[You have been stabbed!]

[- 30 HP]

[70/100 HP]

[While your Energy is extremely low, emergency healing function is unavailable!]

[You are bleeding!]

[Your Health will decrease by - 4 HP per minute until you’re patched up or healed.]

Gary didn’t need the system to figure out that he had been stabbed, it was a memory that he would probably never be able to forget. The really worrying part were the messages following it. Unless Gary could somehow replenish his Energy to have his system automatically heal the wound, or at least bandage it, he would bleed out and die.

‘Barry, you damn bastard! Where the hell did you come from and why did you stab me?! First you hurt Tom, and then you do this! I should just…just!’ Gritting his teeth, his bloodlust was leading him to only one logical conclusion. ‘I should just kill you!’

Barry looked up, yet rather than seeing a scared expression on his victim’s face, Gary was the picture of pure unbridled anger. He had expected him to be either screaming, scared or in shock, but instead his schoolmate seemed ready to take him along to the next world.

Instinctively, Barry stepped away from him. His hand, which had still been on the knife handle, ended up pulling the weapon out. He had never stabbed anyone before, so he himself was still in shock at what he had done.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to die!” Barry cried out, attempting to stab Gary one more time. However, Gary stood there, already waiting for the other’s attack.

‘Screw you!’ He thought as he activated Charging Heart.

[18/110 Energy]

Showing no hesitation, he grabbed the knife before it could stab him again. Gary held it in place with his Strength, even though his hand was now cut.

[-5 HP]

[65/100 HP]

[A deep cut has appeared on your Hand]

[-5 HP] 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗼𝗿𝐠

[Your blood loss quickens - 2HP]

[63/100 HP]

‘What kind of psycho is he? How can someone just grab onto a knife like that?! How isn’t he hurt or scared from all that bleeding?!’

“You’re a monster!” Barry eventually blurted out. Not wasting time on talking back to his assailant, Gary swung his hand out. It was too fast for Barry to even see as Gary hadn’t held back. His strike connected to the right side of his head, close to his temple.

His whole body turned and he nearly fell over. Lacking the power, he let go of the knife in his hand and Gary kicked the knife down the alleyway, before kicking the bully in the same direction.

“Why…did I even try…why did I even think about getting that marking off!” Gary muttered, yet it seemed more as if he was speaking to himself than to him. He knelt down and punched Barry in the head once more, leaving the larger teenager dazed. Gary’s punches were harder than anything he had ever received, even though the bully had actually seen and had his fair share of fights.

Barry soon felt his body being dragged deeper into the alleyway, being pulled by the hoodie he had worn to not get recognised immediately by passerby. He didn’t know why the other was doing that, but whatever his reasoning was, it couldn’t be good for him.

Desperate to get out of this situation, Barry looked for anything that might help. He managed to find a brick on the ground and quickly picked it up. Gary was still busy dragging him along, so he was surprised when the other suddenly jumped off the ground and smashed him in the head with a brick.

[-10HP]

[51/100 HP]

[Your skull is partially fractured.]

[Congratulations! After repeatedly taking a beating your body has grown stronger. Don’t get used to this though, you might lose some brain cells.]

[Endurance +1]

Unsurprisingly, Gary let go of Barry. For a moment, he even saw black and by the time he recovered, he only saw the backside of Barry running away. Following an instinct, he immediately started to run after his target. After closing the distance, he leapt up in the air, landing on Barry’s shoulders, causing him to fall to the ground and smash his head on the floor. Quickly turning him over, Barry was now pinned, by the weight of his knees, but was too weak and had no energy to try to lift Gary off him anyway.

“What the fu*k is wrong with you? Not only did you torture Tom to the point he had to go to the hospital, you freaking stabbed me in broad daylight and tried to bash my head in! All because your stupid friend might have to sit on the bench!” Gary shouted at Barry as he had pinned him down. He no longer cared about what would happen to him.

He wasn’t using fists, instead he was attacking Barry as if his hands were made from claws. His nails had ripped through the other’s school uniform, and were now piercing Barry’s chest. Skin was being ripped off from it, as the poor high schooler continued to scream in pain.

“HELP ME! A monster… he’s a monster!” Barry could only pray that someone would help him, and hear his cries for help.

“Did you stop when Tom asked? If it’s my life or a scumbag like yours, I’ll easily take yours!” Gary thought as he lifted his hand once more.

“Police, put your hands up and get off him!” A man shouted.

Gary could tell the voice was coming from the front, but instead of listening to the police officer, he decided to pull up his hood, and began to run back into the alleyway.

The middle-aged policeman came running forward and wanted to chase the culprit, but looking at the state of the person on the ground it was obvious that the high schooler needed an ambulance and first aid straight away, perhaps by the time they arrived it would be too late.

“This is Chief of Police, Anton Milstun, reporting in. We have a culprit who has attacked what looks like a high schooler, heading down 163 street alleyway. Need an ambulance sent to my location ASAP.”

Anton quickly went down to look at the kid’s chest, and could see that the wounds were deep, and the markings looked as if they were done by claws. It didn’t look like something a normal human would be able to accomplish.

That’s when he noticed that the boy was mumbling something under his breath.

“It’s okay, conserve your energy. The ambulance is on the way.” Anton said.

Listening carefully he could just make out.

“M-monster …monster…”Coming out from Barry’s mouth.

“Was it an Altered?” Anton wondered.

Running through multiple alleyways as fast as he could, Gary was still bleeding out and to make matters worse his Energy was still incredibly low. His Charging Heart had also come to an end and he thought he at least had made it far enough to get away from the policeman.

‘Stupid police! Only there when you don’t freaking want them to be… why don’t they go and stop some real criminals for a change!’ Gary cursed, as he went to lean against a wall and was applying pressure to his wound.

“Craaap!” Gary shouted out in pain. “What do I do now…I was going to…I was going to - what was I going to do?“

Then it hit him.

‘Was I really just about to eat another person to replenish my Energy? If the police didn’t stop me…’

Gary shuddered to finish that thought. Not being able to move much, and with his Energy about to hit 0, there weren’t many options he had left. He was far away from home, not even sure where exactly he had run off to.

Suddenly he heard the sound of squeaking. Squinting his eyes, he could make out the shape of several rats who had scurried over to him. Curious as to what was in front of them, and then eventually a few of them had come out.

“I’m so…hungry.” Gary mumbled, and as soon as one of the rats got within distance, he immediately grabbed it.

The rat was struggling and bit down on Gary’s finger.

“I…deserve that for what I’m about to do… I’m sorry little guy, but I need to live.” Gary apologised.

[+10 Energy points gained]