[ Present time ]

  Malek ran at a speed he didn’t even know was possible, especially with his weak body.

  Huff… huff…

  His lungs were working overtime just to drag in enough oxygen.

  Only a few minutes of running with everything he had was enough to drain his almost-nonexistent stamina. If his situation hadn’t been so deadly, he might have joked about hallucinating. But he didn’t have that luxury, a blood thirsty wolf was doing its absolute best to make Malek its dinner.

  If not for the wolf’s injury, which had slowed its running speed considerably, Malek would have already become its meal long ago.

  “Ack—!”

  Malek stumbled over a root, slammed a hand against a tree to steady himself, and forced his legs to keep moving. Behind him, the damn beast was closing the distance.

  Malek zigzagged between the trees, forcing his fading legs to change direction again and again. It was the only reason he’d managed to widen the gap, using the trunks as cover, dodging left and right, never letting the wolf charge in a straight line.

  He took a smoke bomb out of his bag and held it in his palm. He yanked the pin with his thumb and tossed it behind him without so much as a backward glance. Then another. And another. Each one burst into thick gray clouds as he veered sharply to the left, deeper into the forest.

  He dove behind a big old tree, pressing his back to the bark. His breaths came in ragged bursts, his chest burning as if his lungs were ready to explode. He fumbled at his belt until his fingers found a small rectangular tin. He snapped it open, gel glistened inside. Something Garrett had given him in case he encountered a wolf.

  He slathered the gel over his arms and neck, desperately trying to steady his heartbeat.

  He heard the wolf angry but pained howl.

  He pushed off the tree to run again but only for another root to snag his foot. He hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs and sending his bag skidding across the dirt. Glass vials and cloth pouches scattered everywhere.

  This small accident poured water on all of his previous efforts.”Fuck!” He screamed in his mind.

  Malek’s hand closed around something round in the dirt. He didn’t think, he just threw.

  The clay ball shattered against the wolf’s snout. Smoke exploded point-blank. The wolf yelped, stumbling sideways, pawing frantically at its own face.

  Malek scrambled backward on hands and knees, reaching for another ball. His fingers shook so badly he nearly dropped it twice.

  The wolf shook its head violently, eyes streaming, and fixed him with a feral glare. Its lips peeled back over blood-slick teeth.

  Wolf lunged at him but for Malek everything was happening in slow motion.

  They say when you're close to dying, life flashes before your eyes. It doesn't take more than a second or two. But in this moment you remember things about your life that you yourself have forgotten. It was the same for Malek. He remembered an incident not from this life but from his previous life.

  He was inside the school in his classroom. There was a girl he liked. No, like was not the right word to describe how he felt. He just loved her too much. He never thought he ever loved anyone more, maybe not even himself. And no, he was not like those horny kids who only think from their dick or whose hormones talk for them.

  He was very mature for his age. He talked about this to his best friend Aito. He encouraged Malek to confess his feelings to her. Malek was not really sure about that and had multiple thoughts about it, but with the encouragement of Aito he finally decided to confess to the girl at the school festival.

  He prepped for it for weeks. And the day finally came. He was nervous. He was excited but he was also scared. Things moved fast, so fast he didn't even notice when the school festival was about to end. Inside the classroom most of the students were preparing to head back home. So was she. Aito pushed him toward her with a big smile on his face. She looked at him and smiled. With her small petite body and long black hair she looked so beautiful to Malek that his breath was caught in his lungs.

  Everyone in his class was now looking at him. All of them had smiles on their faces. He couldn't believe that not only his class members but also the students from other classes were also present. Just when did the confession turn into this big event? But he didn't care about that at that time. His only focus was on the girl. Gathering everything he had, he started talking.

  "Nina, from the first time I saw you in middle school I always had a crush on you. No matter how bad of a day I had, just seeing you in school made me happy and helped me forget all the hardship that I have. I can't even begin to explain how happy I was when I heard you enrolled in the same school as me and in the same class. I have many things to say but I can never really say them the way I want. I just would consider myself to be the luckiest man alive if you give me the chance to go out with you."

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Malek's confession was brief but it was filled with so much emotion that anyone could feel his sincerity. That was the first time for him that he ever said something so emotional to anyone.

  Malek was an orphan who was abandoned at the age of 3 months in front of an orphanage gate. He didn't know who his parents were but he didn't look like a full Japanese and he had skin more white and different than the Japanese, which earned him multiple nasty experiences in his childhood.

  He was forced to grow up very early. While the other kids in the orphanage had a woman they called mother, he had never had the luxury to talk to anyone with his heart out. He felt the others' contempt for his mixed blood. The Japanese at that time considered anyone other than themselves to be thieves who came to their country taking benefits of their decreasing population and did some horrific things, which made the government pass laws to ban any foreigners from the country.

  This hatred had become deep rooted in the society. So having mixed blood was not a good thing for Malek growing up. But he was a very intelligent and talented person. That was the reason he always made the right choices and never gave anyone a chance to ever ridicule him. Top student everywhere he had ever gone. All the top middle schools and high schools in the country. So when he confessed his feelings to the girl he liked for such a long time he couldn't help but feel hopeful. But alas.

  "Hahaha!"

  Every single person that was there on that day burst into laughter. Including Nina.

  Malek didn't understand what he said that was so funny that people had tears in their eyes laughing so hard.

  Nina stepped forward, still smiling, and that smile looked nothing like the one she gave him moments ago. "You? Go out with you? Do you really think I would ever date someone like you?"

  The laughter rose, and Malek felt a cold weight sink in his gut.

  "Did you actually think I didn't know?" Nina kept talking, her voice sweet while her words carried anything but kindness.

  "Everyone knows about you, Malek. The half breed orphan boy who thinks he's better than everyone else because he gets good grades."

  Someone from the back shouted, "Show him the chat, Nina!"

  Nina pulled out her phone. "You want to know the truth? Aito told me weeks ago you were going to confess. We made a bet with the whole class about it. We wanted to see if you'd actually do it. The gaijin bastard who thinks a pure Japanese girl would ever touch him."

  Aito was laughing with the rest of them. Not just laughing. He was recording everything on his phone.

  "You really thought I liked you?" Nina's face twisted with disgust. "You thought those smiles meant something? I smile at stray dogs too, Malek. It doesn't mean I want to take them home."

  The classroom erupted in laughter again.

  "Your mother didn't even want you," someone yelled from the crowd. "She took one look at your half breed face and dumped you in the trash where you belong."

  "At least she had the decency not to pollute our country further," another voice added.

  Nina leaned in closer, her voice dropping so only he could hear, but loud enough for the front row to catch. "You want to know what we call you in our group chat? 'The Mistake.' Because that's what you are. A mistake that shouldn't exist in our country. Your white father probably raped your Japanese whore mother and she was so disgusted she threw you away."

  Malek body went numb.

  "Every time you talked to me, I had to go home and wash. My friends would ask me how I could stand being near you. Do you know what it's like? Having to pretend to be nice to something so repulsive."

  Someone threw a crumpled paper at him. Then another.

  "Go back to where you came from!"

  "Oh wait, nowhere wants you!"

  Nina pulled back, her face showing nothing but cold satisfaction. "Did you really think you were human enough to be loved, Malek? You're not even Japanese. You're nothing. You'll always be nothing. No one will ever love you because there's nothing to love. You're just a stain that your own mother couldn't wait to wipe away."

  The laughter was deafening now. Aito walked up and slapped Malek on the back, still recording. "Thanks for the show, man! This is going to get so many views online!"

  Malek stood there, frozen. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. The walls were closing in. The faces around him were twisted with joy at his pain. Every single person he thought was his friend, his classmate, his community, they were all there. All laughing. All agreeing. All confirming what he had feared his entire life.

  That he was alone. That he would always be alone. That he was born wrong and would die wrong and nothing he ever did would change that.

  Nina walked past him, shoulder brushing his. "Don't ever talk to me again, half breed. You disgust me."

  The bell rang. People filed out, still laughing, still talking about it, already sharing the video.

  Malek stood in that empty classroom until the janitor found him three hours later, still standing in the same spot, staring at nothing.

  That day he learned that no matter how hard you try, no matter how perfect you make yourself, some people will only ever see the parts of you they hate. And they will make you hate those parts too.

  He closed his eyes waiting for the wolf to tear him apart.

  "Are you in pain, Malek?" He heard a voice in his mind. Soft. Warm. Different from all the others.

  "You don't need to tell me everything. But just remember, whenever you feel pain, just come running to me. I will always be there waiting for you. Always."

  The voice faded, but the warmth lingered for a moment before the cold rushed back in.

  Malek's eyes snapped open. He stood up with ferocity in his eyes and a newfound will.

  He heard a voice but didn't register it.

  [New ability Gained—Iron Will.]

  The wolf bit him hard in the left arm.

  "Ahaaaa!"

  Malek screamed. He dug his right hand thumb into the wolf's eye and burst it. The blood splashed on his face.

  The wolf let his hand go, howling in pain.

  But Malek clutched its mouth with his right hand and with his injured left hand he shoved his fingers inside the wounded skin of the wolf and started tearing the meat out from its body.

  "Ahaaa!" Malek screamed, raging loud into the surrounding forest.

  The wolf's claw hit Malek's chest but Malek caught one claw under his arm and bit the other claw with his teeth. He refused to let go no matter what.

  His left hand mercilessly made a mess inside the wolf's body. The blood loss finally caught up to the wolf. Its body became numb. Life left it. But Malek still refused to let go.

  Footsteps were heard around him. Garrett party finally found Malek. But when they looked at the scene and met Malek's eyes, they couldn't help but feel chills running down their spines.