dave for a moment before making a quick hand movement, signaling him to go in.

He turned to the class and headed straight to his seat, but his eyes didn't miss them, Derek and his gang. He knew he was supposed to see them a few days ago.

He wasn't sure if he should be scared or not, but he tried not to be, even though he knew his boldness would vanish the moment Derek started marching toward him.

Derek didn't lock eyes. He just minded his own business.

"Dave, you're late again."

Hina cast a quick sideways glance at Dave, her eyes shifting toward him as she slowly pulled the lollipop from her mouth.

"I know, I know. I just…"

"You just what?"

"It's this weird dream I'm having. I don't know how to explain it, but it's weird."

Hina raised her eyebrows, looking at Dave who supported his head on the desk with his hands.

"Dream? This is the first time you're telling me this. Let me guess, another excuse or something?"

"It's not. I'm serious. I've been ignoring it, so I didn't really think much of it, but it's clear it's something else."

"Hmmm. So what's this dream of yours about, Dave?"

"Well, it's always that I'm in a cave, then something's lurking around just within the deep dark. But today, I saw just its glowing eyes, four glowing eyes actually.

I know it's crazy, but it happens almost every day."

"Four eyes? Humanoid or a serpent maybe?"

"Well, it's huge. I'd say like a dragon."

"Dave, you're watching too many movies. Just try to sleep, more early."

Dave's expression shifted when he saw that Hina also wasn't taking his dream seriously. Deciding to let it go, he was just about to speak when a vibrating notification caught his attention. He quickly reached for his phone, it was a message. It read:

~Eyes on you~

It was from an unknown number. He didn't want to start guessing who it might be, but he already had his suspicions. He looked toward Derek's location. It had to be him, but he didn't see him holding any phone. Still, he believed it was him.

He tapped the three vertical dots beside the unknown chat, his thumb hovering for a second before selecting "Block and Delete."

It was the first time he had received such a strange message.

"What's that? You look pale. Did you dream about the dragon just now?"

Dave hadn't realized he'd gone into panic mode. His heart was beating faster than usual, and he kept stamping his heels against the ground to ease his nerves.

"Dave?"

"Hi, hi. I'm okay."

"You're definitely not okay. You've been staring at Derek for a while. What's the deal?"

"I just… you know…"

"Hate him?" Hina said, trying to complete his sentence.

"Yeah, most especially."

"It surprises me that you're an Izigan and don't know how to use your powers. You should be beating their asses, you know."

Dave turned his head, facing his desk. He had heard about Izigans who manifested their powers early and were sent to the Izigan substation on Earth for practice, awaiting the call-out. Him not being able to manifest his powers at sixteen meant he still had to attend regular schools with humans.

"I don't let that bother me for now."

Dave said, letting out a fake smile, which Hina could visibly see through.

'Dave is hiding something. He hid his phone just now. Today has to be the day I find out what's really going on. Just hope Dad doesn't come unannounced today,' Hina thought.

Dave raised his sleeve, looking at the black Izigan marking on his hand. It told who he was. He heard that the marking glowed sometimes. His mother wasn't an Izigan, so his father had to be one.

After a while, class ended. Both Dave and Hina left quickly, it was something they were already used to. But for Dave, he sprinted out as fast as possible to avoid the gang.

They were both approaching the exit of the school when Hina noticed how people were staring at something. She knew what it was and Dave also knew.

Dave stood back while Hina walked further until she could be seen by her father. She always came with the Apex car everyone admired, and soon they zoomed off.

The atmosphere turned tense. His legs felt light. He turned, not seeing any of Derek's gang behind him. He pulled out his phone and opened the map app it was the very app that helped him discover new routes to get home.

He began to move as fast as he could, following the map. He saw another possible route and began exploring it. From the highway, he dashed into a series of alleys, weaving from side to side. The space was tight, and the walls on either side blocked most of the sunlight, making it dimmer than the main streets.

Everything seemed to be going just fine until he noticed someone was following him and running too.

There was no way someone should be following him in a place like this. Dave took to his heels, going left and right through the tight alleyways. He ducked and turned so much he thought he had lost whoever was following him, until his heart skipped.

It was a tall brick wall.

A dead end.

His eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. He looked at the map again. He was on the right track, maybe he'd trusted the map too much.

"I told you I had my eyes on you. Where do you think you're going?"

Dave recognized that voice. Derek.

He could feel he wasn't alone, even though he was still facing the brick wall. He had hoped his powers would activate now, something he had wished for years. He turned to look at them.

It was the entire gang, all eight of them, each holding a baton in their hands. His body screamed surrender. His face turned pale, eyes wide and filled with fear, lips pressed tightly together.

He didn't know what to do. Shouting was pointless, there was no one around in this strange alley.

"I told you, you don't listen, do you, my boy? Think you can run me out? You made a mistake, yo. You're cooked, my boy! You know that. You're coming with us but first, we gotta break some of those legs. Get him, boys."

Four of the boys walked toward Dave, hitting their bats in their hands and closing the space between him and the wall. Even if he thought about running, it was impossible. He could feel the world around him crumble.

"Hey, hey, please don't. I beg you. Please…"

One of the batons struck his chest before he could say another word, and he dropped to the ground, clutching his chest in agony. They kept kicking him, their batons slamming into his back. He curled up, shielding his head from the violent swings, screaming as he coughed out blood.

'So this might be the end'

They all stopped, staring at his beaten body, now covered in dirt and blood. Their laughter echoed as they mocked him. One of them glanced at Dave in surprise, noticing he was trying to stand up.

"Wow, you still have some strength left in you."

"He's an Izigan. What do you expect?" another said, laughing.

Dave propped himself up on his elbows and knees. His father's necklace dangled loosely from his neck, and the small light in the alley hit the ash-metal, reflecting it. One of the boys saw it and moved toward Dave, reaching to pull the necklace.

"Let go…..it's not yours!"

Dave fought back, this time on his knees, gripping the boy's hand tightly. While the others laughed, the boy in front of Dave sensed something was wrong. He couldn't break free from the grip.

They struggled for a moment, until Dave struck him, sending him flying across the alley. The laughter stopped. Everyone fell silent in shock.

"His powers, they're triggered!"

Derek turned to Dave and grabbed him by the shirt. Dave collapsed, held up only by Derek's grip. Whatever strength he had left was gone. Just as Derek was about to land a punch to knock him out.

"I don't think you'll be doing that."

All the boys turned toward the voice and were shocked to see her.

Hina stood there, fists clenched, her stance firm, one foot in front of the other.

"Who's first?"

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