Classic rock spilled from the old juke, glasses clinked, followed by the crack of breaking billiards. Axel served the fourth Cosmo of the night to a young lady named Caren, her smile flashed pearly whites, "Thanks." She took her drink and joined her friends.
So far, things were going smoothly in the Rabbit Hole Bar. A glance at the clock, 23:40 just a few hours before closing. A few customers came and went from their tables, ordering whatever drinks listed for the night. Axel kept himself busy serving em up. Chatting with those that lingered at the bar, just another Tuesday.
However, it was too early to assume things wouldn't spiral. He eyed the billiards table, the usual local biker gang dominated the game for hours. Another guy, his shirt oil stained, damn, Larry, approached the taller one—Frank who paused from pocketing the eight-ball for another win.
"Y'all gonna be at it all night or what?"
Axel dried a glass, he nudged Tony who was too busy flirting with Erin to notice. "Larry's getting himself in trouble again."
"Shit." Tony glanced back and raised a finger to Erin who persed her lips and sipped at her martini. "If it gets heated, break it up." He nudged Axel back, meaning he'd man the bar while Axel played bouncer. It was reasons like these that the boss should have hired a bouncer. Or maybe that's why Axel had been considered for the task.
Naturally the gang flocked around Larry as though ready to throw down. Frank rested his hand over the cue, eyed Larry the way a dangerous predator did its prey. A slick grin, "You wanna play?"
"Been waiting for ages. Y'all keep hogging the game."
Frank held the cue out.
Larry reached for it. Before he could grasp it, Frank flipped the cue and swung. Crack. It struck Larry in the face, whipping him around. One of the gang members grabbed him. The beer in his mug splashed over him.
"Still wanna play, little shit?"
"Bast—" Larry doubled over when Frank jabbed the end of the cue into his gut.
"Huh? What'd you say?" Frank continued striking, "Speak up." He lifted the cue over his head, that's when Axel latched on to it, halting Frank. The guy glanced back, his features a mix of shock and irritation. "The hell you want, Ax? Don't butt in." He tugged.
Axel didn't let go. "Sorry, can't have y'all destroying the property. No-tolerance zone. Take it outside." He met Frank's regard with equal measure. But he could feel his impatience rising, these guys were just your average assholes. He couldn't go through a week without them screwing up everything.
Larry, recovered from the hits, took the glass mug and hurled it at Frank. It bounced off his head and crashed at their feet. That's when it got messy. Before Frank could maul Larry, Axel grabbed him and literally dragged him out the bar. Perhaps it'd been a mistake on his part, but that only ended up with him being their main target. While Frank and his crew ganged up on Axel, Larry snuck out behind them and ran off.
"The hell is your problem, Ax, I was messing with him!" He shoved Axel back.
"Dude, that's all you do, mess with people. Take over, ya can't keep doing that." Axel wasn't about to let Frank intimidate him. "Tell your friends to back off or you're all banned, ya hear?"
"Ban me?" Frank glanced at his crew they all chuckled, their faces flushed and shadowed under the dim light. He got too close and with every word, pushed Axel, "You can't ban me you—"
Axel shoved back, hard. The guy nearly fell. That's when all hell broke loose. Punches were thrown, kicks. Axel was getting more hits, he figured he'd roughen the guy up and send him packing. But the guy signalled his friends to pitch in. One of them grabbed Axel's arm, another tried to take him, but Axel snapped his elbow into the guy's jaw. He stomped on his holder's boot.
Light flared from the front door, "I'm calling the cops!" Tony hollered, then he shot a round into the air. Nice.
The group scattered.
Axel felt something strike at his back sending him forward into a puddle. He threw his hands out to catch himself, pebbles scraped his palms and icy water hit his face—then his hands caught more water and he felt the chill engulf him. This wasn't a puddle, it was a damn pool! He couldn't swim up despite his efforts, Tony's voice faded out from the rush of water at his ears and before he could even break surface, he was sucked through what he could only guess was a maelstrom.
He tasted blood. His lungs burned. The dark tones of color spun away and blotches of light opened below. Then he realized that must be the surface. With every ounce of his strength he kicked and paddled until his head broke through and he sucked in air. Blinking away the sting in his eyes he kept swimming until his hands felt solid, he clung onto what felt like roots and hauled himself out of the water to what looked like red-twinned ground, then he pushed up to his knees... There was a yellow tinted sky, trees with twisted roots, and strangely near glowing branches clawing over. A forest... How'd he end up here...? "What... The... Hell?
@AngelofOctober
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TokyoPewPew
