Author's Notes: For those following me because of The Rift, I want to assure you that I did NOT give up on it. Computer problems and life in general got in the way. I'm also working on two other fics at the moment: One is a pet project of mine and I'm gonna wait until all chapters are done before I start publishing it, and the other is my first collab project which I (we) will also wait for a few chapters to be done before I (we) start posting it. So, that also helped in the exterme delay of The Rift.
I'm still working on it though! (Even though I hit a part that, while necessary, is a little complicated and boring for me to write, which is also delaying progress) And is turning to be the longest chapter that I wrote for anything EVER with 14, 657 words so far! (And I'm still only halfway through!) So, get ready for a LOT of reading once that chapter is finally out! (It's been a year, goddamnit!)
This fic was commisioned to me by my good friend AJ (TheEquestrianidiot 2.0) who's also my collab partner in that project I mentioned up there, making this my first prompted fic ever.
Now, on with the fic:
Hallway Hustle
You feel weak
Strong enough
Three rooms
You hear TV, or maybe radio
Poker
The boy
Last room on the hallway
Someone's there with him
Brought him food
You hear the lock
The apple being chewed
The steps on the hallway
Wait
Wait until no one is in on the hallway
You're weak
Strong enough
Outnumbered
Strong enough
You could go straight for the boy
Rescue him
They wouldn't notice a thing
They would
They would hear him
It would put the boy in harm's way
And even if they didn't notice
They need a lesson
They need it
You need it
Retribution
You're weak
Outnumbered
Strong enough
Skilled enough
Outnumbered
Weak
Surprise is essential
Wait
You wait
The path is clear
You walk down the hall
You find the first door
You listen
Breathing
Heartbeats
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Five
One of them is conveniently in front of the door
You kick the door (figuratively)
You kick him (literally)
Surprise is over
Three of his friends rise from their seats
First guy on the left wants to go for a punch
You punch him while he's still pulling his arm back
Guy on the right grabs a gun
You punch the other two guys while getting ready to dodge the bullet from the asshole on the right
His first shot is up high
A good two feet too high
Hasty and panicky
Cowardly like you'd expect someone who kidnaps children to be
He shoots once or twice more before you decide to throw him against the door
Finally, a little bit of air coming in!
That damn microwave stench was driving you crazy
You hate microwaves
The stink of a single heated meal lasts all day, which is particularly displeasing for someone with a sensitive sense of smell such as you
You hear someone grabbing a shotgun
You hear the door form the other room opening and footsteps coming your way
You hear the first guy about to arrive in the doorway
How to get rid of two inconveniences in a single move:
Two birds
One microwave
Another guy, the one with the shotgun, approaches
Throw another guy at him
Too early
Miss
Doesn't matter
Grab his shotgun
Hit him with it
Two other guys enter the hallway
One of them shoots at you
Low your head
The bullet hits the barrel of the shotgun
You feel it vibrate in your hands like a little earthquake on your skin
The sound of the bullet ricocheting rings in your ears
A downside of acute senses (like that damn microwave smell)
You recall Stick's training
Concentrate
Filter
Ignore
All in the fraction of a second as you knee the first guy, disarms the second, and hit the third one using the shotgun as a bat
Still holding the second guy, you flip him over your shoulder, and kick the first guy who was beginning to stand up
Third guy stood up
You grab his hand before he can fire hi…
He fired his gun
Another shot
Another damn ringing in your ears
Ignore
Filter
Concentrate
Guy's still struggling with you
Someone on the other end of the hallway is standing up
Throw the shotgun at him
Throw the asshole you were wrestling with on the floor
Knock him out with the butt of his own gun
Well, you meant to knock him out, but he's still conscious
Weak and dizzy, but still conscious
You're weak and dizzy
But still conscious
They're all standing up
You're still on the floor
Weak
Tired
Drained
Still conscious
Still willing
Strong enough
Get up
GET UP
They are already up while you're still leaning on the wall for support
You're too weak
Can't fight
Yes, I can
Yes, I must
You still have the gun on your hand
Loaded
They only have their fists
This could be easy
Even for a blind man
Thou shalt not kill
You dodge the first attack and use the gun like a truncheon, attacking your assailants one by one
On the back of the head
On the abdomen
On the throat
On the face
Stubborn assholes (like you) try to stand up again
You throw the pistol at one of them to discourage him before he gets his balance
Some would say that guns are not meant to be thrown
You could say the same about hammers and shields
Feeling exhausted again
About to be attacked again
You're really getting pissed off
Can't these bastards stay down?!
(They're probably thinking the same about you)
You angrily punch the guy in the face until he falls back in the room
You stop to catch your breath
Someone is readying himself to jump the broken door and pounce on you
You kick him while he's still midair
You're not sure if you can keep going
Yes, I can
Someone attacking you from upfront
Someone trying to take you from behind
Trying to
Asshole upfront keeps coming with sloppy punches
Dodge him in time to take care of the jackass who just burst out of the other room
A knee to the face should keep him down
Kick the wall in front of you to gain momentum to finally knock that sloppy punching dumbass out
That was… pathetic
Well, it worked
And you're tired
Very tired
And dizzy
They keep coming
How many of these assholes are there?
You knock out one
You get flanked by two
From then on, everything is like a blur
You remember punching and being punched
Being thrown against the walls
Being tackled
You feel like you're fighting on autopilot
You barely register one trying to kick you
Grab his leg
Trip him
Knock him out
Just in time to hear the last one (finally!) reaching for his gun
You do a somersault and punch him
Bad idea
That probably hurt you more than him
You both struggle to get up
You're tired
You're tired in all possible senses
You just want to finish this
You grab him and you punch him
And you punch him
And you punch him
And you punch him
And you punch him
And you punch him
And you punch him
Until you both fall down
It's over
The floor is feeling really comfortable right now
You're tempted to stay down
It's not over
We're Murdocks
We get hit a lot
But we get up
You get up
You lean at the door
You hear the boy's heartbeat
He's scared
You take off your mask
You enter the room