You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry (PG-13) challenge #110
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:02 pm
This is a sequel of sorts to my story "It's not easy". If you don't want to be spoiled, go there first, you find it here:
It's not easy
But it can also stand on its own.
Unbetaed, the mistakes are mine, Mick and his companion aren't.
------------------------------
Chicago had a certain air. The windy city, the city of crime, but even crime was run down since the 30s when Prohibition and Al Capone made it famous. There was the odd charme of harbour warehouses, old buildings, narrow streets. You could easily imagine being in the 20s or 30s, listening to early jazz or swing.
Since Mick was new to Chicago – in fact he hadn’t left the L.A. area much at all since the war – Bruce decided to give him the tour. They would work together after all, so they needed to get to know each other better, and what better way than walking around and talking about life.
Mick was quite impressed with the differences and the similarities to his hometown. There was a lot of light, high towering buildings, most of them older than in L.A.. The city stretched more on plain ground, not on the hills like in his town. He liked downtown, and there was still a bit of life even though it was past midnight.
They left the lights and sights and headed for the harbour front. The buildings here were not as flash, the run-down warehouses made for a more grungy atmosphere. Mick suddenly stopped walking and hushed his companion with a gesture. He closed his eyes and took a long sniff, moving his head from left to right. Bruce stood by, alerted that something wasn’t right, but not able to sense what this was about. With a whoosh of air Mick was gone. Bruce hardly got a chance to look around when he heard the vampire’s voice softly from the left: „You coming?“
He ran up to the small alley that Mick had vanished into. It was dark and he could hardly see the outlines of garbage cans and house steps in the fog. It seemed that his friend had no problems in that regard. Bruce heard a shuffle in the distance and hurried up. What he saw made him gasp.
A few youngsters, late teens, clad in leather, were circling a little boy, not older than maybe ten, and taunting him with words and knifes. The kid had a bag of sweets that he held protectively in front of himself, and he was besides himself with fear, close to nervous breakdown. His clothes and haircut showed that he was from the better part of town.
Mick was standing to the side, knowing well that if he intervened, anyone of them could put that knife to work on the boy.
Hesitant Mick took action. „Hey, what are you doing?“
„The little snot here lost his group and stumbled upon something we didn’t want him to see. So we are just taking a little fun. Trick or treat?“
Mick had already smelled what they didn’t want the boy to see: a corpse was lying a few yards away besides a dumpster. They would kill the little witness, there was no way around it.
Mick gestured for Bruce to come nearer. He didn’t want to risk the man to get angry, but he needed their mind to be distracted by having two targets – three with the kid. Maybe they would split up, which would make it easier to get the boy to safety.
There were five of them, not one bigger than Mick, but he didn’t want to expose himself and his friend, so he had to be mindful of the knives.
He decided to taunt them. „Hey, you know, the boy hasn’t seen more than I have. Why don’t you take it out on me?“
They shuffled, watching their leader for clues what to do. They discussed in hushed words if he was bluffing or not. Of course he could hear them.
„I’m not bluffing. There’s a dead body at the dumpster over there. I could call the police, now.“
What he wanted, happened, but it happened quicker than he had thought. Two of them attacked him, two lunged for Bruce, and one had the little boy in a grip and threatened him with the knife at his throat.
Mick hit the first one in the stomach, kicked the second one in the knee and used a karate move to his neck to knock him out. In an instant he was behind the leader and knocked the knife out of his grasp, freeing the boy. He lifted the guy and threw him into a wall.
Bruce was circled by the other two. Because he had been staying out of it, they didn’t know if they should hurt him. Bruce’ eyes were shining in an unnatural lime green. Mick was alarmed. He grabbed one of the attackers from behind. The youngster turned around and stabbed Mick with the knife.
Mick roared and vamped out. He kicked the rowdy away and grabbed the knife to take it out. But by now Bruce had had enough. Seeing his friend attacked, assuming he was hurt badly, he sunk to his knees, growling and moaning. His clothes ripped open, buttons flying. His skin became a sickly green palor, and he was growing at an alarmingly fast rate until he towered over the others by a few feet. The stupefied youngsters watched him, rooted to their place by shock. Even the boy stopped crying and sat on the road with open mouth.
Then the Hulk roared and threw one of the teens into a dumpster. Mick took his cue, grabbed the boy and ran for his life. He didn’t know yet how much control the creature had, and if it discerned friend from foe when in full adrenaline mode.
Mick turned a corner and stopped. Setting the boy down, he took a glance back. The youngsters were either unconscious or incapacitated enough not to follow them or run away, but the Hulk was gone.
Mick faced a hard choice. Going after his friend and leaving the boy alone, or…
He placed the boy at a staircase and zipped him up. „You sit tight, buddy, all right? I’ll send help.“
Walking back to the war field and beyond Mick placed a call to the police telling them where to find a lost boy to bring him home, and a couple of thugs, and a corpse. They would never believe the stories the kid would tell about a big green monster and a vampire coming to his rescue. Could have been a killer cat and a green slimy something. It was Halloween after all.
He ran into the direction the Hulk had taken, changing to vamp speed as soon as he was out of sight. Not that it mattered now anymore. He used the creature’s scent to find him, the strange mixture of too much adrenaline and a chemical smell that wasn’t there when Bruce was himself. The trail wasn’t that hard to follow, as there were shattered picket fences and garbage cans littering the way.
The trail ended in a park. The Hulk was still angry, ripping bushes out left and right. Mick speeded up and put himself in the way of the creature. The green monster didn’t stop, but shoved Mick to the side. The vampire was smashed into a tree, but recovered quickly and again faced the Hulk. Mick vamped, showed his fangs and roared. The creature hesitated, recognizing a kindred spirit, another strong predator.
Mick’s eyes turned brown. „Come on, Bruce. There’s no need for that anymore. Calm down. The boy is safe. You can’t kill me anyway. I’m no threat to you. I’m your friend.“
Mick tried to calm the Hulk down with short sentences, talking like he would to a spooked horse or a scared dog. The Hulk listened intently, laying his head to one side. Suddenly he turned away and ran off. But there was no more aggression in his body language, only fear and shame.
In a thicket of bushes Mick found the small man, clad only in tattered pants, exhausted beyond recognition. When Mick approached, Bruce retreated back into the dark, until he recognized him a moment later.
„Hey, buddy,“ Mick greeted. „You ready to go home?“
„Sorry, Mick. I lost control again.“ Bruce sounded ashamed.
„Don’t fret. It happens. You didn’t hurt anyone innocent, but you scared the thugs and saved the boy. They won’t tell this story the way it happened, I guess.“
„I hurt you.“
„I heal fast, don’t worry. See?“ He showed him where the knife had penetrated his shirt, the skin was healed. The bruises from when the Hulk hit him weren’t visible anymore.
Bruce nodded. He shivered in the late night air. Mick offered him his duster. Bruce gave him a questioning look. Mick grinned. „I’m never cold, buddy. I sleep in a freezer.“
„Really?“
„Besides, why do you rip your shirt, but not your pants?“
„Dunno. I tend to buy the stretchy kind. And it seems that I’m not growing nearly as much in that area as everywhere else.“ He gave him a mischievous grin. „Bummer, that.“
Mick laughed. „You mean, like a bodybuilder on steroids?“
Bruce gave him a playful shove. „Don’t make me angry. But – thanks for bringing me back. I need someone like you to take care of me.“
„Seems that I need someone like you, too. We could take turns in being the hero.“
„All right. Let’s ride into the sunset together. Or sunrise, as it is.“
On their way back to the car the men were both deep in thought. Both had tried to deal with life alone, but failed. Now, they had the chance of having a brother of kind. It was a nice feeling. Halloween was a family tradition, after all.
It's not easy
But it can also stand on its own.
Unbetaed, the mistakes are mine, Mick and his companion aren't.
------------------------------
Chicago had a certain air. The windy city, the city of crime, but even crime was run down since the 30s when Prohibition and Al Capone made it famous. There was the odd charme of harbour warehouses, old buildings, narrow streets. You could easily imagine being in the 20s or 30s, listening to early jazz or swing.
Since Mick was new to Chicago – in fact he hadn’t left the L.A. area much at all since the war – Bruce decided to give him the tour. They would work together after all, so they needed to get to know each other better, and what better way than walking around and talking about life.
Mick was quite impressed with the differences and the similarities to his hometown. There was a lot of light, high towering buildings, most of them older than in L.A.. The city stretched more on plain ground, not on the hills like in his town. He liked downtown, and there was still a bit of life even though it was past midnight.
They left the lights and sights and headed for the harbour front. The buildings here were not as flash, the run-down warehouses made for a more grungy atmosphere. Mick suddenly stopped walking and hushed his companion with a gesture. He closed his eyes and took a long sniff, moving his head from left to right. Bruce stood by, alerted that something wasn’t right, but not able to sense what this was about. With a whoosh of air Mick was gone. Bruce hardly got a chance to look around when he heard the vampire’s voice softly from the left: „You coming?“
He ran up to the small alley that Mick had vanished into. It was dark and he could hardly see the outlines of garbage cans and house steps in the fog. It seemed that his friend had no problems in that regard. Bruce heard a shuffle in the distance and hurried up. What he saw made him gasp.
A few youngsters, late teens, clad in leather, were circling a little boy, not older than maybe ten, and taunting him with words and knifes. The kid had a bag of sweets that he held protectively in front of himself, and he was besides himself with fear, close to nervous breakdown. His clothes and haircut showed that he was from the better part of town.
Mick was standing to the side, knowing well that if he intervened, anyone of them could put that knife to work on the boy.
Hesitant Mick took action. „Hey, what are you doing?“
„The little snot here lost his group and stumbled upon something we didn’t want him to see. So we are just taking a little fun. Trick or treat?“
Mick had already smelled what they didn’t want the boy to see: a corpse was lying a few yards away besides a dumpster. They would kill the little witness, there was no way around it.
Mick gestured for Bruce to come nearer. He didn’t want to risk the man to get angry, but he needed their mind to be distracted by having two targets – three with the kid. Maybe they would split up, which would make it easier to get the boy to safety.
There were five of them, not one bigger than Mick, but he didn’t want to expose himself and his friend, so he had to be mindful of the knives.
He decided to taunt them. „Hey, you know, the boy hasn’t seen more than I have. Why don’t you take it out on me?“
They shuffled, watching their leader for clues what to do. They discussed in hushed words if he was bluffing or not. Of course he could hear them.
„I’m not bluffing. There’s a dead body at the dumpster over there. I could call the police, now.“
What he wanted, happened, but it happened quicker than he had thought. Two of them attacked him, two lunged for Bruce, and one had the little boy in a grip and threatened him with the knife at his throat.
Mick hit the first one in the stomach, kicked the second one in the knee and used a karate move to his neck to knock him out. In an instant he was behind the leader and knocked the knife out of his grasp, freeing the boy. He lifted the guy and threw him into a wall.
Bruce was circled by the other two. Because he had been staying out of it, they didn’t know if they should hurt him. Bruce’ eyes were shining in an unnatural lime green. Mick was alarmed. He grabbed one of the attackers from behind. The youngster turned around and stabbed Mick with the knife.
Mick roared and vamped out. He kicked the rowdy away and grabbed the knife to take it out. But by now Bruce had had enough. Seeing his friend attacked, assuming he was hurt badly, he sunk to his knees, growling and moaning. His clothes ripped open, buttons flying. His skin became a sickly green palor, and he was growing at an alarmingly fast rate until he towered over the others by a few feet. The stupefied youngsters watched him, rooted to their place by shock. Even the boy stopped crying and sat on the road with open mouth.
Then the Hulk roared and threw one of the teens into a dumpster. Mick took his cue, grabbed the boy and ran for his life. He didn’t know yet how much control the creature had, and if it discerned friend from foe when in full adrenaline mode.
Mick turned a corner and stopped. Setting the boy down, he took a glance back. The youngsters were either unconscious or incapacitated enough not to follow them or run away, but the Hulk was gone.
Mick faced a hard choice. Going after his friend and leaving the boy alone, or…
He placed the boy at a staircase and zipped him up. „You sit tight, buddy, all right? I’ll send help.“
Walking back to the war field and beyond Mick placed a call to the police telling them where to find a lost boy to bring him home, and a couple of thugs, and a corpse. They would never believe the stories the kid would tell about a big green monster and a vampire coming to his rescue. Could have been a killer cat and a green slimy something. It was Halloween after all.
He ran into the direction the Hulk had taken, changing to vamp speed as soon as he was out of sight. Not that it mattered now anymore. He used the creature’s scent to find him, the strange mixture of too much adrenaline and a chemical smell that wasn’t there when Bruce was himself. The trail wasn’t that hard to follow, as there were shattered picket fences and garbage cans littering the way.
The trail ended in a park. The Hulk was still angry, ripping bushes out left and right. Mick speeded up and put himself in the way of the creature. The green monster didn’t stop, but shoved Mick to the side. The vampire was smashed into a tree, but recovered quickly and again faced the Hulk. Mick vamped, showed his fangs and roared. The creature hesitated, recognizing a kindred spirit, another strong predator.
Mick’s eyes turned brown. „Come on, Bruce. There’s no need for that anymore. Calm down. The boy is safe. You can’t kill me anyway. I’m no threat to you. I’m your friend.“
Mick tried to calm the Hulk down with short sentences, talking like he would to a spooked horse or a scared dog. The Hulk listened intently, laying his head to one side. Suddenly he turned away and ran off. But there was no more aggression in his body language, only fear and shame.
In a thicket of bushes Mick found the small man, clad only in tattered pants, exhausted beyond recognition. When Mick approached, Bruce retreated back into the dark, until he recognized him a moment later.
„Hey, buddy,“ Mick greeted. „You ready to go home?“
„Sorry, Mick. I lost control again.“ Bruce sounded ashamed.
„Don’t fret. It happens. You didn’t hurt anyone innocent, but you scared the thugs and saved the boy. They won’t tell this story the way it happened, I guess.“
„I hurt you.“
„I heal fast, don’t worry. See?“ He showed him where the knife had penetrated his shirt, the skin was healed. The bruises from when the Hulk hit him weren’t visible anymore.
Bruce nodded. He shivered in the late night air. Mick offered him his duster. Bruce gave him a questioning look. Mick grinned. „I’m never cold, buddy. I sleep in a freezer.“
„Really?“
„Besides, why do you rip your shirt, but not your pants?“
„Dunno. I tend to buy the stretchy kind. And it seems that I’m not growing nearly as much in that area as everywhere else.“ He gave him a mischievous grin. „Bummer, that.“
Mick laughed. „You mean, like a bodybuilder on steroids?“
Bruce gave him a playful shove. „Don’t make me angry. But – thanks for bringing me back. I need someone like you to take care of me.“
„Seems that I need someone like you, too. We could take turns in being the hero.“
„All right. Let’s ride into the sunset together. Or sunrise, as it is.“
On their way back to the car the men were both deep in thought. Both had tried to deal with life alone, but failed. Now, they had the chance of having a brother of kind. It was a nice feeling. Halloween was a family tradition, after all.
These two guys really can relate to each other...
Mick and Bruce worked very well together, and were able to rescue the little boy. They are of a similar nature, and thus understand one another. It must be nice for them, to finally have someone else around. 
I love to read their stories. 
