Some of his friends just stood there and laughed and some ran toward Todd. He ran as fast as he could for only one block and then stopped and turned to face them. There was three of them and one had a stick.
   "Fight me fair" Todd said "one at a time, or are you chicken shit?"
   "You're going down old man." One answered as he threw a swing.
   Todd ducked and a fist hit him in the helmet. "Aaah, you got a hard fucking head." And then a stick cracked on Todds head.    He pulled out a knife and swung it toward the closest one. They all jumped back now. They spread out, trying to surround him.
   "What do you need that knife for, I thought you was a bad ass?" One asked.
   Todd responded as he swung a knife at one. "Three against one with a knife, I think that's fair."
   It was a standoff now, they were afraid of the knife. One started looking around for something to throw. He grabbed a rock and threw it. It bounced off Todds arm and fell to the ground. He threw another rock and Todd moved to the side.
   "You guys better get out of here before I really get mad." Todd warned.
   Then, the one looking around came running, with a stick in one hand and a bottle in the other."Get mad, mother fucker." And he swung a stick at Todd.
   Todd threw a knife at him and it stuck in his stomach. And in a flash, Todd pulled his sword out of his cane. He swung it around, toward the other two, but they took off running.
   "Some friends you got there. They took off and left you here to die." Todd said as the dope dealer fell to the ground.
   He screamed as Todd pulled the knife out of him.
   Suddenly, two gun shots. Pow, pow. And Todd heard one hit the car parked right by him. He dove for cover behind it.    Before he could even get to his feet, a gun was pointing at him. He put his left hand up, to block the bullet as he swung his sword. Pow, pow, pow, three shots fired as Todd kept swinging his sword. Todds left hand slammed into his body as a bullet hit it. Two more hit Todd in the bullet proof vest and it felt like a hammer hitting him. He kept swinging his sword for all he was worth.
    Todd somehow managed to slice the hand that held the gun and it dropped. The culprit ran away and Todd ran the other way. He glanced back to see four more of them, chasing him! And his left hand was killing him. It was no use now and probably not for a while. He heard more gun shots and zig-zagged as he ran. He cut through a backyard and climbed up a tree.
   Two of them ran into the yard and to the back gate. They looked both ways down the alley and shrugged to each other.    Then, they turned around to look in the yard a little better. Todd stayed motionless. He heard two more running down the alley.    "Where'd he go?" One yelled. "I don't know." Another one answered.
   One of the two in the yard walked out, into the alley. "He cut through this yard and that was the last we saw of him."
   There was only one in the yard now and he neared the tree. As soon as he was close enough, Todd stepped out of the tree and landed an elbow on his head. He passed out cold and Todd took off sideways, jumping the fence into the neighbors yard.
   "What was that?" One asked as he ran back into the yard. Todd was hopping the next fence when he heard two more shots. Pow, pow. He fell to the ground for cover.
   "I think you got him" one yelled.
   Todd looked up from behind a bush and heard another gun shot. Pow! He ducked, stayed low and rolled toward the house. He tried the back door and it was locked. He ran out the front gate and kept running. One of them saw him and chased him for a few blocks. He looked back and saw only one, so he stopped and turned toward him.
    "What are you gonna do?" He asked as he waited for him. The punk stopped short and looked back for his buddies, but none were coming. Todd ran toward him now, with his sword raised. The punk took off and when he rounded a corner, Todd turned around and ran the other way. This time, he got away.