Chapters ...And the Start of a New One
“Keep those ponies at a distance!”
“Everypony stand back!”
Alex only faintly heard the shouts as he slowly regained consciousness.
“Did she just touch that thing?” asked a male voice.
“Yes, she did. It's covered in blood,” spoke another, “and apparently it eats meat as well, you fill in the blanks.”
“The blood is his,” a female voice corrected. “There’s no corpse around here and no animal gets blood all over when eating.”
Alex's body felt weak and shivered as a light breeze washed over him, robbing him from the warmth of the sun.
‘ What's going on?’ Alex thought, memories flooding his mind.
‘Aren't I supposed to be... dead?’ He moved his hand to feel his throat and could feel the crusts of dried blood. ‘ Where's the wound? What the hell is happening here?’
As he swallowed some saliva, a horrible taste made him gag.
‘ Oh, great. A mouthful of dried blood.’
He collected as much as he could with his tongue, before spitting it out.
“Heads up! It's awake!” someone yelled.
“Be ready to subdue it,” a young male answered. “Shock it if you have to.”
‘ Am I laying on grass?’ Alex thought, finding all the willpower to open his eyes.
‘ Was I moved or some-’
He was laying under a tree next to a lake, and to make everything even crazier, he was surrounded by a group of colourful creatures. A fairly large circle of them surrounded him, being kept at a distance by some with what looked like curved golden armor on their bodies.
He noticed that all of them had a wide variety of colours. Some had horns or wings and were capable of speech, looking at him and the armoured ones with mixed expressions.
‘ Whoa, what's this?’ Alex thought. ‘T hese are no ordinary horses at all.’
He was dumbstruck. ‘I must be dreaming,’ he pondered for a second. ‘ I must be...’
The ponies with golden armour were all white or grey with blue or grey-ish white tails, just like the others, some of them had a horn on their heads, others had wings. All of them but the winged ones bore spears, the others had a sword and scabbard strapped around their waists.
‘ *They're small, some two feet five, ’* Alex estimated roughly. Immediately after he noticed the armoured ones were larger, if only a tad.
Taking another good look at the golden-polished armour, a little chuckle escaped him.
‘Soldier get-up? I’m seeing things, for sure, ’ he thought, an odd feeling settling in. ‘So I’m not… Hospital, maybe? Heavy drug? ’
“Stay down, creature,” said a pony with purple armour with golden trimmings. Another difference was that this pony had a lighter and darker stripe running through his blue tail, whereas the others seemed to have only two different colour schemes.
‘ This one’s different,’ thought Alex whilst coughing weakly. ‘*Giving orders as well. ’*
The pony spoke up “It needs medical attention, somepony get a doctor.”
‘ They must think I'm hurt,’ Alex noted, ‘*which I’m not, strangely. ’*
“On it captain,” said a white, female pony, referring to the voice before running off past the crowd that had gathered around the scene.
Alex tried to get up, but stopped moving as soon as the ponies pointed their spears at him.
“I ordered you to stay down,” said the captain, looking straight at him.
‘ He's either scared, or as dumbstruck as I am. Probably the latter.’
Alex laid back down to avoid trouble, and a smirk formed on the captain's face before he spoke. “So you understand what I'm saying.”
Alex simply nodded.
“I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard of Canterlot,” he introduced himself with caution.
Alex was not sure what to reply. He coughed before he managed to answer. “Eh.. I'm Alex.”
“What are you, exactly?” Shining Armor asked.
“A cop,” Alex answered simply. “What about you?”
The pony's lips twitched momentarily into a frown, and he glanced around him at the others, seeming looking for an input. None responded.
“How did you get here?” he asked. “And with what intentions?”
Alex simply shrugged in response.
The captain frowned deeply, a faint glimmer showing in his eyes.
“What is this place?”
The captain ignored him, glancing around at the other ponies.
‘ Great…’
“Captain!” The white, armoured mare ran up to Shining Armor. “I got help from Ponyville Hospital. They're here.”
‘Ponyville, okay. ’
Shining nodded. “Good, let's wrap this up. Lead them here,” he answered.
The pony disappeared into the crowd for a second and came back with two other mares. One was white with a pink mane and the other was yellow with a blue mane. Both of them had a cross on their sides.
As soon as they saw Alex they both stopped and gasped.
Shining noticed the startled mares and spoke up. "Don't worry. If it tries anything it'll get zapped," he said as a purple glow surrounded his horn.
The two mares approached him and laid down a stretcher.
“Levitate it on the stretcher,” ordered Shining, his horn still glowing, at the ready.
Aside of that he was going to be taken away, Alex had no clue of what was going on. The added hostilities made him feel pretty uncomfortable.
One of the surrounding guard's horn started glowing as well and Alex was surrounded by a white aura. He was startled at first but did not move however, as he didn't want a spear in his gut, nor did he want to get electrocuted.
Something was wrong, Alex noticed. The guard spoke up.
“I can't get him off the ground, he's resisting.”
‘ What's he talking about?’
“Excuse me?” Alex asked.
“Try it again,” Shining ordered the guard before aiming his horn back at Alex. “You, stop resisting or I'll have to subdue you.”
“What?” Alex asked. “Resisting, how?”
Shining once again didn't answer him.
The guard's horn glowed once more and the same white aura surrounded Alex.
He felt like he was being pulled up for a moment, until the aura disappeared again.
“I warned you.”
Before Alex could respond, Shining's horn unleashed a blinding streak of white light. The beam hit Alex full on, and it felt felt like electricity shot through his whole body. The sensation was strong at first, but only intensified, making his already tired muscles contract painfully.
It didn't last long before the beam died down.
Alex grunted in pain, his heart racing by the painfully real sensation.
‘What kind of dream is this? ’ he asked himself, still convinced he was dreaming.
He winced. A part of him wanted to get up and escape, the other part told him to stay down not to make the situation worse, if it could any.
The former part won. This psychopathic wizard horse was trying to knock him out!
He got up. There were small gasps coming from the crowd as he rose to his full height.
‘ Ugh, bad idea.’
All guards quickly surrounded him with pointed spears, giving him nowhere to run.
“Look at the size of that bastard,” one of them said.
“Stars, it’s taller than Princess Celestia herself,” answered another, the observation causing the rest of the guards to nervously murmur among themselves.
“Silence!” another demanded, shutting everyone up.
Alex didn’t quite register the near-panicked comments since Shining Armor took his full attention as his horn started glowing once more.
The unicorn charged the spell again, even though the creature had nowhere to go.
He charged thrice the amount of energy in the spell. ‘T hree.Three times should do it, ’ he thought. His face was one of pure concentration.
Alex knew he was going to get attacked again, but couldn't go anywhere because of the spears.
“Hold him down!” Shining yelled with a cracking voice.
The guards quickly pulled their spears away from the human.
“Calm down, I-”
Alex could not finish his sentence as a pegasus hit him in the neck, causing him to completely lose his balance. Fazed, he fell down on the grass, and the guards made room around him, forming a circle with spears pointed.
Alex glanced at Shining only to get blinded by another beam shooting from the captain's horn.
He got hit in the side, all his muscles contracted painfully as an even stronger shock shot through his body.
He briefly cried out in pain. He felt his heart beating in overdrive.
He felt his body giving up once more, darkness filled his vision as he lost consciousness again.
End of chapter two.
Alex woke up feeling like he moved a mountain. In other words, sore and battered.
‘ Well, I’ve woken up feeling worse,**’ he weakly joked to himself as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, not immediately remembering what had actually happened.
Not for long, anyway.
He froze and frantically looked around him in an attempt to get any notion as of where he was.
The room he was in had a chequered floor and a green ceiling, while the walls were a dull blue. He was lying on a hospital bed next to a window that allowed light inside.
His heart jumped as he found the door, guarded by a pegasus guard on the left, and the white mare on the right. Both of them still clad in full armour.
Seeing the two definitely real ponies, he finally realised. ‘Not a dream... ’
The pegasus had a stoic expression, looking at nothing in particular. The mare, however, looked at Alex with uncertainty.
“Ahem.” She cleared her throat before speaking. “How are you feeling?”
The pony’s question prompted Alex to throw off his bedsheets and look down his body.
He checked himself to see he was cleaned up and wearing nothing but his underwear. ‘*No clothing my size, I guess, ’* he noted and saw that the spots where he got hit by Shining were neatly taken care of. They felt pretty sore still, so he didn't mess around with the bandages.
He sighed in anxiety, more details of what happened coming back to him.
The pony coughed curtly to draw his attention, receiving a deadpan look, which made her shift uncomfortably.
“My name is Windy Leaves,” she introduced herself, kicking an invisible rock. “I wish I'd be able to introduce myself under...better circumstances.”
Alex sighed before sitting up, leaning his back against his bed's headboard.
“I'm Alex,” he simply responded.
“Alex...” she whispered to herself. “Nice to meet you.”
‘Right... ’ The man quirked an eyebrow, though he figured that the pony was simply trying to be polite.
The mare waited for him to continue, but since nothing came, she spoke up again instead.
“I'm sorry about what happened. I really am,” she sighed. “The Royal Guard has been on edge lately. I know that's no excuse, but you'll know everything soon enough. Say the word when you're ready. Captain Shining Armor would like to talk to you.”
“And why would I want to see him again?” Alex asked, glancing at the window. It was large enough for him to fit through.
“The princesses will be there too, so there’s nothing to worry about,” she said in an attempt to reassure him.
“I have no idea who your princesses are.”
The mare’s head tilted ever so slightly. “You don’t know who Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are?”
‘What kind of name is Celestia? And Windy Leaves? ’
“No.”
“Then whe— Alright... Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are diarchs. They rule over Equestria, over us.”
“Is it your captain that wants to speak to me, or is it them?”
The mare smiled meekly. “Both, I assume. And Shining Armor isn’t my captain. I’m not part of the Royal Guard.”
Alex didn’t answer her. Instead, he made it as obvious as possible when he looked her up and down.
“My armour?” the mare asked. “Anypony can wear armour. It’s supposed to protect me, obviously.”
Alex took her words as the truth and looked at the pegasus. “And that one?” he asked, causing the pegasus’ gaze to shift to him.
“He’s an auxiliary, ordered to escort me.”
Alex nodded once, understanding what kind of situation these two were in. “Where am I?” he eventually asked.
“Ponyville Hospital,” she answered, “We, ah...brought you here while you were...unconscious...” She then momentarily looked at the ground, waiting for the human's reaction.
Alex mentally rolled his eyes, though his actual expression didn't change much. “I figured, but as you may have noticed, I'm not remotely from here,” he answered. “So the question still stands.”
"As I said before, we’re in Equestria, home to ponykind," she explained, annoyance lacing her voice. “We’re ruled by Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.”
The pony continued to answer all and any questions coming from the man, explaining what an alicorn is, roughly decribing the princesses and of course telling about their sworn duties of raising the Moon and Sun.
“You'll learn more when you actually get to meet them,” she finished.
Windy suddenly stepped aside, making way for the opening door. A unicorn guard entered the room, bringing a meal, supper, and levitated the platter onto Alex's lap.
He finished his plate and his glass of water before the guard took the dishes and walked out. Sitting there for a few moments, he glanced out of 0the window. It was getting dark outside. "I'll try to get some sleep," he told the two ponies.
Windy nodded once and calmly left the room, closely followed by the pegasus.
Alex tried to get to sleep. His mind began wandering off, trying to reassess all what had happened.
He didn’t even know how to feel about his current situation.
***
Morning came. Alex opened his eyes to see his room’s dull ceiling, a dejected wave shot through him as he realised where he was.
‘No bad dream, good. Last thing I need are nightmares, ’ he thought as he stretched his limbs.
Windy and the pegasus guard were standing at the same spots they stood the day before. The mare gave him a nod as a greeting. She wasn’t wearing her armour any longer, so Alex had a good view of her lush, hazel brown mane and alabaster coat. He also noticed that the pony had long fetlocks; the white locks contrasting against her grey hooves.
“Where can I wash up?” Alex asked.
“I doubt the tub would be comfortable for you. It’s, uh, a bit small.”
“Just point me to a sink, or something,” he snapped at her. “I just want to clean myself up.”
He got out of his bed and stood up, noticing that the pony looked rather interested. She looked at him from head to toe, her lips pursed into an o shape. It was Alex's deadpan expression that snapped her out of it. “Oh, right. Take a left.”
The man glanced to his left and saw a door, most definitely leading to the bathroom. As he walked towards it, the pegasus guard moved to follow him.
‘Oh no you don't. ’
With the pony close to his heels, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. The pegasus avoided bumping into his behind and quickly looked up to meet the human’s eyes. The look he received was enough of a message to make the pony walk back to his spot next to the door, allowing Alex to enter the bathroom in private.
Inside was a relatively small bathtub, and a door that probably led to a separate toilet.
‘This must be a private bathroom. ’
Alex blinked a few times, confused by the strange lavatory. Or the lack thereof.
There was no sink or anything similar, which kind of made sense to him since ponies would have a rather hard time using them.
‘Water, ’ he thought. The only thing he needed was water.
After taking a towel and washcloth from a hook on the inside of the door, he peered down at the small excuse of a tub and saw a familiar looking tap with red and blue markings.
With an annoyed groan he lowered himself and gave the red rimmed one a few twists, followed by only one on the blue rimmed one.
He plugged the tub and whilst waiting for the water to rise he removed his bandages. The wounds weren’t as bad as he had expected, though they would definitely still leave their marks on his chest and right side. Shaking his head in frustration, he started washing himself thoroughly.
The wash-up did him good, and by the time he was done, he felt refreshed..
Entering the hospital room, he saw his clothes laying on his bed, neatly folded.
“Your clothes, they’re cleaned up for you,” Windy pointed out.
“Thanks,” Alex answered. He walked up to them and held them out to take a look.
The pony was right; his clothes were as good as new. He put them back on slowly, especially when he buttoned his shirt. With the bandages removed, the wounds were very tender and the slightest touch resulted in pain. Rubbing all over them in order to get them cleaned up certainly didn’t do much in helping that.
The mare looked interested the entire time, definitely curious and taking advantage of the opportunity to see him properly.
Alex stroked the creases out of his shirt. “Could I have something to eat?”
“Of course,” Windy answered and left the room, thus leaving Alex alone with the other pony. The pegasus didn’t move a muscle, staring blankly at nothingness. Alex couldn’t even see if he was breathing or not. He sighed and sat down on the bed, waiting for Windy to return.
A few moments later, Windy brought in a platter with what looked like toast and a glass of orange juice.
“Thanks,” Alex said as he took the platter out the mare's mouth. He was hungry, and the salad from last night had barely been adequate to sate his hunger. He quickly consumed his breakfast and put the empty platter on his nightstand.
“What happens now?”
Windy turned and made a head gesture towards the pegasus, who left the room without speaking a word. “My colleague is going to get word to the princesses that we’re on our way.”
Alex frowned slightly. “On our way where?”
The mare didn’t even blink. “Where the princesses reside. Canterlot, the capital.”
“Oh...”
Alex assumed the entire time that these princesses would come and talk to him, not the other way around.
Windy sensed his trepidation. “I know this must be overwhelming for you, but we can’t stay here,” she said. Receiving no answer, she inhaled deeply and continued. “Due to the nature of your arrival, we’re required to escort you to Canterlot as soon as possible.”
“Why?”
“It’s safe there, for one. And secondly, the princesses can’t simply leave, so we must go to them, I’m sure they’d want to take a good look at you,” she replied.
Alex nodded and asked the obvious question. “I can just leave the hospital now?”
“Well, yes. You seem healthy enough to do so,” Windy replied. “Surprisingly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, that shock Shining gave you was definitely enough to stop a pony's heart.”
“So he tried to kill me?” Alex fumed, already looking forward to seeing the captain again.
Windy pressed her lips together. “I don’t think so, Alex, but I understand if it’s hard to believe me. The first shock you received would’ve brought any pony to his knees, but you basically shrugged it off,” she recalled. “The second, lethal one, knocked you out. The doctors did some minor tests while you were sleeping. I don't know any of the results though. You'll have to ask for that in Canterlot.”
“Tests? Tests for what?”
“They wouldn’t tell me. Sorry.”
“Okay.” Alex wasn't sure how to feel about being experimented on.
Alex followed the white mare into the hallway to see that a rather large group of ponies had gathered at the entrance. She made a gesture to the guards in the hallway, and all of them walked towards the entrance. “Everypony, stand back!” one of them yelled. “Don’t interfere with the Royal Guard's business!”
The moment he stepped outside, the murmuring died down completely and the ponies watched with expressions he couldn’t exactly place. It didn’t take long before a group of three chariots came flying into view from the distance, each of them pulled by two pegasi.
Alex took a good look at what the ponies were pulling behind them. Granted, the white pony had mentioned chariots, but he didn’t expect the things to be exactly that. And even less for them to be flying. The one flying in between the two others looked different. It looked larger, with four wheels instead of two. It actually looked like it would be able to carry him. As the golden-coloured things descended for landing, the crowd retreated, leaving a spacious area to land on.
“*Flying [i/] chariots?” he muttered. The surprise lost effect rather quickly as he pointed himself on the fact of where he was, exactly.*
“Great, hmm? Fastest way to Canterlot,” answered Windy, “It takes getting used to, however.”
‘[ i]Cool.’
“The big one’s ours,” she said, pointing a hoof at the thing in question. She then started making her way towards it, closely followed by Alex.
“What’s this?” asked a guard. He was speaking to one of the hitched pegasi. “Where are the rascals?”
The white armoured pegasus shrugged. “We were given these things. What you see is what you get. Now hop on, don’t wanna cool down too much.”
Just as Alex expected, the guards placed themselves onto the other chariots before all three started off again and eventually lifted off, leaving the silent crowd behind.
***
By one of the pegasi’s request, Alex had sat down on the bottom of the larger vehicle. The larger chariot’s bottom and sides were clad in soft, purple fabric, making sitting down pretty comfortable.
“So,” he spoke, making the mare's ears perk up. “What am I getting into?”
“Relax, Alex.” Windy spoke loudly so that Alex could clearly hear what she was saying over the blowing wind. “The princesses are usually very kind. And nopony did anything wrong but the captain, so I think they just want to know your story about what happened, and perhaps more than that.”
“Like what?”
“Are you kidding? You're a completely new sapient species, Alex! Of course they will want to know all about you and where you're from!” She beamed. “There must be a thing or two to learn about you, your kind, your history and so on!”
Seeing her interest, Alex had the slightest idea as to the mare’s job.
“Well ah, I don’t know that much about the world apart from my job and such.”
The pony nodded in understanding. “That’s alright, though. We’ll see where we get.”
“Alright, so if I just mind my manners, I will be fine?” Windy nodded again at that, making Alex feel just a bit more comfortable.
A while passed before she spoke up once more. “Once we clear that mountain over there, you'll be able to see Canterlot.” She pointed at a small mountain in the distance, which made way for a beautiful sight.
There seemed to be an entire city built onto the mountainside. The gravity-defying towers’ white walls and golden domes shone brightly in the morning sunlight. Said domes reminded him of the Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow as seen on television, with white, blue, and smaller purple flags flapping in the wind.
The vehicles started descending towards a platform jutting out from one of the towers, where several guards were visible milling about. The chariot touched down and soon it was surrounded by a mob of guards.
Not again.
“Step back,” ordered an older blue unicorn guard with a deep and gravelly voice, making the confused-looking group dissipate.
What made this one stand out from the others was his beautiful white armour. A golden image depicting the sun was emblazoned on the chest piece.
“You’re earlier than expected,” he said to both Windy and Alex. “However, everything is in order and the...” the unicorn apparently couldn't find the right words for a moment as he looked Alex up and down “...human can see the princesses at once.”
Relieved, Alex stepped out of the carriage, followed by Windy.
“I’m Warden. Paragon of the Wall of Light and Royal Protector to the princesses themselves,” he introduced himself. His tired tone of voice sounded like he'd said it a thousand times before."
“I’m Alex Matthius.”
The unicorn nodded. “Alright, so if you two would follow me, I’ll lead you right to them.” After a short walk the unicorn spoke up again. “So,” he said, “you’ll be the first one besides Shining Armour himself to tell us what exactly happened.”
Alex didn't respond as he wasn't sure who the pony was talking to.
If Warden expected an answer, he didn’t wait long to get one since he spoke up almost immediately after. “Things have been bad. I hope this’ll clear something up.”
Windy responded before Alex could. “Well, I suggest that the captain should stick to summoning shields until he gets his urges in check.” The old guard didn’t answer her in any way.
Alex glanced at the mare to see her clenching her lips together. Both knowing that her words weren’t received well.
The trio walked through some well-maintained corridors before ending up in a large main hall. It was what Alex expected from a palace and more. Marble floors, marble pillars, red carpet leading to a giant pair of doors. It was beautiful. From afar, a grey unicorn drew the veteran guard's attention. Warden walked up to him and started talking about things Alex was too far away for to hear. After a few moments, he returned to Alex and Windy, who were still waiting, looking around in awe.
“The princesses are ready, we're going in,” he said.
"You two are coming as well?" Alex asked.
Warden nodded. "Yes. I belong to Princess Celestia's right side."
Windy took off where he left. “And at the moment, it's my job to stick around to get you acquainted with how our society works.”
Alex nodded. “So you're the guide?”
The pony frowned, visibly offended by the guess. "No… I mean yes, but only with other species. When making first contact, it's kind of important to know what kind of creature we're dealing with,” she explained. “Otherwise we'd have a war all over again.”
Alex couldn't believe his ears. “There are other sentient species other than you people?” he asked.
“Mmhm. The griffons, to name one, but that's a long story. You should ask me later on about that.”
“Okay,” Alex said. “And yes, I'm ready too.”
The veteran simply nodded at that, and they started following the red carpet towards the giant double door that was decorated with numerous
images of ponies, flowery plants and more. What stood out were the two larger depictions in the centre of the doors showing ponies with both horns and wings.
“This is the throne room door,” informed Warden. “Don’t touch them, there’s magic affecting them.”
Well that door is unnecessarily big, even for human standards, Alex thought. Must be some last defence line or something.
Two gruff-looking unicorn guards took a lengthy look at them before their horns started glowing.
Nothing seemed to happen for a few seconds until the doors started moving. The things must have been massive, Alex figured, if the low groaning and creaking were any indication.
Warden led the way and started moving forward, followed by Alex and an increasingly nervous pony.
End of chapter three.
End of a Journey...
“Have a good time, ma'am,” said Alex, trying his best to make it sound like he hadn't said that very sentence a hundred times before that night.
He smiled politely as he gave the lady her all-access card back, receiving a generous smile in return.
Every Friday night, Alex worked as a doorman at the local night club. His job was to guard the entrance and exit, which basically consisted of one and the same pair of doors, together with a colleague from nine to six.
He would be lying if he said he enjoyed this job very much. Granted, he didn't particularly hate his Friday night occupation, but it was really dull sometimes. It rarely came to the point of physical violence to get people to leave when there were decent doormen deployed, but some people needed directions to the exit.
There were always a handful of drunk people who thought they could take on the world, but those were harmless. It was hard to take them seriously when they - depending on the severity of their intoxication - weren’t even able to place one foot in front of the other without falling on their faces.
A bouncer's job was not about beating up troublesome people, since they still had to abide by the law, but more about intimidating them.
Not being a loudmouth and being accompanied by friends kept most problems at bay, making physical confrontations a rarity.
Fridays were always more trouble for any type of security, be it mall cops, the police, or doormen. People were glad a week of hard work had finally come to an end and went out to catch up with friends or cause trouble just for the hell of it.
So far it had been a peaceful night, with the exception of a major disagreement between a young man and one of the security members stationed inside.
Said man had to be forcefully removed from the building and threatened to come back, something that happened every now and then, but this time the one who said it wasn’t drunk, so Alex hoped he’d cool down again and stay away.
He glanced at his watch and saw that it was four fifteen. ‘Just a little while longer. Keep it up,’ he thought, giving a soft smile.
With his mood brightened, he began tapping his foot to the beat of the music, which sounded muffled from outside where he was standing.
Running a hand through his short hairs, he sighed. A cloud of vapour was visible as he did, so needless to say it was pretty cold out. It had rained some time ago, rendering the streets wet and giving everything that cold autumn look.
The music from inside the club suddenly became loud and clear. Alex turned his head to the right, glancing at the doors. A familiar face walked out of the building and moved next to him.
It was Eddy, a very close friend of Alex since late high school. He carried two steaming cups of coffee in one hand whilst holding a phone with the other.
“No, it only does it when I switch from second to third,” Eddy spoke into his phone. “Hold on.” He then reached out, allowing his friend to take one of the cups. “No… Yes, of course it’s a manual. What am I, daft? No… No, don’t come here, I working right-" Eddy stopped mid-sentence. After a couple of confused glances at his phone he blurted out; "Bleeding hell, he hung up on me!”
Alex witnessed the event rather confusedly. “Who?”
Eddy tisked and put his phone away. “That Bexley guy, the mechanic,” he answered before placing himself against a wall.
Alex took a sip from his coffee, peering over the rim to give his friend a sceptical look.
“I know,” Eddy sighed. “I mean, I don’t. He called me and started asking about what he had to look at on the truck.”
Alex chuckled. “Drunk, maybe?” Eddy shrugged. “Anyway, where is he?”
“Guy said he was gonna say hi, not sure if he knows where we are, actually.”
“Let’s hope he doesn’t. I’m not a fan of him to be honest,” Alex admitted with a sigh.
Eddy let go a chuckle. “I noticed. Like cats and dogs, you two," he said before frowning. "Did something happen I don’t know of?”
Alex shook his head. “No, I can just clearly tell he has some kind of problem with me.”
“Don’t know about that,” muttered Eddy. “Only thing he said about you was about how much he hates the way you talk.”
"You mean proper English? In a way so that foreigners can actually understand me?” Alex scowled.
Eddy smiled. "People use that word way too lightly. Don't let it get to you."
Some time passed. The relative inactivity around the exit was made quite bearable with the help of a hot cup of coffee and the company of a good friend.
“Debra’s birthday,” Eddy started as if remembering just then. “Tomorrow?”
“Today,” Alex corrected. “Haven’t seen her in a while, I feel kind of bad for waiting until now.”
Eddy nodded and tinkered with his phone for a bit.
“Calm night, isn't it?" Alex continued. "I mean, I didn’t see or hear a single fight break out. At least not that I've been informed of.”
Eddy chuckled. “I wish it was like this every week.”
Alex couldn't agree more.
“Shag me twice on wednesday...” he heard Eddy mutter under his breath.
Following his gaze, he saw a large grey car park a distance further, soon after revealing its occupants; the Bexley mechanic with three others, one of which a familiar face.
“Same feller that got kicked out earlier tonight,” Alex informed, eyes locked onto the group of men now approaching them.
“Yep, at least he kept his promise.”
“I doubt they'll just make trouble. There's more of us inside and they know it.”
“Yeah, I know.” Eddy sighed. “But I don't like the feeling of this.”
The mechanic spoke up once he figured he was close enough. “Oye, it’s bloody Eddy and longshanks!” he called out, his reward was his company chuckling behind him.
“What are you doing here, Alfie?” Eddy hissed.
Alfie the Bexley guy gave him a mocking pout. “What? I’m just looking for a good time with my buddies here.”
“You’re a tad late,” Alex answered, prompting the much shorter man to turn to him. “Entrance’s closed long ago, you’re not getting in,” he continued before pointing a finger at one of the guys accompanying the nuisance. “Especially you. When you get kicked out you do best to stay away for the night.”
The guy’s eyes squinted, boring in Alex’s calm as ever ones.
As Alex opened his mouth to speak again, Eddy literally stepped in between them. “Let’s just stay calm, a’ight?” He then turned to the group. “Now, just tell us what you’re doing here.”
Alfie nodded for some odd reason. “A’ight, a’ight, we’ll just wait in the car then,” he said with a clap of his hands before turning around and walking away. The other guys turned around and followed without further ado, and a distance further they stepped into the vehicle and waited there.
Alex took a look at his watch. “Guess who they’re waiting for?”
Eddy sighed. “Crud. We should tell him.”
Alex looked at his friend. “I’ve got no idea who kicked the guy out, you?” His question was answered by a shaking of the head.
Nearing six o'clock, most of the partygoers had gone home. The remaining few were outside smoking or waiting for a cab to arrive.
Eddy and Alex went inside to get their pay and weren’t all that surprised to see the place was a dump; The dance floor was stained with all kinds of spilled liquors, and cigarette filters were scattered around the lounge area, ashtrays overflowing with the things.
“This is what happens when someone calls off, not enough staff to keep up with the animals,” said Eddy.
Alex pursed his lips, looking at the mess. “It's been worse, though. Remember New Year's Eve?”
Eddy shuddered. “Just... Don't remind me...”
As the clock passed six, everyone called it a night and went on their way home.
“I’ll call you about Sunday evening, pub at eight-thirty?” asked Eddy.
“A’ight, just call me beforehand, okay?”
Eddy waved at his friend and unlocked his car.
Alex waved back and started walking down the road. As usually he had to park quite a distance away. He grumbled something about staff-only parking spots until he caught eyes on a familiar vehicle still parked at the same spot.
As he walked past it he glanced inside; Alfie was sleeping behind the wheel and two of his friends had followed his example on the back seats, though the one in the passenger seat was wide awake and looked back at him.
“Stay safe,” he said, his voice sounding muffled.
Alex didn’t respond and kept on going. After a few seconds he heard the car doors open and voices murmuring as they stepped out.
“Hold him!”
Alex quickly turned around at the warning voice, partially expecting for them to be approaching, though it wasn’t him there were after. There were three of them; all the ones who sat in the car minus Alfie. He recognised their chosen victim as one of the security members usually stationed inside the club, most definitely the one who kicked the guy out.
The guess was confirmed as said guy was the first to act by grabbing the guard by the collar.
“You was dead once you spoke, shitface.”
He punched his victim straight in the face, emitting a sick bone-to-bone sound. Blood started pouring from the wounded man's nose.
Surprisingly, he didn't go down. He tried defending himself but got kicked in the back of his knee, causing him to lose balance for a moment. One of the assailants made use of it and punched him in the temple.
It sent him to the ground. Laying there, he tried to protect his head as the group started throwing kicks.
“Stop this!” Alex shouted whilst walking back to them. Two of the men looked at what was for them a new challenger.
“Stay out of it tosser.”
Alex pressed his lips together. “He’s had enough, don’t you think?” he said to the third guy who was still busy kicking the downed man.
It worked. The man stopped and looked at him.
"You what, mate? You want a fuckin' piece, yeah? Come on lads.” The threat was followed by the two others taking a few steps closer.
Alex knew it was going to be trouble. There was no talking out of that one. He sized them up. The left one had an average build, while the right one was short but seemed quite muscular even with all the clothes he was wearing. He quickly turned out to be the most eager one as well as he balled his fist and swung it at Alex’s face.
Alex swung his head backwards, pressing his chin against his chest. It worked; the fist narrowly missed, allowing him to respond by thrusting his right foot into the guy's abdomen.
He doubled over, gasping for air and stumbled away. The second guy dove in immediately.
The first punch glanced Alex’s chin. Noticing too late that it was a feint, another punch hit him in the gut. It was a heck of a shot, blowing all the air straight out of him, though he managed to bite through the stinging pain and kicked the guy in the right inner thigh.
The leg buckled and brought the man down on his knees. He raised a hand in surrender, which was answered by a knee smashing into his temple, sending him out cold.
‘Damn it,’ he thought, feeling fresh ripples of pain shoot through his knee. Biting through, he faced the third guy and took a few steps closer.
He froze up a second as he saw a shadow loom up from behind him
‘Fucking Alfie. ’
He didn't even finish realising as a hand came from behind him, grabbed his forehead and pulled back. He saw a faint glimmer of something sharp moving below his chin.
‘What...’
It was too late. The knife dug into the skin of his throat and sliced to the right. A warm feeling spread across Alex’s chest. He knew exactly what had happened and what was going to happen.
He attempted to speak. Only blood passed his lips as he sunk to the ground, the pain in his knee a faint memory.
His vision became blurry. A feeling of dizziness welled up and grew. Unable to breathe, he slumped backwards until one of the men kicked him to the side.
Alex prevented falling on his face, breaking his fall with an arm whilst his right hand frantically clutched around his throat, trying to stop the bleeding.
Soon enough, his mind ceased to be. His pain left him, while darkness took hold until his last, final breath.
End of chapter one .
