Dwindle

Chapter Five

Sherlock was shoved hard against the bark of the tree as one of the boys spoke up to the girl, "Sally, what do you want us to do with this freak?" He grinned sinisterly.

"Sally is it?" Sherlock asked, his voice steady, "I would say it was a pleasure to meet you, but....." He looked around at the four students surrounding him, "it really isn't."

The tallest boy chuckled softly. "Cheeky, eh?" His face darkened as he shoved Sherlock again, "Maybe we should teach him how to shut up."

Sherlock winced, "As I'm sure I could use a lesson on how to shut up, you all are hardly qualified. Thanks anyway." Sherlock stood up and smiled and began to walk away. Before he could even take two steps, he was yanked back and could taste something metallic and warm in his mouth as his head banged against the trunk of the tree.

"Not so fast freak." Sherlock's eyes darkened and narrowed at the boy who had spoken.

"My name is Sherlock. Do you think you could wrap your thick skull around that little fact, you-" The tall boy punched Sherlock in the stomach and he doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Shut up."

Sherlock stood up and glared. It was silent as they locked eyes, the tall boy's were sinister, Sherlock's were full of hatred.

Suddenly, Sherlock tackled the boy. They both fell to the ground, Sherlock on top, blindly hitting the guy beneath him. The boy was struggling and yelling out in pain, but Sherlock didn't stop.

He was yanked off by the other two boys and one held his arms behind his back while the other threw a fist to Sherlock's face. There was a crack as Sherlock's nose broke and blood spurted all over his chin. His mouth was on fire as it received hit after hit after hit.

He grunted in pain as he struggled out of the boy's grasp and began lashing out. His fist throbbed as it impacted the other boy's flesh over and over again. The two other boy's grabbed him from behind and held him tightly, bruising his arms. But he didn't have the strength to escape their grasp.

Sherlock watched, out of breath, as the tall boy walked towards him. He saw with satisfaction that his face was already bruising and that he was visibly wincing from pain.

"Where's your friend?" Sherlock asked, out of breath. He was referring to the girl who was now nowhere in sight.

The boy looked around and swore under his breath, "You better watch out, freak." He said.

Sherlock glared into the boy's eyes and then spit a wad of blood down on his shoes. "Ugh!" The boy exclaimed in disgust, "You little..." He punched Sherlock in the stomach, hard, and Sherlock bent over, coughing up blood. The two boys held him up.

"This ought to teach you a lesson." The boy hissed as he hit Sherlock several more times. Each hit brought a wave of unbearable pain. Blood erupted from his mouth and the throbbing in his stomach was excruciating.

Sherlock's body was almost completely limp and the two boys let him fall to his knees.

"We'll be seeing you around, freak." One boy said with a laugh. They began to walk away, but the tall boy stayed and looked down at Sherlock.

He stepped forward and bent down, grabbing Sherlock by the collar, "I hope you remember this." He whispered in his ear, "I hope you remember this for a good long time." He stood up and shoved Sherlock once more, walking away as Sherlock crumpled to the ground.

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John hummed quietly to himself as he flipped through an old magazine. The room was silent except for his soft tune. The sun had just gone down and the only light in the house came from a single lamp that shown above John's reading. The whisper of a soft breeze came through an open window, rustling the pages in his hands. The peace and quiet was well welcome after the long day he had had.