NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Rivalry
By morning, word of Felix’s stand had spread through the halls of Deep Lake High like wildfire. When he walked into school, his posture was tall, his steps steady, exuding a confidence no one had seen before. Whispers filled the corridors as students watched him, impressed by his bravery.
For the first time, the Crow Gang felt their grip loosening. Though no official action had yet been taken against them, they felt the shift in the atmosphere—students were rallying around Felix, finding a sense of safety and hope that hadn’t existed before. Felix had become a symbol of defiance, and the gang’s fear started to brew.
Jayden and the others watched with clenched jaws and narrowed eyes. Felix had become a threat—a real one. If they didn’t silence him, the power they held over the school could crumble. They had to do something, anything, to knock him down and remind everyone who was in charge.
But before they could devise a plan, an unexpected opportunity came knocking.
That evening, Jayden, Benjamin, Monty, and Ivy were lounging in an abandoned park on the outskirts of town, passing a joint between them as the last light of day faded. They laughed, talked trash, and strategized, but their mood shifted when Jayden caught sight of a lone figure walking down the path nearby.
It was Felix, heading home, oblivious to the gang lurking in the shadows. Jayden smirked, nudging Benjamin and Monty with a nod toward Felix. The guys rose without a word, a silent understanding passing between them.
Felix noticed them only moments too late. His pulse quickened, and he picked up his pace, but they were already on him, closing the distance with easy strides. He tried to turn, but Benjamin clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder, smirking.
“Going somewhere, Felix?” Benjamin chuckled, his voice laced with mockery.
Without waiting for a reply, Benjamin and Monty each grabbed one of Felix’s shoulders, dragging him into the park, ignoring his stifled protests as they hauled him toward Jayden. Felix stumbled, forced to his knees at Jayden’s feet, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked up at Jayden, his face a mixture of fear and defiance, wondering what fresh torment they had in store.
Jayden held up a hand, signaling his friends to back off. “Easy, guys,” he said smoothly, crouching down to Felix’s level, a sinister gleam in his eye as he extended a hand to help him up.
“Here,” Jayden said with an unsettling smile, his voice dripping with insincere kindness. “Let me help you up.”
Felix hesitated, eyes darting between Jayden’s hand and the gang members behind him, who stood watching with barely restrained malice. He swallowed hard, uncertain but desperate to escape their clutches, and reluctantly took Jayden’s hand.
Jayden pulled him to his feet, holding his gaze with a cold, unreadable stare. Felix tried to steady his breathing, hoping against hope that they would let him go. Benjamin was as confused as Felix But as Jayden’s smile twisted into something darker, he knew this encounter was far from over.
They thought they could control him, that this would be just another scare to teach him a lesson. But none of them could have predicted what Jayden had in mind.
With a dark glint in his eye, Jayden reached into Benjamin’s bag, pulling out a small, unmarked pouch brimming with cocaine. His fingers trembled, but his smirk held as he poured some into his palm, then raised it to Felix’s face.
“Take it,” Jayden smirked, his voice edged with cruelty. But Felix’s instincts kicked in; without a word, he turned to bolt. Jayden acted before he thought, slamming his open palm into Felix's neck, aiming to startle him, to force him to stay. He hadn’t expected the sharp crack of impact, hadn’t realized just how hard he’d struck. Felix crumpled to the ground in one fluid motion.
Jayden knelt beside him and insister "Come on! Take it!" He said but realized that Felix wasn't even moving, his heart pounding as he tried to shake him awake. But then he saw it—a thin line of blood pooling beneath Felix’s head. Panic gripped him, and the cocaine slipped from his hand, scattering beside Felix’s still body. He shook him, desperate for any sign of life, but the boy was gone.
“Oh my god, what did you do?” Ivy whispered, her eyes wide with horror as she paced. “We didn’t mean for this—” Her voice trembled, eyes darting to the others. Monty had gone pale, his hands twitching at his sides, while Benjamin seemed completely calm.
“We didn’t do anything,” Benjamin said, grasping Jayden’s shoulders. “Look at me! No one knows anything. We just leave him here. When they find him, it’ll look like an overdose. Just…just leave the drugs here.”
The others, too shaken to argue, scattered, each one burdened with their guilt. Only Benjamin remained cold, focused, even slipping more of the powder into Felix’s locker later that night. Monty left without a word, while Ivy turned her back on them, wanting to forget she’d ever been part of it.
Jayden, however, couldn’t escape. He felt the weight of it crashing down on him, a feeling he’d never known—guilt, pure and unrelenting, digging into him like claws. His mother had raised him to be confident, and strong, but in this moment, he felt small, a mere shadow of the person he had been. *If only I could take it back,* he thought, his voice a broken whisper as he staggered away, haunted by his actions.
And then, as if his regret itself had summoned it, something strange stirred in the air that night—a silent, unseen force. A coldness crept over him, and the shadows around him seemed to thicken, almost…watching. Jayden felt a shift, a presence weighing on his soul, darker than any nightmare he had ever known.
He didn't know that he hadn’t just killed Felix. He’d awakened something ancient, something ruthless. And it would haunt him until he paid the price, dragging him into a destiny he never wanted and a fate he could never escape.