Mugged

There are bad days and then there are nightmares that occur in reality. Derik was living one of those real time nightmares that day. He tipped off the auto rickshaw driver and cussed at the surge pricing. “Soon, they will be asking to pay with blood.” he muttered. All through the journey his eyes had stayed plastered on the meter. He was certain he was being looted at this point. He slapped the wallet shut and began to shove it in his pocket. That’s when he felt another set of fingers trying to pluck it out. Derik turned around in one swift motion. Sure, he had heard stories of people getting mugged around here. But to his shock, he was faced by a young woman no older than him, with a dagger in her hand. Derik saw the tip of the dagger vibrate as she held it up to his neck and yelled “Don’t move.” He studied her for a moment. What he saw was a pair of trembling lips and a pair of dilated pupils. Even before he could contemplate if it was acceptable to hit a lady, his instinct took over him.

Derik held the opponent’s wrist with one hand. His other hand, curled in a fist, slammed onto her cheek. A patch of blue formed beneath her skin.  “Bastard.! How dare you hit a woman?” she screeched, freeing her wrist from his confines. “Watch me!” Derik replied. He was surprised at her audacity. “A thief is bad as is. A cussing feminist thief is worse.” He thought. He kicked his years of ‘moral education’ in the shin and punched her again. “Not as weak as you thought? Right?” he hissed with his teeth clenched. His grip tightened on her wrist forcing her to drop her weapon.

“Let go, you asshole” she screamed as Derik further twisted her arm. With his other hand he caught hold of her neck choking her. Her face turned purple making Derik’s palms sweat. “This was supposed to be self defense. Is she dead?” he thought to himself. His white shirt now stained with her blood and his sweat. Her body had stopped struggling. She was his prey now, defeated and probably dead. “Not so soon!” she whispered, like a creepy mind reader. Derik felt a sharp pain radiate from his left thigh shooting up to his waist numbing his lower body. “Taser?”Derik thought as he slumped to the ground. She pinned him down and mounted his chest. Her tiny fists continued to rain punches on his face.

A black screen seemed to have covered his vision and he heard a sharp never ending beep. The sound of a loud slap woke him up. He tried to move but his body didn’t cooperate. His eyes refused to open. He felt her weight crushing his ribcage. He saw her right hand moving towards his cheek in slow motion. With a renewed vigor, he freed his hands from under her and raised them in a cross against his face. With open palms he held her hands and thrust her backward. Her head hit the pathway with a thud. He punched her nose with the base of his palm. Blood trickled down her nose. Derik’s face reflected a tinge of guilt. His grip weakened ever so slightly. She took note and immediately thrust both her palms onto his chest, throwing his weak body a few feet away. She quickly unlocked the clasp of his wrist watch, picked up his wallet and the dagger. “That’s for hitting a woman” she said and kicked him before turning around and sprinting.

But Derik was not about done yet. His adrenaline forced his body to chase her down. A few sprints away, he managed to push her. She tumbled and fell, her head leaving a dent in the ground. Blood flowed down to where Derik now stood. Derik got down on his knees, as he tried to understand what had just happened. He held her by her shoulders and shook her.  “Don’t die on me you bitch. I don’t want to rot in prison.” Derik said out loud panting and sobbing. Derik’s eyes moistened and the salinity stung his open wounds. “How on earth did I end up killing a woman?” he screamed. “Self defense, it was self defense.” he tried to justify himself. He gently tapped her cheek eliciting a cough from her. “Oh! Thank God!” Derik whispered. He got to his feet and walked a few steps away from her just until her chest began to heave again. He ran up to his house. “How could I be so stupid” he shouted out loud punching the door. From his window, he watched her pick his wrist watch and wallet. Derik wondered if he should retrieve his belongings, but decided to helplessly watch her limp away.