in the surroundings and realized he hadn’t taken note of the subway stop. He was in the middle of downtown, in the dead center of the city, a place he hadn’t been in years. Tires screeched, followed by a crashing sound. A car accident. Off in the distance, several gunshots echoed. A lady screamed. A smile of glee broke over his face. He recalled things had gotten pretty rough, but this was insane! He liked it.
Taunting male voices snapped him back to the present and the task at hand. Not far down the beggar-lined sidewalk he saw Turtle holding onto Violet Eyes’ black leather messenger bag. Guppy stood tall in front of her, his hand reaching out now and then to touch her jacket or her hair. The girl swatted his hand away, her expression far angrier than scared. Jared stepped closer and listened.
“. . . you have a really pretty face, and you’re not wearing much makeup. Just eyeliner and lipstick, right? Your fair skin may have powder, but I don’t see any. If it is powder, that’s some mighty good blending.”
“ Give me my bag,” she said, her voice hard.
“What’s your name, pretty girl?” the other one asked.
She looked from one to the other before answering.
“Amber,” she pronounced slowly and clearly. “My name is Am-ber.”
It sounded almost like a threat.
“Hey,” Jared called out as he approached.
All parties faced him. Both guys huffed their chests out and sucked their bellies in to make themselves seem like they had more muscle.
“Who is this guy?” Guppy called out.
Jared grinned as he approached. He couldn’t help it. He needed this. “Tick, tick, boom.”
Guppy raised an eyebrow. “Tick, tick — ”
But he was interrupted by Jared’s fist smashing his face. Guppy’s nose cracked. With every ounce of power he had, Jared continued forward with his fist, putting his weight behind him. He wanted this guy on the ground. Not only did he want to wreck his nose, but to kick in his face. This felt good. It felt right. A smile broke across Jared’s face. For the second time today, he felt like everything was going to be okay.
Turtle charged him.
Perfect timing , Amber thought as she watched the fight in front of her. She’d wondered what had taken Jared so long to get here. Honestly, what was he waiting for? Her annoyance with these humans had almost gotten to the point where she would have had to deal with this situation herself and that would have been bad. While exploded human bits all over the Baltimore city streets would have been cute, it would have left too many questions.
She carefully moved her violet streaked hair out of her face and checked her nails. Perfect as always. She blinked her violet eyes, letting frightened passersby and beggars get a full view of what she considered her best feature. They were somewhat natural. No contact lenses that is. Still, it wasn’t the color she was born with. . .
A snapping sound brought her back to the fight. The larger one screamed, his head thrown back in agony. That finger was definitely broken. This Jared kid was no joke, the way he moved like a panther, smooth and vicious. Pretty impressive, really. For a human. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the smaller one attempt to punch Jared only to find himself drop kicked in the chest.
Behind her, a pedestrian finally stopped to offer assistance.
“Uh, need some help?” he said. “What exactly is going on?”
“Uhhh . . . These guys started messing with me. And this ginger — ”
“JARED!” he screamed at her.
How did he even hear that? she wondered.
“ Jared , jumped in and started beating them up,” Amber continued calmly.
The passerby stood beside her, observing. Jared had things completely under control.
“Do you think we should call the police?” the passerby asked.
Probably an ambulance, she thought.
Amber shrugged.
“I think he’ll do just fine on his own,” she said, a menacing grin on her blackened lips.
The passerby pulled out a
Taunting male voices snapped him back to the present and the task at hand. Not far down the beggar-lined sidewalk he saw Turtle holding onto Violet Eyes’ black leather messenger bag. Guppy stood tall in front of her, his hand reaching out now and then to touch her jacket or her hair. The girl swatted his hand away, her expression far angrier than scared. Jared stepped closer and listened.
“. . . you have a really pretty face, and you’re not wearing much makeup. Just eyeliner and lipstick, right? Your fair skin may have powder, but I don’t see any. If it is powder, that’s some mighty good blending.”
“ Give me my bag,” she said, her voice hard.
“What’s your name, pretty girl?” the other one asked.
She looked from one to the other before answering.
“Amber,” she pronounced slowly and clearly. “My name is Am-ber.”
It sounded almost like a threat.
“Hey,” Jared called out as he approached.
All parties faced him. Both guys huffed their chests out and sucked their bellies in to make themselves seem like they had more muscle.
“Who is this guy?” Guppy called out.
Jared grinned as he approached. He couldn’t help it. He needed this. “Tick, tick, boom.”
Guppy raised an eyebrow. “Tick, tick — ”
But he was interrupted by Jared’s fist smashing his face. Guppy’s nose cracked. With every ounce of power he had, Jared continued forward with his fist, putting his weight behind him. He wanted this guy on the ground. Not only did he want to wreck his nose, but to kick in his face. This felt good. It felt right. A smile broke across Jared’s face. For the second time today, he felt like everything was going to be okay.
Turtle charged him.
Perfect timing , Amber thought as she watched the fight in front of her. She’d wondered what had taken Jared so long to get here. Honestly, what was he waiting for? Her annoyance with these humans had almost gotten to the point where she would have had to deal with this situation herself and that would have been bad. While exploded human bits all over the Baltimore city streets would have been cute, it would have left too many questions.
She carefully moved her violet streaked hair out of her face and checked her nails. Perfect as always. She blinked her violet eyes, letting frightened passersby and beggars get a full view of what she considered her best feature. They were somewhat natural. No contact lenses that is. Still, it wasn’t the color she was born with. . .
A snapping sound brought her back to the fight. The larger one screamed, his head thrown back in agony. That finger was definitely broken. This Jared kid was no joke, the way he moved like a panther, smooth and vicious. Pretty impressive, really. For a human. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the smaller one attempt to punch Jared only to find himself drop kicked in the chest.
Behind her, a pedestrian finally stopped to offer assistance.
“Uh, need some help?” he said. “What exactly is going on?”
“Uhhh . . . These guys started messing with me. And this ginger — ”
“JARED!” he screamed at her.
How did he even hear that? she wondered.
“ Jared , jumped in and started beating them up,” Amber continued calmly.
The passerby stood beside her, observing. Jared had things completely under control.
“Do you think we should call the police?” the passerby asked.
Probably an ambulance, she thought.
Amber shrugged.
“I think he’ll do just fine on his own,” she said, a menacing grin on her blackened lips.
The passerby pulled out a
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