During the last full moon, the Werewolf Pack had found out some interesting things, among them that it wasn’t just the night that they had to worry about. Even before the moon came out, one was at risk of snapping. In Kai’s case, the Grey Werewolf Shapeshifter had gotten feral during his transformation, forcing Gary, with some help of Olivia, to subdue him before he could cause any damage.
“Gary.” Izzy called out in a soft voice as she knocked at his door. “It's time for us to head to the octagon.”
The green haired teenager slowly opened his eyes, wincing, like he was in pain. He took some controlled breaths before he changed into the outfit the AFA had prepared for them.
——
At the same time, in another room, the five that the group would be fighting today were also getting ready. Only the students from the AFA weren’t in the least bit worried about today’s matches. In fact, most of them saw these matches as nothing more than an annoying task that came with their position.
‘I… I just can’t get that bag out of my head.’ Shingi thought in the boys’ changing room. ‘It wasn’t just one but multiple holes ripped right through it. The power had even reached the wall behind it. How the hell do I tell Ryan about this? It would be a total embarrassment for him to throw in the towel in front of a newbie.’
As the boys exited their changing room, Shingi tapped Ryan on the shoulder. The other two boys continued to walk towards the octagon, barely noticing that half of them had stopped.
“Hey, Ryan, I need to talk with you. Look, I know we haven’t exactly been best friends in here. If anything, we were more like rivals, but I hope you know that I at least respect you in that capacity.” Shingi began.
“Oh, come on, if you say it like that makes it sound like I’m the bad guy. We might not have hit it off at first, but as far as I’m concerned, you’ve proven in those tag-team trainings that I can trust you with my back.” Ryan replied with a grin, not sure where his fellow Altered was going with this.
“Good, ‘cause I want you to take what I'm about to say seriously, man. You see, yesterday, I went to train like I usually do at night… and I saw the black bag ripped to shreds.”
Ryan had no particular reaction to that piece of information. Sure, the black bags were famous for being durable and sturdy, but they were a far cry from being indestructible. “So? Eddy or one of the other teachers must have been using the room. What’s that got to do with me?”
Shingi shook his head. “Eddy is the only teacher who would come down here, and he’s been busy with other stuff. No, it wasn’t any of the teachers, man. Now I haven’t seen him do it, but right before I entered, that green haired kid went out of the training room.”
A few seconds later, Ryan just started to laugh. “I didn’t take you to be the funny type, Shingi, but that was just what I needed right now. There’s no way it could have been him. I’ve done my research. The guy's a nobody. Someone who simply lucked out during the assessment and made use of the vacancy the last lot left.”
“I told you I wouldn’t joke about such matters.” Shingi insisted with a serious look on his face. “I’m not talking about some teensy weensy hole in the black bag. It looked like swiss cheese, as if he had some grudge against that damn thing. If you get in that ring… you better take things seriously!”
Ryan placed his hand on Shingi's shoulder. “Are you even listening to yourself? If their rank 2 is already scarier than most of our teachers, doesn’t that mean their rank 1 would wipe the floor with Xin? Did any of them look capable enough of such a feat?
“I’m telling you, it must have been one of the teachers. I got one of my contacts to look into Greeny’s background. He’s from the same town as Xin. The only difference is that he’s a nobody who got picked up by a no-name gang.”
“What did you just say?” A female voice asked from behind the two teenage boys.
Turning their heads, they both saw Xin had gotten out of the girls’ changing room and was ready to fight. She wore the same yellow and white AFA tops as them, only hers was more similar to a sports bra, revealing her midriff and her abs slightly showing through.
“About what?” Ryan questioned. “The backing of your old friend, you mean? His sponsor is this gang who call themselves the Howlers. My contacts told me they’re not a big deal, but you should probably know better.”
Hearing the name, certain conversations flashed through Xin's head. She hadn’t been in contact with her family since joining the place, but she did remember her father angrily commenting about a new gang that was on the rise. Then there was also a news report she recalled about more and more businesses coming under those Howlers.
‘So that’s why you avoided your gaze when telling me a company sponsored you. You actually became an Altered by joining a gang.’ Xin had hoped that Gary would have done better, especially after she herself had been captured by a gang. To hear that he had actually joined one, it just didn’t sit too well with her.
“The name doesn’t really ring a bell. Come on, let's go and show these guys what we got.” Xin said walking forward.
*****
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