The air felt dense as Vince stood at the section of the promenade where people were congregating and looking towards Vince.
Vince first heard the whispers, a low buzzing sound from the crowd carried by the wind off the water. People pointed, talking in hushed tones, leaning into each other's space. If Vince moved around enough to view everyone's face, he would hear the snippets of the conversations as they passed.
"…IRW…"
"…that scumbag promotion…"
"…what are they doing here…"
"Invasion...."
Vince could feel the heat from their bodies, and their negative opinions of him and Maya were on full display without the filters of modern technology. This was more frightening to Vince than anything else at that moment.
Without hesitation, Maya instinctively tucked herself into Vince and whispered, "We need to go."
Just as Maya took a step back, the throngs of people enveloped her.
While there was no obvious obstruction to Maya leaving—no hands held in front of her face or any other type of human barricade—every time Maya took a step back, so did another person take a step forward and take the place of where she was standing. There was a shoulder or two and a person tying their shoelaces, each person sliding into the place vacated by Maya, creating an invisible wall to the exit.
Vince could feel the tightness around his mouth as he tried to suppress his feelings.
This is not right.
A relatively elderly man finally stepped forward from the crowd.
He looked like he was around seventy. His grey hair was combed back with the help of a hair product, there were deep wrinkles on his weathered face and his eyes showed a different quality to their expression than the people around him. The elderly man was not filled with rage but had an unwavering sense of confidence. The old man spoke directly to Maya.
The old man said in a slow, methodical voice, "Are you Maya Hart from IRW?"
Maya's body went stiff.
"That's her," a loud voice spouted from behind before Maya could think of an answer.
The old man's face instantly morphed into something approaching a grin; his eyes became steely and eager for prey.
Vince did not hesitate to step directly in front of the old man so that he was blocking Maya.
The old man's eyes snapped away from Maya and looked at Vince.
"And who might you be?" he asked before tilting his head mockingly, "Her boyfriend?"
Maya's breath caught in her throat.
Boyfriend?
The thought immediately made her face turn red with embarrassment and fear. She vigorously shoved that thought aside. This was not the time to be worrying about that.
Vince did not react to the comment at all.
"We are leaving," he said sternly. "Now let us pass."
The old man shook his head. "No."
Vince felt a chill sweep through him from his head to his toes.
"You will remain here," the old man continued, speaking in a tone that was both calm and eerily courteous, "until you receive assistance from NPJW."
Vince narrowed his eyes, "We are not here to do any harm."
There was a ringing laugh from somewhere in the small crowd. "IRW's trash always says that!"
Then another voice chimed in, "She's a cheater."
Maya's heart raced as she realised how shallow her breathing had become and how her hands were now shaking at her sides. She had heard people booing, chanting and hurling insults at her from a distance, but this time it was different — this time the events which had led to all this were happening right in front of her and involved her.
"Get out of my face," Vince yelled above everyone else's noise.
Almost immediately upon hearing Vince yell, all the people in attendance began to shout and jostle one another. It was as if the air around Vince was charged with static electricity.
Then a hole formed in the crowd as a man walked into it.
His build was similar to that of Vince (his height) but wider than Vince's. Thickly muscled shoulders made every movement appear powerful and fluid. The tank top he wore was a sleeveless one that fit snugly over a very muscular body. Printed in large letters on the front was EXTREME RULES. He carried himself with an air of confidence typical of someone who has never heard the word 'No'.
The man stopped about 10 inches, maybe a foot, away from Vince and began to look Vince over from head to toe.
"I heard you're from IRW," the man said, as if it were an announcement.
Vince chose not to respond.
The man's attention shifted down toward Maya, who was standing behind Vince. He said, "I know you! You're the girl who took out that other girl with the steel chair!" (What was her name, Evelyn?).
Maya said quietly, "Yes."
The man smiled a sneer. "Makes sense."
He moved in even closer, now standing just a few inches from Maya. "I can't stand bitches like you. You always cheat and never win clean."
The crowd went wild.
"Bitches like you," the man continued as he raised his voice even higher, "should be put in their place!"
The cheer that followed was loud, ugly, intoxicating.
Vince pleaded; "We aren't escalating any situation; please let us leave."
Suddenly, the man moved forward, closing the gap between them. "You already escalated it," he growled. "When you stepped into our territory, that was round one."
Vince's frown deepened; he had no idea what that meant.
Maya immediately understood.
She stepped in front of Vince, voice shaking, but steady. "If you don't let us go, I'll call the police."
The man laughed loudly and openly. "Police? This is NPJW territory; they'll let us go on anything we want!"
Turning back toward Vince, he said, "Don't worry. I don't mess with girls."
Then he grinned.
"But I will mess with boyfriend."
Before Vince could think or react, the man delivered a surprise punch.
The punch smashed into the side of Vince's face with a loud sound, sending white light behind both eyes.
Vince stumbled backward, his hands clutching his cheek as he felt intense pain shooting through the top of his head.
"MAYA!" he heard himself yell; however, it sounded garbled to him.
Maya dove for the man.
With both arms clamped around his shoulders, she jumped him. With an angry curse, he attempted to shake her off and failed. Maya bit him hard on the arm.
"YOU—BITCH!" he screamed, agony filling his voice and body, throwing her off him.
Maya was caught by someone in the crowd.
At that moment, the hands of those surrounding Maya held her upright, with the intent to restrain her. Fear began to break through her once composed exterior and she flipped out.
Vince pushed himself off the ground to a standing position and punched the back of the man's neck.
The punch sent a jolt of pain through Vince's arm.
The man stopped in his tracks.
The man slowly turned around.
Vince could see the fire in the man's eyes.
There was not much time for Vince to brace himself.
With his first punch, Vince was knocked to the ground.
Then the punches came one after the other.
Vince was not trained; he did not have good technique, and he was fighting with desperation. His only goal was to inflict as much damage to the man as possible. He clawed at the man's face with his fingers and caused the man to scream, but all that did was infuriate him even more.
"STAY BACK!" yelled the man when the crowd rushed to help Vince. "He's mine."
Vince fell down.
Vince received a kicking to ribs by the man's boot.
Vince's vision blurred; he could taste blood; and the ground was quickly lifting towards him as he tried to crawl, to get back up, to do something to fight back.
The man continued to hit Vince with elbows, knees, and fist.
Each blow was perfectly placed and perfectly timed, landing without hesitation.
This was not a fight.
This was a beatdown.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
The man spat at Vince's crumpled form. "Next time," he muttered, then turned and jogged away.
The crowd dispersed almost instantly, melting back into the city as if nothing had happened.
Maya collapsed to her knees beside Vince, sobbing uncontrollably. "Vince—Vince—please—"
He groaned weakly, every breath a sharp reminder of pain.
This was the worst beating he had ever taken.
In this life.
Or the last.