"Grrrr… Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Phones came out. Some bystanders recorded the bizarre parade, gaping in disbelief.
"Is this a prank or social experiment?"
"Who cares? I haven't had any meaningful content in the past week. This will certainly blow me up!"
"Take a look at their uniforms. Doesn't it belong to Ashbury Heights High School?"
"Students of Ashbury Heights? Unbelievable!Once I tag the school, people will define tune in!"
A mother covered her child's eyes while an older man shook his head muttering, "What has the world come to…"
Hashtags were already brewing online.
Zoey, however, didn't mind and held four of the boys' leashes, while Alden and Sebastian each held four as well. Austin managed the last three.
She had removed the cutlery lodged into their sides before taking them out for the walk, so they could move more freely. But given her precise throw, the boys on Zoey's leash didn't even consider running.
The ones held by Sebastian didn't dare either as they knew better than to test the grip strength of an adult man.
Only the ones with Alden and Austin contemplated escape.
Given that he was wheeling himself, they didn't think Alden would be firm-handed, and as for Austin… well, they had bullied him for years. So they knew just how weak he was.
As soon as they reached a streetlight, all seven exchanged a glance, gave the signal, and bolted.
Alden's eyes flashed the moment he felt the leash slip from his hand.
He quickly grabbed hold again, promptly tearing his eyes away from the disturbing sight of Zoey and Austin bumping into each other as they walked.
With one abrupt yank, he reeled them all back in, sending them flying backwards and ultimately slamming into the ground in front of him.
Only the three with Austin managed to break free.
They had just taken a step forward when…
"Owww!"
"Ughhh!"
"M-My ribs!"
All three howled in pain, their eyes bulging as they lowered their gaze to the aching spot only to see the same cutlery Zoey had removed earlier now sticking into their sides again.
"I'd like to call this sport archery, but I guess it's closer to darts." Zoey paused, her brows peeking up as she suggested, "Want to keep running so I can test how far I can throw?"
Something about her confident tone unsettled them and they immediately rethought their escape.
They had just taken a step back toward the group when the leader, whose leash Zoey was holding, glared at them with fury.
"You fools! Boss Dylan is the best dart player in the entire province. If she's that good, why didn't she enter the contest back then, huh?"
"Don't be stupid and fall for her exaggerated bragging. Hurry now and go tell Boss Dylan about this!"
Zoey's eyes gleamed.
She quietly reached into her pocket and retrieved the pointed steak knives she had forced the hotel to sell her earlier.
"I plan to walk you all around a bit more. Who knows who might spot you crawling on all fours and barking like dogs, right?"
The three boys wavered, hesitating as they considered the risk of running again.
She was holding down four of them already. Even Dylan, their leader, needed a steady stance to throw darts accurately. But her current position…
No. They were overthinking it. She wouldn't be lucky enough to hit them again.
Alden, however, saw right through Zoey and leaned back on his wheelchair proudly.
This girl… she always had a mischievous glimmer in her eye when doing outrageous things.
And to think that little brat beside her was yet to catch on. So much for being her boyfriend.
Hmph.
This is why students should stick to their books—not boys!
In his momentary distraction over Zoey and Austin's possible relationship , the three boys made a break for it.
"Argh!"
"I… can't move!"
Zoey frowned, narrowing her gaze at the boys now immobilized, steak knives embedded in their left legs.
Twirling the last knife between her fingers, she sighed and raised her eyes to the last boy, whose pupils trembled with fear seeing the state his friends were in.
"I threw that one too fast. You didn't even get that far. Okay, I'll give you a few seconds' head start this time before I throw. Now go before I change my mind."
"Run, you fool!" The leader barked, and the boy took off in sheer terror.
A few seconds' head start? As if! The only person who could pull that off was Boss Dylan.
This wench was nothing but a cocky…
The leader's proud thought was cut short by a gut-wrenching yelp.
He was perplexed when he looked to see the third boy now sprawled on the ground, screaming and crawling at a pitiful pace.
Zoey pursed her lips, tilting her head slightly to assess where exactly the knife had landed.
"Shouldn't we at least call an ambulance?" Sebastian suggested, yet again.
But Zoey shook her head. "They'll be fine once I carefully pull out the knives. In the meantime, I need their assurance that they won't try to run before this walk is over."
"We won't try to run again!" The first boy cried, his voice cracking.
"Never again!" The second echoed shakily.
"We swear!" The last blurted, his eyes darting from the knife to Zoey's calm, eerie smile.
"Oh? That's… disappointing." Upon hearing them, Zoey's bright expression fell as her eyes drifted down to the leader who was suddenly went silence.
"Hey, I'm not even holding your leash that tight. Why haven't you tried to run?"
After seeing her good aim firsthand, the boy blinked and lowered his eyes fearfully.
"Wh-what do you mean? You're holding my leash the tightest!"
"Am I?" She huffed and directly tossed the leash aside.
All fourteen boys immediately turned their gazes toward their leader.
He knew better than anyone how they needed to reach Boss Dylan. Surely, he would…
Their thoughts trailed off as he suddenly crawled forward, grabbed the leash with his mouth, and returned to Zoey's side, pushing it back into her hand like a true dog.