Becoming the Supreme God

"Do you think winning that match made you untouchable?" Trent shoved Leo against the glass of the bus window. The impact rattled Leo's teeth, he choked on a breath as sharp pain radiated through his ribs. Leo raised his hands to shield his face but Trent slapped them away and pinned his shoulders to the seat. "Look at me when I speak to you." Trent dug his knuckles into Leo's collarbone. "You humiliated me in front of the entire school and now Jasmine thinks you are some kind of prodigy." "It was just a tournament," Leo whispered. He forced his eyes open to meet the furious glare of the school's wealthiest student. "I just played the game." "Oh, you just played the game” Trent said sarcastically “But somehow won the tournament. Did I not warn you to underplay? To let me win??” His voice dropped to a lower register as he queried Trent leaned closer until Leo could smell the peppermint on his breath. "You ruined my reputation. Now my girlfriend is obsessed with the quiet weirdo who sits in the back of the class." "She is not obsessed with me." Leo tried to shift his weight to relieve the pressure on his chest. "She asked my father if you could sit at our table during the banquet tonight." Trent slammed a fist into Leo's stomach. Leo doubled over with a muted groan. The air rushed out of his lungs. An ache throbbed in his side where a boot had fractured his ribs last semester. He had spent a week vomiting from a severe concussion after that encounter. The school board ruled that assault mere roughhousing because Trent's father funded the new science wing. "I will not let you ruin my family's recruitment weekend." Trent grabbed a handful of Leo's hair and pulled his head back. "If I see you speak to her, I will end you." "Trent, please," Leo wheezed. "I mean it." Trent smiled with cold precision. "We are going to a private estate in the mountains. The property spans thousands of acres of dense forest. People wander off and get lost in the woods all the time." Leo stared into the eyes of his tormentor and saw no hesitation. "My father has enough money to bury the investigation before the police even write a report." Trent tightened his grip on Leo's hair. "We have a private lake near the main lodge. The water is deep and the currents are brutal. It would be a tragedy if a clumsy student went swimming at night and never came back." "I will stay away from her," Leo said. His voice shook with raw fear. "You will not even look at her." Trent released Leo's hair and wiped his hands on his designer jeans. "You are going to spend this entire trip staring at the floor. If she approaches you, walk away. If you disobey me, I will break your jaw before I drown you." Trent stepped into the aisle and adjusted his jacket. He walked toward the front of the bus without looking back. Leo leaned against the window and wrapped his arms around his aching stomach. His hands trembled as he wiped a smear of blood from his chin. He needed to regulate his breathing before the nausea overwhelmed him. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his racing heart. "Is this seat taken?" Leo flinched and opened his eyes. Jasmine stood in the aisle holding a leather bag. She wore a bright yellow sweater and a wide smile that Leo knows will get him in trouble "You should not be back here," Leo said. "The front of the bus is too noisy." Jasmine dropped her bag onto the empty seat and sat down next to him. "Trent is in a terrible mood today anyway. He has complained about the seating arrangements since we left the campus." "I need you to leave," Leo whispered, stealing a gaze at Trent "Are you okay?" Jasmine leaned closer and frowned at his face. "Your lip is bleeding. Did you trip on the stairs again?" "Yes." Leo turned his head toward the window to hide his bruised jaw. "I am clumsy. You should go sit with your friends." "Nah, I want a break from them." Jasmine crossed her legs and smiled. "I want to talk about that final match. I have never seen anyone dismantle Trent's defense like that." "Please stop talking about the game." "You sacrificed your queen just to trap his king." Jasmine ignored his plea and continued her animated recap. "It was brilliant. He assumed you made a mistake but you were planning five moves ahead. I did not know you were a strategist." She said giving Leo a flirtatious hitting on his chest Leo cast a frantic glance down the center aisle of the moving bus. Trent sat three rows ahead. He was turned around in his seat facing the back row and locked his eyes onto Leo. Trent raised his right hand and dragged a single finger across his throat. ‘I am dead’. Leo swallowed hard knowing Trent is watching them "My father plays chess with Trent all the time," Jasmine said. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "He always says Trent relies too much on calculated defense and outplaying his opponent, yet you broke him. We should play a game when we get to the lodge." "I do not play anymore." Leo pressed his forehead against the vibrating glass of the window. "Do not be ridiculous." Jasmine bumped her shoulder against his. "You have real talent. My father is hosting a dinner party tonight and I want to introduce you to him. He appreciates a sharp mind." "Jasmine , you need to return to your seat." Leo kept his eyes fixed on the passing trees outside. "Trent does not want you talking to me." "Trent does not own me." She let out a short laugh. "He gets jealous over nothing. He just needs time to cool off and accept that he is not invincible." "You do not understand..." Leo argued but got interrupted "He is just throwing a tantrum." Jasmine waved a hand dismissively. "He acts tough but he would never do anything dangerous. His father would ground him and take away his sports car." Leo closed his eyes. Jasmine thought this was a simple high school drama, she did not know what it felt like to spit teeth into a bathroom sink while teachers pretended not to hear the commotion in the hallway. She viewed Trent as an arrogant boyfriend, Leo knew him as a monster with infinite resources. "I am asking you to leave." Leo dropped his voice to a hoarse whisper. "If you sit here, he will blame me” "Stop worrying so much." Jasmine reached into her bag and pulled out a glossy brochure. "Look at this place. The estate has an indoor pool that rivals a luxury resort. We are going to have a great time this weekend." She flipped the brochure open and pointed to a photograph of a sprawling dining hall. She listed the activities planned for the evening. Every word she spoke drove another nail into Leo's coffin. He risked one more look down the aisle. Trent was still watching. The bully mouthed a single phrase. “You are dead.’ Leo forced his gaze back to the window. The trees blurred into a wall of green as the bus sped along the winding mountain highway. Rain began to speckle the glass. ‘There is no way out’. His heart pounded against his ribs. ‘I cannot fight him, I cannot run away. The teachers will ignore my screams just like they always do.’ He was trapped in a metal tube speeding toward his own execution. ‘I wish this trip would end’. He pressed his hands against his face and squeezed his eyes shut. ‘I do not want to arrive at that lodge. I do not want to step off this bus. I just want everything to stop.’ "Leo, are you even listening to me?" Jasmine touched his shoulder. A deafening blare suddenly cancels the hum of the engine. Leo snapped his head up just as a shadow eclipsed the window. An eighteen wheel transport truck blew through a blind intersection and barreled directly into the side of the school bus. SCREECH!! Metal shrieked as the wall caved inward. The impact ripped the seats from the floorboards and tossed the passengers into the air. Glass erupted into a thousand jagged pieces that rained across the cabin. The world spun into a blur of screaming voices and burning flesh. Leo felt a singular moment of weightlessness before the darkness swallowed him whole.