EPHEMERAL [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER II - I lack social skills. Big surprise there.

One of the men punched her, while another held her back and the last one took her backpack. Basic strategy, the same one I had witnessed so many times before. But it was the first time I saw someone fight back.

The girl hit the man holding her back with her elbow, before kicking his knee. He fell down, the other two men staring at her in surprise. She took advantage of their pause, punching the one that had taken her bag in the guts repeatedly. With a groan, he stumbled back, joining his friend on the ground, both of them now unconscious from hitting their heads on the hard pavement.

But, while the girl was taking care of the two, the third man snapped out of his shock and kicked her legs from behind, causing her to slip and land on the hard pavement. But she quickly regained her senses, getting back up to confront the man. She threw a series of quick and precise punches, of which he could only block so many. With an enraged cry, he punched her hard in the face, sending her back on the ground.

This time, she did not get back up. Not for lack of trying, that is. Even with blood coming out of her nose, she still attempted to push herself back up, but the man was faster. He kicked her in the ribs, causing a pained cry to escape her lips.

"That's what you get for being more trouble than you're worth," he growled at her, emphasizing his words with another sharp kick to her stomach.

The girl whimpered, a small tendril of blood trickling past her lips.

Meanwhile, I stood frozen behind the ruined wall. A heavy feeling encompassed my heart as I watched the girl lay there, on the street, at the mercy of that man. Part of me craved to go help her, but I knew I was no match for him.

That is, until I noticed the large piece of wood next to my feet. It was about the size of a bat, with sharp edges and dirt and mud covering it. A single thought ran through my mind: it would do.

So, with shaky hands and knowing absolutely nothing about what I was going to do, I picked it up. Carefully and as quietly as I could, I made my way towards the man and the girl. A year of avoiding men like him taught me much about being stealthy, so, using all the trick I had learned through the months, I approached the two.

The girl could barely even lift her head up, but her eyes widened slightly at the sight of me. I could only imagine how I looked: a short, frail-looking girl clutching a piece of wood as long as her arm, terrified of what she was about to do.

The man, who was standing with his back towards me, was still talking like the classic super-villain. I was almost waiting for him to describe his evil master plan, but, on the other hand, he didn't look smart enough to tie his shoes by himself, much less create a plan.

When I finally reached him, I hesitated for a second. Was I really about to do this? I was as far from a violent person as one could go, but this man didn't deserve my sympathy. Yes, he was a human being and yes, on normal circumstances hitting somebody with a bat was a no-go, but these weren't normal circumstances and this man had just beaten a girl over some food.

So, before I could change my mind and before he could notice me, I raised the piece of wood and hit him with all the force I could muster. With a surprised grunt, the man fell face-first on the pavement. Despite not being his biggest fan, I hoped he was still okay and just unconscious.

But I had more important matters to attend to. I hurried to the girl, who was now passed out, noting her bruised nose and the several wounds coating her skin. I cringed at the sight of a particularly nasty one on her temple, but thankfully it didn't look like it was severe enough to leave permanent damage.

I contemplated what to do, but the sound of a man's grunt sped up my thinking process. I needed to get both of us out of here before the gang members woke up, otherwise, we'd both be in trouble.

Quickly, but still being careful not to inflict further pain upon the unconscious girl, I tried picking her up. Now, you may or may not have figured this out already, but I am not exactly considered "strong". So, there was no surprise I didn't manage to lift her up, especially with a heavy backpack on my back.

After several failed attempts, I finally managed to get her "standing", which proved to be an easier way of carrying her. And so, one step at a time, I slowly advanced towards my house, thankful it was so close. A couple of minutes of struggling later, I finally got inside and laid her down on the couch. 

I took a moment to compose myself and calm my heavy breathing. I had actually done it! 

I smiled brightly before remembering the her wounds, which needed cleaning and bandaging. I shifted my attention back to the girl. I silently thanked my lucky star my mom had been a doctor. Sure, I didn't come close to a trained medic, but my current skills - which consisted of what my mother had taught me in case something happened - had to be enough. 

I took my time getting rid of the girl's shirt and pants to assess the damage, careful not to hurt her more than she already was. She had several bruises on her legs, ribs, and face, as well as a wound on her head that was still bleeding. She probably got that when she fell on the pavement. Taking my first-aid kit out of my backpack, I start cleaning her open injury, since it was in danger of getting infected. After bandaging it, I moved on to her nose. 

It had formed an ugly bruise, but it didn't seem broken, thankfully. Still. I pressed a small ice pack to it, just in case, and continued with her other wounds, applying healing balms on each of them. The ones on her ribs looked the worst since the man had kicked her hard, but I was fairly certain there weren't any broken bones. 

Or maybe it was just hope that was speaking. 

Suddenly, while I was bandaging her last injuries, she let out a loud gasp. Startled, I jumped back, a small squeal of surprise leaving my lips. The girl tried to sit up, but she immediately whimpered in pain and laid back down. Her eyes opened wide, quickly taking in her surrounding before they met mine. 

"You're her," she said, her voice weak and rough. "You're the girl I saw, The one with the bat."

"Uh, yeah... That's me." I nodded awkwardly. "You shouldn't try to get up, or do almost anything for that matter. You have a lot of wounds, you need rest."

She chose to ignore me. 

"How did you get rid of the guy? I passed out before I could see anything else," she asked, curiosity flickering in her onyx eyes. 

"Ah, that..." I chuckled nervously. "Well, I kinda, sorta... hit him in the head with the bat."

She seemed momentarily taken back by my words, before her lips curled up in a smile. 

"I'm impressed," she admitted. "Oh, and thank you for saving me. And helping me with my wounds. I owe you one."

"Oh no, you don't owe me anything, I just felt like I needed to help," I reassured her hurriedly. "But there is one thing you could do, though."

"And that is?"

"Tell me your name?" I asked her shyly. I had almost forgotten how to interact with people, but getting to know her name seemed like a good first step. 

"I'm Riona. Riona Alpin."

"And I'm Calla, nice to meet you!" I told her with a grin.  

Maybe, for once, alone wasn't better.