A New World

        It was just another day for young Corin Brayman. Looking over at the clock he saw that it was 7:30 a.m. " Oh crap. I'm gonna be late for school" he said to himself as he got up out of bed. He headed down the hall into the bathroom and got in the shower. Corin's family wasn't exactly rich. In fact they barely had any money at all. He had to have a job on top of his schoolwork just so they could get by. He barely had any time to himself.
         But being "poor" had its advantages. He wasn't expected to do much and nobody ever bothered him. And even though he had very little free time he spent it wisely when he did. He was out exploring the woods as much as possible and he had learned a lot about himself and the world around him. He liked watching the squirrels run around busily looking for nuts and such, he liked listening to the birds sing, but most of all he liked camping out with just a pocket knife and sleeping under the stars by a nice warm fire. He was very unusual for a boy of 16 and he knew it. His dark brown hair was quite long for a boy but it only covered his face when he combed it straight down. His eyes were the strangest thing about him though, one was a light blue and if you looked really close it was almost slid, the other was a very strange bright green color which totally contradicted everything he'd learned in biology because neither of his parents had blue or green eyes.
         When he got out of the shower, he got dressed, had a quick breakfast of pop-tarts and milk and headed out the door. He lived in a small town out in the boonies where everyone knew everyone else and everybody got along. His school was small and that was the way he liked it. (thankfully since this is a book and because I'm sure you don't want to hear me droll on about his day we'll just skip to the end of it)
         "Finally. School's over." he thought to himself as he was walking down the stairs. Then he saw her. Keera Hardt, the most beautiful girl in the world. She had long strawberry blonde hair, deep blue eyes and a certain charm that could bring even the strongest man to his knees. She was with her boyfriend Tony. They were arguing about something as Corin walked by.
"I can talk to anyone I want." Keera sounded pissed.
"Not while you're with me."
"Yeah and just what are you going to do about it?"
"Oh, you little bitch!Don't you ever talk to me like that!"
Tony curled his hand into a fist and was about to hit Keera when Corin grabbed his arm..
"I don't think you want to do that."Corin said calmly.
"Hey why don't you mind your own business. I'll do what I want."
         With his free hand Tony punched Corin in the side of the head. BIG mistake. Everyone in school, even the biggest football players, considered Corin "untouchable."He wasn't very big or strong but when he hit it hurt, a lot. In one quick, fluid, motion, he twisted Tony's arm to the side and gave him a quick jab to the chest. Tony fell like a rock.Keera looked surprised that Tony had tried to hit her and was even more surprised when Corin had stopped him.She didn't know what to say to him or what to do. She liked him, more than a friend, but she didn't know how he felt about her.
         Corin started to leave after saying goodye to Keera but before he left the schoolyard on of the teachers caught up with him.
"Where do ya think you're goin?"
He turned around to see that it was Mr. Stone, his gym teacher. He was a big man, standing at 6'7", he towered over Corin.
" I was just on my way home sir."
" Oh, well I just wanted to make it clear to you that you're not going to get in trouble for what you did back there. I would have done the same thing."
"I was just doing what I thought was the right thing to do."
"You're a good man Corin. Don't let anyone tell you different."
" Thanks Mr. Stone." Corin was surprised that for once he wasn't going to get in trouble for fighting with someone. Although it was never serious when he did because everyone knew that he was defending someone else.
         He turned around to leave again and he thought he heard someone walk up behind him, " Corin, wait up." It was Keera. He stopped and waited for her to get closer.
"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for what you did bakc there. I was really scared."
" No problem I don't take kindly to guys that hit girls. It's not right." Corin's anger started to ebb. He really liked Keera and was surprised that he could talk to her and not screw up everything he said.
" Would you mind if I walked with you? Tony has a lot of friends and they'll probably be looking for me." She seemed really scared. And it even started to scare Corin a little because they would probably go after him too.
" No. You can walk with me."
They left the schoolyard and started walking away from the city.
"Where do you live?" Corin wasn't expecting a sudden question and he jumped.
" Um, I live out on the edge of the city. It's really nice out there. No noise people running about, or any of that jazz."
" Oh, I live right there." She pointed to a blue house about 100 yards up the road. They walked up to her house and she stopped. Corin, not expecting her to do this, ran right into her. She would have fallen but he caught her.
"Sorry about that." His face was turning red.
"It's no bid d....." Just then a car pulled up to them on the side of the street. They already knew who it was, Tony and his friends. They all got out of the car and started walking toward Corin.
"We need to talk." Corin saw that tony had a few of his friends holding Keera and the rest were coming towards him. He had to think quickly. He could run and get away safely, but that would mean leaving Keera with those thugs, or he could fight while she got away. He decided on the latter.
         He looked over and saw that Tony was getting right up in her face. Corin pushed him away and stood in front of her. He backed up against the side of the house so that nobody could get in behind them. Tony, still in pain from his previous encounter with Corin, was lying on the ground after the slight push that Corin gave him to get Keera away.
He signaled to his friends to attack Corin.
"You stay behind me no matter what happens, alright?" He was whispering to her.
"Alright."
Three of the thugs came towards Corin with baseball bats but those were the least of his worries because he could see that the others had knives and he didn't think they would hesitate to use them. Then they started swinging. The first one was way off and he ducked under it easily but the second caught him on the side of the head. He got really dizz and his legs felt like jelly but he would stand his ground to protect Keera. Just as the third bat came in Corin reached out and grabbed it. He hit the previous owner of the weapon in the head with it making him collapse almost instantly. He got hit in the head again, this time he dropped the weapon he was holding and fell to his knees. Corin could hear his blood roaring in his ears and he saw his own blood dripping onto the ground in front of him. He thought of what would happen to Keera if he gave up now and he suddenly felt his anger growing. He was hot with rage he didn't feel the pain from the cuts on his head or from the bat hitting him. Corin picked up the bat he had dropped and stood up. Everything he saw was red and he acted on pure instinct. He couldn't think, couldn't hear, all he knew was that he would not stop until every single one of the thugs was lying on the ground bleeding to death or they ran away.
         The two that had attacked him earlier were now lying on the ground unconcious and soon the others ran away. Corin fell to the ground exhausted and confused about what had just happened to him. He felt Keera beside him and he heard her crying. He could barely see and he started to feel a shearing pain in his head. Across the street he could see something or someone standing there in a black cloak watching him fade, watching him bleed and then, blackness.