Corrupt

Chapter 13: Charlie's Story

Two Years Ago. . . 

Charlie curled in on himself in a dark alleyway, two thugs taunting him as he shook in fear. “C’mon man, you gotta have something on you!” The other laughed, grabbing Charlie's hair to pull him up to face them. The teen whimpered in pain, being dragged up onto his feet by the other man gripping his hair. “What are you, homeless?” Charlie squeezed his eyes shut, sniffling pathetically as some tears ran down his face. 

“Oh- You’re homeless!” That made the two laughs harder, the child being thrown to the ground. “Wow! What’d you do to get thrown out?” Charlie had been kicked out of his house at the age of fifteen, something even now he can’t understand. He felt tears build up in his eyes, threatening to spill down his face if he didn’t get away from these two men. It would be easy to get away from them if he used his ability, but he didn’t want to. He hated his powers. 

“HEY!” The two thugs froze, Charlie’s eyes looking towards the new voice to see a black mass, gold wings flared open casting a shadow over the scene before them. “Put him down.” They hissed, inching closer. The man’s grip grew tighter, laughing at the figure. 

“And you are?” The other man, the one not yanking on his har, stepped forwards in front of them. The other figure paused, blue eyes catching the faint light in the alleyway. He was wearing an interesting costume, but either way even Charlie was on edge. 

“I’m the Gambler.” With that the figure launched forwards, swinging at the first man and making him fall to the ground with a hard thud. He stomped his foot onto his stomach, the air being knocked out of him. The other that had been holding onto Charlie let go, getting ready to fight. He didn’t get much of a chance as a deck card came whizzing his way, getting lodged in the man's throat. The man choked, grabbing for the card and pulling it out and covering his bleeding throat. The Gambler did the same to the other man under him, not even looking at where he threw the card. It didn’t take long for that one to go limp. The stranger started walking towards the struggling one, pulling a dagger out before stabbing him in the abdomen, the other thug finally falling to the ground. He stored his weapon away, finally turning to Charlie. He walked towards him, his eyes holding a concerned shine. “Are you ok?” He knelt down, making Charlie flinch away. “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you.” 

"I-I-” The man sighed. 

“You look lost.” Charlie was silent. “Do you need help?” He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to this man, what could he say? This stranger just killed two people in front of him and now was asking if he needed help? He was stunned. “Do you have somewhere you can go?” At this Charlie shook his head, he could have sworn he saw the man's eyes sadden at his action. 

“I don’t have anywhere to go.” He whispered out. He hated how his voice broke, he’s sure he sounded pathetic. The Gambler scooped the teen up, sighing, as he started his way out of the ally. “What are you-?” He screamed when the man launched into the air without a warning. 

“Calm down, where we’re heading isn’t that far away.” Charlie had a death grip on the man, knowing if he fell he’d die. You could just use your ability- Charlie shook the idea out of his mind. His ability, from what his parents told him, was horrid. He never understood their hate towards him when it manifested, but they always degraded them and told him that he was a disgrace to the family because of them. You’d think they would be happy that he manifested some form of ability, as they both didn’t have one. But no, they took every chance they had to remind the teen how much of a disappointment he was, both he and the powers he gained. He hated his ability. They ended up landing on a roof, Charlie unlatching himself from the man and letting his feet hit solid ground. He sighed, the adrenaline in his veins slowly fading away. “You ok?” The teen nodded, looking at the man once again. He was short, about Charlie’s height, maybe a bit taller.