Eyes Burning Tired
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The night sky was dark.
A long shadow fell over the street.
The door to the abandoned warehouse creaked open, and a pair of men came out into the cold wind that had sprung up. The two were dressed in black leather jackets, and they carried guns on their hips, just as any professional would.
Their eyes shone with the pale light from above, but when I saw them turn my way, I quickly ducked back behind the building. They stopped at the corner of the alleyway where they’d parked their car, and then one turned around and pointed his gun right toward me. He called out to me, “Hey there.”
I didn’t answer him.
He kept on walking straight down the narrow alleyway until he disappeared around a corner. My heart hammered as I waited for what seemed like forever before he returned carrying a man by the arms. I could see through his jacket to the skin underneath, and it was covered in bruises — deep purple ones that matched the color of his hair.
When the thug put the man down next to me, he let out a gasp of pain. It sent an icy chill up my spine.
“Where’s our friend?” said another man wearing a red bandanna around his head. His voice echoed in the narrow alleyway.
I looked up, and all of a sudden a hand grabbed my chin and yanked my face upward so I was looking right into that man’s eyes. “Who are you?” he asked.
His grip tightened, but instead of trying to pull away, I stared into those bright blue irises. They were mesmerizing, hypnotizing, and beautiful.
The man holding my head pulled back, and I stumbled against the wall as my gaze followed the movement. The one with the blue eyes smiled at me, and then the other man stepped forward and shoved him back.
“You can’t be here,” he spat. There was fear in his voice and fury in his expression. “We’re supposed to stay in this alleyway only. Don’t you remember the rules? You’ve already been warned!”
Blue eyes narrowed slightly and the smile slipped for a second. He took in the man who held me tight against the wall. “Let her go, asshole.”
The guy holding me released me, and I stumbled forward when he finally let go. I pushed myself off of the wall and rubbed my neck. The one with the blue eyes moved between the two others. “What do you mean, she isn’t allowed here? How come we never saw her before?”
He looked at me curiously. “She wasn’t supposed to show up tonight.”
“Well, she did.”
My heart sank. That was not good news.
But the man with blue eyes was smiling again. “So now what?”
The other man frowned. “It means you won’t get paid. We should have known better than to take orders from some stupid kid.”
This wasn’t the first time someone had told me I couldn’t be involved with this life. I was too young, too naive, and it was probably the most important rule of all — no children or teens. But I knew my brother, and he wouldn’t ever stand by while I got hurt. So even though I might be breaking the law, I would protect him. No matter how much trouble that brought us both.
“Wait a second.” Blue eyes focused on me, and suddenly it felt like we were the only people on Earth. The wind died down to nothing, and my heart beat faster.
“What are you doing here?” he asked quietly.
When I didn’t answer him, he sighed and shook his head. “Fine, fine. Go ahead and sit over there, girl. I’ll talk to these two idiots.”
As soon as he walked away from me, I ran. As fast as my legs could carry me down that narrow alleyway, I made it back to the place where I’d met him earlier. If he was still there, I needed to find a way to warn him about what was happening. And then I’d run.
I’d done exactly what I’d planned to do, and it was almost too late …
I heard the shouts echoing down the alleyway, so I spun around and jumped over the garbage bags until I was standing right outside of the warehouse that lay just beyond.
There were four men standing across from me. Three of them were tall and bulky; one of them looked more slender and delicate-seeming, like the kind of person who wouldn’t look threatening at first glance. All of them were armed with guns and knives, but none of them had spotted me yet.
I stood on tiptoes to get a better view inside, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw that blue eyes were lying unconscious on the ground, and his face was covered in blood. A woman was kneeling next to him, wiping away tears of rage as she tried desperately to stop his bleeding. She screamed at someone who appeared behind me, but she stopped as soon as she turned around.
They must have seen me! I thought in panic as I took a step backward. I ducked down low and ran as fast as I could toward the exit. I didn’t make it far before they grabbed me from behind and yanked me back onto my feet.
Two of them grabbed my arms and held me tightly. I twisted my body to try to get a chance to break free, and it worked for a split second as I managed to twist my upper body and slam a knee into the stomach of one of them.
He doubled over, and his gun fell out of his holster. I reached down for it as my heart pounded in my chest. It was a semi-automatic pistol. Unloaded, thank goodness. I aimed it toward the man with blond hair who had fallen back against the wall when he’d hit me and fired three shots as quickly as I could. The bullets went through the metal walls of the warehouse and landed in the dirt behind him.
One shot missed entirely, but the other two pierced the skin of his shoulder and hip. His scream echoed throughout the building, and he started to fall sideways when the third bullet entered his skull.
Another one was coming straight for me. I dropped and rolled to the side, and it slammed against the brick wall behind me instead. My hands came up, and the gun flew away from my grasp. Then he kicked my foot out of position, knocking me off balance.
I lost my grip on my knife, and the blade clattered to the ground. I landed hard on my knees, and my teeth rattled together when another boot connected with my head, causing stars to dance behind my closed eyelids.
I spat blood and scrambled to get up.
The other man was aiming a gun at me, so I dove forward. He fired a few times, but the bullets went wide. The guy with blue eyes was trying desperately to drag himself upright, but he wasn’t moving. Blood continued to pool under his torso and dripped onto the floor beneath him, making the earth beneath seem even darker and redder.
The woman had her back turned to me, sobbing hysterically as she pulled off her shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wounds of her boyfriend’s back. The other two thugs looked confused.
“What is happening here?” demanded the one with blue eyes as he struggled to stand. His words were faint and hoarse, which meant that he hadn’t been given his painkillers after getting his gunshot wound treated. “Where did you come from? What are your names? Why do we feel such power?”
That was the moment. The one in front of me swung his gun around, pointing it directly at me as he screamed, “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to, bitch?! We know all about this little shit!”
The one named “little shit” was staring at us, but he didn’t say anything else as I lunged at him. I punched him hard in the nose, knocking him back onto the floor so that his head bounced sharply off of the bricks. The gun fell out of his hand, and a few seconds later, he collapsed unconscious into a pile of garbage.
My hands trembled when I realized I’d killed him. It wasn’t supposed to be like that … I should have gotten him alone. But how can I possibly expect myself not to act when I see somebody in trouble? And if I’m going to fight, then I might as well go ahead and kill.
When I finally made it out of the dumpster and into the alley again, I found that the police were already there. They must have heard the gunshots, too, because several cars were parked near the entrance. The first cop that spotted me ran toward me, yelling, “Donna! Donna Kline? Are you okay?!”
There were more than just cops there now; there were paramedics, too. As soon as they saw me, one of them said, “Ma’am! You need help!”
I wanted to say no, but they’d probably force me to go with them if I didn’t agree. Instead, I shook my head and tried to walk past the ambulance and police car that was blocking my way, ignoring the shouts and whistles of officers telling me to stop. I couldn’t let anybody see me right now.
I was filthy with blood and sweat, covered in scratches and bruises from my fight with the thugs, and I was still trembling. I needed time to think about what happened tonight, but it would only happen when I was safe again.
I climbed over a fence into an open yard and stopped when I felt the warm glow of a bonfire somewhere nearby. A bunch of people was standing around it, drinking beer or smoking cigarettes. Most of them had tattoos of some sort or other, and most of them were dressed in band shirts.
There were maybe twenty of them altogether. The one in charge wore a leather jacket, and his hair was spiked high above his forehead. His face was lined with age, but his dark eyes glittered with energy and excitement.
It took me a minute to remember where I knew him from. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen him around the neighborhood. He was always hanging out with the punk kids. But I’d never really talked to him before until today. And now he was looking at me with a mixture of concern and suspicion, his lips pursed together tightly. He probably thought I was crazy.
A couple of guys noticed my arrival, and they started walking my way, laughing when I tripped over something on the ground and crashed into their legs. One of them offered to pick me up, but I refused while grabbing hold of the fence so that I could steady myself.
The others laughed and asked if the police would catch me now. When he caught sight of me, the man with the spiked hair yelled out, “She’s bleeding! She’s got cuts and bruises everywhere!”
He must have known these guys well enough to understand what my problem was without having to be told.
One of the tattooed girls pointed at the dead body, her eyes growing wide as she said, “Oh my God, are those his teeth on the floor? Is he dead?”
“Yes,” I managed to whisper. “And he shot my friend.”
Her mouth opened, and all of a sudden, everyone was asking questions. I ignored most of them, focusing instead on the guy in the leather jacket. After a few seconds of silence, he leaned closer to me and whispered, “You know how to use that gun? Can you shoot straight?”
I nodded, though I don’t know how to tell him that I didn’t actually fire it at him when he came in.
But then another voice broke through the crowd and called out, “What did I hear? A girl’s been mugged by a pack of bastards?”
The man who’d spoken to me before turned back to the group. He looked me over carefully for a few moments and finally said, “Okay. Let’s see if we can get her some help before she gets arrested. Who’ll drive her home?”
I glanced behind me at the police cars and ambulances. My friends were there waiting for me, but I didn’t want any of them to see me right now. Not after the shooting and the killing. Maybe they would figure it out eventually, but it wouldn’t do either of us much good if they decided to come after me, so it would be better if they didn’t find out yet.
And then there was the fact that if anyone ever learned what had happened this night, there might be an investigation, and I might have to talk to the media …
The idea of being forced into talking to reporters made my heart beat faster and sent a jolt of fear down my spine.
But the guy from the leather jacket stepped forward to answer the call. “That’s fine, man. Leave her here. We’ll take care of her. She won’t cause any trouble.”
His friends laughed, and even my savior gave a shrug and muttered, “Yeah, we’ll keep a lookout for her in case she runs away and needs our help again.”
My shoulders drooped. If I had to run away from them, it might mean they’d try to hurt my family.
They all agreed to stay and protect me until the authorities arrived. Then two of them jumped onto bikes and drove off toward the hospital. The other four stood in the middle of the street while they waited for the police.
They were still laughing about something when I slipped between them and headed toward my car, which was parked just across the road. I heard them yelling as I passed.
When I reached the car, I grabbed the steering wheel and slammed the door shut before turning to lock up with a key. I glanced at the passenger’s seat where my backpack lay. All of my books were gone, along with my phone and wallet, and gun. I tried not to feel too disappointed, but deep down inside, I couldn’t believe they’d taken everything except for the weapon.
As soon as I was able to get behind the wheel and turn on the engine, I floored it, driving away from the scene and toward my parents’ house. It was still early morning, but the sun was coming up. Traffic was light. For once, the streets were mostly quiet, so that even if someone had spotted me leaving, they would have figured I’d just driven past.
I didn’t want to go home, because it meant facing them, but it was also the only place where I could think clearly and figure out what to do next. I needed a distraction to clear my head of everything that had happened tonight …
At least until the police found the guy who killed David, and he ended up in jail.
***
By the time I arrived at my parent’s home, I already knew what I wanted. No matter how bad things got, I had to make sure my friends weren’t going to come after me again.
There wasn’t really any way to explain what happened to them, or what I planned to do, but hopefully, if they realized my intentions, they’d understand and give me a chance to convince them.
If not, there was always the possibility that they’d find out later, when all was said and done. But if that happened, I’d deal with it then. I hadn’t been lying when I said I’d kill them for hurting me and my family. I would never allow myself to live knowing that they went unpunished for what they’d done.
I pulled up outside the apartment building, climbed out of my car, and locked it. I walked to the front door and rang the bell, trying hard not to think about anything as I waited.
“Come in!” Dad shouted when he saw me.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, shaking my head as he hurried across the room to hug me tightly. I held onto his shoulder for a moment longer than necessary. It had been far too long since we’d last seen each other, and my eyes watered when I felt the strength and love pouring from him.
He took in my torn clothes and bloody hair, then let me go and led me to the couch, sitting beside me as we exchanged small talk. His wife had recently died after battling cancer for years, so he had no reason to be suspicious that I was anything other than upset over David’s death.
“We’re so sorry about David,” I whispered, staring into his face, afraid of what I might see reflected back in his eyes.
It was a relief when he smiled at me instead. “We know. He was a good boy. And you were such a big part of his life these last few months. You helped us so much with him …” Dad broke off and sniffed, wiping away tears and snot with his sleeve.
“He loved being around you. You’ve given him more happiness in those last six months than he’d had with any of our family or friends for the past decade.”
My heart ached. I didn’t want to hear that my father thought I’d caused his brother’s suicide, and he was probably right. But it didn’t change what I intended to do now.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
For what? My mind asked. Not for saving my life and helping me avoid getting caught by the police …
You saved yourself from the cops and your friends. Your life is ruined either way, isn’t it?
The silence stretched on, growing heavier and louder with every second that passed. Then Dad spoke again, asking me what happened.
I told him what I’d overheard from the men who’d attacked me on the street. The three guys I’d fought had turned out to be a gang called the Wolf Pack—or the Brotherhood, as they called themselves—which explained why they were so eager to hurt me because they hated me and my kind.
I couldn’t tell them who had sent them, although I did say that the man who owned them would have hired them for revenge.
Dad looked stunned when I explained what I’d learned from their leader, but he seemed even more shaken when I described the way the dead were taken care of. I tried to sound calm as I told them how he’d killed David to protect his own secret.
The End