Beating up a bunch of delinquents

Callan yawned tiredly as she adjusted her cap. She then zipped up her sweatshirt and looked at her wristwatch. Nine thirty. She turned to look at Lilian who was making a call.

"Lilian, I'll be leaving now."

Lilian waved her hand distractedly and Callan took the chance to leave. She closed the door and walked into the quiet night. Tucking her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt, she walked towards her home. Catania had always been one of the relatively bustling towns in towns in Sicily, mostly due to its exposure to tourism.

However, tonight was very quiet. Only a few people probably returning home from work could be seen walking on the road like her. A few cars also drove off in the distance.

Callan's steps instantly quickened as she hurried home. She felt so tired and her shoulder ached immensely. Of course, being a newly recruited employee, she knew she had done a great job. But it didn't come as a surprise for she was one of the most frequent customers of top coffee shops in Rome. She knew how they did their jobs.

However, she wasn't in a rush to get home only because she was tired but because the streets looked awfully desolated. And there was even a more narrow alley she would have to pass through to get home.

She soon got to the alley and she walked hastily towards her home. She switched on a mini flashlight she got a few months before and pulled her cap down. Due to the light, the alley which seemed to be a little dark and eerie lit up and she could vaguely make sense of a few figures standing some distance away from her.

Callan's heart did a flip flop and she could feel her palms beginning to sweat. She clenched her fists tightly on her flashlight and her footsteps were heavy as she continued walking.

The words 'Danger!' kept ringing in her head and several question marks kept popping into her mind. Amidst her thoughts, she had reached them and she could finally make out their faces. They were all male. However, what made her sigh with relief was that they all didn't seem to be any older than nineteen. They were still high school students.

She walked past them and her gaze caught sight of several bottles of alcohol and cigarette butts scattered on the floor. A slight cigarette smoke hung in the air. They seemed to notice her presence and they all turned to look at her, their gazes boring into her.

Almost immediately, they advanced towards her. Her legs worked faster than her mind and she found herself running off into the distance. However, they were faster than she was. One of them sped past her, blocking her path and she bumped into him.

She hesitated… Due to those few seconds of hesitation, the others caught up with her. Someone pulled her by the hair and she winced from the sudden tingling pain in her scalp.

"Hey, Lory. Be gentler," she heard the one standing in front of her say. He advanced towards her and she couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Her mind suddenly jolted and she finally realized what was happening. She yelled out of reflex, "What do you think you're doing?"

The guy in front had finally come out of the darkness and she could see his face clearly. He looked young but there was a hint of a sly smile in his eyes. He was sporting a golden colored hair which he brushed back probably out of habit.

"Stop yelling," he said. "No one can hear you."

It was likely one of them grew very impatient for she was yanked back and her back was slammed into the wall. The pain shot through her body and a tiny sweat trickled down her body.

She gnashed her teeth in pain and her gaze met with the golden haired. He looked calm but his tightly clenched fists seemed to be out of ordinary. There was an underlying emotion in his gaze that she couldn't understand. Rage, maybe?

To her surprise, he yanked the one who threw her back and gave him a punch in the cheek. "I told you not to fucking hurt her!"

The other guy stumbled backwards due to the effect of the punch and a tension filled silence hung in the air. It felt so uncomfortable for Callan who was witnessing the fight.

The guy who was punched lifted his head and unmistakable rage could be seen in his gaze. He looked as if he could tear him apart with his gaze alone. He looked at the other two and Callan could sense some unspoken resolve between them.

They pranced towards the golden haired boy with killing intent clearly emitting from them. The golden haired boy backed away in disbelief. They seemed to have ganged up on him.

Upon seeing that their concentration wasn't on her anymore, Callan pranced off the wall and began to run with all her might.

She could have left… she could have run away unhurt but when she looked back, she heard a howl of pain and she could see the golden haired boy being pressed onto the ground. Someone gave him a punch in the stomach and from the loud sound of it, Callan knew it probably hurt as hell.

The boy fell with a thud and one of them let out a snicker. He pressed his shoe on his hand and the boy let out a scream. Callan couldn't think anymore. It was as if she was driven by an invisible force. She sprang towards them and because they were all focused on the boy, they couldn't notice her. She could hear them yelling at him. Probably, they felt he wasn't worthy to be their leader.

She grabbed one of the chairs they had been sitting on and pulled it towards them.

She felt unusually powerful. Probably because their attention wasn't on her, she felt more confident. To be able to survive all those attacks on her life for two years, it wasn't easy either. She lifted the chair and slammed it hard on the back of the one pressing his shoe on his hand.

He yelled in pain and immediately let go of his hold on the boy's hand. They all turned towards her but Callan was prepared. As the boy she hit advanced towards her, he lifted his hand to grab her

She ducked and kneed him in the groin. He let out a howl of pain but she didn't let him go. She grabbed him by the neck and picked one of the broken bottles on the floor. She placed it near his neck and looked at the others who were frozen in shock.

She looked very indignant as she said word for word, "You let him go, I let him leave."

Callan didn't need to do or say much. The boys were after all still teenagers. They panicked. The boy in her grasp tried to struggle when he saw the bottle right beside his neck.

Callan snorted, "You struggle and I won't hesitate to dig this into your neck."

The other boys nodded and left the golden haired boy. She nodded with satisfaction, flinging the boy towards them and he crashed right beside them. She hurriedly ran to the golden haired boy and pulled out a pocket knife from her pockets.

But the boys had no intentions of fighting her again. They panicked, helping their friend up and scampered away from her. Callan looked at their retreating backs as they left and sighed. She glanced at the boy on the floor and lamented, "All I wanted was to get a good night's sleep. But now, I still have to get you to the hospital."