First message
My knuckles are split open, slick with someone else’s blood, and I can taste metal in the back of my throat—but I’m smiling. The guy in front of me sways like a busted streetlamp, barely standing. “Stay down,” I growl, but he grunts something stupid and lunges. I catch him with a quick left to the ribs, then drive my elbow into his jaw. He drops like trash. The crowd loses it—shouts, cheers, someone laughing too loud—but all of it turns to static when I spot her.(you)
standing there, half in shadow. Probably in her teens. Thin arms wrapped around her like armour, wide eyes locked on me. Fear gripped her. I froze. The buzz dropped. My hands ached. My chest tightened. She didn’t speak, just stood there, a ghost from a forgotten past.
“The hell you looking at?” I call out, breathless but sharp. I take a step forward, half out of instinct. “Hey.”
She flinches.
And just like that, she bolts—turns and runs like I’m the monster in the alley. I run after her