How far would you go? (Currently Editing)

Luke

Luke awoke to the sound of a horn. A truck roared by, leaving behind a trail of water and drenching Luke in cold, dirty water. He was soaked and it was still raining. He tried to get his bearings, looking up and down the deserted road. His head throbbed, and Luke gently reached up and touched the side of his head. It was wrapped in a bandage and dried with hardened blood. Had Louise fixed his wound and left him by the side of the road? Louise. Luke looked startled. He suddenly remembered. What had Sam done to her? The last thing he remembered was screaming wildly, trapped inside his own mind, begging Sam to stop. It was a desperate attempt, one that he knew would fail, yet he had to try, he had to break out and stop Sam from hurting Louise.

The only good thing was that while he was awake, he could recall everything Sam did. Searching through his subconscious, Luke was able to learn the truth and he understood what had happened. Realising that he had killed his friends, was agony and the anguish Luke felt was too much to bear. It did not matter if it was Sam or Luke, he was responsible for their deaths. The weight from those tragic facts hit Luke like a bulldozer, and he groaned in distress, both from the pain and from sorrow. He thought Sam had gone. A one-time problem that had gone away. It turned out Sam had always been part of him, just waiting for the right time to intervene.

When Luke was fourteen years old, he had a problem at school. Boys from his class tormented him, calling him names, attacking him when he walked home, and made his life miserable. Luke tried hard to ignore them, hoping one day they would leave him alone. Sadly, that never happened. Every day, they persecuted Luke, and it only got worse. The boys were relentless, making Luke the subject of their ridicule and their torment. He tried to avoid them, Luke tried to stand up to them, but he suffered. Black eyes, bruised ribs, dislocated shoulder, cut legs, the list of injuries went on, until one day, Luke acted. Although, it was not Luke, it was Sam.
Luke had not thought about that day for a long time. He had tried to erase that horrible moment from his life, but it had always been there, festering in his brain like mould slowly spreading. It was something he could never forget. The boy's faces were permanently fixed his brain. Their cries for help. The begging. Their screaming in fear. It would haunt him forever.

Luke allowed himself to think about those horrible events, ignoring the pounding headache and the continuous rain that saturated his clothes. Sitting on the side of the of road, Luke listened to the traffic rush by, water spraying across the tarmac, and the patter of rain hitting the pavement. He was wet and cold, and everything hurt. Despite wanting to get dry and warm, Luke allowed himself to think about his time at school, it might help him understand what was going on. Luke knew Sam was lurking in the recesses of his mind, waiting to pounce, ready to devour anyone that stood in his way. Luke had to stop him, and he could not allow him to hurt anyone else.

'Hey. Loser.' It was Billy. Billy Henderson. The most popular kid in school. Luke dragged his lanky, fourteen-year-old self out of the school gates and quickened his pace. He did not want to get into a battle with Billy Henderson. More taunts came from the school entrance.
'Loser. I'm talking to you.'
Kids milled around, looking uneasy at Billy. They knew what would happen if Luke ignored him. Luke's stroll turned into a gentle run.
Luke heard the pounding footsteps behind him, gaining on him. His heart quickened, feeling suddenly nervous. Luke turned to see Billy, Josh and Kevin running toward him. No! Luke ran, adrenalin kicking in. Sprinting down the lane, Luke prayed he he could reach the busy street before they caught up on him. Billy was a good runner. Cross country champion for the school. Luke was tall and slow, and Billy was gaining on him. No! Please No! thought Luke. They will kill me.
'Loser!' yelled Billy. 'We just want to talk.'

They would beat Luke to a pulp, and he had only just recovered from the last beating. Luke stumbled to the ground when he felt a strong-arm tug at his backpack. He rolled over, feeling the graze around his knees, and looked up at the trio of faces. Billy, Josh, and Kevin. The worst kids at school, and the ones who made Luke's life unbearable.
'Where's my money, Loser!' taunted Billy. 'You're late.'
Luke stumbled with his words. 'I. I. Don't...'
'Don't what,' interrupted Kevin. 'Don't have our money?'
Luke nodded, hoping they would leave him alone.
'What do we do to late payers?' The question was directed to Josh.

Josh was the biggest of the three. Only fourteen years old, he was built like a wrestler. Thick arm, huge neck, and broad shoulders, he could crush you with his massive hands. Josh smiled. Luke winced. He knew what was coming. Luke shut his eyes and suddenly felt the pain as a boot landed on his side. Josh had kicked up in the ribs. The impact sent a surge of pain down his side and Luke yelled out, his whole body throbbing, and tears welled up in his eyes.
'Look. He's crying.' It was Billy, still taunting Luke.