Beast Soul - Chapter 98

“Dax, I heard that there was a bit of a problem going on in the school when I was away?” The young man spoke with a harsh and rough voice, and Dax’s expression changed and sweat began to drip from his forehead. “Ah, yes. I- It was only a small problem.” Dax was trying to sweep the incident under the rug. “I’m sure that-”

“Dax!” Before Dax could finish his words, he was interrupted by the loud voice of the captain, which instantly made him stop speaking. The young man closed his eyes, and asked in a hushed tone, “Who is it?”

Dax scratched his chin as he replied, “Uh, someone named Noah Pemberton, captain..”

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Augustus ‘The Captain’ Harriet nodded his head and then walked up to the railing of the rooftop, looking down onto the ground, staring at the entrance of the school with his cold and emotionless eyes.

He then took out a packet of cigarettes and pulled out a cigarette stick from it, placing it in between his lips as he snapped his fingers, and another young man ran towards him, holding a lighter in his hand and lit the cigarette for him.

“Haah…” Augustus exhaled the smoke from his mouth as he tilted his head up to the sky and said, “Noah Pemberton, you said?”

“Ah, ye- yes, Captain..” Dax replied, his facial expression revealing that he was nervous. “That is the boy’s name.”

“I assume you’ve already ran a background check on this kid,” The Captain turned around from the railing and faced Dax as he continued to speak, inhaling the smoke inside from his cigarette.

“Ah, yes, captain. I definitely did!” Dax responded immediately with a smile. He knew that the smile was fake, but he didn’t have time to make up a believable smile. And he definitely wasn’t feeling enough joy to make a genuine smile either. So this was probably the best he could do.

“Hah…” Augustus, ‘The Captain’, exhaled again, and the smoke rushed towards Dax, caressing his face in a gentle manner before disappearing into the air. “And?” Augustus didn’t even seem to care what he had done and asked Dax. “What’s the kid like?”

“We- well, for starters..” Dax cleared his throat as he began to give a detailed explanation about Noah that he had figured out from various sources. “Well, from what my sources told me, Noah doesn’t seem to be someone who’d initiate a fight.” Dax said with a serious expression on his face. “He was described as someone who’d most probably would end up choosing the most peaceful option if there was a choice.”

“But he is talented enough?” Augustus asked, and Dax nodded his head. “Considering he took down both Billy as well as Adrian, I’d say he’s a good fighter.”

“Haah..” Augustus exhaled once again, this time with his head tilted upwards, and the white smoke slowly drifted up into the sky. “Strong enough to make a change, but too weak to do so..” Augustus whispered under his breath as a sinister smile appeared on his face. “Pathetic attitude to have as a member of the society, but beneficial to us.”

The Captain then walked up to Dax and placed his hand on his shoulder as he continued, “I need you to find the kid and then make him join our community.” He whispered softly into Dax’s ears. “If he really is a pacifist as you say, then he’ll most definitely end up choosing to join without making it hard for us.”

“And if he doesn’t want to join us?” Dax asked, and the Captain laughed loudly. “Well then tell him that he’d end up regretting it. After all, he can’t take on all of us.”

“Right..” Dax nodded his head. Augustus patted his shoulder a few more times and he opened his mouth again to speak. “Order is essential to successfully maintain a hierarchical system. And messing up the system like what this Noah kid did can cause chaos if not dealt with properly.” The Captain spoke with a serious expression. “It’s not the first time that there’s been threats to the hierarchical structure, and it won’t be the last. But I make sure that I’m on the winning side every single time. You know why, Dax?”

“I- I don’t know, sir..” Dax shook his head. The Captain tapped his chin lightly as he said, “Because I’m a winner, Dax. And fate favors winners.”

Tap! Tap! Tap!

With that, Augustus walked towards the stairs, and the few of his lackeys followed him close behind.

“Oh, I forgot..” The Captain stopped right as he was about to head down the stairs, and he turned around before continuing, “Do test the kid properly, would you, Dax?”

Dax turned to look at him, and Augustus said, “Since he won against both Adrian and Billy, we still don’t know his true limits. I want to know whether he’s a valuable asset or not.” Augustus tapped his forehead and spoke with a smile. “You don’t combat a threat with another threat. You influence them to join hands with you. Because that’s what winners do.”

And with that, Augustus ‘The Captain’ Harriet left the rooftop, followed by his lackeys, leaving Dax and the rest of the students who were kneeling on the ground alone.

“What do we do now, Mr. Dax?” One of the students that were kneeling on the floor looked up to Dax and asked, but a frustrated Dax kicked him right in the chest, which made the teen slam onto the floor with a loud noise, startling the other students.

“Hah, I can’t believe I have to clean up his mess once again…” Dax said in an annoyed tone. His expression of fear and nervousness from before had completely vanished, replaced by an expression of annoyance and frustration in its place.

“David! Lucas!” Dax yelled out, and two boys leapt up from the floor in an instant, as though they were waiting for his words. “Yes, Mr. Dax?” The two spoke in unison, and Dax replied, “Get those two clowns that I called last time and tell them I have an order for them.”

“Gab and A.J, sir?” The two boys asked, and Dax shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know their names. Why the f*ck would I? Just call them!”

“Sir, yes sir!” The two boys replied instantly, and Dax stared at the sky with a frown on his face.

——————

“Are you Noah Pemberton?” Gabriel raised one of his eyebrows as he spoke, looking Noah up and down, studying him. “I am. But it looks like you two already knew that.” Noah crossed both his arms close to his chest as he finished speaking, and the two young men glanced at each other, surprised by the way Noah was speaking to the two of them. “What do you want?” Noah asked in a nonchalant manner.

“We want you to follow us,” Gabriel said with a cold and rough expression on his face. If it was any other student, they would’ve been scared to death. But not Noah. Noah let out a short chuckle as he opened his mouth. “What if I don’t want to?”

“What did you say?” Gabriel stepped forward and stared down at Noah, his face now turned red as he spoke with an angry voice.

“Noah,” Adrian decided to interject and spoke softly while standing next to Noah. “You shouldn’t do this while you’re in the middle of the hallway..”

Noah slightly tilted his head to the side and glanced at Adrian with a raised eyebrow, and Adrian continued, “You remember what happened the last time you made a mess in the school, right?”

That’s right. Noah remembered. He was almost kicked out of the school for standing up to himself and defeating his bully, Billy.

‘But the people behind that, Coach Donny and the Vice Principal were both dead. So it probably won’t happen again, right?’ Noah thought to himself.

He was right. There was a possibility that Noah wouldn’t get into trouble this time since the two responsible for getting him into trouble last time were now dead. But the question was whether or not he would be willing to take the risk to find out.

“… Fine,” Noah said with a frown on his face as he rolled his eyes, and Adrian let out a sigh of relief. “Where are you taking me?” Noah asked as he made eye contact with A.J, who replied, “No questions. Just follow us.”

“No can’t do.” Noah shook his head. “I would really like to know where I’m heading towards.”

The two boys looked at each other for a few seconds, and then turned around and faced Noah. “The old abandoned school building.” Gabriel replied in a monotone voice.

“Can he come?” Noah pointed at Adrian, and the two looked at him for a second before replying, “Yes, he can.”

And with that, the two turned around and walked in front of Noah and Adrian, who glanced at each other for a split second before following the two teens close behind.

“Is this an invitation from the ‘King’?” Noah leaned towards Adrian and whispered softly into his ear who responded by shaking his head. “I don’t know. But I do know that those two are part of the community.” He pointed at the two boys walking in front of them.

“Perfect,” Noah said with a smile.. “I guess I can finish this sooner than planned.”