(Listening : Linkin Park - Bleed It Out)
I was about to snap back at Bora when Mete's tense shout made me turn. He was struggling to restrain a man, signaling with his head. When I saw another pair of men moving toward them, I started to go stop them, but at the last second I grabbed Bora's arm.
"Do whatever you have to, but distract them, Curly!"
Without giving him a chance to launch into one of his infamous panic speeches, I hurried forward and blocked the men's path.
"Heading somewhere, gentlemen?"
They grinned, looked at each other, then at me. I returned the smile and threw the first punch, landing it squarely on the face of the man on the left. As he reeled back clutching his nose, the other roared and lunged at me. The force of the impact sent us crashing into a table and down to the floor. His weight pinned me.
Dazed from hitting my head on the floor, I was too slow to block his punch. Pain exploded in my lip, followed instantly by the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. As he raised his fist again, I barely managed to catch it with my palm and drove my own fist under his chin. He jerked back, but didn't get off me.
Before either of us could make another move, someone smashed a bat into the back of his neck, and he collapsed onto me. I shoved him off, grabbed Demir's outstretched hand, and pulled myself up. Just as I was about to breathe in relief at the sight of the other man sprawled on the floor, I noticed another wave of men coming toward us. I sighed tiredly and placed a hand on Demir's shoulder as he hurled a string of colorful curses.
"Pray Bora does something soon, or—"
"Don't tell me you left the distraction to him!" Demir cut me off.
When I nodded with a grin, he covered his eyes and muttered in despair.
"Fuck. We're never getting out of this bar alive."
I laughed at his reaction and wiped the blood from the corner of my aching lip. As we prepared to take on the newcomers, Rüzgar joined us. The three of us exchanged a look and charged into the crowd.
Through the crashing sounds of breaking furniture and the shouts rising for various reasons, I suddenly heard the girls' panicked voices.
"You sponge-brained King Kong! Put me down right now or you'll regret it!"
"Let go of Duru! I said let go!"
"Drop the girl!"
"Let go of my friend, damn you!"
I turned to see what was happening. The moment I saw the two-meter brute holding Duru while the girls desperately tried to help her, I kicked the man in front of me in the chest and reached them in one move. I planted myself in front of the brute, fighting to keep my anger in check, and spoke as calmly as possible.
"Let go of my girlfriend. Apologize for harassing her, and I'll let you live to see the morning."
He looked me up and down, raised an eyebrow, and sneered.
"Are you threatening me, kid?"
I smiled confidently.
"No. I'm just telling you what's going to happen."
He laughed loudly, dropped Duru to the floor, and turned back to me.
"You asked for it! Let's see if you'll still talk like that after I mess up that handsome face of yours."
He finished his sentence and swung a clumsy punch at my face. I slipped past it easily and countered with a quick punch to his jaw. His head snapped to the side, but he looked back at me like nothing had happened and spat blood onto the floor.
"Don't worry. When you're six feet under, I'll make sure your girlfriend isn't lonely."
That did it. My vision went red. I lost control. I grabbed his collar and slammed my forehead into his. As he staggered back, dazed, I was about to punch him square in the face when he suddenly ducked and kicked me in the stomach. I crashed into the table behind me.
Groaning in pain as I tried to straighten up using the table for support, I watched him down a glass he'd grabbed from a table and then hurl it at me with that same disgusting grin.
I turned my head just in time to avoid it. The glass shattered somewhere behind me.
This time, I ducked at the right moment, dodged his punch, and drove both fists into his chest and side in quick succession. Before I could make another move, he bent down, slipped his head under my arm, grabbed me by the waist, and slammed me into the column behind us.
Ignoring the pain spreading across my back, I exhaled through clenched teeth and brought my elbow down hard into his spine. Then I grabbed his hair, shoved him back, and switched positions. Without giving him a chance to react, I went straight for the most effective spots, driven by instinct.
After a while, his body went limp and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. I was about to grab him by the collar and continue when Mete caught my raised hand.
"That's enough, Kerem. The girls are watching."
I stepped off the man and turned to Mete, careful not to meet Duru's eyes.
"Get them out of here."
He nodded silently. I wiped the blood—belonging to the other man—from my face and moved toward my friends, who were still fighting.
When I heard a sharp whoosh behind me, I froze and ducked on instinct. I'd narrowly avoided a blow that could've crushed my skull.
I spun around and kicked the wrist holding the club as the man swung again. He cried out and dropped it. Taking advantage, I kicked him hard in the side, knocking him off balance.
As he hit the ground, another man grabbed me from behind, his arm tightening around my throat. At the same time, Bora's voice echoed from somewhere in the distance.
"Teddy! Throw the lighter!"
Tears welled in my eyes from the crushing grip around my neck. I dropped one hand that was trying to pry his arms loose and slammed my elbow into his side with full force. His arms loosened instantly. Without hesitation, I grabbed his arm with both hands, lifted, and hurled him over my shoulder. He hit the floor on his back with a dull thud. When he tried to get up and collapsed again, I panted,
"Good. Stay down."
Scanning the room to see where Bora was and what he was doing, I spotted him standing on top of the bar, holding a bottle filled with brightly colored liquid. I didn't have time to consider whether Demir might actually be right.
Bora lit the cloth stuffed into the bottle and hurled it into the middle of the crowd. As the flames flared and spread across the floor, everyone instinctively paused their fights.
Without wasting a second, Bora grabbed another bottle beside him. With a threatening look, he extended it forward and held his lighter to the cloth.
"Everyone back off, or I'll burn this place down!"