We stepped out of the store, lugging shopping bags with us, which Orm called noisy. I had him wait in front of the exit so that I could get us a cab and walked down the curb.

Unexpectedly, a taxi swerved out of nowhere and almost crushed my legs. I was able to get out of the way with a loud squeal, but I fell and scraped my elbow.

The car doors opened and out came Bill, and a trio of guys with him.

Steam came out of my ears at the sight of him. He snickered and came to stand over me.

“Fancy meeting you here, waitress.” He taunted with an evil chuckle. “I thought you would be in the morgue by now, but since you're not dead yet, how about you gimme that twenty? While you're at it, you can tell me how your dog's doing.”

At that, I fumed, stood up quickly and lunged at him without warning. My fist connected with his nose and it cracked – as well as a few fingers on my hand. I winced in pain and cradled my hand.

“You're full of crap, Bill.” I spat. “And I'll make sure you pay for what you did to me.”

Bill wiped the blood off his nose and yanked a pocketknife from under his jacket. “Maybe I got it mixed up the last time. The knife was meant for you, not the dog.”

I shuffled back, scanning the environment, but as usual, people were scarcely about whenever I was going to get seriously hurt. The goons all produced knives too, even bigger than Bill's own.

“Say your last prayers, waitress.”

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded from behind. “Don't tell me you've taken so long because you remembered another great hangout sp—”

Bill and his goons turned. Orm realized who they were and his nose wrinkled. His upper lip began to twitch. The slightest anger made him look like a treacherous villain, and it was scary.

“Brought your boyfriend again, didn't ya?” Bill chuckled, fiddling with his blade.

I checked my elbow. It was bleeding. “What's it to you?”

They all faced Orm.

“Stubbornness is a trait amongst living things in general,” Orm began. “And one would think that after the last warning, you empty-headed buffoons would stay away. But it looks like you are stubborn in a quite different manner than that of common living things.”

“You talk too much, pretty boy.” Bill snapped, holding out his knife. “I'm gonna cut your tongue off.”

“Sure you can see with that black eye?” I sassed in a salty tone.

Bill made a head gesture in my direction, and one of his buddies raced toward me whilst the others attacked Orm. The man tried to grapple me. I violently slapped and kicked, refusing to let him come close enough. Still, he came around and grabbed me from behind, caging my hands to my chest.

I screamed and kicked more, but his grip was iron-like. From that position, I watched Orm. He tossed Bill's goons to the side like they were made of paper after doing a few numbers on their faces. Then, he rounded Bill.

“I can tell you're a coward – coming back to a hurt a woman who's done nothing wrong to you.” He growled.

“You don't know anything, bastard.” Bill countered, clumsily trying to keep up with Orm’s pace.

Dipping a hand into his jacket pocket, Orm sprayed a few dollar bills at Bill. “There. It's more than what she owed.” He halted. “I'm going to count to three and before I get there you best pick up the money and be on your way. If not, I'll blur your sight in the other eye.”

I knew Bill was greedy and an asshole, but I didn't realize he was also stupid. Because he was still annoyed by the last encounter and wanted to take revenge, he ignored the money.

“Go to hell!” He croaked and made his attack.

His sloppy arm made a few slashes with the pocketknife that Orm dodged without effort. Before he could prep for another swing, Orm had punched him twice – in the throat. Blood gushed out of his mouth and he retched then received another blow to the jaw. Orm grabbed him by the shirt and flung him into the nearest car, setting off sirens.

The scenario was awesome. It felt like Wonder Woman all over again, but my elation died off when the goon that held me lifted his arm and buried his knife all the way into my shoulder. My lungs might've sailed out of me with how much I screamed.

In the next second, Orm was there. He punched goon number three a few hundred times and used the man's own hand to plunge the knife into his side.

Then, he came to me.

I was blinded by pain, crying and screaming. I could see the knife buried up to its hilt inside my arm. It sent signals of burning pain across my body.

“Calm down, it'll be fine.” Orm assured. He reached for the blade, but I screamed and gave him such a start that his hand retracted.

My top soaked with blood, and I felt it sticking to much of my skin underneath.

Orm gingerly picked me up and hurried into the taxi, yelling at the driver. “Get us out of here.”

I was half out when I heard the sound of water. Sea salt oozed off Orm's shirt that my nose was almost pressed into. Chilling cold enveloped me and made me shiver, then I realized we were somewhere near the coast. My back met with wet stone as Orm lowered me against a pile of rocks.

“I'll be right back.” He nodded and marched straight for the water. Through blurry eyes, I watched him get swallowed into the waves.

Why he would bring me to the beach was a valid cause for confusion, but I could barely think at all. Not with all the pain I was feeling. About a few minutes later, Orm resurfaced, holding up a bunch of things in his hands that looked like ropes.

He came up to me. The waves that lapped at the rocks had washed over me six times, drenching me continuously from head to foot. I shivered worse than before.

Orm took my right hand and held it tight. “This might sting.” And without further ado, yanked the knife out. My screams probably echoed down to the bottom of the sea.

Sting? Are you kidding me?

In a hurry, he crushed the things he'd brought with him and smeared them across the open wound. They felt icy cold and itched. Then, he wrapped the ropy things around every cut like a bandage. I felt too weak to protest, merely watching him do his best to keep me from dying.

“I guess I should've showed you,” I stated weakly, his image blurring to a gradual fade. “the hospital before the mall.”

When my eyelids drew apart, I didn't recognize the ceiling. It looked old and white, lit up by yellow lights. I sat up, studied the new surrounding and came to a conclusion. It wasn't my house. Yet I heard a familiar bark.

“Supe?”

My husky rushed up to me and licked my face. I laughed and drew him back. “How did you get here?”

“I brought him.” Orm's voice came from the doorway. He leaned against it with his arms folded, squinting at me. “You woke up faster than I thought.”

“Is this your “laying low for the meantime?”” I asked. My shoulder spasmed with dull pain.

“A cabin. It sits close to the sea.” He confirmed. “My brother helped me find it.”

I paused to reevaluate his statement. “Your brother?” A memory came back. “Arthur?”

Even in the dimly lit room I saw his eyebrow lift in faint surprise. “I'm sure everybody knows him on the surface now. What was he called again?!”

My eyes almost popped out as realization finally settled. “Arthur Curry. Your brother is Arthur Curry. Aquaman, the King of Atlantis.”

He shut his eyes in a yes gesture. “That asshole.”

I chortled with laughter. “You don't get along?”

“Until very recently, yes, we didn't. He saved my life. . .” He groaned exasperatingly as if he hated to admit the next statement aloud. “A few times. I spent some few years in a jail in the desert. He came and broke me out with the condition that I helped him solve a problem that would affect both Atlantis and the surface world. In that time, I got to see that he wasn't as horrible as I presumed.”

He removed his body from the doorframe and it suddenly hit me that he was barrel-chested. The man was so stocky I feared he would burst out of his shirt. He came to sit next to me and Supe nestled near his legs. I took it my dog also liked the smell of sea salt.

“After that, he gave me the freedom to roam the surface as I pleased.”

I put two and two together. “You'd been expecting to go back to prison.”

He nodded. “He said the Fishermen kingdom would presume I was dead with the disaster that came off our little expedition.”

“Why?”

He glanced at me. “Why what?”

“Why did they put you in jail?”

I wondered if he really rolled his eyes when he looked away. “I killed their King.”

My jaw dropped. “You. . . Okay!”

He looked back at me. “But it was a mistake. I was blinded by rage. I hated surface dwellers. I wanted to do away with them.”

“What did we do wrong?”

“You poison the ocean!” He said it calmly, but it sent hot accusing darts into my chest. “You care little what for what happens to the creatures beneath. They die of toxicity and humans show no remorse. You could've wiped out entire populations under the sea.”

“As would you.” I backfired quietly. “Some of us don't have the power to stop certain things. You've seen that now, haven't you?”

He watched me with solemn eyes.

“I couldn't even afford to pay off a simple debt because I'm a nobody. I own nothing. Do you think I'd have had the influence to prevent the rest of the world from doing what they pleased with the ocean? What I think doesn't matter; what I say doesn't either. I can't beat up the bad guys like you can. I don't have powerful fists.”

I looked at my red, bloodied knuckles. Orm did too.

“I wasn't blaming you.” He muttered.

“Maybe,” I agreed. “But I'm a surface dweller. If your plan for annihilation had succeeded back then, I would've died along with everyone else.”

Quietly, I laid back into the couch. It smelled exactly like him, and I gathered he slept there a lot. The cabin looked awfully small, but it was cozy and toasty. He did not move from his position, and I fell asleep whilst watching him watch me.