The Spectacular Sick Shot

10. Rock Bottom... Almost

​ "This is crazy," Katie said, after Tyler had finished filling her in.
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"I know... It's been difficult, and I know it's only going to get harder from here on out," he told her.
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Katie bit her lip and peered out over the water, the now rising moon shining onto it. "So, what, you're like a super hero now?"
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Tyler laughed. "I'm Sick Shot."
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"What?" she asked, as turned her gaze back to him.
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"It's uhm... What I call the warrior thing. The proper name for it is Sieck Shyot, but Sick Shot sounds better to me," he explained.
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She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "You're going to go with that?"
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"Yeah, I thought it sounded good," he replied. "Don't you like it?"
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"Oh, yeah, I like it a lot," she falsely said.
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Tyler picked up his phone and saw several missed calls from Laquicha, and texts from her, reading things such as: answer your phone, are you coming to the party?, dude, are you alive?, did Katie murder you?, and Okay, I get the picture. Thanks

"Oh... Listen, Katie, I'm sorry, but I've really gotta go," he apologized.
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"Right now?" she asked in surprise.
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"Yeah, I'm really sorry, we need to do this again."
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"Can't I come with you?"
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Tyler sucked air through his teeth. "I honestly think it would be a lot better if you just didn't. I'm sorry," he said, running off to the park exit.
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"Tyler?" Katie called after him, but he didn't hear.
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He ran as fast as he could. His muscles felt stronger and he felt a thousand times more agile. When he rushed out of the park and onto the sidewalk of the street, his feet pounded against the concrete as he rushed toward Laquicha's home.

The chilly night air burnt his lungs, and he began to tire, but he pressed forward. Upon almost making it into Laquicha's small and shabby neighborhood, he heard someone yell for help from an alleyway nearby. He stopped and peered across the barely-traveled road at the alley and was able to make out a large man handling a young man very roughly and barking demands at him.

Tyler was exhausted from his lengthy run, but he felt compelled to help the victim. He remembered the Lamoncorp incident and gained enough confidence to face the man, though he feared that his abilities would somehow leave him when he needed them most.
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"Help!" the young man cried out again.
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His attacker shoved him into a pile of garbage bags and began yelling at him more aggressively than before. "Who do you think is going to come help you? Give me the money!"
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"I told you, I don't have any!" he cried back at him.
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Tyler peered around him, desperately tried to find something to use to disguise his face, but he failed to do so. He took a deep breath and started across the road toward the alleyway, trying to make himself look as big and intimidating as possible.

"Hey!" he shouted at the man when he entered into the shadows. Tyler had tried to sound confident and fearless, but the voice that came out was shaky and anxious.
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"Help!" the young man pleaded.
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"Hey, back off, moron!" the aggressor yelled at his rival.
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Tyler stopped and crossed his arms. "I- I think you should leave him alone."
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"Oh yeah?" The man began to approach Tyler.
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"Yeah..."
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"And what are you going to do about it?" he laughed.
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Tyler swallowed hard. "Help."
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"The only way you're gonna help this idiot is by calling the cops," he mocked him. "Screw off, kid."

He began stomping back towards his prey, when Tyler picked up a glass bottle from the ground and threw it at the adversary. The object soared through the air and smacked the man between the shoulder blades, the bottle shattering into shards on the asphalt.

"Aagh!" he whined as he turned around, anger disfiguring his face. "You wanna fight? Fight me, Wimp. You don't have the balls."
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Without thinking, Tyler sprinted forward and rammed his opponent. The two of them collapsed onto the ground and the man tried to cram Tyler into a head lock, but Tyler wrenched his arm away with minimal effort. He jumped to his feet, the man rising soon after him.