Zack arrived on the school playground, sporting his brand new studs and socks. Their coach was an ex-military type with a close cropped buzz cut and a hard, intense stare. He looked a tad too serious to be on a middle school playground.

The other boys on the ground had already regrouped with their usual friends, back in their cliques, chatting among themselves. Zack found them tedious to deal with. They made unfunny cracks only other members of their faction could laugh at and mostly their laughs came at someone else's expense. And someone who didn't share their weird sense of humor was mostly shunned out of the group.

Zack had vague memories of going to elementary school before the bombings began. He wasn't sure if that school had been as tedious as this one. He wasn't sure if any of his classmates from those days had grown to be as tedious as this bunch. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure if any of them were even alive right now.

Zack left the boy-groups to enjoy their own bad jokes and approached the coach. "Good afternoon, coach," he said, craning his neck to look up at the tall man.

Coach Grundle gave him one quick glance and looked back at the field. "Teddy Chambers, the new kid. What do you want?"

"Nothing, I came to wish good afternoon."

Grundle was puzzled. "That's it?"

"That's it." Zack shrugged.

"Well, good afternoon to you too, Chambers." Grundle gave a quick nod. "Don't you wanna go and discuss some strategy with your friends?"

"They aren't my friends."

Grundle gave the slightest frown. "Then it seems like you won't be able to have much fun with the game," he said. "Football is a sport that is enjoyed more when you get along with your team."

"Oh." Zack frowned. So football was going to be just as boring as being in the class with the rest of these guys.

Grundle looked down at him. "Look kid, even if you may not like these other boys. At least try to work with them. Who knows? You might actually find some friends in the process."

Zack nodded absently. "I'll try. Thanks, coach." He walked away.

Zack hung out by the corner of the field on his own for another fifteen minutes. That's how long Grundle waited before blowing his steel whistle. "Everyone, line up! We are about to begin."

The boys fell in two straight files in front of the touch line. Zack stood at the last spot. "Is everyone here?" Grundle boomed.

"Wait for me, coach!" A voice called out. It was Arthur. He came running up the ground with frantic movements, slender as a scarecrow in his T-shirt and shorts.

The other boys giggled among themselves. "He runs like a girl."

"He looks like he is about to cry."

"That's how he always looks."

"Pathetic."

Zack rolled his eyes again. He found their quips as unfunny as ever.

"Arthur Barks, why are you late?" Grundle boomed.

"I-I...I was changing...in the locker room," Arthur said timidly, his finger balled into fists at his sides.

"You gotta learn to be on time if you wanna be on the school team, Barks. Now get in the line."

"Y-Yes, coach." Arthur nodded and came and stood behind Zack. "Hi, Teddy," he said quietly.

Zack just nodded in greeting, frowning while the boys ahead of him still suppressed their giggles.

He remembered his mother's words. Stay away from Arthur, honey. Trust me on this one.

He knew mom and dad were up to something dangerous. A small misstep by him might cost them dearly. The last time he did something on his own was when he went out to save that man named Neville. That was the same day when he saw his father kill that same man with that angry look on his face.

Dad had never looked like that before. He didn't want to see him like that again. He didn't want to be the one who led something like that to happen again. And if that meant being cold to Arthur, then that's what he was gonna do.

He remembered Nick's words again. Being together is what matters.

He didn't pay much attention to Arthur nor the other kids who laughed at him. Grundle blew his whistle again. The game was about to begin.

#

He had never played football before. He heard the other boys talk the game lingo, yelling at each other about "moving to the center-forward" and all the fancy sounding terms. But as he stood just ahead of the penalty spot, he realized that they were all painfully slow.

Zack's eyes could follow the ball as they kicked it around. His vision never faltered as the opposite team's striker approached and was ready to score a goal. Zack could feel himself rushing in like a bolt of lightning and slamming his stud into the ball, blasting it all the way beyond the center circle.

The other kids gaped at the new boy and his skills at the game. Some were awed and some annoyed. Zack was disappointed when his team's striker had failed to receive the ball he'd shot and how they missed the chance to score a goal.

Grundle was amused and was certainly a lot more interested to see how the new kid played further.

"That was great shot, Teddy!" Arthur cried out, clapping. He was in the left midfield.

Zack didn't respond to the compliment. The game went on.

The rest of the first half was too much of a breeze for Zack. He stuck to his position, kept his focus sharp on the ball and kicked it off before the striker could get anywhere close to the goalpost.

Zack learnt that these city kids were not just slow but utterly soft as well. He'd bumped into a couple of them while defending only to knock them off balance. Some of them fell ass-backwards on the grass, wincing and glaring at him as if he was too rough.

Some tried to knock him back in return but for Zack it was like getting attacked by a toddler. They could barely shake his footing, let alone trip him over.

Grundle blew the whistle again. The first half was over. They were allowed to step aside to take a break. Zack grabbed his bottle of water from his duffel bag and took a sip. He looked at the boys from the opposite team. They all gave him a dirty look. After a moment he noticed that the boys from his own team seemed wary of him too.

It didn't take him too long to figure out what the matter was. They were afraid. Afraid because he was new. Afraid because they hadn't expected someone new to be stronger than them, faster than them, more aggressive than them. They might've thought they could pick on him just like they picked on Arthur. But now they were unsure of what he might do to them.

And it was almost as if the thought had summoned him, Arthur stepped close to Zack. "Hey, Teddy," he said, shy as always, "I didn't know you were this good at football."

Zack sighed. His mother's words rang in his head again. "Just leave me alone, Arthur."

The boy was caught off guard, his lips parted in surprise at Zack's sudden coldness.

Zack felt terrible for doing it. He swallowed hard and turned around and walked away. That's when Grundle called him out, "Oi, Teddy! Get over here."

Zack made his way to the coach. "Your defense was top notch. I wanna see you as the center forward in the next half."

There was that fancy lingo again. "What's a center forward?" Zack said.

"It's the striker." Grundle was still amused, there had been no mention of the Chambers kid being from a sports background. The boy barely even understood the game jargon. Yet he was a monster on the field. He lacked in technique a bit and not exactly a team player, but the kid was brimming with a raw strength behind his movements that could be carved into a top notch athlete.

Grundle blew his whistle again. The break was over.

#

The second half wasn't much different than what Grundle expected. Zack was a force of nature against the other kids. The ball hardly lasted a few minutes with the opposite team before the boy flew in like a missile and drove it into the goal post.

Zack alone scored four goals. Two of which almost got him a red card. One time when he kicked the ball so hard the goal keeper ducked out of the way to avoid injury. Another time when the goalkeeper failed to avoid and took an unintended header.

Zack winced. "Sorry."

One of the boys on Zack's team watched all this and was getting more and more pissed off by the minute. He was wearing a jersey that already had his name printed on the back. It read: Ian.

Grundle's whistle blew again. The game was over with the score being 6-1. The coach announced that after a final assessment, the names of the selected players for the school team would be put up on the noticeboard. And then everyone was sent to change in the locker room.

Since Zack didn't have any friends, he didn't wait for anyone and made his way to off the field by himself.

"Hey, new guy," Ian got in his way when Zack was done changing and about to step out of the locker room. And Ian wasn't alone, he had two other boys to amp up the intimidation. "I don't wanna see you on the field next time."

"Read my mind," Zack said. "I don't plan on playing more football anyway." He started to step around them again.

Ian was dumbfounded. "Wait!" He snapped. One of his two friends blocked Zack's way again. "What do you mean you don't plan on playing more?"

Zack shrugged. "It turned out way more boring than I expected. Plus, everyone is too slow. And coach said I'd need to play with the team to really have fun. I don't think I can slow down that much and have fun at the same time. So I'm not looking forward to being on the school team." He started to walk again.

Ian's friend blocked him again. Ian stepped close to Zack. "You are a smart one, huh? You think you can just insult the entire team and run off like that?"

"You find the truth insulting. That's not my problem," Zack said. "Now step aside or I'll make you."

Ian and his friends instead converged further on Zack. The new boy didn't even flinch. One of Ian's friends pulled out a pair of scissors from his pocket. Another one had a box cutter. "You need to learn how to play football," Ian said, "both on and off the field."

Zack raised an eyebrow. They really expected him to be scared of them? But he didn't really blame them for underestimating him. They didn't know that Zack had spent most of his childhood sleeping while cluster bombs went off two blocks down. They didn't know he had fought off fifty mindless infected dog-piling him inside a building. They didn't know he was a boy who had seen his own father kill another man. They didn't know he was a boy who had seen his best friend succumbing to death right in front of his very eyes.

He had seen and survived things these kids didn't even know could exist. That day Zack learnt another thing about the boys at his school--they weren't just weak--they were fucking stupid. And thus, he was going to educate them a little.

"Stop!" A voice cried out. "Leave him alone."

Zack looked at the door to the locker room where the voice had come from. Arthur stood alone with a resolute look on his face. Zack held back a groan. Stay out of it, you idiot!

Zack and his lackeys burst out laughing. "Hey new guy, look who's come to your rescue!" Ian pointed at Arthur. "Oi, Arty, you really think this is how you make a friend? You really think the new kid is gonna help you?"

Arthur frowned, swallowed hard. "You all are weak!" He cried out in his thin yet defiant voice. "You pick on someone just cuz he is alone and you think that makes you strong. But the truth is you are nothing on your own!"

Ian glared at the boy. "That's it. Forget the new kid. We need to remind our king Arthur his place." The three of them dismissed Zack and stalked up to Arthur.

Arthur went pale with horror. He looked at Zack, as if expecting him to interfere. Zack looked away, rather shamefully. He brought it on himself, he thought. Zack sighed and started to walk away.

"T-T-Teddy!" Arthur cried out desperately. "P-Please don't go!"

Stay away from Arthur, honey. Trust me on that. Zack clenched his fists. "T-Teddy, please!" Being together is what matters. "Teddy!" Stay away from Arthur, honey. Trust me on that.

The three of them had pinned Arthur to the wall. One of them was brandishing the box cutter at Arthur while the other one squeezed the boy's mouth shut. Ian looked like he was ready to drive a punch into his victim.

Stay away from Arthur, honey. Trust me on that. Teddy had tears in his eyes now, he shut them, hopelessly. Being together is what matters.

Zack grit his teeth. Adults are so annoying. Can't even be consistent with their lessons. He let his duffle bag fall to the floor. He turned to the three kids bullying Arthur. "Hey, Ian!" Zack snapped. The three of them looked at him. "I thought you had a problem with me. Let's settle our score before you guys go after Art."

#

Marie had been studying for her interview when the house phone rang. She glanced at the clock on the mantle. Zack still hadn't come back from school. She hoped everything was alright. She answered the phone. "This is the Chambers residence," she said.

The call was from Zack's school. Marie gripped the receiver tightly when she heard what they said. "My son did what?! And he did it all alone?!" 

(to be continued...)