Unfortunately Jason was not an athletic boy. He had to run, he didn’t know what else to do. The boy was still right behind him, easily keeping up. He had been following Jason since he left school. Jason had stayed late to catch up on a test and by the time he started walking home it was dark outside. He was starting to regret leaving so late, surely the boy following him would be scared off by other people around? Unfortunately he and the boy (Jason decided he must be a bully) were the only ones around. When he saw the bully still behind him he ran faster, until the lights of the city were just a blur. The bully easily kept pace. Jason put on speed.
As he ran he realized that this was no ordinary bully. Bullies always surrounded themselves with other bullies. Bullies who aren’t as smart or mean as the main bully. They are used like tools, they provide security and can do menial tasks such as harassing a kid for his lunch money, tasks that the main bully shouldn’t have to bother himself with. But this bully had no associates. It felt wrong , this bully had more in mind than just roughing him up. He strode too confidently, even running he was menacing, Jason couldn’t explain why, but he knew that he was in danger.
Jason kept running. He was scared now, and it was getting harder for him to breathe. His legs felt like cement and he knew that he couldn’t keep this up much longer. He had to stop. He could see an alley a block ahead and he ran for it. Although every breath was an effort having a destination allowed him to put on speed. Although he knew that alley probably ended in a dead end, he could think of nothing else to do. And there was always the tiny possibility that it didn’t end but turned or forked and he could take a path that might confuse the bully. With the energy this thought gave him he turned into the alley and felt his hopes dashed as he saw the looming brick wall ahead. If he had any breath left he would have swore, but as it was he could only lean against the wall and await his fate. He desperately tried to catch his breath.
After a minute or so he was breathing less heavily and was able to think. He realized that his only two options were fight and flight, and flight hadn’t been serving him too well recently. He had to fight. Soon after he came to this realization, his pursuer turned into the alley. The bully, seeing his prey trapped and helpless, smiled. He had stopped running and now sauntered towards Jason, already tasting victory on his lips. Had Jason been thinking more clearly, he would have realized that, despite the running they both just did, the bully wasn’t visibly breathing.
However Jason was not paying attention to the bully’s breathing, but rather to gathering his strength. As soon as the bully was close enough, Jason gathered his energy and pushed off the wall, kicking and clawing at the bully. He was only able to inflict a couple of scratches before the bully regained his composure.
After the initial shock of being attacked, the bully recovered and flung Jason away. Landed on the ground, Jason realized the struggle was over and resigned himself to his fate, but as a hand came to hold him in place, instinct set in and he turned his head and bit the bully’s arm, hard. The bully cried out and pulled back his bleeding arm, not so much hurt as unable to believe the nerve of the boy he was hunting. Realizing that if he tried to pin Jason down again he would get bitten, he decided to knock him out instead. He quickly reached down and grabbed Jason’s shoulder and flung him towards the wall. Jason’s last memory was everything fading to back as the bully’s foot came towards him.
