The two men climbed onto the cart daggers raised. They plunged their blades into the thick fabric and slashed it open revealing a face. It had dried blood on its nose and its skin was a lifeless grey. It’s nose was entirely missing revealing the flesh inside.

Maxwell peeked at them from behind the cart. The sight of a dead person made his stomach churn. If this had been him of just a couple days ago he would surely have vomited but considering everything else he’d seen since then it was…expected. He pushed back the memories of his mother’s lifeless corpse on that funeral day.

Are these people graverobbers? His head was full of questions. The last thing he remembered was his battered body falling and crashing against the rocky face of that cliff. Did all those bags contain corpses? Did they think he was dead? Then again- Maxwell glanced at his beat up body, why would one think any different.

He didn’t have time for thoughts now. They searched inside the bags. Their faces were twisted in concentration as they searched with their hands as if they were reaching for coins at the bottom of a purse.

“Oh,” said the tall one of them holding up a small pouch. He shook it once. The jingling was heavenly to his ears. “This might be a good haul, I already found something.”

“Just try not to keep it all for yourself,” said the short one.

The other man snickered. “Of course, but you know me, My fingers sometimes have a mind of their own.”

The other burst out laughing too. The stout one stepped off of the cart for a second.

“How much do you wanna bet?”

“I’ll bet the pouch,” said the tall one.

He inhaled deeply, tensing his muscles. He slammed his shoulder into the cart sending it rocking forward. It knocked Maxwell forward and slid across the cobblestone road. He scraped the skin of his hands leaving a trail on the ground. It didn’t hurt yet but he knew he would be feeling it if he survived this.

They both laughed. “Damn I lost, he was knocked pretty far” cursed the tall one.

Dammit, they knew I was here! Maxwell felt fear in his heart. They were talking about me this entire time, they were betting on how I would react. Adrenaline coursed through him.

He scrambled to his feet and took off. A hand wrapped around his wrist but he shrugged it off. He didn’t have to think about it, it was his natural instinct. He was a deer speeding away at the first sight of danger. He didn’t know he was still capable of that sensation. He was surprised to find he was annoyed. He thought was over being afraid. I can’t believe it, I still want to live so badly. I don’t want to feel pain, I don’t want to suffer.

He couldn’t run far. The alleyway was simply a dead end and he pressed his back against it. They would be upon him any second. He had to be ready.

He poised his hands in front of him. The men were still back in the cart rummaging through the corpses.

“Ohh, these are nice, “said one of them raising a pair of shoes. “They’re in good condition, Yom will be pleased.”

He tilted his head to the side. Why weren’t they coming after him. He was sure he had felt a hand grab him. He looked at his wrist. He screamed. A half-rotten hand was wrapped around his forearm. He grimaced. Have I forgotten already, just like with my mother that’s no longer a human, there’s nothing left, it’s just an empty husk.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

He violently shook it off. They were making a mockery of him. Those twisted…He heard them snicker, it wasn’t any innocent snickering of course, it was like bullies in class who managed to get away with throwing wads of wet paper at their victim.

These men, who he considered no more than the bottom of the rung were leagues ahead of him. They could do whatever they wanted to him.

They began throwing limbs at him. Arms, legs. He simply stood there tanking the blows. He wouldn’t let them control him. The slurry of blood and and guts rained down. He firmly kept his mouth closed.

The taller one stepped of. He walked forward confidently.

Strong arms grabbed him. His feet dangled helplessly in the air. Crap, I couldn’t even react fast enough. In this body he was quite a bit younger and shorter than he had been in his previous life.

“Man, why is your body so cold!” he exclaimed. He brought Maxwell’s ear to his face.

“Hey you little street rat!” sneered the man. His breath stank like dog vomit. “ Don’t think we don’t know what you’re doing here, you’re here to steal our loot, I don’t know how you found out about this but don’t think you’ll get off easy!”

“Wait, I wasn’t, I don’t know how I got here, I was on the cart,” he said waving his arms.

They roared in laughter. “This kids hilarious, he rose from the dead like Luminus!” He nearly dropped Maxwell in his laughter.

You’re funny, I’ll let you get off easy. Normally I would cut out your tongue, gouge out your eyes as well as both your thumbs for good measure but I’ve decided against it.”

He let go of Maxwell. He sheathed his blade.

“I’ll beat you within an inch of your life instead.” Maxwell stood there frozen. His gears turned how was he supposed to get out of this? He gestured toward Maxwell.

“Come on, make the first move!” he said angrily. “You’re a man aren’t you!”

They were toying with him. He threw a punch but it was easily sidestepped. In the same instant he nailed Maxwell straight in the stomach with a short uppercut. He fell to his knees. He heaved gasping for breath. His vision was going in and out of focus. The coldness in his muscles was slowing down his movements.

They laughed. It reminded him of hyenas. It was cruel. They were no good bullies. He disliked people like them. Those that took pleasure in others pain.

He got to his feet. He had a plan. He raised his hands.

“Ohh, so eager to get beat up again.” he said.

“Not quite,” he said. I only have one shot at this, remember how it's done. I’m not afraid of you, I’ve dealt with far worse. He took a deep breath. He darted forward. The man jabbed a hand straight forward. But he dodged it. You fool, it was easy to predict his strike when I’m going straight.

He pivoted on his left leg raising his knee and kicked straight into the man’s side. That’s right in the liver! The man doubled over, curling in the fetal position. Maxwell’s foot slipped and he fell too.

The other thug guffawed, slapping his knee. “He got you got Null!”

Null jumped back to his feet retching. “That was a lucky shot,” he panted.

“I wasn’t trying to steal anything just let me go,” said Maxwell.

“Like hell I am! “He shouted. I figured as much, thought Maxwell.

Null rained blows at Maxwell. He stepped back avoiding some but he stood no chance. One clipped him on the cheek, the other on his ear, another in his nose. He fell to the hard ground. The short one stepped in as well and kicked him in the ribs. He didn’t have time to react. In agony yet again. It felt like his skin was shifting and twisting. He grabbed the man’s leg. His eyes widened. That’s so warm, He could feel the heat emanating from the man through his pants leg. “Give me that,” he growled. Maxwell’s breath misted and crystalised. Ice crept up the man’s leg, freezing him solid.

“What the hell!” shouted Kur. He then stepped back out of reach. But Maxwell was faster. I can’t let this opportunity slip away. An area of sub-zero temperature was forming around Maxwell. It froze the ground beneath Kur’s feet causing him to slip. He was frozen solid too within seconds.