Breaking the Silence

Part 2

He came across three 17 year-olds

They are some kind of "gang". They even had "a deal" with a smaller mafia as they were bragging, but when they met them, they got so scared they ran away.

But for Michael, they're still bullies. He maybe wouldn't be afraid of them if he wasn't 11.

As soon as he entered the tunnel, he gasped and held his breath in case they will  jump out on him . In the dark, he couldn't see anything around him except for the blinking street lamp on the end of the tunnel.

Then he heard laughing coming from the opposite side. He stopped, then started backing away without making any sound.

He heard a crack. He cursed silently. His bike broke a branch. The laughing noises stopped . He heard footsteps. "Hey, have you heard any squeaking?" said the first voice
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure i did. What do you think it is, Sebastian?" Said the second voice to the third one.
"Nah, it sounds a little humanish.." replied the third one "Oh wait, it's just little Mikey!" 

The last sentence made Michael mad. Only his mother could call him Mikey. "Don't call me that!" said Michael angrily. The three bursted into laughing calling him names. "Alright kid, did you bring the money?" Michael was confused. "Wh-what money?" "You weren't at school today so we had to take the money from someone else. Now it's your turn." said Sebastian.

"But... I don't have any."

"If you can't pay us back in money, I guess beating you up will be fine." They pushed him onto the floor.

Michael would usually run away while they weren't paying attention, or if he couldn't, he would just get beaten up. Later, after that he would try to hide the blood and bruises from his mother, inventing excuses. But he knew that his mother knew something was going on, but he just kept denying it.

In the end, she would just let go.

He couldn't tell her, because it would only make things worse. "No wonder, you're so broke that your little momma needs to find a man to pay for all of your bills."

Now, he crossed the line. How could he make up things like that? No one can insult his mother in that disrespectful way.

"Shut up! You're lying! How dare you say that!" Michael started yelling, he got up with a clenched fist, making his first move. He punched one of them in the face.

The bully put his hand on his hurt eye. "You. Really. Shouldn't. Have. Done. That." He picked Michael up by his shirt and slammed him across the tunnel wall.

His instincts told him to run away, to roll in a ball and wait for all of this to be done. But not this time. This time he won't stand by and watch them helplessly as they give him hard punches and throw him around like a boring toy to play with.

This time, he won't lay down as his bullies walk away with evil grins on their faces. This time he will get up and fight. He reached in his backpack. He felt a cold metal inside. A flashback came instantly.