â€œThe boss told us you snitched, kid.â€<br/><br/>In their defense, it really wasnâ€™t a good time of day for a kid of his age to be out and about anyway. Especially a kid who was held as a suspicious character. A kid who couldnâ€™t be trusted shouldnâ€™t wander the streets later than eight oâ€™clock.<br/><br/>Nineteen year old Pierce Chrome had been cornered. He had unthinkingly strolled straight into a dead end. Not very bright on his part. He was accompanied by a group of a widely ranged individuals, all who varied in appearance and class. There were a total of ten of them, and they varied from scum who wore rags to men who made five figures a week and chose to wear a tie to come kill him.<br/><br/>He appreciated the respect, really. Heâ€™d barely earned it.<br/><br/>With the ten of them in front of him at the mouth of the alley, and nothing but a chain link fence at his back, he had very little chance of escape. His silvery gray eyes followed one of the scummy men as he stooped down and pulled a dirty, rust-covered pipe from the garbage. The white haired boy scanned each of the menâ€™s faces with an impersonal, distant look.<br/><br/>â€œDid he now?â€ Pierce said with a dispassionate voice.<br/><br/>One of the plebs spoke up. â€œSure did. The bossâ€™s been real nice to you an yer sister. He donâ€™t deserve to be snitched on, ya hear?â€<br/><br/>Pierce eyed the man bitterly. â€œSure he doesnâ€™t. An upstanding citizen like him? Too bad I didnâ€™t do it. Your snitch isnâ€™t here.â€ Pierceâ€™s hands were deep in his pockets, and in one he twirled his switch blade around his fingers. He had a feeling he wouldnâ€™t be leaving this alley any time soon.<br/><br/>At least not without a few broken bones.<br/><br/>â€œYou little piece of shit!â€ with grunts of curses, the pleb with the pipe stomped towards him threateningly.<br/><br/>As quickly as the tall boy could, Pierce spun around and jumped at the fence, locking his fingers around the first things they could gain purchase on. In a frenzied escape attempt, the pale young man kicked his feet and tried to claw his way over the fence.<br/><br/>He didnâ€™t get far, however. Almost as quickly as he had tried to flee, he was yanked down to the ground forcefully, landing on his back. As his breath was forced out of him, a shoe met his face. Hard. Pierce shoved his hand into his pocket and ripped out his switch blade. The spring shot the chrome blade out with a<span style="font-style: italic">shick</span>, and he plunged it into the nearest manâ€™s thigh. The man gave a shout of indignation and pain, before someone struck Pierce across the face with a boot. Pierce was forced down again, his one weapon out of reach.<br/><br/>He didnâ€™t utter a word while they beat him. He only scrunched his eyes shut against the pain and clenched his jaw. But eventually that was useless, because his jaw ended up broken with a pipe to his chin. As blood filled his mouth, he wondered idly if it was the annoying wisdom tooth that they had knocked out. He certainly hoped so.<br/><br/>When they cracked his femur, it was all he could do not to scream. He couldnâ€™t have done so anyway, what with his broken jawbone. All that came out was a choked, animalistic howl of pain. Kick after kick was delivered to his poor bruised abdomen. They stomped on his arms, they swatted at him with a pipe, laughing like it was a game of piÃ±ata.<br/><br/>Pierce knew pain like this already. He knew it well. He could deal with this shit. No problem.<br/><br/>But then one man staggered forward, his hand pressed to his thigh and something shining in his other one. The others parted to let him through as Pierce lay on the rancid-smelling pavement. He knelt down by the boy and used his bloody hand to grip a handful of Pierceâ€™s white hair. The hatred in those eyes was astounding, and Pierce just stared back dispassionately as he struggled to breathe. The man gritted his teeth and sneered.<br/><br/>â€œBurn in hell, you worthless fuck.â€<br/><br/>And he drew Pierceâ€™s own knife across the boyâ€™s throat, spilling red blood all over the black pavement.