p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"stronguspan style="font-size: 12.0pt;"Alive/span/u/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I heard him before I saw him. There was an awful racket, what any bar owner would assume was the sound of a drunken bloke stumbling through the halls, lost on their way to the loo. I sighed, wondering which one of the newbies let the bastard into the private section, and opened the door to the steam room to have a look and yell at the bloke to piss off back to the bar. Seeing Xiang holding Pr0's hand with him being the stumbling bastard and her leading him directly toward me, my heart stopped./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"The kid was in a right state, that's for sure. He was barely clinging to consciousness. A shiner was already darkening around his fleshy eye, blood coagulating in his dark hair but still fresh enough to glisten in the low light, and tears carving away the blood, dirt, and grime as they cascaded down his face. I hadn't forgiven him for failing my loyalty test, but he was still just a kid. And from the looks of it, he'd hit rock bottom. I leaned against the wall, watching him advance and assessing his state./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Bloody hell, mate. Look what the cat dragged in."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""I had a really, really important meeting to attend and I can't explain much more than that, but… look, I know we left off in a bad place, but we can work on that. Right now, I really need your fucking help, man."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Damn right, he needed my fucking help. I couldn't have him stumbling around like a fucking idiot and getting blood on the walls and carpet, or worse, dying in my bloody hallway. I strode over to him and lifted him into my arms, his frame too light to be healthy. It seemed like everything about him had broken except for a small piece of his spirit, and the first place he'd thought to come was to me. I figured it was apology enough, but he kept talking, so I let him. He explained everything, his voice trembling with his frustration, pain, anger, and his thoughts disjointed in his shock. All the while, I listened and cleaned him up, my heart hurting for him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Shhh… It's alright, mate, I get it, but... I told you this would happen. I mean how long's it been, mate? A week?" I sighed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I felt for the kid, really I did, and it fucking hurt to see him like that. Hell, it hurt to see anyone like that. That's why I did it. Why I built the garage. Why I took in the less fortunate. Gave them work, a home, a safe place, medicine, fought for them. I gave them everything I could give so that they could have everything they needed. And all I asked in return was a bit of loyalty- a bit of trust that I wouldn't get fucked over by the very people that I was trying to help, and he'd failed… yet there we were./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""I'll get there, man, I'll get there. Honestly, like, just give me time," he pleaded./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Yeah, but mate, not if you don't have none."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""I'm working on that! That's my only fucking objective right now! I get it!" He slid his hands down his face, sighing into them in exasperation, defeat, and self-depreciation. "So much for fucking progress…"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Well… look, mate, we've gotta look after each other. We're like a family out here. That's what we do. And… well… I guess you chose a different family."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""No… No, it's not like that. I like you guys, and I think we can work together. What happened the last time we were together, I just… it was too much for me. Not everyone has to get ugly, but maybe there's a middle ground somewhere that we can work toward."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I scoffed, cracking a smirk. "They all get dirty at some point, mate. They strongemall/em/strong do. Look, here's the thing. Not everyone has to pull the trigger, but you're gonna have to have the balls to be able to do it. And it doesn't have to be pullin' the trigger. I mean, look at your mate who set you up with that fake ID. You don't think he's got blood on his hands? I mean, you can be blind to it, but…"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Yeah, I know."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I went silent for a while, letting the moment sink in for the both of us. Honestly, I was glad he'd come to us first. He was a bit off, maybe a little confused or lost, and not quite sure who he was, sure, but he was a good kid. "We're here for you, mate, but, you know… next time it might not be that way."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Yeah, I know… I was gonna come back and talk to you but I just-," he sighed, cutting himself off for a moment before he continued. "...I didn't wanna be weak."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all- him stumbling into my bar beaten half to death and bleeding all over the place, his face all splotchy and gross from blubbering his eyes out. He was definitely not what one would imagine when they heard the word "strong." But he was alive. And strongemthat/em/strong was all that mattered./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I heard him before I saw him. There was an awful racket, what any bar owner would assume was the sound of a drunken bloke stumbling through the halls, lost on their way to the loo. I sighed, wondering which one of the newbies let the bastard into the private section, and opened the door to the steam room to have a look and yell at the bloke to piss off back to the bar. Seeing Xiang holding Pr0's hand with him being the stumbling bastard and her leading him directly toward me, my heart stopped./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"The kid was in a right state, that's for sure. He was barely clinging to consciousness. A shiner was already darkening around his fleshy eye, blood coagulating in his dark hair but still fresh enough to glisten in the low light, and tears carving away the blood, dirt, and grime as they cascaded down his face. I hadn't forgiven him for failing my loyalty test, but he was still just a kid. And from the looks of it, he'd hit rock bottom. I leaned against the wall, watching him advance and assessing his state./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Bloody hell, mate. Look what the cat dragged in."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""I had a really, really important meeting to attend and I can't explain much more than that, but… look, I know we left off in a bad place, but we can work on that. Right now, I really need your fucking help, man."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"Damn right, he needed my fucking help. I couldn't have him stumbling around like a fucking idiot and getting blood on the walls and carpet, or worse, dying in my bloody hallway. I strode over to him and lifted him into my arms, his frame too light to be healthy. It seemed like everything about him had broken except for a small piece of his spirit, and the first place he'd thought to come was to me. I figured it was apology enough, but he kept talking, so I let him. He explained everything, his voice trembling with his frustration, pain, anger, and his thoughts disjointed in his shock. All the while, I listened and cleaned him up, my heart hurting for him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Shhh… It's alright, mate, I get it, but... I told you this would happen. I mean how long's it been, mate? A week?" I sighed./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I felt for the kid, really I did, and it fucking hurt to see him like that. Hell, it hurt to see anyone like that. That's why I did it. Why I built the garage. Why I took in the less fortunate. Gave them work, a home, a safe place, medicine, fought for them. I gave them everything I could give so that they could have everything they needed. And all I asked in return was a bit of loyalty- a bit of trust that I wouldn't get fucked over by the very people that I was trying to help, and he'd failed… yet there we were./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""I'll get there, man, I'll get there. Honestly, like, just give me time," he pleaded./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Yeah, but mate, not if you don't have none."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""I'm working on that! That's my only fucking objective right now! I get it!" He slid his hands down his face, sighing into them in exasperation, defeat, and self-depreciation. "So much for fucking progress…"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Well… look, mate, we've gotta look after each other. We're like a family out here. That's what we do. And… well… I guess you chose a different family."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""No… No, it's not like that. I like you guys, and I think we can work together. What happened the last time we were together, I just… it was too much for me. Not everyone has to get ugly, but maybe there's a middle ground somewhere that we can work toward."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I scoffed, cracking a smirk. "They all get dirty at some point, mate. They strongemall/em/strong do. Look, here's the thing. Not everyone has to pull the trigger, but you're gonna have to have the balls to be able to do it. And it doesn't have to be pullin' the trigger. I mean, look at your mate who set you up with that fake ID. You don't think he's got blood on his hands? I mean, you can be blind to it, but…"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Yeah, I know."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I went silent for a while, letting the moment sink in for the both of us. Honestly, I was glad he'd come to us first. He was a bit off, maybe a little confused or lost, and not quite sure who he was, sure, but he was a good kid. "We're here for you, mate, but, you know… next time it might not be that way."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;""Yeah, I know… I was gonna come back and talk to you but I just-," he sighed, cutting himself off for a moment before he continued. "...I didn't wanna be weak."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all- him stumbling into my bar beaten half to death and bleeding all over the place, his face all splotchy and gross from blubbering his eyes out. He was definitely not what one would imagine when they heard the word "strong." But he was alive. And strongemthat/em/strong was all that mattered./p