Unfamiliar Hood

"Dead with silence" was the best phrase Duke could come up with to describe the neighborhood where he was to deliver the item. As he rode his bike down the road, he pulled out the piece of paper containing the house address to reconfirm it. As he continued the ride, the paper slipped from his grasp and was carried by the wind. It drifted above his head and away, following the current until it was no longer in sight.

"Well, that's just great!" Duke muttered to himself sarcastically, stopping to watch the wind take the slip away.

Duke didn't let it bug him. He was already in the neighborhood, and the information encoded on the paper was etched in his memory.

He turned his head forward and continued the ride. After riding a good distance, Duke came down from his bike to analyze the environment.

Duke had never been here before, nor had he ever been given packages to deliver in this part of town. He snapped back to himself, not letting doubts cloud his mind or giving himself a chance to have second thoughts. It was best to just get to the address first.

Weirdly enough, he hadn't encountered anyone outside. The whole place looked damp, like a scene straight out of an apocalyptic movie. The streets seemed empty and deserted, with boards and spray paint over some doors and walls. It felt like rapture had taken place or an emergency evacuation plan had somehow taken everyone in this vicinity.

Or it could be the government.

Suddenly, a car zoomed past him, splashing dirty mud water on Duke's shirt. He must not have heard them honk their horn because he was lost in his thoughts.

Seeing the car reverse and now head towards him made Duke rethink if they had even honked at him at all.

Three guys about his age got out of the car. It was one of those fancy sports cars with just the driver and passenger seats, with barely enough room at the back, so Duke wondered how the third guy had managed to fit. They were all walking towards him now.

"Sorry about that, dude," the first guy apologized with a smug look on his face.

Something told Duke they hadn't just come down to apologize. He stayed quiet and simply watched them.

One of the guys, now seated on top of the car taking a drag of his cigarette, spoke. "Is he dumb?"

"At least not deaf," the first guy said again. "You aren't deaf, are you, young man?"

The first guy came closer and stared at Duke in an intimidating way. Duke held his gaze, not flinching, wearing a bored expression.

"Did that lowlife just give you the look?" the third guy questioned, gaining the first and the second's attention.

"What look?" they asked in unison.

Yeah, what look? Duke wanted to know too, but he kept silent.

"The look that says you can't do shit and you don't scare him," the third guy said.

The first guy chuckled and turned to Duke. "Must've been some sort of mistake, or you just got shitty eyes, Brad." The first guy pulled off Duke's glasses.

"Those are mine," Duke suddenly spoke. But the first guy was already handing Duke's lenses to Brad.

"Oh, shit!" the first guy jumped dramatically, like a princess stepping on a rat, only he wasn't wearing a puffy gown to enhance the dramatic effect. The lenses dropped to the floor.

"Your voice scared me for a second, and I dropped them by mistake. My apologies," he said sarcastically.

"Just give them back," Duke spoke again in a bored tone. His vision was getting blurry, but he didn't show it.

"So you can talk and hear too," the first guy snickered.

"Even someone who's a tier one knows better than to pull that stunt with me. Especially not you, a lowlife," the second guy sneered.

The first guy picked up Duke's glasses with his feet like they were a football and then kicked them, sending the frame and broken pieces of glass flying straight at Duke.

Duke didn't move. He stood still, and the glasses, now somewhat shattered, missed his face by an inch but left a small cut.

Before Duke could react, the first guy grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the floor. Duke groaned, taking a moment to wipe the dirt from his eyes before he tried to get up.

"Oh, man's got money!" Duke heard one of the guys hail. Duke was suddenly elated. He searched the floor in a blur to pick up the money that fell from his pocket. His blurred vision, coupled with the mud that had found its way into his eyes, made it harder for him to get around.

"Got it!" he heard them laugh.

Duke tried to get up, but he was kicked down by the boys.

"Give it back, I won't say it again," Duke mumbled, loud enough to hear, as he held his gut.

"Still got the energy to talk, I see. Let's do something about that, boys!"

Duke coughed as he got up. He stayed still and closed his eyes, taking slow deep breaths as the memory of his foster dad blindfolding him and using whips and sticks on him in an attempt to build up his other senses played through like a movie in his mind. His dad was so keen on teaching his son to be useful even with his bad sight.

Duke paused and closed his eyes, listening and waiting. He felt the vibrations of the ground beneath him as one of the guys began charging towards him. He swerved to the side, easily avoiding the punch thrown at him.

"The man's got moves. I'll handle him," Duke heard Brad say.

"No, I will handle him. I'll use some of my acquired strength to put him in his place," another picked in.

"How about we just let this lowlife be? I think he has learned not to mess with his superiors. Remember, we aren't supposed to use our tiers on people that aren't in the game."

"What game?" Duke thought to himself as they talked amongst themselves.

He could figure that out later, but what mattered most at this very moment was getting back his money. He wasn't about to let go of it.

"No one is leaving this place with my money except me," Duke yelled.

"Ouu! He's asking for it," Brad taunted.

Brad decided to take his turn at Duke, who was still standing with his eyes closed. Brad threw a punch aiming for Duke's nose, but Duke could already feel it coming. He turned swiftly and threw a high kick to Brad's neck with his foot, sending Brad flying into the side of a dumpster.

"I said… no one leaves with my money," Duke muttered in a dark, ominous tone.