Palacios clapped his hands in a deadly applause, his mouth twisted in a sly grin and his eyes contorted with an evil intention.“I tell you, he wants to prove to us how strong he is. Maybe he wants another round of beating,” Torstein responded, his eyes were a sarcastic twinkle of disdain.“Oh, no! I think that he really wants to fight us this time. Look at his eyes, look, look - can you see the fire in his eyes? I think he is really ready this time around. Why do you think he stood up and approached our direction if he didn't want to fight us,” Khartoum spoke, his body contorted with flamboyant expressions and vulgar jokes.Torstein curled his mouth in a filthy and mocking response. “I think we need to be afraid. We need to run away - he could be dangerous, he could kill us before we know it, haha.”They all tumbled their heads over in laughter and a deadly chorus of mockery, their jeers contorted with a ripple of scorn.Alan’s gaze was blank and unfocused for a while as he got so en
It was the same Alan who they beat to a pulp just minutes ago but what then happened? What changed? He used the side of his eye to look at Alan standing tall with his foot rooted to the ground - he was the same person. He still had the bruises from the last time they beat him. What then was the difference those few minutes? What happened that he didn't know about? Alan couldn't possibly have developed iron hands within those few minutes, could he? Or did he become weaker? Was he pretending not to be strong when they were inflicting pain on him? Did he allow them to beat him?Palacios’ mind was a pool of confusion and his features were slack with surprise, his gaze questioning in a desperate need for an answer to the mystery that was surrounding him.While he was still in agony from the impact of Alan’s intervention, he wasn't going to just let it go. He wasn't going to let Alan humiliate him like that especially when he was out to prove to his followers that he was strong enough to
Khartoum went pale immediately when he heard those words. His heart was beating very fast and his stomach suddenly felt a tingling sensation as the mask of horror he had been wearing was now much more evident.Not on Khartoum - Palacios and Torstein who were on the ground and powerless because of the beating they received at the hand of Alan had their mouths opened wide in shock. They felt like they were being punished by a higher authority and they couldn't help but close their eyes in disbelief.Khartoum almost stumbled in the shock of Alan’s statement. How did he know that there was no bullet in his gun? Not only did he know about his gun but he also knew that the same was the reality for the others.Or did he listen to them when they were whispering about it? There was no way he could have done that. He wasn't even close to the area they were and even if he were, it could have taken something more than the natural to have heard their whispers, Khartoum thought.It made no sense. T
If Alan had killed them, they probably wouldn't have been able to tell the cops anything but that would only result in him worsening his problems because he would then have a murder charge hanging on his neck.The police siren was becoming more louder by the second and he could hear the police sounding instructions to each other as they matched out of the van towards the gym.Perhaps he was going to read their minds but how far could that possibly go in helping him conquer them? They were too many and he wouldn't want to engage in a combat with the police. That would greatly reduce his innocence and the heroic exploits that he was able to achieve by defeating the thugs would be rendered useless.His gaze soon locked onto a window that was near the back of the gym. It had few bars and no locks which made it easy to escape through. That had to be his chance of escape, Alan thought.He knew that the escape was going to lead him to a bush and that was more than enough to save him from the
Torstein frowned with a deadly expression of concern. He was upset with the way Alan humiliated him just as the others were.“If we let the door open, we are going to be allowing them to arrest us if they somehow know that we are ex-convicts. Also, what is the guarantee that Alan hasn't already escaped? We could lose on both sides,” Palacious responded.“But why won't they believe us - we might be ex-convicts but we are the ones who have been hard done by in this situation,” Torstein whispered.Palacios’ eyes darted with a deadly tension of distress. “What happens when these men begin to testify against us? They saw everything that happened and we threatened some of them. I’m sure they can't wait to reveal us to the police.”“What do you suggest we do then?” Torstein asked. “It's not like we have much of an option.”Torsten was right - there wasn't much of an option for them and they were in a race against time. The cops were already using very huge instruments to cut through the iron
“It's true! There is the sack - give us back our phones. The useless criminals wanted to steal our phones.”The lead cop soon called one of his subordinates, Officer Felicia, and whispered into her ears. “Organize some of the officers to go round the back. The man that is claimed to be the victim should also be brought in for questioning. He might not be innocent.”The lead cop, even though he believed what the men were telling him, figured out that there might have been something on Alan because he ran out. He was curious to find out why he would save the others in the gym only to escape through a window with such a small space and the possibility of escape. He must have been very desperate, the lead cop thought. He was curious to know why Alan had to escape.Officer Felicia immediately stepped back in obedience to the lead cop. She signaled with the pointing of her hands and a handful of cops followed her outside the gym center to look for Alan.The lead cop then brought out his cu
***Meanwhile, Alan landed on the thick bush which formed a dense wall of green, its foliage blocking out the sky. The path before Alan was an endless tangle of roots. The trees were a wall of green, standing tall and the branches and vines twisting and tangling around them.Alan wondered the extent of trouble that he had gotten himself into. It was always going to be difficult to navigate his way past the swamps and thick trees. He began to wonder if he had not made a mistake by escaping the gym center. Perhaps he should have just allowed the cops to arrest him as well and then he would later clear his name.He thought that he would be able to find his way to the office when he came down into the bush but he had been walking around for almost 10 minutes and it seemed like he had not even made any progress. It was like he was running in circles and there was no improvement. There was no route of escape.He would have been doing something much more productive than wandering in a thick
He didn't know his way out of the bush on his own. Even if the cops all left at once and decided that they weren't going to try capturing him, he would still be doomed because he didn't know the way out.Was it not better to surrender to a group of people who would most likely know their way out? They wouldn’t reach that far if they were all going to be lost in the search for him, he thought.When he got out he was then going to sort himself with the cops.Was it a good idea? He asked himself, nodding with his mind filled with quick thoughts. Erm! No, he muttered under his breath.He wouldn't surrender to them just like that. He had done nothing wrong. It was best for him to assume that they didn't know his face. He knew that the thugs he dealt with at the gym center weren't going to tell him.Why would he reveal his facial identity if there was still a chance to escape without any trace?With a burst of swiftness and strength, he used his claws to grasp the towering tree before he s