373 Chapter three, 2017, shards: 5 (1/2)

Thomas had grabbed Ulf in his class room, and he in turn threw a quick call for Yukio and Kyoko while they ran down the stairs, through the cafeteria and towards the pool. When they reached the pool Ulf managed to get through to Ryu and had him and Christina run for the dressing rooms in case the information about where Jennifer had been called to was wrong.

'Damn! For all her cheekiness she's too damn trusting.' Ulf wondered what made the girl believe she was immune to the rampant bullying sanctioned by Kareyoshi and his goons.

Racing to the gym he noticed four girls beelining in their direction as well. Then he was around the corner.

'Not again!'

A sudden roar from his right made him flinch and when he recovered he saw Thomas ahead of him screaming with rage.

It wasn't Noriko this time, and they were too late as well. Six boys held down two girls while a seventh and eighth raped them.

Thomas threw himself into the group. There was nothing as schooled as what Ulf had learned, but the former professor held some dark secrets of his own. Between raging roars the boys fell to the ground one by one, and Ulf barely arrived in time to kick away the legs of the last one standing.

When that student fell to the ground Thomas had already beaten the boy raping Jennifer into something hardly resembling a human face.

Ulf kicked the second rapist unconscious just as shrieks caught up with him, and in moments four girls were busy covering Jennifer and the other girl up. Once again girls reminded him in the most humiliating way possible how he always got his priorities wrong.

”Thomas, please stop! You'll kill him.” Ulf didn't move an inch to stop his junior from beating the unconscious boy into an even bloodier piece of pulp.

One of the girls hugging Jennifer to her stared at Thomas, and in her face Ulf saw a predatory grin of satisfied approval which scared him into action.

”Thomas! Jennifer needs you.”

That got through. He rose from the prone body and crawled to where his girlfriend cried hysterically in the arms of her temporary safe haven.

A little bit away three girls sat in silence, two of them cradling the third who stared ahead with all light gone out from her eyes.

'It could have been Noriko.' Ulf sensed the relief in that thought, and that in itself filled him with self disgust. To clear his mind he settled for giving any assailant stirring a vicious kick to the abdomen while he made a phone call.

”Behind the gym. Where you found me last year. I'll call for ambulance.” He killed the call and dialled 119. It took two tries to convince the other side that half a dozen ambulances were needed.

As he finished that call he looked up and met the stares of Ryu and Christina who had arrived. From further away the sounds of agitated voices grew closer and Ulf realised more than Yukio and Kyoko were on their way.

”Christina, please help her!”