kid didn't even move. you see that? where's your survival instincts, boy? the boy says nothing. he readjusts his bookbag and resumes his long walk northward. gilman hey! gilman grabs the boy's shoulder and spins him around- gilman the hell you going? you hear me talking to you? one of the other football players, mason, walks over and inspects the boy's face.
you the one with the convict daddy? the boy stares back at gilman, unblinking.
what's the matter, you about to piss your pants? answer me. the boy says nothing, never looking away from the bully. gilman presses his fist, adorned with a heavy class ring, against the.boy's cheek. gilman you a tough guy like your daddy? gilman shoves the boy, forcing him to stumble backwards. the boy regains his balance, never taking his eyes off gilman. gilman you want to play tough guy with me? huh? provoked by the boy's lack of fear, by the insolence of his stare, gilman rears back and punches him in the face. the boy falls to the ground. blood spills from a gash in his cheek where the class ring cut him.
what's the matter? you want some more? the boy doesn't look away. the bully swings, cracking the boy in the side of the head, knocking him down again. gilman let's get out of here.
you got to be kidding me. i'm gonna knock the-- but gilman's words die in his throat as he sees something impossible happening. the gash on the boy's cheek knits itself shut, leaving no sign of injury. gilman is so shocked he doesn't see the boy's fist whizzing toward him, striking him in the nose. and then another punch. and then another. the boy is far smaller and weaker than gilman, but he fights with a ferocity that seems inhuman, punching and kicking and headbutting, doing whatever it takes to fell his enemy. gilman, stunned by the intensity of the assault, goes down, trying to protect his face from the blur of blows. mason tries to pull the boy off his friend and suffers a bite to the hand. he howls with pain and backs off. the other two football players, amazed to see their leader getting pummeled by a boy half his size, watch in awe. the boy growls as he batters the bully. he grabs gilman's collar and lifts the football player's head off the ground, prepared to deliver the coup de grace with his right fist. three bone claws spring from the boy's hand, serrated and razor sharp. everything stops. mason, clutching his wounded hand, quits hollering and stares. the other two football players blink and slowly back away. even gilman, moaning on the ground, hushes and tries to crawl backwards, away from this beast on top of him.