It had started smelling like rain. Thunder roared somewhere in the distance. A little water had already begun drizzling from the sky. It was probably going to be a downpour in 5-10 minutes.
The 20 people on the roof were all staring at me.
"You should think before you do stuff like hand in evidence against someone like John Vladson," Shouted the leader as he beckoned one of the largest guys in the group towards me.
All of the goons who had come for me were over 6 feet. Some had a muscular build, while some had a stocky build. The largest person in the crowd was a guy with brown skin and a bald head. He was easily over 7 feet and looked strong. Like most of the others, he too wore a black leather jacket.
His weapon of choice was a large metal rod that would have been too difficult for an average person to hold.
He charged toward me with the metal rod in his hands. With my dominant leg, I jumped onto the wooden chair on which I had been sitting and pushed off into the air with the same leg.
It wasn't long after that the face of the giant of a human met with the knee of my non-dominant leg, and he fell crashing to the ground with a loud thud. The momentum he charged toward me enhanced the force of the impact. He quickly became unconscious.
Since today was my day off, I didn't bring any weapons with me to the roof. I snatched away the metal rod still within the unconscious body's grip and faced the crowd of goons.
Most of them were frozen by surprise. "He just took out Mark with a single blow!" They said to each other with faces full of shock and cold sweat.
Some people who were not as shocked as the others decided to charge me. Swinging the huge rod towards the leg of the person nearest to me, I let the momentum of the bulky rod spin me as the back of my leg met the face of the second goon.
3 other people charged toward me with machetes in their hands. I swung the rod towards the person who was on the rightmost. After he fell down, dropping the rod, I swiftly moved in front of the second goon at the center and elbowed him right in the middle of his face.
By now, the third person had already shifted behind me and tried slashing at me with his machete. Thanks to my quick reflexes, I stepped back at the right moment, but the machete still managed to tear some of the flesh of my left hand.
While he was still following the momentum of his swing, I quickly closed the gap between us. Kicking the ground with my left leg I took to the air and kicked him right above the ear with my right leg.
He fell flat on the ground. 6 People now lay unconscious on the roof.
"You see, I am a cautious man Mr. Nox. I had heard that you knew how to fight, so I brought so many people as a precaution. Even I didn't expect you to last so long," said the group leader as he took his seat on one of the plastic chairs.
My reputation had gone beyond my own expectations. I let a heavy sigh escape my body.
Picking up a machete from the ground, I charged toward a group of four people standing in a corner. Luckily, the machete had both a sharp edge and a blunt edge.
I hit the first person on the neck with the blunt side of the machete and kicked the second person on the jaw with my left leg. I jumped over the body that had fallen unconscious and punched the third person in the temple. He became momentarily stunned, and I used this opportunity to pull his face towards my knee. The fourth person assumed a defensive posture and tried to move backward. I threw the machete towards his leg, and the machete hit its mark. The goon screamed with pain as the machete pierced through his skin and got stuck inside.
10 people had fallen. 10 more to go.
A group of 3 goons rushed towards me with baseball bats. I let the first guy, who looked comparatively weaker, get near me and caught his wrist as he swung the baseball bat at me. Then attacked his neck, where the carotid artery was located, with the edge of my hand.
I took hold of his baseball bat as he fell to the floor. I swung the baseball bat towards another person's head and heard the sound of his skull cracking. Before I could react, the third person swung his bat towards my jaw.
Trying my best to dampen the impact did not make much difference; I lost control of my body for a second. Another person from the crowd took advantage of this opportunity and pierced my left shoulder with a knife.
Quickly regaining control of my body, I swung the baseball bat right through the skull of the person who stabbed me. Not paying much attention to the cracking sound that resulted from the impact, I rushed toward the person who had attacked me with the baseball bat.
With the taste of blood lingering in my mouth, I swung my baseball bat at his leg and punched through his ribs as he fell. Pounding his ribs a few more times before finally getting back on my feet helped me control my rage.
I had now completely lost control of my left hand. 14 people were now unconscious on the roof. Due to most of them being huge, the roof was mostly filled, and there was just enough space to move around.
The downpour had also started. The smell of sweat and blood washed away from the roof, along with the mud and blood splatters that could be seen on various parts of the roof. This, too, could be counted as a calm experience. The feeling of everything being washed away and cold water falling on my exhausted body.
"That's quite enough!" shouted the leader as he got up from his chair.
"It's time we ended this!" exclaimed the leader as he swiftly moved towards me. Due to his small stature, he was swifter than the other goons. He took out his knife and slashed it at me. I dodged it and swung the baseball bat at him. He avoided it by backflipping perfectly on his feet.
Rushing towards him, I kicked his lower abdomen with my non-dominant leg. After being struck in the abdomen, he caught my leg and stabbed me in the leg a few times. Shit! He must have taken the blow intentionally to injure my leg. After all, restricted movement is a lot more harmful in a fight compared to a painful abdomen.
"You are good!" I commented while I shifted poses to find the perfect balance with my leg that had been pierced.
"You too!" he said, "If you weren't already tired and hurt from fighting 14 of my strongest men, you would have been more than a match for me."
"May I know who gave information against me?" I asked him.
"It was a policeman. One who stands guard outside The chief of police's office," replied the leader.
"May I also know your name?" I asked as I tried to prolong the conversation to relax my muscles.
"Dan, just call me Dan, and I am not fighting you because I hold any grudges against you. I just do whatever people give me money for," said Dan.
"I know," I replied, kicking the ground with my dominant leg; I lunged toward him and threw my bat at him. He dodged to the side, but I had already anticipated his move and punched him in the chin with my right hand. He moved back a little after being hit but quickly returned to his senses.
He threw the knife towards my leg that hadn't been hurt yet. The blade pierced right above my knee, and I controlled the urge to scream in pain.
Dan then ordered one of his men to attack me. A goon with a machete rushed towards me. He swung the machete at me with full force but fortunately, I was able to catch his wrist. Pulling him towards me, I attacked his elbow with my other hand. After that, I bent his wrist backward in a quick movement. I had fractured both the man's wrist as well as his arm.
Ughh! WHAT!! I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my back !! I turned around to see Dan holding the machete that had pierced my back. Did he tell the person to attack me so he could get behind and attack me? I instinctively let out a sharp scream.
Dan took out the machete and stabbed me again near my heart.
"I am sorry Nox, but this is what I get paid to do!" shouted Dan.
A sharp pain pulsed through my entire body. Every time my heart beat, it felt like a heavier load was being placed on me. Every time I inhaled, my lungs felt like they were about to burst. Everything thing soon started to turn dark.
I was unable to see. I could only feel the drops of rain as they poured on my face. I could hear the sound of footsteps. Were they coming towards me or going away? I don't know.
I slowly stopped feeling even the rain on my skin. It didn't feel as cold as before. It was a strangely pleasant feeling. Was this the feeling of Death?
But! I couldn't die just yet! I needed to live my life! I needed to live for the helpless! I needed to find out about what happened to my parents!!
I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't see anything, I couldn't hear anything. It was like I was in a dark void away from all mankind. I felt a feeling. What was it? I don't know. Was it loneliness? Sadness? Happiness? Anger? Frustration? Emptiness? I don't know.
It felt as if all my exhaustion was finally being washed away. I tried to grab onto something, anything that would allow me to continue my life.
That's when I heard a voice "Do you wish to live?"
Yes, yes, yes! I tried to say yes, but nothing came out of my mouth; I couldn't make a sound.
That's when a blue screen that looked like a hologram appeared in front of me.
[Do you accept the request to enter the tower? Yes/No]
Tower? What was the Tower? Without thinking much about the details, I pressed Yes.
I wanted to live!