“Let’s break her arm.”

  Ridley was sure it was an empty threat, but it still sent a thrill down her spine.

  They stood facing off just like in a cliche comic book scene. The setting, a narrow passageway behind a strip mall. It came complete with graffiti and a large dumpster that the hero would usually throw bad guys into. Ridley supposed good guys also looked for evidence or clues in dumpsters as well. She wasn’t particularly a hero or looking for clues—but she knew one thing for certain—dumpsters were an overused setting for plot progression.

  ^

  New Quest!

  Back Alley Brawl:

  Three goons are attempting to do you harm. Show them the error of their ways.

  Objective: Defeat 3 goons

  Quest rewards:

  -450 xp

  -4 silver

  Notice: Your alignment may shift if you complete this quest

  Now Ridley had seen something in her stats to indicate that she might be conditionally stronger. At the moment she did not feel any stronger however. She was bordering on terror. There was also a small thrill running down her spine at the idea of being rewarded for beating up three nuisances to her school life.

  Amanda set down her bag and pulled out a metal softball bat. She waved it around like she was warming up for a game. Then she looked up at Ridley menacingly. In the back of Ridley's head she knew this was all for show. They would likely just try and scare her and let her off after giving her some bruises she could cover up at school. That didn’t register with Ridley's adrenaline levels though.

  As her heart began beating harder something shifted. All physical signs pointed to her being terrified, but smack in the front of her brain Ridley was picturing herself taking the metal bat out of Amanda’s hands and smashing it into her nose. The gouts of blood splashing on the wall making pretty splatter marks and the release of…

  Oh my god, why am I thinking about something so violent?

  Stooge number two, Ridley couldn’t think of her name, stepped up with her bag and drew another softball bat. Was she supposed to keep track of all of her bullies' names?

  Maybe I should start a list. A revenge list. I could find all of their houses and many little accidents could happen to them.

  “Whoa, look at her face. Creepy.” Stooge number three’s face twisted with disgust.

  Suddenly, Ridley became aware that she was grinning maniacally, ear to ear. Her body was slightly crouched ready to dive for the bat and break stooge number two's kneecaps.

  Holy crap! What is wrong with me?

  At this point Amanda stepped forward giving her bat a few test swings. Ridley felt herself being backed up against the dumpster, a knowing smile crept onto Amanda’s face. It was likely she intended to throw Ridley into the putrid piles of trash.

  This is all a game—the rules being whoever ends up in the dumpster loses.

  Ridley’s conflicting thoughts aligned, and with a snap her vision went red. She reached back, grabbing the metal lip of the dumpster—likely covered in years of food residue. She gave it a yank and something gave underneath her grip—a metallic creaking reverberated thoughout the alley.

  Her would-be assailants didn’t register any threats from the 5 foot nothing girl in front of them—so they continued stepping towards her. Her head began pounding with the blood rushing to her brain—any more and she felt she might pass out. A dizzy spell brought all her doubts to the front of her thoughts.

  Well I guess I’ll just get beaten a bit, then they will leave me alone. The broken arm threat was likely just that, a threat. Right? Do I want to be beaten up again though? Do I want to keep being the victim?

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I SAY NAY!” Ridley shouted as she turned her back to the girls. Bringing her other arm around to grab the lip of the dumpster.

  She pulled down on the front of dumpster and reached underneath it with her other hand lifting it over her head. She felt her arms and legs burn as she turned and reoriented toward the bullies. Once she had her balance she flipped it forwards causing it to turn upside down in mid-air. Ridley felt a thrill as the girls' faces turned to fright and she heard their cries of alarm cut off. The metal box landed perfectly on top of them like a trap sprung around a thief in a cartoon. The sounds of the shifting garbage gave her the beautiful image of raining trash bags. She pictured them pushing the goons to the ground—slimy old food dripping all over the girls' clothes and hair.

  Feeling the rush of power Ridley jumped on top of bin and smashed her fists down on the metal base, howling with her success. One, two, three fist sized dents were crushed into the rusty metal base. Maybe she could slowly beat the metal inwards until she crushed them into the ground. It didn’t seem like she could do that nearly quick enough to satisfy her bloodlust though.

  Maybe she could push the bin against the wall until the bin collapsed under the pressure, crushing them. Ridley hopped down and began shoving the dump to the sidewall. It seemed this would work nicely. As it moved she could hear the girls screams.

  Ridley shouted, “You did treat us like the leavings of thine meals! Now you can baste in it!” Imagining the satisfying crunches the bin and bones would make, Ridley pressed harder.

  Her pleasant musings were interrupted as a man came strolling down the alley. He was tall and skinny with his short wavy hair combed to the side. His thin glasses reflected the sun as he strolled up in his blue collared shirt that said Congo on it with a little arrow from the ’n’ pointing to the ‘o.’ He was holding several bags full of groceries. For a second, Ridley wondered if she would need to kill a witness.

  “Excuse me young lady. Did you just throw that dumpster onto those three young women?” Ridley almost felt a physical radiant pressure coming off of him. The pressure made her snap out of her blood lust fueled day dream. The red in her vision cleared and she felt dizzy from the sudden vacuum of energy.

  “Um, yessir. I did.” She managed to stutter out. As she moved away from the bin feeling a bit ill at what she had just done.

  “Well destruction of private property is against the law as well as the littering. Do you have anything to say for yourself before I call the local authorities?”

  “It was self defense?”

  “Self defense? Did they actually hurt you?” The man asked.

  “Well, no. They bully me though, constantly.”

  “Bullying is perfectly legal you know. As long as it doesn’t get violent.”

  “Well they were threatening me with baseball bats… and they've stolen my lunch a couple times.”

  At that he seemed to give pause and look at the trash bin. “Ah, I know the type. It is a pity that we must put up with such barbaric behavior in this day and age.”

  At the comment, Ridley felt the events of the past two days crash into her head at once. She didn’t cry often, but she felt another wave of emotions hitting her. The stress of school life, the abject poverty, her mother's neglect, and this new uncontrollable rage. She sniffled and realized snot was already starting to drip down her nose along with her tears.

  The man took a step back and genuinely seemed to panic. Ridley just kept sobbing and walked over to put her back to the wall, slumping down to the ground. As she heard the girls echoing screaming under the dumpster, she began to cry all the harder.

  Then she heard the man mutter something. At that Ridley glanced up to see one side of the dumpster lift into the air on its own. As soon as they could fit, the goons crawled out of piles of garbage bags. They were covered with drippy food leftovers that they didn’t bother to clean off before sprinting down the opposite side of the alleyway. She caught them glancing back to make sure Ridley wasn’t following them.

  ^

  Quest Complete!

  Back Alley Brawl:

  Three goons are attempting to do you harm. Show them the error of their ways.

  Objective: Defeat 3 goons

  Quest rewards:

  -450 xp

  -4 silver

  Notice: Your alignment has shifted to chaotic neutral.

  Congratulations, you are now level 2!

  Ridley closed the window quickly so she could watch the girls' panicked escape as long as possible. It made her feel better. She felt her self-loathing and fear slowly disappear replaced by… amusement at the insanity of the whole situation.

  The man then walked over to Ridley and handed her a piece of paper from his pocket to blow her nose on. Ridley took the paper from his hands and rubbed the sleeve of her shirt over her face. She looked down at the paper and saw the Congo logo at the top, beneath that was some 3d block lettering font that said ‘Now hiring!’, then a list of some vague benefits. Ridley was familiar with Congo. Everybody used it now that they had super fast shipping speeds.

  “Are you offering me a job?” Ridley asked.

  He looked at Ridley and squinted his eyes.

  “Well to be honest, not intentionally, though we are hiring. However, you have to be able to lift at least… eighty…” He paused mid-sentence and looked over his shoulder back at the dumpster, then sighed.

  “Why yes, I suppose I am offering you a job… interview.”

  “I’ll think about it… Hey! How did that dumpster lift in the air like that?”

  “Maybe it just… shifted.” The man said super suspiciously.

  Maybe I hit my head.

  She looked at the ad for the job at Congo. She didn’t need a job if the silver ended up paying out. She could break stuff all day and live like a Queen!

  Nervously adjusting his tie, the man waited for Ridley to gather herself. She stood up brushed herself off and excused herself leaving the giant trash pile behind. She needed to find some more expensive stuff to break.

  “Well, thanks for checking on me. I’ll be going now.”

  “Not a problem. Please refrain from littering in the future.”

  “No prob, bob.” She waved leaving the alley for more opportunities.