Atop the Mountain

Chapter 10: Berserker

Leon had this thing, when he was younger. Maybe he never grew out of it. When he saw someone being mean to someone else- someone who couldn't defend themselves, he had to do something about it. One day, he was walking home with Sonia and Hop, and he saw some kids from his school. They were in their last year of primary, he knew. He'd seen them around. Two of them were standing in front of a third boy in their grade, cornering him against a wall.

The sky was overcast, as it almost always is here, with a slight drizzle raining down, pooling at the feet of the three boys as the clogged drain tries and fails to whisk away the falling water. Their hair is already slicked to their heads from an earlier downpour, and the smallest boy is shivering, from cold or otherwise, Leon can't be sure.

Leon stopped, narrowing his eyes at the situation. The smallest of the three- the one backed up against the wall, had a book raised between him and the other two. Leon stepped closer, ignoring Sonia's call of protest. "I just wanna make sure everything's okay," he said, "you and Hop can walk on ahead. I'll be right over."

Sonia furrowed her brow, holding onto Hop's hand. She looked in the direction they'd been walking, then at Leon. Leon turned, fists balled at his sides as he approached the two- the two bullies .

"What're you guys doing?" he asked, flashing what his mum called a winning smile . Few people, or, well, few adults could ever resist its charm.

The boy holding the book drew it closer to his chest. "Uhm," he muttered.

The tallest of the three- a pale boy with greasy blond hair, cocked a brow. "We're just talking, kid. You don't need to worry about it."

The boy holding the book met Leon's gaze and gave a minute shake of his head. The problem was, Leon wasn't really sure what he meant. Did he want to say no, back off or no, he's lying, please help? Leon decided it wasn't worth risking leaving someone helpless. He stood his ground, folding his arms over his chest. "Why's he up against a wall?"

The blond boy clicked his tongue, hands falling to land on his hips. "Do you know this kid, Louis?"

The kid with the book- Louis- shook his head desperately, "I don't know what his problem is," he said.

"Listen," the third boy spoke, "we're just working out some stuff with Louis, so mind your own business."

Leon wrinkled his nose, "Jerks don't get to have their own business ."

Which, it turns out, is maybe the last thing he should have said.

Four minutes later, Leon was on the ground, Sonia shaking his shoulder and calling his name out desperately. His ears rang painfully, and he could feel blood streaming down from his nose, stinging his tongue.

At some point, somehow, he ended up at home, on his kitchen counter, with Sonia tearfully patching him up, patting the blood, spreading cream on the cuts he'd got when he'd been pushed to the concrete.

"Where's Hop?" he asked.

"In his room."

"Where's mum?"

Sonia paused, holding the damp, bloodied cotton ball shakily, "I don't know."

"We need to finish before she gets home," Leon said, "she'll be upset-"

"Leon, you have a black eye."

Leon flinched, bringing a hand up slowly to prod at the delicate skin under his eye. He knew it was sore- hard to open- but was it really that bad? He winced as his fingers made contact, gripping the edge of the kitchen table tightly. Sonia sighed and continued her work, not talking, even when Leon tried to start a conversation.