My body was aching from the brutal beatdown I’d already endured, but I tried my best to put on a brave face. Everyone stood still, waiting to see who would make the first move. The only sound in the room was the whir of the mini saw that had fallen to the floor.

Rocco, the big dude, lunged at me first. I jumped to the side and narrowly avoided his attack. His buddy, James, rushed towards me and threw a couple of swift jabs. Thanks to the Brawler skill I got from the system, I blocked the first few punches. But I felt a sharp pain in my ribs and dropped my arm for a second, giving him just enough time to nail me in the face.

I stumbled backward and my back hit a wall. He followed that up with another jab, but I ducked to the side. He let out a yelp as his hand hit the wall I’d been leaning against. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ivan pick up the saw.

“There’s only one of him and three of us. We can take him!” James said.

He feinted a kick at my side and I instinctively tried to protect my ribs. That left me wide open for another punch to the face. I could feel a new bruise forming in that spot. James followed that up with some crazy combos that I could hardly keep up with. For every one of his punches or kicks I blocked, another two would get through my defenses.

It was becoming clear to me that this guy had some type of martial arts training. Brawler gave me some basic fighting abilities, but that’s all they were: basic. I’d done fine when I’d used the abilities in the past, but I was starting to get the feeling that it wouldn’t make me a match for someone who had real combat experience. I made a mental note to upgrade my Brawler skill to the next level as soon as I got a chance. James had the edge when it came to technique so I decided to use the best tool that I currently had in my arsenal: bullshitting.

I moved over to the table and picked up the butter knife. “Back the fuck up! I’m not afraid to use this!”

James was momentarily confused, which gave me enough time to kick him in the balls. He groaned and fell to the floor in a heap. Before I had a chance to feel relieved, Rocco lept over his incapacitated friend and rushed in to throw an uppercut at me. Ivan charged forward at the same time, swinging the mini saw in a horizontal arc. I jumped backward, just barely avoiding the saw.

Rocco on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. The power cut into the side of his torso, spraying blood and guts into the air like a lawn sprinkler. He let out a bloodcurdling scream that could probably be heard from space. I dropped the butter knife and put my hands up in a futile attempt to keep the blood from getting all over me. The sight of his innards being spewed across the room made me feel queasy.

“Turn it off! Turn it off!” He screamed, tears streaming down his face.

Ivan finally silenced the hum of the blood-soaked saw by yanking out the power cord. With a grunt, he pulled the power tool out of Rocco’s body, giving us all one last shower of viscera. Rocco pressed his hand against the gaping hole in his side, staring down at it in disbelief. The color drained from his face before he passed out in the pool of his blood.

I held onto my side and tried to sneak out of the room while they were dealing with that fiasco, but James grabbed onto my leg to hold me in place. His face was pulled into a determined grimace.

“You’re not going anywhere motherfucker!” He said.

I used my other leg to kick his arm repeatedly until he finally let go. Right when I reached the door, I heard the saw power up again. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Ivan fling the machine straight at my face like Captain America’s shield.

“Shit!” I yelled as I flung myself down to the ground.

The saw soared through the air and lodged itself into the wooden door. He must’ve been way stronger than he looked to pull off something like that. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might burst. If I’d reacted a second later, that probably would’ve been the end of me.

Ivan quickly unscrewed the rubbing alcohol that he’d put on the table earlier and shook the bottle in my direction. The liquid splashed onto the cuts and bruises that covered my body. It felt like someone had set me on fire from the inside. I let out a scream that was almost as loud as the one Rocco had made earlier and collapsed to the ground.

James had picked himself back up at this point. He took this opportunity to rush in and start stomping on my body. He stomped and kicked and snarled like a wild beast.

“You like that, bitch? That’s what happens when you fuck with the Carusos!” He said between kicks. “The only way you’re getting out of here is in a body bag!”

I curled up into a ball to minimize the damage he did, but it still hurt like hell and I was running out of energy. If I didn’t figure something out soon, I would be in serious trouble.

“Call for help! Rocco’s gonna die if we don’t do something fast!” James said to Ivan while he continued to assault me. Ivan nodded and ran back to the main part of the butcher shop. The saw was still lodged in the door even after it closed behind him.

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What should I do? I can’t stay like this forever. I need to get out of here before their friends show up, I thought.

I noticed something and it gave me an idea. It was a dumb idea, but I was grasping at straws at this point. Trying anything was better than doing nothing and letting myself be beaten to death. I had nothing to lose at this point.

“Wait! Wait! You can’t kill me! Won’t your boss be pissed if you let me die without finding out who our new supplier is?”

“I don’t give a fuck. It’s your fault that Rocco is bleeding out and you’re gonna pay. Plus you kicked me in the nuts! Who does that?!” He screamed. It seemed like his attacks got even more brutal after that.

I chuckled nervously and remained in my curled-up pose. “If you want to get technical, it’s Ivan’s fault that he’s bleeding out. And I’m sure you would’ve kicked a million people in the nuts if meant that you got to live.”

“Let’s see if you keep talking shit once my buddies get here,” James said. He was starting to breathe heavily now.

“Listen, I’m not trying to piss you off more. I’m ready to talk,” I said softly. “Lean in and I’ll tell you the name if you promise to let me go. I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough fighting for one night.”

I peeked out of my turtle pose to see him roll his eyes. “Fine, I promise. Now stand up and tell me.”

“I can’t get up. I think you broke my ribs. Just lean over,” I said.

He eyed me warily. “If this is some kind of trick, you’re dead. I’m serious.”

“I believe you,” I said.

He grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me in close. “Who’s the supplier?”

“As if I’d ever tell you,” I said, picking up the butter knife from the ground and jabbing it into his eye as hard as I could.

The knife plunged into his eyeball more easily than I would have expected. It was like cutting into a grape. James let out the most ear-shattering screech of the night and fell backward. His face was a twisted mask of agony as he writhed around in unimaginable pain. Being the nice guy that I am, I decided to end his suffering. I got up, kicked his head like a soccer ball and he passed out immediately.

This entire night had been beyond insane but I didn’t have any time to reflect on everything that had just happened. I entered the main part of the butcher shop and quickly searched for the belongings they’d taken from me while I was unconscious. Getting out of there before more Caruso thugs arrived to put me in the morgue was my top priority. I came across some rope in a closet and I decided to tie up James just in case he woke up. Then I continued to ransack the shop until I finally found my wallet and keys in Rocco’s pocket. It was hard not to gag when I moved his body so I could get my stuff from him. His chest was still rising and falling but things were looking dire for him. I let out a groan when I realized that he didn’t didn’t have my phone.

“Come on, come on. Where is it?” I mumbled.

I turned the place upside down but it was nowhere to be found. Before giving up and bailing, I decided to check James’ pocket and there it was. I let out a silent cheer and got ready to hightail it out of there. But there was one more thing I needed to do before I left. I pulled James’ phone out of his other pocket and held it over his face and it unlocked. It was a little surprising that Face ID still worked with a knife sticking out of his eye. I dialed 911 and the phone rang a few times before someone finally picked up.

“911, what’s your emergency?” said the operator. It was an older man who sounded very tired.

“There’s been an accident here with an electric saw. This guy is bleeding out fast and needs help,” I said.

They might have been psychos who tried to kill me, but that didn’t mean that I wanted their deaths weighing on my conscience. I already had enough things to worry about.

I looked down at James’ unconscious body. “Oh, and there’s a second person here who also has some injuries. He took a butter knife to the eye.”

There was a brief pause. “I’m sorry. Did you say he was stabbed in the eye with a butter knife?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Can you tell me your name and location, sir?” the operator said.

“Um… I’m not sure what the address is,” I said, sidestepping the question about my name, “Are you able to track the GPS location of this phone or ping a cell phone tower or something?”

“Yes, but that will take some time,” He said. “Please stay on the line.”

“Get here as soon as you can. Their injuries are serious,” I said. I placed the phone on the floor without ending the call and left the butcher’s shop.

The sun was rising when I got outside. The Carusos had held me captive even longer than I’d originally thought. I took off running at full speed. Well, as fast as someone with a shit ton of bruises could move. There was no telling when more of them would show up and I had no desire to find out what would happen when they did. The cool morning air flowed through my hair as I zipped down the long city blocks. I made a couple of turns on random streets to make sure I wasn’t taking a predictable path. After a few minutes of running, I finally stopped in front of a Starbucks to catch my breath.

QUEST “THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION” COMPLETE

500 XP AWARDED

NEW SKILLS AVAILABLE

If the system was saying that I’d completed that quest, then that probably meant I was far enough away from that butcher shop that none of the Carusos would find me. Just to be safe, I headed into the Starbucks, ordered some coffee, and sat at one of the tables. It was probably better for me not to be walking around the streets in case someone was looking for me. I was one of the few customers in there and the cashier kept giving me weird looks, which was understandable since I probably looked like I’d just gotten out of a car accident. Maybe coming to Starbucks wasn’t such a good idea after all. I was too conspicuous.

A few gulps of coffee slid down my throat. I wasn’t sure what tasted sweeter; the sugary drink or the sense of freedom I was experiencing. A drop of blood slid off my face and landed on the table, so I started dabbing my face with paper towels. The cashier gave me even more concerned looks and pulled out their phone. That probably wasn’t good.

I took out my phone l and called Angelo’s number. “Morning, cuz. Hey, could you give me a lift? It’s been a long night,” I said.

The sirens of an ambulance were blaring off in the distance.