"You little rascal, don't you know who you're talking to as of today?" a boy shouted in the corridor.
Mikeal was just passing by, not paying much attention. He had just arrived at school, and to his surprise, no one was around—the corridor was empty. Every single student was where all the commotion was.
The part of the corridor where the incident was happening was blocked by a crowd of students, all focused on whatever was going on.
"Excuse me..." Mikeal said as he tried to pass through.
Those at the back of the crowd didn't give him any trouble. They simply opened a path for him—it was no problem for anyone until...
He tried to move toward the front. The students blocking the way didn't care about him or his request. They gave him weird looks, a few even glared at him, and one student shoved him to the floor.
When Mikeal hit the ground, the loud thud turned heads. Everyone gasped, attention shifting from the commotion to him.
"Whoa, someone pushed Mikeal," one of the male students whispered.
"Man, I wonder who's brave enough to do something like that," another said.
"Or stupid," the first student replied.
No one knew who had the guts to mess with Mikeal. At school, he was known for being quiet and calm—a guy you didn't mess with, and who didn't mess with anyone. People feared him, and rather than being bothered by it, Mikeal found it comforting.
It saved him from making pointless conversations or trying to make friends. He was just a cool, laid-back guy who preferred being alone.
Unlike the rest, Mikeal knew exactly who pushed him. His eyes locked onto the culprit. Those who had seen what happened also knew what was coming, and instead of helping him up, they simply stepped aside and stared at the person responsible.
"Damn... Four Eyes pushed Mikeal?" a female student made things worse.
The "Four Eyes" she referred to was Hector House—a small, scrawny kid with glasses tied around his neck. Everyone knew Hector. He was famous for being the school's favorite target for bullies.
Seeing the look in Mikeal's eyes, Hector trembled with fear. He dropped the books in his hands and rushed to help Mikeal up.
"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean what I did!" Hector cried, trying to dust off Mikeal and pick up his things.
"Two fights in one day, and it's still morning? This might be the best day to close off school," a female student stirred the crowd.
Hector had been bullied so many times he knew what came next. He stood in front of Mikeal, preparing himself for the worst.
Facing down, eyes shut tight, he whispered, "Whatever punishment you think I deserve, I'm right here waiting."
Everyone gasped when Mikeal raised his hand—some even closed their eyes, expecting him to strike. But what followed shocked everyone.
"It's okay, Hector. Mistakes happen. And thank you for helping me up."
"What?" the crowd reacted in disbelief.
Mikeal didn't do anything to Hector. He simply placed his hand on Hector's shoulder and smiled.
Then he walked through the crowd. Everyone stepped aside as he passed, and finally, he saw what all the commotion had been about—a kid getting kicked by the school's number one bully: Flash Sticks.
"Pardon me," Mikeal said, trying to access his locker, which Flash was blocking.
"You're not excused!" Flash snapped back.
Mikeal took a deep breath, chuckled, and ignored him. He just opened his locker.
Feeling disrespected, Flash slammed Mikeal's locker shut with a loud bang—it was a miracle it didn't break.
"Do you even know who you're talking to, Park?" Flash growled, in Mikeal's face.
"No, but judging from what's coming out of your mouth, I'd say... Toxic Breath." Mikeal gagged, pretending to throw up.
The crowd erupted in laughter. Flash, now humiliated, lost control and swung a punch at Mikeal—who dodged effortlessly. Flash's fist hit the locker instead.
"Argh! And I just had that locker painted!" Mikeal mocked.
He pushed Flash's arm aside, making him slam into the locker, then banged the locker door into Flash's face three times before shoving him to the floor.
"Oops. My hand must've slipped," Mikeal said, feigning surprise.
Flash's friends rushed to help him, but he shoved them away.
"Forget about me! Get him!" he shouted.
Mikeal knew what this meant—school was over before it even started. He grabbed his things and ran.
Several of Flash's friends chased after him. Two stayed behind to help Flash, then joined the pursuit.
Mikeal didn't waste time—he ran as fast as he could. He could easily fight them off, but he wasn't in the mood. So he ran, playing around.
Flash and his goons were gaining on him. Mikeal was giving it all he had. Outside, everything looked abandoned and decayed—but not all of it, just some parts of the town.
Mikeal knew the area well. He took shortcuts into a place most feared—the Playground.
They called it the Playground because it looked like a ghost town. Roads, buildings, and cars were destroyed. Mould covered everything. It was a dangerous place—far worse than most.
Although abandoned, it had inhabitants. Not friendly ones. The Playground was overrun by monsters known as Cannibals—man-eaters.
Years ago, a virus broke out. It killed much of the human population and turned half into humanoid creatures—beasts that looked human but fed on humans. They took over the world.
Mikeal wasn't lucky. He saw his family get eaten alive in front of him. Just before he was devoured too, something saved him.
That was seven years ago—when the world was fighting back. A new military force rose up with weapons that could finally fight back against these monsters.
Mikeal was placed under the protection of military officers, but when his guardian was stationed elsewhere and killed, he had to survive alone—from age ten to sixteen.
He was careful in the Playground. He knew the hotspots and avoided making noise.
But Flash and his gang were still after him.
"Make sure he doesn't escape alive!" one of them shouted.
Hiding in plain sight, Mikeal suddenly heard a screech behind him. Just as a monster lunged at him, he barely dodged—dropping his bag.
Now, not only were Flash and his friends chasing him, but so was a monster—running on all fours, growling, closing the distance fast.
That screech wasn't just a cry—it was a signal. Others would soon follow.
He spotted an old shopping mall nearby. Monsters rarely went there. He took a risky chance and ran for it.
The monster stopped running—it began hopping. Each hop brought it closer.
Mikeal thought he was going to escape... but he was wrong.
Just as he reached the entrance of the mall, something blurred past and bit him on the shoulder—then attacked the monster chasing him.
Everything happened so fast. Mikeal didn't even see what bit him. He felt himself go limp, dizzy, and collapsed to the floor.
His vision blurred, but he saw it—a different Cannibal choking the other monster, then eating it.
It looked at him with glowing, pure white eyes.
Then, just before he passed out, something appeared before him:
[Congratulations, you have been granted the Can…]
Mikeal blacked out.