Shadows - Melody Anne Page 0,1
not surprised to see my buddies close behind — then faced the brother and threw a super tight snowball straight into his smug face. I immediately followed that with a punch to his stomach. When he bent over, I was ready, and punched him hard in his nose, making it explode like a water balloon dropping from a ten story building,” Sleep said.
Clapper started laughing loud enough they didn’t need the headpieces to hear him. The story really hit Clapper deep. Sleep was trying not to laugh himself while continuing on with his reminiscing. “Big brother went down, and his friends rushed over. They were so shocked they weren’t sure what to do. They weren’t even looking at me as they moved to their friend. The bully was standing back gazing at me with shock and fear. Man, for a moment there, I felt as if the hand of God had reached down and touched me, making me invincible. As we all know, confidence can turn into stupidity on a dime, though,” he said with a sigh.
“Hell yeah, but it gives us some crazy ass adventures and memories to talk about as we soar over barren lands,” Rain said with a smile.
Nodding his head in agreement, Sleep kept going. “I lunged at the kid to my right, but he was far more ready than his buddy. He took my head in his beefcake hand and shoved, throwing me to the side, making me land face first, completely disorienting me. Before I could so much as twitch, big brother was on me, punching the back of my head. Everything was happening quick, but I still heard the baby bully egging on his brother, telling him to kill me. I was wondering if it was going to end that way. Flashes of light were sparking behind my eyes, and my ears were exploding with each slam of his meaty fists against my skull, which I thought for sure was cracking.” Sleep paused for a moment, and his team knew he was back in that place as he told his story.
“This kid had at least fifty pounds on me, but my adrenaline was flowing. I got myself turned, and just as I flipped sunny side up, I took a shot to my left cheekbone. That one got my attention. Hell, it hurt bad. I wasn’t even thinking anymore. It was the epicenter of fight or flight — and since I wouldn’t have run even if I could, I knew I needed to get back in the fight. He was holding the front of my jacket with his left hand, so I leaned forward, and bit down hard on the bottom knuckle of his thumb. I was a pit bull on crack as I clenched skin, muscle, and bone between my teeth. It must’ve hurt like hell, because his eyes widened with surprise and pain as he tried pulling from me. I tasted blood but refused to let go as he screamed and thrashed his arm about like a wild banshee. I was thinking I might not die when he slammed a fist into my jaw, managing to yank his hand away. Before even a second more passed, his fist slammed down again, straight into that sweet spot at my temple. The world went black for a second, maybe two. And it could’ve been the end for me, but when I opened my eyes again, my friends were in the middle of a chaotic battle,” Sleep said, more than a hint of pride in his voice.
“Hell yeah, for the ones you can count on,” Rain said with a fist half-cocked in the air.
“Amen, Brother,” Sleep said. “My friends were just a single step less crazy than I was, and they rushed forward, rabbit punching, kicking, and screaming at the top of their lungs as they connected with the high schoolers. They weren’t ones to look for a fight, but they never backed down if one came at them. Their fists and feet flew in every direction along with snow and ice pelting us from all sides. If one of us went down, we all did what we could to pick them back up, even if it meant getting a busted lip or a black eye.”
“Damn straight, we do,” Eyes said coolly with a wicked glint in his eyes and a smile on his lips. Some might find it disconcerting the things they joked about, but those people didn’t get into situations like these men