Chapter 77: Anguish
"Do you even have a permit?" Harold said.
"Yeah, I got one." Adam said as he takes out his wallet and pulls it out, "I'll be right back, we're only parked one level."
"I don't know, man," Harold said, "Aren't you supposed to have someone with you when you don't have a license?"
"I'll be right back," Adam dismissed, "It's literally 5 seconds away. You guys wait here, I wanna surprise you all." He jested.
"Ugh, I'm too tired to argue." Harold said, "Your ticket, your problem."
"Gee, thanks," Adam playfully punched him before he walked off.
"Fuck, my head..." Jamal groaned.
Adam turns around the corner, digging in his jacket for his keys -- he has a key for Yuri's and Jamal's car, always just in case. "Damn, it's hot tonight," He mumbled as he takes his jacket off, whipping his head as the metal jingle echoes in the car-filled structure.
"~Baby, I wanna ~I wanna dance, dance ~All night~" Adam sings lowly, "~And I wanna, I wanna get, get ~My life~" He chuckles as he locates Jamal's car, "~And I'm gonna, I'm gonna get lost ~In the lights ~Turn up, I'm the wizard I pronounce you to-"
-CLANGANG-
"Ah!" Adam jumped as he whips around to the sound of a metallic clang. He laughed as he sees some guy had dropped his crowbar, before turning back to approach Jamal's vehicle.
-Click/BEEPBEEP-
"Hey there." Says a different voice. Adam turns around, and sees a couple of people walking towards him. He spots a shorter person just tying a black bandana around their mouth.
"Um... Can I help you?" Adam asked as he looked to the up coming strangers. His eyes spot the crowbar that was dropped,
"We got something we need to talk to you about." Said he, behind a bandana. Adam doesn't recognize him at all, voice or otherwise.
"What's this about?" Adam asked, as they are starting to get too close.
"Come'er, we need to talk." The stranger said as his voice darkened, grabbing Adam's wrist and yanking him away.
"Stop! Let go of me!" Adam puts a vice grip on the other's wrist, and pulls it off. He shoves him back, only to be pushed from behind with harsh strength, forcing him forward.
"Ow! Fu-" Adam scraps his hands before he's pulled up.
~~~
"Hahaha, damn, maaan~" Nick drooled as he fondled Jamal's chest, "You fuckin haawwt. You wanna fuck me and my boyfriend~?"
"I AM yo bo, man" Jamal snickered, "You drunk as hell."
"... You think Adam's ok?" Harold asked, "He's been gone for a while now. I think maybe, 10, 15 minutes?"
"Ah shit, really?" Jamal asked, "I hadn't noticed. He prolly havin trouble backing out or something. He's kinda clumsy in MY car."
"Wanna go check on him?" Harold asked, "I never remember where we park. I'll look after Nick for you."
"Aight." Jamal lets Nick slomp down onto the pavement, and trots forward. He enters the parking structure, picking up a noise or two. "Yo Adam! You 'round?" He called out. Jamal walks along car by car, and turned around the point, hearing some scuffling and noises. His eyes catch several people around, and looks. "Oh shit!" A couple of people is beating someone up!
Two people are holding someone by both arms, while another person takes hard swings at the person with a crowbar, with one last person holding a small bucket. The bound person grunts and irks, squirming harshly against two of the captors. He breaks free, and takes a swing at the guy on the left, only to get the side of his head banged in a quick jab to the jaw. The figure staggers before his arm is yanked back up
"Hey! What's goin on?!"
One of the people bashes the stomach with the bar, causing the victim to lurch forward. "HEY!"
"Shit, man!" Says one of them. The beaten man yanks his right arm away, letting out a loud, muffled squeal of pain as he doubles over.
KUNG!!
A fast swing shot onto the side of the head of the victim, before his head droops downward, limb, held up only by his left by the other holder. Jamal's eyes widen as he recognizes the injured figure, "FUCKIN LET GO OF HIM!!!" He sprinted as he yells.
"Ah fuck, GO!" One of the assailants muttered. Another one dropped the can they were holding, thus flooding the area with bright pink paint. A wide paintbrush is dropped as they started to run off. The figure was dropped onto the pavement, motionless.
Jamal raced to the four attackers, "GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!!" He roared. One of the masked men turned around, brandishing the crowbar, and swiped at Jamal's face. Jamal's hand catches the bar with precision, and yanked it backward, topping the man over, and then jamming his fist to his throat!
"GLKK!" The man choked, before Jamal caught sight of another one of the bandits.
"FAAAAHHH!" Jamal yelled as he yanks the crowbar, and strikes the hook-shape into under the mask's knees.
"MOTHERFU-" Before he could yell, Jamal strikes again at his knees, a lot, LOT harder this time!
-KGGK-
"AAAHHHHH!" The man screams in pain as he topples over, clutching his knee!
Jamal whipped back down, the crowbar flying out of his hand, which quickly evolved into a fist, and clocked the man right in the jaw!
"HNNH! HNNH! HNNH!" Jamal punches him over and over, forcing his fist into that face as hard as he could, until he stopped moving. He looked over, but he can't see the other two men anymore, "Fuck!" He pants as he gets up, one attacker squirming in agony, and the other unconscious. Jamal looks over to the third figure on the ground, next to the growing puddle of paint.
Adam doesn't move. His head lies dormant as his clothing is battered with rips and fat streaks of pink paint, with a big, garish triangle still wet on his shirt. His jacket is gone, blood can be seen from many rips and puncture along his body. His right arm appears crooked, and several fingers are discolored, along with a dark red gash on his left knee.
"No, oh God no," Jamal whimpered as he ran back to him, and dropped to his knees. His face half covered in blood, Adam lies there, his eyes closed and swollen, a slab of dark metal color covering the lower half of his face, pressing on pink-saturated stubble, branded with black sharpie words [FAGGOT].
"Fuck, shit, don't do this, fuck, please don't fuckin do this!" Jamal croaked as he tucks his arm under Adam, moving him limbly as he hastily removes the duct tape off of Adam's mouth, sobbing as the thick, attacked tape yanks at Adam's bruised jaws, before a small revolute of paint and saliva pours from his lips.
"SOMEONE FUCKIN HEEELLPP!" Jamal yelled out at the top of his lungs, crying out in hysteria as too many options and thoughts collide in his head all at once as he holds Adam in his arms. "SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!! HELP ME!!!" Jamal yelled out.
"What the hell's going on?!" Comes a random stranger. A woman in looks, and covers her mouth as she sees the spectacle, "Oh my God! What happened?!"
"Please!" Jamal sobbed, wheezing in dramatic mayhem, his insides going insane, "Help me! Please!"
===
Merrick stands in icy horror in the hall. There he is... In a bed of the E.R. Several surgeons are standing around him, all of them covered in paper masks, hats, and robes... Just like the ones at the Agency...
"Several nights ago..." Yuri said, her eyes down-cast and half lidded as she stands adjacent to Merrick, "A report of an attack was messaged to me. I'm not even qualified to be here, but the drivers of the ambulance knew Adam is my roommate..." Her voice is weak, clearly full of emptiness, "There were nice enough to inform me and help anyway I can... But fact is I'm useless..."
"What... The fuck..." Merrick managed to say, his stomach feeling like a crashing reef, "Who... What..." His throat feels so jagged.
"I couldn't get a full story from Jamal..." She said, still showing nothing in her tone, "Adam has been in critical care for almost 4 days... Jamal was with him in the ambulance... He almost started a fight when they wouldn't let him into the E.R... He waited for 3 days in front of the door, he's barely eaten, hardly even moved... I barely got him to go home an hour ago before you came back..."
"Tell me..." Merrick's voice cracked as his eyes start to burn, "Tell me now, please..."