By Your Side. (Sequel to Art Girl and Wolf Boy)

By Your Side. (5)

  Warning: This gets kind of...how do I put this? Graphic and icky. Meaning that if you are the type who can't stand blood loss or gore, you might want to skip some parts. I'll warn you.   Enjoy! It's kind of sad, but heartwarming in a weird way at the same time. And go easy on Archer, kay? He's kind of in between a rock and a hard place here. And just so you know, Phoebe's facing her own problems during all this so don't go off on me.

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Archer's POV:

I crashed into a tree and got up with a grunt to see the guy running at me, his face contorted in an irritating smirk. He must've though he had already won the battle.

Cocky punk.

I narrowed my eyes and he jumped into the air, leg poised to kick. I pushed off the ground, landing back on the balls of my feet and wobbling before regaining my balance. I sighed in relief before a foot slammed into my back. I gritted my teeth, swung around, and landed a fist into the guy's face. He was obviously surprised. He evilly grinned. "You're gonna pay for that."  

Bringing a leg up, he kicked. I ducked and didn't even have time to move when he brutally grabbed me by the hair and socked me in the gut. I felt something crack.

I grabbed him by his wrists and pushed down on the veins. He loosened his grip a bit, but that was enough for me to jump forward and headbutt him in the ribs. He stumbled backward and I kicked him in the chest, wincing when my chest shifted.

He fell backwards but was up in seconds, punching me in the face. My bottom lip split and I the punch sent me reeling back but he was relentless, leaping on me and starting to repeatedly punch me in the face.  

I grabbed him by his neck, choking him, but the punk didn't stop. Darkness began to over some me. As if by their own accord, my hands started to loosen from around his neck.  

I laid back, watching as he hit me. He seemed intent on either knocking me unconscious or killing me. Phoebe whimpered and I heard the brushing of leaves as she tried to crawl to help me. No. Stay where you are, please. I silently begged.  

He got up, walked over to Phoebe, and pulled her up by her hair. "Shut up," he growled. She glared at him coldly. He barely flinched. "Ah, a fiery one. The professor will love you, he loves those who never give up...even if they have been injected with a serum that makes their body paralyzed. Too bad I only brought one." He traced her face with his thumb, almost caressing it. It made me feel sick.  

"Keep your filthy hands off me," She snapped weakly.  

He pinched her cheek hard and laughed. I pushed off the ground with my elbows, sticks cracking beneath them. The man snapped his head toward me, looking bored. "Oh, you again. Ready for round two? Though, the last fight wasn't much of a round, just one man beating the crap out of a prissy--oof!"

I took the opportunity to tackle him while he was monologuing, taking him down. We rolled for a little while, me landing on top and punching him in the face. He kicked me off and I flew into another damn tree. I was hauled into the air by the front of my shirt and slammed against the bark with one hand. He punched, aiming for my face but I moved my head quickly and all he caught was bark. His finger and he flinched. I took that hesitation and slammed my forehead into his, blinking when white spots appeared in front of my eyes.

Goddamn it, that hurt.   He staggered backwards and I leapt on  him, fist raised and ready to punch his teeth in.  

Something cold and metallic feeling pressed against my stomach. Before I could shove myself away, then gun went off with a quiet 'ping'. I felt my skin split once, then again as I fell to the side, pressing my hands to my side.