It was already six-thirty in the evening by the time Jacob had finished from Sunday school, he had an anxious look on his face; he was already in trouble.
He looked out from the hallway entrance at the rain pouring onto the dirty pavement, every splash equivalent to another second wasted, 'Mom is going to kill me,' he thought as he paced around slowly.
The rain was pouring very heavily which didn't help his current condition at all.
Jacob was 25, short and had a receding hair-line of short black hair, his facial features barely made up for his rather rugged look. It wasn't enough though, he had lived his entire life being average, hence he never got attention from the opposite sex. He had some vices that he couldn't seem to let go of, but staying in his mother's house at the age of 25 definitely took the cake.
His life wasn't without drama though, he had been through quite a number of experiences, but nothing stuck with him, he had no friends, no girlfriend, no job, no money, nothing.
All he liked to do was read novels about cultivation, magic, gods, angels, dragons and demons, and yes, he also liked to sing, which was why he was at Sunday school, he was using it as a stepping stone to get to the choir.
"Excuse me please." A pale old woman shoved past him, interrupting his thoughts as she walked into the rain with her umbrella, down the stairs and eventually only a faint glimpse of her remained.
Jacob weighed his options while pacing around in the church hallway, mumbling to himself hurriedly. He finally decided he would go out into this rain, it was the only way he would get home in time. Waiting was only going to put him in more trouble.
His mom was surely patiently waiting for him with her eyes glued to her phone screen, for his text or anything to signify he was safe, he knew not to come home at this hour, but how could he let her know he was safe, his phone was dead.
He closed his eyes and silently counted to three before darting off into the pouring rain.
"Brrr… so cold," he smiled as he crossed his arms on his chest, his clothes soaked in water.
An old pair of glasses stuck to his face clumsily, already nearly opaque due to the liquid hitting it repeatedly.
He walked down the road, using only street signs as his guide, 'If I walk to the end of Kenneth Road, it intersects with Alloyan Avenue, just a couple blocks, across the railway tracks and I'm home sweet home,' he mused as he ran down the quiet road, his feet splashing in the puddles carelessly.
He was already at the railway tracks when he heard something in the bushes, "Hey, what ya 'ave in ya bag pack ere?" A deep voice emerged from the shadows.
Jacob turned back to run, he already knew not to mess with these kinds of people, his fate, if it even existed, was truly horrible. He had never encountered bandits on his way home before, this is the reason his mother wanted him home early always, he could suddenly feel how worried she must have been.
The second he turned a huge pair of hands touched his chest, a huge figure stood before him. He couldn't make out the features, how could he? He had damaged eyes.
"The boss asked you a question kid," the intimidating figure in front of him spoke, sending a chill down his spine.
He turned around to an even bigger person, a scar-faced man that exuded an aura that suggested he had put dozens of people six feet below without batting an eye.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what you m-mean, it's just my books, nothing much, please I don't have anything," Jacob begged pathetically, if only the bandits knew he didn't really mean it.
"You don ave nun ehh? Mean we gotta mess ya up proper," the scar-faced man said with a frown.
Jacob was not ready to give up though, he'd seen this in so many movies, he had this exact scenario planned out and waited for this exact moment.
He quietly opened a zipper on his backpack as the huge man walked towards him, and just as the man stretched out his hand to grab him, he pulled out a knife and sliced the man's palm.
"Faaaahhhh!!" The man yelped loud, stunned by the actions of Jacob, the blood from his hand dripped onto the wet floor, with an angry and annoyed expression he practically leaped towards Jacob again, this time the man behind also tried to grab him.
But as a result of his height, and a little luck, he managed to jump out of the way, causing the two bandits to collide with each other, the rain was pouring harder now, thumping against his face restlessly, he lay in the mud, eventually staggering to his feet.
He looked at them, backpack in one hand and knife in the other, he backed away slowly and they moved towards him at the same pace. "Please just let me go, I don't want any trouble," Jacob yelled.
"Ohhh trouble iz all ya gonna get boi!" The men already had their knives out as they moved towards Jacob slowly.
"You attacked me, I don't want any trouble, you're already bleeding, leave me… please." Jacob's body was so full of adrenaline and he was shaking uncontrollably, so much so that he hadn't even noticed the train moving towards him as he'd already stepped onto the track.
The man looked at him, a crooked smile plastered across his face, exposing a very yellow set of teeth, "Guess we don't even ave ta do it our selves."
"Huh?" Jacob said before turning his face, which was immediately met with blinding lights and soul crushing pain.
All he heard was laughter as his consciousness faded away into darkness.