Micah stepped out of the taxi, and the air, full of the stench of rotting garbage and sewage, hit his face.
The taxi sped off behind him, its exhaust kicking up a small cloud of carbon monoxide, as if eager to leave this place behind.
Looking around he found the situation was far worse than he had thought. His surroundings were filled with cursing, drunken slurs, and the occasional sound of glass breaking. Groups of men lingered on the sidewalks, their postures lazy but their gazes focused on Micah.
A few women, dressed sultrily, stood under flickering streetlights, their attention fixated on him as they winked and blew kisses.
Micah walked slowly, His heart becoming heavier with each step.
It was ten thirty at night, and the streets were filled with thugs, drunken men, and questionable women…
Micah felt his heart tightening.
He had no idea where Darcy's house was, just a vague description of an old apartment complex. Now, faced with the reality of this place, he realised just how little he knew.
The warm night air made the stench more intense and unbearable. Micah swallowed back nausea with difficulty.
As Micah walked slowly, like a soulless person,
The gravity of Darcy's situation became clear in his mind.
The intensity of gazes grew with each step, drifting more into the street. His good looks and fresh attire made him stand out in this setting.
But Micah was not concerned about that. He had been trained for moments like this.
From an early age, his mother had enrolled him in various material arts and self-defence classes, hoping to channel his boundless energy into something productive.
He had confidence in his fighting skills.
In the midst of his wandering, a faint noise caught his attention. The sound was soft and barely audible over the distant chatter of the street.
His body reacted instinctively. He turned his head, eyes scanning the shadows, and spotted a dimly lit alley. Something felt off.
He took a step forward, his movement cautious. Peering into the darkness, he saw
three dangerous men surround a smaller figure. The alley was narrow, the brick walls pressing from both sides, leaving little room to escape.
Micah couldn't see the situation clearly. He stepped inside stealthy, ready to call the police.
"Hey missy, wandering around at this hour, isn't a green light for our little offer?!"
A man's voice was heard, full of mockery.
"Yeah, you seem more sensible than your brother."
Another man sneered.
"This way you could help your sick mother, isn't it right?"
The three men's words were filled with malice.
The girl at the centre of it all trembled, stepping back instinctively.
The dim light made it hard to see her face clearly, but Micah caught a glimpse of trembling hands clutching a plastic bag in her arms.
"Don't worry, this big brother will take good care of you."
The tallest of the three men, a burly figure with a scar on his cheek, took a step closer to the girl.
"No… you misunderstand.., I...I just came to buy my mother's medicine…"
The girl stammered, frightened.
"Ah, playing hard to get? Everyone knows your brother's working in that Bar, lickbooting, and who knows? Maybe selling his body to afford the medicine. Now, you have gone to that tiny pharmacy that doesn't even have the most common drugs to buy your mother's rare medicine?!"
The girl shook her head in denial, her eyes welling up with tears.
Micah, upon hearing their conversation, had a bold guess cross his mind…
What were the chances?
The story began when the swapped case was revealed. Before that, the past events were mentioned here and there.
Micah had pieced together a rough timeline for every character.
But he could not remember Darcy's sister had encountered something like this…
Did his actions have a butterfly effect?
The only thing he had interfered with was Darcy not meeting his biological mother, Elina.
He was deep in thought when one of the men spoke again.
"Look, Miss Nora, this is just between us. No one has to know. You get money, we get fun. Isn't that a sweet deal? Don't you want to help your mother and brother?"
Micah did not dwell on it anymore. His eyes turned red. His body moved before his mind could catch up. He reached down, grabbed a discarded wooden stick from the alley floor, and charged forward.
He couldn't believe his ears. Coercing a minor to this kind of work… he imagined his cousins, Vivian and Cora, facing something like that…
He lost all his rationality realising his biological sister, whom he had never met, being coerced into experiencing something inhuman.
The thought made his blood boil.
Nora Edwood stared at a stranger who appeared out of nowhere. He fought against these local thugs, twice the size of his body, with agility. He struck fast and hard, using the stick to block a swing from one of the thugs before slamming the end into his ribs. The man staggered back, gasping. The second thug lunged, but the young man ducked, spinning to kick him behind the knee, sending him crashing down. The third one hesitated before the young man slammed his fist into the man's jaw.
Nora, still frozen in fear, suddenly caught a gleaming light, her pupils constricted, and she yelled.
"Be careful."
The young man dodged barely in time. Still, the knife grazed his arm, blood gushed out.
Nora held her breath, her legs buckling under her.
Micah didn't feel the pain. The adrenaline surging through his veins made him focus all his attention on the three thugs. His strikes were precise and deadly, he aimed at the crucial points in their bodies.
After a few minutes, only Micah was standing, bruised and panting.
The other three were on the ground groaning.
Micah took a step toward the scared girl.
Nora flinched, her body tending as if expecting another attack.
Micah paused.
"Are you alright?"
He asked awkwardly.
Nora blinked as if coming to her senses. Her gaze caught his torn clothes, and blood dripped from his arm.
"Come one! We need to get out of here."
Nora grabbed the young man's shirt and tugged at him.
Micah was at his wit's end. He barely had time to react before she pulled him forward. His steps were shaky, his body protesting the extra movement, but he followed.
They reached the entrance of the alley before he could sigh in relief, his eyes turned dark.
His body lost its balance and fell forward.
The last thing he heard was Nora's panicked voice.
"Brother!"