Unsung

Chapter Forty-Five

Ris raced over and headed off the frat guy before he could reach McKayla, placing his arms up in front of them defensively.

"You don't want to do that," Ris said evenly.

The guy pulled his wet shirt away from his skin and snarled. "Oh, I really do."

"Okay. But I'm warning you. She's feisty."

"She's a girl," the guy responded.

Ris paused before shrugging and stepping aside.

"Okay," he said, as the guy went to brush past him. Then he added, "Remember that while she kicks your ass."

"What did you say?" the frat guy asked, whirling around to face Ris again. He took in Ris' appearance—the trench coat, black skinny jeans and thin frame—and then snorted. "Maybe I'll start with you instead."

"Suit yourself," Ris said. Then he popped his head around the guy to look at McKayla. "That okay with you? I know you saw him first and all...wouldn't want to step on any toes."

"By all means," McKayla said easily. Then she gestured to the guys still standing in a pack at the bar. They had begun to move from one foot to the other like they were waiting to be tagged into a wrestling match. "There are plenty of losers to go around."

"Is this the Twilight Zone?" Garrick asked, coming up on my right side, a foot away from McKayla. "I feel like this is the Twilight Zone."

"I didn't know Ris could...banter," I said dumbfounded as we watched the exchange.

"I didn't know Ris could do anything but brood," Ty added, joining us on my left. Sophia and Austin quickly filled in the gaps beside us, rounding out our group.

"There's a lot you guys don't know about Ris," McKayla said over her shoulder, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "That's what this little field trip was about, remember?"

"You freaks!" the frat guy shouted, unable to figure out what was happening in front of him.

"Better a freak than a frat rat," Ris said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's it," the frat guy said, and took a swing at Ris.

Ris dodged it easily, and then used the guy's own momentum to turn him around until his back was to him. Slipping an arm around the frat guy's neck, he tightened his grip and then leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"Leave now and I won't throw you over that bar and spank you like a baby," Ris said to him calmly.

The guy's face started to turn red with anger and he began to struggle against Ris' grip. But it was no use. He wasn't getting out unless Ris let him out.

The frat guys behind them leapt into motion then, racing toward Ris' back, intent on helping out their leader and delivering some payback. McKayla nodded at Ris discreetly, but he only grinned in response. As the first of the pack reached Ris, he pivoted around in time for a guy's incoming punch to connect with their leader's face instead. As his captor doubled over in pain, Ris used the momentum to push off of the guy's back and throw a side kick to his buddy's kidneys. He too, dropped to the ground.

The fact that three of their friends were now lying in disarray on the bar's floor didn't seem to dissuade the others though, and they just kept coming.

"I promised bonding fun," McKayla said, looking over her shoulder at us before running to Ris' side and literally pushing him out of the way as a particularly ugly looking guy tried to tackle him. Instead, she crouched down and let the guy fly over top of her, sliding across the floor until he crashed into a nearby table.

"And I always deliver," McKayla finished triumphantly.

I opened my mouth to say something but found that I was speechless. It was hard to believe how quickly things were escalating, and I began to feel nauseous as the violence erupted around us. As much as we'd been trained to react to any situation, nothing could've prepared me for the actuality of having to defend myself from real-life attackers. Deep down I knew that the others were capable of taking care of themselves, but the truth was, we had no idea what these guys had up their sleeves. Someone could have a gun. Or a knife. What if something went wrong? Any one of us could seriously get hurt. And I was finding it very difficult to deal with this fact.

I hadn't seen Ty and Garrick run into the fray, but they must've since they were no longer at my side. It was becoming nearly impossible to differentiate between my friends and the frat. The whole place was a fury of fists, flying beer and blood. Tables were being overturned. People were screaming and running for cover so they wouldn't get trampled on or mistaken for a part of the fight.

Only Sophia, Austin and I held back. At some point, Sophia had grabbed onto my arm and pushed me slightly behind herself. Austin stood in front of both of us, looking like he was our own personal bodyguard.

"Somebody needs to get help," I said frantically as bodies continued to pile up on the floor. I had no idea how my friends were doing, and I didn't know how to help them or if they even needed it. I just knew I needed it to stop.

I pulled away from Sophia's grip as a throng of bodies lurched in our direction menacingly. Then I turned and ran. I sprinted straight through the front doors and down the blackened hallway until I reached the huge bouncer we'd met at the beginning of the night.

"You have to come," I said between gasps. I wasn't sure if the lack of oxygen was from my impromptu run or if I was beginning to hyperventilate. Still, I somehow managed to get the words out, and then the bouncer was following me back inside.

I stopped at the entrance, watching the muscular back of the bouncer as he pushed through the crowd to get to the center of the action. From the new vantage point, I was finally able to see the whole scene in front of me.

And it was all too much.

Steppingback into the dark hallway, I leaned my head back against the rough wall andclosed my eyes, wishing I could tune out the sounds of yelling and screamingcoming from inside.