Decide By Yourself.

Rick was confidently walking down the street, despite the cold, his soul was unusually warm and calm. He did not look around and did not pay attention to rare random passers-by, who, like him, were forced to leave their cozy house and go for a walk at a dark and frosty night.

Several people were following him, waiting for the opportunity to strike. To their surprise, he looked as if he was not bothered by anything in this world, and seemed not to care about them at all, which only caused greater anger in these people.

The boy turned around the corner and froze in place, 'Damn! Damn it! The second time in the evening!' He began to mentally reproach himself for the carelessness that was so unusual for him. Several people blocked his path, and when he turned around, another team of their colleagues had already blocked him from behind.

Rick bowed his head and sighed, now it was definitely a very, very shitty situation. He was tired and had no strength to fight, he has not eaten for more than twelve hours. All he wanted now was to give a small bribe to his stomach in the form of a meal so that it finally calmed down and go to bed. He had neither the strength nor the desire to deal with these people.

"Hey, Lawrence, don't you think that you became a frequent visitor in our neighbourhood with your night promenades? Your belly button is bigger than your stomach, huh?" Burns grinned sarcastically, he was holding a baseball bat in his hand and tapping it on his other palm.

"It's already late and cold, so let's disperse peacefully, I'm sure it's not cool to stand here and chew our snots. Moreover, if I remember correctly, your elder brother, the head of this neighbourhood, did not forbid crossing this territory. If I do not sell anything, then this does not violate the agreement. I'm just going home, so you have no reason to block my way."

Rick expressed his idea loudly enough for all those present to catch the main point: he did not violate the rules established by the head of their gang, which means that they have no right to touch him.

But the fire of hatred and the desire to avenge the humiliating escape that Rick forced them to do, flared up in Burns' chest more and more. He was the younger brother of the leader of their group and tried by all means to seize no less authority than his brother. And to deal with this self-confident snob Lawrence, who considered himself superior to the others, at the moment was his priority.

"Jimmy, c'mon, teach our guest good manners, he dares to speak like that in the presence of the owner of this place," Burns gave the order to one of his footmen. Although it was a group of teenagers who were 13-16 years old, their level of cruelty was no less than that of adult gang members.

Rick barely managed to bounce to the side, as one of the people who surrounded him from behind, waved a bat and almost hit him on the head. The guy made several more attempts to hook Rick, but the latter turned out to be very agile, even despite the wild fatigue.

"Why are you standing still?! Grab him and smash him!" Burns shouted in an ordered tone, the guys looked at each other. There was no need to guess what the outcome of this battle would be. Fifteen people, armed with bats and strong fists, against one guy who was also younger than most of them.

Rick leaned his back against the wall of the house and looked around, no matter how he wanted to escape, these people did not provide him with a single loophole.

. . .

"Hey, Burns, maybe that's enough? It seems to me that he is not breathing," one of his friends whispered when he pushed Rick's body lying on the pavement and did not feel any resistance.

Although they were petty hooligans, they haven't yet become killers, and this assumption caused a cold shiver among all participants of the fight.

"Maybe we'll take him to the hospital, what do you think?" one of the guys, who was waving the bat no less than the others, suggested.

"Are you an idiot?! Screw the hospital!" Burns barked at him, turned around and walked away, he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible before they were spotted by one of the police patrols. If this happened, he would have serious problems with his older brother.

"Are you suggesting you leave him here and just go away?! It's freezing outside, even if he's unconscious, he can kick the bucket because of overcooling!" one of Burns's friends shouted after him.

The guy stopped, thinking about the words he heard, clenched his fists and replied, "So take him to your home and warm under your wing like a hen-hen. But after that, don't dare to show your nose here, otherwise, the same fate will await you," Burns finished his threat and went on, never turning around.

Other guys looked at each other, they were all permanent residents of the area, unlike Rick, and knew the local rules much better than the rest. If they fall out of favor with a local gang, the best thing that they could expect was forcing their families to move out from this place, whether it be blackmail or threats.

Although teenagers were from dysfunctional families, they were not eager to deal with their angry parents and lose their homes. They looked at each other, having a silent conversation between themselves, turned around and followed Burns, leaving the boy's lifeless body lying on the cold asphalt.

Deep night was becoming colder and colder, the wind died down, the city fell into a deep sleep. The gray sky, pressing on the inhabitants, put its thick clouds in motion. The first snow began.

Slowly falling down, the snowflakes whirled in their dance, covering the city with a white canvas that hides all the dirt underneath. And even if they could hide the dirt of the streets for at least a few moments, they could not hide the dirt in the hearts of people.

The boy lay on cold ground without a single motion, the rhythm of his heart was slow, his breath barely perceptible. Flakes of white snow were falling on his face, burning with an unpleasant coolness.

Cold. So cold.

Rick opened his eyes, but his eyes met the pitch darkness, through which little white fluffs erupted every now and then. He closed his eyes and took a breath, the pain from his chest, like waves across the water, spread throughout his body. He wanted to try to get up, but could not even raise his head, as if his body was someone else's, and his mind just accidentally confused its true owner with someone else.

Despair in his heart gave way to deep sadness. He was alone in this dark world, he was cold and scared. He was used to relying on himself in everything, but now he couldn't do even that.

Corey's joyful face surfaced in his head, the boy smiled mentally. A tear rolled down his cheek, "I'm sorry, it seems I can't keep my promise and see you off." He felt the pain in his body recede as if it had never existed. A strange and unusual lightness enveloped his mind. He opened his eyes and looked again at the sky.

White snow was falling in its slow and carefree rhythm like it did not care what was happening underneath. For some reason, this situation seemed familiar to Rick, as if once upon a time, he had already seen the same dark sky, felt the snow on his body, felt that emptiness and lightness when everything was about to end.

He wanted to sleep. The boy took his last breath and closed his eyes. In his mind, images of unknown people, unknown events began to emerge, like newsreels, an accidental witness of which he has become. He did not know how much time had passed until he felt that something strange was happening.

From the tips of his fingers, a warm wave began to pour a pleasant bliss all over his body, until it enveloped him up to the hub. It was as if he plunged into warm and soft water, where he was feeling better and better with every minute.

"Wake up," a barely audible female voice called from somewhere in the distance. "Wake up," the voice sounded even louder, and Rick opened his eyes.

His vision was blurry as if he had not used his eyes for a very long time. He blinked several times and saw the silhouette of a girl walking away. Despite the fragile figure, her walk was firm and confident, she knew what she was doing and where she was going.

Long black hair covered her entire back and reached her hips.

"Who are you?" Rick croaked, his voice was almost inaudible. The girl stopped and turned her head slightly. "You came to take my life, right? Are you an angel or death?" He clarified his question, it seemed to him that she was like somebody from another world.

"I am neither an angel nor a demon," the girl replied in a quiet and even tone, "I have returned life to your body, but what to do with your soul... You must decide this yourself."

"Wh-what do you mean?" the boy asked, not understanding her words.

"You'll find out soon," she turned away and walked on until her silhouette disappeared into the darkness of the night.

. . .