Chapter Three

His saviors were a group of three men with huge biceps and muscles, dressed in ripped jackets, T-shirts, and jeans. Their whole arms were covered with tattoos. Bandanas of different colors were tied on their head, covering their hairs. The man in the middle had dark shades on and he had piercings on his nose.

Brian guessed they were some of the gangsters who hung out in the alley.

He chuckled nervously. "Hello. Thanks for the help. I'll be leaving now."

He wanted to walk out from there as soon as possible but their hard glares prevented him from moving a muscle.

They just laughed with a deep hoarse voice after Brian spoke.

The one with the piercings, who seemed to be the leader, clicked his tongue. "Tsk. You poor naive thing. You are going nowhere."

Brian squealed and staggered back. "I'm very sorry for being here. Please don't hurt me."

The dark-shade guy laughed again. When his laughter died down, his expression became serious and he ordered. "Get him." 

Panic immediately took hold of Brian. He screamed and ran in the direction Gabe ran to. His sides stung in pain but he endured it. Behind him, he could hear the men yelling and running after him.

His heartbeat picked up its rate as he ran deeper, managing to find his way in the darkness. What do these men want from him?

He reached an end wall and turned. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw a way out of the alley to the road. If he could get out of the alley, it would increase his chances of getting away from these crazy maniacs.

He increased his speed with the hope of escaping. But before he could reach it, two men, dressed like the ones behind him, emerged and stood in the way, casting their shadows on him. Brain halted abruptly. Following his instincts, he took the turn beside him only to be faced with a dead end.

"No no no." Brian lamented, running his hand on the wall.

"We got you now, punk." The leader said as he walked into the passageway. The men were now five in number.

"What do you want from me?" Brian asked, shaking in fear.

Ignoring Brian's question, the one with a green bandana turned to their leader. "Should we knock him out and bring him to the client immediately?"

"Hmm," the leader hummed, running his hand on his chin. "Let's have a little fun with him first."

Brian whimpered. He didn't know what kind of fun they were talking about but he was sure it wasn't the kind of fun he knew. 

They began walking closer to him.

"Please, don't hurt me." Brian implored, even though he knew it was useless to beg them.

They snickered as they got closer to him, pounding their fists on their palms. Brian continued pleading until the leader yelled.

"Enough."

He drove his fist into Brian's abdomen. Brian coughed and landed on the ground, his hands wrapped around his gut.

The leader laughed. "Stand up and fight weak thing." 

He hadn't fully recovered from Gabe's kick. The punch increased his pain and he couldn't stand up. He just stayed on the floor panting in pain.

The one with the blue bandana sneered. "This guy is weaker than I thought."

The leader grabbed his hair and pulled him up. "Come on, fight back."

"Please... stop." Brian gasped, his hands still around his gut.

"I said fight back." He drove his fist into his abdomen again, harder this time. 

Brian groaned and tightened his grip. 

"Beat him up." The leader ordered.

They attacked Brian with blows and kicks all over his body until he had huge red spots and his body hurt all over. 

When they had beaten him to their satisfaction, they left Brian and he slumped on the ground. His glasses fell from his face, making his sight blur. He groaned, unmoving on the ground.

"Ok, that felt amazing. Haven't beaten someone in months." The one with a yellow bandana said, cracking his knuckles.

"Agreed. Now, knock him out." The leader ordered. "Brody, hurry up and get the truck ready to put this loser. If we are late, the client won't pay us a penny."

Client? Brian couldn't help but crease his brows even though he was weak. What client would pay them to beat him up and take him? And why on earth would someone want him? He was poor, so why would anyone want him? Raymond was the first person that flashed across his mind.

He heard one of them approaching him. He couldn't tell which one since his sight was blurred. 

Why did today just have to be so terrible for him? 

The man bent down to inject a tranquilizer into him. But before he could, a voice echoed.

"Stay away from him."

The gang of men turned back instantly. Brian tried to lift his head to look but he couldn't see clearly without his glasses.

The voice seemed to come from the shadow of a person who stood some meters away from them. It sounded feminine.

"Who the fuck are you?" The leader yelled. 

Gradually, the person came into view. It was a woman in a pink T-shirt and black jeans with black boots. Half of her face was covered in a black nose mask and her hair was tied in a bun.

She walked closer to them, swaying her hips from side to side.

"Stay away from him." She repeated.

Brain creased his brows even narrower. Her voice was a bit muffled due to the nose mask, but it sounded familiar.

One of the men snickered. "Who is this chick?" 

"She's kinda hot." Another one quipped. "Wanna hang out?" 

"Focus." The leader yelled at them. Then he faced her. "It's better not poke into affairs that aren't your concern, chick. What can you do?"

She chuckled. "Wanna find out?"

They all let out a taunting "ooh."

The leader laughed softly. "I would have loved to play with you but I have a client waiting to pay me a thousand dollars. Take care of her, Brody."

Brody, the guy with the green bandana cracked his knuckles and walked towards her slowly. She was a woman so this will be an easy fight.

Instantly, four huge men entered the passageway. 

The eyes of the gangsters popped out. The men that had just entered had nose masks like the woman but they were so jacked with muscles. If not for some differences, they could have been mistaken for The Hulk. 

Brian couldn't see the men due to his blurry eyesight.

The leader gulped. These men made his regular visit to the gym look like going to a child's playground. 

"Aren't you fighting me again?" The woman taunted when Brody stepped backward. 

They were now shivering like they had caught a cold. Was the boy they were told to capture an influential person? He didn't strike them as someone with power. What had they gotten themselves into now?

"We are sorry." The leader whimpered. "We didn't know he was...please don't hurt us."

Brian was baffled by the leader's plea as he sat up. How intimidating were these men that it made the leader beg?

The woman clicked her tongue. "You didn't adhere to his pleas, did you? Why should we listen to yours then?"

The leader's shivers increased.

"Get them." She ordered the men. 

The gang of men yelped and turned to run, only to hit the wall behind them. There was no escape. 

The bulky men drew closer to them. The gangsters tried to scamper and maneuver them but they were caught easily. The bulky men lifted them on their shoulders like they were kids. The gangsters thrashed and punched, but the bulky men didn't bulge as they carried them away. 

Soon, the passageway was silent. Only the woman and Brian remained. Brian sat confounded, forgetting to look for his glasses. What the heck just happened?

The woman approached Brian. She sighted his glasses near the right corner and picked it up.

"Here you go." She put the glasses on his face.

Gradually, Brian's sight crystallized. 

He turned to the woman and knelt before her. "Thank you. Thank you so much for..."

He stopped when she removed her nose mask and he saw her face clearly.

His eyes widened in astonishment. "Melanie?"