Bedlam - Sunday night
May. 4th, 2008 11:45 pm"Give it over, cunt!" The biggest of the two thugs grabbed her and slammed her into the wall, the breath whooshing out of her. She'd tried to run, initially, then she'd tried to fight - when she'd kicked one of them in the groin, things had gotten physical. Now, backed into a corner, she raised her hands, splaying her fingers at them and muttering some kind of gibberish. He'd shaken his head and smacked her across the face, knocking her to her knees. The one she'd kicked came in then, still grimacing, and kicked her several times in the ribs until she was curled in a ball, moaning and retching.
Smirking, the first young man bent and pried her fingers open, revealing a flash of gold. "Ta," he mocked, yanking the wheel-shaped pendant away from her. His friend joined him as he turned away, face eager.
"What d'you think it's worth?" he asked.
"Enough. That's real gold, that is. The old Paki'll give us 50 quid at least." The pendant went into his pocket and the two left without another thought.
Behind them, sprawled on the dirty concrete, she retches helplessly, coughing up bile. Her side is on fire, but that's nothing compared to the feeling of loss she can't quite understand. She slowly hauls herself upright, looking down at her hands with a sense of betrayal. Something was supposed to have happened.
Why hadn't it?