touch him and you will die

Bram :- He doesn't look like he belongs with you,"Look at those boots. No dirt on 'em. Look at that bag. Give us the bag, Arak, and you can keep your share of whatever he's paying you."

arak :- I don't sell my companions," Arak said quietly. His fingers tightened around his iron rod.

Bram :- "You fought over a piece of bread ten minutes ago!" (laughed, taking a heavy step forward.) The stone floor beneath them gave a dull, heavy thud under his weight. "Step aside, Arak. We aren't looking to break your ribs today."

Arak :- "You're welcome to try," (said softly.)

(James backed up until his shoulder blades hit the cold, damp stone of the alley wall.) His heart was hammering against his ribs so hard he could barely hear himself think

James :- "Arak... there are three of them. They're twice my size."

arak :- "Keep your head down, scholar," (muttered, not taking his eyes off Bram).

The man on the left lunged first, bringing his heavy wooden club down in a brutal arc aimed straight for Arak's head.

What happened next made James’s jaw drop.

On Earth, a man built like that would move with heavy, slow momentum. But the attacker moved with terrifying speed. Arak didn't jump back; he stepped into the swing, catching the attacker's wrist with his bare left hand. The impact sounded like two heavy planks of wood slamming together. With a quick twist of his hip, Arak leveraged the man's own weight and slammed his iron rod straight into the attacker's kneecap.

A sharp, horrible crack echoed in the small alley. The man gasped and dropped to the ground, but before he hit the dirt, the second man was already swinging his iron chain.

Arak ducked low, the chain whistling inches over his leather tie, taking a chunk of mortar out of the brick wall. Arak drove his elbow backward into the second man's stomach with enough force to send a spray of spit into the air.

While Arak was busy, Bram didn't target Arak at all—he charged straight at James.

The gear! James realized with a jolt of horror.

Bram’s massive, soot-stained hand reached out, grabbing the shoulder of James’s synthetic jacket. The force yanked James clean off his feet. He hit the rough stone floor hard, scraping his palms, and his locator scanner slipped out of his pocket, tumbling across the gravel.

"No! Don't touch that!" James yelled, scrambling on his knees to reach the glowing screen.

Bram raised a massive boot, intending to stomp straight down on James's chest. "Shut up, bug!"

Before the boot could land, Arak hurled himself through the air, tackling Bram sideways. Both men hit the gravel with a heavy, bone-rattling crash. Bram threw a wild fist, catching Arak across the cheekbone and drawing a line of bright red blood, but Arak didn't even wince. He grabbed Bram by his leather collar, drove his knee hard into the man's side, and slammed his head back against the stone road once—twice—until Bram went completely limp.

Silence fell over the alleyway, heavy and suffocating. The only sounds left were the distant clanging of the city forge and Arak’s ragged, heavy breathing.

Arak stayed crouched over Bram's chest for a long moment, wiping a smear of blood from his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Slowly, he stood up and turned around.

James was sitting in the dirt, clutching his cracked locator screen to his chest, shaking violently, his glasses hanging crookedly off one ear.

Arak :- "You're a terrible traveler," said, his voice quiet as he brushed stone dust off his knees.

James :- "My... my locator," whispered, his fingers trembling as he inspected the glass screen. A long fracture ran down the center. "If the frequency coil is damaged... I can't sync the jump back home. I'm stuck here."

Arak walked over and stopped right in front of him. He extended his hand again.

James looked at the bloody knuckles, then up into Arak’s dark, calm eyes.

James :- "Why did you do that?" (asked, his voice cracking slightly under the sudden wave of shock) "You could have let them take my stuff. You don't even know me."

Arak grabbed James by the wrist and effortlessly hauled him back up to his feet.

Arak :- "Because," said, looking down at the remaining piece of plastic wrapper in James's pocket, "you still owe me another one of those sweet cloud-breads. And you're going to tell me what planet you actually came from while I clean this scrape on my face."

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