Miya swallowed.Her hands went numb at the sight of the man. He was huge, both tall and bulky, and he spoke in such a venomous voice, she couldn"t help but shiver. Had she been alone, she wouldn"t have mind beating him to a pulp, but tonight, she was with Ben. She quickly looked at the man, and then glanced at her son. Ben had clutched at her leg in fear, and was half hidden behind her. Her heart thumped, before she let out a long, calm breath.
Usually, when she was in a conflict, she played by rules. Tonight, she wouldn"t.
"h.e.l.lo, Robert," she greeted, her expression unperturbed.
The man swore, then leaped at her, trying to grab her hand. Miya ducked, and in the same instant, kicked him in the crotch.
"You f***ing piece oh sh*t!" he howled in pain, as he covered his manhood and limped. Miya quickly picked up Ben and turned around. Within a second, she grabbed Jim"s hand and said in a dark voice, "Run, now!"
She looked like a mad woman in that moment.
Jim clenched his fist and began to turn back to the way they had come, when she dragged him forward, past the hobbling man. Jim was taken aback, but followed her dazedly. While they crossed the wobbling guy, Miya looked spitefully at him. He seemed to have begun to recover. And instantaneously, the woman let go of Jim"s hand and went back to him, about to land another kick on his d*ck, when Jim shouted in panic.
"Miya, no! You"ll kill him!"
She looked at Jim with such a furious expression, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Thankfully, she didn"t kick the guy again and just walked past angrily. Then, they ran.
Jimmy, however, was soon out of breath.
"Who was that guy?" he asked her, when he got the nerves, positively panting by the time, "And why did you hit him?"
She didn"t care to answer.
Running, now they were in yet another street, this time one which had cl.u.s.ters of houses on both sides of it. They were all small, one-room shacks, to be honest, but the place looked strangely deserted. It somehow had a really shady feel to it.
Jim thought his lungs would burst. He was not very used to physical exercise.
"Please, please," he called out after the furiously running mother and son, "A minute!"
Miya glared back at him again, but stopped. She then walked back and looked at him fiercely.
"You should go. This area isn"t safe, and I don"t think you should hang around with me anymore."
"But where would I go? I don"t know the way!"
"Use your phone, d.a.m.n it! Use a map –"
Jim was ready to c.o.c.k his head towards Ben, in disapproval of the word "d.a.m.n" when Miya looked at him sharply.
"Not now," she said in warning.
Jim decided to shut up. He would have negotiated further, but then, he saw a ma.s.sive figure rush at Miya from behind.
"Miya, behind you!" he screamed, and the girl quickly dropped Ben and landed a quick kick backwards. Jim was so shocked, his jaw dropped. Meanwhile Ben, having no other familiar figure present and his mother involved in a fight, went ahead and clutched at Jim"s leg. Jim looked at him, his face pale, and quickly motioned the boy to climb up his back. Considering the size of these villains, the kid might just get trampled all over.
Miya, who had aimed for the face, hit the man"s chest instead. From his shadow, she could see that he was tall. Her kick didn"t seem to have a lot of effect though. On the other hand, the man clutched at the same leg and almost banged her into the road. Only for Jim, who rushed to her rescue and held her firmly by both arms.
For a second, she was dangling like a stretcher between the two men, then the bulkier one spat and let her go. Miya"s feet sc.r.a.ped on the ground, but she quickly regained composure and stood up to fight. Jim was amazed, and horrified at the same time. The man"s attention though, had shifted. He was glaring murderously at Jim now.
Jim swallowed.
But before he could strike at the young master, Miya tripped him with her foot. The man crashed to the ground with an ear-splitting cry. His face hit the road, and he spat out blood. Miya took Jim by the arm again, and ran for her life.
"Oh My G.o.d," Jim was panting, "Oh My G.o.d, Miya, who are these guys?!"
And why the f*** are you so good at this hooligan fight?!
Jim could feel Ben"s grasp tighten around his neck as he tried to wrap his small legs around Jim"s chest. The kid was shaking with fright. Jim touched his hand rea.s.suringly, and then looked up at his head. Though silent, the boy was sobbing.
He was immediately on alert.
"Hey, are you alright? Did you get hurt somewhere?"
Only then, did Miya stop in her tracks.
She looked back at Ben with fearful eyes, and for a moment, came back to her normal self.
"Ben!" She cried out. But when the kid looked at the worried face of his mother, he quickly shook his head and wiped his tears with the back of his hands.
"I"m fine," he whispered, "I"m just sorry for calling mommy weak."
Jim was flabbergasted, whereas Miya"s eyes widened. She then, suddenly, let out a hearty laugh.
"Oh, my boy," she chuckled, holding her chest, "Aren"t you a dumba.s.s."
Jim"s entire body filled with censure at her words, and he glared at Miya in warning, which only made her laugh more. Despite his disapproval, for a minute he was relieved.
"You"re not hurt, are you?" he asked her quietly. Miya shook her head.
Something twisted inside him, ever so slightly, when he saw her bleeding feet. It must have been the wound from earlier.
His gaze went unnoticed as Miya raised her brows and asked, "You?"
"No."
"That"s good then."
She then turned around, ready to go. They had hardly taken a few steps ahead when she stopped midway, and stood silently. When Jim opened his mouth to question, she held up a firm hand. Then without warning, she turned back abruptly and pushed him through one of the doors in a house. She mouthed a "Stay!", and before Jim could understand what she was doing, a "clank" sound took him by surprise.
She had locked him inside!
Just then, Jim heard a lot of footsteps outside the door. His heart froze.
No, Miya.
Don"t do this alone!