SAVANNA (VERONICA)
As the late afternoon fell, I walked toward home, the place where I breathed peacefully.
Before, Veronica used to rush home as it was the only place she used to feel safer than outside, but for me, I rushed home because I needed to keep others safe from me.
What an irony, eh?
I hoped Veronica’s soul would rest in peace knowing how I was avenging her.
Today, however, I was a bit slow, in fact, I took the quieter and longer alley to return home, something Veronica would never do.
The cold breeze swept past me, making me pull the hoodie of the oversized sweatshirt more.
The same sweatshirt that once fit me snugly now it was oversized.
Well, the entire outfit was loose now.
Not bad though, oversized clothes were my things.
They were comfortable.
But for the quality—well, it seemed that I needed to buy new ones.
Soon, I turned to the quietest alley.
It was usually avoided by most people, specifically, around this time.
However, my gaze scanned each corner briefly, as expected, empty.
Good.
I walked a few more steps into the alley before stopping, all of a sudden.
For a moment I stood there quietly, my head tilting ever so slightly as I listened.
The corner of my lips lifted into a faint smirk.
“Well, it’s quiet now, you guys can come out.” I said, my tone was calm.
My voice echoed lightly in the empty lane.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then I caught slow movements.
Footsteps shuffled behind a stack of trash bins, and soon, one man stepped out.
Following him, a few others.
Within seconds, a small group of men slowly emerged from the shadows of the alley, shock written all over their faces, which only deepened my smirk.
Clearly, they hadn’t expected the girl they were following to call them out so easily.
But the moment they looked at each other and realized how many of them there were, their surprise faded to confidence.
I gazed at them.
There were six and against them was only one of me.
Of course they wouldn’t hesitate, not until they knew.
My gaze coldly swept on their faces.
I know these guys.
These weren’t real criminals.
They were the same idiots who hung around the street corner near the school every day.
The kind of college-dropout losers who spent most of their time drugging, drinking, and pretending they were tougher than they actually were.
They liked calling themselves ‘gangsters’.
Though, in reality, they were nothing more than bored men trying to intimidate high school kids.
However, that was not what bothered me.
I was more concerned about why they were after me.
No one knew I was Savanna either.
Besides, no one would send these creeps after Savanna.
That only meant they were following Veronica, but why?
They spread out slightly, forming a loose circle around me.
One of them whistled low as he looked me up and down.
“Well damn,” he muttered.
“Didn’t expect the quiet girl to notice us, eh?”
Laughter spread.
“Relax, man.
Just take a look— she’s kinda beautiful.” His eyes burned on my body.
Sigh— honestly, I was bored.
“You guys should probably go home,” I said calmly.
They exchanged amused looks.
“Yeah?
Wanna come along baby?” Laughter rippled around, their gazes were watching my body hungrily.
I only let out a deeper sigh.
“You really wouldn’t want to know what happened to the last group that thought surrounding me was a good idea.” I spoke lazily.
“And they were in fact actual mafias…
Not a bunch of drugged-up wannabes hanging around a high school.”
The insult landed immediately.
A few of them frowned.
One of them, who looked more like a leader, stepped forward.
As he moved closer, the smell of alcohol on his breath became impossible to ignore, making me frown.
“Well now,” he said with a crooked grin.
“That’s not a very nice way to talk to men when you’re alone, little girl.”
He stepped even closer.
I didn’t move though, only his bad breath was a bit intolerable.
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice like he was trying to sound charming.
“You know, you’re not bad to look at.”
His gaze traveled down my body again.
“A little thick around the edges maybe…
but some guys like that.
If you change your style with tight short clothes, you’ll be quite ravishing, eh?”
The men behind him laughed crudely, as though agreeing with their leader.
“Tell you what,” he continued, licking his lips.
“Why don’t you hang out with us for a while?
We’ll show you a good time.
Might even help you burn off a few pounds, eh?”
“Chubby girls like you are fun when tied up.”
More laughter filled the alley.
“You’d enjoy it, little girl.” another one said from the back.
“Yeah, girls like you should be grateful for the attention.”
The leader leaned closer again, “So what do you say, sweetheart?
Wanna join?
We might make you scream ‘daddies’, eh?”
Again laughter erupted.
“Can’t wait, eh…” Someone whistled from behind.
“Wanna know about the last group that tried something like this?” I asked calmly, tilting my head slightly, my voice tuned colder.
Their laughter stopped.
And the leader blinked in confusion.
“What?” He frowned.
“Well, six feet under.” That was the last thing I had said, because, the next second, I had moved already…
My hand shot forward, grabbing his wrist and twisting it sharply.
Before he could react, I pivoted my body and used his own weight against him.
The movement was too fast.
Immediately, his body flipped over my hip and slammed hard against the concrete ground with a sickening thud.
The impact knocked the air out of him instantly.
But I wasn’t done…
My foot moved sharp and fast, directly onto a very sensitive part of every man’s body.
Next?
The alley exploded with a deafening scream.
His body curled near my feet, clutching himself and howling in agony.
The other men froze.
None of them had expected that.
Not from the slightly chubby high school girl they thought they could intimidate.
I stood over him calmly, my gaze following all the pale faces coldly.
“Now- now, who’s up next?”
The guys swallowed.
Once gloating with confidence, and now scared.
They turned to run away, but, too late.
It took me not more than just a few minutes to remind them of their places.
And I didn’t even do much!
“Tsk—tsk what a waste of time.”
Slowly, I grabbed the collar of the “leader” that was still screaming.
“Now, tell me who sent you?”
The guy groaned in an ache, yet I didn’t budge, “answer if you don’t want to go six feet under.” I hissed, making him flinch.
His face turned red in pain, swallowing hard, he groaned once, then—
“Ii-it’s hh-er.
Tt-the Mm-mr Add-am’s dd-daughter!” He groaned out.
My brow arched, “Mr.
Adams?— means Becky?” There was only one ‘known’ Mr.
Adams in Mott Haven.
He nodded helplessly.
I grabbed his collar tighter, almost choking him.
“And?”
“Ss-she asked to b-beat you up!”
Once I had my answer, I left his collar and stood straight.
“Ah, Becky…
Well, I’m not surprised.” I was honestly amused.
Seems like she didn’t learn her lesson, eh?
No problem, let’s increase the dose.
I gazed at the writhing guys, and slowly my lips curved to a sneer.
“Now- now, get up guys, you’ve a job to do!”