by Jon Athan
Aiden responded, “No, no, not at all. I'm just his ride. I'm here to take him home, take him away from all of this... this nonsense. He's had enough of this humiliation, don't you think?” Aiden grabbed Shawn by the elbow and said, “So, we'll just get going and you can go back to patrolling the mall or, you know, whatever you do.”
Before Shawn and Aiden could depart, Daniel gripped Shawn's other elbow and pulled him to his side. He glared at Aiden with a soul-penetrating stare, unwilling to back down from the confrontation. In utter disbelief, Aiden anxiously smiled and huffed. The provocation was unexpected.
Daniel explained, “I don't care if you are his ride. This man has committed a crime and he is a potential victim. He's officially in custody until I decide what to do with him, not you. If we decide to pursue criminal charges, you can bail him out at the county jail and give him a ride home from there. Until then, stay out of my way. Are we understood?” Before Aiden could respond, Daniel sternly said, “Good.”
Aiden's smile immediately vanished. He tilted his head and stepped towards the towering security guard. The utter contempt was eerily familiar. Daniel's attitude echoed Shawn's past bullying – a bigger, disrespectful man directing Aiden like if he were a child.
Aiden jabbed his index finger at Daniel's burly chest and said, “People like you should bite their tongues. You don't know what I'm truly capable of, you don't know what I can really do. Your size doesn't scare me. I'm leaving with him and you're not going to stop me.”
Shawn hopped in reverse and said, “Aiden, don't do this. It's over. I warned you about this. You agreed to the terms. Please, go home and finish your part of the deal.”
Without taking his scheming eyes off of Daniel, Aiden responded, “No. I told you we wouldn't get caught. I told you everything would go smoothly. The game isn't over yet...”
Aiden deviously smirked as he quietly strategized his plan of attack. Daniel scoffed and shook his head. Aiden huffed, then pulled the semi-automatic handgun from his waistband faster than a veteran gunslinger. Without any hesitation, he fired a single round through Daniel's neck.
The earsplitting gunshot reverberated through the open parking lot. The surrounding audience immediately scattered like cockroaches shocked by a blinding light. Stunned by the unexpected attack, Shawn fell to his buttocks. Daniel gripped his left jugular with his right hand to stop the spurting blood as he plummeted to the ground.
Aiden lowered his firearm and said, “I warned you...”
Daniel slowly crawled in reverse, helplessly wiggling across the foyer of the shopping mall. Aiden slowly walked towards Daniel with his finger on the trigger. As he watched the commotion, Shawn seized the golden opportunity. He bounced towards the final entrance, then fell towards the broken glass bottle. He maneuvered the shard in his hands, then sawed into the heavy-duty rope wrapped around his shins. As the rope snapped, he proceeded to the restraint on his thighs.
Stony-faced, Aiden towered over Daniel. He could see the pain and fear swelling in his eyes. Daniel lifted his hand towards Aiden, pleading for mercy. He could only conjure a croak of a word – a grunting supplicate. The blood in his mouth bubbled as he gargled and choked.
Aiden said, “I don't know how you got this job. You may not be a judge or a police officer, but you're still in a position of power. People like you shouldn't have power. You take advantage of it. You abuse it. I could see it in your eyes. You're like my buddy... a deviant asshole. It's not right.”
Daniel faintly stuttered, “Pl–Please...”
Aiden shook his head and said, “I want you to understand something. The moment we crossed paths and you decided to show your true colors, that was the moment you earned yourself a death sentence. Believe me, I would have left with my pal and your night would have proceeded normally. But, in a few weeks, a few months, or maybe a few years, I would have showed up at your front door to play a little game. It's what I do. I've assigned myself a title and a duty. 'The Harbinger of Vengeance' announces and executes. Don't beat yourself up over this, pal. Your death was inevitable.”
Aiden kicked Daniel's hand aside and chuckled. He lifted his sleek firearm, then fired another round into Daniel's head. The bullet pierced through the center of Daniel's forehead. Blood splattered a meter beyond his dome. The thunderous gunshot reverberated through the area, shattering the sky like a bolt of lightning.
Aiden returned the gun to his waistband, then turned towards Shawn. He immediately stopped laughing as he caught a glimpse of a nude man running across the street. Shawn had seized the opportunity to abscond.
Aiden scowled and shouted, “Shawn! Shawn! I'm coming for you, you rat bastard! You're not getting away from me! No one gets away from me!”
Chapter Nine
The Great Escape
Shawn grimaced as he sprinted down the damp sidewalk. His bare feet splashed in the opaque puddles, rippling with his frantic movements. He swung his tied wrists with each hurried step; his biceps were still tied to his ribs. His body shuddered from the frigid temperature as a cold breeze caressed his strapping figure. Yet, the thought of being caught made him tremble more than the gust.
With a clouded mind, Shawn shouted, “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
As he recklessly sprinted across a four-way intersection, Shawn barely evaded the oncoming vehicles. He could feel the whizzing speeds of the cars on his unclad buttocks. The drivers blared their horns and angrily waved their fists. Some cars skidded to a stop, others swerved to dodge the seemingly maniacal nude man.
Without stopping, Shawn frowned and said, “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”
Upon crossing the busy intersection, Shawn knelt down behind a parked truck, seeking cover from the public. He bit his bottom lip and scrunched his face as he squatted and pushed with all of his internal might. The bloodied pen slowly slid out of his rectum, then clacked as it collided with the ground. Shawn eyelids fluttered as he sighed in relief.
As the bloodied pen rolled down the sidewalk, searching for a new pocket to inhabit, Shawn whispered, “Thank you... Thank you.”
Shawn glanced around his surroundings with narrowed eyes, inspecting his newfound environment and planning his next move. He had entered a residential area. There were humble single-story houses at each side of the street. Shawn breathed heavily, catching his breath from the strenuous exercise and excruciating pain as he searched for an escape route.
Shawn whispered, “What do I do? This... This is all my fault. He died because of me. He died because of...” Shawn shook his head, then sternly said, “No. He had a gun. He had a fucking gun. It's his fault, not mine. But... I can't... Shit, I can't let anyone else die. What do I do?”
Shawn glanced to his left, then towards his right. He bolted down the sidewalk to his left. He could not return to Aiden – the public's safety was not as significant as his own. He weaved and bobbed his head around the parked sedans and trucks, searching for any useful pedestrians to no avail. The streets were vacant at night. Only the buzzing street lamps hummed with Shawn's frantic wheezing.
Shawn tilted his head towards the sky and shouted, “Someone help! Please! Someone call the cops! Call 911! He's trying to kill me! He's trying to kill me!”
As Shawn jogged, a front door two houses away slowly opened. Shawn covered his crotch with his hands and hunched down as he approached the home. A frail old man with thin white hair protruded his head from the measly opening. The inquisitive neighbor glanced around, searching for the source of the ruckus. The man squinted as he stared at Shawn with a perplexed expression plastered on his face. A bloodied, nude man walking down the street at night was never a good sign.
Shawn stopped in front of the rickety iron gate and warned, “Sir, don't come out here. That man... He's... He's got a gun!”
The elderly man scowled and said, “I have a gun, too. Get away from my property before I have to use it, boy. You damn pervert...”
Shawn waved his arms and pranced down the sidewalk. He said, “Please, don't do that.
I'm sorry. I'll go, I'll go, but please call the cops and tell them...”
The man shouted, “I will call the cops if you don't get the hell out of here!”
The sound of squealing wheels and blaring horns echoed from down the street. Shattering glass and clanking metal immediately followed. Despite the obvious wreckage, the howling wheels continued to reverberate.
As he glanced towards the grating noise, Shawn whispered, “Aiden...” Wailing emergency sirens finally emerged from far beyond the visible horizon – a reassuring but uncertain sound. Shawn murmured, “They have to catch him before he catches me...”
Shawn sprinted with all of the energy he could conjure, hurtling down the moist sidewalk. He stopped at the crosswalk, then looked both ways. The coast was clear. His destination was garish, lit up like Vegas at night. A diner with vibrant neon signs sat at the other side of the street. The lurid lights pierced through the surrounding darkness, whisking the forbidding shadows away.
Shawn squatted and ran through the busy parking lot, avoiding the judgmental eyes with his nimble movements. He turned the corner and found himself behind the bijou eatery. He leaned on the brick wall, then stared down at his unclad body. His body was drenched in sweat and blood. The crude drawings and cruel messages were smudged and illegible.
Weary from his great escape, Shawn whispered, “At least some of it is gone...”
Shawn staggered away from the wall, then shambled down the alleyway. He glanced at the sturdy blue door leading into the diner's kitchen. A begrimed plastic dumpster with a blue body and black lid hugged the wall beside the back door. Shawn found himself with two options: knock and ask for help or hide in the dumpster until help found him. The alternatives were equally grim, but one required less immediate humiliation.
Shawn lurched towards the malodorous dumpster. His nose wrinkled as he caught a whiff of the revolting stench. The shrill sound of swarming flies pierced into his ears, easily penetrating through the sealed garbage bin. He planted his palms on the dumpster and retched as he contemplated. Despite the disgust, he could not force himself to ask for help in public. He could not endure more embarrassment, he could not endure the emotional pain associated with the mortification.
He shoved the dumpster lid upward, then gazed into the interior. The atrocious stench immediately pummeled his nostrils. The dumpster was filled with garbage bags and rotting leftovers. As he hesitated, the sound of squealing wheels reverberated towards the alleyway. Aiden was rapidly approaching.
Shawn shook his head and whispered, “There's nowhere else to hide, there's nowhere to go... He knows me. He'll find me anywhere, but here... He won't check here...” He vaulted into the dumpster and shouted, “Fuck it!”
***
The filthy garbage bags rippled like waves at a shore. The brimming sacks popped and rustled with the slightest movements. Shawn found himself sinking into the pool of trash with each passing second, his body being swallowed by the putrid waste.
As he whimpered, Shawn whispered, “This is too disgusting... This is... Shit...”
The interior of the dumpster was dominated by a dreary darkness. Only a slit of milky moonlight poured through the crack between the lid and body. The frolicsome flies buzzed around, landing on his legs and whooshing by his ears like if they purposely tried to annoy him. He swatted the pesky flies, but to no avail – the swarm was too agile for his slow arms.
As his eyesight adjusted to the dingy shadows, Shawn could see the rotting food beneath his body. He pinched his wrinkled nose as the odious scent danced into his vulnerable nostrils. His eyes watered from the vile miasma – the odor resembled the stench of a body decomposing during a summer heatwave. Shawn squirmed in reverse until his head hit the dumpster wall.
In a muffled tone, Shawn said, “It smells like death.” He nervously chuckled, then joked, “It's not prom night, is it? There might be a fetus in here or something...”
As Shawn anxiously laughed, the sound of puddles rippling seeped into the dumpster. Shawn's smile immediately disappeared. His body became stiff as he held his breath and gazed at the grimy lid. He could feel his palpitating heart, like if a raucous drummer were pounding the tender muscle. The steps grew louder and indistinct whispering emerged. Shawn could not help himself. He slowly traversed the mountainous garbage, climbing over the mounds of rotting food.
Shawn peeked through the crack and whispered, “They can help me...”
A man and a woman walked down the alleyway. The man donned a black coat over a white button-up shirt, black pants, and polished black dress shoes. His glossy black hair was tightly slicked back. The woman wore a black dress down to her thighs and sleek black heels. Her wavy black hair reached down to her timid shoulders. The couple appeared regular, giggling and whispering – seemingly flirting after a late-night dinner date.
Shawn swallowed the lump in his throat and peered towards the pair. He grunted and groaned as he attempted to muster the courage to call for help. His bravery was exhausted, his confidence was nonexistent. The words were wiped from his vocabulary and his social skills were murdered by Aiden's savage challenges.
As the couple escaped his vision, Shawn whispered, “I didn't want you to die anyway... Have a great night.”
The howling wheels of a speeding car skidding to a stop echoed towards the small diner. The sound of a car door opening immediately followed. Stiff and frightened, Shawn fell back into the garbage like a falling tree – Timber! He inhaled deeply from his nose, tasting the foul cuisine at the back of his mouth. He gritted his teeth and kept his dreadful thoughts to himself. Shawn's wheezed with each savage idea crossing his mind. He was on the verge of hyperventilating. The dumpster became inexplicably stuffy.
The tramping footsteps were unbearable, each step slower than the last. The footsteps stopped beside the garbage bin. An eerie silence dominated the area. The flies stopped buzzing, the cars stopped whizzing by the adjacent roads, and the bustling diner became quiet – a dead silence. Before Shawn could ponder his options, the dumpster lid swung open and Aiden peered into the garbage. He glared at Shawn with a furious scowl.
Shawn shook his head and said, “Wait, wait, I can explain, Aiden. Don't do this...”
Aiden tightly gripped Shawn's hair and pulled him up. He struggled to find a suitable grip on Shawn's moist torso. His hands slipped and slid on his nude figure. Shawn sniveled and helplessly tried to pull away. With all of the energy he could conjure, Aiden dragged Shawn out of the dumpster. Shawn wheezed as his body plummeted to the concrete ground.
Aiden leaned over Shawn's enfeebled body and shouted, “I warned you! I told you what would happen if you tried anything stupid!”
Aiden swiftly drew his handgun and aimed towards Shawn's head. Shawn sobbed as he held his trembling hands to his face. Saliva dribbled from his mouth and mucus dripped from his nostrils. Aiden gritted his teeth and glowered. His finger trembled on the trigger. Murder was burned into his retinas, his thirst for blood was unquenchable.
Aiden stomped and shouted, “Damn it!”
He gripped the gun from the barrel, then struck Shawn's dome with the butt of the firearm – like a hammer clobbering a nail. Shawn was dazed by each powerful blow. His head swayed and his eyelids flickered. Aiden walloped Shawn until a laceration at the top of his dome squirted blood like a garden sprinkler. He stopped the beating to catch his breath. As he inspected the damage, Aiden wiped the bloodied gun on his rumpled button-up shirt.
Aiden said, “I told you... I told you not to mess up. I told you I would handle everything. But, just like always, you didn't listen. Shawn wanted to be the hero of his own story. Shawn wanted to be better than Aiden, right? You... I should have let them arrest you, you ungrateful fuck. But, what's done is done, right? What's done is done. We can still finish what we started, pal. What do you say?”
On the doorstep of unconsciousness, Shawn stuttered, “I–I do–don't... I...”
Aiden smiled and said, “That sounds like a 'yes' to me.�
��
Aiden lifted Shawn from the ground, tossing his arm over his shoulder. The pair trudged down the alleyway. Shawn dragged his limp feet as he struggled to balance himself. As the duo shambled towards the sedan at the end of the alley, the diner's back door swung open.
Aiden whispered, “What is it this time?”
Aiden turned towards the back door. A bald, middle-aged man wearing a white short sleeve button-up shirt, black pants, and black work shoes stood at the doorway. The man furrowed his brow as he squinted towards Aiden and Shawn. He was baffled by the sight – a strange man carrying an injured, nude man towards a car at night in an alley.
The man asked, “What the hell is going on back here?”
Aiden pointed the gun towards the man and sternly said, “Get inside and mind your own business. Don't be a hero.”
The man scurried back into the restaurant upon spotting the handgun, slamming and locking the door behind him. Aiden chuckled as he dragged Shawn to the car. The firearm bolstered his confidence and stroked his ego. He was an unstoppable force of vengeance. He strapped Shawn into the passenger seat.
As he lightly slapped Shawn's cheek, Aiden said, “We have one more challenge to go, buddy.”
Chapter Ten
The Clean-Up
The front door slowly swung open. Nude and freed from his restraints, Shawn shambled into the house, dragging his feet with each step. He erratically blinked and sniffled as he glanced around his surroundings, like if he were unfamiliar with his own home. As he stared towards the mucky kitchen table, Shawn tumbled to the floor. He leaned on the staircase to his left, grimacing from the pain and exhaustion.
Aiden strolled inside and shut the door behind him. He said, “Finally, we're home.” He knelt down beside Shawn and said, “You shouldn't have ran from me, Shawn. You know that was wrong, right? You managed to turn a humiliation challenge into something physical. Your actions did that, not me. I don't want you to blame me or hold some sort of grudge, okay? This would have been over by now if you didn't run. We would have already reached the conclusion.”
