Pain is good. Pain is my friend. If I can feel pain, I can think. If I can think, I can survive. I repeated to myself over and over again.

The men, spurred by their leader, attacked me simultaneously. They didn't have the courtesy to attack one by one, Hollywood style.

My ribs groaned in frustration but I paid it no mind. A hand grabbed my arm, and I whacked it with my full strength. Something crack and the owner howled in pain.

Another hand shot out and clutched my neck. I grabbed it and gave it a twist. Something snapped and another pained scream pierced the air.

This went on and on, but the men were relentless, kicking and grabbing me. I evaded most of their attacks, but several still landed on me. There were just too many hands attacking me all at once. I was starting to tire and the pain was becoming unbearable. I had to get out of here. With great effort, I pushed and kicked them away from me. I ran the moment I was free. They shouted and laughed as they ran in pursuit.

"Run, bitch! We'll catch you soon enough!" they screamed.

My chest protested at the abuse and I heaved, struggling to breathe, but I continued to run. The end of the alley was in sight. I groaned, however,  at the big fence standing between me and relative safety. This was usually open during the day. I didn't know they close it at night. I tried to climb it, but for the life of me, my battered torso would not let me.

"Not so cocky now, are you?" their leader said, smugly.

I did not answer him. I was busy locating stones and hard objects within my immediate vicinity. One of them made a lunge at me, I evaded him, picked a pebble and flicked it at his forehead. I was already tired and in pain. My attack did not have my usual lethal force, but he yelled and clutched his forehead. It was bleeding. I gathered more pebbles.

"Who's next?" I asked my attackers. All of them, except their leader, took a step back.

"What are you doing?! Get her!" their leader yelled. They all lunged at me as instructed. I flicked pebbles at them. It slowed them a bit, but it was not enough to deter them from coming at me. I had to kick them to push them off me.

Pain is good. Pain is my friend. I can survive. I can survive this. I repeated to myself again and again. They kept coming at me, and I kept flicking pebbles at them, punching and kicking those who ventured too close for comfort.

All, except their boss, was already bleeding, but I was losing strength fast. My eyes connected with their leader and he gave me a knowing smile. I flicked the next stone at him. It hit his face, and the smile vanished.

"Argh! Get her! What is taking you so long?!" he shouted at his men as he nursed his bleeding forehead.

The pebble population in my general vicinity was starting to dwindle. Soon, I would have to punch and kick my way out of here, or in Deadpool's words, through maximum effort.

I kept flicking though, and they kept groaning and cursing. I was afraid, however, that all I was accomplishing was irritating them further. I needed a more deadly force.

As if answer to my prayer, one of the men produced a chain and started swirling it threateningly. I beamed him a smile. After all, he was so kind as to give me a weapon to use. 

"What are you smiling at? If you're trying to beg for mercy, it's too late for that," he said. He lunged, lashing the chain at me. I blocked it with my arms and felt the metal stung. I sent a silent thank you to Master Shao for all his cruelty and sadism during my training. If not for his torturous ways, my arm would have been broken by now. I twirled the chain around my arms and gave it a forceful yank. The man tried to hold onto his chain and failed. Soon enough, I was lashing at them with my new found weapon.

I was doing a job good at it too. In mere seconds, two of them were unconscious.

I failed, however, to notice their leader hurling a block of wood at me. It hit me in the head which sent my world spinning. A fist connected with my solar plexus, and for a moment, my world was reduced to white-hot searing pain. There were stars dancing in front of me as I fought for consciousness.

As long as I am conscious, I can survive. I can survive this.

My knees gave way, and the chain wrapped around my neck and tightened. I instinctively grasped at it, striving not to choke.

"Now, now, stop fighting," their leader said. His lecherous hand reached out to touch my face and went down my neck, shoulders, and the rest of me. I cringed at the violation, but I was busy trying my best to breathe to stop him.

I can survive this. I can still survive this.

I heard clothes tearing, and realized that they were my clothes.  I clutched the chain more desperately.

Think! Think, Reianne! Think! The leader gave a burst of ear-splitting laughter.

"What's this?" He touched my birthmark. "What have we got here?"

"She's the Reaper?" one of his men said. They chuckled. "I can't believe this. The Reaper's a girl?"

What? Do you want a cookie, Sherlock? It amazed me how I could still be inwardly sarcastic in the midst of my predicament. It was a talent.

"What a surprise! All the trouble is worth it, I tell you!" one of them said. Their two fallen comrades began to stir awake. Great. Just great.

"She won't be the Reaper any longer. She's just our whore now," the leader said. I felt something sharp against my skin, right where my birthmark should be. "And what's with all the bandages? Let's get that out of the way, shall we?"  The other gang members started to fumble around the bandages, trying to remove them.

No! Oh no, no, no, no!

I felt the tip of the blade on my skin. I knew what he was doing. He was slicing through my birthmark, in a ceremonial removal of my identity as the Reaper. The entire time, he kept his eyes on mine. He felt he had won.

Somehow, I knew better. I knew, deep inside, that slicing through that birthmark was the biggest mistake of his entire life. I could feel it bubbling inside me, a deep, deep hunger that refused to back down. It had been kept long enough, and it demanded... demanded... what exactly, I couldn't tell. But it definitely wasn't anything good for these sons of bitches.

The first turning point of the story is here. What do you think? Is it good? What do you think will happen?

Please vote and comment!

Xoxo,

RF