It was a Friday night, and as most workers who are single and living in this God-forsaken city, Miles Gallows found himself at his local bar. Now calling this place a bar was being generous. Between the rough and tumble customers who seem to never leave and the black mold that seemed to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye this place was more like a greasy death trap, but hey the drinks were cheap. Besides he only came here when he was sure the amount of liquor he ingested would kill any bacteria before it could kill him.
Walking up to Sal's Bar with its battered door and worn but deceptively pleasing "Come in We're Open" sign Miles sighed. He could get dates to stave away his weekend boredom, but all the women interested in him were...unsavory to say the least. The caked-on makeup and spanks weren't the problem. No, what scared him was at a much deeper level than mere cosmetics. They were rotten, quite literally. The City of Spree was a cesspool for unprotected sex and most people were walking STD bingo cards. They didn't even care though, the motto of Live for the Moment being taken so seriously that nobody even cared for tomorrow anymore.
Pushing open the door, the pungent odor of BO and stale sex smacked him in the face almost causing him to gag. He never got used to the smell, no matter how many times he came here. It seemed to seep into his clothes and he knew by tomorrow he would probably throw this whole outfit away just to be safe.
Sal stood behind the bar a smile on his face that not even a mother could love. The two teeth left in his mouth were rotten and black, Miles didn't even need to get closer to already know how the smell could make your toes curl and bile rise in your throat. Still, he made his way to his regular seat in the back left corner of what he aptly called Sal's Shithole. Sal would already know what he wanted, after all, he was a creature of habit and he wasn't going to change that if he could help it. His Psychiatrist said it was something to do with "not having any control over most of his life and working to his inevitable doom, and that made him not want to change what little things he could." Whatever that meant.
Sitting with his back to a wall, Miles could see every person in the room, and he was not impressed. There were even a couple of guys from his workplace laughing and acting like the morons he knew them to be. His eyes must have lingered for a moment too long on their antics because right as he was looking away he caught one motioning towards him. He wanted to curse as Shubert, yes that's his real name, pulled his bulbous body from the chair that seemed to sag in relief and lumbered towards his table. The man was not going to win any worker of the Year awards any time soon but he was kept on at the construction site because he was strong. A job that took a team of guys several days to work could take him 1 by himself. "You see something you like, pretty boy?" Miles wanted to gag, he had nothing against same-sex partners, but Shubert... Shubert was nobody's type as far as he was aware. The man smelled as if he hadn't bathed in year's and if he had it was in the sewage drain. He seemed to be competing with Sal for most teeth lost, and his body was almost as round as it was tall, which was very very tall. once again these were cosmetics, things that could be worked upon, stuff that was only skin deep, but Shubert was a sadist. He was known to purposefully let go of heavy machinery to drop on his crew so he could hear them scream. He even "accidentally" killed a man just last year, though his teary display of being "sorry" had only earned him a couple of weeks' vacation before he was back and worse than ever. Seeing how he was at work he could only imagine what a...generous lover he would be.
Miles wanted to ignore him, to get his drinks before going home for another fitful night of sleep before waking up and taking his one day off to fix up his dump of a home.
"Keep ignoring me, and that mouth of yours will be spitting blood instead of drinking beer." God even his voice was unpleasant.
Miles let his eyes flit in Shubert's direction, causing the large man to grin, but that soon fell off his face at the look of disgust that flashed in Miles's eyes.
Was it an act of defiance to all that was his life, Miles didn't know but he felt his lips stretch over his pearly white teeth in a sarcastic grin. Before he could even think twice about it he spat right in Shuberts face. The whole bar got quiet as they waited with bated breath for what would happen next. Most were betting on a funeral.
"I'm so glad you did that." Shubert lunged across the table grabbing Miles by the throat before hoisting him into the air. He licked his lips as he threw Miles into the nearby wall, hearing the crack of bones.
Miles was a moment from blacking out and he knew that if he survived he would be lucky. Right before his vision darkened he saw a huge fist careening towards his face and his thoughts started wishing for him to be anywhere else.
...
Water dripping onto his face brought miles slowly out of slumber. As he blinked trying to gain his vision back he at first did not believe what he was seeing. Were those large Teeth? He wanted to scream and say it was a nightmare, but as his body gained feeling he could feel each rock as it stabbed into his back. There was some type of creature bent over him maw opened wide, ready to eat him and there was nothing he could do about it.
Even tears wouldn't come at this moment and he felt like there was a fire eating away at his insides, begging to be free. It was growing stronger by the moment and as Miles pushed his hands out to stave off what he felt was his inevitable doom, something miraculous happened. Fire shot from his palms engulfing the creature above him.
Whether it was the adrenaline dying down, the shock of almost being eaten, or just plain exhaustion Miles blacked out. Today was turning into one of his worst days yet.