⬛️[Alpha] V.2

Nearing the end of the week, on Friday, the tournament finals began.

It also ended just as quickly before it could even get to the 4th inning.

Unlike Roman and another Claremont kid, the rest of the team had rage built up in them due to what happened when Alfie and Rolo cornered and beat the two down on Monday night.

It also didn't help that the Morris Cubs had been urging them to fight, provoking and mocking them the moment they arrived in the Claremont turf.

It didn't take long before both teams turned the baseball field into a battlefield.

Alfie was at the forefront, bashing his fist into his opponents and backstepping any that attempted to strike him.

His lips widened as his teeth showed in excitement, as if he enjoyed the challenge.

He ran after the Claremont kids, from those who ran towards him in fury to those who tried running away out of fear, it seemed as if all he wanted to do was to revel in this chaos and bloody his fists.

"Come at me, pussies!" Alfie chased.

The other Cubs had also got into it, Alfie brought his entire gang to the Claremont neighborhood to the park where their opponents were.

At first, the Claremont Cyclones didn't cause trouble seeing as Alfie brought out his entire pack, but the constant demeaning coming from the Cubs made them angry.

Angry enough to fight the entirety of the Cubs despite them having just a bit over thirty members in their team.

Though they had more older kids.

But at the moment, the most focused targets for the Cyclones are Billy, Rose, Timmy, Rolo, and a few other Cubs due to their mockeries earlier.

Other than that, they were more than willing to beat down some of them due to their colored skin and differences.

"Aggh!"

"Alfie!"

He turned to the one who called his name, and he saw one of the Cubs on the floor with blood dripping from his head.

Across from the Cub, a Cyclone stood there panicked with his bat in hand, regretting what he did.

Seeing this, he got even angrier.

Alfie quickly made his way through the crowd before kicking the Claremont kid and taking his bat.

"Wait, I'm sorr—"

*Crack*

"Aagghhhhh!!"

Alfie mercilessly swung the bat at the arm of the kid on the floor, hard enough to hear a bone breaking.

The Claremont kid squirmed on the ground, holding his arm in pain as he cried out in pain.

Both groups hearing and seeing this paused, staring at the situation.

"Alfie!! What the hell have you done?!" Roman arrived with shock written all over his face, everyone seemed just as shocked.

It wasn't rare to see someone get hurt like this during crew fights around the Bronx, but it almost never happens with the little leagues around their age.

They usually just scuffle with their fists, which was something many of them were glad to do.

Alfie stood there shocked, as if coming to his senses about the situation.

He felt the anger he didn't know he had disappeare after a sudden realization and shock.

"What?! You want some too?!"

Billy walked in front of Alfie, facing Roman with his own bat ready to get bloody.

""Bring it on!!""

The Claremont gang walked forward with their own bats, ready for it as well, which the Cubs did the same.

"Stop." Alfie commanded.

The Cubs, including the Claremont crew turned to Alfie, wondering why when he was the one who started it.

Alfie told Roman to stop his crew as he did before he told them to get on their bikes and ride back home.

If not then the situation would become worse the more they fought.

For the first time since the Cubs were formed, Alfie led his gang and retreated from the Claremont park, leaving Roman and his gang observing their leave with a frown.

As the Cubs berated Alfie on why they were retreating, Alfie stayed quiet with a storm of thoughts.

This wasn't the first time they got in a scuffle, but he didn't plan on starting any during the little tournament he started.

It was purely about the game with no room for any fights, but after going against the River Giants, which was a simple game, Alfie seemed to have been instigating fights for the rest of the games against the other teams.

He was usually mature, somewhat, when dealing with kids but remembering how he joined the less peaceful Cubs in Ridiculing the other teams for a fight, he felt something was wrong.

Even at home for the last few days, he seemed to have been impulsive towards his parents and his team.

"Go home, we're done for the day." Alfie relayed to the Cubs when they arrived in their neighborhood.

"Alfie! What's going on with you?" Rose asked, seeing him quiet the whole ride home.

They stood there watching Alfie as he rode his bike towards his home.

But unlike they thought, when Alfie arrived home he didn't enter, rather he remained outside for a bit before riding out again.

This time heading West, it was 4 pm in the evening so the sun still shined but will soon set, he wanted to spend some time alone.

He had to calm down before he got anyone else hurt, the kids.

They've been bruised and battered before, which he would then take them to Nina, his mother, to help mend their minor wounds and such.

But this time, he broke a kid's arm from the Claremont side and one of the Cubs might get a concussion because of him.

Well they also love to get into fights, which he thought he might have influenced them a little too much.

As he rode down the somewhat busy street, he turned his head towards the giant Yankee stadium that hosted some of the World Series games not too long ago.

There were times he took the Cubs to that very stadium where they snuck in looks at the game, but it never lasted long before they were caught.

Good times.

He didn't know what was going on, but he'd rather not involve a bunch of kids with himself if he was gonna keep looking for trouble, at least not like this, it's too early.

At least until he can control himself properly.

He soon came upon the Harlem River, where it was just between Manhattan and the Bronx, a good quiet spot he often comes to during his quiet times.

He climbed over a few rocks before reaching in between a crack and pulling out a fishing pole.

It wasn't something he was used to but it still did the job.

As the sun dipped, and the skies started to get darker, Alfie sat on a rock with his fishing pole.

He casted several times without much thought on catching anything but to just sit and think.

He frowned, not because of the fact that he wasn't catching any fish but of something he had been neglecting.

His problems all started out when he had that strange dream in the woods. Was it really a dream though?

His sudden insomnia all started when he made it out of that wood, what's even worse is that his emotions in the past few days had been unstable.

"I wonder if I'm possessed…" Alfie suddenly muttered aloud.

He suddenly had goosebumps. If what happened in the woods with the haunted house was real and not a dream, then what would he do? Are there even exorcists in this world? Are ghosts real?

Alfie sighed, anxiety filling his heart, he was in his thoughts so much that he didn't notice the man sitting just beside him on another rock.

"Caught anything yet?"

The thick accent jerked Alfie off his thoughts, turning to the voice to see quite the old man with a priest robe, his mighty mustache very eye-catching.

"No." Alfie responded, despite the man looking harmless with his priest robe on, he made sure he was still in reach for the bat hidden in the rocks just beside him. "Who are you?"

"Me? You may call me Priest Kozh, but my name is Tadig Kozh. I am a priest." Priest Kozh says with a kind smile.

A mouthful, Alfie thought.

Alfie wasn't fooled, if he actually believed that smile while they were near the river at night then he might become a victim of a priest touching on a little 'ole boy like him.

"No need to be alarmed, child." Priest Kozh raised his hands to show he was harmless.

Alfie kept his brow raised despite the uncertainty and worry in his heart. "Aren't you supposed to be…" He paused, any church around the city would have no sermons by the time night came.

"At church? Oh no. At least not for me, I am an itinerant preacher, a traveling priest."

"So you're…not from here?" Alfie gestured to the area.

"No, I am not, but at the same time I am."

What the hell does that even mean?! Alfie's brow raised in annoyance. What's worse is the accent the man wears, it is quick paced and some pronunciation seemed…swallowed, unpronounced at all.

"It matters not what land I am in, what country or neighborhood, it is all God's land in the end."

"Have you been to other countries?" Alfie decided to skip the man's babble and get some curiosity satisfied.

"That I have, do you wish to travel as well?"

"I will, but not now." Alfie said, he believed that soon enough he will plan ahead and expand wide through the countries.

The only problem is he doesn't truly know what he will do, someone like him has so many options on a career path yet remain undecided.

He's not exactly a genius either, but he's young enough to pick up some studies on certain fields and make a path from that.

"Would you like to hear of my most notable stories?"

Alfie's attention turned towards him, unspoken but clear curiosity shown.

"Have you heard of Transylvania in Romania?"

Alfie nodded. "The land of vampires?" He joked.

"Ah, I see you're quite familiar of them, no need to convince you."

Alfie raised a brow in question but soon chuckled from the children's story the man is about to tell.

"Powerful creatures, faster than any humans can observe and unbelievably strong in strength. Out of curiosity, I've set my travels towards Romania but was instead halted at a small kingdom which is now called Yugoslavia today."

"I thought of taking some rest in a small town, but that rest turned into four months in that town, I soon realized I was tricked into settling down by a powerful vampire in that town."

"Tricked how?" Alfie asked, playing along with the old man's delusion.

"Hypnosis!" Priest Kozh shouted exaggeratingly. "Damned blood-suckers caught me off-guard, and next thing I know when I awoke I had spent four months doing sinful things."

"Thankfully, I had a friend who knocked some sense into me before I hunted for that vampire."

"Hunted? Are you some kind of vampire hunter or something?" Alfie casted his fishing rope into the river.

"Not a hunter, but rather an exorcists, but it's not so different to the profession of a hunter, they are the reason the people can be safe which is admirable." Priest Kozh said with high regard.

Alfie shrugged. "So what happened to the vampire, did you catch him?"

"That I did, though he was quite slippery and have more than once used the townspeople against me to slow me down."

"What was his name, Dracula?" Alfie chuckled at the thought.

"Oh dear no, I would have not stood much of a chance, I would know as I've met him before." Priest Kozh expression showed dread.

"Right…so how'd you "exorcise" the vampire? Garlic? Stake? Or maybe holy water?…"

"Why yes, you would find such things useful in times against vampires, though the Garlic in question is but a myth, such a thing will only annoy these creatures."

"But!" Priest Kozh emphasized. "The symbols and water of God only works if you have true faith in you."

"So you've stabbed the vampire with a stake? How did you catch such a fast slippery vampire?" Alfie felt ridiculous playing along, but his worries of being alone with the man disappeared thanks to the foolishness.

"Hmph, I have my secrets." Proest Kozh held his head high in pride, unwilling to say.

Alfie suddenly stood up. "Well thanks for the story, but I must go unless I wish to be in trouble with my life-givers."

As Priest Kozh watch Alfie hide his fishing pole, he spoke. "I will be here whenever you wish to hear more stories."

Alfie paused, he watched as the Priest kept his eyes on him with expectation, in fact he didn't notice before but the eyes of the Priest have never left him since his arrival.

His body involuntarily shivered, feeling creeped out from the Priest.

"What do you want from me, Father?"

"Please, child. Call me Priest or by my name, the only one you should call Father is God himself." Priest Kozh held his hand up in gesture.

"But…isn't that a title you are called upon as a Priest?"

"It is, but Lord Jesus himself spoke of it, the only one that should be honored as Father is the Heavenly Father himself."

"Then…in that case am I not supposed to call my dad by that term?"

"No, child, you must honor your parents with such, but anyone else like in the church or a Priest is not fit to be called Father."

"Do you know me? Why…do I feel you want something from me?" He hesitated to ask, unsure if it would trigger certain unfavorable responses.

"I simply wish for your well-being, as for you, is there anything you'd like to confess?" Priest Kozh spoke, as if sensing Alfie's troubles.

"…sure."

Priest Kozh smiled genuinely before turning his full attention —which he always did— to the young kid. "May the Lord be in your heart and help you to confess your sins with true sorrow." He put his hands together where a necklace with a cross hung between, waiting for Alfie to confess his troubles.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my first confession since my birth, my sins are staying out late as my parents would worry before finding me and beat me black and blue."

Priest Kozh's brow twitched as he saw Alfie proceed away from the river.

He sighed. "I ask that you take confessions seriously, young Alfie."

"Yea Priest, but aren't confessions supposed to be done in church?" Alfie questioned as he quickly got on his bike.

He's been to church long enough to know a thing or two, thanks to his mother dragging him almost every Sunday if they weren't out sinning in the clubs.

"Yes, but I find that in my travels, the light of God can heal and forgive anyone whether it's in his house or not." Priest Kozh explained, not minding Alfie's obvious actions of avoiding him.

The situation is odd for Alfie, and he was right to be cautious. As most children were clueless at times, but he knew Alfie is different.

"Oh…then I'll make sure to give my confessions in church, it might be more appropriate…see yah!"

Alfie pedaled, keeping his calm as he rode on, he felt fear pumping his heart as he questioned the situation. Did he tell the man his name? He knew his name yet he was positive he didn't introduce himself.

"Come find me if you ever need assistance, I can help." He heard Priest Kozh's offer.

He turned around to the rocky spots near the river and his fears deepened, the priest that sat there disappeared and was nowhere to be seen in a walking distance.

"Shitt!!" Without any more reservation, Alfie hightailed it out of there.