Chapter 4

Riley's POV

"Are you ready for your deluxe, grande tour, Mademoiselle?" Daniel says in a French accent as he extended his arm out for me. I just sat there feeling down. He nudged his arm on my arm, prompting me to get up.

One corner of his mouth tilted upwards, showcasing bit of his white teeth. "Ne me laisse pas suspendus." He swiftly said as his grin widened when he saw my face. I was giving him the 'what- does-that-mean-I-don't-speak-French' look.

"It means, don't leave me hanging." He told me with a tint of perkiness, still with his extended arm. He was getting pretty annoying... might as well get over with this "deluxe, grande tour". I intertwine my arm into his, and the tour begins.

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Daniel led me to a barren, dusty hallway. The walls were consisted of cracked concrete and mud. The lights kept flickering off and on. Cobs webs hogged every corner. Which meant spiders were residing in this premise. I immediately walked closer to Daniel as I came up with this conclusion.

His strides were one of a 10 foot person. It was really hard to keep up with him. Sweat began to trickle down from my brow as I was finally going the same pace as him.

Daniel abruptly stopped his power strides. I nearly tripped over him. "Ladies first!" He beamed as he made a gesture to the concrete wall?

"Um...? You want me... to walk through the wall?" I drawled as I creased my eyebrows. I pointed to myself as I said me, and pointed to the wall as I said wall.

His gleeful look dropped when realization hit him. "Oooh right... you're new."

I sarcastically grin as I nod, "Yeah... that's brand new news!"

Daniel reaches his hand in one of his pant pockets. He fidgets for a bit then pulls out a key card. The key card is then inserted in a specific part of the wall.

"BEEP! BEEP! ACCESS GRANTED!" An automated voice boomed in monotone. The doors of an elevator appear. As they appear, they reveal the inside of the elevator. It looked absolutely stunning!

I hesitate to enter the elevator because it looked so impeccable. Daniel pushes me in by force, then the door seals us in shut. He gestures me to sit down, I shake my head. "No, I'll ruin its beauty. My presence alone diminishes its beauty per millisecond."

All his attention was focused on the elevator buttons. But when he heard what I said, he paused. Turning to me he says, "you're a serious weirdo. I'm reconsidering my interest in you now."

I quirk one eyebrow, "what's that supposed to mean?" He smiles in response. I was very confused, but his smile was so heartwarming. I lowered my eyebrow back into its place.

"You should do that eyebrow thing more often. You look adorable when you're confused." He blurted out randomly, "not that I think you are cute. You aren't---"

I crease my eyebrows. "No. No. I didn't mean you aren't cute. I think you are. No." He fumbled as his cheeks turned bloodshot red. "You know what... I believe this is my cue to shut up."

"Yup." I say as the elevator doors open. We both exit and enter another world.

"This is the Walk. It's where everyone hangs out and stuff. It's like an aisle in a grocery story. Except larger." Daniel tells me as we move away from the elevator, into the Walk.

Surprisingly, there was a variety of vegetation around. The street in the Walk, looked like a street in downtown. It wasn't dim, light blanketed the Walk. On each side, there were steps leading to shops, restaurants, and more. Street lamps, park benches, fresh air---you could almost forget that you were underground.

Many people passed us, determined to reach their destinations. Daniel and I maneuver ourselves into the fast chain of moving people.

As Daniel was pointing out all the places, describing each, I was observing people. Or maybe I got it the wrong way around. A group of girls were giving me dirty looks. Eyeing me to a pulp.

"Okay... what's their problem?" I thought to myself. He noticed that I hadn't been paying attention. "What is it?"

I shook my head, "don't know, don't matter." The same group of girls defied what I had just said when they strutted in our direction.

All of them looked like cliché high school mean girls. They snickered among themselves. "Ryan only kept her alive because she slept with him. That's what Charlie told me." One of them said in a sly, hushed voice.

"Ew."

"What a slut."

"Disgusting pig."

What the heck? I was about to say something to these brainless zombies, but Daniel beat me to it. "Kate, don't forget how you got into this gang. You basically slept with him---there's no other way you would've been accepted."

The girl, Kate, widened her eyes and her face was drained of color. Her friends creased their eyebrows in confusion, staring at her. She lowered her head in embarrassment. Cowering herself as her "friends" tapped their slender fingers on a small device on their wrists. Some of  them gave her chilling, death stares in dismay.

"Oh like my god. She's like a slut like guys! Let's like ditch like her like ok? Oh and like disrespect her!" One of the girls said in valley girl accent. They run off in their plastic stilettos leaving Kate alone. Wow... what lovely friends she has! Or should I say had.

I think I've lost some of my brain cells, and a bit of my I.Q. I'll never look at the word 'like'  the same like way ever like again. Damn it! The 'like'  fever has caught up to me.

I turn to a furious Daniel, "You didn't have to do that." He pulls me out of the constant moving chain of people, to the side.

"I did. Or else you'll lose respect. Once all your respect is gone... you are automatically kicked out of the gang." He said with solemn facial expressions, "everyone in this gang has a ranking. Mine is 3, you are a 30---the lowest ranking. You are on the tip of the iceberg, one more falter in your points and you're out."

I just stood there completely dumbstruck, "Like in a video game?"

"Exactly! Respect are the points, and your ranking is the level." Daniel informed me, "we have to find a way to boost up your level---and fast."

Just as I was about ask Daniel something, a deafening, high-pitched scream pierced the air from behind. I whipped my head around, then darted my eyes to the source.

"No! No! Please... I... I... beg you! I can't go out there! They'll arrest me!" Kate screamed as she was being pulled away by two men that could tower over 2 people. She abruptly freezes to eye Daniel and I, "you'll both pay for this someday." Then she resumed to her kicking, and shouting. Her legs were sprawled all about.

Creepy.

I averted my attention to Daniel. "What happened?" I ask as he scrolls down on what appears to be an Apple Watch. Daniel's eyebrows jump off his forehead (not literally) as he gasps.

"What!" I shout whispered as the suspense was eating away at me. Why was she being taken away? Why did he gasp like that?

"An update: Kate Jenson is getting kicked out of the gang. Her so-called friends disrespected her so much that 578 respect points were docked off." He said which just caused my bewilderedness to increase.

"What the heck? What do you mean?" I ask in anticipation, gnawing at my nails.

He let out an aspirated sigh, then explained, "A disrespect is a feature you can do on the app. You go on their profile and literally press a button labeled 'disrespect' as many times as you want."

I mockingly laugh as I roll my eyes, " well that's a stupid idea. I bet Charlie has disrespected me a million times by now."

"You can only disrespect someone if there is a given situation. Otherwise, the button won't work. But, she may try to create a situation where she can get many people to disrespect you. One person isn't enough. Take a note that, the higher the rank of a person, the stronger the disrespect."

I seriously felt like I was in a video game. Not to be rude or anything, but this "respect system" sounded so childish and dumb. Like whose the idiot that came up with this?

Ryan? Obviously.

Kate's screams were muffled by a cloth of cotton. After that, there was no sight of her. When she was gone everything resumed as if nothing happened.

"Here's your watch, it'll help you stay updated, communicate with others, and most importantly, keep track of your points." He said as he put the Apple Watch on my wrist.

I turned it on, aimlessly sliding through apps. Then, I stumble upon the Respect app. My finger taps on the icon, the page opens up to my profile.

"Dang, 80 disrespect points already? Since when?" I ask feeling the slightest of offended. He tells me to tap on "DISRESPECT POINTS"

It opens up to a very detailed page:

Daniel looks over my shoulder, then concludes, "they must have disrespected you when they were talking about you that time."

I nod my head in agreement. He tells with desperation how much I need to fill my Respect points progress bar. He wasn't sure how to yet, but he promised that he would find a way.

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We enter a chilly training gym. I swear, the air conditioner must have been on negative one million. As you enter the training gym, you really feel the contrast of temperature, the cold air grips at your flesh with it's eagle claws. I hadn't noticed that I was shivering until Daniel gave me his sweater. I thanked him, then he led me deeper into the gym.

People with ripped muscles where lifting weights nearby. Some were throwing knives on target boards, shooting firearms at targets, punching dummies, and even more violent practices. I totally did not belong here at all. My throat hitches when I see all these peoples' ruthless-looking faces.

Speaking of their faces, some them had massive eye bags and red faces. Have they been training without sleep?

The underarm area of Daniel's sweater was considerably wet. Okay, it was really, really wet. Whoops!

In attempt to hide the sweat, I huddled my arms close to my body and walk a good distance from Daniel. At least, he wouldn't notice it right away.

A knife is thrown from about 30 metres, it nearly hit me in my eye! Just 1 cm apart from my face. I quickly disappear before the thrower got closer to me. They were yelling, and not very nice things.

When I knew I was in a safe area closer to Daniel, I took a full glance at the gym. There was a large TV screen with a countdown that read: 168 HOURS 2 MINUTES 8 SECONDS.

I tapped Daniel's shoulder and asked in curiousity, "Hey... what's the countdown for?" Daniel's eyes were fixed on a bulletin board near the front area of the gym. He jumped when I tapped his shoulder, then shook his head. "It's for the big-showdown with the OvO gang. It ends it all."

I quirked one of my eyebrows, but then quickly lowered it when I remembered what happened in the elevator. My cheek flushed at the memory. "That's what Ryan said... it ends it all. But what?"

He thoroughly explains what the big-showdown is. The R.M and OvO gang have been rivals since forever. The big-showdown ends all the rivalry, winner takes it all. The winner claims the whole gang, and makes it a part of their gang. The loser gang's hideout, supplies, weapons---everything is claimed by the winner. Leaving the loser gang in crumbles of bits. It's an amassment to risk, which it explains why the people the training gym looked so tired.

They must have been training non-stop, and I need to start training. My newness doesn't exempt me from being a part of this blood war. It is going to be a blood war, people will die at the stake of their own gang. Daniel tells me that I need to find a weapon that i'm good at using, then start training with it. When he's done explaining everything, he directs his attention back to the bulletin board.

I didn't ask him what he was looking at because I was already asking too many questions. Why? How? When? What? Where? I'm starting to sound like a question freak... if that is even a thing.

Just as I was about to leave the gym without Daniel's consent, he bursted out with happiness, "I found a way to get you to level up!" I jumped to hug him, he eneveloped me instantly. You may be wondering why I hugged him. Because he's a life saver!

Literally.

The OvO gang threatened to kill my parents, torture me, then kill me if I went home. Losting all my respect is just a death sentence.

He lets me go, "It's a Rap Battle. Winner receives 500 respect points!" He exclaimed then his voice falters, "but the loser receives 500 disrespect points. Annnd all rappers have to go against Charlie. The undefeated champion."

"Are you gonna join the rap battle?" A sly, chilling voice asked apathetically behind Daniel and I. I turn to find Charlie with her hands on her hips as she sneers. "If you join, i'll double both of the point to one thousand." Daniel turns to me and shakes his head vigorously, "Don't do it, you're going to be risking your life Riley."

One thousand points! That is crazy; an immediate booster of my level! If I won, one thousand respect points would be granted to me. But the thing is, I don't know how to rap. I know how to rhyme in poems. Yeah yeah, I know it's the same thing. I just don't know how to roast people. There I admitted it.

Would it be worth it to risk everything? I turn to Daniel, his expression is a solid solemn, disapproving look. Clearly, he doesn't want me to do it. Then I turn to Charlie, she still wears that all-achieveing sneer on her face. Suggesting that I should go up for the challenge. Suddenly, people gather around us...

...waiting for my answer.

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Author's Note:

Chapter Question: What are your thoughts on Daniel?

Thank you very much for reading this chapter! I really appreciate it! If you liked this and you would like me to continue, please feel free to star and comment.

Don't forget to add this to your library, so that you're updated when I update this!

Sorry for taking a longer time to update, it's exams week for me. Today I just completed my social exam, and I got 94%. I was like, "OMG! WUTTT I HATE SOCIAL BUT YAY!"

*Flips hair like a boss*

I have two more to go though...

*sadly sighs*

-Mizteddyz💛