The End Times Club

From the author; The End Times Club is rated R. It will touch upon controversial topics, exhibit explicit language, and will not engage in any form of politically-correct filtering. The story and its characters are raw, and it cannot be told in any other way.

If that is okay with you – then please read on, and enjoy.

Also - for Inkitt readers - since Inkitt has no option for separating prologues or epilogues from official chapters, I will be uploading the prologue here (The 2000s) and then adding the full first chapter to the same chapter segment on a later date. I will also rename the chapter when this happens.

So, the prologue and the first chapter will be in the same chapter segment - but for now, it's just the prologue that's here.

Some of the main characters from The End Times Club were in a much older version of the story that some readers on Inkitt may have seen in the past - but I have grown as an author, and I feel this story should be retold in a way that I could not have done when I was younger.

Please enjoy.

The 2000s

During the first decade of the new millennium—the world pressing on towards new horizons, with an eventless y2k in their wake, with a horrid, unimaginable terror attack rather fresh on everyone’s minds, and with nothing more advanced than a Playstation 3 to keep people entertained at home—a group of high school Millennials were just nearing their final graduation.

It was a group of five—Mohinder Talavar, Octavia Blackwell, Eli Riley, and the siblings, Samuel and Hailey Ryder.

It was during sophomore year when the group naturally drifted together, when Mohinder arrived in the school after he and his parents moved to America, and when Samuel decided to befriend the foreign newcomer, as he didn’t get along well with many others, aside from his sister. So, Hailey befriended Mohinder as well—and not long after that, Eli separated from his old friend group after a fight broke out between him and the rest, and Octavia slowly and sheepishly began to join their table during lunch, quietly easing into the group alongside the rest.

Somehow or another, over time and through random binding circumstance, the five of them simply ended up together, because they didn’t belong anywhere else. They grew alongside one another in the town of Wallace, everyone knowing their way around the town and the outskirts of Wallace County, and everybody knew what intersected at the center and connected it all—the main road, Williams Street. The gang commonly walked the town during lunch and after school, and it seemed there was nowhere they couldn’t reach on foot, as they knew the place as well as they knew each of their own homes. They shared a routine of it, sometimes staying in their booth for lunch and other times strolling across town to a restaurant with a dollar menu, and Samuel, Eli, and Hailey would often talk the others into skipping class, which occasionally turned into a bad situation—but all in all, they were quite comfortable in their routine, and now, with the end of their final year having arrived, and with everyone having collected their diplomas just the day before, a sense of pressure was in the air, a feeling of tension and uncertainty about whatever the future might bring now.

The last day of school began with this vibrant sensation of rapt anticipation dominating the minds of everyone at Wallace High; Samuel and Hailey strolled out of Graceview Trailer Park at sunrise, Samuel dressed in his usual dark attire, complete with the baggy black Tripp pants with the bright red seams along the sides, his hair sandy, wavy, and somewhat long, and his sleek black trench coat shifting along at his heels. He lit a cigarette as he marched off, his sister just behind him, bouncing and spinning around as her earphones played one of her favorite Greenday songs, bright blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, a dark tank-top on, and tight female Tripp pants hugging her figure, the seams a neon pink to contrast her brother’s red.

They emerged at the old sidewalk and crossed the street where they always did, trekking onto the adjacent sidewalk and stopping there, waiting for who they intended to meet. It wasn’t long before the third member of their group arrived; he walked up the sidewalk from a farther road, approaching from Vernon Avenue, the road that led into what everyone regarded as the roughest neighborhood in Wallace.

Eli strode toward them with pocketed hands, big reflective sunglasses on his face, his black hair straight and styled with a great deal of effort, combed neatly back. He had a smooth cocoa complexion, and he wore a pine green jacket atop a white wife-beater, his backpack slumped crookedly off of one shoulder, just as Samuel’s was.

Just when Eli joined the group, the three of them began to walk, and Hailey resumed her dance-walking as they all marched down the sidewalk together—then, moments later, a rusted blue Oldsmobile rolled out from Vernon Avenue, making a hard turn and speeding toward them from behind.

Hailey didn’t notice right away, but Samuel and Eli both turned their heads just as the car rolled up beside them.

Three different people were leaning out the windows of the car, two guys and a girl, all with the same black hair, the girl’s tied back in a bushy ponytail; she propped herself up from the passenger window, cupping her hands around her mouth and screaming at them.

“Yeah, go off with your white bitch!” the girl shouted nastily.

One of the guys reeled his arm back and threw an empty glass bottle at Eli—hitting him in the arm. The bottle bounded off him and rolled into the grass of the nearest yard.

Eli barely spared Hailey a glance before shooting them a furious look—then he snatched up the bottle and shattered it against the sidewalk with one hard strike.

Suddenly—Eli had broken into a run, chasing after the car at top speed as the Oldsmobile’s engine roared on the morning air, gaining speed away from him.

“YOU NIGGAS COME BACK HERE AND SAY THAT AGAIN! C’MON THEN!” Eli hollered as he sprinted after them in a rage. “YEAH—RUNNIN’ LIKE A BITCH! THAT’S WHAT THE HELL I THOUGHT!”

Hailey had only just plucked her earphones from her ears, watching in confusion as Eli darted after the getaway Oldsmobile—and Samuel ran after them as well.

The girl sank back into the car, but the guys remained leaning out the back windows, yelling vulgarities and throwing more things at Eli, empty cans and balled-up burger wrappers.

“Look at this little nigga comin’ up on us like he’s gonna do something! Come on then, lil’ bitch!”

“You ain’t shit! Fuck outta here!”

The Oldsmobile slowed down at the end of the road to make a turn—and just when it did—Eli barreled straight at it, flipping the broken bottle neck around and cocking his arm up, preparing to lunge and stab at the nearest person he could—

Just then—the driver hit the gas and the car sped up—and the glass barely scraped against the nearest guy’s shoulder before the vehicle took off, suddenly out of Eli’s reach again.

As the Oldsmobile raced up the road—Samuel snapped his arms around Eli, yanking him back and preventing him from making chase any further.

“That’s why your sister’s a ho, Sam!” the girl screamed from the car as it drove away.

Samuel glared after the car, his teeth clenching, and he took the broken bottle neck from Eli—rearing back and throwing it with all his might.

The glass shattered against the rear bumper of the car just before it reached the intersection in the distance, speeding under a yellow light and steadily disappearing from view.

Samuel and Eli remained standing in the middle of the empty road, both of them fuming, their chests rising and falling with every angry breath. Moments after, Hailey jogged over to them, glancing up the road, then back, giving them a questioning look.

“What happened…?” she breathed.

Samuel frowned and didn’t reply.

Eli sighed and fixed his sunglasses, shaking his head and swatting loosely at the road ahead of them. “They run their fuckin’ mouths too much is what happened. Swear to God… them motherfuckers are gonna land a nigga in jail. I gotta get outta that neighborhood before I kill some goddamn body…”

Samuel and Hailey nodded grimly, trading glances and saying nothing. They both felt similarly about the redneck drug haven that was Graceview trailer Park.

“Fuck me… I lost my damn cigarette,” Samuel realized, glancing around and seeing that he hadn’t dropped it anywhere nearby. “Son of a bitch. That was my last one…”

“Come on… we need to move,” Hailey said, waving them over to the sidewalk across the way, just when she noticed more cars approaching from afar.

When the three of them stepped onto the sidewalk and resumed their journey to school, Eli reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes as they walked, pulling one out and offering it to Samuel before placing another in his own mouth.

“Aw… but you smoke them Newports,” Samuel uttered with a laugh, taking the cigarette and shooting him a look. “These are fuckin’ nasty.”

“Well… I’m sorry they ain’t your cousin Bubba’s Marlboros, white boy,” Eli chided in response, flicking a silver Zippo open and lighting his cigarette. “You smokin’ like a nigga today.”

Samuel snickered and took a drag, he and Eli both exhaling smoke clouds in their wake as they walked on.

During this time—Octavia stood in the basement of her duplex by her lonesome, as she often did in the evenings and mornings. She had short black hair combed over to one side, sharp blue eyes, and a plain black outfit with a baggy flannel jacket draped over herself—and she listened to the radio that was plugged into the splintery wooden wall, adjusting the many papers and sticky-noted taped to the wall of cinderblocks before her.

Antisocial, withdrawn, and deeply invested in conspiracies—she liked to spend time down here, organizing every piece of information on her wall and connecting them together with strings of yarn, routinely reading over them and speculating on how these articles covering inside jobs, unconstitutional bills, and various other conspiracies might eventually result in something of an end times scenario. It wasn’t something she could talk to many people about—it was a bit of a secret obsession—but she felt more or less satisfied with how she’d organized all the new articles she’d printed off in school yesterday, flipping the lights off and marching out of the basement, deciding to head off and meet her friends.

But, just when she stepped out into her yard—she stopped there, smirking and turning back around, walking directly back into the basement.

She turned to the shorter concrete wall to her left—one with several tiny piles of broken glass strewn atop it, as it was her hobby to line up glass bottles there and shoot at them with her bb gun—and then, she faced the small table beside the short wall, where her black bb revolver currently sat.

Laughing to herself and wondering if she’d have the opportunity to prank her friends today, she grabbed the small fake revolver and tucked it into the large, spacious pocket of her cargo pants before walking outside once again.

Then—she strolled down the road and headed out of Waltham Place, the neighborhood of duplexes—and she approached the Taco Bell on the corner just beyond the neighborhood, the same place she stopped every morning.

When she walked onto the curb beside the building—she turned and saw three of her friends approaching from the other side of the street, crossing at the same spot they did every day.

Samuel and Eli were trading conversation about all of the colorful ways they would wreck the undesirables from Vernon Avenue, all while Hailey shook her head and muttered a few unsavory curses about them under her breath.

Octavia shot them a strange look, only hearing bits and pieces of the story as they drew closer. “Wait, what happened…?”

“Tanya, and Daniel, and Jamal all happened,” Eli reported angrily. “And I’m finna’ bust a cap in they ass…”

“Oh, fuck…” Octavia sighed, frowning with disdain. She recognized all of the names—and they belonged to the old friend group that Eli used to be a part of, a group who now hated him and everyone else he associated with.

A tan SUV pulled into the Taco Bell parking lot behind them, turning in a slow circle and easing into a stop just beside them.

Mohinder—seated in the passenger seat—leaned over and gave his mother a quick hug goodbye before popping the door open and stepping out of the truck. His mother waved him off before shifting gears again and driving out of the parking lot to go to work for the day.

Then, Mohinder turned to his friends, his hand hanging loosely from the strap of his satchel. He was a slim, handsome guy, with a caramel complexion and wavy black hairs that tented over his dark, translucent eyes, wearing a navy blue button-up and jet black pants. He squinted at the other four, almost instantly spotting the perturbed looks on all of their faces.

“Ah…” he muttered. “What’d I miss…?”

“You missed Eli almost going to jail—that’s what you fuckin’ missed,” Samuel cackled, flicking the ashes of his cigarette off to the side. “No—you missed both of us almost going to jail, because I swear to God, the next time I hear them talking shit about Hailey, I am gonna kill them motherfuckers.”

“Sam… you’re probably never even gonna see them again after today,” Mohinder reminded him.

“No… no, see, that only works for you, you fuckin’ prep,” Samuel responded, jabbing his cigarette at him. “I can’t afford to live in the suburbs where you live. I have to live right across the road from them pieces of shit. Just because I won’t see them in school anymore doesn’t mean they’re just gonna fuck off and leave us the hell alone.”

“Well… I keep telling you guys what we should do,” Octavia shrugged, folding her arms. “We all need to rend a duplex together in Waltham Place. It’s pretty cheap.”

“P’shit. I don’t know if we can leave home now,” Samuel grumbled. “Mom fell off the wagon, and her boyfriend is MIA, so… me and Hailey are back to babysitting her ass again.”

Octavia stared at him, feeling a surge of disappointment. All of them sharing a place after high school was an idea that she’d discussed with them a few times before—but now, it seemed that the Ryder siblings weren’t in a position to leave home.

Hailey spotted the dismayed look on Octavia’s face and decided to speak up. “Hey… we still want to. We just don’t know when we’re gonna be able to yet.”

“My parents actually want to send me off to a fairly high-end college out of state,” Mohinder mumbled. “I don’t know that I can commit to any new living situations right now…”

“Well… I’m gettin’ the fuck up outta my hood no matter what else happens,” Eli griped. “Don’t care where I have to go…”

Octavia found herself staring sadly at Mohinder, sighing deeply and saying nothing. Honestly, for a while now, she’d been silently looking forward to this idea—but now, it seemed her idea was crumbling away, and all of her friends would, as she feared, likely drift apart from her after high school was over.

“So… we’re all gonna end up in different places,” she mumbled. “Awesome…”

“We’ll still hang out,” Hailey promised.

Octavia glanced at her, choosing not to argue, even though she very well knew better.

After high school—everyone would be forced to seek out new life paths, and it was unlikely that any of them would cross one another’s paths again in the future. After school, everyone drifted apart and lost contact. That was usually the case for most people, and she knew it would be the same for the misfits five.

Mohinder eyed her, gently nudging his arm to hers.

Octavia blinked and raised her head, meeting his eyes.

“I am coming back here, you know,” Mohinder said with a laugh. “And I don’t think anyone else here is actually planning to leave Wallace.”

“Hell nah—I don’t hate my hometown, I just hate that damn neighborhood I’m in,” Eli affirmed.

“Same,” Samuel agreed, raising a hand.

“Yeah… and we all know where each other lives, and we all have each other’s numbers, and we’re all friends on MySpace… like… it’s fine,” Hailey tried to assert. “We’re not gonna just stop being friends now.”

Octavia managed a few mild nods, not feeling entirely convinced. Nowadays, she lived a relatively normal life, if not a lonely one—but in the past, she was forced to move and uproot all over Wallace County, and she never had the chance to form any lasting friendships until high school. The thought of potentially losing the first group of friends she ever had put an uncomfortable knot in the pit of her stomach.

“A’ight, come on…” Eli started marching down the sidewalk. “I want some breakfast. I’m hungry as a motherfucker...”

The others followed him, and they traveled down the small, narrow road that led downhill from the Taco Bell.

“It’s a half day, right?” Samuel asked.

“Yeah… last day’s a half day,” Hailey confirmed. “I don’t even know why we’re going, to be honest…”

“To not be home,” Samuel snarked.

“And to sit around in our homerooms watching movies and passing the time until lunch,” Mohinder chuckled. “Then we eat… and… then… we go home.”

“And then we’re all done with high school forever,” Octavia murmured thoughtfully.

“Three years… we’ve known each other for three fuckin’ years already, man,” Samuel said, turning and smacking Mohinder lightly on the arm. “I can still remember how much of a fuckin’ loner you were when you first got here… and you just like… blossomed since then. You used to just be the little weirdo that fucking nobody talked to.”

“Right… except someone who was even weirder, and definitely crazier,” Mohinder remarked with a dry little laugh.

“Yes—bitch—and you’re welcome,” Samuel chided, jabbing a finger at him. “You’re welcome for talking to you—because look at all the friends you got now!”

“I just ended up sitting in the booth with you guys because there was nowhere else to sit,” Octavia recalled, flashing a smirk. “I didn’t think you’d actually talk to me.”

“Well—you’re welcome too,” Samuel said, cocking his head and clicking his tongue. “I am a social fucking butterfly—behold my fuckin’ magic powers!”

He wheeled around and outstretched his arms as he walked, making the others snicker.

“And I’m just here because I’m related to the magic butterfly,” Hailey uttered, raising her hand and making a meek, feeble fist pump. “Yaaaay…”

Octavia sputtered out a laugh.

“Hey… that’s not true. That’s not what qualifies someone being in our little club,” Samuel stated. “Because if it was, then Amy would be in it, and nobody wants her ass here.”

“You shouldn’t talk that way about your older sister, Sam,” Mohinder commented.

“Well, you know what? She drinks and gets high with Mom all the damn time, and she fuckin’ steals from us left and goddamn right… so I reserve the right to talk exactly as much shit about her as I want to, fuck you very much,” Samuel quipped. “I might not like some of my family, but I am the most loyal motherfucker y’all are ever gonna know.”

At hearing this—Eli, walking at the head of the group, scoffed out a snide little laugh.

Samuel shot him a double-take from behind. “Uh, excuse the hell outta me, motherfucker? What’re you laughing at?”

“You, nigga,” Eli retorted, turning and walking smoothly backwards down the sidewalk. “You ain’t the most loyal person in this group. Not by a motherfuckin’ long shot.”

Samuel gaped at him. “Oh yeah? Then who is? You…?”

“Nope.” Eli whirled around and began to march forward again.

Mohinder, Samuel, Octavia, and Hailey all exchanged expressions with each other.

“Is it him?” Samuel guessed, reaching over and slapping his hand to Mohinder’s chest just a bit too hard, warranting a disgruntled look from him.

“Nope,” Eli replied without turning back around.

“Then who is it?!” Samuel pestered impatiently.

As the group was nearing the end of this narrow street, connected to the main road, Eli slowed to a stop at the corner, turning and facing them.

“Well… lemme ask you something,” he said and sauntered forward, raising a finger at Samuel and gently tapping it to his Breaking Benjamin t-shirt. “Only one of us is worried about staying in touch after school’s over. Which one is that?”

Samuel stared at him, and everyone fell silent for a moment.

“Uh-huh. The quiet one,” Eli nodded, pointing over at Octavia. “OC got you all beat. I bet you any amount of money that she’s the only one who’d come runnin’ for any motherfucker here, no matter what happens, and no matter how much time passes. That’s not to say that none of us would… but for us, it would be a question. For her, it would just be a reaction.”

Samuel gave him a long, baffled stare. “What the fuck are you even saying right now…?”

“Keep up, nigga,” Eli snarked, tapping him on the forehead before turning away. “I ain’t turnin’ the short bus around for your ass… figure that shit out on ya’ own.”

“Hey… that’s not fair,” Hailey moped. “You know I’d come running for any of you guys…”

“Well… okay… but it ain’t the same with you, Lee-Lee,” Eli said, nodding sideways. “You and Sam both have some unsavory motherfuckers at home that you gotta babysit. You ain’t always gonna be able to drop everything and run to somebody else, now are you? No, you ain’t, ‘cause that ain’t how shit works. And since Mr. Mohinder is goin’ off to college and chasing after some big-ass career, that means he ain’t gonna be able to just drop everything and come running, either. And for me… I gotta get this hustle goin’ and get the fuck up outta that hood, which means I’mma be busting my ass working to claw my way outta there from now on, so I might not be able to come runnin’ either. That’s why I said it would be a question for everybody else. As in… we’d all have to question whether or not we could actually do it. But I don’t see OC questioning a goddamn thing. I could just see her runnin’ off and doing it, no matter what the fuck else is goin’ on.”

Hailey paused and looked down, seeming to be deep in thought now, but Samuel continued glaring into Eli with apprehension.

“I wouldn’t bank on us hanging around there to babysit them forever,” Samuel muttered. “They don’t deserve it… and we deserve to go.”

“Well… if you mean that, then you better stick to it, homie,” Eli advised, poking him once on the shoulder. “Because life ain’t gonna wait around forever, either.”

He turned on his heel and strolled onwards, and everyone else followed suit.

The five of them found themselves walking onto the wider sidewalk that ran alongside the main road, a road that stretched throughout the heart of Wallace, from north to south—the road that all of them would meet on walking toward school from their own neighborhoods, the road that connected everything together, Williams Street.

They marched down the expansive hill as cars whizzed by on their left, and farther down the hill to the right, the high school came into sight, complete with the tall main building with the glass wall in the center, and just as it did every day, always casting a sparkling glare in the reflection of the morning sun. Octavia was the only one to pause for a second, sparing this view one final look before marching on, silently saddened that this would be the very last time they walked down this hill to go to school in the morning, the last time they’d ever lay eyes on that view together.

By the time they crossed over the patch of grass and entered the school’s gigantic parking lot, the morning sun was brighter, and they walked past the small alternative building and headed for the large main one, stepping onto the walkway alongside a few other groups of students. The crowd arriving to school today wasn’t half as big as usual, as many of the students had simply elected to skip their final day.

The end of the building nearest them—comprised of glass walls along the side, providing the cafeteria a perfect view of outside—had a pair of double-doors on the end that led onto the walkway, and this was the entrance they and many others usually used. The doors were not propped open like usual, and students took turns swinging them open and marching inside.

When the five misfits approached it, however, Octavia sighed, slowing to a stop and feeling hesitant to go in.

The boys continued on, but Hailey turned and gave Octavia a questioning look.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Mohinder, Samuel, and Eli then turned around as well, Mohinder’s hand hanging limply from the door handle.

Octavia looked between all of them, sighing and frowning.

“I don’t wanna,” she uttered.

Samuel squinted at her. “You don’t wanna what?”

“I don’t wanna go to class, smart one,” Octavia griped. “There’s no point. We already did everything and got our diplomas. We’re just gonna waste our last day together sitting in a class and bullshitting with people we don’t even care about.”

Samuel, Eli, and Hailey all traded glances, seeming to realize the same thing.

“We’re supposed to go, though,” Mohinder remarked.

Octavia’s shoulders sank, giving him a pleading look. “Oh, come ooon… who cares. Nobody is gonna know or care if we skip our very last class. Can we just hang out? Please?”

Suddenly, everyone was staring at Mohinder, waiting for him to answer.

Mohinder’s eyes shifted between the other four.

“Oh my God… listen, we all know you’re the responsible one, and I think that’s adorable… but can we just be real for a second?” Octavia laughed, placing both hands together and aiming them at him. “It makes literally no difference if we skip now. We already graduated, Mohinder. Let’s just chill.”

Mohinder paused for a second longer, and then, he sighed, making a few mild nods. “Okay. Okay, fine…”

“Yes!” Samuel yelled, smashing his hands loudly into the door and practically throwing it open. “Come on now! I hunger!”

The five of them walked inside, entering the end of the cafeteria, a distant and isolated hallway far off to the right, and farther down that same wall was the wide open entryway to the cafeteria line. The glass wall at the front of the school was to the left, and there was a short, painted wall that separated the row of booths from the walkway alongside the glass wall. Beyond the row of booths were several cafeteria tables, some long, others round, and most of them unoccupied. The booth they always sat in was perfectly across the exit of the cafeteria line—and after they walked through the line, grabbing breakfast sandwiches, fruits, and drinks, they emerged, sat their trays down at their table, and sat in their usual booth together.

Samuel and Hailey sat on one side, Mohinder and Octavia on the other, Eli loudly dragging a chair over and sitting on it at the end of the table. Samuel began eating immediately, Mohinder quietly adding mayonnaise to his breakfast sandwich while Hailey listed all the places they could hang out today.

“We could go to the Hub,” Samuel muttered with a mouthful of food, crumbs falling down to his tray.

“Nah… I’ll tell ya’ what, we gonna hit that mini-mall down at the end of Williams Street,” Eli said, waving his sandwich at Samuel while he talked. “We ain’t never hit that one.”

“You mean you’ve never stolen from that one,” Mohinder mumbled down at his food, pressing the bread back onto the top of his sandwich.

“No—as it happens—we have not,” Samuel said curtly, tilting his head at Mohinder in a caustic way. “And I would very much like to steal some more Tripp pants with my Tripp pants.”

“Wait… the mall at the end of the main road? Across from the pawn shop and the liquor store?” Octavia interjected. “We’ve been to that one a million times.”

“Yeah… but they’ve never stolen from the Hot Topic at that specific mall,” Mohinder uttered disapprovingly. “That’s what they’re saying… and I guess they’d like to rectify that…”

“Yeeeah… you’re damn right I would,” Eli nodded, his voice hitting such a high note, it made Samuel choke on a laugh and sputter out a clump of eggs. “Don’t you judge me, Hindy-boy… look at our dear Lee-Lee over here.”

Eli then extended an arm, gesturing over to Hailey.

“Why do you think she looks so damn fine? Hmm?” he asked, cocking his head at Mohinder. “I will tell you why… because her brother can fit five or six of them pants she wears inside of one pair of his. Them pants was made for stealin’ shit… and them ones she wears? They look damn fine on her.”

Hailey blushed and looked away, sinking deeper into the booth.

Samuel stared at Eli open-mouthed, ogling him as if he had just slapped him across the face.

Eli peeled his sunglasses off and set them on the table, revealing his dark, shiny eyes. Then, he blinked and caught Samuel’s lingering glare, giving him a strange look in response.

“What?” Eli said.

“Dude, that’s my sister,” Samuel uttered breathlessly.

Everything fell tensely silent for a second. None of them had ever heard Eli speak about Hailey in such a way before.

Eli glimpsed over at her, then quickly back at Samuel, straightening slightly in his seat. “Well, I’m sorry… but you gotta know, Lee-Lee is hot as hell—”

“Uh-uh—stop—now,” Octavia said—reaching over and clamping a hand over Eli’s mouth.

“Eli… I would really advise you not to finish that sentence,” Mohinder remarked, cracking a smirk and glancing at Samuel, who was seething in silence and glaring absolute daggers now.

“Gat’damn already… fine,” Eli griped, removing Octavia’s hand from his face. “I don’t see what the problem is. Ain’t like I said I wanna bend her like a—”

“Dude!” Octavia screamed, slapping the table hard and seizing his attention. “Shush!”

Eli paused—then laughed, looking to Samuel and snickering endlessly at the look on his face.

“You too easy,” he chortled.

“Don’t fuck with me like that,” Samuel glowered.

“But you really do make it easy, Sam,” Mohinder said, making everyone else explode with laughter.

Octavia grinned alongside them, and then, as the laughter died down, and as the others slowly began to talk again—she looked down, she sighed, and her smile waned, turning her head and gazing around the mostly empty cafeteria, the tables, the lunch line, and the sunlight beaming in over the walkway alongside the glass walls, a sight so familiar, it now ached to see.

It was the last time they would ever be here, sharing a conversation or a series of laughs with one another in their usual booth over a cheap breakfast of school food. Octavia couldn’t help but spare another moment to dwell on the possibilities; after all, Octavia didn’t have anyone else, aside from her mother, and the two of them would mostly argue whenever she was home from work. Samuel and Hailey had a complicated situation at home, and so did Eli—and Mohinder would be leaving the state before long. They would all be expected to start their adult lives soon, and she wasn’t sure any of them would find the time for one another once school was no longer binding them together all the time.

“Ohmigod—ohmigod—you know what we should do?!” Hailey exclaimed suddenly, leaping up from the booth and climbing over the back of it. “We should all spend the weekend at Mohinder’s house again and just play games and watch movies all weekend! I wanna start off the summer happy!”

She landed swiftly on the floor and pulled out her iPod Touch, selecting a song and laying it down on one of the round tables. Then, Rihanna’s Disturbia began to play, and Hailey started to dance to and fro across the open floor.

The other four merely stared at her.

“Come ooon,” Hailey beamed, waving for them to stand. “It’s the beginning of the summer and we’re finally free from this shit-hole! Let’s be happy!”

Then—she leaped onto the round table, making it stagger slightly, and she danced on top of it, slinging her ponytail back and forth as she did.

“Booo,” Samuel heckled, grabbing an orange from his tray and throwing it at her.

Hailey did an impressive spin and dodged it, sending it flying across the open space.

“Oh, no the hell you didn’t just…” Samuel grumped, launching up from his seat and snatching Mohinder’s orange.

He reeled back and pitched it at his sister—and Hailey smacked it out of the air almost effortlessly.

Just then—Octavia jumped up and pelted a wad of aluminum into the back of Samuel’s head, still greasy from her breakfast sandwich. Samuel whipped around dramatically, ogling her so bizarrely, she exploded with laughter.

Eli finished his food, balled up his own aluminum, and threw it at Samuel as well. It hit him in the forehead—and Samuel responded by lunging at him, tackling him out of his chair.

Hailey continued to dance atop the table while Samuel and Eli wrestled on the open floor, Octavia giggling and throwing things at the two of them while they horse-played. Mohinder glimpsed at them and breathed out a laugh, taking another bite of his sandwich before neatly wiping his mouth with his napkin.

All of them were so occupied—they didn’t notice three more people strolling toward them.

Mohinder looked over, and he was the first to spot them; Tanya, Daniel, and Jamal stood nearby, staring up at Hailey and laughing at her, trading remarks about adding a stripper pole to the cafeteria so the white trash could earn her lunch money.

At hearing their gossip—Samuel and Eli suddenly straightened up, whipping around and glaring at the three of them.

Hailey stopped dancing, frowning and now looking both sad and embarrassed, and Octavia shot the trio a searing glare, Mohinder slowly arising from the booth.

“The fuck y’all lookin’ at?” Tanya snapped at them all, swiping her wavy hair back and swatting up at Hailey. “Well, go on. Keep on dancin’, bitch. Getchu some practice in for that job we all know you gonna have.”

“What the hell is your problem?!” Octavia yelled angrily. “We never did anything to you!”

“Bitch—was I talkin’ to you?” Tanya challenged, stepping forward and rounding on her. “I will beat your white dyke ass into the fucking ground.”

“Fuck you, you stupid cunt,” Octavia snarled, making a wide step closer as well.

Mohinder reached for Octavia—but she continued to move forward, glaring heatedly into Tanya’s eyes. So, Mohinder stepped closer and held out a hand in front of Octavia, hoping to keep them separated.

“Motherfucker… you tryinna step up on my sister?!” Jamal hollered, charging forward and cocking his head at Mohinder.

Then—Samuel’s hands smashed into Jamal’s chest—shoving him back and almost making him trip over a nearby chair.

“Oh yeah—look at that shit, white savior to the motherfuckin’ rescue,” Daniel growled, shooting Eli a look. “Lil’ nigga can’t fight his own battles. Ain’t no wonder you ran off to your new white friends when they gonna do everything for you.”

“Why can’t you just leave us alone?!” Octavia exclaimed.

Eli—who now looked furious beyond words—stepped away and grabbed a chair.

“Ain’t nobody talkin’ to you, bitch!” Tanya screamed—pushing Octavia back and making her stumble.

Mohinder grasped Tanya by the collar of her shirt—instantly stopping her.

“Enough,” he said flatly.

“Boy—don’t you put your fuckin’ hands on my sister!” Jamal bellowed, cocking his fist back—

BAM.

Eli raised a chair above his head—and he sent it crashing down into Jamal’s skull with every ounce of his strength. Jamal crumbled to the floor in an instant—and Eli then spun around, quickly regaining his balance and giving Daniel a wild glare.

“’Bout sick of—y’all’s—shit!” Eli yelled—throwing the chair at him in a rage.

Daniel barely managed to catch it at an awkward angle, staggering slightly before adjusting his grasp on it and raising it—swinging it back at Eli—

The pole of the chair hit Eli’s face—making a dull crack.

Hailey gasped and covered her mouth—and at once, Octavia found herself standing a few feet away from everyone else, watching as Daniel, Tanya, and Jamal grouped up and rounded on everyone else, almost as if she was seeing it all in slow motion, as if she knew just how bad this fight would get if it continued on from here.

It dawned on her—and she reached into her cargo pants pocket.

Mohinder looked over at her just in time to see it; Octavia pulled the black revolver from her pocket and aimed it at the trio, her expression suddenly ice cold.

Samuel grabbed Eli by the arm and yanked him to his feet, Eli clasping his jaw as blood oozed from the corner of his mouth—and at once, everything fell deathly still.

Tanya’s hairs slightly askew now, Daniel looking wide-eyed and awestricken, and Jamal wearing a petrified visage as blood trickled down from the top of his head—all three of them gaped at Octavia as if they’d never seen anything quite like her before.

Hailey remained frozen still atop the table, covering her mouth with fearful, teary eyes, Samuel and Eli both panting, glancing between Octavia and the trio, and Mohinder turned and gave Octavia a tense, anxious look, truly shocked to see her brandishing a firearm now.

Then, Octavia slowly pulled the hammer back, raising her eyebrows and giving the three people before her a warning sort of look.

Suddenly—all of them scrambled away, cursing and calling her names like psycho bitch as they frantically rushed up the pathway nearest them.

Octavia watched them go, her eyes locked onto them as they slowly vanished from sight, leaving the cafeteria.

There was a brief pause.

The cafeteria fell still, and for a couple of seconds that lasted seemingly forever, no one moved or spoke.

“Octavia—for God’s sake,” Mohinder broke the silence, clasping her arm and forcibly lowering it, glimpsing at every corner of the room where he knew a camera to be. “What the hell did you bring that here for?!”

Octavia stared at him blankly. “What? It’s a bb gun. Well, technically, it’s a pellet gun… but either way, it’s not real.”

Mohinder stared bizarrely at her. “Why do you have that?!”

“I’unno… I was just gonna freak you guys out,” Octavia smirked, raising the gun upright, but Mohinder lowered it again.

“Put it away!” he whisper-yelled at her.

“Oh… pfff… fine,” Octavia griped, rolling her eyes and sliding the fake gun back into her pocket. “What’re they gonna do, expel me? I have my damn diploma already…”

Hailey shakily slid off of the table and moved over to Samuel and Eli, looking concerned. She leaned closer, surveying the bloodied spot on Eli’s lip intently.

“You okay…?” she breathed.

“What? Oh yeah, yeah, this ain’t shit,” Eli replied nonchalantly, swatting the air. “They ain’t shit…”

“M’kay… um… y’know what? Fuck class, and fuck lunch. I vote we just leave,” Samuel declared, clasping his hands together. “Because I don’t wanna deal with that shit anymore, and I also don’t wanna deal with the cops showing up because people think there’s an active shooter here. Octavia.”

“What?!” Octavia yelled defensively, tossing up her hands. “It’s a pellet gun!”

“Doesn’t matter… it looks real enough that the cops would gun your ass down,” Samuel told her seriously. “So let’s just go. Can we go? Like now?”

“Yeah… we probably should,” Mohinder agreed. “C’mon.”

The five of them wasted no time; they headed out of the cafeteria and pushed the doors open, emerging outside and marching across the open parking lot.

Octavia glanced back at the school one last time before they walked on.

As they strolled up the side of Williams Street, chatting about where they would go—and when they would visit the mini-mall, and how they would make plans for the weekend—Octavia’s mind began to feel a bit more at ease the farther they got from the school, and the more she listened to her friends talk about planning time together.

Most of them weren’t exactly welcome in Eli’s neighborhood, and Eli faced a similar problem whenever he visited Graceview Trailer Park. Octavia’s mother didn’t particularly like her bringing friends home—so, it was always Mohinder’s house where everyone gathered, and as she pondered on this, she let slip a contented half-smile. They always spent time together outside of school. Perhaps they really would continue to persevere as a friend group, even with high school now being behind them, and even with the winds of change now breezing into all of their lives.

Maybe someday—maybe even someday soon—all of them would be able to come together. Samuel, Hailey, and Eli could all escape from their rough lives—and Octavia and Mohinder would be able to keep their closest friends around.

A spark of hope ignited inside her.

She couldn’t know how likely it was, or how their plans might unfold from here on—but she hoped that adulthood wouldn’t dissolve their friendships, because, at least to her, it was the most valuable thing they had.

Maybe the idea of finding a good job, buying a home, and keeping friends around was something that she and the others could actually somehow obtain for themselves.

Octavia glanced over at Mohinder, smiling at him and feeling a sense of reassurance.

As the five of them vanished over the hillside—she resolved that she shouldn’t allow doubts and worries to taint her good mood and ruin her time with her friends. After all, they each had a long, potentially bright future ahead of them now.

But—none of them could have known how the world would unfold from here on, and there would come many times in the far-ahead future when Octavia would think back to this very moment and kick herself for being so very foolish and naïve.