Noah ~ POV

Why am I such a nerd!? I questioned myself silently as Ethan, and I walked back to the town hall. We had spent the whole day walking through town; I have to say there are some fun little places around here. They're just hidden gems, like Nine Tails Den. So I might have to head back there and see if I can join a game of D&D. Ethan also told me more about the town's history. Like how they have a ghost town a few miles away that used to be the sister town. Apparently some like to go ghost hunting there. I couldn't help but laugh at the idea that there might be ghost hunters here.

It was getting late now; the sun was still setting but the street lights turned on lighting up the park and city all. Walking past the park, I noticed a few people stretching against some trees. That's right, Ethan mentioned that the MMA club had been moved to the park while school was out. Watching all these people, I honestly would have never guessed some of them were fighters. One girl came rushing up to Ethan and me with a big smile. Her name was Rebecca if I remember right. She had her hair tied back in a braid and wore baggy clothing.

"Hey… there's the beast; I thought you got scared away by the creep for a minute." She joked to Ethan, who gave a fake laugh.

Ethan gave her a weird smirk that Rebecca returned. Guess an inside joke of theirs.

"Rebecca, this is Noah. Have you two met?" Ethan said as he stepped aside, letting Rebecca get a full view of me.

I couldn't help but give a weak smile and offer my hand.

"Hi… we go to the same school," I felt Rebecca take my hand.

For a girl with the nickname Renaissance, you'd think her hands would be gentle and smooth. But, nope… this girl's got vice grips for hands. Honestly, it felt like I was shaking hands with Ethan's grandpa again, only more crushing rather than thrashing. Luckily Rebecca noticed and quickly let go of my hand, she did seem a little embarrassed. Guess she didn't mean to crush my hand, but still something to remember about her.

"Sorry, I'm still trying to get used to this…." Rebecca said, which got a chuckle out of Ethan.

Me and Rebecca glared at him, but that didn't stop him.

"So you coming? I want to see if I can kick your ass again." Ethan only shrugged his shoulders to her.

I looked between them for a moment. Were they… together?

"You sure you don't want a free bodyguard?" Ethan asked with that weird smirk again.

Rebecca only responded with a punch to Ethan's shoulder.

"So… how could I join?" I was a little curious.

Ethan gave me a smile as he crossed his arms. Though Rebecca was a little put-off.

"Well, first, you need to talk to coach Tanaka. He'll get you the paperwork. Then, you'll need your parents' permission and…." Ethan began to explain before my phone went off.

I gave Ethan and Rebecca an apologetic look as I answered. Ethan smiled while Rebecca gave me a thumbs up, looking at the caller I.D. I saw it was mom.

"Hey…" I answered with mom over the phone.

"Hey, Honey… wanted to check in on…." Mom began talking until we heard a voice calling from across the park.

Looking over, a man could be seen running towards us. He seemed panicked as he collided with some of the others.

"She's crazy!" The guy yelled as he looked around at everyone.

A guy wearing a jacket with the high school logo raced into the park towards us. I look in the direction he came from. He came from the opposite direction we had; I only saw a brief shadow running away before ducking into an alley. I glanced at Ethan and noticed we were looking in the same direction. Though he kept staring forward, his eyes looked like he was waiting for something. It looked like something in him switched, and he now stood staring in the direction like he was ready for a fight. Rebecca noticed it too; she gently placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder. He glanced at her, and his regular cheery expression returned.

“Coach Tanaka called the sheriffs.” One of the other club members called out. I noticed Rebecca was disappointed.

"Damn… and here I was ready to hit ya with my new combo." Rebecca joked, trying to lighten the mood as she threw some fake punches.

I almost forgot mom was on the phone; I quickly told her what had happened and that I was fine. She sounded scared over the phone; I can't blame her. I tried to calm her down best I could before I was pulled away. The Sheriff’s sirens caught everyone's attention.

The Sheriffs arrived on sight quickly; Ethan said I didn't have to stay if I didn't want to. After all, there were so many people it's not like one less person would make a difference. I ended up staying after I heard from mom and then the phone call ended. One of the deputies that arrived called out to Ethan.

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"Hey, Ethan… how are you doing?" The Sheriff's Deputy asked as he walked up to us.

Who doesn't this man know? I'm starting to think he secretly runs this town. Ethan gave the man a fist bump before they both made the finger gun.

"I'm good. You've been keeping up with your practice Ben?" Ethan asked; seriously, is this guy the secret mayor or something?

The Deputy chuckled.

"Yup… What about you? Haven’t seen The Cloaked Tiger at the range lately. Michael taking a break?" He asked and got a chuckle out of Ethan.

"Hardly; he's busy with the museum." That got a laugh out of the Deputy as well.

I looked over and noticed two other Sheriffs talking with witnesses and speaking with the man that ran at everyone.

"So, did you see anything, or did the great Edwards's eyes skip a generation?" The sheriff asked, which only confused me.

I guess Rebecca noticed my confusion as she leaned over and whispered to me.

"The Edward’s family are famous sharpshooters around here. Ethan’s grandpa’s known as The Cloaked Tiger around town. We joke with them about it." Ok… note to self don't piss off the old man that can hit a target from several football fields away.

"If you're asking about the one that chased after Alex. I caught a glimpse… They were running fast down Cutler Road… they ducked into an alleyway just past Mrs. Gurtrude's bakery. I noticed they had something in their hands; it was shiny, not sure what. Could have been a knife or something." I was surprised by how much Ethan could remember; and the fact he noticed the shiny object when I didn't.

He's going to be a Sheriff when he grows up. I can see it now; him in uniform leaning against the hood of a truck as he held a rifle against a shoulder. I suddenly heard a voice calling out. Looking over, I saw mom and Ethan's Grandpa running up to us. Guess my phone call scared her more than I thought. She hugged me tightly and began asking if I was ok.

"Noah… sweetie are you ok?" Mom asked as she cupped my face and looked me over.

I took hold of her hands and pulled her into a hug. This calmed her down quickly as she hugged me back. Ethan's grandpa, who came rushing in, placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked as he stared Ethan right in the eyes.

Ethan gave his grandpa a smile. It calmed down Ethan's grandpa fast.

"You're all free to go now… thanks again." The Deputy nodded to us as he walked off back towards the others.

"Come on, Rebecca, I'll take you home…." Micheal offered, and Rebecca smiled and began walking with us.

The five of us walked back to City Hall in silence.

"I'll talk to the coach about the club application," Ethan mentioned which caught mom's attention.

"What are you guys talking about?" She asked as we came to the parking lot.

"Noah asked about how to join the school's MMA club," Rebecca clarified what we was talking about earlier.

Mom seemed a bit hesitant at the mention of that. She and dad have always been the ones who shy away from violence. Another reason why they moved us out here.

"I don't know… we'll need to talk to your father…" mom said as we arrived at her car.

I guess Ethan's grandpa saw the hesitation in mom about it.

"Are you two going to be ok getting home?" Micheal asked as mom unlocked the car, I climbed in.

I saw mom and Mr. Micheal talk, guess about work stuff as I sat in the back seat. I was a little distracted as Ethan knocked on the car window. I rolled it down, wondering what he wanted.

"Hey… you ok?" Ethan asked as he looked down at me.

I could see the genuine concern in his eyes. I gave him a smirk to try and lighten the mood.

"I'm fine… I had a good human shield next to me." I joked.

Ethan smiled at my little joke.

"I didn't know I was that fat." He smacked his belly.

I laughed a little at him. I glanced back at mom and Mr. Micheal.

"Oh, I heard the school's going to open back up tomorrow. Will I see you there?" Ethan asked, and I smirked back.

"Maybe…" Mom walked to the driver's seat and climbed in.

I rolled up the car's window as Ethan backed away and allowed me and mom to leave. I have to admit this town wasn't as dull as I thought. During the ride home, mom was still worried, even though I lifted my shirt up, showing there were no marks. Back at home, I didn't see dad; I guess he's still in his little nest working. Mom let me go to my room, where I sat at my computer; it was a simple two-monitor setup on one of dad's old mini PCs. I roamed the internet for a bit before I decided on something. I looked up some of the people I ran into today. Interestingly the town had a website. Scrolling around it, noticing a few pictures of the townspeople. Most of the photographs were of the local area, with some notes below about its history and upcoming events.

I noticed there were some older pictures as well. Like there's one picture of the old mining town Ethan mentioned. One photo showed the local robotics team. I didn't even know we had one around here. Looking over the picture, I saw the same guy from the park. The one that was running away from the supposed creeper. He stood proudly behind a table where a robot was displayed. Behind them was a school banner saying the high school mascot cowgirl Harley ‘Hunter’ Navarro. Riding her horse with revolver in hand, seeing this, I couldn't help but wonder. Was someone targeting our school? I mean, first, there's a break-in at the school library. Then one of the students gets attacked?

As I sat thinking about it, I heard dad calling me from downstairs. I walked downstairs to see mom talking with dad in the living room. Whatever they were talking about must have been big.

"Matt, just listen…." I heard mom plead.

"He doesn't need a self-defense class… He's got us." Dad said defiantly.

"And what about when we're not there?" Dad ignored mom’s question.

"What's he going to learn there? How to take punches?" Dad asked; this would just keep going in circles between them.

I looked over, noticing they had ordered pizza for dinner. I didn't mind; the local pizza place was pretty good. I grabbed two slices and thanked them before returning to my room. I didn't hear them arguing as I focused back on the website. It didn't make sense why someone would attack the high school without reason.