Chapter 78: The Thugs

Leo’s POV

The initial plan was to meet Higgins at a precise location who would take me to ‘P’.

P was the name of the leader of the GaiGai gang.

Next, I would move back to Hartville before the sports bus decided to move to Sundale. And no one would have suspected my movement in the very first place.

I was already in a bus going to Sundale by  the time I decided to forward Adrian that text message.

You were probably wondering why I hadn’t driven in any of my father’s cars. My father had way polished, exotic and fancy cars lined neatly in our garage.

But Reilly and I weren’t yet licensed by our mother to own a car.

The only time mother had pressed for me to drive was when Irene and Inez were leaving our house.

Mostly, Adrian had been the one driving me to school and back home.

Then I placed my phone away while I ruminated on the event that was bound to take place.

Soon, I arrived at the Square juncture where Higgins probed me to wait for him. Square Junction was a few kilometers from Saint Morrison’s College.

I hadn’t thought much of Higgins’ delay until I noticed some group of boys coming up close.

“Where are you? I thought you said you would be waiting before I  get here. This is way past twenty minutes, where the hell are you?” I asked after I rang up his phone.

The line rippled at first as though it were a radio frequency wave. Then the wave snapped out and his voice was restored.

“I am close. Just hold on.”

Someone slapped my head from behind, making me snap my face at the intruder.

The boys I had noticed from afar off had drawn close to me-standing before me. Most of them had inked tattoos on their body. My eyes scanned their faces.

None of them had the identification mark of the GaiGai gang. Which only meant one thing, they were another gang.

Just play it cool, pretend like the slap didn’t hurt, I told myself.

I put my phone away, looking each of the boys in the eyes until they settled on the ones I hadn’t planned to see.

My heart frantically jumped out of my chest.

“He’s the one.” One of them said, looking at the screen of a phone in his hand. He was the only one who had no ink drawings on his skin.

I stepped away- pretending not to have heard that while placing my phone over my ear.

In my peripheral vision, they watched me like they were zombies- their heads angling in motion to the direction I moved.

Fuck Higgins.

He tricked me to come down here only to be left as dead meat to Dan’s gang. Was that why he had asked me to walk down to Square Junction where the street was desolate and almost empty with haunted looking houses?

That was Dan with them!

The one with the Saint Morrison’s uniform on.

Fuck.

“I will meet you soon.” I said into my phone, knowing that there was no one over at the other line.

My feet moved quickly.

I couldn’t stand a chance of fighting them off.

Somehow at this moment, I wished I were Adrian. He had the fists I did lacked.

It would be the wrongest thing to do to try to combat against them. They were about six to eight of them. They were mostly street thugs from the look of things but they could tender harm on me either way.

Why would Higgins do this to me?

As my pace picked up, they followed suit.

“Get him!” A husky voice cried behind me.

My heels took flight, jumping over carts, fences and puddles.

Good thing I had nothing but my phone on me.

All I heard was the sound of my  heavy breathing and the sounds of feet running.

The street was narrow and tight and it made it impossible for me to be flexible.

“Do not let him get away!”

That voice sounded much farther which had my lips curling into a smile.

They couldn’t match the length at which I ran.

Why was I the Running Back of Rangers after all?

Come on, they just had to taste it!

“Fuck it! Do not let him get away!”

One peek behind me, two of the young boys had taken another route which delved into people’s compounds and they had disappeared from plain sight.

Few were trying fairly well.

The rest of them were pretty far behind, thoroughly exhausted and bent to their knees including Dan.

“How can he run so fucking fast?” Another was saying, giving up the chase obviously.

“He is a member of the team Rangers.” Dan’s voice could be heard behind me.

I think I got so caught up in the praises that I didn’t realized that the two other thugs who had previously vanished out of sight were already in front of me.

And since I had no knowledge of the terrains, they beat me to it.

One kicked hard at my shin. Sharp, intense pain shot through my body like a knife plunged into my gut. Yet, I swallowed that-groaning silently.

I had experienced worst pain than that.

I had experienced the fierce hit of a moving vehicle when I had started learning how to ride a bike at aged six.

Or what about when Coach Clarence would drill us back in junior high during our Rookie training. My legs would go numb for days due to the intense training.

Now my feet were like steels.

Avoiding direct contacts from hits and blows had been one of the tactics that pulled me through.

Then he hurled me by my collars as he swore in broken English and he shoved me to my knees.

The rest finally caught up with us and I was rounded up.

“Who do you think you are to fuck with us? I will make you regret that.” The one with the husky voice said to my face as he struck me hard against my cheek.

He had thick locks of hair that looked so dishevelled. Worst, he looked hungry but way older than I was.

My face burned.

Still, I didn’t let that deter me.

“What do you want from me? I know none of you.” I said.

He smirked. “Perhaps when we get to our abode..you would spill secrets and why you chose to hurt my brother.” He pointed towards Dan who was baring his teeth like a child awarded a gift for something well done.

“Do it.” The one with the lock ordered.

Do what? My eyes widened.

What were they going to do to me?