"Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack."

~ Seneca

Like a whirlwind, I woke. My senses scrambled like a radio, my heart thudding in my throat, a high-pitched buzzing in my ears. Together they forced conclusions before I could register my surroundings. Within seconds of regaining some form of consciousness, my brain began stalling like a flat car battery. Flashes of me entering the pub and ordering drinks entered my mind but left sooner than I liked. I blinked multiple times, shaking my head, and stretching my jaw to release the soreness.

Suddenly, I heard a pack of rabid hounds pounding on a steel door. I hissed, lifting my gaze towards the sound; nothing but emptiness. The lights hanging overhead flickered, the bulbs flashed brighter than the sun, burning my disoriented retinas. I blinked back thunderstorms of anger, convincing myself that it was worth it. The edges of my vision flickered over the graffiti-splattered walls, dank and dingy with scrap metal and spare parts scattered around.

An abandoned warehouse. How original.

Before I could piece together what had happened, a numbing sensation overcame me and my ears began ringing. A sliver of a voice ran past my ears, out of tune and garbled like a damaged recording, as if I was submerged deep underwater. That was when I realized that someone had splashed ice-cold water all over me, jolting me to my senses. Like fog, but wetter, it descended over all my senses, and gradually lifted, one sense at a time. That was when I remembered everything.

"You should know better than to be this reckless. Look at you. Pathetic, like a deer caught in headlights," a female voice tutted.

Kiara.

When I tried to lunge towards her, I discovered that I was restrained. My arms were stretched above me, chained to an overhead pipeline. The sound of clattering echoed as I struggled to break free. My upper body drenched in water.

"I just want to talk," she said in a conniving tone.

I grunted, scanning possible exits. A single steel door to my right. One-way entry and exit. No windows.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere. Fucking talk." I stared at her blankly.

"You can't keep running, Tobias. There's no out. You know that. You know the consequences. All these years, you've never taken your eyes off the prize but now..." she enunciated each word while picking up a knife and walking towards me. "Now, you're really slipping through the cracks." She shook her head mockingly.

"My prize has always been one thing. Answers. Give me those, I'll consider coming back," I replied slowly, blinking away the water on my eyelashes.

Scowling, she swiftly brought the knife to my neck. It dug into my wet skin as she spat, "This is your final warning. End this rebellion and return to Chicago or this won't end pretty."

"Final warning," I scoffed, my taunting smile dissolving into pure rage. "Either fight me or kill me. Right here, right now."

"You fight for me. Don't forget that. Or else there will be consequences. The wrench? That was just a teaser, big boy. Next time, it'll be bloody. I can assure you of that."  

As my arms dangled from the pipe, I pushed my feet against the ground to gain some momentum and swung back before thrusting towards her stomach with all my force. She flew back, falling on her ass. My hidden cockiness surfaced in the form of a smirk as our eyes met.

You like that, bitch?

Her eyes opened with a hiss, "You're fucking dead."

"You can't kill me, remember?"

She halted mid-stride, a slow lopsided grin tugging the corners of her mouth, "Doesn't mean I can't hurt you...or the people close to you."

I scoffed, "What people?"

"Really, now? We're gonna play that game, huh?" She arched a brow.

"It's pathetic, really." I shook my head.

"What, your bastard life?" she replied with a taunting eye roll.

I responded with nonchalance, "Nah, the way you bite when he says bite, fetch when he says fetch, bend over when he says bend--"

She lunged at me ferociously, raising her knife above my head. She sliced open my right forearm, drops of blood streaming down like rain, grazing the side of my face as I struggled. With her left hand, she grabbed my jaw and squeezed in my cheeks, her eyes ravenous with fury. I gritted my teeth together as she pressed her fingers into the gash, rubbing salt to my wound.

"Do as you're told before the truth comes crashing and everyone realizes how fucked up you are." She sneered.

I chuckled humorlessly which earned me a punch in the face. Iron. I tasted warm iron as blood began gathering in my mouth. Without hesitation, I spat on her face, feeding her wrath.

Lowering her knife to my Adam's apple, she seethed, "One day, when I'm done with you I'm going to carve a hole--" She twisted the tip of the blade into my jugular notch, drawing blood, "--right here." Suddenly, she pulled back, her other hand roughly groping my balls through the fabric of my sweatpants.

I'm gonna fucking kill this bitch.

"Get the fuck off me," I snarled, struggling in her grip but that made her press harder.

Fuck.

Don't show weakness.

"Then, I'm going go slice off these precious jewels, one after the other..." She squeezed them with sheer force and I pressed my eyes shut, inhaling a sharp breath.

"...and stuff them into the hole." Her knife found my the dip of my throat once more, but this time her blade horizontally dug into my skin. She continued, "And just like that, I'm going to watch you choke to death on your own manhood."

Before she could do any real damage, the steel door flew open with a loud thud to reveal two hooded figures.

What the fuck?

"Get away from him, slowly..." said one of the them, gesturing threateningly with a Smith & Wesson handgun.

Wait, I know that voice.

Andy fucking Decker. Gun in hand. Pointing it straight at Kiara. His face unusually rigid and his jaw clenched.

Fucking idiot.

"Put it down," another voice warned.

Andy being dumb enough to follow me was still believable but his companion was someone I hadn't expected to see. It was Dan. Both his hands gripping a pistol.

Whatever Kiara drugged me with must have been fucking strong because this shit cannot be real.

Kiara narrowed her eyes at me and then at them, lowering the knife in her hand and letting go of me with a menacing smirk, "Boys to the rescue, huh? Well, isn't this just adorable--"

Wait, this isn't a hallucination...?

"Save it." Andy cut her off.

Kiara burst into hysterical laughter, "Or what? Like you'd ever--"

A defeaning bang erupted from Andy's gun as it went off, the bullet ripped through the air, peircing the wall right behind Kiara's head, inches away from knocking her dead. Kiara was shocked, but she was quick to repress it.

Andy, you fucking stupid fuck.

"Next time, I won't miss. Now, slide the knife over and sit the fuck down." Andy vociferated.

"You boys are no fun." Kiara pouted before bending down to toss her knife towards my feet and sitting down on the dusty concrete with her back against the wall.

Andy inched towards me, slow and steady, keeping his aim focused on Kiara.

"You good?" he asked.

I gritted my teeth to suppress the profanities which sat at the edge of my tongue, sparing him a curt nod instead. Dan appeared with wire cutters to clip the chains that bound me. Meanwhile, Kiara watched us with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes.

This isn't gonna end well.

I felt my weight drown me as my arms fell to my side's, tingling sensations overcoming me as blood rushed back into them. I staggered, my vision turning blurry for a second.

Fucking pathetic.

Dan steadied me by wrapping his arm around my back and positioning mine over his shoulders.

"Get the fuck off me," I growled, throwing his arm away and facing the wall.

I didn't need anyone.

"Jeez. Just tryna help, man." Dan held up his hands and I balled my fists.

"I don't need your fucking help." I placed both my arms on the wall to center myself until my ragged breathing subdued.

Another mind-piercing bang echoed from behind me but this time it wasn't Andy. It was Kiara, she was quick on her feet, tackling Andy to the ground and snatching his gun. A series of bullets sparked off the ground. They weren't fatally directed towards any of us, but the intensity of their sound was enough to make my head throb.

What the fuck did this bitch give to me?

She bolted toward the door and out of nowhere, Dan rushed to shoot after her receding shadow but it was too late. She knew the streets like the back of her hand, she was gone.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" I snapped at them.

I didn't need more fucking problems.

"Saving you," said Andy.

"Yeah, we saved your ass," was Dan's arrogant reply.

My personal fucking heroes.

"You didn't save anyone, trust me." I chuckled bitterly, observing the cut on my arm. "If anything, you've gotten yourselves promoted to the top of the fucking list. Kiara won't let this go."

I tore through my already blood-stained white shirt, yanking a strip to wrap it around. It wasn't too deep, but I had to stop the bleeding.

"How the fuck did you even find me?" I frowned, pulling the cloth with my teeth to tighten it around my forearm. Blood soaked the strip within seconds, turning it from white to maroon.

"I didn't. Dan did." Andy answered while dusting his clothes. "Fuck, that bitch can throw a punch." He rubbed his jaw.

Dan started explaining, "I was dropping off crates of beer at the pub. That's when I saw some girl dragging you half-dazed through the back exit. I followed her out and called--"

"Don't you hate my guts?" I interrupted with a scoff, my question directed towards Dan.

"Shouldn't you be saying thank you instead of being an asshole?" Dan rolled his eyes.

"I'm acknowledging your existence, isn't that enough?" I replied.

With bloody hands, I grabbed a half-empty bottle of alcohol from the dust-laden shelves and sat down on one of the steel chairs. After pulling the cork open with my teeth, I downed a quick swig, letting it burn my insides. Placing it on the ground, I unwrapped the cloth, wiping away access blood. It was still oozing, my flesh was ruptured and torn. When the alcohol connected with my tender laceration, a hiss escaped my lips. 

"That's gonna need stitches." Andy winced.

I didn't respond even though it was burning like a bitch.

"Are we just going to ignore the fucking elephant in the room?" Dan voiced, his attitude edgy.

"If by elephant, you mean you, then yes," I retorted, running a hand through my damp hair.

"Unbelievable." Dan scoffed.

"What does she want from you?" Andy followed up.

"We're not having this conversation again, for fuck's sake," I grunted, winding the cloth around my forearm once again.

"I told you I'd fight with you, man. You're not fucking alone. Just tell me what you're up against!" Andy demanded.

"This isn't a small-town gang fight." My voice came out hoarse as I secured the bandaging with a tight knot, "Trust me when I say you don't want to be part of this. Fighting this battle means you have to be prepared for war." I stood up, grabbing the bottle of alcohol, before saying, "And like in every war, there's gonna be casualties." I paused for a moment, observing Andy's expression, "Can you handle that?"

When neither of them responded, I nodded, "Didn't think so," and with that, I departed, leaving both of them utterly speechless.

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Does blood make you squeamish?

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Love, Ari