After a long day of training and teaching kids martial arts at the dojo I work at, I started heading home. As I walked past an alley, I heard a woman's voiceāterrified, pleading. "This is all I have! Please, I don't have anything else, don't hurt me!"
A man's voice followed, cold and threatening. "If you don't have the money I want, I'll take compensation." Then the woman screamed.
After thinking about it for a second, I sprinted toward the alley. I saw a man, in his late twenties or early thirties, holding the woman against the wall. She looked to be around the same age, striking with long blonde hair and brown eyesāfear written all over her face.
"Hey! Let go of her!" I shouted, trying to draw his attention away from her.
He turned, released her, and smirked. "Well, well, our very own heroāsaving the beauty from the beast."
The woman gave me a menacing smirk that didn't sit right with me. As I looked around, I noticed three more men stepping into the alley, blocking my escape route. My stomach twisted.
"Sh*t," I cursed silently. But In my defense, how was I supposed to know? Don't judge meāI was just trying to do the right thing. At that moment, all I could think about was something my uncle used to say: "With great power comes great electricity bills." I have no idea why he said that; he was a weird man. But honestly, those are some wise words right there. Granted, they have absolutely nothing to do with my current situation, but I felt compelled to share this great wisdom with you anyway.
"Don't worry, kid. You're not the first to fall for that trick," The man who held the woman sneered. "Just hand over everything you've got, and maybe we'll let you walk away."
The woman laughed, a sickly, mocking sound. "Yeah, maybe," she added as if it was the funniest thing she had ever said.
I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "What, you think I'm rich or something? Look at me."
Sure, antagonizing them probably wasn't the smartest move, but I just couldn't help myself. Sarcasm was my first line of defense. Even if I was about to go down, I figured I'd at least take some of them with me. The thought made me smirkāprobably not the best idea under the circumstances. As expected, my sarcasm didn't land well. The guy's expression made it clear he was itching to beat the shit out of me.
The man's smile faded, replaced by an angry scowl. "Well, well... seems we've got a cocky one here. What do we do with cocky little bastards, boys?" he asked, his tone icy.
"Teach 'em a lesson," they responded in unison, like puppets. The way they spoke, so mechanical, creeped me out more than them threatening me
"Exactly," he said, eyes narrowing on me. "And when you're done learning your lesson, we'll take everything you haveāeven the clothes off your back. A good reminder to respect your elders."
I raised an eyebrow. "You planning on raping me while you beat me, or are you just gay?" I asked, my voice dripping with mock fear.
He reddened instantly, his whole face puffing up with rage. His veins looked ready to pop. "You little shit," he growled. "Get him, boys!"
I quickly scan my surroundings, trying to figure out the best way to defend myself against the four of them. Four-on-oneāthis won't be easy. The first guy charges at me, his hand reaching to grab me. Instinct takes over. I catch his arm mid-reach, and pivot, then used his own momentum to judo flip him onto the ground. He lands with a thud, groaning in pain.
Before I can relish the moment, the second guy is on me. He throws a wild punch aimed at my head. I lean back, narrowly dodging it, and retaliate with a rapid three-hit combo: a jab, a right hook, and an uppercut. The force of my strikes sends him stumbling backward, clutching his face.
The third guy rushes in fast and lands a solid hit on my ribs. Pain explodes in my side, and I stumbled back, but I let the momentum carry me into a roll, popping back to my feet almost immediately. He charges again, so I meet him head-on. This time, I leap forward and drive my knee into his chin. I feel the sickening crunch of his teeth breaking under the impact. Before he can recover, I grab his shirt and hammer his face with punch after punch. My knuckles sting, but I don't stopānot after he dared to hit me.
"Can you believe it?" I muttered to myself, wiping blood from my knuckles. "He actually hit me. What a mean person."
But just as I was about to deliver another punch, I felt a sharp pain in my side. My vision blurred as I grunt and look down seeing the gleam of a switchblade buried deep in my side, crimson soaking through my shirt. The dizziness hits fast, my knees buckling beneath me. I collapse, clutching my wound. I look up and see the leader looking at me with a twisted grin on his face. "You learned your lesson yet?" he sneers.
I laugh through the pain, spitting blood onto the pavement. "You pussies had to use a knife? That's just sad."
He leaned in closer, his smile turning into a sneer. He punched me square in the face, and everything went dark for a moment. I couldn't tell if it was from blood loss or just the sheer disappointment that his punch didn't even hurt.
I spat blood onto the ground, grinning. "Is that all you've got, princess?"
Furious, he strikes me again, harder this time. I fall flat on my back, my favorite shirt now completely ruined. He starts kicking me relentlessly, each blow sending shockwaves of pain through my battered body. After a while, his breathing grows ragged, and he steps back to catch his breath.
"You learned your lesson yet?" he growls, standing over me.
"Phil, I don't thiā" a woman's voice tries to intervene, but her words were cut off by the leader's rage. "Don't what?" he snapped, glaring at her. "Teach this bastard a lesson!" She looks away, her lips pressed into a thin line.
I laugh weakly, amused by her discomfort. At least one of them has a conscience.
Phill grabs me by the collar and drags me upright. My head lolls, but I mumble something under my breath.
"What was that?" he snarls, leaning in close. "Speak up!"
I grin through the blood and pain. Big mistake.
Summoning the last of my strength, I rear my head back and slam it forward. My forehead crashes into his nose with a sickening crunch. He screams, staggering backward, blood pouring from his broken nose.
I burst into laughter. "Aw, are you gonna cry, little b**ch?" I mock, in a high-pitched baby voice.
Enraged, he charges like a bull, tackling me to the ground. I could barely resist as he pulls the knife from my side. His face a mask of fury as he plunges it into my chest over and over. The blade cuts deep, and blood fills my mouth. I cough violently, choking on the taste of iron.
"Die! Die! DIE!" he screams, stabbing me with wild abandon. My vision blurs, darkening. The world begins to fade.
In the distance, I hear the wail of sirens. Someone must've finally called the cops. Too late for me, though. My thoughts drift, scattering like the blood pooling beneath me.
And with that final thought, I slipped into the darkness.