Page 51 of The Devil Within

The first blow comes as a surprise and knocks me off guard. The blinding pain radiates from where Wyatt hit me on my temple and across my entire skull. His fist rams into my head so intensely that I’m thrown to the ground and black dots spark across my field of vision. A pained cry leaves my lips, causing them all to laugh at me.

“Will asked us to check on you.” Brody’s breath is sour as he leans over my crumpled form and speaks against the side of my face. “He’s worried you haven’t been home and haven’t beeneating.”

Yeah, I’m sure Will’s beenveryworried about where I am.

“So we thought we’d bring you a snack,” Marcus states and the rest laugh as if it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever heard.

Right on cue, my stomach growls again. Another wave of embarrassment and anger courses through me and I struggle to keep tears from forming in my eyes. I’m not sure how much more I’m going to be able to take before I snap.

“We all made a contribution to your special snack,” Wyatt manages to get out between giggles.

I look up to see him holding a ziploc baggie with what appears to be a sandwich inside. I know this must be some type of sick fucking joke but right now I’m not catching on to what’s so funny.

Brody’s fingers snake into the dark hair at the crown of my head and pull. Sharp pain spreads throughout my scalp as he yanks me up to a sitting position. He doesn’t let go of my hair as the rest of his gang surrounds me, caging me against the tree and glowering down at me.

Marcus leans forward and pinches my cheeks. “Open wide Lucas, so we can feed you your snack.”

Shaking him off of me nearly causes my roots to be ripped from my head as Brody tightens his hold on my hair. I spit at Marcus’ face. The loogie lands right in the corner of where his nose meets his cheek. If I wasn’t so terrified of what’s going to come next I’d savor this moment—the look on Marcus’ face is phenomenal.

The punch he lands on my diaphragm is not. I wheeze and cough, unable to breathe for a moment. Marcus isn’t as strong as Wyatt, but the punch still hurts like a bitch.

“Luke,” I finally manage to choke out between pained gasps.

“What?” Marcus growls in my face.

“Luke.” I hate repeating myself for the sake of these morons. “My name is Luke, not Lucas you assholes. We’ve gone to schooltogether since kindergarten, you think you’d know my name by now.”

“I’m sick of this. Let’s feed him this cum sandwich already!” Wyatt whines from behind the murderous asshole in my face.

“Aww, you ruined the surprise. Now he won’t eat it,” Kyle complains. Not like I was really interested in whatever they intended to feed me before, but there’s no way in hell I’m eating a sandwich filled with their jizz. These sick fucks are out of their minds.

“He doesn’t have a fucking choice, dumbass.” Their leader snarks as he pulls my hair tighter, forcing my head back.

They all giggle as Marcus returns his hand to my face. His fingers pinch harshly into my cheeks. I try my best to keep my mouth closed but it’s no use, his fingers dig so deeply into my flesh that the inside of my cheeks tear against my teeth and I open my mouth in agony. As I do, Wyatt forces the bread into my mouth. I thrash and struggle against them.

I use my tongue to try to push the sandwich out of my mouth but when I do, I register the taste of something salty on my tongue. Realizing what it is, I immediately gag. Bile rises up from my stomach, the acid burning my esophagus. Tears and snot run down my face while their laughter and jeers fill the air around us.

I pray for someone, anyone, to come and save me. I need a teacher or a janitor, fuck even another student, to come find me. I’m so weak and pathetic, unable to save myself. The rage builds within me with each of their cackling laughs. My disgust turns to pain and anger.

Satisfied with their punishment, they release me. My head falls forward as hot tears streak down my cheeks. I spit the remains of their sick fucking snack on the ground in front of me. Raising my eyes, I’m met with Brody’s icy stare.

“You were supposed to swallow like a good little boy,” he sneersinto my face.

Those words break me. Whatever restraint I had left is shattered. I lunge at Brody, throwing him to the ground and hitting his face as hard as I can with my fists. I feel my knuckles collide with his nose with a crunch. Blood splatters across me as it spews from his face. I feel good for the first time in a long time. Every punch I throw at him pulls a piece of the rage and pain out of my soul and sets it free.

That is, until large hands pull me off of Brody. I’m thrown to the ground, my head colliding with a cold rock. My vision flashes in and out as pain flares behind my eyes. I feel them on me instantly, all of them kicking and hitting me. Someone grabs me by the shirt and slams me back down. I briefly register the pain of the rock against my head again before everything goes black.

I have no idea where I am. Everything is foggy and unclear. I feel like I’m not really here. I can’t remember the last thing that happened.

I try to open my eyes but the brightness is blaring and painful. I slam my eyes shut and try to take a few deep breaths.Where the hell am I?

Daring to squint my eyes slightly open again, I’m able to get a glimpse of myself. I’m definitely laying down somewhere. I’m covered in a white sheet. Am I dead? No. I’m in pain. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that you’ll know you’re dead when you don’t feel pain anymore. If that’s what death feels like, then I’m the opposite of dead. Everything hurts. Every. Fucking. Thing. The pain behind my eyes is the worst though. It feels like my skull shattered in two. A pained groan escapes from my throat.

“Oh my god! Steve! Steve, he’s awake! Go get the nurse!Hurry!”

Fuck. I know that voice. It’s what’s her face. Damn, I can’t remember her name. She’s my foster mom, I hate her, and her name is …Shit. I can’t remember. What’s wrong with me?

When I open my eyes further, I see her worried face looking down at me as she stands awkwardly by the side of the bed.

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