Filed to story: A Bullied Boy Died: A Mafia King Woke Up In His Body
Birth of a New Crime Lord
Alvin was never one for fighting. Hell, he hated the thought of getting his nose broken or even having a fingernail cracked. Even wooden splinters from wheelbarrows or sparks from arctech wagons frightened him, despite him being nearly twenty-five years old.
Why, then, was he in the midst of a brutal gang fight in a smog-filled alley lined with pulsating, green pipes?
Before he could answer that question, a straight punch cracked his nose from tip to base, causing blood to spurt and bone to fragment as he staggered backward, tumbling over broken wooden boxes filled with gooey, grimy trash. He didn’t even know why the two gangs were fighting, only that he had been ordered to come here to help.
Alvin could barely register his surroundings after the first hit, stumbling about, coated in filth from the trash heap. He tried to support himself against the wall that was layered with never-ending pipes, boarded-up windows, and metal doors.
Unknowingly, he began to stagger toward the rival gang, oblivious to the shouts of his friends as he tried to swipe the goo from his face.
“Who the fuck is this blind idiot?” One of the rival gang members laughed at the stumbling Alvin. He ran his hand over an engraved metal pipe, causing the runes to glow bright yellow before he smashed it right down onto Alvin’s head with a loud thud.
The runes seemed to imbue additional properties into the metal pipe, the additional force and strength cracking his skull through the dirty auburn hair that became stained with blood and bits of meat. His body plopped onto the ground without a word, dead on the spot.
“Fucking hell! Riker killed him!”
Alvin’s allies grimaced, but did not care too much about him dying. They were too preoccupied with keeping themselves alive as they struggled against their opponents. After all, he was just cannon fodder-most of them were too.
“One down, nine to go, boys!” Riker announced, boosting the morale of the rival gang.
Alvin’s corpse was kicked to the side, slumping against the wall beside a decaying rat corpse and abandoned junk. Shouting and clangs of metal echoed through the alley as bright runes and blood decorated the walls amid brilliant flashes and streaks.
“Shit, they got way more arctech gear than we do! Retreat! Leave Alvin’s body behind!” Alvin’s crew beat a hasty retreat, leaving their rivals behind, all of them cheering and heckling the fleeing enemy.
“You two, check that idiot’s pockets for anything good. Rest of you, head back with me. The Boss will be pleased to hear this. The Seven Snakes are such pushovers, pah,” Riker ordered before spitting on the ground.
Two of them remained behind, putting on grim faces as they began to scavenge through Alvin’s clothes. They, too, were practically cannon fodder, albeit not as weak as Alvin had been. Such was life in the underbelly of Raktor.
One of the members served as a watchman in case anyone stumbled upon the bloodied scene. He spotted two patrolling local enforcers about to pass the entrance to the alleyway, but instead of trying to flee he smirked at them, locking eyes expectantly.
“Having a good day, sir? Hopefully, nothing to see here?” The gang member had a wide grin on his face as his palm rested on the edge of the metal pipe secured to his belt.
The law enforcers recognized the gang member by his outfit and bowed politely as though they were at a ballroom function. “Of course. Nothing to see at all.” Without waiting for a reply, the enforcers continued along their route, quickening their pace.
“Good. I really didn’t want to pay a visit to your wife again!” The gang member chuckled as he watched them flee. He returned to the other gang member, who was still checking the cadaver for anything valuable.
“Seems like there’s nothing here…” the other mumbled audibly, sighing to himself.
“What do we do now? Just leave the body here?” the first asked.
“Better to sell him off-maybe the alchemist will have a use for it.”
Suddenly, the corpse jerked violently, its limbs flailing about, scaring the two gang members. “What the hell? Did the fumes get to him or something? Is he a deviant?”
It eventually stopped thrashing, coming to a complete standstill. The two gang members glanced at each other, hesitant about what to do next. They were hardly trained for a corpse coming back to life, especially in such a violent manner. Nothing particular of the sort came to mind, but in such an environment, violence was usually the best solution.
“Fuck if I know, but best hit him a few more times!”
The two men retrieved their bent pipes, with the first taking the lead and swinging down on Alvin. In a blink, his eyes flew wide open, grabbing the first gang member’s wrist with one hand while he kicked out hard against the first’s shins, causing the man to yelp in pain and drop the pipe instinctively.
As the first fell to the ground, Alvin dodged another hit from the other, flipping his body in a deft martial fashion before recovering into a standing position while still gripping the wrist of the first. He twisted it far beyond human capabilities, making the first gang member scream out loud.
With a stomp, the arm of the first was cleanly broken, allowing Alvin to retrieve the dropped pipe and quickly fend off the other. Only a single parry was needed to catch the other off guard before Alvin performed a stab to the gut. The stabbing force was like a brick, smacking into the other gang member, his body toppling.
Before he could even hit the ground, Alvin lunged forward in a single fluid motion, grabbing his face and slamming it down into the hard concrete. A sickening crack of bone and a slight squishing sound could be heard as his skull cracked, the concussion knocking him out cold.
The first gang member watched in horror as Alvin began to turn around and walk back slowly toward him before kneeling down on his broken arm, pinning him. Alvin rested the tip of the pipe on the first’s thigh while he whimpered and struggled to get free, pain wracking his nerves as Alvin pressed harder on the broken arm.
“Who hired you to kidnap me? Where’s my exosuit?” Alvin asked the first gang member with a stern expression. “Where’s Xanius? Which star system is this? Where’s the nearest hyperlane?”
“Wh-What the hell are you ta-ARRRRRGH!” The tip of the enchanted metal pipe pierced his thigh, causing him to let out an agonizing scream before Alvin used the same tip to smack his cheek, ripping off a bit of skin in the process with a copious amount of blood spurting.