St4excerpt secret

“So what’s that all about, Bucko?” I asked after taking a sip from my mug. “Boxing clubs that aren‘t yours giving you trouble?”

             “Yeah, trouble like youse wouldn’t believe, fella,” he replied. “I lend these guys valuable moneys and they spits in my face. Buncha circus animals…”

             “Is that it, though? Surely you wouldn’t be so worried only about some small-time fighters not paying back.”

             “Well,” he started, “I had to stop a fights the other day...”

             “Oh come on, you’ve had to stop fights before.”

             “Yeahs, but it starts havin’ a negative effects on youse after a while, ya know? It’s like I’m nots bein’ able to determine wheres the entertainment stops an’ the brutality begins.”

             “Well, at least you try to find ways to entertain yourself and others,” I said. “I have to do it for a job and I’m at a loss.”

             “Come covers a match some time, fella. We’s still underground but hey, if it’ll help youse out, I’m sures it’ll be alright.”

             “Thanks, Buck. And thanks for the coffee,” I said.

             “Any time, Aero fella.” He stood up, placed some more money on the diner counter, lit up his cigar and left.

             I left the diner after another cup of coffee, a surplus of caffeine and sugar coursing through my veins. Since I didn’t feel like I had much to do anyway, I decided to take a walk around town. I passed by the former offices of lawyers, media representatives, stockbrokers and others. All these people were gone, taken by the apocalypse, and the rest of us took over without realizing that fact. It lends some interesting perspective.

             At some point I realized I had to take a piss and sought an alleyway to do my business in. It was around noon at this time, so the sun shone straight down on me. The thing about living in the world as it is right now is that peoples’ abilities have resulted in an utter lack of privacy; omniscient, psychics, hell, even people who just fly around a lot could easily see me taking a leak.

             Ah well, I thought. Most people are decent enough to leave me be, right?

             Wrong.

             As soon as I did up my zipper, I heard footsteps, heading straight towards me, growing louder. Worried, I looked in the direction of the noise, only to see nothing. The footsteps grew louder and louder, and their pace quickened, though the sight stayed the same.

             Invisible mugger, I thought. I proceeded to send a few blasts of air and dust at the direction of the noise, making my attacker somewhat visible. He was less than ten feet away when he dropped the invisibility, revealing himself, and lurched forward with his hands grasping for my neck.

             I tried to put up a carbon barrier between him and myself, but he broke through it. Enhanced strength, possibly durability as well. He pinned me by my neck against the alley wall with both hands, then just one, in case he needed to use the other.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%">             This guy was pretty ugly. A scar marred his face from his chin to his left ear, his eyes an unpleasant brown. His head was shaved. I’d never seen the man before, but he looked at me like he knew me, or at least as if he wanted something from me, something he knew I had.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%">             I tried stabbing at him with air blades, but to no avail. His muscle must be hyper-dense, I thought. He punched me in the gut with his free hand before dropping me down to the ground and kneeing me in the face, causing the back of my head to collide with the wall.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%">             “Where the hell is he?” he yelled.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%">             “Where is who?” I asked in return. He decked me twice, holding me up by my shirt.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%">             “WHERE IS THE RINGER?”