Twisting The Knife07:29 Aug 25 2005
Times Read: 925
Twisting The Knife
by Hawk O'Brian
It’s raining…….again. Everyday is a rainy day in Hope City. Some days it drizzles, and other days, it’s a monsoon. I hate rain.
In this city, it rains too fuckin’ much. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the sun doesn’t shine here, but it only stops raining right before another storm is about to burst. And this new storm makes Noah’s flood look like a puddle.
Day after day I’ve walked on these streets, searching for a second chance on life. I work the same crappy job I’ve had for five years, and I’ve drown my troubles away in the same bar for four and a half. And today was no different.
I walked to Dino’s Bar in the rain, like I did every other day and sat down on my usual stool. I ordered a pint of my usual beer, and watched the news as I drank. I thought today was like every other monotonous day, but I was wrong.
“Hey Johnny,” I heard coming from behind me, from a voice from my past. A past that caused my heart to stop beating. I turned around, and saw her.
Seeing her again was like staring into a solar eclipse; bright, radiant, and extremely painful. The memories of her and I flooded back and all the things I use to feel for her returned. It was like a twisting knife in my heart for the second time.
Both Beth and I had hard lives, so it was no surprise we would hook up. She made me feel like I was special, like I was worth something. When I fell in love with her, I fell real hard, but it didn’t last.
In the end, Beth decided it would be best if we didn’t see each other. But before I could ask why, she disappeared and left town. That was the first time I felt the knife plunge into my heart, and twisted around.
Now seven years later, here Beth was, standing before me. She was as beautiful as I remembered, long blonde hair, a figure that would make model envious, and a smile seemed to brighten the room. “It’s been awhile,” she said as she took the stool next to me and asked, “Mind if I join you?”
I’m sure she knew that I wasn’t thrilled to see her, but it didn’t matter. She would always do what she wanted, and she didn’t care if it inconvenienced anybody else. Especially if that person was me.
Beth asked me what I had been up to since we had last since each other and I told her nothing had really changed, but what I really wanted to do was ask her “Why?” Why did she leave me? Why did she break my heart?
She kept talking about where she had been and all the things she had been doing since she left Hope City. She left to “find” herself, and find her place in the world. But when I asked if she succeeded, she said she wasn’t sure.
We sat and drank for a couple of more hours. We talked about old times and traded phone numbers, and then Beth left. I sat on my stool, looking at the piece of paper that Beth wrote her number on, thinking I was crazy to want to feel the twisting knife again. I crumpled it up, tossed it in garbage can behind the bar, and finished my beer.
I stood up, put on my coat, paid my tab, and got ready to leave. But the minute I walked out the door, I heard voices screaming in the alley next to the bar. I recognized one of the voices as Beth’s, so I went to see what was going on.
When I got to the alley and looked down, I saw Beth and two other guys in a very heated debate. I couldn’t hear what everyone was talking about, but I knew who the two guys were. They were known on the street as the Terror Twins, Po’ Boy and Devil. Both had an affinity for body modifications and beating the crap out of people. Both had spend time in various state institutions for various crimes ranging from simple assaults to man-slaughter, and that’s not mentioning all the stuff the District Attorney couldn’t get an indictment for.
Po’ Boy was busy shooting his mouth off at Beth, as Devil was looking her over, and it didn’t take psychic to know what he was thinking out. But Beth stood there, shouting back, seemly oblivious to her situation. I knew it was only a matter of time before Beth would be neck deep in trouble, and I was the only person who could help.
Imagine having a dull, rusty knife stabbing you in the back. Then the knife is twisted and salt poured into the gaping wound. Next your heart is ripped out, thrown to the floor, and stomped on by metal-spiked golf shoes. Multiply that by a thousand percent and you can only begin to understand my pain.
Here I was in a dilemma. Do I walk away and let the girl who broke my heart get attacked and killed by two scumbags, or do I help her, and relive all the old feelings I have for her? I had to make a choice, and make it fast.
But in all honesty…there was no choice. It didn’t matter what she did to me or how bad she broke my heart, she was in trouble and she needed my help. I just hope that I could keep my head focused, and my feelings for her out of it.
As I snuck up on them, I saw a two-by-four laying on the ground. I picked it up, quietly walked up behind Devil, and swung like I was trying out for the Majors. I don’t know the crack I heard was from the two-by-four, or from Devil’s skull, but he went down like a ton of bricks. With Devil down, I turned my attention to Po’ Boy, who had now turned his attention to me.
I saw the look in his eyes, and it said Po’ Boy had one thing on his mind…Murder. I heard a click, and saw the switchblade in his hand. “After I’m done with you,” he said, “the me and the Bitch are gonna have a real good time.”
Po’ Boy lunged at me with his knife, as I dodged him. He laughed and taunted me, as he charged at me repeatedly, trying to intimidate me. But when made his move, I grabbed his wrist and threw him into the wall. His body went limp as he slumped to the ground, and I turned to Beth to ask if she was OK, when I felt something hit me from behind.
I hit the ground hard and knew Devil was up and ready to pay me back for clubbing him in the head. His blow didn’t knock me out as he intended, but it did get my head spinning. I struggled to get back on my feet, as Devil turned his attention back to Beth.
Beth started to back up, as Devil moved towards her. He had two thoughts running thru his head, and neither was in Beth’s favor. He pounced on her, and pushed her hard against the wall. Beth was at Devil’s mercy, and he never showed any.
Beth started to panic, struggling to get free from a guy ready to rape and kill her. Devil grabbed her neck and held her against the wall, as his other hand began to feel around Beth’s body. Tears rolled down Beth’s face as Devil molested her thru her clothes. Devil began licking his lips, enjoying it as she squirmed, and it was obvious what was going to happen next if I didn’t do something.
Devil began running his hand under Beth’s shirt, feeding off the fear in her eyes, as I tried to stop my head from spinning. As my vision cleared, I notice the switchblade Po’ Boy dropped, as his face slammed into the brick wall. I could hear Beth whimpering as Devil was taking advantage of her, so I reached over, picked the blade up, and staggered to my feet.
I quietly sneaked up behind Devil, as he was preoccupied with molesting Beth’s almost naked breasts. And with every stroke and squeeze to Beth’s skin, Devil’s smile grew wider, more menacing. Drool began to escape his mouth, as Beth’s eyes were screaming for someone, anyone, to save her.
I stood with Devil’s back facing me, as he was assaulting Beth, and felt something grow inside me. All the feelings I ever had for Beth, all the love I once had, all the loss of when she disappeared, and all the anger I felt when I saw her in the bar, they all converged in my gut. And in the pit of my stomach, a fire started, and that fire was fueled by rage. I took the switchblade in my hand, and plunged it into Devil’s neck, and twisted the blade.
Blood spurted from Devil’s wound, as he made a gurgling sound. He let go of Beth, and grabbed his neck as the crimson liquid ran over his fingers. He spun around to see me staring him down. Devil extended his bloody hands towards me, wanting revenge, but then collapsed to the ground before he could get it. I stood over Devil, watching as the last sliver of life escape his body.
Beth regained her composure, and saw me standing there, shocked as to what had just happened, and what I just did. She came up to me, took my arm, and pulled me out of the alley. “We need to get out of here,” she said, “before the cops come.”
Beth dragged to her car, and sat me in the passenger side. She run around to the driver’s side, got in, and started the engine. The tires squealed as Beth peeled out and the car tore down the street. “I’ll take us to a place where we can figure out what to do next,” she told me. But I couldn’t respond, it was like my mind shut down, and my body went numb.
I’ve never asked for trouble, but I’ve been in it since the day a was born. And the mistakes that I’ve made, have lead to my pain. But with every mistake, I’ve learned a valuable lesson…and today was the biggest lesson I could learn.
I remembered that someone once told me, that when you kill someone for the first time, regardless whether it was accidental or planned, you get two reactions. Some people get a major adrenaline rush, and feel like a god with power over life and death. Others feel as if their insides were scooped out and chopped up in a blender…and that’s where I fit in.
From the time I lifted my arm to stab Devil, to when Beth and I walked into the Motel room, she was staying at, time seemed to have stopped and speed up at the same time. I’ve replayed the events in my mind, not because I wanted to relive them, but because it seemed like a dream, or a nightmare. And I wished that it was.
I watched as the switchblade pierced Devil’s neck. I watched as his blood erupted from the hole the knife caused. And I looked into Devil’s surprised, angry eyes, as he fell to the ground like a rag-doll and died. I knew that I had no choice but to kill Devil, and no one would mind that I did it, but I still felt wrong.
I stared outside the window, watching the rain fall, and letting my mind catch up to the rest of the world. I watched as the rain formed puddles on the street below, and listened as the droplets ricocheted off the window. I found it funny how something I hated, actually made me feel better.
I don’t know how long I was looking out the window, but when I turned around, Beth was sitting on the bed, nearly hysterical, mumbling about the Police and how we could run from them. She said if we leave now and head to Las Vegas, or Los Angles, we might be able to avoid going to jail. I almost laughed, and thought that Beth had been gone so long that she forgot that in Hope City, Cops don’t give a shit.
To call the Hope City Police lazy…is like calling Mt. Everest a foot hill. Every cop from the Chief of Police to the Meter-maids won’t lift a finger to do a damn thing, unless something happens in broad day-light with more then two witnesses, or a local politician wants to look good during an election year, or the victim was well known and beloved by the people. It’s the reason Po’ Boy and Devil were able to stay on the streets for the last three years, terrorizing the neighborhood, despite the numerous pleas for help.
The only thing I’m worried about is Po’ Boy. Even with Devil deader then a door-nail, Po’ Boy is still out there, and I’m sure that he is not happy. He will do what ever it takes to get payback for what happened to him, and even if he didn’t a good enough look at me, Beth’s face was burned into his memory. I turned to Beth, walked over to her, and told her that she needed to leave town… without me.
Beth looked at me surprised, like she couldn’t believe what she just heard. “Are you crazy?” she said, “I’m not leaving you behind to take the fall for me. We can head to L.A. and start a new life. We can be together.”
I looked into her sad, scared eyes and told her that I was staying behind. I said to her that if we both left, we would be hunted down for the rest of our lives, and I couldn’t be looking over my shoulders forever. But the truth was that any love I had for her, disappeared a long time ago.
For seven years, I’ve been dwelling on how hurt I was when Beth left me, and wondering why she did. I wondered if it was because I did something wrong, or said something that hurt her. But now I realize that none of that matters anymore.
I recognized not the same person I was seven years ago. I suffered, I healed, and I’ve grown stronger as a person, but the most important thing that I realized was that needed to move on with my life. And I needed to do it now.
Beth pleaded with me to go with her, but in the end, she understood that I wasn’t going with her, and we would never be together ever again. Tears begin to roll down her cheek, as she picked up her bags and walked out the door. I followed behind her to make sure Po’ Boy wasn’t there, waiting to ambush us.
I helped Beth load up her car so she could leave. When the last bag went into her back-seat, Beth turned to look it me. I knew she wanted to say something, but the look in her eyes said enough. She was hurt, and nothing would make her feel better right now. She got in her car, turned the ignition, and drove off down the street. I knew it would be the last time I would ever see her again.
I walked back to my apartment, eventually passing Dino’s Bar along the way. I walked passed the alley, and saw Devil’s body was still laying on the ground, as the rats were scurrying around him. Of course Po’ Boy was long gone, probably looking for Beth and me.
I got home, threw my coat on my couch, and headed to my bed. My body was ready to collapse from the lack of sleep I had from recent events. I crawled into bed, and quickly fell asleep.
When I woke up the next afternoon, I got dressed, and headed out the supermarket for food. While I was shopping, I noticed the local newspaper’s headline, “Man gunned down on Main St.” I picked the paper up, looking for the story.
As I read the story, I learned that Po’ Boy eventually woke up in the alley and found Devil dead. He ran into the bar looking for Beth and I, screaming that Devil was dead, and he was “gonna git the bitches that killed his friend”.
At that point, four gentlemen walked up to Po’ Boy and shared some words. Po’ Boy ran out to the street with the four guys quickly following behind. Bar patrons said that they heard numerous gunshots from the street, and when investigating what happened, found Po’ Boy dead on the ground, riddled with bullet holes.
“Hey, this isn’t the library!” I heard from behind me. I turned around and saw the cashier glaring at me. I put the paper down on the rack and continued my shopping. I was off the hook with Po’ Boy, and no one knew I killed Devil.
When I walked out of the supermarket, the sun peaked through the rain clouds for a minute. I felt that everything would be alright, and that I was finally moving on with my life. And even when the rain started up again, it didn’t bother me, because even when it rains, the sun will still shine.
COMMENTS
-