As the sun peaked over the horizon a lone man walked along the sidewalk. He stood up straight but every step was a strut. As usual, he wore his perfectly pressed dress clothes, even on a Saturday with nowhere to go. Wearing a confident smile and a sing-song attitude, he made his way around the block with no destination in mind.
Recently, Valen had taken a liking to early morning walks. There was no particular reason to it. It was just something to pass time and hopefully see something interesting. Nothing had happened the past few weeks, but Valen figured something had to happen eventually. He just didn't know when. The perfectly pristine buildings of the residential area passed him by as he strode along in search of adventure.
An hour of walking turned up nothing. Valen gave a sigh and a shrugged. "I guess this much is still enjoyable." He turned around and began heading for home. As he did so, he detected motion from the corner of his eye. Valen gazed over to a nearby alleyway. There was no one there now, but it felt like someone had just moved through there. A smile crept across Valen’s face.
Down the alleyway between two apartment buildings was a group of men of varying heights. All were toned or well-muscled and had a menacing aura to them. There were six in all, five of them standing in front of the largest of the bunch. He had bulging muscles and a shaved head, and wore a black t-shirt with the sleeves torn off and jeans full of holes, whether for fashion or from use. The man spoke in a growling voice, “Alright everyone, since we are all here we can begin. Our goal is to take this area for the Vipers. Destroy anyone who gets in your way. Understood?” This was met with affirmations from the remaining five gang members.
“Oh? So that’s what this is about.” A voice, almost giddy, rang from directly behind the five underlings. They were startled, and the leader looked in bewilderment. They were at the far end of this straight and clear alley. He was even watching down the way. How had someone snuck up on them? “Excuse me,” Valen pushed his way to the center of the six men. Wearing his calm, confident smile, Valen looked up at the towering man. “So you are the Vipers, are you? You look so tall, and strong! Surely you can entertain me right?”
The leader was perplexed by Valens bravado and sudden appearance, but regained his composure. “I don’t know who you are, or how you snuck up on us like that, but since you overheard, we can’t just let you leave.” There was some snickering behind Valen as the gang members proceeded to surround him. “Get ‘im, boys.”
Valen kept his calm stance as the first attack came from the front. One of the underlings came at him with a straight punch aimed at his face. Valen moved his head to the side, the fist breezing by. Valen responded by hooking the man’s ankle with his foot, and pushing him face first to the ground. Two more attacked from either side, the one two his back moving to stab him with a switchblade. Without turning, Valen sidestepped and grabbed the wrist of the man with the knife, pulling him forward. He sent the man flying into the man coming at him from the front, metal meeting flesh, the two tumbled to the ground. One of them writhing in pain.
“Come now,” Valen spoke in delight, “that can’t be all the infamous Vipers have to offer, can it?” Valens calm demeanor began to shift to something more sinister; his grin becoming that of a madman. The remaining gang members growled at him, and the leader just stared at him with pure hatred. Valen spoke, mocking them, “Make sure to make this interesting for me!”
Tue Mar 22, 2016 2:07 pm