Acke took and inspected the bag. Inside was a plastic card with a code written on it, some papers, and a microchip. The card also had his image, an improvised signature, his fingerprints, and another series of sensitive information that he had entrusted himself. Naturally, many of the data was false, but not even he had a way of knowing it. It was a fake identification, which along with the other items, granted him citizenship to this, the city of students. The name on the card read "Acke Egil, 18 years old. Origin: Sweden."
—Haaa… What a problem. I don't understand why I have to go through so many difficulties. Foremost, what did I come to do in this city? —Said Acke, talking to the image of himself on the ID card—. Anyway, it's better that I move before they come back. It's a cliché, but in movies, for every hoodlum in an alley, there are 10 in the next one.
He kept the loot, conflicting, as he didn't know if he should be in good spirits for having obtained the documents for free, or depressed, for having made new enemies.
Acke went in the opposite direction that the pair had fled, and to his amazement, the scene he saw, just around the corner, was three rough-looking men surrounding a girl with her back to a wall. The scene made him exclaim in his mind: «What is this, a cartoon!? It's true that there are a lot around the corner…»
He watched the scene for a moment to not jump to conclusions. The three men were laughing and talking to the cornered girl. He couldn't distinguish their features from where he was in the darkness, but she seemed to be of a similar age as him. That red-haired girl had a beautiful long hair, very long, reaching her thighs at the very least. She was wearing a thin white one-piece that was long enough to reach a little below the knees, and for some reason she was barefoot.
Acke had started to consider intervening or not when one of the men made a tasteless comment and cornered the girl even more against the wall. With that, he had had enough. Clearing his throat loudly to be heard, he interrupted the scene.
—Hey, come on guys, what you're doing is not cool, I think you're bothering the lady. Why don't we talk about it?
—What do you think you are to come and tell us what to do? Go play hero somewhere else, kid —the delinquent barked. With a gesture, he indicated to one of his friends to take care of the "hero."
Next, he said to the young man, "It's nothing personal" and didn't hesitate to throw a punch with considerable force behind it. Put in that situation, Acke had no alternative with the mass of flesh coming towards his face. His cold eyes didn't lose sight of a single movement of the attacker, driven by an unconscious force, like a reflex, instead of retreating, he advanced. He extended his leg forward and the rest of his body followed, bent his knees, and leaned his torso enough to easily pass under the attack. With a circular movement of his arm, he captured the attacker's, and a slide of his foot made him lose balance. He pulled the man with all his strength towards where his knee was patiently waiting.
It was quick and effective: Again, he thought. He did not understand where that came from. But he didn't miss the moment of confusion. He ran to the side of the girl, held her hand and the both of them started running. Well, Acke was dragging her. They ran a dozen meters through the dark and small alleys, connected like a labyrinth; insults and quick footsteps behind them.
—How are you feeling? —He asked, worried if she would be able to keep up the pace.
—That was unnecessary —that's all the girl had to say through her teeth.
They ended up hiding inside a landfill on Acke's suggestion. The container was about five meters long and took up almost the entirety of this particular narrow alleyway. He opened the container, which thankfully wasn't overflowing, and didn't hesitate to jump in, pulling the girl and forcing her to do the same.
The smell was horrible, but at least they would be safe after holding out for a couple of minutes. With the opportunity to catch their breath came the opportunity to talk.
—Did those guys do anything to you? —asked Acke in a low voice.
—Ugh, after smelling fish for weeks, now I smell fish again because of you.
—Fish? Haha. I'm genuinely sorry about that. If we make it out of this, I'll make it up to you.
The girl with the long hair, which was now ruined, looked at him in silence. Maybe it was because of the lacking light coming in from small holes on top, but Acke thought her eyes looked strange, as if they lacked the shine of life. They seemed to have no pupils and be pure iris, a dark and considerably large eye socket.
—My name is Acke. And yours?
Unable to stand the disgusting sensation of trash touching her skin and the horrible smell any longer, she opened the lid of the container without reservation to breathe in some clean air. Acke tried to stop her, but it was too late. By pure coincidence, or perhaps simple bad luck, one of the ruffians was nearby. He didn't take long to call his companions, and soon ten people arrived. Noticing they had increased during the pursuit, Acke did not know whether to laugh or cry.
They were surrounded, Acke tried to think of a way out, but fighting against ten at once was probably asking too much. Honestly, if he had asked himself, he was terrified. He didn't know what would happen to him or to her. But still, he took a leap next to the girl, whom he covered with his body; both arms extended, and his knees slightly bent, ready to fight or flee. With his back to her, Acke said: "Don't worry, while I distract them, run."
He was preparing to fight; he was going to take the initiative. Until recently, his legs were shaking, and cold sweat ran down his back, but with each inhale and exhale, his heart was calming down, and his mind was focusing. Ready to jump, a hand was placed on his shoulder and the feminine voice that reached his ears ordered him to stop.
The red-haired girl made a surprising leap from the landfill. She carelessly shook off the plastic bags and other waste that had adhered to her white dress, and when she finished, turned to look at Acke.
Her eyes, which still could not be distinguished clearly in the dim light, began to emit an unnatural glow of a strong red. Those black holes that were there before were completely replaced by the sinister and bloody color.
In the seconds it took to process that, a new, even more complex scene came to be processed. One of the men, tall and physically fit, went to hold her while turning his back to the group. He barely managed to place his hand on her shoulder, but the girl didn't yield to the tug. On the contrary, she grabbed his arm and twisted it easily, she kept doing it until the man fell to his knees groaning in pain.
Once she was done with that, holding the same arm, she lifted the figure of the man, who was several times hers, and threw him against the wall like a rag doll. She immediately pounced on the others, giving them no time or opportunity to flee. The same fate awaited them, it did not take Acke long to understand that.
The girl dispatched the group of ten or more thugs in seconds, with a violence and display of strength that, honestly, was incredible. Unnatural even for the fragile porcelain body of the girl. The only ones left standing were Acke, speechless, and the mysterious girl, who broke the short silence that had been created.
—My name is Mina, Mina Neri— she said quickly—. Now that I have activated this state, some annoying people will know I was here, so you should leave quickly; I don't know what they are capable of if they find you. Thanks for trying to defend me, you are a good person. Goodbye.
—Wait!— Acke shouted to the unbelievable girl—. Will you be alright?
—Yes. There's nothing to worry about.
«If that's the case, why do you have that expression?» Acke thought, but he was unsure of how to respond. What he had just witnessed kept repeating in his mind. It simply did not make sense. None of what he had seen made sense, it was too much for him. She alone swept the floor with the 10 ruffians in a matter of seconds, and with an alarming ease.
He might be next, depending on what he did, is what he thought. Even if the world gave him the rest of the night to think about it, he would not know where to start.
At that moment of doubt, as quickly as she swept the floor with the criminals before, Mira Neri disappeared into the night. The boy named Acke tightened his fist, silently looking in the direction in which the girl who had saved him a moment ago disappeared. He ordered his ideas a bit until he finally reached a conclusion.
—I'm sorry. I regret it, but thinking about it, I did the right thing, it was the right thing to do. A few gangsters, still scars me, but okay, I'm certain that when the time comes, I will be able to do something about it; but in that world, I have nothing to do there, so good luck.
Acke observed the scene of unconscious bodies all over for a moment, determined the ones that were better dressed, and quickly took all the cash they had.
—You brought it upon yourselves— he said in the end, and walked away with several things spinning in his mind.
Nonetheless, the one that resonated the most, undoubtedly was…
—Wow, I need a bath.