The first biker reached him with a massive fist. Ren tried to dodge but he was too slow. The punch caught him in the jaw. His head snapped back, stars exploding across his vision.
Before he could recover, a second biker grabbed his jacket and yanked him forward into a knee strike. His already-injured ribs screamed.
"..fuck. " Ren gasped.
A third biker swung a chain at him and it wrapped around Ren's shoulder, biting deep into his flesh pass through his jacket.
Boots started raining down. Kicks to his ribs, his legs, his back and the baseball bat catching him across the back.
Ren went down hard, concrete scraping his palms.
"Stay down! This is what you get!" The leader yelled.
Ren covered his head, trying to curl into a protective ball, but the blows kept coming.
"Can't... stay down... Aoi... Have to get to Aoi... "
Through the pain, through the boots and fists, one thought burned clear in his mind. "Two blocks away. They're hurting her right now. I have to get to her.."
