1I stopped myself mid-laugh. Ace and the rest now towered over us, all looking happy and triumphant. I tried to push myself up, only to have a foot push down on my shoulder, pinning me to the ground. I tried to struggle free and eventually, I did. I was suddenly picked up by my arms and held roughly. I turned my head sideways to see Jack Mudgett holding my arms behind my back. He, like Ace and Eyeball, was much taller than me, standing a good 5 inches over me. Plus, he was really strong.

I looked over at the younger boys, only to see no one holding them. I looked at them stupidly before screaming at them to run. They just looked at me, same goes with the elder boys. I started stamping my feet.

"Run, you idiots!" I scream at them. No one moved. I rolled my eyes. Without thinking twice, I elbowed Jack in the gut. He doubled over in pain and I slithered out of his arms. I started running towards the boys, with my arms flailing, again yelling to run, hide, get away from the Cobras. Eventually, they got the hint and we ran. But not for long. I heard the Cobra laugh and start running after us.

"Eyeball, Fuzzy; you get the four-eyes. Vince, Billy, get Chambers. Charlie, get the Lachance kid. Jack, get the fat one. I'll get the girl," I head Ace yell to his cronies.

I'm pretty fast for a kid my size, but I was not match for Ace. He had caught up with me after only a couple of seconds and now ran parallel with me. We must have looked pretty stupid, him running right beside me, slowing getting faster and faster until he was almost ahead of me. I suddenly stopped short and he kept running. I turned to see where the others were.

Teddy had his arms held behind his back and was being dragged by Eyeball. The smaller boy was kicking and swearing to no avail. Eyeball just chuckles and kept dragging the very skinny, short boy. Fuzzy was just lazing around, fully aware that Teddy was no threat at all. I felt my heart sink a little; it was like watching your little brother being beaten up.

Jack Mudgett had Vern's arm behind his back. Vern was kneeling on the ground, whimpering in pain. Jackie laughed as he twisted Vern's arm higher and heard the chubby boy let out a high pitched yelp. My heart sank even lower.

Gordie's head was squished between Charlie's arm and side, in a headlock. Charlie was cackling as Gordie punched and kicked him. He threw Gordie, who landed in a heap on the ground. Charlie walked over to him and pinned him to the ground with a foot. My heart went even lower and I thought it couldn't possibly sink any deeper but then I saw Chris.

Chris was doing the best out of the four. He actually managed to fight off Vince and Billy, until they both figured out it would be better if they attack together rather than one after the other. Billy punched Chris is the stomach and when he doubled over, gasping for breath, Vince knocked him over. Then they pounced on him and started punching him stomach and face. He threw his hands up, trying to protect himself. I started towards him.

"Chris!" I yelled. "I'm coming, Chris, hold on! Get off him you..." That's when Ace tackled me around the waist and I fell to the ground with him on top of me. We rolled over once or twice. I know what you're thinking and yes, it would have be so awesome to have Ace Merrill lying on top of you, except for the fact that he looked like he was going to murder me. His knees where on either side of my torso. I tried to squirm from under him.

"I don't think so," he said, pulling me back under him. I glared up at him. His mouth still had dry blood around it and I could see the cut I had made. I pushed him off me. He only stopped himself falling backwards by putting out his arms behind him. I tried to get away from him to get help Chris but he grabbed my hand and dragged me back under him.

"Sell out my friends, huh?" he asked calmly. "Cock nocking pansy? You kids are grass." He smiled down at me. I tried to struggle, so he tightened his legs around my torso.

"Get the fuck off me, you bastard!" I yelled, trying to punch him. He grabbed my arms and held them together with one hand. I tried kicking him and gave him a good one in the back of the head. He grunted and his angry eyes, got even madder. With his free hand, he pulled out his switchblade knife.

"Do that again, and I'll slice your fuckin head off," he whispered dangerously. He turned his head and called to the others. "Bring them over here, I don't think we're going anywhere soon." I just stared up at the blade. The others boys dragged over my new friends and held them as the tried to break free. I looked over at Chris and saw that he wasn't really putting up much of a struggle and just sort of hung limply.

Ace pulled me to my feet and stood in front of me. He still had the knife in his hand but it was down by his side. I dusted the dirt off my clothes and we looked at each other, face to face. I cooly pushed my hair out of my eyes and glared at him.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Now," he said, walking closer to me. "You die." He lifted the knife in a stabbing motion and brought it towards my chest.

Let me interject here for a second. Now, I'm no stranger to violence. I grew up in a rough part of New York so you either learned to fight or got beaten up. I learned how to fight. I'm not scared of knives, but they do make me uncomfortable. If it had a choice, I would just fight bare knuckle. But I do know how to defend myself against a knife. So when Ace tried to stab me, I easily knocked the knife out of his hand. It's just something you pick up. No biggie.

He looked stunned that he no longer had a knife in his hand. I just smiled.

"I'm a New York girl, born and raiser. Did you really think I'm as innocent as I look?" With that I punched him in the gut. He doubled over and I kneed him in the face. He fell backwards in and clutched his face. He roared with anger and jumped at me. I side-stepped him easily and tripped him. Then I felt a pair of hands grab each of my arms. Eyeball and Fuzzy had grabbed my arms and held me in place. I tried to get free but they tightened their grip. I over at my friends and they all looked pale and scared.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt me," I said confidently. "I mean, what kind of a guy would hit a girl?" I saw Gordie's eye widen and he screeched.

"Jayna, look out!" I turned around and received an eyeful of Ace Merrill's fist. I've been punched before but it didn't hurt as much as that did. I groaned with pain and he slugged me again, this time in the side. I fell onto Eyeball slightly and I heard him snicker. I tried to look up at Ace again and he grinned over me. He punched me in the face again, this time connecting with my jaw. I felt the inside of my cheek cut against my teeth and I spat the blood out of my mouth. He punched me again in the stomach and I slumped forward, Eyeball andFuzzy still holding me up.

Ace knelt down beside me and held up my head with his hand. He looked at my kindly, the way a vet would look at a wounded dog.

"Had enough yet?" he asked sarcastically. I grimaced and spat blood into his face. He wiped it away with and smiled. He pulled back his hand to give me another punch in the face and I closed my eyes tight and turned my head away, waiting for it.

But instead, I heard Gordie's voice.

"Lay one more hand on her and I'll kill you, Ace."