Dreams Qf Nightmares

Chapter 2 ~ Before the After

"C'mere, butthole. I wanna talk to you."

Jack froze stiff as a storefront mannequin. staring blindly into his hall locker. He knew the voice immediately. A distinctive male voice, dark and menacing.

"Get your sorry ass over here or you're dead meat." The familiar voice belonged to Gary Boyle, a strapping fifteen year-old eighth-grader better known around JFK Junior High as The Gargoyle.

Jack felt the blood rush to his face and his heart pound in his chest. His feet refused to move, but his mind was racing at warp speed. A close encounter with The Gargoyle meant trouble. Serious trouble.

What would his nemesis do next? Rip off his lunch money again? Squeeze a bottle of ketchup on his head as he did two weeks earlier in the cafeteria? Or maybe punch him in the other arm until the cruel bruise this time turned an even greener shade of purple?

The Gargoyle looked up and down the hall for any sign of a teacher or the security monitor. As soon as he was sure no one was around who could give him detention, he strolled over to where Jack remained frozen in place. A swarm of boys circlee the two, buzzing with anticipation.

The bell rang for Third Period. The Gargoyle acknowledged the shrill sound with a primal grunt. He typically waited until lunchtime to harass one or more of his regulars. Then again, he had a reputation for being as volatile as a stick of dynamite in a match factory. You never knew when he might explode. Yet you could always count on The Gargoyle to terrorize his victims in person. Cyberbullying had no place in his arsenal. He got off on seeing the fear in their eyes firsthand.

The Gargoyle grabbed Jack by his shoulders and spun him around. "Hey, retard, are you deaf," he growled, inches from Jack's face, "or just plain dumb?" His sour-milk breath turned Jack's stomach.

"Don't mess with me, Gary," Jack said with false bravado.

"What'd you just say?"

"I said, leave me alone, Gary," Jack replied with as much conviction as he could muster. "Okay?" he added weakly.

"Unh-unh. You called me Gary. Twice. Nobody calls me that. Not around here. I am The Gargoyle. The one and only. I rule this stinkin'school. And I own your stinkin' ass. Don't you never fuckin' forget it, neither."

The students Gary Boyle began bullying in fourth grade gave him his nickname. Not only did it rhyme with his actual name, but his muscular body, hunched shoulders and chiseled sneer also reminded them of a beastly architectural gargoyle. Gary thought the nickname suited him just fine.

Gary was nearly a foot taller than Jack and a solid fifty pounds or so heavier. He put a hefty arm around Jack's neck and muscled him across the hall to the boys room. "C'mon, booger breath," he snarled, "I got sumpin' I wanna show you."

The lavatory reeked of a commercial strength cleaner. Still, the heavy pine scent couldn't hide the stubborn whiff of urine and the stale stench of the night custodian's cigar. The Gargoyle checked the room to make sure they were alone, even searching under the doors of the dark green toilet stalls.

Jack was trembling now. "Relax, everything's cool," The Gargoyle lied, mere seconds before shoving him hard against the concrete block wall. Jack hit headfirst and slumped to the floor, dazed and in pain. The Gargoyle crouched over him like a hungry lion over an unfortunate antelope. He seizedJack by the front of his t-shirt and pinned him to the wall with his forearm. Then, with a gargoyle-esque sneer, he attacked Jack's face with hot-pink lipstick.

Jack twisted his body and rocked his head from side to side as he tried to free himself from The Gargoyle's grip. But he was no match for the bully's superior strength and finally surrendered to the assault.