Chapter 56: The Strong Eat!
"But pretty things like you three," Damon gestured with his pipe wrench, "usually have other valuables worth... acquiring."
The wind whispered with a faint shriek as tension in the small clearing rose to an almost unbearable level.
Daniel sighed internally. So much for a quiet warning. This was definitely going to get messy.
Damon Cruz’s words hung in the air, heavy and cold, like the damp moss under their feet.
The wind, which had been a gentle whisper through the obsidian trees, now seemed to shriek with a bit more urgency, as if warning them of the coming storm.
The skinny one, Marcus, giggled, a nasty, high-pitched sound that made Daniel’s skin crawl. It wasn’t just the sound itself, but the way Marcus’s eyes gleamed with mean-spirited delight, as if he took genuine pleasure in their discomfort.
There was something unhinged about that laugh, something that hinted at cruelty lurking just beneath the surface.
He twirled his rusty vibro-knife, his shifty eyes gleaming with a hungry light.
"Heh, listen to the Academy kid," Marcus sneered, pointing his knife at Daniel.
"Thinks a few polite words will make us turn tail and run. You city boys really don’t get how things work out here in the real world, do ya?"
Damon let out a short, sharp laugh, a sound like rocks grinding together. "The real world, little brother," he said, his voice a low rumble.