"Wheelie freak." James yelled as his knuckles connected with Hayden's chin, sending his head whipping sideways from the force.
"Damn, you got him good, man." Finn, a duo with James, snickered hard while falling over himself in laugher.
Cade rushed forward before James could deliver another punch.
"What the fuck? Why are you hitting him?"
Cade hadn't been here when James and Finn came to corner Hayden by the local library on purpose. It was pure coincidence that Cade happened to have arrived just now, else these two dudes would have beaten Hayden into a pulp.
Hayden scoffed and spat out blood, rage coursing his veins.
"You alright, bro?" Cade asked him, looking over his shoulder.
He nodded even as his head pounded. "Yeah, man. I am."
"Why don't you ask the crippled freak why he loves to run his stupid mouth at us?" James gritted out as he tried pushing past Cade.
James was buff, tall and strong, with dark curls and always dripping in designer outfits.
But Cade was thankfully way bigger and buffer than him, and that was what always saved Hayden.
"You disgusting bastard. You called my older sister a whore! You said you and your dumb friends would run trains on her in front of me!" Hayden hurled at James through clenched teeth.
James's scowl deepened and he angrily tried shoving past Cade, but Cade kept him away from reaching Hayden, and that made him madder. He angrily pulled off Cade, shoving him hard In the chest before he began pacing.
"See that now? He never fucking stops running his mouth!" Finn yelled angrily, fuming.
That's the thing about Hayden. It doesn't matter how much he gets beaten up. He never stops running his mouth… even though that's the only thing he can do.
He can't fight back cause he's stuck in a rickety wheelchair. He can't defend himself either.
It was either that or he stayed quiet and let everyone walk all over him.
He gets walked over enough at home where he's not allowed to speak back no matter what.
But outside of the house, he talked back to anyone that messed with him, even if they beat him up, he never stopped.
"Just ignore him, man. You guys keep irking him too," Cade sighed out, sounding frustrated.
"Who are you to tell us that? You dirtpoor rat. It's why you roll around with a loser like him, cause you're both losers, even if he's from an influential family." James snapped, regarding Cade with disgust.
Finn laughed. "You can't even afford our socks or underwear. Think you're now on our level cause you defend the crippled loser?"
Cade rolled his eyes, always unfazed by their taunts. He's heard that a thousand times since he was young so it wasn't anything new. He's just very lucky that he isn't weak, else he'd have been the perfect candidate for bullying.
Hayden knows he's very lucky to have someone like Cade as a best friend.
People might think they're worlds apart, since Cade is from an average earning family and is only attending their school due to a scholarship, while Hayden is from the not well known Sinclair family.
The Sinclair family are well known due to the sheer amount of their success in the country. They own a part of almost every existing company out there, be it hospitals, banks, schools and the rest.
But contrary to what a lot of people might think as the son of the last reigning Sinclair heir, Hayden was being treated like a slave in his own house.
After his father and mother suddenly disappeared shortly after his birth, there was no one to take in him and his older sister but his father's immediate brother and his wife. Back then, they already had two twin sons who were three years older than Hayden.
His sister is also three years older than him, but Hayden was ready to give his life to protect her.
Back at home, Hayden and his sister were always singled out, and are always being reminded that they were nothing but charity cases.
His uncle and aunt had one more son, his exact age. They treated their three sons like they were gold who had no faults.
The three sons never went a day without making Hayden's life hell. Him being in a wheelchair didn't matter.
Instead, it amused them even more to kick him around. Sometimes they throw him out of his chair and take his chair away, leaving him writhing around on the ground like fish out of water.
Sometimes they completely crush his wheelchair when they are in shitty moods, and before it gets replaced, his aunt would punish him immensely like it was his fault.
He hated all of them so much.
But at least they spared his sister, so he was grateful.
They rarely messed with her, aside from the times he caught the twins staring at his sister like she was a five star meal when she wasn't looking.
That disgusted him so much, and he always reminded his sister to lock her door every night.
But he truly doubted a door could keep them out.
Hayden was crippled from birth. A surgery could have apparently corrected the issue when he was very young, but his aunt and uncle hadn't bothered 'wasting' any dime on him.
"Oh my gosh, Hayden! Are you hurt?" A sof, familiar voice cried out from afar.
Hayden looked and felt his heart skip a beat.
Alice was in his face, looking worried as she cupped his face.
"Did they hurt you again?" She asked urgently, throwing a frown in James and Finn's direction.
Her scowl was always cute cause she was just too adorable.
Alice has large green eyes and lush red hair. She was quite short and had a budding curvy body, which was always hidden in decent dresses.
"No need to worry, redhead. I'm alright." Hayden assured her, attempting to sound nonchalant even as his entire face hurt.
He hated that Alice had witnessed him getting bullied countless times and it made him embarrassed.
He hated always looking so weak.
Alice huffed. She was still frowning, clearly not believing him.
Her small fingers traced the swell in his chin and he winced.
Just like Cade, Alice is someone people might also think is worlds apart from him, cause she's also from an average home. Herself, Cade and him have been friends for years now and Hayden doesn't consider himself above or better than them.
"Isn't this Alice the little…" James began on a mocking drawl before he trailed off when a deafening, rocketing sound suddenly filled the air, one which shook the entire place up. It sounded like a large drum just got strummed, one strong enough to shake up everyone's bones.
Everyone's eyes widened as they froze, their heart lurching hard in fear.
"Did anyone else hear that?" Cade asked as everyone looked around.
Hayden's eyes met Alice's terrified ones just as the ground began to vibrate, a loud, shrilling tone filling the air next, so drawn out that everyone's ears began to ring.
All the books in the shelves began to fall off and that was when they decided something was wrong. All the others gathered on the other side of the library were all starting to panic, their voices rising.
'What the fuck is going on?' Hayden wondered silently as he wheeled himself to the nearest window, his heart pounding hard.
Everyone gathered behind him curiously.
"What's that?" A shrill feminine voice called out, panicked and confused.
That's the exact question in Hayden's mind as he stared right into the large eyes of the thing staring right back at him.
It looked like a pig, but one with spiked wings in the back.
It was so big, its body a dark, oily green, and its eyes pitch black. Its flat nose flared and it let out a roar in the next moment, its mouth falling open to reveal rows and rows of sharp looking teeth.
"Oh my goddess." Alice cried out beside him just as everyone began to slowly back away.
Hayden felt rooted in the spot, too terrified to move. What's this thing and how is it flying? Where did it come from?
"Everyone, fucking run!" Cade's booming voice filled the whole room, and that finally snapped Hayden out of his trance.
Just as he attempted to wheel himself away from the window, the pig-like animal crashed right against the window.
Hayden thought his life was about to end. His life flashed before his eyes before Cade yanked hard on his wheelchair, saving him by a hair breath.
Hayden's heart was stuck in his throat as he quickly wheeled himself right behind all the running people trying to leave the library at the same time.
Alice and Cade were running right beside him, and Hayden was so terrified, he might pass out.
"What was that?" Alice cried out, stumbling a little.
"It was a monster. A fucking monster!" A man cried out just as the piercing cry of a girl filled the air. Everyone looked back at the same time and watched as that pig-like monster tore right into the throat of the girl he had captured.
"Oh Jesus. It killed her!"
"The monster killed her!"
Panicked filled the air along with shrill screams.
A woman fainted.
Someone vomited.
Alice's hands were shaking, her eyes glued to the sight of the woman being eaten.
'That was a monster. An actual monster.' Hayden thought as his mind reeled. But this time, he quickly snapped out of it and urged Alice to resume running.
The sound of another window being destroyed, followed by a deafening roar, spurred them on even more. More terrified cries filled the air.
A few people got caught by the monsters and were instantly torn apart. Hayden didn't dare look back this time.
"Just keep running, everyone." Cade called as he sighted another pig-like creature flying in from the doorway of the library. He was at the front, automatically taking on the leader role.
He instantly took the left turn and everyone followed suit. A window stood right there, which he instantly crushed with a chair, then he called for Alice. Alice was crying at this point, shaking her head, not wanting to be the first to go out.
Others were trying to jump out first but Cade refused to let them through, insisting that he and his friends would go out first, as the one who broke the window himself.
"I'll go first." Hayden called out, pushing the fear out of his chest as he wheeled himself to the window.
This wasn't the time for fear. They could all get torn apart in any second. He needed to have a clear head and be strong like Cade clearly is.
Cade helped him off the wheelchair and had the wheelchair dropped out the window first.
Hayden felt like such a burden right now, slowing everyone down.
Damn his stupid legs.