A Lesson in Power

The air in the alley felt trapped and heavy. It smelled bad, like wet bricks and old garbage. Sun light from the sky made long, weird shadows, making the small space feel even tighter.

Rey leaned against the dirty wall near the alley entrance, looking cocky. His eyes burned with anger as he listened to Adam speak.

Every word Adam said seemed to make him madder. It wasn't just anger; it was like he felt insulted that this nobody, this loser, was talking back to him. His fists clenched tight, his knuckles showing white.

He curled his lip into a mean sneer, trying to look tough and scary.

"No more talking," Rey finally growled, his voice rough. He pushed himself off the wall quickly. He nodded towards Adam and looked at his two friends who were smoking nearby.

"Boys, grab him!" he ordered. His voice cut through the quiet. "This loser needs to learn a lesson today—a permanent one!"

The two thugs who had been smoking with him moved right away. They were used to Rey's orders and this kind of easy violence. They flicked their cigarettes onto the ground without a care.

The small sparks died out on the dirty pavement. They stood up straight, their bored looks changing to cold determination. One guy was stocky, built solid, while the other was thinner but looked quick and tense.

They didn't run, but they walked quickly toward Adam with heavy steps. Their boots made sounds in the small space.

They expected Adam to be scared, to maybe beg or try to run away clumsily.

But even though two mean-looking guys were coming right at him, Adam stood completely still. It was weird how still he was. He wasn't frozen with fear; he looked solid, like a rock.

His body was calm, not shaking. His shoulders were relaxed, and his hands hung loosely at his sides. He breathed evenly. His eyes were clear and focused, watching the thugs come closer without any sign of panic.

It was like he was just watching something interesting happen, not like he was about to get jumped.

This surprise calmness seemed to make the attackers pause for a split second, but they kept coming.

The bigger thug, using his size, reached Adam first. His hand shot out, aiming for Adam's shoulder. He grabbed Adam's shoulder tightly, squeezing hard, expecting Adam to pull back or cry out.

His plan was easy: grab tight, pull Adam off balance, and drag him towards Rey like a sack of dirt, ready for Rey to teach him the 'lesson'. He put his weight into the pull, ready for a struggle.

But before he could even really pull, before his brain caught up—

BAMM!

The sound was quick and hard, like hitting something solid. Adam's fist moved faster than seemed possible, smashing right into the thug's stomach.

It wasn't a wild punch; it was fast, aimed perfectly, and hit with amazing speed and power, right under his ribs. The thug's eyes flew wide open in shock and sudden, sharp pain.

All the air rushed out of his lungs with a choked sound. His body immediately bent over double, folding around the spot where he was hit. His grip on Adam's shoulder let go.

With a low groan, he fell onto the ground, curling up, unable to breathe right. The world shrank down to just the awful pain in his gut.

The second thug, the thinner one, was just a step behind. He saw his friend suddenly fold and drop, but it happened so fast he was stunned for a second.

Before he could figure out what happened, before he could change his plan or even lift his hands to block—

WHAM!

Adam hadn't stopped. He moved smoothly from the first punch to the second. His other fist shot out. It was a straight, strong punch that landed right on the thug's face.

The hit made a nasty cracking sound. The force snapped the thug's head back hard. He stumbled backward, his feet tripping over each other as he lost his balance completely.

His arms waved wildly for a second before he crashed hard onto the pavement, landing flat on his back with a heavy thud.

He lay still, looking dazed, a thin line of blood starting to run from his nose.

Both of Rey's guys were down in just seconds. One was on the ground gasping and holding his stomach, the other was knocked out flat.

The whole fight was over faster than taking a deep breath. The alley went quiet again, except for the first thug's painful gasps for air.

Rey had been standing back, arms crossed, watching it all happen with a smug look on his face—at first. He'd seen fights like this before.

His guys move in, the target freaks out, maybe throws a weak punch, and then gets beaten up. He had totally expected Adam to beg for mercy, to cower in fear, maybe even start crying.

He pictured Adam on the ground, saying sorry, promising anything to stop the beating. That's how it usually went.

But this...

This was totally wrong. This was something he never expected. Adam hadn't just fought back—he made it look easy.

He moved with scary skill, showing shocking speed and power that didn't fit the quiet guy Rey thought he was.

He had destroyed Rey's men in a flash, taking them out with single, hard hits. They weren't just hurt; they were completely taken out of the fight.

The smirk disappeared from Rey's face. First came disbelief, then a growing worry. A cold sweat suddenly popped up on Rey's forehead and dripped down his face, even though the air was cool.

The feeling of being amused was gone, leaving a sick feeling in his stomach. This wasn't going like he planned. This wasn't just a simple beatdown anymore.

Taking a step back without thinking, Rey put more space between himself and Adam. He pointed a shaky finger at Adam. His voice wasn't confident anymore; it cracked a little as he clenched his teeth.

"Do you... Do you have any idea what you've done?" he spit out, trying hard to sound like he was still in charge, even though he didn't feel like it.

"John will never forgive this! He'll hear about this! You're dead! You hear me? Dead!" He said the name 'John' like it was some kind of magic word, hoping the threat of someone bigger and badder would make Adam back off.

Adam's calm look—still steady and unsettling—met Rey's panicked eyes. There was no fear in Adam's eyes, not yet real anger, just a quiet sharpness that seemed to see right through Rey's loud talk.

Then, without saying a word, Adam started walking toward him. His steps were slow, careful, each one sounding loud in the quiet alley. He wasn't rushing, but he was clearly coming for Rey, and that felt way scarier than Rey's yelling.

Rey instinctively stepped back again. His body got stiff. His heart started pounding hard against his ribs, like a drum beating fast with fear. He felt his hands getting sweaty. He swallowed hard; his throat felt dry.

"Tch," Rey muttered quietly, trying to cover his growing fear with a mean comment. "Does this loser really think he's strong now 'cause he got lucky?" He needed to feel like he was in control again, push away the fear growing inside him.

Shaking off his worry with an effort you could see, Rey forced himself to stop backing up. He clenched his fists again, trying to feel stronger by making the familiar fighting pose.

"You think just 'cause you knocked out my useless friends, you're powerful?" he mocked, talking louder now, trying to sound sure of himself, like he wasn't impressed. "They were lazy! You got lucky! You think you can take me?"

He had to do something. He couldn't just let Adam walk up to him after taking down his guys. He couldn't look weak.

With a furious growl that came more from fear than real anger, Rey charged forward. He stopped thinking and decided a surprise attack was his only chance.

He pulled his right fist back, getting ready to throw a strong punch right at Adam's face. He put all his weight and anger behind it, turning his fear into action.

He got close fast. He was just inches away—

His punch was moving fast, about to hit—

He could almost feel it landing—

But then—

Adam moved again with that same surprising speed. He didn't try to block or dodge the punch coming at him. Instead, his front knee shot straight up with amazing force. It came up in a perfect, painful line, slamming right into Rey's stomach, hitting a sensitive spot.

THUD!

The hit felt solid and awful. It stopped Rey instantly. Rey's whole body jerked hard from the impact. All the air rushed out of him in a choked gasp. His forward movement stopped completely. His planned punch failed instantly. His fist, which was about to hit Adam's face, dropped weakly. Instead of landing his punch—

He collapsed onto the ground, bending over just like his first thug did. He landed hard on his knees first, then fell forward onto his hands, gasping wildly for air that wouldn't come into his lungs.

White spots flashed in his eyes. The pain was terrible, spreading through his whole chest and stomach, making him feel weak and sick.

Adam didn't stop there. He didn't pause or wait. The calm feeling he had before was gone, replaced by something cold and hard.

In one quick, smooth move, before Rey could even try to get up or crawl away, Adam jumped on top of Rey, sitting on his chest and pinning him down hard on the dirty ground. He used his weight well, making it impossible for Rey, who couldn't breathe right and was hurting badly, to escape.

Pressing his left knee hard on Rey's right arm, pinning it painfully to the ground next to Rey's head, he made sure Rey couldn't move or protect himself. Rey cried out loud as the pressure hurt his arm badly.

Then—

With Rey trapped underneath him, totally helpless, Adam started punching.

One.

His right fist smashed into the side of Rey's face. Rey's head hit the ground hard.

Two.

His left fist came right after, hitting near Rey's eye. Rey groaned in pain.

Three.

Another right fist hit Rey's jaw. The sound was dull and wet.

Each punch landed hard on Rey's face. Adam wasn't just swinging wildly. Every hit was planned, heavy, and aimed.

His cheeks swelled up right away, getting puffy and red from the hits.

His nose bled a lot, blood smearing all over his face and dripping onto the ground.

His lips split open and bled, making his cries for help sound like thick, choked noises.

Adam wasn't holding back. He showed no mercy, no sign he was going to stop. His fists slammed down over and over again, hitting with a steady, brutal rhythm. It was pure violence.

His own knuckles were getting scraped and bloody, covered in Rey's blood, but he didn't seem to notice or care. This wasn't self-defense anymore. This was payback, driven by an uncontrollable anger that had finally broken through his calm outside. It was raw, scary, and totally focused.

Rey's first moans of pain turned into muffled gurgles as his mouth filled with blood and his face got more and more messed up. He tried weakly to turn his head away, to protect himself somehow, but Adam's knee held his arm tight, and Adam's weight kept him pinned down. His body twitched weakly under the punches. His swollen face barely looked human anymore. It was swollen, bloody, and dirty.

Rey was starting to pass out. The world was becoming fuzzy with pain and the steady thudding sound of the punches. Just as Rey was about to lose consciousness completely— just as his body was about to go limp under the non-stop attack—

Suddenly, more people jumped out from the darker parts of the alley. His remaining friends, who must have been hiding nearby, maybe too scared to jump in earlier, finally did something.

Seeing how badly Adam was beating Rey, realizing he wasn't stopping, they tackled Adam hard from the side, pushing him off Rey.

The hit made Adam stumble backward several steps. He caught his balance, panting hard, his chest moving up and down quickly. The intense anger he felt seemed to break for a moment because of the interruption. He looked down at his hands, really seeing them for the first time since the fight started.

His hands were shaking, not because he was scared, but from the leftover adrenaline and the hard work of fighting.

His knuckles were raw, scraped, and covered in blood – Rey's blood.

For the first time, what he had just done really hit him. He stared at Rey's beaten, almost unmoving body lying on the ground.

He had nearly beaten Rey to death. The thought hit him like a punch.

One of Rey's friends—his face white with shock and fear as he looked from Rey's bloody face to Adam's bloody fists—stared at Adam with wide eyes.

"Are you crazy?!" he yelled, his voice shaking. "What the heck?! Were you trying to kill him?!"

The friends didn't wait for an answer. They rushed to Rey's side, all their earlier toughness gone, replaced by panic. They carefully grabbed Rey's arms and pulled his limp body up.

Rey, barely awake, stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily on his friends. He swayed back and forth, his head hanging down.

His swollen eyes blinked open, trying hard to focus through the pain and blood. He groaned, a low, weak sound.

Then, using the last bit of strength he had, finding one last spark of anger mixed with pure terror, he looked at Adam. His eyes weren't focused, clouded with pain, but you could still see hate and fear in them.

His voice was weak, shaking with fear and the pain of talking through cut lips.

"John... John... will deal with you." It sounded less like a threat and more like a scared prediction of bad things to come.

And with that, his friends didn't wait another second. They half-carried, half-dragged him away, quickly disappearing back into the shadows where they came from, leaving the alley. Their footsteps faded fast, leaving only the sounds of the city and Adam's own heavy breathing.

Adam stood alone, watching them disappear. The rush of the fight was starting to fade, leaving behind a deep ache in his muscles and a weird mix of cold feeling and leftover anger.

His fists, still red with blood, slowly clenched by his sides.

His breathing started to slow down, getting back to normal.

The night air felt cool on his skin. The fight was over for now. But the threat was still there. John.

And in that moment, standing there with the proof of his own shocking violence around him, one clear thought came into his mind—a simple, strong acceptance of what would happen next.

"Let him come."