Stranger Spirits

A Moment of Heroism [Chapter Seven Part Six]

Once we finished eating our pastry treats it was already dusk so we decided to head back home. Although it was a big city there wasn't too much traffic now that the sun was dipping down the horizon which seemed pretty odd to me. Atticus and I were just casually walking back towards Alfred's admiring the distinct architecture of the buildings.

They were not wide and deep buildings in Spendule, they were thin and tall allowing for more people to live in such cramped quarters. I didn't notice before but sewage was probably an issue in these parts having so many people in one area. I saw a rat scurry near us and I flinched moving to Atticus involuntarily.

As we got closer to our destination my ears perked up to the sound of boots and heels scuffling against the cobblestone floor. Turning my head I saw a suspicious group hustle through into an alleyway. There were five men dressed in similar outfits and in the middle of the group was a sixth person being led by them.

She was a young woman wearing a dark juniper green dress with two slits down the side allowing her legs to be seen as she was being ushered into the alley. There was rope tying her hands behind her back and the men were roughly pushing her along. You could hear her struggling to break her hands free.

I scurried forward leaning into the alleyway resting my hands against the coarse brick wall. After taking a quick peek at the direction that they were going I turned to Atticus. "Atticus, did you see-"

"Yeah, they're taking that woman." He came to my side whispering looking ahead into the outdoor corridor.

Facing back at the alley I whispered with urgency. "We have to help her!" Without waiting for Atticus to reply I quickly strode into the corridor in pursuit of the woman in need.

Atticus isn't the only hero in this duo! I thought as I took a moment to hide from their line of sight before I got closer. Just because I wasn't chosen by the Gods doesn't mean I can't do something!

Before any sense of rationality crossed my mind I jumped onto the man at the very back of the group. The man began to twist and shout as I clamped my legs onto his waist. We were both shouting as I swung my walking stick at the nearest man's head to my right. I hit him hard enough that he tumbled towards the wooden beamed brick wall.

"What the fuck?!" The man rested his hand on his cheek as I looked down to see the man I was on twist his head towards me growling.

"Oh shit!" I yelped as he rushed backwards towards the nearest wall crushing me against it. Losing my breath for a moment I lost my grip on the man and slumped down to the ground.

"What's going on?!" The man next to the woman shouted. I turned to my left to see the woman scrunch up her face, grit her teeth, and full on headbutt him.

Tumbling back the man put his hand to his bleeding forehead and rushed at her. Even though she had her hands tied behind her back she was able to bob and weave out of the man's way.

She faced the bloody man head on. Blowing her bangs away from her hair for a moment she focused in on the man before she leaped up into the air slamming her boot against the man's cheek. His head twisted with the force of the blow causing him to fall down to the floor knocked out cold.

"Vaughn!" Atticus shouted as he squared off against another man in the group. I snapped back into attention and rolled away from an incoming kick by the man I was just on. Atticus gave the man an uppercut punch on the jaw and pulled in closer to throw a couple of quick jabs before the man to fall on the ground.

I got back onto my feet and grabbed my walking stick. I rushed towards him with my walking stick hoping to knock him back with it. "Not going to work on me punk!" The burly man caught my stick mid swing and yanked it from me. I tripped forward and slamming the stick against me. I staggered aside to see the man hold both ends of the stick and push it down onto his raised knee snapping it in half.

"Oh shit!" I coughed taking a step back as he came forward chuckling and cracking his knuckles. The man took another step forward when his eyes rolled behind his head and he fell down onto his knees going down head first.

"Thank goodness you got here in time Atticus." I looked up from the heap of a man to see that the person who had saved me wasn't Atticus but rather the woman that I had rushed in to rescue. "Oh, it's you!"

I stepped forward to her as she untied the rope from one of her hands. She was actually kind of pretty in an almost a rugged way. Being close to her now I could sense that she has this confident presence. It was as if nothing that had happened phased her.

We stood in silence for a moment as she took a moment rebraided her hair allowing it to rest along the front of her right shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," She spoke in an assured quiet tone. "Thanks for helping me." She placed her hand on her hip switching her attention to me. "What compelled you to help me?"

"It looked like you needed help. My friend and I saw you struggling so we had to help."

With my comment she gave a light chuckle as I cocked my head sideways. "You're not from around here are you?" She smiled wryly at me.

"No. Atticus, my friend, and I are from up north."

"Well so you know," She bent down beside the hulking man picking things off of his person such as small knives and some spare quznos. "You just aided and abetted a well known criminal in these parts by helping her escape from the law."

"Wait what?!" I stepped to my side to see that all of the men were knocked out cold and took a moment to eye all of the similar clothing. At first glance I thought they all dressed similarly because they were in some sort of gang but now it dawned on me that it was probably just their work uniform. "I-I-" Stuttering my eyes darted around trying to find Atticus.

Noticing that Atticus was slumped against a wall I rushed over to check on him. Kneeling down I pressed my fingers against his neck and let out a slight sigh of relief when I felt his pulse.

"Since you're new to these parts I'll let you off with a warning." She knelt down so that we were eye level. She didn't hesitate to look me in the eye and as I looked into hers I involuntarily shook in fear.

Her forest green eyes were so focused on me it reminded me of how a wild leopard would eye its prey. "Down in these parts we mind our own business and move along." She paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in. "And now-" She gave me a hard punch into my stomach knocking my breath away.

"If our roads were to cross over each other again and you're in need I'll help you. Otherwise goodbye." My vision of her got fuzzy as I saw her step up and dart off into the night. I was out like a light by the time my head rested on Atticus' shoulder.