Book 2: Chapter 27 (1/2)

The campus was somewhat quiet. All that could be heard was the sound of insects and a few birds that were waiting until later in the fall to migrate. The sun was just starting to set, a few stars threatening to show themselves in the darkening night sky. Brooke was sitting in the shadow of a tree, trying to avoid being seen by the hippo-bitch she had almost slept with a month or so ago while drunk. That woman would otherwise have been glaring at her, so her only choice was to hide in the shadows like a creeper.

This silent mood didn’t last, as the door to the faculty building burst open. I flung myself out the door at full speed. The fat lesbian whose name I no longer remembered could only stare dumbly as I ran by. I was already halfway down the walkway before she even could register what she was seeing. What she was seeing was a me wearing half of a blouse that had been torn off of me and no bra. My skirt was still on, but there was no mistaking the boobs, or lack thereof. Despite some makeup and the female school uniform, there was little hiding I was a man.

“Brooke!” I shouted as quickly as I could manage. “We need to go. Now!”

As I stepped forward, I stumbled. It had turned into a riot the second my sex was revealed. A dozen woman leaped at me, scratching and biting. Someone had kicked me in the knee, and now it hurt every step I took. Had Becky not hesitated… well, I pushed myself right through her and raced for the door. Her shock was my escape. I still couldn’t get the look of her hurt eyes out of my head. However, I made it out of the viper pit, so I had no choice but to keep moving.

Brooke leaped out from her hiding place, her eyes wide. “What did you do?”

“Nevermind that, we need to-“ as I was trying to speak the door burst open again, causing me to look back.

The guard girl was only just shouting as the familiar teacher stepped out in front of the building. She was followed by a dozen other angry-looking women. They were all shouting, except for the teacher who seemed perfectly calm. None of them went passed her, and she casually pulled a glove out of her pocket and put it on. It was a bit hard to see in the dark, but I thought I saw an invocation circle on the back of the glove. Without hesitation, she held up her hand.

I spun back and tried to pick up my pace, but a second later I felt a surge hit my back. There was a thunderous roar, and I felt a familiar sensation I had once when I had to face Ben. My body went rigid and I slammed into the concrete. I only just managed to bring my hands up and prevent my face from slamming against a rock.

“Clyburn!” Brooke roared, racing out.

“Clyburn!” Another voice came from behind the teacher. “Teacher Monic… casting magic on a student… this is too far!”

The voice was familiar, it was Lyra’s voice.

“Someone shut her up.” Miss Monic growled at the students behind her, continuing to walk in our direction at a steady pace.

Brooke put her body in front of me, pulling her sword from her scabbard. I had never seen her hold this sword before except during training. In all my time, she always preferred her fists to swords. That she pulled the sword spoke to the seriousness of the situation at hand. I could just manage to roll over, trying to regain feeling to my extremities.

“Move, girl, this man is in need of some punishment.” The teacher snarled.

“This… boy… is under my protection.” Brooke emphasized the word boy.

I knew she was doing it to point out my youth, but somehow it still felt like my pride took a hit from that. In the end, I was still a kid in Brooke’s eyes. Literally hiding behind Brooke, I felt myself reaching a new low. I had hoped I had gotten stronger by now. I trained with Brooke every day for a year. Yet, a single spell brought me on the floor. In the end, I was still useless.

Even Lyra was in the arms of two larger women. One was holding her mouth to keep her from shouting. She was looking at me with fear and worry. I was the man here, yet they were both worried and trying to protect me.

“Suit yourself.” The teacher’s eyes narrowed.

“No!” I shouted, trying to ineffectually reach to Brooke.

A moment later, another lightning shot out. I closed my eyes instinctively over the flashing light. I heard a shout, and a sense of dread shot through me. The next noise I heard was the clang of metal on pavement. When my eyes could finally focus, purple shapes dancing across them, I saw Brooke kneeling on the ground. She was glaring at Miss Monic hatefully, her left hand holding her other shoulder as if the arm wasn’t working. Her sword was on the floor, and there was smoke rising up from it.

The lightning must have ended up heading for the sword tip like a lightning rod. Her handle must have protected her slightly, and thus she dropped it rather than getting the full brunt of it. Even if she only faced half a lightning bolt, Brooke still didn’t look much better than I did.

“WRATH, meet a traitor, a woman who would put her life on the line to protect a rapist and an arsonist, just because she wants his seed.”

“Fuck you…” Brooke cursed. “It’s you crazy WRAs that need to get with the program, you sexist fuck.”

“Hmm…” Miss Monic seemed completely unaffected by her words. “I’ll give you one more chance to get out of my way.”

“You shoot men in the back and attack other women. Some role model you are…” Brooke forced herself to her feet, putting her hands into a fight pose not dissimilar to something used in boxing. “Come on, bitch, bring it!”

“Brooke, stand down!” I shouted.

Using all of my energy, I manage to get myself back up on my knees. Brooke remained in fighing pose. She made no attempt to back down. If anything, she looked even more ready to attack. I could already see the stubborn look on her face.

“Listen to your man, Brooke.” Miss Monic teased, seemingly trying to make Brooke attack.

“Brooke…” I sighed. “You can’t stop them all. I don’t want you hurt.”

Brooke turned back to me, and I gasped at the sight of her face. Her teeth were clenched and there were tears running down her cheeks.

“I don’t want you to be hurt either!” She shouted, “J-just stand back… let me do my job!”

“Brooke…”

“You should have listened to your male master. Bitches like you should be kept on a leash.” Miss Monic continued to hurl vitriol, causing Brooke to finally lose it.

“You’re the bitch who should be on a leash!” Brooke screamed, surging to her feet and lunging forward.

“Stop!” I shouted, reaching out but not even being able to get off my knees.

Brooke ran at the teacher, but she didn’t raise her hand again. Just before Brooke made it to her, the woman standing next to Miss Monic stepped out and struck Brooke. Brooke was so focused on the teacher, she hadn’t been paying attention to her standing nearby. With a single hit in the back of the head, Brooke fell and the woman caught her. That woman was none other than that hippopotamus girl.

“That was for before.” The girl said, picking Brooke up before she collapsed to the ground and then chuckling darkly. “And this is for me.”

She lewdly grabbed Brooke’s chest, squeezing her boobs without hesitation. A few of the girls nearby shot the fat girl looks, not appreciating how she openly molested the other woman, but the fat woman seemed to not really care. I found myself thinking once again that she was quite the nasty person. I could only grit my teeth and bear it. My body was still shaking from the lightning I took to the back. I swore to myself in the future I was going to wear a rubber suit if I had to.

As I glanced up, there were fourteen sets of eyes on me. Other than Lyra, everyone else had hateful or disgusted looks. Perhaps only Rebecca eyes showed something else. They were wide and appeared hurt. She was lightly shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The wig that was the hair on my head seemed to be in her hands, but she didn’t appear to realize it. I didn’t want to hurt her like this, but this is where things had ended up.

“I’m sorry I tricked you,” I said, licking my lips. “I just wanted to go to classes, to enjoy a normal life for a bit. I’m truly sorry!”

I lowered my head, the best I could given the state of my body. A direct apology seemed like the best I could do to get out of this situation. I had never had a chance to directly speak to these accusers of mine. They had to be able to see reason. Well, even if they couldn’t, what choice did I have? A second later, I heard light clapping. When I looked up, Miss Monic was staring down at me, lightly clapping her hands while some of the other girls sneered. I instantly knew my apology wouldn’t be enough after all.

“Your kind… always acting so proud when you’re in your groups. However, the second you can no longer hide behind women willing to protect you, you show your true faces. Cowards…”

I went to stand, but she was already in front of me. Her gloved hand went on my head, just a light feeling of static electricity caused me to freeze. She pushed down with her body weight, forcing me to fall back to my knees painfully.

“Ladies… look at the proper form of a man. On his knees… nothing but a dispenser for women to use for their own advancement. All women realize this, but only the WRA has the resilience to put men in their proper place.” As she spoke, a few of the girls were nodding their heads in agreement. “Of the twelve of you here, five of you were raped by this man here, after all this time, you can finally face your rapist! Don’t be afraid, my daughters, tell this man how you really feel.”

One girl, a scrawny woman who I didn’t recognize but who may have been at the party, stepped forward first. “M-m-my name is Kiiya. You raped me five times that night. I took pills the day after, but two weeks later something came out… it was the baby you put it me!”

The other girls made noises of disgust, a few patting her on the back or encouraging her. Only the teacher, Rebecca, and Lyra remained silent. I could only lower my head and wince. I really did regret that I was unable to help her. I had an adult mind. I should have realized something was fishy. Instead, my one directional mind didn’t see the big picture, and before I could do anything I got stuck in the same trap as all of these girls. Simply put, I felt guilty for what happened.

“I-I’m sorry…” I spoke up, causing Miss Monic to tighten her grip and a burst of noise from the other women.

“Wh-what did you say?” The nervous girl asked, her voice rising a bit.

“I said… I’m sorry!” I shouted, “I should have saved you. I should have stopped them. I should have realized what they were doing. I wasn’t strong enough! That’s why you were raped… because I was stupid. Is that what you want to hear?”

My eye’s shot up, and I realized my vision was watery, but I didn’t dare move with Miss Monic’s hand on my head. The girl was staring at me wide-eyed, her mouth open, as if she didn’t know what to say to that. The other girls seemed to be in utter shock as well, never expecting, of all the things, for an admittance of guilt. Only Miss Monic was different. Her eyes narrowed and her hand tightened on my head.

“Pretty lies. But notice ladies, how he doesn’t admit to raping any of you!” Miss Monic cried out. “Yet, we all know he raped a teacher and his own sister! He feels no sorrow for this at all! He is only sorry he got caught!”

“Don’t give me that cra- aaahhh…” Her hand suddenly started releasing electricity, and I collapsed back down to my knees, shaking as my mind seemed to go white.

“Donnavan!” Miss Monic shouted, “You too were raped that night. Don’t let this man’s lies give you hesitation. This is your chance to truly show vengeance.”

Another woman stepped forward, this one I did recognize from that night. She walked up until she was right next to the teacher. Unlike the first girl who looked nervous, she had been nodding along to every word that Miss Monic had said. Her expression was cruel and hateful as she looked down on me. Her foot reached out and she stomped on my hand.

“Ahhh!” I let out a cry as she ground her heel into it.

“We’ll never let you rape another woman again!” She said. “You… you… disgusting man!”

She finally pulled her foot off, eliciting cheers from several of the other women. Miss Monic gave her a pleased smile, and she almost skipped back to the rest of the girls, even giving some a high-five like she had accomplished something. I wanted to respond, but Miss Monic’s hand was grabbing my head tightly, and in an instant, she could send volts shooting through my brain. I was growing a bit fearful.

“Rebecca… do you have anything to say?” All of the women went quiet as the teacher suddenly turned to Becky.

“Me?” Rebecca spoke as if surprised.

“You brought him into our meeting, but no one here blames you for that. He’s spent the last month fooling you, fooling all of us!” There were shouts of agreement as she gestured with her free hand. “Rebecca, it is you he hurt the most, lied to the most, used the most. Do you have any words you want to say to this man?”

Rebecca’s eyes snapped to me, and that hurt in her eyes reappeared. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she seemed somewhat uncomfortable. After a moment, she shook her head, glancing at me with unshed tears in her eyes.

“Why?”

That was the only word she asked, but for me, it was enough.

“I just… wanted to know… why you hated me sooo much…” I said through gritted teeth, “And then… I started to get to know you, and I realized you weren’t a bad person. Becky, please… you know I didn’t do this. I just wanted to get to know you. I meant what I promised! I meant every word! We’ll find those senior bastards. I’ll make them pay for what they did to you! I don’t blame you for hating men, but it’s both sides that need to change. We have to find some ground in the middle! We have to- aahhhh damn it!”

I shrieked again as that hateful woman sent another shock through me. This one was stronger than the last, and I felt my extremities going numb again. The electricity seemed to go on forever, and for a brief moment, I feared she was going to kill me. However, with a shove of her hand, I was thrown back onto the pavement. The back of my head hit the concrete with a thud. As for standing up, my arms were completely numb once again.