*back with Kellan. We want to throw rocks at him, but it's necessary. 🤣💚*
I begrudgingly play along, trailing Corey with cases of beer and soda. A nerdy man and three women lurk in the backyard, waiting for the coolers to be filled and food to come out. Corey plays loud music from a stereo, while John grumbles and tries to make small talk with the women. One woman occasionally eyes me, and I intentionally ignore her. My mood still foul from earlier news.
Each woman is dressed in a similar manner to Alina, no doubt replicating the photos which had spread once through the news when our story blew up. They stand in their group discussing weather, theories, and distaste of Alina. This draws a chuckle from me, considering each of them have copied her either in clothing or hair. The man looks around, as if searching for something, but redirects his attention when noticed.
"How many will be here? She's here right, in the house?"
"I'm not sure. Twenty? That's all that showed interest unless more pop up. She's here, just not in there. I'll go into details when we think everybody that's comin' is here."
"How do we know there's no feds or nothing?" His voice is nasally, and dramatic.
"We shake them down. Everybody empties their pockets, leaves their ID in the house."
"I'm not leaving my ID! If we are busted before we can get them, then there's no way to get out of this." The tallest girl complains. My ID is fake, but I agree with her point.
"I'm not keen on the idea either." I concur, and the girl seemingly gloats.
"That's why we aren't going to get caught."
John shrugs as he lights a fire in the pit, and several torches for light. The beat and sexual lyrics of the music entices the women to dance, and they hardly notice that more vehicles have arrived. Several more men and women approach the house and Corey leads them to the back with us. They are giddy, large creepy sneers across their faces as they scurry to the backyard like a pack of hyenas.
"Where is she?" One shrieks in excitement. She bounces on her heels and twirls her hair like a mental patient, and I decide she might be the first female here to die.
"Get to that soon, when everybody is here that will be here." She pouts and sits near me.
"What's your name?" God damn it. Sit elsewhere. I groan audibly as I turn my focus to her.
"Dylan." The lie comes so naturally, and I remind myself to remember 'Dylan' who is apparently my new alias.
"I'm Shyla, it is nice to meet you." Her eyes roam across my shoulders and to my forearm. I get up from the seat and stand along the house. Corey is quick to follow me.
"Dude, what gives? You've had two of them already eyeing you. Why don't you move on them? Talk, flirt, something. Could be swimming in ass man, but you're hydrophobic."
"Actually, I've got my eye on someone else."
"I see! Lady at home?"
"Actually, I was hoping to woo Alina herself. Maybe that's just my inner fan dreaming out loud, but it wouldn't hurt to try." I try to act bashful, and Corey doubles over to hold his sides. He speaks once he's finished laughing. It wasn't that funny.
"Oh man. No. No sir. Do not go down that road. It is a dead end, I swear to you." I stare quizzically while he prepares to explain.
"You see, I tried that. We had her here, at our mercy. She couldn't even hold herself up on her leg. She initiated though, totally all over me while I was trying to bathe her. Flirting, teasing. Wet and pushing her breasts together. Then, out of nowhere she beat my ass and got out the window. I'm still not entirely sure what even happened. One minute, I'm laughing with her and getting my eyes full. The next I'm sprawled out in an empty bathroom and she is gone." His voice is lowered as he looks around for witnesses of his confession. I have this fool to think for losing my little gem.
Embarrassment clouds his features, and I secretly simmer over the thought of her bare and flirting with him. It is nothing, no more than what she done to me to get my guard down. She's an opportunist. She cannot be trained, reshaped or taught to love. Always a gem, she'll never make a diamond. Dependence, ultimatums, rewards, and punishment all fail to keep her submissive. She only plays along until she can strike, holding onto her resentment till she can no longer c obtain it. This, this is why she has to go. I can't have her, or train her in any manner as I had others. She's impossible, a waste of my time. A loose end.
"Hey, you ok?" I snap out of my thoughts and notice Corey staring at me, strangely.
"I'm good." A few more pests crawl from the driveway and into the backyard to join us.
"Good! Because here is the entertainment."
"I thought that was Alina?"
"It is, but in a different sense. Raymond brings us more." I take that Raymond is the large man bringing up the newest group.
"Women?"
"Yes. Before we hunt Alina, Raymond suggested some party games."
"I'm not into drunken hookups with copycat fools." I dismiss the idea before he can represent it.
"Then what are you into?"
"Violence, money, food, and of course like all of us, Alina."
"Kellan isn't going to like our interests n her, you might want to tone that down after we send our message. If anybody asks, your here for him." He looks around again before whispering. "I think they intend to help Kellan deliver justice."
"I'd hate to anger Kellan." I speak sarcastically.
"On the subject of violence, you will love the games Raymond suggested."
He sneers and smacks my shoulder playfully. I shrug him off and begrudgingly follow him back to the fire with the others. There's too many now, seventeen so far. Seven men, ten women. Myself and Raymond being the largest here. Raymond seems to be pulling strings here, despite the fact that Corey and John planned the party and Alina's nabbing. I notice when Raymond speaks he controls the floor and the flow of things. This gets my mind working and I study Raymond with subtlety.
He has long shaggy hair, tied at the nape and dyed a blue black. He wears a black pocket tee, with a fitted black coat and black jeans. Under his throat is a poorly done gang affiliate tattoo, faded and complete with unstable lines. The signature tear drop tattoo adorns the corner of his eye. Gang affiliate tattoo, so probably past initiation, the cliche tear could represent a murder? His presence is cocky, bold and abrasive. He immediately barks orders at John, who willingly complies. None so fat challenge him as he hijacks their event. I be damned if a strange man would order me around my house. But it isn't John's house, is it?
No. No. I had forgotten the interior! I scold myself. The inside had old furnishings, an outdated rug and curtains. Dusty, old pictures of a family could be seen here and there from the area I was in. None of those people looked like John or Corey. Electricity is on in the house, so it was obviously not abandoned. The owner is either out of town, dead, or hostage I imagine.
I sip a cheap beer and eat a cheeseburger from the table by the grill. Everyone eats, talks and soon the dancing continues. A few men light fireworks, and the sound shakes the trees and colors the sky above. The women grind on one another, glowing with the light of the torches and fireworks. Some grind on the men, and even kiss other women as John films and praises them. I move further away, and so does Raymond and the tall woman. The three of us seem to understand that being on film doing illegal activity is only a nail in your coffin. I roll my eyes at the others, and from my place among the side of the house, I stare out into the distance.
Once, I swear I see motion, and I write it off as my mind playing tricks. I know Alina is out there, somewhere, and so it conjures up what it wants me to see. With any luck, I might find her soon and she might be already dead. I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants and grind my teeth. Raymond and the tall girl are deep in conversation, and she tosses her head back to laugh and flirt. Shyla stops dancing to bounce over to Corey and he bends his ear to her.
"Nobody else has shown, and it is getting later, so let's get into it. We are all here because we are fascinated with Kels, and we want to do him proud. We want to meet him. To join him. To help him get his revenge. We all discussed this, and we decided that we needed the right bait and ruse before we tried to contact him once more. John and I have it."
"He's right! We have Alina. We also have a game of our own. You see, we got Alina and we brought her here, only for her to attack us and escape." He lifts up her prosthetic from a picnic table. "But we have this. Her other leg has damage. She can't go far. So what do you say to a witch hunt? The little witch is out there, right now worming around in pathetic attempt to get to help. To thwart our plans to use her, to thwart our chances to meet Kellan and to grant him his vengeance. She wronged him, and now us!"
"She's not here?" Shyla's smirk drops and her eyes grow wide. "You just left her in the woods for us to find? She could be gone?"
"She can't walk bitch!" The tall girl yells.
"Come to me, and you won't be either."
"You didn't just threaten me."
"I did."
"Both of you, shut up!" Raymond interrupts. "Now, I'm down with this idea. But I say we still need to spice it up. You two can't get along, so we branch off into groups. Whoever finds her first gets to claim her and gets to control the message sent to Kellan." The tall woman turns to bolt into the woods, but Raymond catches her arm.
"That's not fair! She's trying to get a headstart!" Shyla screams.
"Nobody goes yet, then. You and Elena fight for who goes first." He shoves Elena forward and the group steps forward in a circle.
"I'm not fighting, this is stupid." Elena defends.
"Oh, you are. I promised games, and I promised violence. Fight her, or the group gets to choose your punishment."
He sneers, and the others giggle and whisper to one another excitedly. Elena, outraged and embarrassed, immediately lunges for Shyla. Shyla is startled by the unexpected advance, and tumbles to the ground beneath the heavier body of Elena. The others taunt and goad, watching with glee as the bigger woman rough houses the other. I watch from a seat away from the circle, with my chin on my palm.
Shyla has taken a beating, and I'm ready to count her out, but I notice she has wiggled towards the fire during the scuffle. She yanks a flaming stick out of the fire, and without flinching she jabs against Elena's ribs. Elena cries out in pain, moving out of notice to cover her side. Shyla rolls out from under her and jumps onto her back, stranging her with the stick crossed in front of her throat. Elena gags and gasps, but Shyla isn't finished. She leaps up, and strategically stomps and twists the leg of Elena, using the stick to strike across her back. She crosses the leg at an angle, and jumps down with her knees into it.
Everyone else flinched at the cracking sound, but Raymond and I. He watches emotionless as he tosses his can of beer onto a sobbing Elena. Shyla wipes the blood off her face with one hand, and bows as she limps away. John steps forward to help Elena up, but Raymond jumps to his feet to drive him back.
"Shouldn't be calling people names if that's the worst you can do." He laughs.
"Dude, she dominated until the end. She held her own."
"No, she should have the entire time. She's likely the strongest woman here, but she's not smart. She got too confident to rely on her size. She's lazy and she paid for it. Let her get up on her own."
"I-I...can't...please..." Elena begs. "We are friends..."
"We? We aren't shit."
"You...said-"
"I lie. We all lie. We are murderers, or will be murderers. Honesty is the torch of the weak minded. When you do as you please, you don't have to be honest."
"Still, we can at least help her up." John whines.
"If she wants to join Kellan, she has to toughen up. I'm not going to have her, or any of you embarrass me. Do you think Kellan would pity her?" Raymond groans. I smile. No, Raymond. No he doesn't. "She has five minutes to get up, or she gets punishment. Group decides the punishment."
Elena wallows around and whimpers as she tries to figure out how to get up. Her knee is discolored, and triple it's natural size. She rolls towards people, but all step back from her, seemingly afraid to give assist. Seceral kick at her, and Raymond grabs another stick from the fire and taunts her with it. Several times burning her arms and ankle. She finally rolls towards one woman, who bends down to grab her arms and help support her weight. Raymond starts towards the woman, but the woman is not afraid. She is tall as well, maybe an inch shorter than Elena. A softly squared jawline, and a slim muscular frame.
"I said no assistance."
"Who made you our leader? We are a cult right? A group. We decide punishment as a group, so why do you get sole decision making on everything else?" She moves slightly before the injured Elena, one arm still helping support her.
"Because I'm smarter, and I'm not afraid to make difficult decisions to e hammer our growth. I will weed the weak. Now, silence."
"Let her speak, she has a point. Who says you are smarter than anyone else here? Obviously you just allowed injury to two of our own. We are only as strong as our weakest. If you are so worried about impressing Kellan, learn to work in unison. We cover one another. Now we have two injured who will not be as efficientin helping us cover ground." I interject.
"I didn't ask your opinion."
"I could give two shits less. Just because you were ousted by your gang doesn't mean you are entitled to take over here. " His mouth gapes and I smirk. "Yes. I know the symbols on your throat and what your teardrop represents. I also see the fade and scaring on those symbols. Looks like you've tried to run the ink from those tattoos, or they tried to do it for you."
"You don't know shit about me." He saunter towards me and we stare one another down.
"I don't need to, you are a carbon copy of every other wannabe 'alpha' asshole. Time is wasting. Let's get our girl."
"We enter the woods when I say." I tilt my head at him and laugh.
"I enter the woods when I wish. You do as you please." He walks away from me, and past the others. I see his arm move out of the corner of my eye, and as he passes Elena he stabs her in her throat in one fluid motion.
Panic rings out among the girls. Screaming and running. Corey and John immediately head them off, trying to prevent runaways and loose lips. I move behind the other men to take Raymond down and restrain him. The girl who stood up for Elena desperately grabs at her throat in attempt to stop the blood that gushes. Elena's shrieking wails die down, and her body follows with it.
She lays sprawled, on her back with her hands clutching over the woman's. Her eyes remain wide open, and everyone gawks in shock as she ceases to move but begins to gurgle. The woman pushes with her other hand, rolling her to her side and still blocking her throat.
"Towels! Something! Somebody!" Her voice quivers, and she thumps along Elena's back and tries to give a few vain breaths. She's visibly shaken and pale.
"Please! She's making sounds. She's choking. She's he-" I let go of Raymond's arm once he is bound, and I approach the woman.
"She's dead. That's the death gurgle. She went when she fell silent and has been gone several minutes. There was nothing you could do." I state.
"How do you know the-"
"Because, I kill people."
"There is something we can do now." I hear a rustling behind me and I turn to see Corey with a gun aimed directly at my forehead. "No more weapons. None of us. We don't need them. We aren't going to kill Alina, but find and restrain her. We will be fne in the woods, all we need are lights. Everybody, weapons on the ground."
John has pulled a pistol too. The duo shake me down to remove my knives and pistol. They empty the chamber and toss the bullets into the woodline. One of my phones falls out too, but they simply leave it. They shake everyone down, and then they toss the knives and empty weapons into the fire. They toss theirs in as well.
"No more deaths in our family. Riley is right, we are a group. We decide from here on out as a group. We work together, or we all take out the threats to our unity."