While in shock, Bailey punched the guy straight in the nose.He fell to the ground, groaning.Two left, but one thug had gotten behind him.Bailey cursed when a pair of arms wrapped around his neck.Bailey gasped.He flailed his legs and clawed at the arm around his neck.There was a moment of panic before Bailey finally elbowed the jerk as hard as he could in the gut.He let out a grunt, his arm loosened.Bailey flung the hold off him and sprinted towards the main street.
A heavy weight rammed Bailey’s back.He plummeted to the sidewalk, tackled by the thug from behind.There were a few more minutes of struggle with Bailey throwing kicks and punches, either successfully landing them or missing entirely before everything became futile.Thug Two and Three had Bailey pinned against the wall of the alley.Thug One unleashed his anger with his fists over and over until Bailey’s world spun.He tasted metal, felt blood trickling down his nose.
Bailey wondered how the hell he was going to get out of this mess, or rather, how beaten up he would be by the end of said mess.
Thug One ceased the brutal assault upon realizing that they had a witness.Scratching beneath his nose, the jerk stepped towards the end of the street.A tall figure stood on the main street in front of the street lamp so that the light cut harsh shadows across them.For a moment, the stranger took a step to the left, as if to leave, then hesitated.
Grunting, Thug One finally shouted, “The fuck you lookin’ at?”
Bailey never thought the day would come that he would actually enjoy hearing the monotone voice that replied, “Some dumbasses trying to prove their masculinity.”
Taking a few steps forward, Zane appeared with a frown on his face and a box of beer in his left hand.
Zane had his hood up, shielding his face from the rain that had calmed to a light drizzle.Unfortunately, he heard the fight, witnessed a small portion of it too.Though his mind screamed,walk back to your car and pretend you didn’t see it.Ok, your car is right across the street.Just go.He went against those thoughts after hearing Bailey’s pained groans.
Zane knew he was an asshole, but he wasn’t that much of an asshole.Damn morality, because that led to three angry men with a lot to prove glaring at him.
“What the fuck did you just say?”Thug one bellowed.His attention shifted from Bailey to Zane.The other attacks released Bailey, now solely focused on the new threat.
Bailey slipped to the floor, glasses clattering on the ground.Woozy, his stomach churned with every intention of vomiting.While he waited for the eventual upchuck, the brutes advanced on a bored as ever Zane.
“Three on one is pretty pathetic, but I suppose that’s about the only way any of you could win in a fight,” he said.
“Provoking them won’t help,” Bailey called hoarsely.
He retrieved his dirty glasses, relieved they hadn’t broken.While he in no way liked Zane, that didn’t mean he wanted the guy to get hurt.He wasn’t exactly buff, or looked the type to get into a fistfight, so all Bailey could imagine was him getting his ass kicked.He wasn’t up to help either, legs shaking enough that he had to use the alley wall for support.
Zane ignored Bailey, which shouldn’t be that surprising.Instead, he sat his box of beer down, proceeding to flick his fingers to provoke the jerks.
“You asked for it!”One man yelled, then lunged.
Zane caught the thug's fist.Bringing back his left fist, he sent it upward into the jerk’s gut.The attacker coughed painfully.He toppled to his knees when Zane released him.Another attacker approached from behind.Zane’s kick caught him in the chest with a resounding crack.The jerk tumbled down the alley like a bag in the wind.If not for the dumpster that he hit, the guy may have skidded a few more feet.
With strength like that, Bailey surmised Zane was definitely a mutant.He couldn’t send someone flying like that without an enhancement.However, Zane wasn’t the only mutant around.A harsh ringing sound rippled through the stormy air.Bailey cursed at the agonizing headache that sent him to his knees.The ringing became so high pitched it resembled needles in his brain.
The sound originated from thug one, who merely pressed his lips together to create the concussive noise.He didn’t even care that his friend couldn’t handle it either.The other attackers protected their ears, begging for the noise to stop.Zane flinched, then glared.
Zane took one menacing step forward after the other.After each step, the thug took one, shaking one back.His whistling grew louder, forcing Bailey to release a silent scream.Zane held up his hand, fingers twitching and lips set into a thin line.Then he huffed and sprinted forward.His fist met the thug’s cheek in a violent hit that snapped the jerk’s nose.Blood poured from his nostrils.The whistling ceased, replaced by an agonizing shout from Zane sending his fist into the asshole’s stomach.He attempted a fight, though the fist he threw missed entirely.Zane grabbed him by the arm to swing over his shoulder.He hit the concrete with a rapacious bang.One kick to his face ended the tussle.
Without the whistling, Bailey could breathe again.So could the other attackers.He pushed himself to his knees in time to witness the conscious guys run.They abandoned their so-called buddy bleeding in the alley.
For a brief moment, Zane considered going after them to teach a lesson.By brief, it was literally a nanosecond before he thought,no way in hell.That was far too much excitement.He had enough tonight to last a lifetime, and his conscience was clean.He helped the bad luck charm, so his job was done.He grabbed his beer and walked away.The idea of watching movies, munching on chips and drinking beer was almost enough to make Zane smile.Almost.However, Bailey vomiting ruined that glorious vision.
But that was supposed to be the end,Zane thought.
Zane grimaced at the continuous gags coming from the alley.Pivoting on his heel, he spotted Bailey hunched over, spewing whatever food or drink he had earlier.He had yet to return to reality, eyes barely open, glasses fogged, and body shaking.Either from the cold, rain, whistling, or having his ass beat.Honestly, it was likely all the above.
“Ignore him,” Zane said with a very stern nod.Bailey threw up again.Zane slapped his hand over his face, dragged it slowly down and groaned, “I hate trouble.”
Yet he helped said trouble off the sidewalk.Bailey didn’t put up a fight when Zane snaked his arm around his waist, proceeding to toss Bailey’s arm over his shoulder.
Zane dragged Bailey’s practically lifeless body to his car.He grimaced the whole time, grumbling about the smell and mess.When Bailey released a disgusting burp, Zane moved quicker than he ever had in his life to find a container.He found a plastic bag in the back seat, handing it to Bailey to cough in.Zane waited.He doubted a moving vehicle would help a queasy stomach, so he sat there with his eyes on anything but Bailey.He didn’t want to see any more vomit, thanks.
After a moment, Bailey leaned against the seat.In a hoarse, quiet voice, he said, “Thank you.”
Bailey offered Zane a smile.Though his pearly whites weren’t showing, it was bright, and Zane questioned if the kid was human.How could someone look that chipper after getting the shit beaten out of them, then throwing up?
“Who knows how long they would have kept it up if you hadn’t shown up?”Bailey sighed, allowing his eyes to close.
