Chapter Text
Sigh. Men.
“None of your business, dude fuck off.” I murmur cold and short, but it gets the point across.
I've been in situations like this before; normally, it's easy to ignore and just walk away. Tonight's different. I'm completely alone in the middle of the night with no real way of defending myself. My only protection is my fists and keys. My pepper spray was sitting idly on my kitchen countertop at home instead of in my purse.
‘Maybe I could use groceries if I swing hard enough?’ The thought crosses my mind, but what a waste of food just to fight someone with it.
I continue forward, not looking back. Not tonight, asshat.
“Come on, baby, don't be like that, we just want to talk…” he puts on a fake pleading voice,
“Don't have money.”
“Awee, no need to be rude, geez.” his tone of voice is nauseating, and I can feel his eyes roam over my body with every word he spits out of his mouth. A shiver runs down my spine.
I pick up the pace more, trying to ignore the overwhelming wave of dread washing over me, but a warning I can't neglect sets off alarms in my mind, and my shoulder begins to burn with a tingling sensation,
I swing my body around till just my side is facing the Bruce Lee wannabe. My eyes land on his outstretched hand towards my shoulder, almost grazing it. Horrified, I pointedly took a step back. He definitely has worse intentions than I originally thought.
“What do you want?” I muster up as much venom in my voice as possible, wondering if he’d take the hint that I'm not interested.
“Nothing, just wondering how I ended up lucky enough to run into you, girly.”
definitely not getting the hint here.
I grip my keys a bit tighter.
The feeling of tingling travels from my shoulder to the rest of my body in a familiar burning sensation. Intuition kicks in, alarming me about the two figures behind me.
Swiveling my head around, I see two other men flanking either side of the alley's exit. Both glaring at me with a look of malevolence. The guy on the left was tall but lanky with long jet-black hair tied back in a low man bun. The second man on the right was slightly shorter but bulkier compared to his companion, with jaw-length hair pulled back by a bandana. Both were wearing black tank tops and deep purple leather jackets decked out with all sorts of punk leaving decoration
I feel a pang of recognition, much to my dismay.
The Purple Dragons.. an infamous street gang.
I had only really ever heard April talk about them and her encounters with this group. They were notorious for their willingness to carry out dirty work for criminal organizations. April's immersive knowledge about them had helped you slink around town, avoiding dangerous areas where their turf had been claimed. It was only a matter of time till you had your encounter; you just didn't expect tonight to be it.
“Are we seriously going to do this, man? I just want to go fucking home.” I try not to let the light desperation lace my tone. Who knows what they could do to me if I show even an ounce of fear.
He raises his hands defensively.
“Touchy, aren't we. There's no need to be such a bitch, we just wanted to talk to ya,” he snarks at me with a smug look on his face. He plods closer, stepping into my personal space.
With every step he took, I matched him with my own, which resulted in me closing in to the alley wall, my back almost right up against it. Whatever he wanted, he had me positioned for the taking. I throw my purse in front of him, hoping that would be enough to let me go.
“Just take it, dude, whatever you want in there is yours, just leave me alone.” He barely glances at the Ed Hardy bag before lazily stepping on it. I let out a squeak of despair upon hearing my favorite purse get smashed.
I scowl, my brows knitting together. I try to look tough, but my legs are shaking.
‘What a dick’
“Ok, fine then, you have the floor. Just spit it out if you wanna talk so badly.” My harsh tone only fuels his predatory intention further. And my hands move further upward in a defensive stance, letting my grocery bag shield my front
He scoffs, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, now slow down, tiger, it's not every day we come across pretty girls like you, just moseying onto our turf,” his expression haughty like he knew he had me cornered on all sides.
He shares a look with the muscular man in the bandana (we'll call him Brawny for short)
The brawny man blocking the exit with sudden movement pounces at me, grabbing my torso, pinning my arms down in a bear hug. I drop my groceries with a loud thunk, still managing to keep a tight grip on my keys.
I attempt to scream, but the pressure of his arms squeezing knocks the wind out of me, and I start to gasp for air. The second tall, twig-ish-looking man next to him puts a blindfold over my head, snickering, watching my legs thrash around in a wimpy attempt to kick him.
“We really only came here for one thing, just a simple mission from an acquaintance of ours.” I hear him shuffle over till he was in front of me, barely visible through the holes in the blindfold. I watch him gaze up at the fire escapes as he continues to monologue.
Quick thinking saves the day as I calculate my next move, a headbutt should work as long as I break his nose, he'll definitely drop me. I prepare myself for pain before I jerk my head backwards, violently smashing my head into his nose, the sound sickening as it crunches under the force of the blow.
Brawny roars in pain and releases the tight hold he had on my body, and I stumble blindly, trying not to trip and fall into a pile of trash that lines the alleyways of the grimy backstreet. My head is spinning, but the pain is manageable.
‘Haha gotcha, that's for my purse.’ I think to myself, my hands going up to attempt at pulling off the blindfold, only to be a fraction of a second too late.
“Sid! Get up and grab her! This mission isn’t done yet.” I hear the gang leader holler before the guy I bashed lets go of his broken nose, blood running down his face, spilling onto his teeth and dribbling down his chin as he goes back to lunge a second time, feeling the hair on my neck stand up, my mind tells me to duck. I obediently follow my gut instinct, managing to dodge his attempt at grabbing my arm for a second time.
I remember my keys and start swinging the shank wildly, hoping I'd make contact with something. The swinging pays off, and my fist comes in contact with his cheek, the sharp metal slashing at the warm flesh I couldn’t see. I hear him grunt in pain once more, finally backing off.
“You idiots are incapable of anything! I’ll do it myself.” He barks out, picking me up off the ground gruffly. Seeing an opportunity, I take it and jab my key into his forearm. That's definitely leaving a mark, yikes.
The leader of the group shrieks in pain before he thrusts me backwards, holding the bleeding spot on his arm. Losing my balance, I knock into the side of a dumpster. Pain sears through the middle of my shoulder blades. I pant, trying to feel my way around the streets in a feeble attempt to get away.
“How fucking hard can it be to grab a blindfolded girl?! Grab her fast so we can complete this mission,” the scrawny member of the group backed up the brawny guy, who was still somehow standing after taking a couple of good slashes to the face.
I scramble backwards further back into the alley, letting the animalistic side of my brain take over to protect myself. The leader of the group, somewhat recovered, seizes the collar of my tracksuit, lifting my trembling body to stand before bringing his face closer to mine.
I could feel his breath blow in huffs across my cheeks, and I wince, gritting my teeth: God, his breath stinks.
“Plea..please just let me go look. I don't know what you want with me, just take my wallet if that's what you're looking for, just take it, take everything,” I whimper, desperately trying to pull at his hands on my hoodie, leaning as far away as possible. I'm mildly thankful for the blindfold covering my eyes so I don't have to stare at his furious face.
“And brush your teeth at some point, holy shit.” his face flushes bright red, facial expressions contorting to an absolutely livid expression. Well, someone doesn't appreciate my humor, then again, tonight just wasn't my night.
“Why you bitc-” The leader raises his hand, but is cut off by a rough hand on his shoulder
“Hun! I think we have company,” He frantically looks up, caution laces his voice. I hear the rustling of fabric as I assume the two in the back take up fighting stances. That can't be good. Could this genuinely get any worse?
“Thought they’d eventually come around, keep an eye out,” his voice was wary. The leader, Hun, loosens his grip on my tracksuit. Whipping his head around, looking up at the balconies above our heads, watching as if something invisible was going to jump them all.
‘Must be a rival gang?’ It only made sense if my hypothesis was right.
A thought pops up into my head, while Hun is distracted by shadow monsters, I take action. I boot my leg up as hard as I can, hoping it was aimed at the right spot. A crotch kick.
The hurdling kick sends him crumpling on the pavement, letting me go in the process. Hun, the dragon breath has been defeated.
“Should've done this way earlier,” I whisper under clenched teeth. I take a light tumble back, finally able to take off the blindfold.
“Duuude, she's tough, look at that, she's holding out on her own!” I jump out of my skin hearing a voice call out from above me in the dark of the fire escapes.
The hell?
“You numbskull, we're just supposed to help and leave, you can't be saying shit like that she’ll see us,” a second, more gruff and deeper voice pipes up from the opposite wall from which the first voice came.
“What?? I'm just sayin', she kicked Hun's ass! Maaan, chill out.”
Dumbfounded, I glance up at the same spot the other purple dragons had been looking at. “What the hell is going on right now??” I say, trying not to collapse from the tremble in my legs. Maybe they were the alleged rival gang they talked about.
A frenzied thought crosses my mind ‘Shit, am I in the middle of a turf war right now??’
“Well, we're here to rescue you if it wasn't obvious, princess. Might not need it since you disarmed Huns joystick. We’ll still help anyway, still have two fuckin idiots to take care of.” The deeper voice chimes in a second time, light amusement dancing on his tone.
“Yeah! You totally obliterated that guy!” the chipper one interjects excitedly.
I hear the sound of metal blades whizz past my ears, watching as the little metal blades stop short of each of the purple dragon members, pushing them out of the alley's exit and onto the empty street. I watched in shock as they scrambled backwards, screaming at one another stupidly to retreat. It was just that easy.
They leave looking like a dog with its tail between its legs, hah, some gang they are.
I turn to face the fire escapes, "You guys were here the whole time?! How much did you see of me get tossed around??” I inquire up at them as I drag my hands down my face in exasperation,
“Long enough, sweetheart.” a whole different voice, so three of them? His voice was smoother and eons more serious.
“How many of you are there??”
The gruff one huffs, “Four princess, don't forget it.”
The back alley was finally cleared of any activity, leaving just me and whoever these strangers were in the dark in an awkward silence.
I begin walking over to the exit of the alley, grabbing my squished groceries from the tussle, and finding the rest of my belongings strewn across the pavement. Man, I really wanted that ramen… It's dusted from being flattened. I deflate a little.
“Make sure and get that cut taken care of on your right bicep, it'll fester for a while if not properly taken care of.” Okay, there are four of them for sure. This one had a light nasally voice but with an articulated science geek accent.
I look down at my right arm, seeing a medium-sized gash on my arm, I watch it bleed through the pink plush velour fabric. I deflate further.
“Riiight riight, note taken. Okay, uh, well, this has been really weird, and I'm going to grab my things and leave now, I guess? Thanks for the help, I think.” I feel a headache creeping in.
“Anytime, dudette! We're totally reliable dudes,” the upbeat one responds.
Looking up, I see on both sides of the alleys four massive shadowy figures, seeing four sets of white eyes looking back, not creepy at all. I give them a small wave before making a quick getaway, finally able to escape the abysmal street. I will be avoiding this area like the plague.
______________
It's 1:32 am, and I'm finally just now arriving at my apartment building. My head is spinning, and my hands are clammy, definitely symptoms of going into shock. I need to get lying down quickly.
“K, just need to find my keys, and we're home free, keys keys keys…uhm,” reaching into my track suit hoodie, I feel around,
‘Okay y/n, not there, don't panic, just check your jean pockets?’
Patting around, there's still no trace of the small copper-colored keys to be found. My anxiety spikes. I must have dropped them at some point during the scuffle.
I facepalm, thinking about whether to text my landlord. No, it's way too late at night, he'll never see or even hear the call.
The despairing thoughts start to creep in, before I have a lightbulb above my head moment, I walk around the back of the structure, right into the alley next to your apartment building, remembering the fire escape leads right up to your window! Bingo. With maybe even a shred of luck on my side, I left the window unlocked.
It's totally worth a shot.
Once I made it up to the window, I popped it open, almost crying with relief that it was not locked. I thank my past self for being stupid enough to leave it unlocked before I left the house.
After tumbling in, I grab my groceries off the fire escape and crash onto the living room couch.
‘Sweet freaking relief, I thought I'd never make it home’
My body begins to decompress, finally allowing the adrenaline of the situation to wear off.
Before I fully doze off, I remember to text April, sending her a simple text
Y/N:
Im home. Call tomorrow.
Sent 1:40 am
No more or less effort, tomorrow is saved for the tea spill from tonight, she's going to freak out though, and I cringe thinking of the definite lecture about self-defense safety I’ll be receiving.
The cut on my arm starts to radiate pain more as the minutes pass. I hear the words from the man in the alley telling me to take care of it, but I ignore it, too tired to process. I pull my couch's zebra print comforter over my body before letting myself fall into a deep sleep.
‘I’ll take care of it later.’