"Yeah. Oh, he's changed a lot. Don't you think?"
"I don't care; I don't care about looks."
"Your breakup with Clyde taught you hard lessons"
"We were never lovers; we only had a date after that dance, and it didn't work out. I guess he wasn't my type."
"What is your favorite type of man, Haiku?"
"I don't know. Someone who understands the dark has to be like me—someone who's mysterious and in touch with his feelings but not overtly. A real lone wolf like the one in my novels."
"I also wish I had someone like that."
The girls paid attention to Lincoln, who actually had the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our amateur poet is with you tonight. Lincoln Loud."
Lincoln was once again the center of attention without wanting to be, and he didn't even write a poem. Lincoln had never been so grateful that he was blind because the public began to see him impatiently.
-Inside the mind of the albino-
"Well, well... Calm down, Lincoln. You'll just have to improvise something..." The boy took a deep breath, and just like in Sam's garage, a phrase came to his mind. "Let the energy flow."
Lincoln sighed and began to speak. Good evening, black coffee. My name is Lincoln Loud, and I hope you like my poem, Composition of the Wolf.
-Lincoln begins his poem-
"Composition of the Wolf"
Night falls before my eyes and changes color.
Black and deep feelings fill my soul with hatred.
I wanted to kiss you under the moon like you always wanted, but tonight is not the time; kissing under the moon is forbidden.
Now my eyes are darkened, and in my mouth there are only fangs.
In my mind, I scream for you to run, and in my mouth, I just howl.
Inadvertently, I search for you in the mist and among these old, crooked trees.
In this forest of silence, where your cries are the only noise,
If you like, I will follow your trail with the footprints you left on the road.
It's not my fault I do what I do; I've dedicated my life to avoiding it.
But the monster always wins, and it is useless to try to kill him.
Please run, run, and don't look back.
I don't know what I'll do tomorrow if I wake up and you're not here.
Run faster, I implore you.
Run and don't let me catch you because tonight there's a full moon, and under that moon I can't kiss you.
.
.
.
.
.
At the end of the poem, the spectators applauded a little louder and faster, but not so much as to make much difference in the way they normally do.
At the back table, Lucy is touched by her brother's sweet words that reflect a man's love and a beast's instinct.
"It was beautiful. I knew my brother had a talent for poetry, but I never thought he was on this level," says Lucy to Haiku, who has a slight blush on her cheeks. "What do you think, Haiku?"
Haiku revealed a fan that covered the lower part of her face to hide her blush. "I have to admit he wasn't bad. He has a certain talent."
Lucy knew how to read her friend better than anyone else and knew that haiku loved Lincoln's poem, which worried her because the last thing she wanted was to compete with her friend for her brother's love.
When Lincoln steps off the stage and takes his place, he receives praise from his family for the beauty and somewhat dark but profound nature of his poem.
"Hey, when did you write that, Link?" Lynn asked.
"I just improvised it," Lincoln replied.
"Well, it was beautiful. A little horrible but lovely. You have the potential to be a writer, son." His mother praises him.
The competition is over, and the first-place winner is the haiku, although her body also influenced the judges decision. The second place was won by Lucy, and the third place was won by a gothic girl who came from Mexico for her poem called "My Victorious Lover".
The contest is over, and the cafe is closed. They all headed home, and no one noticed the half-dead man in the bathroom until the janitor opened the door so he could clean the cabin.
The Loud were heading home when a thick light accompanied by a column of smoke began to be seen on the horizon. It was their house that was burning. A car was parked in front, like a black van, and next to it were the thugs hired by Christina and her group. Criminals used masks to avoid detection. They also had bottles, gas torches, and gallons of fuel.
Mr. Loud hurried as Rita called the fire department.
Among those who set the house on fire, their leader was heard shouting. "Diy, it's Lincoln Loud!" The thug threw a Molotov cocktail at the van. Mr. Lynn slipped trying to avoid the bottle and was about to crash into the door of the van, but Lincoln jumped up and caught the bottle as it rolled down the street, being careful not to break it until he stood at last. The man who threw the bottle pulled out a revolver and pointed it at Lincoln, but Lincoln returned the bottle, which shattered on impact with the revolver, setting the man on fire.
While two of his comrades were throwing snow at him to put out the fire, two others ran toward Lincoln with knives, but Lincoln took one of them by the hand and made him stab his comrade, then twisted his arm until it broke and finished it off. He kneeled in his face and kicked the stabbed man, leaving both of them motionless.