R.E.birth Page 13

  My muscles loosen up and I find myself staring malevolently down at him while he wipes the blood from his lips. I cannot tell how much I have broken, but when he looks up at me I can see that the spirit he had when he was attacking is part of it. He makes no attempt to get back up but when I look up at Ami I can see that she is still quite scared. Leaving the man, I move to Ami and retrieve the knife and take her arm in mine to lead her away.

  “Next time when someone just wants to pass I suggest you let them.” I wave the knife by the blade, showing him that I am taking it with me.

  He starts to get up and I watch him carefully, but he retreats to the side of the building and leans against it.

  Ami tugs on my arm and we find our way through unhindered. The road turns slightly again and several buildings down I toss the knife next to yet another run down building.

  “I suppose it would do no good to ask where you learned to fight like that,” Ami breaks our silence.

  “Not really. It just came to me like second nature,” I tell her. “That is not the first time I have noticed it though.”

  “Oh?” She looks up at me inquisitively.

  While we make our way through the city I tell her about Evalyn’s attempts to assault me and she seems a bit disconcerted, but does not have much to add. We fall silent and eventually I see a break in the buildings. Pointing it out to her brings the excitement back into her face.

  “I will give you a five second head start,” I challenge her.

  “Five? I don’t need one! I’ll beat you there with ease,” she scoffs with a smirk.

  “All right. Ready?” We both prepare to break into a full sprint. “Go!”

  I push off hard with my left foot and begin running at full speed, my arms swinging against my sides and my lungs expanding and contracting rapidly. Pulling into the lead right away and creating a gap of a few feet between me and her, I feel confident that victory will be mine. Buildings seem to whir by us as we have our friendly contest. However as I continue to run my lungs begin to burn, starting out only as a little pain but quickly increasing until it is hard to breathe. I struggle to keep running by breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, but it is too late to mitigate the pain. Looking over my shoulder I see that my lead on Ami is closing rapidly as she keeps a steady pace.

  Am I so out of shape that a girl is going to beat me at running?

  My calves have started to burn as well and I lose momentum. I cannot bear it any longer, my body forcing me to slow down while I watch Ami blow past me. Trying to get my rapid and painful breathing under control proves useless as I instinctually breathe in deeply trying to catch my breath. My pride however convinces me that I am just being weak and I can go more. I attempt to run again but this time my scar protests. Stopping dead in my tracks I hunch over and rest my palms against my knees. While I wait for the pain to subside, I watch Ami return.

  “Are you okay?” She asks while laying her hand on my shoulder.

  “Yes. My scar is just hurting.”

  “Guess we’ll have to finish our race later.”

  She props me up with her body, slinging my arm over her shoulder and we find our way to the edge of the field together. We have come out of the city at a much different location than we entered it, now facing the side of the house that has the well. It only takes us a few more minutes to reach the door and the moment we are inside the living room the kitchen door bursts open and Agatha jumps through it wielding a knife at us.

  “More knives?!” I protest.

  “Where have you been? There are things that need to be done around this house and I’ve been doing them by myself,” Evalyn yells at us.

  “We’re sorry Aunt Evalyn.” Ami looks down at the floor.

  “I’d show you ‘sorry’ if it were still just the two of us,” Evalyn snaps at her.

  “Evalyn, enough! Did you die while menstruating?” It just slips out.

  Ami snaps her head up, staring at me, and the shock on both their faces is quite apparent. The feeling of having crossed the line begins to nag at the back of my mind while silence ensues. But there is no backlash from Evalyn. In fact, I can see the change in Agatha’s face that Evalyn has left and Agatha is herself once more. Agatha looks down at the knife she’s holding and lowers it, relaxing.

  “I don’t think that’s ever happened before,” Agatha says.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Her backing down and leaving.” She taps her lips with her index finger a few times, appearing to contemplate while looking at me.

  “She has likely gone to plot my demise while I am sleeping,” I nervously laugh.

  “Make sure to lock your door tonight!” Ami prods me in the ribs with her knuckles. I smirk and prod her back.

  “So, what is there to be done today?” I ask Agatha.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  A month and a half ago I nearly died from a fatal stab wound and yet here I am now peacefully pulling weeds from a garden that belongs to my saviors. I may not remember what my life was like then, but this has to be better by far if someone wanted me dead. Somehow, manual labor just feels right. It feels good.

  The sun beats against my back and the heat feels nice as the past couple days have been overcast and cold. As I grab the base of a weed springing up between the ground cherries and strawberries I find that I am thankful for the pair of form fitting gloves that Ami bought me with some of her money. I pull it up by the roots and toss it into the pile that I have going and move carefully down to the next weed that I can see.

  While I am still unsure of the nature of my relationship with Ami, I cannot…can’t help but think that we have become great friends. Friends that flirt? I suppose it can’t be helped because we live together and the time we’re actually near each other has been increasing. I guess I can thank Agatha for suggesting Ami teach me about things.

  And it has been quieter since my brash but effective comment toward Evalyn. It’s almost eerie that she has been so quiet even when she has shown herself. I wonder if I should apologize to her.

  I see Agatha returning from the city, still a quite distance away and she appears to be walking at a fast pace just short of jogging. Her flowing dress hinders her a bit but when I see urgency on her face I stand up and I throw the collection of weeds in my hand into the pile and dust myself off. Moving to intercept in her in the middle of the park she starts talking before we meet.

  “Quick, Emma’s shop is being destroyed by those thugs!”

  “Now?” I toss my gloves on the ground.

  “Yes! They’re going to hurt her!”

  “I will be back.” I begin jogging toward the city, pacing myself so I don’t over exert like the other day.

  I pace myself, finding a good pattern of breathing to the speed in which my feet hit the ground, making my way across the trodden down grass toward the city line. With daylight dwindling, I do my best to remember my way to her shop as I pass the boundary of trees. It takes me only a short while to make it there by taking a short cut down a few alleyways. As I come out between buildings I find Emma’s sign to my right.

  As I get to the window I look in to see the two thugs that seem to wander the city on Denis’s command stirring up trouble.

  The smaller one begins knocking baskets off of their stands and stomping on her merchandise. I become infuriated. Swiftly walking toward the door I am forced to jump into a roll to my left as a table comes flying through Emma’s newly installed window. I hear Emma cry.

  “Stop! Stop! I’ll pay! Just don’t destroy anything else!” she pleads for their mercy.

  “It’s triple now. Denis’s angry that you haven’t paid him any of your protectin’ money,” the muscular thug hollers at her.

  As I stand back up and move to enter the door, glass fragments crack under my feet and there is no element of surprise now. Swinging the door open hard I clear my throat to get their attention.

  “You have one chance to leave,” I issue
a stern command as I see Emma beginning to swipe a credits card. The big one turns around and glares at me from under his hat.

  “Or what? You gonna teach us a lesson?” His rather deep voice gives the impression he’s attempting to intimidate me.

  “I just might.” I see Emma still continuing to issue her transaction on the PayPad. “Emma, don’t give it to them.”

  “But…” she looks up at me with tears.

  “No ‘buts’ Emma. I’ll take care of this,” I step in one more foot length.

  Emma stops and now I have the attention of the smaller thug also.

  “I think you better mind your own business, less Driesen here has to see that you don’t bother anyone ever again,” the smaller man speaks.

  “If you are going to threaten someone you better be able to make good on it.” I frown.

  Rather spry for someone with bulk muscles, Driesen lunges and swings at me with a ham sized fist. I duck it easily enough, but before I have recovered his other set of knuckles are coming at me. I spread my legs with one forward, one behind and throw my hands out to brace for the impact.

  When his fist reaches me I use both of my hands to deflect his attack. It throws his arm up over my head and past me, unbalancing him. I take the opportunity to throw a few quick jabs in on his exposed side, but he simply laughs as my punches hit solid muscle. Driesen recovers from being thrown out of balance, and begins throwing punch after punch at me. With each successful block or deflection it becomes more difficult.

  He pushes me toward the door and as I feel my back press against the glass I stand prepared to block another blow though my arms have become sore from blocking, the bruising process having begun. He winds up and launches his left fist at me with great might and being trapped against the glass I only have one option.

  Things seem to go into slow motion while I spin my left shoulder and turn my back into him. Before his fist even hits the glass I grab his wrist with both of my hands, secure my left shoulder into his left armpit area and lurch my body down and forward while pulling.

  Driesen’s own momentum and weight work against him and he is quickly airborne, flipped over and thrown into the door back first. The glass shatters and the doorframe bends under the impact of his mass. Dropping to the floor he lands with a thud and groans.

  But before I can celebrate my victory against him, I am being repeatedly hit in the back. As my assailant hits me in several locations across my back it becomes crippling and I fall to my knees. Driesen reaches up and grabs the collar of my shirt, and the hammering against my back stops.

  While Driesen gets back up he tries to hold me from getting away, but I slip out of my shirt. Giving no warning to the smaller thug I turn around and jump into him, one knee forward.

  He tries to block it but I connect with him in the gut. He’s stunned momentarily, dramatically exhaling. I plant a right hook into his temple while he is hunched over right before Driesen grabs me by the shoulders and swings me into the door frame, slamming my back against the metal.

  I feel it dig into my bare skin, but somehow escape the shards of glass still stuck in the door. I lose my breath for a moment but quickly regain composure.

  Driesen switches from holding my shoulders to pin me by the neck, choking me. Against the door frame, between being choked and Driesen preparing to smear my face between his fist and the metal, it occurs to me that playing fair is not on their list of things to do, and neither should it be on mine.

  I stick my leg out the doorframe to get better leverage and tear my pants on a piece of glass. Driesen draws back his free hand. I grab the arm pinning me and, as his fist is coming at me, I swing my foot forward and nail him in the groin. The beast lets out a massive wail and drops me.

  Back on the ground I swing my foot into his shin. He wavers while dry heaving and I kick him in the other shin. The pain caused by my first blow and the two to his shins causes him to collapse.

  On the ground with his hands cupped over his precious area, he is vulnerable and I make the final moves. Sitting on his chest I swing a left hook and when my fist collides with his jaw I watch as he loses consciousness. I huff heavily, fury coursing through my veins and when I look up to confront the smaller thug I find that he is already out cold, my temple blow had incapacitated him. I stand victorious over two bodies that I have no idea what to do with now.

  “I…” Emma runs over, throws her arms around me, and begins crying. “I was so scared!”

  “It’s going to be all right. I will take them out of here and then I am going to visit Denis.” I ruffle her hair a little and comfort her while she wails.

  “You were so heroic!” she continues to talk through her bursts of tears.

  I put my hands on her shoulders to separate us. She resists but I finally pry her from my bare torso and kneel down to wipe her tears away with my palms. I shush her quietly and she sniffles, trying to calm herself down.

  “I am sorry about your broken door. I don’t have any credits to fix it. But I am going to stop Denis from harassing you for good.” I try to speak smoothly but the words come out somewhat unsure.

  “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She throws her arms around my neck and hugs tightly onto me.

  It’s rather awkward having her cling to me without my shirt on, only made even more embarrassing when a shrill voice rings out behind me.

  “What do you think you’re doing to that little girl?! What happened here?” Ami shouts.

  Startled I jump up and spin around with my hands in the air.

  “I was comforting her. And as for them, well, I had to stop them before they hurt Emma.” I laugh and scratch the back of my head nervously.

  “So you’re going to clean this up are you?” She puts her hands on her hips and gives me a blank look on her face.

  “In a manner of speaking. We need to bind their hands behind their backs before they recover,” I reach down and grab my shirt, putting it back on.

  That boy Denis needs a good corporal punishing. Where are his parents?

  “Well?” Ami asks.

  “Well what?” I respond.

  “What is your plan?” She frowns and pokes me in the chest.

  “I am going to go find Denis and I bet these two know where to find him. I don’t know what I am going to do just yet but I intend on stopping Denis’s terrorizing.”

  “You’re going to do that with a cut leg?” Ami inquires.

  “What?” I look down and find that where I snagged it on the door earlier actually cut into my flesh.

  Pulling up my pant leg I find that a piece of glass gashed me pretty well and my blood is running down my leg freely. Now aware that it exists, my body responds with pain to let me know it is damaged.

  “I’ll fix you up Rain!” Emma’s voice has returned to its normal cheery form.

  Turning around I find that she has already sprinted for the door on the back wall. While Emma disappears into the back of the shop Ami moves in through the broken door, and glass crackles under her footsteps. She leans in and whisper to me.

  “Rain, what are you doing? You really shouldn’t be exerting too much energy. You may be healed on the outside but we have no way of telling if your wound is fully healed on the inside,” she says with concern.

  I lean in a little to whisper back, “It will be okay. Besides, I cannot stop here. Something is compelling me to do this and now that I am invested, I have to see it through. If I don’t something bad will happen to that little girl.”

  Emma reappears from that door in a hurry with a box in her arms, a big red cross on it. Dropping down gently so she does not cut herself, she opens it and grabs a pair of scissors, cutting the bottom half of the pant leg clean off.

  “Hey! I could have mended that!” Ami protests.

  “They’re only pants,” Emma sneers and begins tending to the wound, first making sure there is no glass inside.

  “Pants that I made for him!” Ami huffs loudly.

  “Well then you can
just make more,” Emma titters.

  Dabbing my leg with a rag, she soaks up the blood and then pulls out a metal can. But unlike the ones that hold food, when the top of it is pressed it makes a hissing noise and sprays me with something. I jump, startled – it feels like it is burning my skin – but as I watch, it foams up all around my wound. She uses some strange bandages to pull the gash closed, places a piece of gauze on it and wraps it up snuggly, clipping it in place when the roll runs out.

  “There! All better!” She exclaims.

  “Thanks Emma. Now we need some rope.” I point at the two incapacitated men on her floor.

  She disappears once more into the doorway, returning with a couple smaller spools of rope slung over her shoulder. Taking them from her I move to the smaller of the two thugs as he begins to groan. I flip him on his stomach and bind his wrists together, making sure to tie a couple tight knots with the end so that if he attempts to free himself he will at least have to struggle to do it and give me a chance to knock him down again. I drag him over to Driesen and proceed to double the knots for his bindings due to his size. The skinnier man comes to and begins to struggle.

  “I would not do that. I tied your arms in a way that if you struggle too much the rope will sever your hands,” I bluff, having done the best I knew how and made it look good.

  “The U.F.A. will not take kindly to this,” he snarls.

  “Don’t worry, Mister…?” I trail off waiting for his name.

  “Grada. Anthony Grada.”

  “Well, don’t worry Mister Grada, they will not take kindly to what I am about to do to them either, but nonetheless it will happen. Now, let’s stand you up,” I am firm with him.

  I move around his back and tug on the rope that binds his hands together, forcing his arms to bend up behind his back unnaturally and causing him pain. He stands up hastily and I shuffle him out to the road. Noticing a few people have gathered due to the commotion, I watch them lean and whisper amongst themselves, prompting me to give them a show. I grin and wave my arm at them.