by Jamie Wang
Bryce held up his gun, aimed directly at Sasha’s heart. “I want Vlad back.”
“Killing me won’t bring him back.”
“Maybe not, but he gave me a list that might. Prince. Flower. Bolt. And you.” Bryce paused between each name, allowing Sasha to fully grasp its meaning before he moved on. She winced after each one, as if stung. “So, what are you going to do, Mouse?”
Sasha gave Bryce a look of uncertainty. It looked good on her. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ll stop you.”
“How? You look like you can barely stand.”
To Bryce’s surprise, Sasha smiled back at him. “You have no idea what I’ve done to protect my family. Compared to that, this will be a walk in the park.”
Bryce walked up to Sasha, his gun raised. “I don’t think so.”
Sasha stood like a statue. Even when he pressed his gun against her chest, she stayed still. Though her breaths became deeper and her heart beat faster and her lips quivered and her eyes watered, she held her ground. Bryce stared at her, his gun pressed so hard against her chest that he could feel the pounding of her heart.
“Are you ready, red-eyed Mouse?”
Bryce pressed a button on the gun and its magazine fell onto the ground. He dropped the gun and put the knife back into his pocket.
Sasha crunched her brow. “Did you change your—”
He swung his fist in an uppercut into her chin. Her head snapped back and blood spewed from her mouth as she fell onto the floor. Bryce let out a steady breath watching her crawl back up.
“I hate guns. A single piece of metal can convince weak men they are strong. The only thing to do then, is to show them how truly weak they are.” Bryce waited for Sasha to stand.
As soon as she was up, he launched a jab into her stomach. Her abdomen collapsed against his knuckles. Sasha bent over and croaked out a small stream of clear liquid. Before she was done throwing up, Bryce threw a wild punch into her temple and knocked her back onto the floor.
“That right there,” Bryce said, “was Vlad’s favorite move. One of those and the fight was over, all that was left to do was to kill the other boy.”
Sasha pushed herself off the ground only to fall to one knee.
Bryce shook his head and spat on the ground. “Get up.” He grabbed a clump of Sasha’s hair and hauled her up. “Let me show you how Vlad used to kill.”
Sasha raised her arms to guard herself, but they were too frail. So Bryce hit her, again and again. Her head was a pendulum with her hair as the string. The first hit sent blood gushing down her nose. The second swelled up her left eye. The third cut her lips. Again and again he pummeled her face until her arms fell to her sides and her eyes rolled back. Even then, he kept going.
“How weak are you?” Bryce giggled in between punches. “I thought you were going to stop me!”
Bryce winced at a prick in his leg. It felt like a small mosquito. He looked down to see Jake crawling on the ground. Despite his pathetic position, his teeth were clamped shut and he had a look of purpose. And in his hand was an empty syringe.
SASHA
Sasha dropped to the floor and crumpled onto her side. It felt like she was floating on a cloud. Just keeping her eyes open proved difficult. The only indication that she was still alive was the raspy breaths that came out of her nostrils.
“… Fucking traitor…”
It was too hard to make out the entire sentence but she could hear bits and pieces of it. The voice belonged to Bryce.
“… Kill you…” Bryce again.
Who is he talking to?
Sasha squinted at the two blurry figures, one on the ground, the other standing.
“…How dare you…”
Little by little, her hearing became better until she could hear Jake’s soft grunts. Her vision cleared enough to see Bryce repeatedly kicking Jake.
Why are they fighting?
“…Weak! Fucking weak!” Bryce screamed. He bent down with his fist raised and crashed it into Jake.
Sasha let her head rest on the ground. Her swollen cheeks burned on contact with the floor. One of her eyes had swollen shut and the other was threatening to close at any moment. The world dimmed. She reached out with one hand in a feeble attempt to push herself up and hit something that felt like ice.
The gun.
Sasha grabbed it and pulled herself off the ground. The gun was heavy, so heavy it took both hands to hoist. With a grunt, she hauled it in front of her. Her body swayed as if she was drunk. She was unable to see anything more than shadows in the distance. She angled the gun toward the shadow and pulled the trigger. But the trigger wouldn’t budge.
Sasha cried out as he squeezed as hard as she could. The trigger remained up.
I’m too weak to even pull the trigger…
A shadow stood up and turned toward her, attracted by her cries. “You’re still up?” Bryce’s voice was an echo carried by some distant wind.
Sasha grunted as she squeezed with all her might. She put both her fingers on the trigger and pulled. It moved, but only slightly.
Bryce came close enough for her to see him. His shirt was splattered with blood and his hand looked like he had dipped it in red paint. Clenched in his fist was a bloody knife. He limped as if one of his legs had fallen asleep.
Bryce stood over Sasha with his knife raised. With a roar, he sent it down. Sasha rolled onto her back to avoid the blow. But she was too slow, the knife slashed through her thigh like it was paper. Sasha shrieked and pulled down the trigger. The gun ignited and cocked back in her hand, shooting off the last bullet left in its chamber.
The pain consumed her. It was all she could feel and all she could think about. She dropped the gun and clutched her thigh, screaming her throat raw. Blood gushed onto her fingers and the floor. It came in torrents and spilled everywhere. How long she was like this, she couldn’t tell.
I can’t do this.
She felt a prick in her arm and the pain lessened.
“Don’t fall asleep.” Jake’s voice said right beside her.
She felt herself being dragged up against a wall.
“I can’t stop the bleeding.”
Sasha opened her eyes to see a trail of stained earth. It looked like a giant red snake was making its way up her leg. Even now, a small puddle was forming around her.
“Look at me, Mouse.”
Sasha turned to see Jake with cracked and bloody lips. His nose bent awkwardly and whenever he opened his mouth, she could see teeth missing.
“Did you hear all that?” Jake asked.
Sasha nodded slowly.
I’m bleeding too much. You can’t stop it. I’m going to die.
“I’m sorry, Mouse. I’m going to give you something for the pain. It’s the last that I have, if you live through this, don’t let The Dragon see you with these. I have to go…” his voice trailed off.
Sasha turned away from him and looked at Bryce, motionless on the ground, a puddle of blood under him. Sasha closed her eyes.
VLAD
Vlad ran toward the screams. Even only able to hear out of a single ear, those screams were unmistakable. It was the one scream he had hoped never to hear.
“Sasha!” he yelled.
He stumbled through the alleys, nearly tripping over his own feet. Ever since the gunshot that robbed him of half his hearing, his balance had also been shaky. With panting breaths, he left the alley walls into the main street.
The screams disappeared in a final piercing shriek. Vlad scrambled toward the noise until finally, he found her. His heart skipped a beat. Propped up against the wall was Sasha, sitting in a pool of blood. Her hair masked her face like a bridal veil. In front of her laid Bryce, face down in red dirt.
“Sasha.” Vlad called out. He ran to her.
To his relief, her eyelids lifted. “It’s you,” she muttered in a dream-like state. “Is it sad I’m actually relieved to see you?”
“I’m going to get you help.”
“No.” She pulle
d her hair back behind her head to reveal a swollen eye and bloody nose. Except for the purple bruise and splatters of blood, her face was ashen white. “Stop. Please, just stay with me.” She choked on the words as tears fell down her swollen cheeks.
Vlad stared at her awestruck.
“I’m scared,” she whispered.
“Listen, everything’s going to be alright.” Tears filled the eyehole of his mask, swallowing the world with water.
“Liar.”
Vlad looked away.
“I’ve always tried to live without regrets,” Sasha muttered. “I said and did what I thought was best. So tell me, why is it that I have so many right now?” Her question ended in a silent sob. “How is that even fair?”
“It’s not,” Vlad replied, in a volume barely higher than Sasha’s. He didn’t have the willpower to say much more. Anything else, and he would bawl until his tears dried up.
“I messed up.” Sasha covered her eyes with one hand as she cried. “And I won’t even be around for the consequences, but my family will. What would you think of a girl like that?”
Vlad shook his head. “Don’t say that.”
“I’m pathetic.”
“That’s not true.”
“I’m the worst.” Sasha clenched her fist and beat the ground. “I just needed one,” she cried. “Just fucking one more drop. Then I could’ve saved them all. The Dragon promised.”
The Dragon?
“How did everything end up like this? All I wanted was to give my family something. But I still haven’t…” Sasha choked on the sentence and squeezed more tears out of her eyes.
“You’ve done enough,” Vlad muttered. “Save your strength. It’s time to go home.”
Sasha fought back her cries. Little gurgles escaped her throat.
“Sasha, stop.” Vlad ground his teeth together. “You can stop now.”
Sasha dug her heels into the ground, spurting blood into blood. With shaky arms, she pushed herself inches off the dirt. “I still haven’t given them a thing!” she wailed and crashed back down onto the ground. She threw her head down and cried.
Vlad wrapped his arms around Sasha. Her tears dripped onto his shoulder.
“Listen, I have a final request,” she whispered.
“Don’t say that, everything’s going to be alright. I’ll protect you like I always have. I’ll get rid of the Lions and the Hawks and even The Dragon. You’ll be safe.”
“Will you listen?”
Vlad couldn’t bring the word out of his mouth. So he just nodded.
“I have a family. They can all be a little hotheaded and rash, but that’s because they learned from me. They’re good kids, all of them. So please, Slasher, leave them alone.”
Vlad stifled a cry.
“Please, give me this,” Sasha begged.
“Sasha… I can’t. You don’t understand.” Vlad dug his nose into the nape of her neck.
“Please,” she pleaded with a waning breath.
“But—”
“I’m begging you.” Sasha grabbed Vlad’s wrist with a weak grip and pushed off him. She gave him a teary look. “For me.”
Once again, the words refused to leave Vlad’s mouth. All he could do was nod in response. His agreement seemed to fill Sasha with relief, because a small smile spread across her face. She looked up at the clouds and let her arms drop. She closed her eyes.
Vlad stared, waiting for her chest to rise. As the seconds stretched, panic overtook him.
Breathe!
“Sasha!” Vlad grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “Sasha, wake up!” She felt like a ragdoll. “Don’t die! Breathe!” Vlad squeezed her limp body. Cold.
Vlad rubbed his body against hers, trying to warm her up. He could feel the chill air seep into her skin, slowly stealing away her life. Her heart slowed until its gentle thumping stopped altogether. And just like that, the girl he loved more than anything else in the world became just another object.
MAVERICK
Maverick stumbled home with the Slasher’s mask in hand. Everywhere he went, the Earth wet with spots of red. Above him, the black clouds had started parting to make room for a spectacular rainbow.
“A beautiful day.” Is what Sasha would’ve called it.
He could already hear his family.
“Wow.” It was Prince’s voice. “I can’t believe it’s finally over.”
“Everything’s soaked,” Bolt complained. “All our umbrellas blew away.”
“Just be happy we managed to save our tents,” Flower said.
“Hey, listen. Sounds like they’re back,” Prince said. “Mav, Sasha, where’d you guys go?”
Maverick sloshed through water and turned the corner. “I’m home,” he said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“What the fuck?” a wide-eyed Prince muttered.
Flower jumped backwards and Bolt’s mouth hung open.
“Are you okay?” Flower stuttered. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Maverick gave her a smile so wide it hurt his cheeks. “This isn’t my blood.”
“Then whose blood is it?” Bolt voiced the question everyone was thinking.
“The two Stickers who were asleep in the house by where she died.” Tears fell down Maverick’s face, yet he kept his smile.
“Why is their blood on you?” Prince kept his voice low as if scared to startle Maverick.
“Because I broke my rule,” Maverick responded.
“What rule?” Prince asked.
“My only rule.”
“Mav, why are you smiling like that?” Flower asked.
Maverick shrugged. “Because” —He spread his arms high above his head and danced in a little circle, just as Sasha would’ve to cheer them up— “it’s a beautiful day! And of course, it has to be a beautiful day when she dies. God couldn’t show her the slightest respect. No, this day is for celebration!”
“What are you talking about?” Prince demanded, his face contorting into a look of worry. “Mav, where’s Sasha?”
Both Bolt and Flower leaned in to hear him.
Maverick cocked his head to one side as if he didn’t understand the question. “Well, she’s dead of course.”
A tense silence filled the air. “Don’t joke about that,” Prince finally said. “Tell me where she is.”
Maverick cocked his head to the other side. “I would hope heaven.”
Prince’s face flushed red. He stepped up to Maverick and grabbed him by the collar. “Don’t fucking joke about that! Where is she?”
Maverick’s fists were a blur, too fast to even see. By the time Prince registered what had happened, he was already on the ground, his cheeks red and sore.
Bolt’s words came out unsteady. “You’re joking right?”
Before Maverick could answer, Prince screamed. “Of course he’s joking!” He pushed himself back up. “Maverick, this isn’t funny.”
“That’s because it’s so tragic.” The corners of Maverick’s mouth twitched, threatening to collapse into a frown. His tears spilled down his face like a river delta, joining at his chin in a waterfall.
Prince scrambled back up and lunged at Maverick only to be beaten down again.
“Stop fucking lying,” Prince said from the ground. He dug his nails into the dirt.
Behind him, Flower covered her face with her hands and wailed. Beside her, Bolt leaned against the wall as if his legs were about to give. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks.
Prince shot up and dove at Maverick. Before he could lay a hand on Maverick, two fists smashed his head back into the ground. His chin slid against the floor, scraping away on the dirt. Prince choked back a cry and stood back up.
“Take it back. You god damn bastard. Take it back right now!”
“I guess she could be in hell.”
Prince roared and threw a wild punch. Maverick sidestepped the punch and counterattacked with an uppercut to Prince’s stomach. Prince fell with his hand clamped over his mouth
. Before he could recover, Maverick sent a knuckle into his temple.
“Why won’t you believe me?” Maverick asked with a shaky voice.
Prince groaned on the ground as he tried getting back to his feet. Drool oozed down the corners of his mouth. “Because you’re lying,” he coughed out.
“You’re as hardheaded as she was.”
Prince flung a fistful of mud into Maverick’s face. It was the first move that caught Maverick by surprise. Maverick shut his eyes, but too late. He swiped at his eyes, clawing the mud from his face.
“You’re wrong!” Prince put all his might into a single punch. It connected with Maverick’s face, flinging Maverick backwards. “I’m as hardheaded as she is,” Prince finished with heavy breaths.
PRINCE
“Maverick,” Prince said, a sob rising from his chest. “Do you remember what we promised each other? We said that we’d protect her no matter what. So tell me where she is, she might be in trouble.”
Maverick remained on the ground. He tucked his head in between his knees and stayed silent. His shoulders slouched and his back bent as if he had been deflated. Every time he took a breath, his shoulders would stagger on the exhale. He was crying.
“Maverick.” This time, Prince kept his tone firm. “Tell me where she is.”
“You arrogant piece of shit,” Maverick muttered between stuttered cries.
“What was that?” Prince was sure he had misheard the words.
Maverick shot up, his smile finally gone. “Don’t lecture me about promises.” He flung the words like an accusation. “What have you done? I went out every night to protect her. I became a monster, even though I knew she would hate me for it. I gave her everything!”
“What have I done? I give us medicine!” Prince shot back. “I’d like to ask you the same question.”
Maverick’s face twisted in rage. Prince had never seen Maverick so angry before. He clenched his teeth as if he was trying to grind them to dust. He tossed his mask in front of Prince.
“I gave her my humanity,” Maverick growled, his voice deeper than ever.
Prince stared at the bloody smile he had only heard about.
