The Devil's Harem

“I knew I shouldn’t have wasted my money on these shitty ass shoes,” Alex cursed, looking at his shoes, “I had a feeling I would end up slipping. Luckily I have good pants, but man, Fuck! My back.”

Alex had just taken a step towards Ibn-e-Batuta when he slipped and fell on his back. And it was all because of the new shiny black shoes with pointed toes that he bought today for this dinner. And now he regretted listening to his mother. It was his mother who recommended the shoes after she had seen the same on some fashion show. Lucky for him, he did well to ignore his mother’s recommendation of those tight pants.

When Alex first heard that she was recommending something from a fashion show, he was already sceptical and reluctant to go through with it. On the walk, they can make you wear anything. A tent, a balloon, or they might even end up wrapping you in nothing but plastic. And it was all in the name of fashion. Fashion that at least Alex did not understand, and rightly so. Because of that fashion, he blew up nearly a thousand bucks and was now lying on the ground, holding his back.

‘I should stop her from watching those phoney shows. They are just like those five-minute craft videos. Utterly and totally useless,’ Alex thought, but then his thoughts were broken when he felt his pant go wet.

‘Don’t tell me...’ Alex went pale, thinking about the possibility. His hands started running all over his pants and the floor with the worst possibility in mind. And when he felt something wet all over the place, his heart sank. He had just made fun of Brad, and now here he was.

‘But wait a minute... I never felt the urge,’ Alex thought and looked at his hands. And they were red. It was the blood he slipped on. He did not know if he was alive or dead, but it was all because of the man who was stabbed earlier.

.....

“Hush... that’s good then,” a smile appeared on his face, and Alex was finally relieved that he did not relieve himself in front of everyone.

“Are you alright?” Veronica asked. Alex could hear the tapping sound of her heels s she made her way toward him.

“I am alright,” Alex raised his hand, “Stay where you are. I need to talk to the big bossy dude here,” Alex stopped her advance and got up with the support of his hands.

“... Sorry for that unsightly show, but let’s continue,” Alex adjusted his clothes, “So where was...” Alex, wanting to continue the conversation, looked up, but Ibn was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh...” Alex looked around and found Ibn standing by the table where they were having dinner, “Man, that’s rude...” Alex complained.

“Not only did you not give me a hand when I was down, but you are also eating shamelessly the food we paid for,” Alex slowly and carefully walked towards Ibn, trying not to slip again.

But Ibn paid no attention to Alex. With his legs crossed over one another and trembling, Ibn continued to lean by the table.

“Quit ignoring me, man,” Alex tapped on Ibn’s shoulder and spoke. But this time, Alex felt something was off with Ibn’s posture. It reminded him of something, “Hey, you all right, my man? Say something.”

But again, Ibn didn’t even let out a squeak in response to Alex’s question. Curious, Alex’s gaze followed Ibn’s hand and found him holding on to his crotch while he bit his lips in a desperate attempt to not let a groan out.

And now his brain clicked, and he remembered something. Just when he took a step forward toward Ibn and slipped, Alex, to not hurt his back, put his hand down for support. And in the process, his left leg raised and struck something.

“Did I...?” Alex leaned over Ibn’s shoulder and whispered. And finally, Ibn looked up at Alex. And Alex could see so much on the poor guy’s face. There was Anger, complaint, pain and helplessness all at the same time on his face. And the teary eyes made Alex feel even more guilty.

“I am sor...” Even though Alex did not like the guy, he could sympathize with him. This was not pain. It was something more.

You got suspended from college?

It’s fine. It will pass.

Lost your job?

Nothing to worry about.

Lost you home?

Don’t worry. This, too, shall pass.

Had a bad breakup?

She just wasn’t your soulmate.

Got hit on your balls?

It’s DEATH! Every second feels like an eternity. The stomach feels a churn, and there is not a single word in any dictionary that would help you describe yourself.

Alex wanted to console and share Ibn’s pain. But before he could do so, one of the lackeys, who had nothing to do and felt the pain of Ibn’s balls more than anyone, came running at Alex brandishing a knife at him.

Alex saw the guy running toward him from the corner of his eyes, and when he was close enough, Alex twisted his body, dodged the knife and entangled his arm around the man’s.

“When the elders are talking, little kids should stay out of it. Didn’t your mother teach you that?” With his arm coiled around the man’s arm like a snake, Alex said and smacked the man right in his face, on his nose.

“... What if I didn’t see that coming? Or what if I was not fast enough? You really wanted to kill me, dude,” Alex spoke and punched him this time.

“... Still not letting go of the knife? Well, aren’t you a mulish one?” Alex punched the guy again right at his nose. Alex then turned and, with his back against the man’s chest, hit his hand hard to undo the man’s grip on the knife. And he succeeded. But...

“Auggghhhh...” Ibn finally said something, but it was a cry of despair. When the knife dropped off the man’s hand, Alex let go of his arm and tried to grab the knife. He wanted to have a weapon with him to intimidate the rest of the guys or hold the shorty, their boss, hostage.

And Alex did succeed in catching the knife. But the momentum was such that he followed the trajectory of the knife, and with some extra stability because of his grip, stabbed Ibn right between his butt cheeks.

“Oops... That was not what I had in mind,” Alex was quick to let go of the knife and stepped back a couple of steps.

It was like the final nail in the coffin. Groaning and moaning in pain, Ibn slowly reached out to his back, trying to feel the knife. But as soon as his hand disturbed the knife, the pain was so much and sudden that hissing in pain, Ibn collapsed to the ground.

With his back towards Alex, Ibn wriggled and punched the floor in pain but didn’t dare to move. A couple of the guys ran towards their boss, hoping to help him, while the others surrounded Alex.

“Guys... I really didn’t mean to do it,” Alex tried to explain, “In fact, I was trying to save him.”

But no one was ready to listen. As soon as Alex finished speaking, another restless guy swung a punch at him. But Alex saw that coming from miles and easily dodged it. He took a step back and leaned backwards to avoid the hit. But just as he did that, someone from the back kicked him hard. Losing his balance, Alex stumbled forward and landed in the arms of the third guy.

And with that began the game of ‘Passing the Alex,’ they would punch, kick or throw Alex to pass him in the circle.

“C’mon, guys... Hahaha... It was fun, but let’s stop now. I am feeling dizzy,” Alex asked of the boys. Even though his lower lip was cut due to the punch from one of the men, and his back was hurting, Alex wasn’t scared of the men surrounding him. He wanted to resolve everything diplomatically, that’s all.

But the men surrounding Alex ignored him yet again. They were having fun. For them, Alex was prey, trapped with no way out. They are going to play him to death.

“I said enough,” as soon as Alex was pushed from one man to the other, Alex spun on his feet and, building the momentum, punched the guy in front of him right in the jaw. The punch caught the man by surprise and, before anyone could understand anything, one of them was lying on the ground motionless.

“Ouch...” Alex waved his wrists in pain. The power was fine, but the contact was not the best. His fist twisted right when he made contact with the jaw, “Fuck, I blew it.”

But even though he complained, Alex was vigilant. There was no knowing when he would get attacked again. But taking advantage of the moment when they all were a bit hesitant to attach, Alex walked to the table and stood with his back against it.

“1... 2... 3...,” Alex counted, “1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... Ahh... this is going to be tough,” Alex sighed after he was done counting. Three was the number of men who were down. One was put down by Ibn. The second was Ibn himself, which was again an unexpected development. Generally, bosses are the last ones to go down. And the last one was the man Alex punched down just now.

Now, after the four men left in the beginning, only ten men remained in the room. And now that the three are out of order, seven remained. But unexpectedly, Alex did not fear the situation. He wanted to avoid it, no doubt, but he was not afraid in the slightest.

He already has experience in getting beaten up by a group of henchmen in the past, and now he has the opportunity to better his record.

“Now, shall we dance, boys?”

* * * * *