The Skelitin Saga: Volume One

8. A Taste of Home

It didn't take Gray all that long to find his way home, but by the time he got there, snuck past his Dad, and made it to his bedroom, the orb had already lost it's shine.

I guess this is my last souvenir. Gray sighed, as he dropped it into his bed, like a lifeless, snowless, snow globe.

He glanced at his clothes on the bedside table and realized that tomorrow was a school day.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. Gray kicked his shoes into the corner and turned his light off with a huff. He stepped right over the Skelitin Saga laying in the middle of the floor, and sat down on his mattress.

Nothing was stopping him from crashing on his bed in his day clothes and taking a nap.

Nothing at all.

***

His Dad never wanted to talk. Actually, that was a lie. Gray's dad always wanted to talk, but never about anything important. Even when his wife died, the guy wouldn't talk about it, to anyone. Gray had to go to his grandfather whenever he felt like talking about his mom.

So why today, would his father catch him before he left and tell him they needed to have a serious conversation.

The curiosity was nearly enough to sway him. But really his mind was too full, to try and process whatever useless information about Miami that his father wanted to share.

"Get over here, Richy," Jack Houston's snobby voice called from behind, but Gray merely kept on walking.

Mark's hand landed on Gray's shoulder and spun him around. He found himself facing the two idiots, surprised to find not an ounce of trepidation in his gut.

I guess after being hunted by a bloodthirsty, magic, cyborg, these two morons don't seem half bad. He thought, scanning the boys over. Gray found it hard to believe he was ever really scared of them at all.

"Hit the road, Jack," Gray spat, shrugging his backpack onto his shoulder in what he hoped was a nonchalant fashion.

"No way punk," Jack laughed. "You told the principal on me, didn't you?"

"I barely admit your existence to myself, let alone to anyone else," Gray replied, borrowing a line from his hero. "Find someone else to assault, before I take a rock to your other eye,"

"So you admit it!" Houston cawed loudly.

"Yeah. I admit it. And that's only a small taste of what I can do to you," Gray whispered menacingly. "I know how to break each bone in your body individually. And I know how to keep you awake the whole time. I'll make sure you don't pass out, so that you get to feel each crack and splinter of those fragile bones of yours,"

"Wh-what?"

'Oftentimes, the ability to make the opponent hesitate for even a fraction of a second is the difference between victory and failure.' Oscar would be so proud of me.

Gray caught Mark eyeing his cast and smiled inwardly. "Admiring my handy work?" He whispered, patting the broken arm and shooting Jack a meaningful look. "I've been practicing,"

"You're nuts man!" Jack yelled, turning on his heel and rocketing off down the street, with Mark on his heels.

Gray smirked and continued on his way to school, almost knocking his girlfriend over as he turned around.