grumbled. Joe heard a loud whistle and turned his head toward it. Six figures appeared at the top of the nearby bridge hill. They were all larger than the other men. "That army," the dead man bragged, grinning. He threw his fist at Joe. Joe easily leaned back avoiding the telegraphed fist. Everything was moving in slow motion to him. He saw Kento out the corner of his eye. The pill man lunged at Kento. Kento moved aside and used his hip to pivot the man head first into the car's bumper. Joe saw movement out of his left eye. The man must be throwing a second punch, he thought. As he swung his body the other way to avoid it. He felt time slow even more. The adrenal gland in the top of his spine began pumping out chemicals. He felt fury overcome him, as the adrenaline charged through his veins down his back and arms. The tiny hairs all over his body stood on end. He was pissed. Really pissed. I won't die because I tried to help you. He moon-leaped backwards a step, to dodge the dumb swing from the dead man. He saw the phone man change direction and hurtle towards Kento. The phone man wasn't even looking at Kento as he lunged. He was too busy looking at his newly unconscious comrade. The dead man reached out some distance to hit Joe. Joe spotted the movement and his attention snapped back. A wicked smile came across his face. He hunched down and spun on his right foot, swinging his left foot through the air. Joe's leg seemed to glide fully extended just above the ground. His foot pulled up and arched through the air. The heel of his left boot stuck the man in the temple. He felt the dead mans head give as his roundhouse kick made contact. His momentum wasn't significantly slowed by the man's skull, so he pumped his left leg inward to accelerate his rotation, and lifted his right leg into the air. He pulled his right boot up just in time to strike the mans head again. Blood spattered out the mans mouth and they fell to the ground. Joe broke his fall with his bare hand on a patch of grass. He felt the pressure as his hands absorbed his full momentum. He cleared the man and landed beside him. He pushed himself up onto his feet and looked around. The men were running down the bridge hill in slow motion. They were mainly looking in Kento's direction as they ran, the puffy arms of their winter jackets swinging. Several of them had knives and threaded pipes brought to bare. Joe turned towards Kento, and saw the phone man lying on top of the body of the pill man. His smile turned crooked as he imagined the second man falling for exactly the same hip throw into the bumper. Scanning the car, he saw something through the open door. A bat tucked under the drivers seat of the burning car. I'm not ready to die, he thought. He ran for the bat. Joe hopped over the body of the dead man and sprinted as only he could toward the side of the little blue car. He reached in and grabbed the bat. He spun to see the men closing in on the calm Kento. Joe reached his right hand across his shoulder and single tapped his computer switching his clarks to human vector mode. Meaningful arrows appeared pointed this way and that. An arrow pointed straight down by the dead man. He wasn't getting up. Joe swiftly crab-walked around the mob now stabbing and swinging at Kento. He swung the aluminum bat full force at the biggest mans head. The man's head gave but he didn't stumble. He swung around wielding a knife and bleeding from the ear. He started at Joe. Joe backed away easily keeping the distance. Several men swung and stabbed at Joe trying to circle him. He was quicker, backing off and maintaining a bubble with his bat. One of the men swung at Joe with a pipe. He felt it tickle his rib through his leather jacket. His mortality came back to him. A single bruise could immobilize him for a week. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off. He scoped a clear path back towards the bridge hill. I have to get some distance, he thought, I'm going to get hit again. Joe took a
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