As he fumbled to place the paper toilet seat cover, Robin found himself in a strange limbo of emotions. Physical needs preceded everything else. The rush of adrenaline evaporated any fear that might have threatened his resolve. He was proud of standing up for himself. He was happier still to witness a kind stranger.

Upon the seat, Robin got to thinking, which opened a plug for his confidence to slowly drain. He would have to go back into the dining area and see Jared and his cohorts again. Perhaps there was a back exit to the restaurant. But then he would have to skip a meal here and drag on the search for another spot. He hugged his backpack slung around his front and sighed.

A destination beckoned beyond the walls of the dive and he preferred to get there in one piece. He scratched behind his ear, rubbing the buzzed hair of his mullet against the grain. Pulling toilet paper from the dispenser, the young man glanced up at the buzzing fluorescent bars. Body aside, he could not risk a sacrifice of his glasses in a brawl. He was virtually blind without them.

On the threshold of the rear egress past the kitchen, an anxious spike pointed to Robin’s throat. The dusk breeze carried terse shouting from around the corner. His gut encouraged him to head in the opposite direction, but that would mean leaving the main road and navigating a foreign town in failing light. Robin swallowed and loped toward the front of the restaurant.

Under a mottled sky, three figures surrounded one, predators closing in on a catch. Jared’s scalp shone pale in the diffused light, a beacon for his cohorts to follow. They eyed him for the cue to pounce, but for now, they were satisfied taking verbal jabs at the man between them. Robin could only spy his back, but the salt and pepper hair identified him as the interloper, Dusty.

“When are you gonna mind your own business?” Jared spat. He flexed his knuckles.

“Speak for yourself.” Dusty ruffled his denim jacket.

Jared started to pace. “This is a community.” He glared into Dusty’s eyes. “We like to keep it as it is!”

Dusty remained in place, rolling his shoulders.

“We already put up with you snowbirds,” snapped the one with a red cap. “Tourists are even worse.”

Jared feinted toward Dusty’s face, but garnered no reaction. “I don’t want some freak sniffing around where nature calls!”

Dusty held back a smile in reply. “I’m sure what you offload in that toilet every night is more offensive than the guy taking a quick leak.”

“I’ve had enough of his talkin’!” barked the one in camo.

Jared quirked his head, his pale scalp dipping like a flag for a drag race. “It’s time to shut him up!”

Three against one was hardly a fair fight. Robin ducked behind a truck and found a mess of broken pallets near the dumpsters. He wrenched off a plank, the shatter of splinters eclipsed by the men’s scuffle. Hefting the wood in his hands, Robin popped back up. He steeled his chest. Three against two with an improvised weapon sounded a bit more balanced.

Dusty wrestled against the cohorts who had managed to seize both of his arms. He threw himself from side to side in a bid to thwart their balance and break free, but Jared wouldn’t allow that. The man threw punch after punch into Dusty’s chest, denying him any coordinated movement.

“That’ll be the last time you make a fool outta me!”

Robin swung the plank.

The spit Jared launched with his words caught in his throat before he unleashed a yell as the wood connected with his back. It was enough for Dusty to drop his weight to the ground, surprising the two at his side. They fumbled to keep hold of his arms and the man in denim shirked away.

Robin had always wondered what being in a bar fight would be like. Hammering at his throat, his heart lifted his whole body onto the tips of his toes. Any sense he had took a back seat to baser instincts. Darting between foes and friend, his eyes scrambled to keep track of all the motion.

Robin swung again to ward off Jared, now exploding expletives from his mouth. He barely had the mind to register the slurs fired in his direction, too focused on Dusty.

Dusty ducked below the man in camo as he charged for his shoulders. Springing around, he clocked him square in the back, sending the man stumbling forward. Next, the one with the red cap launched a fist toward Dusty’s face. He leaned into the hit and struck a return.

Swinging to keep Jared at bay, Robin grasped onto the wooden plank with all his strength. However, his arcs became predictable, and Jared danced to the side and tackled him. Robin yelped as his arms tangled with the plank and Jared’s torso. He felt the wood pressing into Jared’s side as well as his own. Had he not been wearing his backpack, he would have ended up flat on the ground.

“I’ll teach you, you little shit!” Jared yelled in Robin’s face.

Robin kicked furiously, but he was no match for Jared’s weight. His arms were locked tight, plank rendered useless. He thought of head-butting the man but estimated that Jared’s thick forehead would prevail. Cocked and ready for a punch, Jared’s arm loomed just beyond the focus of Robin’s glasses.

Just then a body slammed into Jared’s side, a flash of red toppling him off of Robin. The young man scurried upright. Dusty had kicked the man with the red cap in his gut. Now he grappled with the one in camo who had his arms hooked around his neck.

“Jared! Help me knock this fucker out! We can get the little one after!”

“Fucking hell, Keith!” Jared rolled back onto his feet. 

Forearms pressing into his throat, Dusty released a gasp. He clawed and beat at whatever flesh or camo of Keith’s he could reach.

“Jesus!” Robin followed Jared, collecting himself as quickly as he could.

Jared jumped to grab Dusty’s reddening face with both hands. His fat fingers pried into the valleys between bone. Dusty snarled, thrusting his head to bite the assailing digits, but Keith hung his whole weight off of Dusty’s back.

“Fuck off!” Robin shouted. With the greatest swing he could muster, he crashed the plank over the camo target. The plank split in half with a thunderous crack, and Keith released his arms, reeling.

Unfettered, Dusty lunged forward, clamping onto Jared’s thumb with his teeth. 

Jared yowled.

Growls ripped through the air underscored by labored breaths. The one in the red cap was up again, coming to Jared’s aid. Dusty’s entire body heaved as he collided with the two men.

Robin clung onto the broken plank, eyeing Keith. He was still crumpled on the ground. The young man thought to continue and use the plank until it was utter scrap, but the splintered edge was more dangerous and he did not want to risk anything major if he didn’t have to.

The two men clawed at Dusty, trying to secure his limbs, launching blows in between. This time, Dusty was quicker. He dodged and parried their arms with a second wind, continuing to breathe heavily. Robin thought he would have regained his oxygen by now, and he wasn’t so battered yet to be this exhausted even if he was a little older. Grunts issued from them all, yet Dusty’s sounded more guttural. Concern weighed in Robin’s chest, brewing into panic.

The man with the red cap connected his knuckles to Dusty’s chin albeit with some recoil as he seethed and shook his hand after.

Dusty released a curt growl. “Haven’t you had enough of me?” His teeth clenched. A vein popped along his temple.

Jared readied his fists again. ”Not until I shove that freak into the garbage and you walk home with your tail between your legs!”

Another growl burst from Dusty, mouth yawning wide to expose his teeth. He pulled at his denim collar before diving at Jared again.

By now the clouds overhead had collected into a thick batting, the setting sun only bleeding through the thinnest seams. It made it easy to spot the red and blue lights from down the road.

“Shit!” Jared shoved Dusty away. Instead of preparing another barrage, he dashed over to Keith who was still on the ground. The man with the red cap followed.

Robin’s gaze darted to the lights and then to the scene of the brawl. He chucked what remained of the wooden plank into the bushes. As Jared tended to his cohorts, Robin ran toward Dusty. However, the man in denim did not slow for him. He was sprinting into the woods.

“Hey! Wait up!” Robin called before giving chase.