I Want to Die, But I Am Immortal

Anderson rushed at Adam again. But this time Adam was free. He did not have to hold Lily anymore. He moved with a blurring speed that was almost impossible to follow.

He grabbed Anderson's arms and slammed his knee hard into his stomach. Anderson collapsed to the ground in a heap gasping for air his face a mask of pure agony.

Adam then turned his cold eyes to Lily's two friends. "If you don't want the same thing to happen to you get back to class," he said his voice a low dangerous whisper that was more terrifying than any shout. "And if anyone comes looking for you after you leave I'll find you. And I will make you suffer."

They ran their faces pale with a terror they had never known before.

Adam then turned back to Anderson's two male friends who were now struggling to their feet. He kicked them both in the face with two quick successive blows. They went down again their bodies sprawling on the ground.

He knelt down beside the groaning Anderson. "Lily is as important to you as Sophia is to me," he said his voice a quiet statement of fact. "You understand that now don't you?"

He then appeared in front of Lily in a flash. Anderson was stunned. He could not believe how fast he was. One moment he was on the other side of the small courtyard and the next he was standing right in front of her.

"Let Lily go," Anderson gasped his voice a pathetic whimper. "I won't do anything to Sophia. I swear."

Adam just smiled a cold cruel smile. He grabbed Lily by the hair and pulled her to her feet.

"Do you think you can get away with this?" Anderson said struggling to his feet his pride warring with his fear.

Lily screamed in pain as Adam's grip tightened in her hair. "Let me go!" she shrieked. "Anderson will kill you! You'll regret this!"

Adam pushed her forward a few steps. Anderson ran to her side trying to pull her away from Adam. But Adam was too fast. He appeared at Lily's other side and kicked Anderson in the face with a brutal efficiency sending him back to the ground.

He then grabbed Lily's finger and started to bend it backwards. She screamed in agony a high-pitched shriek that was muffled by the tape on her mouth.

Anderson heard her scream and tried to get up but the pain in his stomach and his face was too much. "Let her go!" he yelled his voice a desperate plea. "I won't go after Sophia! I swear! I won't say anything to anyone!"

Adam leaned in close to Lily his voice a low dangerous whisper that was meant only for her. "Delete all the photos you have of Sophia," he said.

"Now."

Lily's eyes widened in fear. But before she could say anything he bent her finger even further. She screamed again her muffled cries a testament to the agonizing pain.

Anderson's friends watched from the ground helpless. They had thought Adam was a weakling a nobody. But he had beaten them all so easily so brutally. They were completely out of their depth.

Lily pointed a trembling finger to her school bag which was lying on the ground a few feet away. Adam kicked it up into the air and caught it with his other hand. He rummaged through it and took out her phone.

Sophia was watching from the side her breathing shallow her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to run away to escape this nightmare.

But she knew that Adam was doing this for her. He was fighting her battles for her. She had to be strong. She had to stand by his side.

Adam used Lily's trembling fingerprint to unlock her phone. He found the photos of Sophia and deleted them one by one. There were more than he had seen in the previous loop.

More than he had ever imagined. When he was finished he crushed the phone in his hand the screen shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.

"Does anyone else have these photos?" he asked Lily his voice a cold promise of death.

She shook her head frantically her eyes filled with tears.

Anderson was still on the ground groaning in pain. He was defeated. He was broken. And he knew that he had made a terrible enemy. An enemy that he could never hope to defeat.

Adam dragged Lily by the hair and threw her on the ground next to Anderson.

Anderson struggled to his feet and pulled the tape from her mouth. "Are you okay?" he asked.

But Adam was not finished with them yet. "If you think this is over you're wrong," he said his voice a low dangerous whisper. "This is just the beginning. I'll deal with each of you one by one."

He looked at Anderson. "And as for your father just tell him Adam says hello."

Anderson was stunned. He did not know how Adam knew his father.

Adam then stood up and kicked Anderson in the face sending him back to the ground. He walked over to Sophia and took her hand. Lily watched them go her eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and fear.

As they walked away from the school Sophia stopped. "You must hate me now don't you?" she asked her voice a pathetic whimper.

Adam was silent for a moment. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"What you saw on her phone," she said. She had been so afraid that he would see those pictures and leave her.

He pulled her along. "Just walk with me," he said.

But she would not move. He turned and looked at her his patience wearing thin. "If you're so smart then you should know that I did all this for you," he said his voice a low growl. "If I hated you why would I do any of this?"

His words surprised her. "So you don't hate me?" she asked her eyes wide with a mixture of hope and disbelief.

He pulled her along again. "I could never hate you," he said.

They reached their classroom. Lily's two friends were already there sitting quietly at their desks. Adam was surprised. He had expected them to tell a teacher. But he knew that this was not over. He would have to use James to control the situation.

At lunchtime he was surprised to see that Lily was not in class. As he and Sophia were walking to the cafeteria she kept looking around nervously.

"Don't worry," he said. "They won't bother you anymore. I taught them a lesson. But I don't think they'll give up that easily."

They sat down at a table in the cafeteria. Adam thought about Philips and how he had been obsessed with Sophia. He looked at her.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked blushing.

"Do you know Philips?" he asked.

She was surprised by the question. "Our class representative?" she said. "Yes I've talked to him a few times. For a long time he was the only person in the whole school I could talk to. But he always gave me a weird feeling so I tried to avoid him."

She then remembered something. "He confessed to me on my first day of school," she said. "It was so weird. I politely turned him down and he seemed to take it well."

"What do you mean he took it well?" Adam asked.

"He kept his distance after that," she said. "We would only talk once in a while. I never got the feeling that he still had feelings for me."

Adam smiled. "So you think," he said.

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked.

He was surprised by her sudden change in demeanor. "No no," he said holding up his hands in a mock surrender. "I would never make fun of you."

He started to eat his lunch his mind racing. You're so wrong Sophia, he thought. But your instincts have been protecting you all this time.

He realized that Philips must have been the one who had spread the rumors about Sophia being a creepy girl. He had isolated her so that he could have her all to himself. He had been manipulating her from the very beginning.

"You're staring at me," Sophia said blushing.

He realized he had been lost in thought. "I'm sorry," he said looking down at his food.

"I don't mind," she said. "I like it."

He stopped eating his heart skipping a beat.

They finished their lunch in a comfortable silence. When the bell rang Adam sent Sophia back to class. She wanted to go with him but he insisted that he had something important to do.

He went to the teachers' office. He saw James sitting at his desk. He walked up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder.

James jumped his face a mask of fear. "Adam what are you doing here?" he stammered. "Do you need something?"

"Can you come outside with me?" Adam asked. "I need to talk to you about something important."