A light rain starts to fall, and I can hear thunder in the distance. But I still keep walking. Turning down a dark alley, I find myself behind the local dollar store and an apartment complex.
The alley is narrow, one that's home to a few local homeless guys. A barrel filled with fire is burning next to the dollar store dumpster, and two men in thick coats with knit caps are holding their hands over the flames.
Recognizing one of them, I give him a wave. “Hey, guys,” I say as I pass them. Pulling two ten dollar bills from my wallet, I hand one to each of them. “Sorry, I wish I had more to give.”
“Thanks, man, we appreciate it,” The man I know as George says, tipping his head in thanks.
He's lived in this area for years, bouncing from place to place. I met him a few years back one day. He was sitting outside the grocery store, begging for change. I felt bad for the guy. He seems nice enough, and I'm sure at one point he had everything going for him.
Most people do, even if it's for just a small snippet of time, life isn't always this hard. And one day he took a wrong turn. The path split and he ended up here.
The other man thanks me too with a nod of his head, and I keep on my way. I'm about to turn the corner when a group of guys step out and block me.
“We see you like to give your money away to dirt ball junkies. Why don't you do something better with it and give it to us.” The kid grins. He can't be more than twenty, maybe younger.
“Nah, I'm good.”
Glancing back at his friends, they all chuckle like I said something funny.
“I don't think you understand,” the guy says, rubbing his hands back and forth. “I'm not really asking. Give us your fucking money.”
Sizing up this asshole and his friends, all I see are bunch of kids who don't understand the value of working for what they want. They're bullies, and I don't like bullies.
“How about this: you guys go home, maybe ask your mommy for money, and see what she says.” My jaw crooks to the side as I veer my stare.
This is not the night to fuck with me. My patience is nonexistent.
The leader of the group laughs loudly, running his fingers across his lips and taking a brave step forward. “Let me make this real easy for you to understand. Give me your fucking money,” he demands.
Looking him up and down, he's tall, but thin. Small arms, oval shaped head, little beady eyes. He has a thin mustache across his upper lip, and a light scar that runs down the center of his left brow.
I can take him easily.
“You have a gun?” I ask, my arms dangling at my sides, hands clenched, and ready to strike. I'll let him come to me. This asshole can make the first move.
“That doesn't matter. You're still going to give me what I want.” He drops his head down into his chest, his expression falling flat.
“Look douchebag, I'm really not in the mood for this tonight. So, I'll make this easy for you. How about you and your friends run along and go fuck yourselves.”
Growling, he bares his teeth and attempts to throw a punch at my face. I dodge it easily, gripping his arm as it flies past my face, and yanking him into his punch so I can knee him in the stomach. He lets out all the air in his lungs, dropping to his knees, but his friends quickly come to his rescue.
One guy runs behind me, wrapping his arm around my neck, and trying to put me in a sleeper hold. The other guy lunges forward, striking me across jaw with a closed fist.
It stings for a second, causing my vision to go fuzzy. Shaking my head, I lick my lips and taste the sweet tang of metal. Wiping my mouth, the pads of my fingers are red.
“You just made a big mistake, dickhead.”
Kicking the guy in front of me with the heel of my boot, I grab the guy behind me and flip him over my shoulder. Slugging him in the face, I whip around to see the leader charging me with an evil look in his eyes.
He gets a good punch in, hitting me in the eye, but I counter with one to his nose and an uppercut to the jaw. All of us are brawling. Fists are flying, there's grunting and barking, blood and sweat.
And it feels good. It feels really fucking good to get this out of my system. Sometimes you just want to fuck something up, and today is one of those days. Most people might see this as me being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I don't. I'm right where I need to be.