#55: Combat!

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Hand to hand...

Fighting…. the thugs had ambushed him when he was crossing the park. He supposed he should have known better.

Shelby had bailed out of his track chair. It was just too damn slow and confining. He’d streaked across grass, over and under the picnic tables, the playground equipment and through the trees like a micro-gorilla. He had attempted to evade his attackers but they weren’t giving up. They weren’t taking the hint.

The little dragon flew high guard behind him like a falcon, waiting for his go-ahead.

There came a point where he decided to just quit running. No more Mr. Nice guy. If they wouldn’t leave him alone they would suffer the consequences. He found a good place to fight then he and Elvira went on the attack. There were weren’t too many of the young thugs, perhaps a dozen. Maybe two dozen? How hard could it be? He and Elvira meshed in the same way that he and the voice had messed in the tunnel. They became night terrors to the thugs. Silent death from out of the dark. They were two minds in intimate contact. They supported each other and covered for each other... but mostly they killed.

Their opponents were not, really, very good fighters. Most of them were just bullies. They had been confident in their numbers against an old double amputee in an odd looking wheel chair.

Perhaps they should have considered that oddness. Not every Disabled Vet propelled and unpowered TankChair across a park in the Ghetto... at night. They might have considered the reason that this one was different. They hadn’t stopped to think and they were paying the price in blood. They were pathetic.

Shelby was only three foot tall when he was standing up straight on the ground. When he was leaning forward in Gorilla stance he was much shorter and very close to the ground. This provided a tremendous tactical advantage.

Apparently the pathetic fools had some vague notion in their tiny little minds about revenge, retaliation or ’saving face’ relating to the incident of weeks ago. Shelby had whipped their asses then too, only much more gently. That had been a slap on the back of the hand. He was done being gentle. This was more like cutting off the hand...or the head.

They had guns and apparently they’d thought that made them invincible. Shelby had faced guns before. Guns held no special terror for him, especially since he was in their midst, up close and personal, and below their line of fire.

They kept shooting each other. Some had knives and tried to use them. Naturally they had not the least clue. They were swinging long, ‘scary’, ‘tactical’ knives, almost swords in some cases and not touching him in the slightest. The term ‘circular firing squad’ came to mind. Shelby was slashing with his fingernails and punching. His punches were so pile driver intense that they caved in ribs, ruptured organs, and broke bones. His fingernail slashes gutted them like trout.

On occasion he plucked out eyeballs just for a change of pace.

Elvira had claws too, and teeth, and a tail with a sharp tip. He and the little dragon were happily slicing and dicing the punks. Let them bleed.

These guys had clearly bitten off MUCH more than they could chew. They had a tiger by the tail and couldn’t let go for fear of being eaten.

The thugs had attacked in the dark thinking it might give them an advantage. The reverse was true. He and Elvira could see in the dark. The thugs could not.

The gang-bangers were pretty much stumbling around ...in panic...slow and pitiful.. crying for their momma....bleeding....he was fast and remorseless.

Who’s yo Daddy?

He was tearing them apart. They had pissed him off....their bodies littered the landscape, blood soaked the grass.

Suddenly there was light. Spotlights from several police cruisers illuminated the carnage.

“FREEZE”

A cop shouted using a bullhorn. The cop was NOT amused. Actually he sounded a bit terrified. He’d never seen so much blood.

Shelby stopped, “stood” still and raised his hands above his head. He shook his head like a horse dislodging a fly.

“Absorb the long fingernails please, and the blood.” he asked Elvira. “before he sees them. Loose the dragon.”

“I said Freeze. Do NOT move.” The cop screamed, Bullhorn set to max volume.

“Put your hands behind your head, cross your legs at the ankle…. kneel” The cop squeaked....”um...er. I mean...that is. “

Shelby not only had no ankles he pretty much didn’t have any legs either. His legs were just gone from mid thigh down. In a manner of speaking he WAS kneeling, all the time. Shelby lowered his hands and clasped them behind his head as ordered. Perhaps that would appease the cop. The cop certainly sounded nervous. Actually the cop sounded terrified. Perhaps he’d never seen serious combat before.

Poor baby.

Shelby was splattered with blood from top to bottom. Damn. He should have been more careful. He’d gotten a little carried away. There had been enough of them that they had forced him to hurry. Perhaps he had gotten a little rough when he’d lost his temper. It had been fun though.

The cop held his handgun trained on Shelby...somewhat trained. It wobbled and moved. He was in fear of his life. Actually the cop had peed his pants.

“Don’t. Move!” The Bullhorn squalled with feedback.

Shelby hadn’t moved, at all. He barely breathed. The cop was starting to piss him off. If the fool shot him Shelby was going to rip his heart out feed it to him while it was still beating He’d thought about doing that to one or two of the thug-lets.

“I’ll certainly kill him if you don’t” Elvira had said “the dragon is only an eye-blink away, directly above him. If he makes a wrong move he’s going to lose his head.”

Shelby thought. “Maybe he won’t shoot me. Damn. Who’d a thunk I’d need ballistic armor here. I kinda miss my jacket.”

“Helmet too. A definite oversight.” Elvira said

The cop continued to hold his gun NOT very steady, it wavered, shook and moved. Shelby was probably safest in front of the gun...no telling who’d get shot if it fired. Probably not Shelby. Finally another cop CAREFULLY circled the scene and approached Shelby from behind. .... and put cuffs on Shelby’s wrists… … oddly gentle.

“Send the meat wagon” The first cop, the one with the gun, spoke into his handheld. He was a little bit less nervous now that Shelby was safely hand-cuffed. “A street gang attacked a crippled old homeless guy. The old fart killed them all. With his bare hands. He took em apart like a cook taking apart chickens. Better send two meat wagons...three maybe. I can’t tell how many bodies there are, they’re in pieces so it’s hard to count. There’s a LOT.”

The cop that had cuffed him leaned over and spoke to Shelby in a whisper that the other cop could not overhear. “Dammitboy...you really kicked some ass!!”

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The Next Episode is
#56; Courtroom
The Previous Episode was
#54: Smart Phone
the First episode was
#1 : Prologue

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@everittdmickey
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