Growing Pains

Chapter Ten: Laying Low

Cale slammed the door open and marched into the winery, muttering under his breath. Evan and Frey scurried behind him, grabbing the door and gently closing it and picking up barrels he'd knocked over.

"Cale, breathe man," Frey warned. "We have to be quiet."

"Shut up." Cale growled. He came to a stop and huffed angrily. "I am so tired of that puny kid talking down to me like he's so much better, always with that smug grin on his face like he's the best."

"It's Fearless Finn Haddock," Evan rolled eyes. "According to himself, he is the best."

"Well I can only take so much of it." Cale muttered. "If he keeps this up, I'll wring his skinny neck with my bare hands."

Frey rolled his shoulders. "I'd be right there with you, but now's not the time for that. We'll put him in his place soon enough. But for now we'd best just do what he says. With people hanging around tonight, we do need more supplies. Let's just grab a few small barrels and leave through the back."

Cale grunted in response, but complied. The trio scoured through the barrels of mead and wine, making a few selections. Obviously they couldn't load up as much as their usual nightly raids; it was currently broad daylight and they needed to look as inconspicuous as possible. Luckily, Evan worked in the winery, so it wouldn't be completely out of the question for the other boys to be seen helping him carry his load. As long as they didn't run into Evan's boss, they'd be pretty much home free. Teenagers never worked on the weekends after all.

They worked silently and quickly, but after nearly ten minutes of silent work, Cale suddenly straightened. "Did you guys hear that?"

Frey and Evan paused, waiting patiently. Evan shook his head. "Nope. You're hearing things."

"No..." Cale whispered, motioning for them to come closer. "It sounded like the door-"

From the corner of his eye, a shadow moved behind Evan. Before Cale could make a sound, an axe handle slammed into the side of Evan's neck and he collapsed with a yelp of pain. Cale dropped his chosen products and sprinted toward the back door. Frey tucked and rolled to avoid the oncoming hit, and ran after Cale. The boys heard a silent zhing before a large, double-bladed axe slammed into the door handle, effectively cutting them off.

Frey and Cale whipped around, fists ready to attack. Their assailant stood in the shadows for a moment before lunging forward. Cale attacked him with a swift uppercut toward the face, but the man rolled under the attack, dodged Frey's punches, and managed to kick Cale in the backside when he popped back to his feet. The attacker kicked Frey in the ankles and sent him sprawling. He smacked his forehead on the edge of a crate and cried out in pain, clutching his head.

Cale growled, throwing all his strength into his attacks. He threw jabs, uppercuts and hooks, even an overhand, but he realized this individual was very good at hand-to-hand combat, even in the darkness of the room. Cale felt himself tiring out when the man socked him right in the face.

Pain exploded across his face and he felt a wetness on his mouth that signaled a bloody nose. He had no time to register a counterattack when his assailant was on him again, jabbing him in the ribs. He saw a flash of blonde and came to his senses a bit. He ducked under the next jab and slammed his fist into the man's ribs. Cale heard the grunt of pain, but was shocked to realize it wasn't a man at all. It was a woman. Now he was angry. Not only had they been caught, they were being taken out by a woman!

Grabbing a small barrel nearby, he threw it over his head toward the woman, who nimbly dodged. Cale reached into his boot and whipped out a long, thin blade.

"Put that down." The woman ordered. She sounded vaguely familiar, but Cale didn't care anymore. His honor as a man was being put into question. "This doesn't have to get any messier than it is."