Lightning strikes

"God damn it, why do you always send me to get him home?"

A door slam could be heard and a shadow could be seen roaming around the paved roads of Rue. It was kicking around a tin can like a ball, making clanking noises that disturbed the graveyard silence. After a stronger kick, it finally rolls with its label up.

"Magic steak... the only thing that's magic about this is the dirt taste."

He's already had enough of eating this stuff. A teenager has finally emerged from that shadow as the kicking approached the main road. A bit on the short side, but with a physique that definitely could not be ignored, he advanced his trip. Where was his destination located?

He passed dozens of empty alleys until he seemed to find the one he was looking for. It went all the way up to a still lit entrance of a building. On the walls, several meters above the doors, there was a wooden sign hanged with steel chains from a black pole, the only thing visible on it being the white colored outline of a beer pint. The symbol of the place he was looking for: the tavern.

Inside there were three people, discussing something that did not concern him and his father, who was resting his head on his arms at a table in the opposite corner.

"Even they seemed to have forgotten about him, letting him stay here. I pity this loser."

He approached the sleeping man and tugged his shoulder. He wouldn't wake up, so he started shaking him from his shoulders.

"Ugh, I am awake, stop it! What the hell do you want?"

"We need to go home, you drunk bastard. You can't just sleep in the tavern, old Miles is going to get mad at us!"

"They can just throw me outside like that brown haired man if I don't wake up. Let me get to sleep, you stupid kid."

He sighed. This wasn't the first time he had to deal with this so he got used to it.

"A small shock will do..." he rumbled to himself.

He got his hand close to the back of his old man's sleeping neck and channeled his energy. From the tip of the fingers could be seen a small lightning bolt extending from the tip of the fingers all the way to the unsuspecting sleeper's neck.

"Ouch, what the hell did you do that for? Fine, I'll come, jeez!"

The pair got outside and went in the opposite direction the teen came from.

"This way's shorter, I can't wait to get you off my back."

As they got further from the main road, the light that the roads received diminished and as time passed, the drunkard got more sober. He finally realized where they were and who dragged him here.

"Stay... stay the hell away from me! You never liked me, and ever since I married your mother it has been even worse. You want to do me in now, don't you? You scum!" said the old man shriveling from fear.

He raised his fist into the air into a sluggish motion in the form of an arc and prepared to lunge at his stepson. From afar, there were two shadows that could be seen spectating the event. As soon as his punch went towards him, the teenager grabbed it, stepping to the left and pulling his hand along, getting it in his grip.

"Now's not the time for this. And besides, we've got company."

The two shadows stepped forward and got into the moon's light. Their faces were now distinguishable, and very familiar to anyone who lived in the city for more than a week. It was Sante and his chubby sidekick, that even if they had a shop to run during the day, they were famous for cornering people in situations like this and taking whatever they had worth. Or even worse, forcing them to join them and do their work for nothing.

"Oh boy, that was a nice disarm, except that he had no weapon... Your skills seem really impressive, kid."

"Shut it." he replied.

"Don't be so stubborn, we've only come here to get back our debt from your old man. We'll do him one better, why don't you join us and we'll forget whatever he owed. Much simpler and there's no need for any 'robbing' to be done. You could make bank by helping us, you know?"

The kid put one of his feet behind and leaned forward with his hand parallel to his body. Small sparks were appearing from his legs, as his eyes lit up blue.

"In your dreams."

The thug tried to prepare his sword but it was already too late. The kid dashed all the way in front of him and jumped in the air. His position and form were perfect for a bicycle kick all the way to his enemy's head that landed successfully, sending him flying across the road. The electricity infused kick did a lot of damage, seeing as his head was bleeding and his body was shaking from the electric shock.

"Now, for the other one..."

He looked around but his enemy's buddy was nowhere to be found. After scouting around, he deduced that he fled the battle and went back to check on his father. He was sitting on the cold stone ground, still stunned as he did not fully sober up and all that fighting with his son almost made him throw up.

"Get up, I have to get you home."

He opened the same door he was leaving from several hours ago, this time with his father by his side. His mother rushed, worried, to the entrance, checking her husband's body for any damage he could've possibly suffered during his absence from home.

"You look terrible, honey. I have to get you into your bed as soon as possible, come!"

The young man took a seat in the dining room, waiting for her to come from the bedroom, but after a while, there was still no sign coming from that place. He decided to check up on them and slowly entered their chamber. Both of them were sound asleep, forgetting that he even existed. Not a pleasant sight for him to digest but nothing surprised him at this point.

With everything sorted out, he finally went to his room. The place was really simple, with only a bed, a table and a drawer to store his clothes in. It was so insignificant, his parents didn't even check it most of the time.

On top of the table was a pouch full of diverse coins he got from the jobs he's been doing. He started counting everything that was inside. Outside, a thunderstorm was forming and distant thunders could be heard. The rain provided a nice atmosphere for him to count alone and undisturbed.

"That should be enough." he thought while adding another two coins to the pile. "Tomorrow is the day I get to leave this place.