Death's Awakening

Chapter One: Parrish

Our World. Current Day.

They were at it again.

Parrish Sorrows slammed her locker shut and leaned her forehead against the cool metal. She shouldn't get involved. It was none of her business.

Still, she couldn't help that her locker was right next to the door leading out to the dumpsters. The custodians kept it propped open on nice summer days like today so they could sneak out there and smoke in secret.

But it wasn't the custodians out there now.

It was those stupid bullies. Those guys thought just because their fathers were all big shot CEO's, and they lived in the ritziest neighborhood around, with the biggest houses and fastest cars, that it made them gods here at Lawson Prep. They thought being rich gave them the right to pick on kids who were smaller, younger, and poorer than they were. Which was pretty much everyone, if she was being honest.

This was the third afternoon in a week that Parrish had heard them out there with the wiry freshman transfer. His name was Peter or something. He'd transferred in about a month ago from some school up north on a science scholarship. The bullies wouldn't let up. She could hear them out there pushing him around, taunting him and calling him names like they were in Kindergarten instead of their Senior year in high school.

Anyway, it was none of her business.

She was already on her second strike for fighting, plus three warnings for dress code violations. Starting something up with the son of the dean was a bad idea, but that ass had it coming.

She tightened her hand into a fist, then relaxed. She lifted her backpack and threw it across her shoulder. She would walk away, just as she had every other day this week. Her parents were already supremely pissed at her. With Zoe taking off on her world tour in just a few days, now was not the time to make waves.

But then the kid starting crying.

A sob echoed through the empty hallway and Parrish closed her eyes and shook her head. How could she walk away from that? They made him cry. Dammit.

She threw her bag to the ground at the foot of her locker and sighed. They'd given her no choice.

Parrish stepped around the corner and leaned against the door frame.

There were four of the bigger guys. All seniors. All sons of important men. All about to get their asses kicked.

They stood in a circle around the kid. One guy, Jason, was going through the kid's bag, pulling out his papers and books, ripping up his homework before crumpling it into a little ball and throwing it on the nasty floor next to the trash can.

Peter, the kid, was hunched over in the middle of the group, his shoulders up near his ears and his hands wrapped around his elbows. He was sniffling, snot running from his nose.

Parrish cleared her throat and the four bullies turned toward her.

Jason threw the backpack on the ground at the kid's feet. "What do you want, Sorrows? This doesn't concern you."

She raised an eyebrow and pulled a lollipop from the pocket of her plaid school uniform skirt. She unwrapped it slowly and threw the trash on the ground. "That's not exactly true," she said. "See, my locker is right here on the end by the door."

She put the sucker in her mouth and hooked her thumb toward the hallway.

Jason narrowed his eyes at her. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She slowly pulled the sucker from her mouth, all four of the older guys staring at her lips now. "I can hear everything that happens out here," she said. "Which means you made it my concern when you chose this particular spot for your bullying."