Chapter 1: Introduction
My wheels clicked rhythmically along the damp pavement. I curved around the corner, eyes scanning the gloom. A thin stream of light trickled down the otherwise grimy alleyway from one street lamp, spilling onto the puddles lining the path before me.
Even though my neighborhood has grown rougher around the edges, I wasn't afraid. Night and I had become close friends long ago. Together, we marched to the beat of our own drum and found meaning in the things that most would flee from in terror.
A low chuckle echoed behind me, sending a chill down my spine. I spun my wheelchair around to see two men—big, burly, and menacing—stepping out from the shadows.
"Well, well, well," the first one sneered. His bald head shimmered with moisture, and his cruel grin revealed a missing tooth. "What do we have here?"
The second man, his dark hair slicked back, scanned me from head to toe. "A cripple?" he asked, his voice cold and calculating.
"Think we can get anything out of him?"
I shrugged, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm just out for a late-night stroll. I don't have much on me."
Thug 1 leaned forward, his face inches from mine as he leered coldly. "Let's see if we can find something of value."
His grubby hands rummaged through my pockets, yanking out my wallet, and throwing the rest of my belongings onto the muddy ground.
"I knew it," he sneered, brandishing it in front of me. "Cripples like you always have some cash on hand. Must make up for the inability to work."
I bit my tongue, holding back the surge of anger building within my chest. I would not give them the satisfaction.
"That's everything I have," I said, locking eyes with Thug 1. "Strictly speaking, you ought to let me go now."
Thug 1 threw his head back and roared with laughter, joining the second thug.
"Ha!" Thug 1 snarled. "Let you go? And why would I do such a stupid thing? We can still have a bit of fun with you, cripple."
A kernel of fear lodged itself in my throat. I knew exactly the kind of 'fun' they had in mind. They'd chosen the wrong man this time.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I managed to say, gripping the wheelchair's armrests.
Thug 2 cracked his knuckles, looming over me.
His breath reeked of cheap whiskey and smoke. "Why not?" he taunted. "Don't tell me the little cripple's afraid?"
I swallowed the fear that clogged my throat, pumping confidence into my words. "Listen, I don't want any trouble. I just want to go home."
Thug 1's grin widened, and he produced a knife, its blade catching the dim light.
"Oh, I think we're past that now, cripple."
Icy dread seeped deeper into my veins at the sight of the weapon, but I fought to keep my voice even. "It's Nick."
"What's that?" Thug 1 asked, his voice a deadly whisper.
"My name," I replied. "It's Nick."
Thug 2 shrugged, circling me like a tiger sizing up its prey. "We've got bigger things to worry about than your name, cripple.
But now that you mention it, I'm thinking that Nick might be a little too friendly for the likes of you."
Thug 1 slid his thumb along the sharp edge of the knife, and I kept still, hesitant to draw any unnecessary attention. The weight of the unspoken threat hung heavy in the air.
"How about we give you a new name, Nick?" Thug 1 said, a twisted sort of pleasure lighting his eyes.
He dragged the tip of the knife across my right leg stump, stopping just short of breaking skin, and I stiffened at the contact.
But their laughter was like a switch, something in me clicked, and my fear flared into anger. A seething heat rose from my core, filling me with a white-hot fury that I hadn't felt in years.
" Or better yet," Thug 2 chimed in with a wicked grin, as he continued prowling around behind me. "We could just take your wheelchair and leave you in the alley.
Wouldn't that be fun, Nick?"
Thug 1's laughter echoed off the damp walls, irritating my already raw nerves. I clenched and unclenched my fists in silent defiance, forgetting that my legs were trapped within the confines of a wheelchair, stripped of their power to lash out and carry my anger.
"Yeah, that would be a great idea," I managed to say through gritted teeth, my calm exterior at odds with the storm inside me.