You turn to me and giggle. Lean into me and kiss me, showing me something you found.
I see him scowl and turn away, tossing down the box he is holding onto the shelf in front of him. I hear the tinkling of the bell on the door as he leaves, stalking off in the twilight. I feel a sick wrenching in my gut. I sense I will be seeing him again.
We buy a few items and go out. I unlock your door and start to open it to let you in. I hear the crunch of glass on the refuse-strewn pavement behind me. Yes. I shut the door and turn.
He stands a few yards away with that same scowl on his face, his features barely visible in the fading light. The light breeze that is blowing across the parking lot brings his scent to me again. Stale beer. Old sweat. Rancid grease. Cheap whiskey.
"Fuck you," he snarls and launches himself at me, swinging his fist towards my face. I pivot to the right and drive my left elbow up to intercept his fist. I feel the crunch, hearing it also: cartilage ripping and thin bones snapping. Not mine. His. My elbow throbs as he collapses up against the car next to us, cradling his broken hand. I grab him by the shirt and heave, throwing him away from the car.
I hear a muffled scream and spin to see two men holding you at the back of the car. One has a long combat knife at your throat.
"We want some fun tonight. Don't you wanna share, you perv? Thought you freaks liked that?" he spits at me and touches the collar around your neck.
My eyes narrow, "No, dickless, I won't share. She's MINE." I gesture at the man beside him. "Have your friend hold her," I say, taunting him, "and come play with me, if you think you know how to use that knife."
As I hoped, he snarls at my open challenge and pulls the blade away from your throat. He flings you towards his companion and stalks towards me. I smile, knowing that you can handle him, now that knife-boy is dancing with me.
We circle each other for a moment and he lunges at me, leading with the knife. Clumsy. Instead of dodging, I twist and step into his lunge. Grabbing his wrist as the knife slices the air next to my waist, I jerk his arm on past me and down, taking his balance with it. I release his wrist and keep spinning. I use my momentum and add to it desperately, knowing I only have a moment before he recovers and the knife will be stabbing into my back. My elbow slams into the side of his head and he limply drops to the ground.
I look over at you and see you are fighting the last guy. I see him double over after your knee drives up into his balls and you start to batter the side of his head.
Before I can move to aid you, I hear a sound behind me. His shattered hand held to his stomach, the first man has found a broken bottle and is advancing toward me. He immediately lunges, swinging the broken bottle awkwardly. I leap back and then forward, tackling him when his arm has swung wide.
As we hit the ground, I grab his wrist and smash the bottle in his hand against the pavement, shattering it. We wrestle for a few moments, until I can grab his other hand: the broken one. He screams in pain and I am able to get on top of him. I brutally punch his face several times. He goes still. My knuckles throb.
A weight hits me from behind and I catch the flash of the edge of a knife coming toward my throat. I grab his wrist, fighting to keep the knife from slicing open my throat. We roll off the unconscious man. "I'll kill you, you freak!" he rasps. No doubt anymore, I'm fighting for my life and probably yours to.
I struggle with him, finally twisting his wrist so the hilt of the knife is against me, buying me a moment. I then pull at his knife hand, trapping the blade against me in a way that it cannot hurt me. Then I concentrate on driving my head back into his face a few times, breaking his nose. His grip loosens a little and I twist the knife away from me, holding it out to the side. I'm tiring, panting, not in as good of shape as I once was. I shift my body sideways toward the knife, pinning his arm to the ground beneath me. His other hand starts to pound into my ribs and my face, but it is not very effective. I drive my other elbow back into his gut and his breath rushes out. My arm snakes around his neck. I squeeze hard, continuing to twist at his wrist trying to make him drop the knife.
I hear you scream and your booted foot comes down on his knife hand, driving it into the ground. making him release the knife. He tries to scream and writhes. Finally able to use both hands, I tighten my hold on his neck; I grab my wrist, pulling it tight. My body strains and I grit my teeth. I realize that he has finally lost consciousness and gone limp. I release my hold and start to struggle to my feet as I hear a sharp slap and see you spin to the ground next to me holding your face.