Mirage.

Chapter 7

The crowd gasps at the same time when the sight of that giant guy who is surely twice the size of Amelia screams in agony.
He is lying with his face pinned on the floor by Amelia's hand, her knees planted on the guy's back, blocking him from getting up.
With the force that was applied, the back might not even have survived that knee jump.

"Not so strong, now, are you?" Amelia smirks.

I let a deep sigh out, letting it release all the folds of fear that had clenched me.
Amelia stands up and turns her back to the bearded guy who still moans in pain. He dares not to move.
Amelia no longer sees him as a threat if she shows her back to him.
The other two guys stand there, still processing what just happened.

"Bring it on." Amelia cracks her neck left and right. Slowly and steadily, she takes her stance for a fight.

"Bitch." An unfamiliar whisper fills my ear.

I snap my gaze behind me, from where I thought I had heard that whisper.
None of the people who stand behind me recording this drama seems to be the owner of that raspy voice filled with loathing.
An unsettling feeling exchanges the earlier fear I had.
I move through the crowd scanning the potential owner of that voice.

"Amelia. Wait for your doom." The same voice from my right. A glimpse of shadow escapes my sight.

Without a second thought, I push through the crowd as they cheer and hoot for Amelia. Shouts and screams of the guys are still audible.
I see the person exiting and I follow.
Out this late at night with a chilly wind, I stand scanning through the area to find that shadow.
Just then my gaze falls on a person walking in the distance, I squint my eyes to see clearly.
Black hoody, black pants, black cap.
Can easily be mistaken as a shadow.

"Hey, you! All black! Stop right there!" I scream loud enough to be heard by him.

He looks back halfway, his face not covered but not visible as well.
I am sure he notices me running towards him because as our gaze meets, he bolts to run.

"Stop right there you fucker!" I shout again.

Alcohol does magic. I, who would rather run away from problems, am running towards the problem for my friend.
Why you ask?
Because she would have done the same, in fact, better.
My lungs burn as I run, and my breathing has become faster and stronger.
I knew that I could not catch up to this man, So I stopped running and grabbed the nearest stone I could reach, which was the size of my hand, and with all the force that adrenaline had lent me, I threw that stone.
At the same moment, I turn on the camera of my phone and zoom in, just at the right time for when the stone hits the guy's head. He stumbles forward and he looks back. And click.
His face is now caught in my hands, his identity now revealed.

"Fuck!" That guy screams in frustration.

He vanishes in the dark. He realised that he no longer is a shadow but a person who is now known.

I stand here alone. Gasping for air. My burning lungs inhale the cold air, cooling it down.
I zoom in on the guy's photo to catch details of his face.
His skin is tanned and has a crooked nose, thin lips, and big stunned black eyes with a scar on his right eye. His right eyes seem to have no pupil, just a white, cloudy eyeball.
My focus falls on those empty eyes.
Suddenly, a hand lays on my shoulder, giving a half-hearted attack. My heart jumps to my throat at the touch. I instantly look back to see Amelia standing there with her hand hanging mid-air where it was. From her right hand, she held a cloth to her nose that was earlier bleeding.

"Umm? What are you doing here?" She questions with a narrowed gaze.

My churning stomach comes to rest.