In a dirty long narrow alleyway, three teenage boys surrounded and cornered a young boy who looked younger than seven. His malnourished frame and pale sickly skin only contributed to making him look a few steps away from death.
"Where's the money for this week Loki?"
Two young boys leaned on the walls of the houses in front of them planning to block Loki from escaping through them.
"What do you want?" Loki asked with a brash undertone, his calm eyes scanning the surroundings for any way of escape remaining the only indication of his intelligence but the young boys were used to it.
"You ain't fooling us this time Loki." The boy in the middle, the leader of the small gang, knocked Loki backwards by pushing his chest.
"I have nothing to pay you with Ludwig. Leave me alone." Loki tried to push himself out of the untimely encircle but he couldn't slip his tiny weak body through the cornering of strong boys.
"Then you leave me no other choice little head.", Ludwig said with a sneer on his face as he clapped his hands twice summoning two similarly aged strong boys from behind the bend.
As soon as Loki saw them his eyes widened with horror as he desperately tried his best to push through the group around him.
"NO!!!! DON'T DO THIS LUDWIG!" Loki shouted making Ludwig sneer with an arrogant expression as he enjoyed looking at the despair on Loki's face.
"You hid her well Loki. It took us quite a bit of work to find her."
*Muffled shouts and groans*
The two boys were carrying a chubby young girl who was shouting as much as she could through the dirty rag stuffed into her mouth along with the rag wrapped around her eyes which was soaking wet with her tears.
The little girl wore a clean white frock sewn on which were different coloured flowers that gave her the appearance of a little white angel.
"ELANE I WILL SAVE YOU!! DON'T WORRY!!!!" Loki tried his best to push through the older kids encircling him as he tried to do everything from scratching and biting the hands of those keeping him back but his malnourished body was unable to exert much force.
"You know what we want Loki. Give it to us and she won't have to go through much."
"Take it! This is all I have!" Loki bent low and pulled out a wad of cash from inside the worn soles of his torn shoes and threw it at Ludwig's face.
The momentary surprise caused Ludwig and the boys encircling him to relax, allowing Loki to slip between the gang and rush towards Elane who had quietened down a little bit after hearing his voice.
Loki nearly tripped on the oversized pants and shirts he was wearing but managed to pull Elane from the clutches of the two young boys who were holding her forcefully.
"Are you alright, Elane?" Loki immediately asked as he pulled out the dirty cloth stuffed into the little girl's mouth along with the rag strip tied around her eyes.
"Big bwother, they are… *sniffle* bwad boys… *sniffle* " The little girl cried into Loki's arms as he did his best to check her for injuries.
Where each scratch on her only infuriated him.
"Don't worry, the bad boys will leave. Okay??"
"Oki…*sniff* *sniff*" The little girl still crying relaxed a little bit into the comfort of her big brother's arms.
*Clang*
Just as the moment between the brother and sister was turning the mood of the dim alleyway harmonious, it turned for the worse when Loki saw Ludwig with a steel rebar which he was dragging as he walked towards Loki and Elane.
"You don't need to do such a thing, Ludwig!" Loki whispered as he picked up his little sister with a surprising amount of strength and began to retreat towards the street.
But before he could step out into the street and escape from Ludwig, a couple more young teenage boys stepped into it, closing both exits available to him.
"Arrggghhh!!! Let me through!" Loki did his best to shuffle between the goons that had blocked the exit but couldn't exert much strength because of the little girl he was carrying and his small malnourished frame.
'No! This can't be happening!'
'I can't let Elane get hurt!'
With unwilling eyes, Loki scanned all around the alleyway but found nothing to revolt with.
So he did the only thing he could.
He collapsed and turned towards a wall to hide Elane and used whatever he could of his scrawny body to keep her safe from all harm.
Ludwig walked until he reached Loki and with a smirk on his face started to 'educate' him.
*THUD*
"This is all because of you, innit?"
*THUD*
"Because a twat like you can't seem to learn that you are weak and pathetic."
*THUD*
"Because a wanker like you can't seem to understand that you are below me."
With three quick strikes to his back, Loki only tightened his grip on Elane as he did his best to keep the miserable groans from escaping his mouth.
*THUD*
'Keep Elane Safe.' Loki hammered into his mind along with the strikes that hammered into his back.
*THUD*
"If you step out of line once more-"
'Keep Elane Safe.'
*THUD*
"-I will make sure you see the worst happen to your little sister."
'Keep Elane Safe.'
*THUD*
"I'm sure you don't want that, do you Loki?"
Blood leaked and caused the colours on his oversized shirt to grow darker as they uncomfortably stuck to his skin but Loki didn't let go.
"Big Bwother!!!!!" Elane cried as she sensed what was happening and her tears covered Loki's shirt but Loki did his best to remain silent and protect Elane so she wouldn't be hurt.
He feared opening his mouth would only make the situation worse. The best he could do for now was to hug his sister tight, as tight as he could.
With one last swing Ludwig slammed the rebar into Loki's head.
*THUD*
Ludwig's hit had just enough force in it to rock Loki's brain and give him a concussion, not enough to kill him, yet also not enough to brush away.
If he weren't so malnourished that is.
Blood instantly began to leak from Loki's head as his grip on Elane loosened, yet he did his best to protect Elane despite the pain but it seemed that this was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
As he felt his consciousness fading, Loki just had one last thought.
'If only I were stronger, Elane wouldn't have to suffer like this.'
In this moment of clarity, a dormant energy within him resonated with something beyond space and time bursting forth with a remarkable possibility that opened a path that few in this world could even imagine.
"Tsk." Seeing no more reactions from Loki after repeatedly kicking him in the head, Ludwig assumed he had finally lost consciousness from the pain, especially since Elane had pried herself out of Loki's grasp.
"Ha! How cute. Too bad I'm tired." Ludwig said watching Elane.
Elane was glaring at Ludwig.
Doing her best to protect her big brother by stretching her tiny chubby hands across his body without realising that he had passed away.
Ludwig suddenly tensed and swung the rebar again, causing Elane to flinch, yet she stayed on top of Loki, only holding him tighter.
"Haha~ what a protective bitch." Ludwig tossed the rebar in his hand onto the concrete floor and left with his gang of goons while happily counting the money that Loki had given them.
Leaving behind a corpse and an angry little girl.