"Come on Jamie do we really have to do this? We've been friends for over a month. Does that mean nothing?" I asked, as sincerely as I could manage. Yet just as he prepared to respond, his demeanour relaxed and his mouth opened, to the complete shock of everyone, I rushed forward.
By the time the others all began to react, I already found myself directly in front of Jamie's dumb, gaping face. While over the past month, I hadn't gotten stronger, in fact having only gotten even weaker if that was possible, the one thing I did gain from all the fights I took part in was experience. Experience I used as I quickly threw a fierce right hook, connecting perfectly to Jamie's jaw and forcing his head to be thrown to the side.
Before he could even process what was going on, I continued my assault, throwing as many punches as I could possibly manage, hitting his chest, stomach and head. As I did so, for a second, I started to gain a small glimpse of hope that I would be able to win, seeing the damage I was doing as blood started to fly onto the ground with every punch. However, such hope was quickly dashed as in the span of less than a second, I found myself going from standing tall to flat on the ground.
Immediately, my body screamed in sudden pain as my head smashed hard against the concrete floor and the air in my lungs was forced out my throat in a ragged gasp. I looked slowly to my left, trying to understand what had happened with my blurry and spinning vision. From my side, I saw as Lewis also began to rise from the ground, his arms unwrapping from the bottom half of my legs.
In what felt like only a couple of moments, I felt Lewis's body on top of my own, my legs crumpled on the ground from his added weight on my hips, making it impossible for me to stand, regardless of the amount of thrashing I tried to do. The small kindling of hope that I had built up diminished as I saw from my prone position Jamie staggering forward, wiping the blood that was cascading from his nose and busted lip, his face an ugly expression of rage and sick delight as he got closer and closer.
I tried with all my might to stand, my thrashing reaching such an intensity I could feel my muscles starting to strain and tear from the stress. But, besides a few small hits that collided with Lewis, nothing changed. Besides leaving me a panting, breathless mess by the time Jamie and Clark, who had been, until this point, hidden from sight, reached me.
"Your going to fucking regret that." Jamie seethed as he continued to wipe away the blood that leaked from his nose, his eyes peering down at my helpless form with vitriol.
I attempted to say some witty comeback or retort, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing how truly scared I was in that moment. However, before I could do so, the feeling of his boot slamming against the side of my chest suddenly exploded from my side. A shrill scream escaped my lips from the feeling of my ribs as they strained against the force that was just inflicted upon them. Unfortunately, for me, it seemed Jamie wasn't happy with just the one kick as he proceeded to unleash a barrage of kicks and stomps that I was helpless to fight against. I did my best to try and shield my head. Yet my arms offered only a meagre defence that was brutally destroyed by the viscous strength his legs unleashed.
I wasn't sure how long the assault lasted, as after one particularly savage kick to the temple, I was unable to fully focus on my surroundings, feeling as if I was encased in water both inside and out. Unable to think clearly, with both my body and mind sluggish and unresponsive. It was then, just as I felt it couldn't get any worse, through the pounding of my ears as I laid still, unable to put up even the tiniest level of resistance, that I heard Jamie mutter something to the others. Who had, at this point, been content to simply watch the massacre taking place. Before I was even able to try and process what was said, the attacks continued, but this time with the addition of many more limbs that all began to strike from different directions.
I blearily opened my left eye as I did my best to stifle the screams and shouts on the tip of my tongue. To my side stood Clark, releasing a string of hesitant kicks to my stomach that made me lurch with each impact. My only saving grace was the lack of force each of his strikes possessed, showing his hesitation to what was taking place. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the punches that came from above, punches I believed came from Lewis, who was still seated on top of me and possessed the same level ferocity as Jamie. Overall, I wasn't sure how long the abuse lasted. At some point during it, I became unable to even voice the pain and agony I was feeling, my throat rubbed raw from the screaming.
My lungs burned with every futile effort I made to breathe even the tiniest amount of oxygen. Every inch of my skin throbbed and spasmed at the slightest touch, no doubt going to bruise into a cacophony of blacks and purples by the next day. Something I was beginning to worry I was never going to see. I could feel my eyelids begin to get heavier and heavier as my mind started to constantly drift in and out of reality. I truly wondered if this was how I was going to die. Not from the illness that had dominated my thoughts the past month but by my own piss poor choices and decisions. Something that I thought was both truly ironic and deserved.
Suddenly, through the haze of my mind, out of nowhere, I heard Alice's voice as she began to urgently shout. "We need to get the fuck out of here now! I can hear people coming towards us from behind this building!"
"Are you sure? Maybe it's nothing." Lewis replied in between breaths, sounding completely exhausted.
"Yes I'm sure! If you want to stay, that's fine, but I'm not sticking around here to get caught for assault and sent to prison."
After she had spoken, nothing else was said; at least, I didn't think so. I couldn't say for certain due to being a tad too preoccupied trying not to pass out. Eventually, however, I heard a sigh from just in front.
"She's right. Let's go. We did what we needed to do anyway." And with that, Jamie gave me one last powerful kick to my head, flinging it to the side so hard I got whiplash before he began to walk away, the sound of his shoes hitting against the floor sounding like music to my ears. That noise was soon followed by more as the others all chased after him as they went to leave through the alleyway.
As they left, using all the remaining strength I had left in my body, I opened my unfocused eyes to witness their departure. The last thing I saw as I began to pass out, unable to fight off the darkness any longer, was the indiscernible stare of Alice as she left with the others. And then there was nothing.