Strangers
It was so easy. Letting go. Just letting go. I felt every drop of energy being taken away from me. Not that there was much left to take. And then... darkness.
I was dead.
-0-0-0-0-0-
I woke up to a loud thud. It appears someone had slammed the door to my apartment shut. I was dizzy as hell, and couldn't see straight. The first thing I could focus my eyes on was a beautiful blond woman standing above me.
"Oh, crap!" she yelled. "Get up!" she bent down to my resting place on the floor and helped me to my feet. "Thank god you're alive!" she said without any trace of concern for me.
"Who... who are you?" I stuttered. It was very hard for me to speak. Or stand for that matter.
My name is Miss G. That's all you need to know." She was beautiful. In every sense of the word. I imagined if I were straight, I wouldn't have been able to take my eyes off of her. Blond hair, blue eyes that you could dive in, a perfect face without a single blemish, a perfect body with a skin so perfectly white it would put Snow White to shame.
"What happened?" I asked, barely able to force the words out of my mouth.
"There's a price on your head, Adam, and you just got extremely lucky."
"What?!" A price?! On me?!
"You were too strong for this chick over here." I looked down to where her finger was pointing, and there on the floor was the most disgusting sight I've ever laid eyes on. A corpse. But not just a corpse. Its skin was wrinkly green. Its eyes were half way out of their sockets. Its whole face frozen in a look of horror. I was about to scream when Miss G put her hand on my mouth to shut me up.
"What's wrong? Can't handle your handy work?"
My handy work?!
"What are you talking about? I... I..."
"Relax, grasshopper." How can she be so calm?!
"She was trying to kill you and your body fought back. That's all." I did this?!... I... killed her?! "She tried to kill me?" I asked as memories returned to me.
"You got it. But you were just a bit too strong for King Tut over there." I sat down on the floor again, barely able to breathe, as Miss G went over to the corpse and began to... dismember it. This is not happening. This is not happening!
"Why is someone trying to kill me?"
"Because you are too fucking valuable a commodity our side."
Commodity?
"What sides?"
"Listen, kid, I'm not here to be your fucking encyclopedia, so just let me do my work!" She then continued... sawing the corpse's legs with a hand saw. That was it. I vomited all over the floor.
"Jesus! You're cleaning that up!" she said with a disgusting look on her face. I guess my VOMIT was the disgusting thing here.
I fell back and lay on the floor, my eyes focusing on the ceiling above me. She must have noticed my hopelessness as she stopped her "job" for a moment to look at me.
"Look, I'm not trying to be a heartless bitch here, but I really do have to finish this up. Someone will come later to pick you up and explain everything." I closed me eyes. One more of life's jokes... good one, God. I was too weak to stand up, too weak to move. Sleep seemed to be the only option of escaping this horrible scene.
-0-0-0-0-0-
When I woke up, she was gone. Both of them were gone. She even cleaned up my vomit from the floor. I looked around me and saw that my apartment was restored to its original order. Not a single mark was left to indicate the horrors that had occurred here.
It was night again, and the only light in the room was from the street lamp outside. But my eyes could have seen even without it. Another one of my "gifts" I had only discovered recently.
My watch said it was 4:30 a.m. There was a note beside me. I slowly picked it up, afraid of anything that didn't belong here. It read, "Adam, stay put. There is a guard outside your door. Someone will be there to pick you up shortly. Miss G". I got up and looked through the peep-hole. There was, indeed, a short man standing outside. He didn't move at all, almost like a statue.
I started pacing through my living room, unable to get my grip on reality back. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I wasn't gonna stay here. And if one of those people tried to kill me while I was out, I would try not to resist it this time. They were the only people who could free me from my agony.
I left my apartment the only way I could – through my bedroom window. I hoped nobody saw me jump. I started running as soon as I hit the concrete, never looking back. God, I hope they find me. I hope they kill me.
I ran for what seemed like an hour until I finally needed to stop. I crawled into yet another alley and sat down against a wall. It was snowing heavily outside. I loved the snow so much. I closed my eyes and let the refreshing cold in. It made me feel alive. The cold air brushed through my nostrils, making my body jump just a little bit.
I laid my head into its comfortable circle my hands created with my legs and just sat there. Tears started to form in the corners of my eyes, but I wouldn't let myself cry. I won't give him that satisfaction. God's gonna have to do without today.
"So they finally tried to whack ya, huh?" I looked up immediately to see the same junkie from the alley yesterday sitting next to me. I didn't say anything. I don't know if it was from shock, fear or maybe I just didn't have anything left to say. She had a little smile on her face this time.
"I wondered how long it was gonna take until they finally decided to try something."
"Wh... who?"
"People who don't really care for your dad. Hell, who can blame them? I despise the man." She knew my father. She knew me. Maybe she has the answers I've been looking for all of these years.
"You know my father?"
"Only by reputation . I haven't had the displeasure of meeting him face to face." I turned my head back to face the wall across from me. What do I ask first? What question is more important than the others?
"So how did you leave the apartment undetected?" she asked with a smile as she looked at me. I could hardly recognize her. She was not the same girl I met yesterday.
"I... jumped out of the window." That sent her rolling to the floor. I didn't realize how my life could entertain someone so much, but I was glad someone found something positive about it. Her outburst even managed to bring a little smile to my face.
"Jumped out the window... that's gold!" she said laughing.
"Who am I?" I asked quietly, my eyes on the dirty concrete beneath me. Her look suddenly got serious.
You are a very special individual."
"I kinda guessed that part." I said with a whisper. She wasn't going to tell me anything.
"You belong to a group of special individuals, but you, sweetie, are the most special of all." She smiled at me again when she said that.
"I don't want to be special." I held my tears back again. "I just want to be normal."
"Your life is never gonna be normal, Adam, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you give up on it."
"How come you weren't so nice when I met you yesterday?" I asked, a bit suspicious.
"We didn't meet yesterday, sweetie. You met my twin sister, Evelyn."
"She was a piece of work."
"I should know... I'm the one who has to put up with her all the time." She stretched her hand to shake mine.
"I'm Eva. Nice to meet you." She shook my hand, her touch sending chills thorough my body.
"Who are you?" I asked with pleading eyes.
"Let's just say I'm a freelancer. Someone without too many ulterior motives." She smiled again. I loved her smile.
"You need to leave Denver right away, Adam. Before they collect you."
"The people who tried to kill me?"
"I'm more worried about the people your dad will send after you. That woman who was in your apartment is one of them."
"How do you...?" I tried to ask, but she interrupted me before I could finish.
"What I know and how I know it is not the point right now, Adam. You've been claimed, and unless you want to spend the rest of your life in a cage, I suggest you get the hell out of here as quickly as possible."
"And why should I believe anything you have to say? If I could just find one of those people to take my life, I would." She slapped me then. I didn't see the point since it probably hurt her like hell, but I guess she was trying to make a point.
"Don't you dare talk like that, you hear me! You've got your whole life ahead of you, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you throw it down the drain!"
"Why the hell do you care so much? You don't even know me!"
"No, but I do know my brother, and what they did to him! I'm not gonna let them do the same to you! I'd rather die first!" Tears started flowing down her cheeks then, but she quickly wiped them away. "Now you listen to me. Here's some money." She pulled out a brown envelope from her coat pocket and handed it to me. "This will be enough to get you out of town and for you to live on for a week or so. I'll find some way to get you more later on."
"What?! This is crazy! You're crazy!"
"Adam! I don't have time to argue with you!" Her smile was completely gone, replaced with an urgent look I didn't care for at all. I got up and put my hands on my face.
"This is happening too fucking fast!" I shouted to the air. She got up and put her hands on both of my cheeks. Somehow, her hands were warm, even in this freezing cold. She leaned her forehead in to touch my own, and her warmth overwhelmed me.
"Take the money, and go! They will come to pick you up soon, and then there will be nothing I can do to help you." She talked softly, but the urgency never left her voice.
"Fine." I said defeated. "What difference does it make anyway?" I took the brown envelope from her hands.
"Get on a bus and go. Don't tell anyone where you're going. Just... go!" This was way too much for me to handle. I couldn't even see straight anymore. My mind was exploding with a million different thoughts at once, and I couldn't hear any of them.
"Now!" Her voice brought me back to reality, and I quickly stormed out of the alley. Where was I going to go? What was I going to do? I ran to the bus station, occasionally bumping into people on the way. The horizon started to take on a brighter color, and I knew sunrise would be upon me soon. As I got closer, I noticed the streets contained less and less people. Considering that, I'm surprised they managed to walk up to me again without me noticing. I felt a hand on my forehead, and another one on my chest. I immediately went limp, unable to move a single muscle.
"Shhh..." a voice whispered from behind me. "It's ok... just let it go." His voice was so sweet, so comforting. "Let it all go... just let your soul slip away..."
I closed my eyes as the most wondrous sensation enveloped my body. His touch was so magical; his voice was the most wondrous melody I have ever heard. "That's it... just let go... give me your soul... give me your life..." He gently kissed me on my right temple, and my body quivered in response. I can't explain it, but his embrace was so loving, so caring. Yet he was taking my life away from me. Was this it?
"Oh my god... this is sooooooo gooooood." He sighed out loud, small whimpers escaping his mouth. At least my death will make someone happy. Maybe then I would have made a difference. I could no longer see my surroundings, nor could I hear a single sound. All I could do was feel this wonderful feeling of relief my killer was giving me during my last minutes on earth. It was so quiet... I didn't even hear the loud thud.
I dropped to the ground, unable to move. I couldn't open my eyes, and I was in agony over losing my killer's beautiful touch of death. I started hearing sounds, but I couldn't make anything of them. They seemed like they came from miles away. I felt a hand softly touch my left cheek, and then my neck. I thought I heard a sigh of relief, but really couldn't be sure. My body was lifted into a sitting position, and I felt someone leaning me against a wall.
Then the darkness came.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Light. It was forcing its way through my eyelids. I had to put a hand over my eyes to keep from going blind. It was mid-day, and the sun decided to shine on this freezing December day. I was in yet another alley. Funny how I kept ending up in those. I was sitting behind a big green trashcan, but I wasn't alone.
"You're awake." It was the first thing I heard. Looking to my right, I once again saw the angelic face of Christian. "You wanna tell me who the hell was that back there?" he asked me with a little fear in his voice.
"What?" I was still trying to re-find my grip on reality. I guess my body had been traumatized one too many times.
"The dude that was trying to kill you -- who was he?"
"I... I don't know. What are you doing here?"
"I wish I knew. But we're even now. I fucking saved your life back there."
"I wish you hadn't." I tried to keep the sobs to a minimum. I was tired of looking so pathetic all of the time.
"You don't want to live?" He had a genuine look of concern on his face.
"Not really." I said. "I have nothing left. And I didn't have much to begin with. You're probably in danger just being near me." As I said it, the seriousness of the situation began to sink deeper into my conscious mind. He is in danger! He could get hurt. Because of me! The thought of risking another man's life, let alone one of the only people who has ever shown me any real affection, was too much for me to bear. I got up on my feet and headed towards the street.
"Wait! Where are you going?!"
"You need to stay away from me! Go!" I got to my feet and started running. I had to get to the bus station and get the hell out of there before I put anyone at risk.
"Wait! Please!" But I shut him out. I shut out one of the only people on this earth who ever gave a damn about me, the first person to ever hold me in his arms and make me feel alive, even if it was just out of gratitude for saving his life. Where would I go? Far. It had to be far. Far away where I can bury myself so deep that no one will ever find me. And eventually I'll die. I will finally leave this hellish existence behind.
The bus station was full of people. I guess people took advantage of the short break in the snow to run their errands. I frantically looked at the departures on the board, trying to decide the best place to disappear. I heard it announced that the bus for Los Angeles is leaving at 2:30 p.m. I guess LA is as good a place as any, even though I'm pretty sure it wouldn't snow there.
I bought my ticket and boarded the bus. No baggage, no possessions. Just me and my almost nonexistent heart and soul. I looked out over the city through the window as the bus started, saying goodbye to the place that felt more like prison than a home. I was planning to fall asleep again. Sleep is such wonderful thing. You don't think, you don't feel. It's just so peaceful. The perfect escape.
But as soon as I closed my eyes, I heard someone take the seat next to me. It was Christian.
"What the fu..." I started to say, but he put his hand on my mouth.
"Shut up! Just shut up!" His face was angry, and I really couldn't understand what was going on. Then his face mellowed out a bit, and he gently put his left hand on my right.
"Just... don't talk... please..." He was on the verge of tears, and I had no idea what to do. I was always the one with the tears. I laid my head against the window again, more confused than ever. Why has he followed me? This couldn't be just about gratitude any more. What were his motives? Was he sent to spy on me?
The last thing I remember saying before sleep once again took me in its loving embrace was, "So how did you save my life?"
"I hit the fucker with a metal pipe."
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