Empty-handed after scouting out
Gage’s last known residence,
Raisa heads purposefully back to
her Mercedes, unlocks it and
gets in, screeching off to
another street a few blocks down
in the same decrepit
neighborhood. She turns the car
down a particular side street
and slows to a crawl, craning
out the driver’s window,
scrutinizing the squalid
sidewalks. The pounding rhythms
of Godsmack blare from the
stereo of a ’77 primer grey and
red-patched Chevy Nova.
"Candles raise my desire, Why
I'm so far away, No more meaning
to my life, No more reason to
stay…"
Splayed
casually on the hood of the Nova
is a lithe, olive-skinned girl;
if she’s even 18, it’s just
barely. Perhaps Latina, or at
least maybe the daughter of one.
She is dressed in baggy jeans
and a painfully oversized black
shirt, over which is a lesser
oversized jeans jacket, not
unreminiscent of gang-banger’s
threads. On the back of the
jacket is artwork depicting a
female version of Jungle Book’s
"Mowgli", with the logo "Wild
Child" under it. A wavy mane of
ebony hair cascading down behind
her, with a red stripe on the
left side, her dark eyes staring
aimlessly up at a cloudy,
Spartan night sky. On each bicep
is tied a blood red bandanna.
"Freezing feeling, Breathe in -
breathe in, I'm coming back
again…"
Unbeknownst to either girl, a
figure slinks furtively through
the back alleyways where even
rats are loath to tread, looking
intently for someone, or
something. For the moment, he
does not seem interested in the
pair on the street. Raisa glides
the ancient Mercedes to the curb
once again, about 5 parking
places from the Chevy, and cuts
the engine. The headlights wink
out. Occasional denizens of the
block pause to check out the
intruder with furtive, menacing
stares, but she emerges from the
car unmolested.
"I'm not
the one who's so far away, When
I feel the snakebite enter my
veins, Never did I wanna be here
again And I don't remember why I
came…"
The
slinking man settles, slumping
down beside the corner of a
building, another piece of human
refuse for all the world
notices. Raisa, seemingly
deliberate in her invasion, gets
out of her car and locks it,
aware of the stares, but
unconcerned. She pockets her
keys and begins walking calmly
up towards the Nova. The girl
laying atop it continues to look
up at the blank, overcast sky,
unable to see any stars, the
tribal rhythms of "Voodoo" by
Godsmack pulsing through the
veins of the entire block.
"Hazing clouds rain on my head,
Empty thoughts fill my ears…"
Raisa
approaches her, pausing some
yards off, looking up and down
the block studiously, not as if
afraid, but as if searching for
something that she does not
find, just as in the house
earlier. She hrms softly,
walking up within eyesight of
the second girl, watching her,
making no secret of her
approach. "Find my shade by
the moonlight, Why my thoughts
aren't so clear…"
She
stops a couple feet away, ears
attuning to the lyrics currently
on display. She lifts her chin,
and speaks. "Hasn't there been
enough venom lately, Gage?" she
makes an allusion to the lyrics
blaring from the car
Gage
Valentine looks over in surprise
and hmphs. She pulls a small
thing out, about the size of a
driver's license and pushes a
button, the volume going down to
tolerable levels. "I heard y'all
are like some kind of militia
type group."
Raisa
watches Gage in awkward silence.
Finally, she replies, "Is that
why you never came back?" She
swallows, shifting her weight.
"Or was it because of me?"
Gage
makes a general motion to the
street, "It turned out to be a
favor. Made me realize this is
where I belong. I ain't no
delicate lady and I ain't school
material." She digs in her
pocket and pulls out a beat up
pack of gum. She pushes up,
swinging her legs over the
fender of the car.
She
takes a piece of the gum and
pops it in her mouth before
offering Raisa a piece, but the
gesture seems either rebuffed or
unnoticed. Gage blows a bubble,
"Darren can do what he wants. He
can take over, have all the
glory and whatever else he
wants. I got mine."
"You
also watched from Darren's
example what happens to lone
wolves, Gage." She sighs,
scuffing the sidewalk with a
worn tennis shoe. "I’m sorry I
was nasty. It was a crescent
moon, I should have just not
talked to people." Pregnant
pause. "There’s a reason for
what's going on... and you being
in the City, you'll end up in it
like it or not. I'd rather you
don't wait for it to happen to
you."
Gage
blows another bubble, "What to
happen?"
Raisa
smirks. "You wanted to sound
like you knew it all, Gage.
Don't you know that as well
already?" She gazes at their
immediate surroundings, seeing
nothing untoward, and turns back
to Gage.
Gage
sighs and slides off the car,
"You got anything else you wanna
throw at me?"
"I'm
trying to save your life, and
I'm trying to apologize for what
I did. Or are you above that
now?"
"You're
the one throwing jabs, Raisa."
The
words no sooner left Gage’s
mouth, when suddenly a man
appears from behind the car like
a malign and filthy Jack from
his box, stopping a half-pace
behind Gage. Raisa, sensing his
movements a second too late,
suddenly jumps forward at the
Chevy, scrambling to grab at
Gage at the same time.
Gage
stops speaking, going very
still, paling.
The
would-be attacker speaks in his
streetwise, sandpapery growl.
"Apparently Miss Smells so Sweet
here's above worryin' about shit
like barbecuin' folks that don't
deserve it with ones that do."
He pauses. "I dunno about the
rest of it."
Raisa
stops, her hand on Gage's
shoulder, panting in
adrenaline-induced panic, about
to yank her off the car... 'til
the voice strikes a familiar
chord. She realizes the man is
known to her, and to Gage. But
he is more vicious and livid
than she remembers ever seeing
him before.
Cobb 's
normally jovial features are
lean and feral with anger... he
turns his rheumy eyes on Raisa
for a moment. "You just back
off, Miss Pretty. This is street
business."
Gage
grits her teeth, forcing herself
to not move, "I checked the
place over. Shouldn'ta been
anyone else in there."
Raisa
eyes Cobb... only because she
knows him does she withdraw her
hand... slowly... looking at
Gage for some kind of indication
of what to do that does not
come. Cobb rebukes Gage again.
"You didn't check the building
next door, where four of my
buddies were sleepin' off a good
long party."
Raisa
inches back slowly, whuffing
almost ferally under her breath.
He
continues, ignoring her. "Jacky
and them, they liked to drink
more'n they ought, but they
didn't deserve gettin' smoked
like no buncha jerky."
Gage
works her jaw back and forth,
"It wasn't supposed to take
anyone out but the four."
"Yeah,
yeah, the ol' shit happens
excuse. Well tell Jacky and Moe
and the others that. Suppose it
was shit happenin' to you, I
suspect you'd think different."
"I
didn't say it was shit happens,
Cobb. That's your words, not
mine."
Raisa
continues to use Gage’s
expressions as her measure of
her place here. "Gage.... do you
want me to go?" She doesn't look
at Cobb as he does not at her,
tensing, sensing her own
defiance and concern for someone
whom she still considers a
packmate.
Cobb
growls quietly, showing that
even a Ragabash has his breaking
point... "I oughta tickle your
goddamn kidney a good once, just
to remind you there's four
fellas who's never gonna see
another sunrise cuz of you." He
backs up slightly. "Walk
careful, little missy. You fuck
up again, the Uglies'll flinch
at you when I get done."
Raisa
mutters to herself, "And we're
militant."
Cobb is
gone in a flash, disappearing as
quickly as he’d come down the
network of alleyways and out of
sight.
[TO BE
CONTINUED]
Raisa
watches Cobb
slink off...
looks back
at Gage,
stunned.
Gage quickly
looks back
over her
shoulder
after Cobb,
who is well
out of
sight. She
sighs
softly,
starting to
shake a bit
before
turning back
to Raisa.
Gage brushes
her hair out
of her eyes,
"Like I
said. I got
my four. Bad
thing was,
it also got
others who
shouldn't
have been
around." She
slides off
the car,
"I'm gonna
take a
little
vacation
till things
cool down."
"Your four
what?" Raisa
queries. She
frowns at
the mention
of this
vacation
business.
"Things are
not going to
calm down,
Gage, that's
what I am
trying to
tell you.
And if you
are out here
by yourself,
after what
Cobb just
did... I
don't even
want to
think about
that.
Whoever
shouldn’t
have been
around...
Next time
maybe you
might end up
somewhere
you
shouldn't
have been...
and no pack
at your
back."
Gage
smiles
coldly, a
dangerous
light in her
eyes, "The
four I
intended to
get were
some of the
porno guys."
"You
went after
them
ALONE?!"
"There
wasn't no
one else
around to go
with me."
"I
would have
gone with
you! I come
down here
for class,
Gage... all
you had to
do was ask!"
"I
didn't think
you would.
Not after
what went
down the
other
night."
"Pack mates
fight, Gage,
just like
family. We
ARE family."
Raisa looks
down a
moment,
forlorn. "I
would have
come. Any of
us would
have. When
will you
ever
understand?
You
understand
the Cherries
but you
don't get
this."
Gage
smirks, "I'm
an outsider
now with
them too."
"Why
is that?"
Gage
crosses her
arms, "I
guess it’s
what Darren
said. They
feel the
change in me
and they
pulled away.
Its been
that way for
a while
now." She
looks down
the street
toward the
Cherry's
hang out,
"That point
was driven
home when
Annie got
knocked up."
Raisa sighs.
"You said it
was some of
the porno
guys. That
means there
are still
some out
there,
doesn't it."
Gage
snorts and
looks back,
"I'd have
still been
sitting
around with
my thumb up
my ass. That
club still
ain't had
nothin' done
about it,
has it? And
those four
would still
be walkin'
around if I
hadn't done
it."
Raisa raises
her voice in
sudden
righteous
indignation.
"You don't
know, do
you. You
left. You
were just
looking for
a reason,
weren't
you."
"To
leave? No, I
wasn't."
"Seemed like
it. Every
time it got
tough, you
always had a
reason." She
folds her
arms, hands
gripping the
opposing
biceps
rigidly. "We
are doing
something
about the
Web but
we're not
going in
there stupid
and half
cocked like
Darren
wanted. It
takes time."
Gage
looks back,
"I ain't
walkin away
to sulk. I'm
walkin' away
to keep from
losing it.
As for that
club. We had
a plan. We
watch, we
follow then
we take them
out one at a
time."
"Losing
what? And we
can't
execute that
plan if
everyone
keeps
leaving and
going off on
their own.
Like... Hm.
Who could
that be?"
"Losing it
as in
flipping
out, going
furball, and
trying to
rip apart
everything
that moves.
I hung
around,
Raisa. Till
I was told I
didn't
belong."
"By
who?" Raisa
smirks.
Gage
gives her a
pointed look
"Well, you
missed
Darren and I
both doing
the furball
thing, you'd
have fit
right in. If
you are
going to
take
everything I
say so
literally,
then get in
your car and
quit being a
fool now.
Come home.
Or do you
just want to
listen when
it's
hateful?"
Gage
smirks, "I
listen a lot
more'n
people
think."
"But
do you hear?
Yes, you got
a lot done
on your own.
Yes, some of
the cubs are
being
idiots. Even
me. But your
luck is
going to run
out, Gage."
[TO BE
CONTINUED]
The tell-tale rumble of Oberon's heavily converted bike turns onto the street a block or so down from the pair. Gage continues to speak. "It already did. People that didn't have no part of my past got caught up by it""That might not have had to happen if you'd taken us with you, Gage. You see how it went wrong without being planned out better? The Web, all of it is the same way." Raisa glances up at the sound of a vehicle for a moment. Gage follows Raisa's look
Oberon pulls up onto the sidewalk once catching sight of the pair... slows... finally cruising to stop next to the pair. A moment of engine idle as his gaze sweeps over the scene. Kicks out the stand and the engine goes silent.
Rae murmurs, "It's OK, Gage."
Gage glances between the two, looking Oberon over, remembering him from an earlier encounter at Web of Night some weeks back.
Oberon watches the girls a moment, "And what mischief are you girls about?"
Gage shrugs, "Not much, hanging out, talking shit."
Raisa glances up at him. "That's a good way to put it." She sighs. "Trying to talk some sense into her before she ends up on the business end of a tick"
"This close to the Web," he says.
Raisa shrugs... "She used to live here."
"I remember what you were talking about that night in the parking lot."
"Da, but that's not all of it."
He turns and speaks to Gage. "And what has you so blue?"
Raisa looks at Gage expectantly. Gage blows a bubble, sucking it back between her teeth with a series of pops, trying to hide the surprise at the question "Not a blessed thing. I'm my usual happy self."
Oberon smirks, and turns back to Rae. "What’s this about a tick?" He straightens out his duster.
Gage watches Raisa for her reply, which she eventually gives. "Lots of ticks. No particular one... Yet."
"I wouldn’t be too worried then. your blood makes them crazy... they know that. and these in DC don’t seem bent on genocide like most you come across."
Raisa sniffs indignantly. "I wasn't talking about that. They're not disorganized and weak enough. Some, Da, but not all of them."
" …and back and forth... I’ve seen this dance more times than I can remember."
She snorts softly. "You said you would help, when we were at the Web. What changed?"
"Nothing changed about that place. More there than just a few mosquitoes."
"What do you mean?"
"Look at the spirit of that place... it ain’t just dead. It’s bad."
She nods slowly. "Something nasty in the Umbra, that one little Gage and a can of unleaded is not going to cure."
Oberon watches Gage again. "Don’t go in there alone. You wont be coming out. All your death will do is add more suffering... feed what ever the hell it is on the other side"
Raisa looks at Gage. "Da, well you were throwing it in my face we hadn't yet." She looks at Oberon. "No, she went after..." She looks at Gage hesitantly, "…someone... else."
"Someone spooking you?"
Gage shrugs, "My business wasn't supposed to come till after it." She gives her head a slight shake.
Raisa butts in. "Da, well, you accelerated that time table, didn't you, Gage."
"Only on the one thing."
"And if I leave and you stay out here, you're going after the rest alone as well. Won't you. Stubborn to the last."
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