[22] Ace from above
The gang of eight men stood in a tight group by the gas station, hands raised, faces tense as they stared down the barrels of the gang's rifles. The thugs smirked, cocky and loose, circling the group like predators sizing up their prey. Chloe's trembling gasp was the only sound, breaking the thick, charged silence that clung to the air. Ms. Heather was visibly shaken, eyes darting nervously between the men, her grip tightening on Akira's arm. The thugs' leader, a man with a jagged scar cutting through his unshaven face, sneered as he stepped forward, leering at them. His gaze roamed over each one of the girls with a sick glint in his eyes, landing first on Chloe, then sliding down to Brittany. He moved closer, his hand extending, and without preamble, he grabbed a handful of Chloe's chest, squeezing with a roughness that made her wince and try to pull back, her expression twisted with disgust and shock.
"Got some nice goods here, boys," the leader jeered, his voice dripping with lechery.
"Shit, didn't expect you all to be such a goldmine." One of his lackeys laughed, sidling up to Ms. Heather. "This one's got the teacher vibe going on. How about you help me 'study,' huh?" He grinned, running his fingers along her arm, making her recoil, but his grip on her tightened, pulling her back toward him.
"Get… get off me!" Ms. Heather's voice shook, but she tried to keep her tone steady, glaring defiantly even as he leaned in close, his breath hot on her neck.
Akira, her eyes wide and fixated on Liam in terror, couldn't even move. She was too stunned, too paralyzed by the fear and humiliation that rooted her to the spot. One of the other thugs roughly pushed her back against the side of the bus, his hand pressing against her chest. She looked up at him with a mixture of fear and raw anger, her fists clenched tight at her sides.
Brittany scoffed, masking her fear with her usual air of indifference. "Touch me again, and I swear I'll—"
"What, babe?" The thug closest to her sneered, his hand trailing up her thigh. "Gonna post about it on your little TikTok?" His laugh was dark, mocking. "Go ahead. We love a live audience."
Blake, who had been fuming as he watched the scene unfold, finally snapped, stepping forward despite the guns pointed at them. "You think this is some kind of joke?" His voice was loud, filled with indignation. "You disgusting, misogynistic scumbags! Preying on women like this—it's despicable, it's—"
One of the thugs, clearly irritated, whipped his gun around and slammed the butt of it hard into Blake's head. Blake hit the ground with a grunt, blood trickling from his forehead as he struggled to lift himself back up.
"Shut the fk up," the thug growled, lifting his rifle, pointing it directly at Blake's head. "You wanna keep flapping that mouth? I can end it for you real fast." Just as the thug's finger tightened on the trigger, a loud crack echoed through the air. The thug's head snapped back, and a bloody hole appeared between his eyes before he crumpled to the ground. Everyone froze, stunned into silence as the lifeless body of the thug hit the asphalt.
"What the hell—?" The leader shouted, his bravado suddenly dissipating as he scanned the area, his grip on Chloe's arm slackening. "Who the fk—?"
Another shot rang out, and a second thug fell, blood spurting from a wound in his chest. Panic rippled through the gang as the remaining men scrambled for cover behind the gas pumps and concrete barriers, cursing and shouting orders to one another.
"Who's out there?" another thug yelled, his voice tinged with fear. He crouched low, desperately looking around, his eyes wide with terror.
"Where are they shooting from?" A third thug, just a few feet away, didn't get a chance to find out. He was picked off with a clean shot to the head, his body collapsing with a sickening thud.
The remaining two thugs, visibly shaken, exchanged fearful glances. Realizing they were outgunned and outmatched, they bolted, abandoning their fallen comrades without a second thought. But they didn't get far. A fourth shot rang out, and one of the fleeing men staggered, clutching his side before he collapsed to the ground, motionless. The last thug, his face pale with horror, barely managed a few more steps before another bullet found its mark, taking him down. Silence fell over the gas station once more, thick and heavy, broken only by the distant echo of the last gunshot fading into the night. The group, still huddled by the bus, stared in shock at the lifeless bodies sprawled across the ground.
"Holy shit…" Jean muttered, his voice barely a whisper, his eyes wide as he looked at the bloody scene in front of them. Liam, his face pale, glanced around, searching for any sign of their mysterious savior.
"Who… who the hell just saved us?" Ms. Heather, shaken and pale, managed to pull herself together, adjusting her shirt and trying to steady her breathing.
"I don't know, but whoever it was… they just saved our lives." Chloe, her usual confidence shattered, looked at her hands, still trembling. "I thought… I thought we were done for."
"Same," Brittany muttered, rubbing her arms as if she could erase the feel of the thug's hands on her skin. "Those assholes… I just… I can't believe—"
Blake, clutching his bleeding forehead, let out a low groan, looking at the ground where he'd fallen. "I—I tried to stand up to them… they… bastards."
"Bro, you almost got your skull cracked," Jordan muttered, shaking his head. "Next time, maybe keep it on the low until we're not, y'know, outnumbered and outgunned."
Luca, still visibly shaken, let out a forced laugh. "Yeah, Blake, not the best time for your feminist TED talk, my guy."
Akira, who had stayed close to Liam through the chaos, reached for his hand, clinging tightly as if to assure herself that he was still there. "Jean… I was so scared."
Jean, still in shock, managed a nod, squeezing her hand back. "Yeah… yeah, me too."
Evan, the last to recover, swallowed hard, his gaze flicking between his friends and the fallen bodies. "So… what do we do now?"
Q: What do you think will happen next?