1 Chapter 1: Ava's Night

Car's loud honking in the middle of traffic, the loud street music, and the busy, noisy, but happy drunk cheers of the crowd on a Friday evening echoes through the night. People sure are happy for another end of the hell weekdays in this city...

Well, for most people... at least. Happy is just not for people like me; The unlucky ones...

"Huckkkk! Cough! Cough!" Grrruuunt! The scrapes, and the little wounds on my body stings! I bit my dry lips and kept myself quiet as much as possible, but, "Huff! Haa..." My chest feels so heavy, it is so hard to breathe... it feels like something is pricking it!

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, after I tightly wrapped a cloth in my upper thigh! I took a deep breath, and spit the unpleasant flavor in my mouth! The metallic taste of blood at the end of my lip tastes awful! "Uhck! Cough!" My nosebleed may had gone to my throat, it makes me so nauseous! My punched and kicked stomach is also zapping me inside, it is killing me!

Crap!

The guys really beat me up real bad this time! My legs can not take it anymore! I am rapidly losing my remaining strength... and, I can barely feel my legs and feet. I keep huffing, and breathing heavily, it makes my head spin!

Before I can explain, they already made me into a punching bag. They are all so convinced that I stole the ledger no one one would dare to steal... unless they want to die.

I felt my back leaned, and slowly sliding on the cold, cement, wall, until I sat on the damp, rough ground of this dark part of the alley.

I gulped, and shut my eyes. The cold feeling on my back tingles through my spine, I closed my eyes as I jolted quietly, suppressing my voice... suppressing the pain.

My wounds and bruises sting more and more as my body realize that those pain causing bruises are there, I feel like multiple needles are piercing through my skin over and over...

"Hey! You guys search around and in the building over there! We will search over here! She's beaten up badly, she can't go that far!" Those loud, breathy, low, raspy, and desperate voices! Gladious gangsters, they sure are fast!

"Crap! Hahh... Huff... Haah..." I need to get out of here fast! But with those guys roaming around like searching dogs in here, I can't flee right now! This dark and empty alley might not as helpful as I think it wou-

"Tsk! Found you, Ava!" A bitchy overconfident girl dressed with slutty checkered miniskirt and plain t-shirt smirked and posed in front of me like a badass lady... Ashea, one of the teenage, curious, arrogant, girls that got their way in the gang by being friends or seducing the Gladiolus men/gangsters.

A person like her joined the Gladiolus Clan just because she wanted power and connection. A person who is curious about what is happening in these organizations, gangs, and stuff. A kind of person who prefer to be in this side of life instead of the weak side. She is not really a threat, but from the looks of my condition, I might consider her one right now.

"Pfft, hahaha!" I feel like sh*t!

"What are you laughing at?!" Her voice squeaked in annoyance and anger.

This scene feels so familiar, I can not do anything again... even when I can die at this moment, I can not move nor even have the chance to run away. Pfft, screw that! I don't think I even want to run away from this situation, anyway! At times like this, I feel like I want to end everything once in for all, because I am so tired... The funny thing is, a useless piece of crappy person like her will be the one putting an end of me!

"I'm going to end you!" Saying that while gritting her teeth that hard, she must really hate me. I am two years older than her, she is just sixteen. Since I joined earlier in the clan, that makes her under me. I tried being easy on her about the task and punishments, it's a little emotionaly difficult though. I intentionally did that for her to leave the Gladiolus clan, but she became more of a bad person. Her nasty personality is a gift meant to drag her in all kinds of trouble if you ask me.

I pressed my teeth down on my trembling lips, suppressing the pain! Crap I need to calm the heck down and get my shit together! Breathe... but it is so dang painful!

My eyes looked at hers, "R-Really? Good for you! Good for you since you've been wanting it so badly!" I can still manage to talk despite of my deep rough breaths! My body... really... hurts!

"Heh~," She smirked! "It is really good for me! It is great actually!" The little devil's smile in her face is really annoyingly ugly! "Those moments when you purposely made me take every girls' punches because you hate me? That is bs!"

Isn't she overconfident a lot though..., and mad? Like worse than normal... Just because Ashea found me first, she is acting like she is so specially skilled! I forgot that she's so pretentious too.

"Look at you now, you are like a trash loitered at this dirty and dark alley. Even if I end you now, no one will know!" This crazy- I already know that!

"Tsk! Laugh all you want, Ashea! As if you can end me. Now, I remember, you have always been a coward, and the weak one! You can't hurt a single person without crying that night." You can't take me down! "You are so pathetic that you cannot hurt anyone! You are so scared that you tremble and stutter! You-"

"SHUT UP!"

She is so easy to provoke! Her glaring eyes can't seem to leave staring at me! She is too nice to hurt- Crap! Where did that baseball bat came from?!

"Whackkkkkkk!"

What is with this silence with a long beeping sound? Did she actually hit me? ..., but it does not hurt at all!

Huh? Everything is weirdly blurry...

Ashea is flustered... I can see her trembling lips mouthing something to the others, but I can't hear anything... She is running- they are running away! Just as I thought, she is a coward! She is so weak that even killing me will hurt her even more than hurting me!

My eyes... are shutting down on their own... I need to stay awake! Stay ha-awake...

A warm liquid... I feel a warm liquid rolling down my face...

G-Good thing I can still move my hands... My head! Eh? Is this red? It is blood...

... It is getting harder to, huff, breathe...

It's hard to..., "breathe."

Claannnkkk!

I think I heard a faint clanking sound, "H-Help... me!" God! My voice can't be any louder! My voice is trapped and can't get out!

Pffft! Hahahaha!

Who am I kidding?! No one comes in this alley, especially this late at night! Maybe it is just a stray cat walking around or something...

I am so, "sleepy..." and tired...