Crash

            She was colder than the crisp air. The eyes were gone, there were no more left, his mate laughed at the sight, the pure sadism euphoria. She had no heartbeat. A voice laughed in his ear, making him shiver and scream.

            He woke with a jolt and clutched his stomach.

 

            School went by very steadily. In class, each member fidgeted with anxiety: Damian tapped his foot, Ronnie gnawed on the inside of her cheeks, Kaiya rubbed her arms, Darian bit his lip, Billy tapped his pencil in a rapid beat, Brandon clenched and unclenched his fists. Every month it was this way. No matter the enthusiasm, there was always the anxious feeling of losing and getting hurt. (Save for Damian and Billy, they just worried about their teams losing). There would be much more than minor bruises afterwards.

            Upon passing their rivals in the hallway, they only stared each other down, not saying a word. There had been no hugs in the morning, no laughter and no jokes. Their attitudes had to harden or they would fall back while fighting. And indeed, they did become like rough stones, unbreakable against the other. It was the only way to settle things. After all, no one can name a war where not one evil thing occurred.

            At the end of the day, Ronnie stood by Kaiya at her locker.

            “I’m so ready for this,” Ronnie said. Her companion only shrugged"another fight against Brandon.

            “Sure. I guess I am too…”

            Outside, Damian leaned against his car, trying out a new pack of smokes from Kenderick. He was sort of bummed Kenny wasn’t on his Team--it would’ve been a real boost--but he supposed it was only fair. The cigarette hung limply from his mouth. Soon Richie, Gabe and Billy were coming towards him, and he stuck the unlit cancer stick back in the pack, getting into the driver’s seat and starting the car.

 

            6 pm.

            Only a matter of minutes remained.

            Ronnie sat in Kaiya’s kitchen, writing in her journal (she wrote absolutely everything in there). Kaiya was on the phone with Logan while Skye sat on the couch.

            “No, it’s fine. You’re fine. It’s all good. Alright, we’ll return in one piece. Bye.”

            Kaiya walked back in from the living room, smiling. “Logan and Lindsey have officially backed out. I’ve never been so glad.”

            Ronnie smiled, relieved. “About time. They’d be in tears.”

            “And in bits.” Skye added, stretching. She was tiny, yes, but like it was said, dynamite comes in small packages. The girls took another look at the clock, wishing they had more time, and it was very much time to leave. Quickly they went over their fighting techniques (cliché, but a precaution), all the while fooling themselves into thinking they were going to love it.

 

            Damian was unusually exhausted, and as a result, the car would swerve just a bit every now and then. He’d had zero sleep, and the drinks were doing him no justice.

            “Dude,” said Gabe, “are you okay?”

            Their driver replied, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Just shut up.”

            “F**k, let me drive,” Billy chimed in. Damian waved them all off.

            “No, stop. I’m fine, I’m good, just shh.”

            Richie put his hand on Dame’s shoulder lightly. “Bro, you’re not good. Just let one of us drive. You might get us killed before the fun starts.”

            Irritably the driver pulled over to the side. He got out, switched places with Billy, and stuffed himself in the back, wishing he could sleep.

            “Gabe.”

            Gabe didn’t answer.

            “Gabe.”

            “What?”

            “Your singing doesn’t f*****g help.”

 

            7 pm.

            Dark.

            Clear of adults.

 

            The area where they were to meet was a clearing in the woods some ways from their school. Call it story irony, call it cliché, but absolutely no one knew about it. So it was the perfect place.

            The Ravens were the first to emerge: Kaiya, Ronnie, Josh, Skyler, Skye, Kenderick, Ashley, Nathaniel, William Ruiz, and Darian. They wore coats, not just for the chilly weather, but so when blood was spilled the clothes underneath would be fine. They waited rather patiently for their rivals to come into view. Already adrenaline ran through each of them, preparing them to rely on instinct and not mind.

            The Scarecrows finally came: Dame, Gabe, Richie, Billy, Lizzy, Bratcher, Mikaela, Brandon, Mark, and Nathan. Instead of immediately running head-on at each other, both gangs began to launch insults at one another. This was done so they could get the anger and heat stirred up, to further give them a reason.

            And then, they were at each other. Mikaela quickly smashed her fist into Darian’s jaw, causing him to falter a bit--he came back at her with an elbow to the side. She shoved him aside and went for his throat, but her opponent was faster and ducked. Kaiya gave a good, swift punch to Mark’s face (and she indeed enjoyed it), which sadly was enough to knock him backwards. She was distracted by this, so Gabe violently shouldered her and she too fell back. Darian and Nathan were so into their fist-fight that it was difficult to tell who was winning. All hell had broken loose.

            Ashley was on a one-on-one with Billy (my God), determined to get at his lower half and return the favor. It was of no use--he was completely merciless and at that moment the pinnacle of ruthlessness. He caught her wrist, crushing it, and twisted it behind her back. Her whole body spun around and she found her back right up against his front. He wrapped an arm around her throat, raised his leg and slammed it into the back of her knee, sending her down, and he finished it off with a slice to the temple.

            S**t, I didn't even get to do anything, she thought as she lost consciousness.

            Ronnie tried to sweep her leg and trip him. Dame blocked her from her target and grabbed her, but she turned him right around to knock back into Richie. Richie had long since finished off Nathaniel and Josh, now onto Kenderick. Ronnie jumped on his back, locking her knees into his ribs.

            "S**t!"

            The deadly sound of firecrackers. Gabe had set off a string of firecrackers.

            "We're finished! Get out of here!"

            The teens let go of their opponents and fled the scene--these firecrackers were just for show, but only the Scarecrows knew that. They jumped around, laughing, high-fiving each other for being able to scare off the other team. (Hence the name much).

            "That was too easy," Dame said.

            Gabe recovered from his maniacal laughter. "Yeah, they're a bunch of idiots."

            They all jumped from their seeming victory at the new sudden crackling and turned. A new set of firecrackers were firing off, violently and rapidly. They all stepped back as they sparked--and lit on fire.

            "What the hell!" The confused Scarecrows screamed as the fire spread around them. They took off running, not noticing the Ravens laughing hysterically at the entrance to the woods.