Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (82 page)

     
Neither of the
two doors in the back would open, so I had to crawl into the front. When I
found that the passenger's door had also been tampered with, I had to reach
over the dead man's body to exit the vehicle. I made the mistake of looking at
his face and, of course, I couldn't help but stare. His eyes were open. They looked
just as they had when he was alive. Lifeless.

     
Before I could
get a chance to look at his neck, I quickly climbed over his body and crawled
out, making sure to close the car door without making a single sound. The cold
air was like a thousand sharp needles on my skin, but I welcomed it. The rain
had turned into a light drizzle and the strong smell of wet cement was
everywhere. Looking around, I could see that the man had parked right in front
of the docks. I kept close to the ground as I moved to peek around the backside
of the car.

     
All around were
nothing but giant storage containers. I searched into the distance towards
where I thought we had come from, but, even with the moon, it was too dark to
see beyond the large structures. Once I was sure that I was alone, I stood up
and began walking briskly, listening for any sounds other than my own light
footsteps.

     
Don't think
about what just happened. Keep moving.

     
Rather than
going into the maze of containers, I moved around them until I finally came to
an open space where I could sort of make out where I was supposed to head. It
was a bit a ways and there were fences, a few small storehouses, and other
various crates scattered along the way. But for the most part, it was primarily
a wide clearing of area. I could make a straight, one-way run for it and be out
of here within a few minutes.

     
The only
problem was that I didn't know whether there were others here or not. It was
dead silent, but that didn't mean I was completely alone. If someone with good
aim had a gun and they saw me out there, it would be an easy kill. My gut told
me to stay hidden.

     
I looked a
little towards my right, where the large containers continued to the half-way
point of the clearing. I could make my run for it from over there.

     
Stepping into
the maze, I carefully made my way through the giant boxes, all while trying to
stay in the right direction, but also avoid any open areas that would mean
trouble if there were others.

     
I was only
about a third of the way there when I had to stop in my tracks. There were
footsteps. Heavy ones that came from the upper right corner, just ahead where I
had planned to go next.

     
Shit.

     
Breathe,
Kitten.

     
I immediately
backtracked and moved to the other side of the container, going left now,
trying my best not to panic. When I thought I was at a far enough distance, I
starting moving up again, in the opposite direction of the docks, towards where
the entrance was.

     
Hearing
footsteps again, I slowed down, confused. These ones were different. They were
going at a slow, casual pace. Something was very off. Swallowing loudly, I sped
up, deciding that I would rather take the open area over this little game of
cat and mouse.

     
Eventually, I
made it to the clearing. I didn't run, but I sure as hell didn't slow down.
There was a thick, heavy mist that appeared to be centered mostly towards the
middle of the expanse. The further I got, the more I had the urge to look back
and see just how much of it I had walked through.

     
You're
almost there. Keep going.

      
When I
thought I saw movement in the distance, I squinted, eventually slowing down to
a full stop when I realized someone was coming towards me.

     
...Should I run
in the opposite direction?

     
No, that
would only lead you back to the docks.

     
Way out to the
right of where I stood was the maze of containers I had just escaped from,
where other unknown assailants still roamed. To the far, far left were what
appeared to be storehouses and abandoned buildings, probably all locked. With
nowhere left to run, it looked like I was going to have to say hi.

     
Just as I began
to move forward, the figure came into view. It was a young man - or perhaps an
older boy? If he wasn't in his early twenties, he was in his very late teens.
He was dressed entirely in black and had disheveled blonde hair. As he neared,
I could see a faint smile begin to form on his lips. I felt my head tilt, the
confusion growing.
Who is this guy?
It was then that I noticed he held
something in his hand.

     
...
A
crowbar?

     
At the sound of
even more footsteps, I froze and unintentionally began holding my breath.
Turning my head around, I saw two more young adults making their way towards
me. One was a blonde female who bared a slight resemblance to the guy in front
of me. Also dressed in black, she looked at me and gave me a full, wide-toothed
grin. It only lasted for a few seconds, though. As she neared, it faded and was
replaced by what I could only describe as a sniggering bitch-face. She also
appeared to be carrying something. A fucking nail bat.

     
Next to her was
another male with dark hair…possibly red? It was hard to tell at this time of
night. He looked a bit older than the other two, and was much bulkier. His face
showed only boredom. Dressed similarly to the others, his weapon of choice was
a large chain with some weird, dangly thing hanging off one end. It looked
pretty medieval.

     
Part of me was
laughing my ass off. The other part was shitting my pants. I hadn't been far
off with the cat and mouse thing. They had been herding me.

     
"What is
this?" I asked.

     
"What's it
look like, bitch?" the girl replied before letting out a small chuckle.
"Aw, you look scared! Where's Marco? Why isn't he with you?"

     
Marco. The dead
man had a name.

     
"What's
wrong? Are you deaf or something? Hey," she began speaking to the guy next
to her. "Call him so we know where to start."

     
"I did.
He's not answering."

     
"Fucking
junkie. I told you he was a worthless piece of shit. Can't be relied on for
jack." The girl looked back at me with a frown. "How far did he get
with you?"

     
I stared back
at her, opting to remain silent before I could accidentally voice what was
really going on in my head.
I was about to be killed by three punk ass kids?
Seriously?

     
"She's
still got all her clothes on," the blonde boy called from behind me, a
little closer now.

     
…
Oh.

     
The girl
chuckled again, this time more loudly. "Guess Marco failed. You take care
of it. Val won't be happy unless this bitch gets fucked first. We won't get
full pay unless we have proof. And remember, it has to look like she enjoyed
it."

     
The air left my
body.
Thank fucking God I had killed Marco.

     
So…it was
supposed to be a brawl of sorts. I quickly reexamined the three surrounding me,
saving the blonde boy for last. I ignored his suggestive smirking and their
small chatter about how tiny and frail I looked. It was true that they were all
much larger than me, even the girl. I didn't know how fast they were, but I
assumed that they were also stronger. In a fight, there was no chance. They had
me beat.

     
I would not
feel guilty this time. I didn't have time for this shit.
And anyway, they
knew what they were getting into when they got involved. No one plays the part
of a pawn without knowing the risks...

     
…Wasn't that
right?

     
Just do what
you do best, Doll.

     
Closing my
eyes, I let it all go again. All the emotions that threatened to take me down
and all the fear that was still lingering within me over losing everything. All
the doubt over whether I was capable or not. All the worry about what would
come afterwards. All the remorse that I would undoubtedly feel when all was
said and done.

     
One final
breath and it was all gone.

     
In this one
single moment, I was…either beyond human…or very, very human.

     
My first
decision was easy - no one wanted to be beaten by a batshit crazy girl. The
bitch with the nail bat had to go. I moved swiftly, reaching for my back to
pull out the revolver. I cocked the hammer and turned, already in stance. With
my arms stretched out in front of me, I slightly adjusted the angle of my
elbows, preparing for whatever kind of recoil this gun had. Playing it safe, I
aimed for her chest.

     
All of this
happened within a second. They didn't have time to see it coming. I pulled the
trigger, keeping my arms stiff. The sudden loudness of the shot made me flinch,
but I didn't pause. I shot the beefy boy next to her before she could even
register what had just happened. Whether the one hit was enough to kill him, I
didn't know, but it should've at least done some critical damage.

     
Turning back
around, I went for the other blonde. He stared at me, stunned and wide-eyed.

     
Don't feel.

     
Don't.

     
I did anyway,
and ended up aiming for his head to try and ensure an easy death. Only when I
thought I had a perfect shot did I pull the trigger, closing my eyes at the
same time. Immediately, I heard the loud metallic clack of his pipe hitting the
ground, followed by a loud thud. Peeking through one of my eyes a few seconds
later, I saw his crumpled heap of a body lying flat on the cement.

 
    
A second later, I was facedown on the
ground, a murky haze taking over my vision. The pain had been delayed by only a
fraction of a second, but it was like the moment had passed in slow motion.
Aside from some burning on my forehead and temple, a sharp, hot, and aching
throb made its way across the back of my skull as though I had been whipped. At
the distant sound of a chain hitting the ground, I eventually realized that I
had
been.

     
Forcing the
pain aside, I rolled over and nearly fell back onto the ground when I tried to
push myself up onto my knees. Though it felt like gravity was trying to force
my head back down, my body longing to shut down so it could finish processing
the damage it had just taken, I somehow managed to find my balance and sit up
straight. With my vision returning to me, I reached for the fallen gun just in
time to see the big guy coming at me full-force. Panic set in and, not caring
about accuracy, I quickly aimed and shot, closing my eyes again to protect
myself from the aftermath. I crawled backwards until I heard his body hit the
ground. Then I waited.

     
Silence
followed.

     
Holding my
breath, I opened my eyes and stared at the portrait around me.

     
Four.

     
I had killed
four people tonight.

     
That made five
in total.

     
The gun had
saved me. Had I not made Marco suffer, it would've been me instead. But even
with that knowledge…Even though only moments ago I had been grateful…

     
No.

     
I couldn't
think. Not just because I didn't want to, but because I literally could not
remember how to. I was hollow. Empty.

     
And alive.

     
After a minute
had passed, I turned the safety back on and tucked the weapon away. I doubted
that there were any others, but just in case - I wasn't going to stay and find
out.

     
With shaky
arms, I pushed myself up and off the ground. As I took the first step, I nearly
tipped over headfirst onto the cold cement. Going by previous experience, I was
fairly certain that I had a concussion. Hopefully, that was the worst of my
injuries. I couldn't afford to go to the hospital.

     
Though my body
was still shaking and my mind was becoming more and more jumbled with every
passing second, I began walking towards the entrance area without a backwards
glance, fighting to keep from losing balance. Fighting to keep my consciousness
from drifting too far away.