Third person's pov
It was five in the evening.
Ethan had just finished his chores and was preparing to go out. The girls had called him to confirm if he was still coming.
He wore his crisp white shirt over his denim shorts, styled his hair before looking at the mirror.
He smiled at the young boy standing before him. The boy standing before him was handsome and had a hopeful look in his eyes, hope that things will get better from then on.
The clothes he wore were not expensive but they were decent enough. He picked the watch he had bought for two dollars from the money he had been saving and put it on.
He glanced at his reflection in the mirror once more before picking up his phone.
Just then, the screen lit up with a message from Emily.
She was asking about his whereabouts as she was close to the place.
Ethan quickly typed a reply before his gaze shifted to the battery percentage.
"Five percent!"
Goodness! He had totally forgotten about charging his phone.
Well there's no more time to waste. He is just going to have dinner anyways.
He can charge the phone when he returns.
With that thought, he opened the door and stepped out.
The sky had turned orange as a result of the sun setting. Ethan walked across the street, admiring the sunset as he smiled, humming a tune.
Things have been better since he became best friends with Emily and Percy. Those two always knew how to make him happy.
He chuckled as he remembered how the girls always argued over trivial things and always putting him at the center of it all.
Linda's was a restaurant close to their school and Ethan had thought of following a shortcut so he could get there sooner as he didn't want to keep the girls waiting.
The shortcut consists of a few houses and the streets were usually lonely in the evenings.
He was about to switch into the next street, Peggin street when he noticed three huge, rough looking men walking towards him.
He stared at them for a brief second but looked away in the end as he realized that staring for too long could be rude.
As Ethan passed the men, one of the bumped into him causing Ethan to fall on the ground.
He looked up and saw the man looking at him with narrowed eyes as he walked past him with the others.
He watched their backs as they walked into the street he had just come out of.
An uneasy feeling rose in his chest as he watched their backs.
He shook his head and stood up, dusting his clothes.
Thank Goodness his clothes were not stained or else he might have needed to go home to change.
*****
Meanwhile in Mr Harris office,
Mr Harris was going through some paperwork when his phone on the table lit up.
He picked the phone and pressed the answer botton.
"Hello boss." A rough voice spoke from the other end.
"What's up? Any update?" Mr Harris asked calmly.
"Yes sir. I have finished investigating what you asked me to. Ethan Madleev has lived a rough life since his parents died. His aunt and her family always maltreated him and made him work as a slave. His cousin Daniel bullied him both in school and at home." The voice reported.
"Okay." Mr Harris replied and hung up the phone.
Mr Harris's face darkened as he was filled in on what Ethan had gone through.
His suspicions were right.
The boy have gone through a lot but still tried to cover up for them.
Who knows what he is going through right now.
'No! I need to head over to their house right now.' He thought, standing up as he grabbed his car keys.
*****
After Ethan was pushed by the bulky man, he had only walked a few steps when he felt something unusual.
He paused in his steps and scanned his surroundings. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being followed.
The sky had gotten dark and the street lonely.
He gulped before taking a couple steps forward, his body tense as he turned behind him.
And just then, he saw a shadow standing behind a wall. That was when Ethan knew something was really wrong.
He quickly turned to the front and started taking quick steps, hoping to get away from there as soon as possible.
Then he heard footsteps behind him as he walked which made him turn his neck nervously and that was when he saw them, the three men from earlier.
Ethan couldn't contain his fear any longer and started running, aiming to escape from that street.
He kept on running, turning back occasionally to check if the men were following him, and sure enough they didn't disappoint.
As he was about to enter the next street from where he will reach Linda's within few minutes, he saw three more men coming towards him, looking as bulky as the ones behind him.
He thought that they would be different and thought of running to them for help when he saw the weapons in their hands.
'Ordinary men wouldn't be holding weapons randomly right?' Ethan thought but his legs were already running towards the other direction that led to an alley up ahead.
Ethan ran and didn't stop even as he fell multiple times.
The alley was dark and cold and this only added to his fear.
Ethan had only ran a short distance when he heard steps running behind him, and this time he could tell they were more than three.
His heart was beating hard against his ribcage as he turned his neck to see the people chasing him.
They were now six men, including the three men who had come from the other street.
Ethan was moving his body as fast as he could when he hit his foot against a small rock and fell face flat on the wet alley floor.
He tried standing up but felt a pain from his ankle. He had strained his ankle from the fall.
'Oh no, this shouldn't be happening now.' Ethan cried in his mind as he pushed himself up with all the strength his body could muster.
He could hear the footsteps closing in on him but he didn't dare look behind him anymore.
He limped forward, struggling to put weight on his injured leg.
He was about taking another painful step, when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
"Got you boy." A rough voice said.
Ethan clenched his fists as he slowly turned to face the men.
He was right.
There were six of them, and he knew there was no way he could fight them all off. He looked around in the dark alley, hoping to see any kind of weapon but unfortunately all he saw was a pepper spray can near the wall which he didn't know if it was empty or not.
Then he remembered his phone in his pocket. He had been so scared and desperate to escape that he forgot the phone in his pocket.
"What do you want?" He asked the men with an expressionless face, despite the nervousness he was feeling within.
"What we want? We are here to collect a little something from you?" One of them said. He had a long scar below his right eye and he seemed to be their leader.
"What would I have that you could possibly want?" Ethan asked still trying to maintain the poker face.
"Boss, the boy has some nerves to speak to you like that. Should we teach him a little lesson first." One of his lackeys asked, rubbing his fists together making Ethan swallow hard.
Their leader raised his right hand, an indication for his lackey to shut up.
"The papers the governor gave to you. Where are they?" The leader asked.
And then it dawned on Ethan. This was his aunt's plan.
He didn't know these people and there was no way they would have known about the gifts if someone had not told them.
He chuckled darkly, raising his head to meet the eyes of the man holding him
" So my aunt sent you here. Unfortunately I don't have the papers with me. Now leave me alone." Ethan said, glaring at them.
"Look boy, I don't have time for your nonsense. Give me the papers or get ready to face the consequences for being stubborn." The man warned, his eyes turning red. Anyone could tell he was losing the little patience he had but Ethan was having none of it.
He would rather die than hand over those papers.
"I don't have them." He replied defiantly.
"You asked for this." The leader said before gesturing to his boys.
"Beat him till he hands them over."
At his cue, five men rushed to Ethan, raining down blows to every part of his body.
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut as the pain coursed through his body.
Admist the attack, he was thinking of a way out. He couldn't let them know he had a phone with him.
"Stop." Came the order from the leader.
He stepped forward, placing a foot on Ethan's stomach.
Ethan's whole body was already covered with bruises, and he coughed out blood.
"Are you ready to talk now?" The leader asked with an impatient tone.
Ethan glared back at him for a moment and was about to say something when the heard a noise from the other end of the alley.
They all froze.
"Help." A cry broke the silence. It was from Ethan. He had hoped someone was coming, someone that could save him.
"Shut up." The leader shouted, kicking him in the stomach causing Ethan to roll in pain.
When Ethan recovered from the pain, he opened his eyes and realized that two of the men had left to inspect the area and the remaining four were also looking towards the other end of the alley.
He squinted his eyes to check if there was really someone, he saw no one.
Ethan sighed in disappointment but he knew this was his only chance.
He kicked the leader between his legs which made the man scream in pain, removing his leg from Ethan's stomach.
Ethan used the opportunity to push himself up, delivered a blow to one of the lackeys face then limped to the wall where the pepper spray can was.
He picked it up and shook it and luckily for him, there where some remnants.
"You little brat." A bald man shouted, charging at him.
Ethan didn't waste a second, he sprayed the pepper spray in his eyes and the man screamed in pain.
The other two quickly ran towards him, one aiming for his neck, the other aiming for the pepper spray but Ethan was faster.
He sprayed the contents in their eyes and watched them howl in pain.
He used the opportunity to limp towards the other end of the alley. Tears filled his eyes as he dragged his feet across the wet floor, the pain making it almost unbearable. But he knew he couldn't stop or else he'll die.
His hand reached for the phone in his pocket, intending to call for help.
Four percent!
Oh no, this is bad.
If his phone goes off, he really will be dead.
He was about dialing a number when a call came in.
Emily was calling.