MICHAEL

“What did I tell you?”

Barely have the words left his mouth when the blow arrives.

A jolt twists my skull sideways. Light bursts across the dark. Blood fills my mouth just as the ground meets me..

A blow lands again, stronger this time, deep in my side. My breath escapes - not quietly - but torn out, loud and raw, nothing like what I’ve heard come from myself before.

Then chaos.

“Ron - !”

“Levi, grab him - ”

Loud as thunder, his voice cracks open the air - then Luca crashes into me. Fists fly without stopping. Not one breath between blows. Each hit carries what he’s...