I passed the broken fence that marked the edge of Abattoir Street, the silence hit differently here.
I slowed, my heart pounding as if it were gearing up for a fight or something worse. My fingers brushed lightly over the gun's grip, and my gaze fixed on the storage yard gate. A single flickering light hung above. The gate was already open, with its heavy chain loosely swaying against the metal fence. She must be here already, likely hiding in the shadows for effect. Still, it made my blood pump a little faster.
Outside the gate, my brows furrowed upon seeing the empty guard shack. There was always someone here, fending off other kids from sneaking in. So why not tonight? The very night we had planned to meet. My suspicion quickly faded, replaced by heightened caution, as I slipped through the gate. I pressed on, eyes wide, frantically searching the darkness for any sign of movement, whether from patrolling security or Misfit.
I heard the footsteps growing louder behind me, the gravel underfoot betraying her earlier than she likely expected. A smirk spread across my face as I lingered, waiting for her first move. I’m a gentleman after all.
Every instinct told me to turn and aim, but I held my position.
Let her come closer.
“You look tense.” It pierced the damp air like a shard of glass—sharp and smug. I turned around. She was already too close, wearing that wild, wolfish grin, as if she believed she’d already won this game. I quickly drew the gun from my waistband, aiming it at her forehead. With my arm outstretched and gripping it tightly, my finger hovered over the trigger. I caught the brief flicker of intrigue in her expression.
“Ooo, you brought a toy.”
A small chuckle sounded from me as I replied, “Wouldn’t you?”
She didn’t flinch, just smirked wider. “I did, actually.” Her silhouette glinted with steel as she stepped closer; two blades appeared in her hands like an extension of her pulse. Black steel, forged into cruel shapes. She spun them in her fingers with a dancer’s grace and a killer’s purpose, but I didn’t move. Not yet.
“Is that it?” I retorted. “You really think you’d get close enough to me with them things before I got a bullet between your eyes?” In honesty, I’d never used a gun before. I’d watched Danny tinker with it from time to time, but this was the first time I’d held it with the intention of pressing the trigger.
She leaned in, voice cutting through the tension. “I’d give it a shot.” Her deathly glare returned once more. “Have you ever actually used that thing before? Killed anyone?”
“Have you?”
It was like a game of mirrors, with words bouncing back and forth between us, reflecting and deflecting.
She laughed, low and scraping, and I hated how much I remembered that sound. Hated how easy it was to fall into her rhythm, to match it like a heartbeat I hadn’t felt in ages. She looked at me like I was a puzzle she’d already solved, still that reckless boy from Juvie, all bark and wounded pride.
“What do you think? Reckon I’m capable?”
My head tilted slightly as my grin grew, “I’m not sure. Since last time you got a chance, you hesitated.”
“Are you not hesitating now? You’ve had more than enough time.”
“So have you.” The blades still gripped like a vice in her palms, taking a slow step towards me. The knot in my stomach rising to my throat, “I get the feeling you like control, don’t you Screech?”
My jaw clenched as I remained silent. I’d never been in control. People would use and abuse me whenever they felt like it. But the Screech who came out of solitary, well, he was something different. He was someone who relished it. Who would take it in any given opportunity. It was his lifeline.
She took another step towards me, “I don’t think you like that I got you in a vulnerable position in Juvie. Showing them who’s boss.” Flicking the blades in her hands.
My lips pressed together as I cocked the gun; the sound echoed in the silence. The rageful fire in my chest starting to build.
She continued, “Do you want to show me who’s boss? Payback for getting one up on you? That's what all this is about, right?”
My mind flashed back to that day, my hands wrapped around her throat—the feel of her skin on mine. I should have choked the life out of her when I had the chance. Wipe that smug look from her face and left her lifeless on the floor of the shrink’s office. I could have. I should have.
She pushed forward closer again, the tension between us thick in the air. My eyes widened at her as she rested her forehead against the barrel of the gun.
“Well, here’s your chance.”
What was this bitch playing at? All it would take is a slight movement of my finger, and this would be over. An internal battle setting out between the thrill of the kill and the desire to know what will happen next. The corner of my mouth rose to a smirk as she shifted herself. Tilting her head upwards towards me as she wrapped her lips around the end of the gun. My smirk grew into a wider smile, laughter leaving my chest. I moved towards her, tilting the weapon in her mouth, my eyes running over her features. My expression quickly turned to one of false pity, the darkness igniting behind my eyes. In one swift movement, I surged forward. Her arm was quick with the blade as I snapped my hand out, catching her wrist mid-motion. Twisting hard to shift her balance, just enough to hook my boot behind her ankle and pull. She hit the ground with a dull thud, her shoulder cracking against the gravel. But even in falling, she was graceful. Dangerous like a blade dropped point-first. I moved fast, dropping one knee to her chest, pinning her down. Her arm was still locked in my grip. I leaned in close, my breath heavy and hot with adrenaline. The gun was now pressed against her temple. Her eyes burning up at me, wild and electrified, the same fire I’d seen when she tried to off me the first time.
In her other hand, the steel flashed. Before I could blink, the second blade was tight against my throat. Cold and steady, jolting me up slightly. We froze in place.
The silence between us was molten. Heavy with everything unspoken, all the history laced between breaths. Her chest rose beneath my knee, sharp and shallow.
My attention faltered, a shift in the shadows drawing my eye line away from her as I continued holding her in place. Was someone else here?
