Hoodlums hunt (5)

Derrick and his cronies couldn't help but wonder at the madness driving Sebastian's mirth.

"Why's he smiling like a lunatic?" one goon said. His voice and face reflected puzzlement, and the sight slightly unnerved him.

Derrick gritted his teeth. "Don't know, but I'm dying to wipe that stupid grin off his face." He meant it, and his determination renewed with each stride.

The chase twisted and turned through a labyrinth of alleys, Sebastian leading them with the agility of a fox, his pursuers on his heels.

Finally, they found themselves funneled into a dark alley Sebastian had seen earlier.

The absence of external illumination and the lifeless windows, devoid of any flicker of light, cloaked the place in almost absolute darkness.

Sebastian glanced upwards, noticing the severed electricity cables. There was no electricity at all there, meaning that the presence of cameras could be ruled out.

The now young man halted, seemingly succumbing to fatigue. Derrick, interpreting the stop as a sign of exhaustion, couldn't help but smirk.

After all, Sebastian was lean, and appeared frail, in contrast to the robust physiques honed by the rigorous training of Thespian families to which Derrick and his friends belonged to.

"Looks like the mouse has run out of steam." Derrick taunted Sebastian, confident in the physical superiority they had held, but Sebastian still grinned.

"He is still smiling," one of the goons said.

"Don't mind him. He is crazy."

Yet, what Derrick failed to realize was that this alley, devoid of light and surveillance, was exactly where Sebastian wanted them.

"You know," Derrick said. "What you did last time was really humiliating. I wonder what got into your mind." The bully then started approaching Sebastian with slow, deliberate steps.

Then Sebastian got a very serious look on his face. "Don't tell me you are walking slow to add to your theatricals?" He then smirked again.

Derrick got irked by those words. "You are still joking? How can you not understand the situation you are in?"

The goons flanked Derrick, looking at Sebastian with contempt, but also slightly apprehensive.

The last time, the guy they beat almost daily, and which they forced to buy them lunch, sent them K.O. with very few moves. They didn't even know Sebastian could fight.

"What situation am I?" Sebastian asked with an innocent look.

Derrick smiled. He was sure Sebastian was going to receive a thorough beating this time.

"The situation in which you end up at the hospital."

"And I suppose you are the one who will lead me there, right?"

"Right."

A soft giggle escaped Sebastian, quiet and nearly undetectable, like the whisper of a secret only he was privy to.

Yet, as seconds ticked by, the giggle swelled into a full-blown laugh, morphing into a cascade of sinister laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH."

Sebastian's laughter echoed off the walls, its wild and unhinged quality sending shivers down Derrick's spine.

It was akin to the chilling howl of a madman, unrestrained and teetering on the edge of sanity—a sound so unsettling it could easily belong to someone confined within the sterile, oppressive walls of a mental facility.

Derrick and his goons sprung into action, their movements synchronized, a testament to their training.

They descended upon Sebastian, confident in their superiority, their training, and their numbers. Yet, what unfolded next would shatter their convictions.

Sebastian, seemingly cornered and outnumbered, moved with an unpredictability that confounded his attackers.

He dodged a punch here, a kick there, his movements fluid and evasive, a dance in the darkness.

However, sometimes they landed a punch or a kick. Each strike from the three only fueled Sebastian's eerie laughter, his amusement growing with every miss.

It was as if with each blow he got, his joy intensified, his laughter ringing out like the cackle of a man untouched by fear or pain.

"This guy is a fucking psycho!" Derrick said.

To that, the first goon launched a series of punches, each more enraged than the last. Sebastian, with a grin playing on his lips, evaded most.

When a fist finally connected, Sebastian's continued laughter muffled the sound, as if the impact was nothing more than a tickle.

While seizing an opening, Sebastian delivered a precise strike to the goon's temple, sending him spiraling into unconsciousness, his body hitting the ground with a thud.

"1." Sebastian said.

Of course, that shocked the remaining goon and Derrick. Sebastian got hit many times already and never went down. Why could he send KO a person with a single punch?

The truth was that Sebastian simply became accustomed to that. He was used to fighting; he knew where to hit to unleash the max damage or pain.

Compared to him, Derrick and his friends were no more than novices, clumsily wielding their strength without understanding or finesse, mere children pretending at a game they had no grasp of.

Emboldened by his success, Sebastian turned his attention to the second goon.

This one, witnessing his companion's swift defeat, hesitated, his resolve wavering.

This hesitation proved costly. Sebastian, capitalizing on the moment of doubt, dispatched him with ease, a quick one-two punch that left the second goon slumped beside his fallen comrade.

"2."

Now, only Derrick remained, his confidence shattered, replaced by a dawning realization of fear.

The man who had started the chase, who had led his friends into what he believed was a certain victory, now stood alone, facing a man he wasn't sure enough how to define.

Derrick's fear morphed into panic, and he turned to flee, desperation lending speed to his steps.

But Sebastian was relentless. With a burst of speed driven by a mania that seemed to give him an unnatural edge, he caught up to Derrick.

In a move that was both precise and brutal, Sebastian delivered a crushing blow to Derrick's leg, the sound of breaking bone echoing through the alley like a death knell.

"3."

Derrick crumpled, his escape cut short by the agonizing pain that now consumed him.

His screams filling the night air, but there was no one who could hear him.

As Derrick lay there, writhing in pain, Sebastian's laughter continued to resonate, a haunting soundtrack to the scene of defeat.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

The three attackers, who had expected an easy target, found themselves overwhelmed by a single individual whose capacity in combat defied their understanding.

Sebastian, standing amidst the pandemonium he had wrought, his laughter finally subsiding, looked down at Derrick as he was watching at a toy.