Part 15 --The Great Forward--

*The next four months in the academy where practically all the same, doing drills, returning home once a week, and after training playing board games or sports. Until one day, this day, which was different. I woke up, and went to training for four hours, then went to the cafeteria to eat and then we headed to the classroom, learned about some complicated stuff, and then went to training again, returned, and then went back to the cafeteria to eat cheese soup and bread, it was then when I, Victor, and Henry went to the shop to buy some marchpane. We where heading back and where greeted by Paul Wood and Preston, each of those boys has his own weapons.*

*If you don't know who Paul is, he is basically second in command of the Crimson Terror, which is the gang of Preston, compromising of 14 members.*

*We where picked out on a dark corner. Preston brought his Etienne pistol and loaded it while Paul pulled out his Dagger and Hatchet. Preston said, "I've heard you all have started a gang to end our reign" "We will now end you" Paul continued Preston's sentence. Preston then cocked his Pistol and from a distance of a short 3 meters, he shot Victor... A click, no bang. His Etienne misfired. He had to clean it's barrel. But before he can do that. Henry whispered "Attack". I and Victor swarmed Preston while Henry had to fight Paul alone. I smacked Preston on the left cheek and Victor pushed him to the ground and stomped his face three times until Preston caught his leg and pulled it causing Victor to fall on his head. He then took his Dagger and went to stab Victor. But before he could cause any harm on Victor I let him cause harm on me. I grabbed the blade with my left hand and despite the cuts and blood that was dropping from my hand I fought against him until Victor gave Preston a horrible Uppercut, Causing his knife to fall from his hand, and I picked it up, and at the same time I saw Henry grabbing Paul's dagger I decided to help him by stabbing Paul's arm which was brutal and I totally should not have done that. He screamed in agony and Henry then took his dagger. Preston then pulled out a whistle and blew it as loudly as he could, which I guess calls out the other members of his gang, anyways he pulled out his gun and smacked Victor with the club three times knocking him unconscious. He targeted me and smacked my forehead with a club. It hit really hard and before I knew it he kicked me to the ground, the dagger I stole from him fell from my hand and he took it and before he could end me with it Henry attacked Preston. He somehow blocked a dagger with a dagger. He then attacked Henry but Henry caught his hand and then he countered Preston who also caught his hand. Now they where basically wrestling. And because I said, Henry is tough, he out powered Preston and he pushed him to the ground and grabbed his dagger. Now Henry was armed with two long daggers. It was just the time for the other gang members to arrive, one of them had throwing knives and he threw one at me, I ducked down to dodge it and kicked his leg, he fell on me and I tried to get up and take his knives which I did but not successfully, I took only two knives out of the 6 or so knives he had on his back. I threw a knife at another approaching member and hit his thigh, he screamed in agony attracting other people, "Help us" Henry screamed out. The other people around us joined us and terrorised the Crimson Terror. They must have realised that the Crimson Terror was attacking us or they wouldn't have joined.*

*I got up and stood and smacked an incoming Marauder, which is what the gang members of the Crimson Terror are called. He got up and kicked me in the knee, I then went for an uppercut and then a punch in the abdomen. He then, well wounded, called the assistance of another two gang members armed with stone hatchets I thought that at this moment I was about to die, but then I looked in the corner and saw Victor waking up, he saw me in danger and charged right at a guy with a hatchet and punched his cheek, he then tried to steal his hatchet but the guy first attacked Victor with his hatchet, before he could cause harm Victor grabbed his arm and kicked his stomach, causing him to fall down. Victor then called other people and they swarmed the guy on the ground and constantly punched him, in the meanwhile I was getting attacked by two people, I couldn't fight on my own with bare fists and just one throwing knife against two people one armed with a hatchet. So I decided to run, and they followed. I took my only throwing knife, turned back and aimed at the guy with a hatchet, and I missed, I decided to keep running until the hall ended, I was getting cornered both of them and he was about to chop my head off but in a quick burst of speed I escaped them and ran as fast as I can, from the back the hatchet guy threw it at me, and it hit my head, and Oh my Lord, I escaped death. Somehow the wood part, by that I mean the handle it me, not the head of the hatchet where the stone is. But it still was bad, it hit me super hard and I fell to the ground, I looked back and saw them running at me, I picked up the hatchet and   got up, I then swung it and hit the guy who owned the hatchet and I hurt him with his own weapon. It was a brutal cut on the right side of his abdomen, he screamed in agony and fell to the ground, I took the time to attack the other guy and before I could hit him he ran away, I then threw my hatchet at him and I barely missed. I then went for the run in the crowd which was still beating the soul out of the Crimson Terror, I joined in and I targeted Paul who was getting absolutely murdered. The massive wound of the knife he had was getting targeted and the other kids tried to rip it apart, it was the night I saw the most human blood of any other. I came in the protection of Paul and told everyone to stop but because there was so much sound they couldn't hear me. And there Paul was, begging to end his suffering, a kid came with a stone hatchet, possibly of the Crimson Terror gang, and unleashed hell on the attackers of Paul, each of them ran away, only one didn't, who was attacked by the hatchet and forced to retreat, the other kid lifted Paul up and took him away from the scene. In the meanwhile I couldn't find Preston, I saw Relish in the crowd beating someone up and I asked him "Where is Preston?" he answered "He ran away". It is then when I saw someone getting stomped and he was covered in blood. I saw that is ankle was moving funnily and I realised that it broke. His nose was also looking strange which means that it broke. He was getting kicked, punched and was basically getting murdered by 5 people. I then did what was right and I called Henry for aid and we pushed the people basically murdering that poor soul and reasoned with them. He was there, lying, with no power to get up, no power to speak, no power to even breathe properly. I and Henry carried him up our shoulders to the cafeteria where we hid him under the table. We returned back and it was looking calmer than before, I also saw Esther in the crowd beating the hell out of someone, I asked him, "Where is Ruben Sanders", one of the most active, powerful and important members of the Crimson Terror. "Dead" He responded. "He is dead, you can see his body on the corner" He said.*

*And I turned back and saw trauma. Broken ankle, broken nose, broken hand, chopped off leg, missing left eye, covered in ketchup, too much of it, and still leaking it. I went close to his body, checked his heart, still beating, still breathing, alive! But not for long, I shouted at Esther, "He's alive!" Which was a dreadful mistake, I attracted other people, who began the bloodshed, I covered his body with mine, and told them to stop "This is madness!". It was a mistake, as they now targeted me. Crimson Terror members always wear a red band on their two arms, I didn't wore them, and other people noticed that, and they decided to beat up my attackers to serve justice.*

*I sneaked the way out, and told Relish, Victor and Henry to come with me. We sneaked past out of the slaughterhouse carrying Ruben on our shoulder and went to the cafeteria.*

*"Can you buy some bandages?" I asked Relish. He agreed and he walked to the store and bought 10 of them. Meanwhile, the boy under the table opened his mouth, in a dying voice. "End me, please. I feel like garbage, I can't, take, it, anymore". I then stared at the horrifying cut in his chest, I could even see his ribs. The flow of blood never seem to end, like a fountain.*

*When the bandages arrived, we put seven of them on Ruben and three of them on the other guy who's name I don't know, let's just call him Q for the moment. "Take them to the first aid, immediately!" Victor told us. I, Victor, Relish and Henry carried Q and Ruben, now, almost dead, to the first aid. "What mess lead to this!?" The medic was shocked. "It's a long story, but first save them" Relish said. "That will be done in no time" The medic claimed, as it took more than no time, and that was a horrible joke. They literally mummified them with bandages. I then went outside and told everyone to come with me. I pointed casually at the hallway where the fight was going on and asked "Should we save them?" Victor, holding a hatchet he picked up "Yes". Relish and Henry also said the same thing. Armed with a hatchets, Relish and Victor ran towards the madness, I and Henry followed up. The hallway was now quieter, with people stomping and beating the Marauders without the useless moaning, shouting, screaming and Yarring. Henry cranked up his voice and said "Can you all stop? You have got your revenge. Now leave them, this is inhumane and is madness!".*

*Someone from the crowd spoke "I agree, let's all stop and treat them shall we?".*

*"Nonsense!" Someone else argued.*

*"Nonsense Richard!". Someone else from the crowd, possibly his friend, responded to him.*

*"Let's all agree with the guy that told us to stop" Someone said.*

*The crowd seemingly agreed. The madness, now was over. The next day, the news arrived that eight people, all from the Crimson Terror gang where admitted to the hospital and where severely injured, and three of them where amputated and one died of severe pain and blood loss, and he was Q, who's actual name was Matthew Utter. And also Paul and Ruben had to be amputated.*

*Preston betrayed his own gang, left it and got off scot free leaving everyone else to pay the price.*

*After that incident the adults and academy members had to stay in the academy until bedtime. And trainees such as Esther and Richard where put on double watch and seven trainees where arrested and where accused of murder and attempted murder.*

*And also after that incident the Crimson Terror was now just the Crimson, the colour of the blood they where leaking. It was so heavily damaged, that it had to be disbanded, causing smaller bullying gangs -that always considered themselves as the cool guys by beating people they didn't like for fun- to grow in numbers, one such gang was Tungsten Hatchets which now had a total of 9 members, it was lead by Preston himself, who betrayed his former gang and made another consisting of other members.*

*From what I've heard the Crimson Terror once had 23 members, so they still have a long way to go to match the power of the once menacing Crimson Terror.*

*This "madness" was by far the most horrible thing I have had ever seen and I hope nothing like this happens ever again.*

*The next five months where relatively the same, playing board games, training, learning and most importantly, getting bullied, until one incident when a new gang was made compromising of six members, they called themselves "The Shatters" who did exactly what their name was, they shat, their leggings. They didn't visit the outhouse and just did their business in their clothes. They even took dumps on random places. Whenever I was just randomly and casually walking in the hallways, I stumbled across some pieces of nasty chocolate brownies and puddles of stinky lemonade. Droppings after droppings, the entire academy started smelling like a gutter or when someone opens the outhouse tank. They didn't wash, change their clothes or did anything and lived like that for three weeks until the stench got so horribly bad that the academy closed for 4 entire days. In that meantime I went back to my home, in that period of time, I mostly talked with my father and listened to the stories of his trade runs after my Grandfather Sir Redmond Jeremiah passed away and when I was just a baby. And also his life story, something what every father tells his son one day.*