“Me too,” adds Isaiah. My heart is beating out of my chest while looking at his innocent face. I won’t be able to live with myself if something happens to him because I’m being selfish. He narrows his eyes at me, challenging me to go against him. I smile despite my anxiety skyrocketing through the roof. He’s getting much more confident in himself.
“I’m coming too,” Christine says. I can tell that she’s scared, but there’s a glint of determination in her multi-colored eyes.
Ashlynn is looking at everyone like they have three heads. Ashton is looking at the ground while scratching the back of his head. “Ash, I think we should go with them,” he says.
“What? Are you out of your mind? Why should we go with them?”
“Because if we branch off with just you and I, we’re as good as dead.”
“We’re dead if we go with them,” she exclaims.
“I'd rather die with our friends instead of just us,” he retorts.
“Wow, bro, I didn’t know I meant sooo much to you,” she says sarcastically.
“Cut the shit, Ash. Whether you want to admit it or not, our best choice is to stick with the group.”
“Fine, but when we’re staring death in the face, I reserve the right to say, ‘I told you so’.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he deadpans.
“It’s decided, we’re all going with Kiani,” Brian says. “Do you have an idea where we should start looking?” He addresses this part to me.
I look around, scanning our surroundings. I can’t see much from here, so I walk a little way away from our spot until I got an ok view of the buildings surrounding us.
“There,” I say while pointing at the tallest building in the distance. “He’d start there.”
“Well, I guess that’s where we’re starting, too,” Brian states.
“Let’s head out, and may God be with us the whole way,” Christine whispers.
I know it seems like we could have caught up to Derrick quickly, and if the universe didn’t have such a perverse sense of humor, we probably would have. Sadly, I’m in my new favorite position, yoked up against the wall, while I see Christine dragging Isaiah to a doorway. Ashlynn’s currently unconscious on the ground, bless her heart, and Brian and Ashton have their hands full of their very own Bandit.
We were walking down the alleyway, slowly edging our way towards the tall building, when Ashlynn grunts out and drops to the ground like a sack of flour. Ashton rushes over to her, blood coating the hand that’s propping her head up. We immediately went on the defensive, but by then the Bandits have already fell on top of us, one carrying a pipe. Clearly he’s the one that hit a home run on the back of Ashlynn’s head.
We should have known that they were going to be this close to the building we suspected Derrick ran off to. If he went looking for Sam, then that means the biggest Bandit of them all lives there. Of course he’d have his ants patrolling the streets. Our mistake cost Ashlynn her consciousness and right now it’s costing me my sanity. I’m glad I didn’t have to voice my fear to Christine. She immediately grabbed Isaiah and ran off.
Me and my new boyfriend are nose to nose and I don’t have the patience to play with him. I immediately bury my knife in his stomach and slice up. He lets me go and I don’t even look at him as I run over and slice down on the back of the guy Brian is fighting with. The cut is clean and through the neck. Thank God for Ashton and his baby machete. It’s making this a lot easier than my knife would have.
Brian and I quickly round on the guy that Ashton is fighting. I want to quickly dispatch him, but they’re rolling around and I can’t get a good opening. Ashton takes three solid punches to his face before he was able to get the upper hand and put his Bandit in a choke hold. He flops onto his back, revealing the front of the Bandit’s body to me. “Do it, Kiani!” he grunts out. I hesitate for a second, not used to killing a Bandit while he’s being held down. “Kiani!” Ashton’s plea breaks me out of my moment of weakness, I surge forward and slam my machete into the Bandit’s heart. I quickly pull it from his dying body, turning my back to his panicked eyes and fighting down my desire to throw up. Ashton shoves his Bandit off of him and we rush over to Ashlynn to check and see if she’s ok. There’s a nasty gash on the back of her head, and we have to get that thing to stop bleeding.
Christine rushes over with Isaiah in tow and we all help the boys get Ashlynn positioned between them before we quickly head out.
“Where should we go? There’s bound to be more Bandits walking around this area, possibly stationed in some of the stores. If we keep going out in the open like this, with Ashlynn incapacitated, we’re bound to die,” I whisper.
“I don’t know,” Christine is the one who answers me. She has a death grip on Isaiah’s hand and her brows are drawn down. Her different colored eyes are hard as she consider our limited options.
“Either way, we could lose. I think our best bet is to backtrack away from the building and find a building to hole up in. If we keep walking towards the towering building that Derrick may be heading, we’ll definitely be attacked. We still might get attacked if we walk in the opposite direction, but it’s better odds of us not. I mean, we didn’t see a single Bandit until we got closer,” Brian states over the head of Ashlynn.
Ashton has yet to chime in, and I can see that the reason why he’s so quiet is because he has his eyes focused on his sister. I may not have too much love in my heart for Ashlynn, but I don’t want her to die. I know head wounds tend to look worse than what they truly are, but she’s soaking her shirt right now with the amount of blood she’s losing.
I take a spare shirt out of her bag and I wrap it around her head. We can’t have her blood lead a trail to wherever we’re going. And I guess it also helps to slow the blood flow down a little. Win/win.
“Let’s go with what Brian suggests. We need to move quick.” I give my spare knife over to Isaiah and I motion for Christine to take out hers. “We all are going to have to fight today. Be on guard.”
I go to check the pockets of the Bandits before we leave. Something is niggling at the back of my mind, like I know there’s something important in there waiting for me. Each Bandit had a folded note on them, all of them saying the same thing, like they were making sure this note got to it’s receiver no matter what.
It’s funny how three can turn into none. It’s great how one’s pain is another one’s fun. Welcome to my Kingdom, I’ve been watching and waiting. You know where to find me, I’m finished with the baiting.
Fuck.
Dammit, Derrick. Why would you do this to me?
13
Derrick
I can barely breathe through the pain that I’m in. I’m such an idiot. I should have been more aware of my surroundings. I got so excited with the thought of saving Sam, I got reckless. And now that error will more than likely cost me my life.
I’m lying on the hard ground, blood pouring from my nose and mouth. The only thought that’s really running through my mind is how much my death will destroy Kiani. Even though we’ve been arguing lately, she’s my family. I know she’s strong, and hopefully she can get past my death.
I roll onto my stomach and try to stand up. I’m midway through the push-up position when a solid kick lands into my stomach. I grunt, blood spewing from my mouth, before I collapse back down onto my side.
“Where do you think you’re going?” one of the guys sneers. I’m assuming it’s the one who has their foot planted into the middle of my back.
“I was trying not to miss my appointment,” I grunt.
“What appointment?”
“My appointment to fuck your mother,” I laugh right before they begin to beat my ass again. I know it’s stupid to provoke them, but I’m going to die anyways. Might as well have some fun.
“Hold up!” I hear someone yell. I’m barely holding on to consciousness and I can barely see out of my swollen eyes. The blood pouring into them doesn’t help either. “This guy loo
ks familiar.”
Those last words catch my attention more than anything else. The only people who would know how I look would be my group members or the Bandits that took Sam. I’m trying to rack my mind with who could be speaking when I’m yanked up by my neck. I force my eyes open and holy shit. It’s Chris. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, thought you’d be dead by now. Where’s the black girl that was with you?” Chris asks.
“She’s dead,” I lie.
“Ah, what a shame. I would have loved to have some fun with her.”
“Where’s Sam, Chris?”
“Woah! You remember my name? I must’ve made quite an impression! Don’t you worry about your dear old Sam. She died the day I stabbed her in her stomach. Such a waste.”
My heart shatters at the words that he’s spewing. There’s no way that Sam could be dead. I know that I risked a lot branching off and searching for her. I knew there was a chance that she could be dead, but I don’t think I ever allowed myself to believe that she was.
“You’re lying,” I cough out. “Sam would never allow herself to die by the hands of the likes of you.” Those words earned me a punch to the jaw, but I can barely feel the pain of his strike. My mind is spiraling out of control.
“I’d watch what I say if I were you. I’d hate to have to draw out your death,” he huffs. “What did you do to our men at the outpost?”
“I killed them,” I answer. No way will I mention Kiani and the others. Now that I’ve confirmed that we’re in the territory of the men who killed Sam, I’m desperate for her to keep going. I just know, deep in my heart, that she’s going to follow me. It’s the same thing that I would do if I was in her position.
“Well, ain’t that a shame? I knew those two were useless, but to get killed by one kid? Pathetic,” he sighs, as if he was truly resigned because of their worthlessness. “Hoist the kid up and take him back to headquarters. I’m sure the Boss will have a lot of fun playing with him.”
I try to struggle when two sets of hands grab me under my armpits. I lash out and kick one of the Bandits in their shins. My efforts gift me with another punch in the stomach and one more to the jaw.
My consciousness starts to wane as they drag me down the alley towards the towering building. I almost want to smile at how right I was. Almost. My last thoughts were the sadness I felt at leaving Kiani, but how happy I’ll be to see Sam and my family again.
14
Kiani
We find an apartment above an abandoned shop. We were just lucky that the Bandits that live here were leaving when we were coming up to it. We wait until they see us, waiting for them to attack first. A city this large, there has to be innocent people still here who were left behind.
Ashton and Brian have their hands full carrying Ashlynn, leaving the Bandits to me, Christine and Isaiah. The Bandits rush towards us, making it clear that they’re not friends. My heart thumps in my chest as I think of our options. The only option we have is to fight, but I don’t want Isaiah getting harmed.
“Christine, right. I’ll go left.”
“Got it!”
We rush towards the Bandits, meeting them in the middle. These Bandits aren’t tall or even muscular. It should be easy for us to take them out. My Bandit has brown hair and tan skin. I can’t tell what color his eyes are from this distance, but it won’t matter in a little bit. If I had it my way, they’ll be permanently closed.
I duck down, barely dodging a well aimed punch for my face. I counter quickly by punching him in the stomach. He doesn’t go down like I expect him to. Instead, he slams his elbow down onto my temple, causing me to drop to my knees. Blackness starts to creep into my vision and I’m struggling with not throwing up. The Bandit grabs me by my braids and yank my head back, using his new leverage to punch me in the mouth. Blood instantly began to trickle down my throat, causing me to gag.
“Kiani!” I can barely hear Isaiah’s cry over the ringing in my ears.
“Take her,” I hear Brian say to Ashton. But he was too late.
“Stop.” I plead, barely audible with all of the blood in my mouth.
“I’ll stop when you’re dead,” the Bandit responds, mistakenly thinking that I was talking to him. In reality, I was pleading with Isaiah. He was closer than Brian and charging full speed at the Bandit, his knife drawn.
I turn my eyes back to the Bandit, hoping that I didn’t draw any attention to Isaiah. What is he planning to do? He’s too young to be fighting. I ball my hand into a fist, hoping that I can distract him until Brian gets here. I swing towards his face, getting in a lucky punch to his jaw. My success is short lived as he return the favor. At this point, I don’t think I have much longer until I black out.
Isaiah screams out, right before he slams into the Bandit that’s kicking my ass. I whimper, terrified of what that monster will do to him. The Bandit grabs him by his curly hair, picking him up until he’s barely standing on the ground with the tips of his toes.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” the Bandit grunts out before slamming his fist into Isaiah’s stomach. The blow causes Isaiah to lose his hold on his knife, gasps of pain escaping his lips.
I attempt to stand up when Brian barrels past me, knocking the Bandit and Isaiah onto the ground. The fight is intense between those two, but Brian quickly gets the upper hand. I leave him to it while I hobble over to Isaiah, who’s still whimpering on the ground.
“Isaiah,” I reach down to cradle his head, struggling to focus through the pain.
“I’m ok,” he whispers. “Help Christine.”
Shit. I forgot all about her. I spin around, almost causing myself to throw up in the process, and search for Christine. My eyes finally focus on her being helped by Ashton. They’re doing a good job of teaming up on her Bandit. He looks like he’s around 5’8” with a slim frame and dark skin. Even though he’s slim, I can see his muscles bunching under his shirt. Blood runs down the right side of her face from a cut in her eyebrow. It’s nothing fatal, so I turn my attention back to Isaiah. He’s sitting up now, taking deep breaths through the pain.
“Ki, everything is taken care of,” Brian says from behind me. Dirt and blood is smudged over his face, his brown eyes hard. I look him over, making sure that he’s otherwise ok. Satisfied with what I see, I look over to see Christine panting on her knees. I’m just about to freak out and ask where Ashton is when I see him walking over with a still bleeding Ashlynn in his arms.
“We have to get from out in the open. We’re in no shape to get into another fight,” I mutter before spitting out the blood in my mouth.
“Let’s go into the apartment they just walked out of. At least we know that it’s empty,” Brian declares.
Ashton sets Ashlynn beside me while he and Brian quickly dispose of the bodies into the nearest dumpster. We can’t have them just lying around, people may investigate. Or they may not, it is the end of the world.
Ashton picks up Ashlynn while Brian gives me hand. Christine limps over to Isaiah and helps him stand as well. Dammit! We got our asses handed to us this time. The stairs are hell to climb in our current condition, but we finally make it to the top and enter into the apartment the Bandits left.
The place is furnished pretty basic and the walls are painted a weird greyish blue. It’s not as great as the last place we stayed in, but it’s better than being out in the open.
“Look around for a first aid kit. We have to get Ashlynn’s wound cleaned and dressed,” Christine says, taking command of the situation.
“Shouldn’t we stop the bleeding from your eyebrow, too?” I ask.
“It’s not as bad as it looks, we’ll take care of everyone else after we take care of Ashlynn,” she responds. We all break off to look in the obvious places for where a first aid kit would be stashed. The apartment isn’t really that big. There’s a modest living room, a decent sized kitchen, and down the only hall is two modest sized bedrooms and a small bathroom.
I find the first aid kit under the sink
in the bathroom. The bathroom looks and smells like it belongs to two men. I’m not saying that it’s filthy or anything, but it’s definitely really lived in. There are razors sitting on the counter, used towels hanging from the drying rack, and very masculine smelling shampoos and shaving gels. Even though this apartment is small and poorly furnished, they were able to get access to a purifier for their shower head.
Huh, I wonder why the last house didn’t have those? I’ll have to take advantage of that before we leave. I leave the bathroom and head down the short hall back to where Ashlynn is lying comatose on the couch. I look down at her and notice how peaceful I feel when she’s not awake. I mean, how peaceful she looks when she’s not awake. It’s the same thing.
My head is clearing up, but I know that I’m going to be left with a terrible migraine when this is all said and done. I call Christine back into the living room, informing her that I found the first aid kit. She immediately gets to work pulling out all of the gauze pads and antibacterial wipes. We help Ashton flip his sister over so that she’s lying on her stomach. Christine pulls out a pair of gloves and stops and just stares at the back of Ashlynn’s head like she’s seen a ghost.
“Christine, what is it?” I ask.
“Oh my goodness,” she mumbles.
“What’s wrong? You’re freaking me out here!” Ashton demands. I can see that he’s looking real pale underneath the blood and grime coating his skin. I don’t blame him. Even I’m starting to get scared, and I can’t stand the girl.
Christine takes a deep breath, as if trying to steady herself for what she’s about to say. “We have to shave off the section where the wound is. That’s… that’s the only way I can properly clean it and see if it needs stitching.”
Isaiah gasps and takes staggering steps away from the couch that Ashlynn is lying on, the look on his face having nothing to do with his stomach. Ashton drops to the floor, back resting against the sofa, and drops his head into his hands. Brian starts pacing back and forth, tugging at his hair. And I cover my mouth, thinking of all the pain and misery we’re going to be subjected to when Ashlynn wakes up and realizes that she has a giant bald spot on the back of her head.
Kiani’s Journey- Mayhem Page 9
