CHAPTER 104: RECAP
James Recap: 10 Years Ago
A young girl of about 20 trudged silently along the path, arms crossed, lost in thought. As she turned into an alleyway, she was suddenly surrounded by five burly men. She didn't realize what was happening until one of them whistled at her. Looking up, she saw one of the men smirking at her.
"Hey, pretty. Over here," he called. "If you don't mind, my boys and I would like to have a good time with you. We're willing to pay you whatever you ask."
"Who the hell are you?" she shouted, clutching her bag tightly. Fear gripped her, but she kept a strong front, hoping they might back off if she didn't show any weakness.
The leader shrugged. "You don't need to know who we are. How about this: I promise you a good time and enough money to last a lifetime. All we're asking for is a bit of your time and, of course, a little piece of you. Right, boys?"
"Yeah!" the others cheered and laughed.
The woman spat on the ground, glaring at them. "You're not worth a damn to me. You're all just trash. It'll be a cold day in hell before I give myself to you. Now, get lost!" she shouted, her voice strong despite the fear gnawing at her insides.
The leader's face twisted in anger as he rushed forward, grabbing her by the hair and delivering a brutal slap. Her head snapped to the side, and when she looked back, blood stained her lips.
"Well, look what we have here," he sneered, his thumb moving toward her face. Just as he was about to wipe the blood from her lips, she spat directly in his face.
"Fuck!" the man shouted, shoving the woman away. One of his boys grabbed her while another handed the boss a wipe to clean his face. The leader wiped himself off and glared at her.
"You're going to pay dearly for that, bitch." Just as he moved to grab her again, a young, scrawny-looking boy stepped out from the shadows.
"Hey, thug!" the boy yelled. "You'd better let the lady go. This is my turf, and you don't mess around here."
"Your turf, huh?" the thug sneered. "Boy, go home to your castrated bitch of a mama and suck some milk, kid."
The insult hit a nerve. The name of his mother was a soft spot for him. And to think the bastard had actually insulted her. The boy felt his anger building up.
His face contorted with rage as his fists clenched. The thug leader brushed past him and reached for the woman, tearing at her shirt. She screamed as her clothes ripped away.
"Since you don't want to play nice, we'll do this the hard way," the man snarled, grabbing her breast roughly through her bra. She writhed in the men's grasp, screaming for help.
The boy's heart pounded at the sound of her cries. He turned to the men, his voice rising in a shout. "Hey!" The men looked back at him, but the moment they did, they froze.
The boy's eyes glowed a menacing red, and smoky horns seemed to form above his head. The thugs felt as if flames were consuming them, burning through their souls. They gasped, unable to breathe, their faces contorted in horror as their life force was drained from them. They clutched their chests, writhing in pain, and collapsed, lifeless, onto the ground.
Before the woman could comprehend what had happened, the men lay dead around her. She saw the boy stagger, shouting someone's name, before a man emerged from the shadows. The newcomer rushed forward and stabbed the boy with a strange-looking syringe. The boy slumped to the ground, losing consciousness instantly.
Much later, when the boy regained consciousness, he looked around, trying to get used to the familiar surroundings. He glanced to his side and saw the girl he had saved sitting there, smiling brightly at him as if he were her guardian angel.
"What are you doing here? And where's Antonio?" he asked.
Realization dawned on the girl then. The man he must have shouted his name earlier was Antonio. "Your Antonio is outside," she replied. "I never really thanked you for saving me earlier."
"You don't need to thank me. I was just doing my civic duty," he said modestly.
The girl laughed, a sound that felt like music to his ears. She thought to herself, *Wasn't he just so cute and naive?* If only she knew the other things he had done at his age, she wouldn't have thought him naive at all.
"Well, if all guys were like you, saving girls in distress as part of their civic duty, we wouldn't have a worry in the world," she said sweetly. "Oh, I'm Paris, by the way," she added, stretching her hand out to him.
"I'm James," he responded, smiling as he shook her hand with a firm grip that surprised her.
"If you're feeling up to it, how about I take you out for coffee? Please don't say no, because I really want to," she said.
"Alright then," James agreed readily, and they walked out together.
At the café, the girl looked at him seriously. "What was that I saw you do back there?"
James glanced at her and sighed. He hadn't planned on answering her—he didn't know her well enough yet. Although she was undeniably beautiful, and he felt a growing attraction to her, he wasn't ready to open up about what had happened.
He changed the subject, steering the conversation to something else. The girl noticed his reluctance and decided to let it go. From there, the rest of their conversation flowed smoothly.