Kyros and the Power of Love

*Wormwood*

"I'll kill him!"

Kyros stood with his back to the wall, fists clenched at his sides. He had come to these back alleys hoping to avoid the men who had been following him all week, but they were here before him, and the one with the scarred face was taking a long time to get the message.

And there was no getting away from it: they both knew he would never be able to outrun them. His only hope would be to fight. But against two of them? Even if he managed to get one or even two of them down, he'd end up dead for sure. He let out a growl as he recalled their names: Vergil and Leonidas. They were big men, more than a head taller than him, and strong enough that a hit from either of them could break bones. He didn't stand a chance in a physical fight.

He heard voices outside the alleyway now - loud, boisterous voices. They would be turning this way soon, so Kyros had little choice but to make the first move. He kicked off from the wall and launched himself at Leonidas, aiming for his midsection. The man saw him coming and turned just in time to keep Kyros from tackling him to the ground. Instead, Kyros hit Leonidas' shoulder, ducking under his raised arm and driving into his gut with shoulder and hip both. The larger man grunted as Kyros bowled into him, but was still standing when Kyros pulled away and turned around again.

Leonidas' fists were already swinging towards Kyros' head; Kyros ducked under one of them easily but couldn't avoid the other entirely. It caught him on the side of his head, making sparks dance across his vision while briefly stunning him on one leg. Pain lanced through his skull as he fell to one knee; then hands grabbed at his hair and lifted him back up again by it. His arms were twisted behind him as Vergil now seized hold of his collar with both hands, keeping him from falling forward as he also shouted instructions to Leonidas: "Put it in! Stick it in!"

Vergil's voice sounded distant in Kyros' ears even though he was standing right beside him; blood was dripping down into his eyes from where Leonidas had struck him earlier, impairing his vision along with his balance problems. He felt a sharp pain in his side when Leonidas grabbed hold of his belt and tore it off of him; then fingers tugged at the waistband of his pants and let them fall around his ankles while someone else yanked first one foot then the other out of them altogether. His shoes remained on as Vergil kept holding onto him by the collar; now they stepped away from each other while pushing down on the back of Kyros' neck so that he had to bend forward at an extreme angle or risk breaking something when they let go of him altogether. Then they held onto both ends of their makeshift leash as they led Kyros back towards an empty stall where Irena made her living every night she wasn't working at Dago's tavern instead*.

Kyros tried twisting around for a moment as they walked - which earned him two hard kicks in the side for trying - but gave up after a few steps when he realized how hopeless it was anyway. Over half-a-dozen other people were walking past nearby now; none of them seemed like anyone he recognized personally, but that didn't matter much anyhow since most of those who lived in this part of town weren't exactly friends with anybody else from this neighborhood anyway*. He closed his eyes and hung limp once more as they led him into Irena's stall; all three men dropped down to their knees on the floor while keeping hold onto Kyros' collar so that he had no choice but lower himself too, bending over with back arched until he was lying flat on his stomach between all four men like some sort of sacrifice awaiting slaughter or sacrifice instead*.