…
"Bloody fockin' hell kid, you scared us," one of the men exclaimed loudly, causing the others of his buddies, who had been preparing to flee, to turn their heads in surprise. One of them, who was the first to run away and was now quite far from the others, glanced back nervously upon hearing the cry (the traitor among the buddies, bruh).
As the others realized that it wasn't the guard, they returned to their original position, this time intentionally blocking the road.
"What are you doing here, you little b*stard? If you don't give me enough good reason, let's see how I'm going to whip your little ass like a sack of rice you are?" the man's glower of anger was directed at El, as he was the first to recognize the latter.
El had suddenly appeared, making those harrowing footsteps in this empty alleyway, and then finally revealed himself at the intersection. After gasping for air and clutching his chest, he yelled at El, with resentment dripping clearly from his voice.
"Excuse me, I need to get through!" El stated, bowing slightly once, also feeling a twinge of sympathy for the man. He wondered if the man nearly had a heart attack from the earlier shock.
"Wait…" one of the men beside the first man promptly spoke up. "Open your goddamn mask!!?" he ordered El.
"What is it?" the first man leaned closer, whispering to the second.
"Look at his clothes! They're too clean. And look at his eyes!" The second man pointed at El's attire.
"Hmmmm…" The first man contemplated, slowly grasping the implication. "Ahh, you mean… you suspect a kid. This kid??? Coming from the upper side? The city?" He wore a ridiculing smile as he continued his string of words.
"Haaaa, you're funny, bro! Why did I just know 'bout it now? There, is, no way a kid from the upper side would dare to come in here alone. Even just getting close to the fences is something they're afraid to. Their parents must be telling all their kids each night for their 'bedtime story', that we actually are a demon… a ghost or something that will going to eat them alive. I'm sure it is," El could clearly feel the bitterness behind the man's words.
The second man's lips flattened at this, but his gaze remained fixed on El, dismissing the first man's claims. "Open it!!? Now!!!"
Doesn't knew what came over him at that moment, El decides to heed the man's order anyway, as he remove his hoodie and mask. And what revealed behind it was El's face with his clean and healthy skin, not like the supposed complexion – shared by all the people living in the underside.
"See!!?" the second man exclaimed.
"… Waa… what are you doing here? A kid from the city dares enough to come to this place? Have you lost your mind?" the first man's bewilderment was evident on his face.
"What do we do with him?" another man asked from behind the two.
"Of course, we let him go… what else there is to it. Do you want to deal with the city's guards? Hell no…" commented by the first man.
"No, we bring him with us. From his look alone, his family must be rich. One of us will be the good guy and report this to the city's guard, while the rest of us will stay watching over this kid who will becoming our hostage. We ask his family for ransom by then…" the second man said, his expression hard and unsmiling.
"Are you crazy?" expressed the first man loudly with mouth wide open.
"No, I'm not," replied the second man briefly.
"What if they come after our head? They will shoot us dead. Do you think they won't do that???" his face etched with fear and distress while saying that.
"They won't. If you don't dare, leave, Sill. We can do it on our own. Remember, once we get the money, you won't have any share," pressed the second man while eyeing him with the corner of his eyes.
Meanwhile, the others on the two's back just quietly exchanging glances, didn't denying nor arguing back about the devised idea of making El as their hostage.
"... I… sigh. Alright then. I'm in. I hope there won't be anything wrong again this time," the first man names Sill is finally giving up, deciding to go ahead with the plan.
"Do not resist," the second man who were the one starting this whole scheme then approached El with a glare. As his hand reached out to grab El's shoulder, El instinctively dodged to the side.
"What are you doing? I just want to get through," El conveyed it a frown.
"Don't fight back. Come with us!!!" responds Sill.
"I don't want to…" El replied as he is stepping back, creating distance. 'Why would I? Are you an idiot?' El added in his mind, while contemplating whether he need to steps up his game by 'fight' or immediate 'flight'.
"Wow, kid… you didn't hear us before, did you? You, are our hostage now, and you will remain so until we get the money from your parents! And we need a lot of that!!?" Sill replied, his voice for no apparent reasons laced with anger as he stepped closer to El, with his eyes threatening to unleash the beast lurking within. Just as his hand reached out to grab El's shoulder, El instinctively punched it away, striking him right on the wrist.
*Bam*
"Oucccchhhhh! What the freak..." Sill cried out in pain, grimacing as he clutched the spot where El had hit him.
El readied himself, with his hands awkwardly positioned in front of his face. He didn't know how to fight, and hell, for the fact is – he surely never even being in one himself as much as he remembers. Yet, here he was. For whatever reason he couldn't explains, he wanted no flight this time – but a fight. When these people from the underside discussed blatantly right in front of him about how they wanted to kidnap him, his heart began to race. It felt as if it was growing hotter – or perhaps colder. He didn't know how to explain or quite articulate the sensation either. It feels like, his heart beaten hard for no reason – just from the anticipation of the fights that he would gotten himself in right now.
One thing for sure though.
Is that…
He wanted that smoke. He was excited.
He felt a strange thrill coursing through him, yet he remained acutely aware of why he was there. He wanted to reach the mayor's office to witness the execution and understand what had gone wrong with the restaurant that had led them to such dire consequences.
"Get him!" shouted the second man whose name was Glam, as he remained in his place, silently observing Sill. He noticed Sill's hand was red and slightly swollen from El's earlier punch, making him concurrently wary of El.
The others from the underside approached El with malicious intent, determined to hurt him this time. One man attempted to slap El's face hard, but El dodged just in time, narrowly avoiding the blow. Just as he had done with Sill, he retaliated – this time striking the man on the side of his elbow.
*Bam*
"Arrgh!" the man cried out, stumbling to the side and grimacing against the wall while clutching his elbow.
The others, witnessing this, quickly shifted their strategy as they launch a flurry of real kicks and punches, while still trying to avoid being too aggressive or lethal with their attack.
This time though, El found himself struggling to keep up. Because just as he prepared to counterattack, he had to dodge another punches or kicks aimed at him. Yet, his heart continued to race, as if something dormant within him who was sleeping all this time – slowly awakening.
Subsequently, from deep within his heart, a bluish hue veins with hints of purple began to surface, clawing its way out to the outside, which now gradually visible on his skin chest. It spread from one point, crawling curiously as everything around El suddenly seemed to slow down. There were moments when he could have struck back at his opponents, but he found himself too distracted by the overwhelming sensations flowing all over his senses.
On the other hand, at the outside of El's mind and sight, the others who currently attacking El, with Sill and the other man who was hit first by El – now watching the fight unfold; with the last was Glam who were staying still at his position – were now all flabbergasted and in bafflement.
They couldn't comprehend how El was managing to dodge all their attacks as the guys took turns, trying to hit him. It seemed utterly impossible. Just like when Glam thought that the kick from one of the men would connects with El's rib, the latter still managed to dodge it by spinning weirdly on the spot with his feet as the pivot, his body leaning to the front, then rotating fast – away from the kick.
"What the freaky f*ck is that???" Glam exclaimed, astonished, as the others paused their assault momentarily, equally stunned.
But their moment of disbelief was short-lived, as they resumed their attempts to strike El. Yet, he still continued to evade them, trapped in a trance within his own mind, where everything around him moved in slow motion. Without El knowing, his movement getting even faster and smoother, as if his memory muscles finally recalled something he forgot, so it only needs to lead in the way which a path was already paved in front of it.
Suddenly, a loud voice of a young girl echoed through the alley, abruptly halting their fight.
"What were you all doing here?"
…