Cassius was having one of those nights.

When he arrived at the alley around midnight everything was as it always was. There were people that looked familiar and people that looked shady. So, Cassius started betting and losing. Everyone was yelling and wishing his streak would stay that way. Everyone knew about Blondie. But then, by three o’clock Cassius was winning and things were getting tense. The people that Cassius recognized at midnight were now gone and Cassius was only surrounded by angry strangers. This was never a good thing.

It had been awhile since Cassius had one of these nights. For months everything in his life was strangely comfortable and relaxed, but tonight would change that. His reality would get put into perspective and Cassius would handle it. Or, he’d die like a loser.

The four angry strangers who had lost to Cassius had a leader, and once a finger was pointed and some swears were beckoned, Cassius felt a punch hit his gut. He fell to the ground and coughed up any saliva that was present. Cassius had been in many fights, but usually he had a posse behind him. Tonight was one of those nights where it'd be five against one. The question in Cassius' mind always was, would I survive ten more minutes?

He stood up and eyed the circle of men around him. He was not surprised to see them so angry. Cassius had just taken all of their money, fair and square. But gambling was never fair, especially on nights like tonight. Cassius was outnumbered and these brutes would probably get all of their money back, plus whatever else was in Cassius’ pockets.

The leader finally spoke up. “You think you can get away from us?” Cassius smiled and took out his dice, as if ignoring the situation at hand. “If I roll and odd number you’ll let me go, and if I roll even you can do as you like. What do you say?” Cassius’ eyes were on the leader only, and he was ignoring all of the grunts from the other idiots.

The leader then yelled, “What do you think we are? As if we’d negotiate with the likes of you!” And with a snap, Cassius saw two of the brutes lunge towards him. He blocked a punch from one of them but felt the hearty side effect of the other. Cassius’ skills were rusty, and he cursed himself for that. If only he had kept with his training he would have handled this situation with less agony and pain. Once all five of the guys were grabbing at him and choking him, Cassius had given up. He felt his pockets emptied and all of his money was gone within seconds. His arms and legs were tangled and everything moved all too quickly.

He couldn’t feel half of his body anymore from all of the force it had received. When the leader was satisfied, he walked over to a beaten and bent over Cassius and spit on him. “Your luck is over, and now it’s mine.” The leader then shoved his boot into Cassius’ head and within seconds Cassius was yelling and lying on the cement. His head was spinning and the pain was unbearable.

He had lost. He wasn’t nearly strong enough. If he had kept with his training and studied his techniques he probably would have escaped the situation. But he hadn't. All he could do is learn from tonight and get his s**t together. He wanted more power so this wouldn't happen anymore. He wanted...

... and there he was, passed out in the dirty alley, and it was all sleep for now.