Underdawgs

Chapter 23

The first few seconds are complete carnage. The Graffer with the metal baseball bat is the first to get knocked out. Tyler runs straight at him, jumps up and knees him directly in the face. I hear a sickening crunch as the guy's head snaps back, then he collapses to the ground, his nose shattered.

      Tyler gets cleaned up moments later. A fat Graffer who was behind baseball-bat guy rams his elbow into Tyler's face, sending him careering to the ground.

      I run behind Cupcakes, who goes in swinging, catching a Graffer on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. To my right, Kev throws a vicious punch into a huge Graffer's head, stunning him, then Kev knees him in the stomach. He's just about to deliver a savage kick to the Graffer's head to finish him off, when out of nowhere a skinny Graffer jumps on his back, trying to choke him to the ground.

      I rush over to help Kev out, throwing a heavy punch into Skinny's head, connecting hard, splitting my knuckle and opening the top of the kid's eye. He lets go of Kev, dazed, before Kev spins around and demolishes him with a combination of kicks and punches.

      Kev steps back, a demented grin on his face, enjoying it all. I grin back at him and he slaps me on the shoulder in thanks and runs off to rejoin the fray.

      A flurry of motion to my left causes me to look over as Spike spear tackles a callous looking Graffer to the ground. Spike pounds him with an elbow to the face, teeth bared.

      Behind them Oxy lies on the ground, his face covered in blood.

      I head over to back up Spike, but my path is blocked by Cupcakes and Dustin, fighting off three members of the Graffer crew with Cupcake's cricket bat.

      Pain shoots through my upper body as someone tackles me from behind. I hit the ground and we roll around, me struggling to get free, my opponent attempting to choke me. I elbow him hard in the stomach, but somehow he manages to get on top of me and I realise it's the blond Graffer from the pool hall. I'm out of breath, my arms shaking, struggling desperately to fight him off before I lose my strength. I can't think, all I can see are his eyes drilling into mine, his arms tightening around my throat.

      Something crashes into us, hard, and the Graffer is jerked off me as another body lands on top of him.

      I gasp, cold air filling my lungs. I scramble to my feet, only to see DJ on top of the blond Graffer delivering slug after slug into his face, as the Graffer tries to shield himself with his arms. I bound over and boot the blonde Graffer as hard as I can in the side. He cries out and goes limp. I grab DJ and drag him away as he continues trying to punch and kick the kid's head in. We lie on the grass, wheezing and panting, trying to catch our breathe.

      'You all right?' DJ asks. 'You looked pretty out of it at one point.'

      'I'm all right.' I nod, breathing heavily, gingerly massaging my throat. 'How about you?'

      But DJ isn't listening. His head snaps around as something catches his attention and he springs to his feet, throwing himself forward ...

      Crack. DJ intercepts Scumface as he runs past and they both go sprawling to the ground. DJ's fist connects with Scumface's head, jolting it to the side, and I jump up to help him when out of nowhere a swinging fist connects with my face.

      I stagger blindly, tasting blood, reeling from the unexpected hit. I launch myself in the direction of my attacker, a Graffer with a shaved head. We both fall clumsily to the ground. I roll away from him as he regains his footing, only to face a bloody-mouthed Tyler. One punch sends the Graffer staggering backwards. Realising he's lost his advantage, he tears off across the park as Tyler chases him down.