​     He got mischievous was what he did.​

​     He decided, in a single flash moment, that it might be fun to inflict a little pain on this drunken, abusive Mr. Rory. He felt mean at that moment. He felt wicked. He felt like being a bully himself for once in his life. 

​     So he did something he knew he could do because he'd practiced it in self-defense class, although he'd never tried it on a human being in a real fight situation before.  

     He struck upwards with the palm of his hand right into Rory's nose.

​     And it was, like, an action movie perfect hit. 

​     He splatted Rory's nose like an egg. 

     Blood went everywhere, all down the front of Rory's T-shirt and jean jacket.

     Rory looked down at himself. He couldn't believe the pain he felt, and all caused by...caused by...

     Rory went berserk. 

     Drunk and high and powerful and more than a little nuttily savage anyway, Rory went out of his mind. He beat on Axel with both fists, furiously crazy. Anything else about self-defense Axel had ever heard went right out of his mind because he now truly panicked. He held his arms over his face to keep it from getting punched. Rory was so cross-eyed pissed by then that he made Axel yelp just by hitting him in the arms. Rory sank his fist into Axel's gut, and that took all the air out of Axel's lungs and hurt like hell. Axel dropped his arms from his face to his stomach, and Rory caught him in the jaw with a punch so powerful Axel felt his jaw shatter like a dropped glass. So much pain, like nuclear explosions of pain. Axel dropped to the ground in an effort to curl into a womb position and try to protect his body that way. Rory dropped on top of him and punched at Axel's head with his fists. He couldn't get at it, though, Axel protected himself too well, and that totally oinked Rory off. He stood back up again and stomped on Axel's head with a booted foot. Axel screamed, "Help! Help!", but no one appeared. Not a single person came to his aid. Axel tried to roll away from Rory's relentless onslaught, and as he did he exposed his face for an eyeblink's time. Rory stomped on Axel's nose and cheekbone like he was putting out a fire. Axel screeched like a slashed cat, then rolled onto his stomach to keep his face from getting stomped even more. Now Rory stomped on the back of Axel's head and neck.  

​     And that's when all the pain beneath Axel's shoulder blades stopped, at that moment.

     Rory had smashed something vital along Axel's spine...

     turning Axel into a paraplegic for the rest of his life.

     All at the tender age of eighteen.

CONTINUE 

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