Bad Things Happen in High School Gymnasiums

Finn held on to Mackie, coughing against the smoke entering their lungs. But then Mackie was pulled away, Finn frantically grasping at the air with one hand while the other cleared watering eyes with a quick few swipes.

“File-” They coughed. There was a crack and they recognized Mackie’s cry of pain.

Barely breathing but trying again, Finn shouted out, “File! Run!”

“You three- take her!” Someone barked off to their left.

Finn moved towards the table where their key was, assuring themself that they could probably easily track Mackie down if they could just get out-

They tripped over the fallen chair, yelping at the pain that had sprung from their shin hitting one of the metal legs. And then someone had them from behind, lifting Finn into their arms. Finn yelled, thrashing out with their arms and legs. All the while, their mind went into the fight or flight battle that had become so confused over the years of Finn’s extra-long life.

The struggling was to no avail. The grip squeezed any breath they had out of their lungs, but they kept on fighting with battering elbows.

The air cleared; Finn had been dragged into another room. The person holding them flung them down onto the concrete of the walkway at the foot of the first set of bleachers. They were on the balcony above the second and the court. Finn could get out of this.

But as they rolled onto their back and tried to hop up, the person had them by their shoulders. Finn cursed, and they curled their hand into a fist, trying their best to aim for a face that was obscured by the tears still in their eyes.

They missed. The person ducked out of the way and rewarded them with a brutal, brass-knuckled punch. Finn stumbled; the person let go.

Finn quickly rubbed the tears out of their eyes, head still reeling too hard for them to think of anything else to do. They clutched their cheek, trying to stumble backwards and out of range, but then they were hit again, harder.

Finn barely contained a scream as pain lanced through their skull. They blindly lashed out while backing up even farther toward the opposite exit, gasping in pain. Suddenly, they were against the railing and lifted into the air-

They couldn’t breathe. Air tried to enter Finn’s lungs, but they were unable to receive it. Finn’s face throbbed, but the coolness of the gym floor soothed it, if only slightly. They still couldn’t breathe. Voices, footsteps…

“Look at her, you shouldn’t have. She might be dead now.” Sarcasm, in broken English. Finn grasped at their chest, rolling from their side onto their back. Oxygen leaked gently, slowly into them. Not enough. Their face throbbed with their heartbeat.

“Look! She’s recovering.” A figure moved to tower over them. Finn wiped their eyes again. They were able to breathe now, slowly but surely.

“That was quite the fall.” Another commented. Finn came to their senses, realizing with a jolt what actually had happened. These were attackers. Finn rolled over onto their stomach, pulling away. They had no sense of direction but their body was shaking, and they had to go anywhere away.

“You’re not done.” The first voice hissed, and a hand pulled their head back by their curls. Finn shrieked, the sound echoing through the gym. They were let go and cursed under their breath before more hands flipped Finn onto their back. Now that their eyes had adjusted, they could see faces. Cold laughter coupled with green eyes.

“You’re trespassing.” The first one’s voice linked up with a pale woman whose eyes were darkly lined.

“I didn’t.” Finn sputtered, but the second kicked them in the side, and their air was gone again.

“What clan are you from?”

“I’m rogue- no clan,” gasped Finn. The second knelt down and pulled something that glinted in the light out of their pocket.

“Don’t make this hard. Rogues don’t come here.” Snarled the first, still standing above them. Finn’s eyes darted around, trying to find somewhere to run when they could.

The person- a man- with the brass knuckles still stood at the balcony, leaning against the railing and looking mighty bored.

Finn opened their mouth to defend themself, but they were cut off by the woman knelt beside them,

“Tell us where you took the key.”

“I don’t fucking know what you’re on about- I’m not part of a clan and neither is my friend!” Finn spat.

The two on the gym floor exchanged a look before one gestured to the brass-knuckled man. Finn wasn’t able to tell what happened next because the woman beside them pulled them back. The world spun, and Finn tried to whirl back around, but the woman was behind Finn, holding them in her lap. Metal glinted again. The second woman held down their ankles with an iron grip, and Finn was unable to do anything, their small body stretched out on the ground.

“What the hell!?” They gasped, “I’m a rogue, I fucking swear!”

“You’ll tell us.” The woman at their ankles insisted. The man with the brass knuckles clunked over to them, and the woman holding Finn’s arms tossed what turned out to be a knife to the man easily without letting go of Finn.

Finn frantically gasped, “I have no clan, and I’ve never been in one! I don’t know who took your key-”

“You will tell us,” the woman at their ankles repeated, “Or we will pull out your intestines.”

Finn watched the brass-knuckled man squat down and press the tip of the knife into the flesh of their bare stomach. Finn shouted out, turning their head as the knife cut long across their skin. It stung like salt in a wound despite it just being the wound without salt.

“The key.” The person at the end demanded. Finn squirmed. The knife was taken off their skin, but they felt the blood oozing warm from the cut without having to look.

“I don’t-”

The knife slashed again, and Finn let out a scream of both pain and pure terror. They had frozen up, chest heaving.

“We will find out.”

“I’m telling the fucking truth ask your uppers I’m a rogue I’m Finnley Lincoln a rogue!” They babbled, words running together, breathing heavily. The CLAN might be a violent clan, but Finn knew that if any of the higher-ups came, they would know Finn. The woman at their ankles let go, saying something under their breath to the man with the knife.

Finn took the distraction to read up and kick, a foot connecting to the head of the woman with a crack and a jolt up Finn’s leg. They slammed their head up against their other captor’s face. There were angry phrases in a language Finn didn’t recognize, and they bolted. Their sight left in whiplash, but they didn’t stop.

They were just about to run through the door to the outside when agony rippled across their head and down their spine. Everything turned to red flashes, and Finn felt their lungs empty for the umpteenth time that day, and couldn’t hear the screams they knew were coming from them through the needles piercing at their being.

When they returned, they noticed their limbs were shaking and their hands were clutching at their forehead. They breathed in a sob, hearing coming back in bursts. There were gunshots, yells. Where were they? The ground was closed. They opened their eyes.

Someone was standing over them. Someone was lifting them up. Finn felt the air, felt the arms- familiar.

“Where’s your friend?” The voice swam into Finn’s ears. They stirred, recognizing.

“Why are you here?” They weakly spat.

“I just saved you.”

“Colleen. Stop. Put me down.” They croaked, struggling. Colleen followed their instructions, and they stumbled. The arms returned.

“Leave.” Finn took a look around for the first time, taking in the dark gym. Two of the attackers lay on the floor, a crimson puddle spreading outward. The brass-knuckled man’s neck was snapped, his head lolling.

“You need to leave.” Finn wobbled over to the site. Warmth pooled in their stomach, and they looked down with a whirling head to see the same crimson staining their pale skin.