A childish face, brown eyes full of complex emotions.
Anger, humiliation, fear...
At that time, the remnant Max, or Mike Downs, was still a slightly thin little boy.
He, Foley, Holly and several other downtown children were forced to stand against the wall.
This alley faces the main road. There are other people walking on the road, but they don't pay any attention to what is happening at the entrance of the alley.
Standing in front of Mike and his friends were three tall people, who had obviously grown first.
They were the notorious "Leslie Brothers" from downtown.
They have served as "little bad guys" in local gangs since they were young, specializing in jobs such as burning down newsstands or robbing drunkards. Occasionally, he helps the gang do some disgusting things.
Mike Downs and others worked hard all day and finally earned some steel by selling newspapers and picking up cans along the street, but they were about to be looted by the Leslie brothers again.
After being bullied and unable to bear it anymore, Mike had actually been prepared for this moment - he hid a switchblade in his arms.
He originally planned that if he met the Leslie brothers again, for the sake of the guys behind him and for himself, he would fight to the death with these strong beasts...
However, when they blocked the alley again, he couldn't lift his hand to pick up the switchblade in his arms...
Toby Leslie, the thinnest of the Leslie brothers with dark circles, began to search them one by one.
When he found Holly who was trembling all over, he had a mean expression and his hands were not clean. Thanks to Mike who squeezed Toby away, Holly didn't continue to be humiliated.
Faced with all this, the girl, who was already introverted and withdrawn, could only cover her mouth and cry softly.
All the new cents they had managed to earn were wiped out.
After searching Mike Downs' pants pockets, the oldest of the Leslies, Tom Leslie, noticed something was wrong with Mike's expression.
Under his instruction, Toby found the switchblade in Mike's inner pocket.
Brother Leslie knew what Mike was thinking, threw the knife on the ground in front of him, and beat him severely.
The most humiliating thing was that they didn't take away Mike's switchblade after beating him until he was unconscious and lying on the dusty alley floor.
Not only that, Leslie's eldest son, Tom, seems to realize that Holly has grown up.
He asked them to bring Holly to this alley tomorrow night, or he would kill them.
After Leslie and his gang left, Holly cried loudly in the alley.
When his friends dispersed and it slowly turned dark, Mike Downs was still sitting at the entrance of the alley, not wanting to go home.
On the one hand, the gambler's father must still be hanging out in the underground casino, and he doesn't want to go back to that "home" where there is no warmth.
On the other hand, he could not accept his cowardice when facing the Leslie brothers at dusk.
When he was in the worst mood and thinking about what to do tomorrow night, suddenly a man came over.
It was a big boy with blond hair, one corner of his mouth was slightly raised, and he seemed to be smiling.
He walked to Mike's side, opened a small cylindrical iron can, took out a star-shaped biscuit from it, and handed it to Mike Downs: "My name is Peter Barry. I just moved here today." What do you call me on the street?"
Without taking the biscuit from the other party, Mike Downs did not want to pay attention to this boy who suddenly appeared and seemed to be exuding optimism...
Looking at his clean shirt, Mike thought: These fools who live happily have no idea of the truth of life.
As if he was not offended by Mike's rudeness, Peter Barry actually sat on the ground opposite Mike. He leaned against the other wall of the alley and said, "I saw it all."
Mike asked somewhat sensitively: "What did you see?"
"I saw those big guys searching for your money, and I saw you carrying a knife...
"I also saw them threatening you, asking you to bring the girl named Holly out tomorrow night."
Mike Downs realized that the other party wanted to make fun of and humiliate him. His blood surged, and he gritted his teeth and wanted to get up and leave.
"Seriously, what are you going to do?" Peter Barry asked.
"I'm going to kill them!" Mike clenched the switchblade in his hand that was not used today, and his eyes suddenly widened.
He secretly swore in his heart that there would be blood on this knife tomorrow night.
"I can help you." Peter said calmly.
A stranger actually said that he wanted to help him. Mike thought the other party was joking.
Not knowing how to react for a moment, Mike could only stand with his hands on the wall to relieve the dizziness from standing up suddenly.
"Seriously, I can help you," he repeated.
"Why are you helping me?" Mike turned to the boy who seemed to have some mental problems, "Do you think this is fun?!"
Mike also stood up: “No, it’s not fun.
“I just feel that if you want to change, you can only do it yourself——
"I will continue to hang out on this street in the future, and sooner or later some unsafe factors will have to be resolved."
“It’s better to do it sooner rather than later…
"Besides..." Peter said, stroking the neglected cookie jar, "I appreciate you."
Mike sneered and was about to leave.
Peter Barry hurriedly said behind him: "You don't have to bring Holly out tomorrow, you can just come by yourself..."
"As soon as you see the light tomorrow, lie down on the wall!"
Mike, who had no intention of trusting the other party, endured the pain all over his body and limped away.
Peter Barry was left, looking at his somewhat funny back.
On the second night, Mike Downs, who had been thinking about his ending, was waiting in the alley with a determined look.
Standing next to him was Foley with a long face.
Mike asked him not to come, but he came anyway.
Normally, his elongated face looked very sad, but tonight it looked even more tragic.
Foley also has a murder weapon in his arms - no matter what the outcome, they decided to end it with the Leslie brothers tonight.
The night wind poured into the alley, and Mike and Fulai saw the three tall figures walking over.
The dim light on the street lengthened their figures, making them appear taller.
Although he had rehearsed it many times in his mind, Mike began to doubt his plan again.
He beat himself angrily for flinching again, and simply held the knife in his hand.
However, as the three Leslie brothers got closer and closer, their breathing became more and more difficult——
They realized that even if they had a knife in their hands...
I’m afraid it’s not Leslie and the other three who died tonight.
Tom Leslie seemed to have discovered Holly's absence. He looked mad and rushed over like a wild beast.
There was no doubt that Mike felt that the other party wanted to break his neck.
The hand holding the knife kept shaking, and both he and Fola wanted to run away.
At this moment, they suddenly discovered that the light at the entrance of the alley was blocked.
Rumbling sounded behind Leslie, and the five people in the alleyway looked over in surprise...
Something big and dark came roaring from the alley!
