James Hyst | Teen Ink

James Hyst

July 29, 2011
By headoverheels44 SILVER, Dickerson, Maryland
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headoverheels44 SILVER, Dickerson, Maryland
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I pedaled my bike so fast that the tires were are almost hovering above the ground, which was easy to see because of the streetlights. The backpack on my back jumped up and down as I went over the bumpy sidewalk. My legs burned from the extreme exercise, but I ignored them. I knew I was already late for the specific time that I was supposed to meet Vlad, and knew he was going to kill me if the plan failed because of me being late. Also, if he didn’t kill me one of the other guys would and if they didn’t… Oh god! I don’t even want to know what would happen to me if the boss chooses to punish me! My burned arms and my cut legs screamed for me to stop pedaling, but I knew I had to keep on or the whole plan would fall! Finally, as I couldn’t feel my legs, I got to the busy mall parking lot and that meant I was almost to the meeting spot! I pedaled faster as I swerved in between the parked cars and when I reached the end of the parking lot I finally saw Vlad! He was standing on the corner of the street and seemed to be waiting for the green walk light to come so he could cross. He was in a red sports shirt, a pair of jeans, and a backwards baseball cap that was also red. He had a dark black bag in his hands, as planned. He looked younger than his real age, which made it seem weird that he was smoking and reading a newspaper. I quickly pedaled over to him and he looked over the top of his paper angrily. I didn’t smile or say anything to him as we pretended to not know each other. Then the light changed and he gave me a look that said “show time!” I slowly crossed the street and Vlad folded his paper as he followed. My jeans stuck to seat of the bike as my jacket protected me from the storm air. Vlad handed me the bag when no one was looking at us. When I got to the other side of the street I peddled at medium speed until I got to the end of the street and stopped in front of ‘Freedom Hotel’ I put my bike in the bike rack and then I slid to the side of the building and saw the bathroom window was open, which meant Satashi had followed through with his part of the plan. I grabbed the edge of the window and slid myself in, luckily no one was inside. I went into one of the stalls and opened my bag. I got out the black sports coat, the dark blue pants, the black shoes, the white dress shirt, and the hair gel. I took off my jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes. Then I replaced them with the new. I put my old cloths into the bag and came out of the stall. When I went up to the mirror I sleeked my hair to the side, which made it look a lot better than my usual messy hair. I put the gel back into the bag and then I threw it out the window of the bathroom. As I made my way to the door something on my neck caught my eye. I walked back to the mirror and noticed I had a black and blue bruise on my neck and on part of my shoulder. It was so dark that you could see it through my white shirt, so I pulled my jacket closer to my neck.
I walked out of the bathroom and saw Nick and Drake pretending to talk at a booth in the restaurant at the main floor of the hotel. They looked at the 6 guards who were at the door of the hotel and made sure they weren’t looking at them or me. Nick gave me a thumb up and that made me less nervous, but the always-rude Drake kept up to his reputation and pointed at the elevator with anger. As Drake turned around I stuck my tongue out at him and then made my way to the elevator. I pressed the green arrow button and the golden doors of the elevator opened. I walked inside the elevator and waited for it to close. Then I saw the target of the night’s daughter walking quickly towards the closing doors of the elevator I was in. I ran to the front of the elevator and put my hand by the sensor. The elevator re-opened and the girl got into the elevator.
“Thank you for holding the elevator for me.” She said in her gentle voice as the elevator doors closed.
“It’s my pleasure, Miss.” I said with my winning smile that the boss told me to use whenever I wanted a girl to fall for me. She blushed as she leaned against the wall of the elevator. I pressed the button that said ‘top floor’. “I assume you are going to the banquet upstairs also?” I added.
“What makes you think that?” She asked.
“Your beauty. If the host didn’t invite such a beautiful girl as yourself, then he would be a fool, and as far as I know Mr. Freedom isn’t a fool.” I said, extremely flirting with the target’s daughter. I knew if I got her to like me it might help me by the end of the night.
“You think I’m beautiful?” She asked with a deeper blush formed on her cheeks.
“The blind could see your beauty.” I said kindly.
“My father tells me that all the time.” She said with a continuing blush.
“Then I hope to meet your father. He sounds like a great man if he comments on your beauty so much.” I said, even though I knew who she was and who her father was.
“I will make sure you do. But what shall I tell him your name is?” She asked.
“James Houser.” I said, using my fake last name the boss had given me.
“Oh? I don’t believe I know your family.”
“That should be correct. I’m not here with my family.”
“Then who are you with?” She asked anxiously.
“The Hilstones. I am best friends with the family heir and he got permission for me to come be with him tonight.” I answered.
“Oh? So you’re Erick’s friend that he was talking about?” She asked.
“What did Erick say about me?” I asked with a smile.
“He said you were his best friend and that your life is exciting.” She said. “What did he mean by exciting?”
“I don’t know. My life isn’t all that interesting.” I said as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Immediately the quiet elevator was filled with the noise of the party that took up the large party room that made up the top floor of the hotel. “I never caught your name.” I said before I stepped out.
“Kirsten Freedom.” She said with a blush.
“Well, Miss Kirsten, I hope to see you later.” I said and then I walked off. I found Erick quickly and tapped his shoulder. He was in a large group of fancy guys in tuxedos and they all turned to look at me.
“James!” Erick yelled excitedly. He smiled broadly and I felt out of place as I noticed he was wearing a tuxedo also. Actually I was the only guy in the whole place not wearing a tuxedo.
“Sorry I’m late.” I said.
“It’s cool.” He said and then he stood next to me. “Guy’s this is my best friend James.” He said with a proud smile.
“Hello.” They all said formally and I felt even more out of place.
“Hey.” I said with a smile.
“Dude, you look nervous.” Erick whispered to me.
“That’s because I feel out of place.”
“Why?” He whispered.
“I don’t belong here.” I whispered.
He looked at me sadly. “Sorry, but I’m really glad you came.” He whispered.
I nodded and smiled to the group of guys. “So where do you go to school?” I asked the group and they smiled at me.
“We’re all going to Grace High.” One said.
“Oh? That school is the best in the county.”
“Of course. We are expelled if we get two C’s.” The same guy said.
“That’s harsh! I would never make it there.” I said with a joking smile.
“With the grades you get, James, I’m surprised your not expelled from our school.” James added with a laugh.
“Oh well.” I said and everyone laughed. Then someone grabbed my shoulder tightly and it startled me. I turned to see Will and Henry. Will was the one who had grabbed my shoulder and Henry pointed his hand at me in the shape of a gun.
“Bang!” Henry said as he slightly moved his fingers up.
“Hey.” Will said as he let go of me.
“What are you doing here J?” Henry asked.
“Shouldn’t a gang member like you be killing someone now and not at a nice party?” Will asked with a smirk.
“I’m not in a gang.” I said as I put my fist in front of Will’s face. “Unless you want me to start acting like I’m in one now?”
“J! Don’t ignore me!” Henry said. “Answer me!”
“I’m here with a friend, what are you guys doing here?” I asked.
“We were invited, duh.” Will said with another smirk and I put my hand down.
“Well, sorry.” I said with a smile.
“We’ll see you later, okay?” Henry asked.
“Alright. See ya’.” I said and they walked away. Then I turned back to the group of guys and they looked at me bug-eyed.
“How do you know them?” Erick asked.
“I was Henry’s body guard last year and I became good friends with them.” I said.
“But they are the richest people here!”
“So? Money isn’t everything.” I said and they all laughed, even though I hadn’t made a joke. I frowned. “You’ll have to excuse me. I have to get some air.” I said and then I walked away. I went to the open doors on the side of the room. I walked out onto the porch and leaned against the railing. I picked up my phone and dialed Boss’s number.
“Hello? James?” He asked.
“Yea, I’m inside and have made small talk, as planned.”
“Good, now Grant figured out where the gem is. He said it was one floor below you. It is guarded by two armed guards and is in a locked box.” He said.
“Alright. I’ll go get it.” I said.
“Be careful. Vlad will be waiting for you outside in the car. He’s already got your old stuff and bike. You have to be out within an hour from now or we’re going to end the mission.” He said.
“Got it. Goodbye.” I said and I hung up my phone. I made my way back into the room and went through the crowd until I got to the other side of the room. I pressed the button for the elevator. I got in and pressed the button for the floor below. The elevator moved there and the doors opened. I came out of the elevator and made my way to the only door in the hallway that had two guards in front of it. I casually walked up to them and they looked surprised that I did, since they were two large men with extremely large guns with them.
“Excuse me, could you tell me where the bathroom is?” I asked the bigger guard.
“Down the hall and to the right.” The guard said as he lifted his arm and pointed his finger at the direction he was talking about.
“Thank you.” I said and then I started to turn away, but I turned back around and kicked the guard in the stomach. He fell slightly to the ground as the other guard ran towards me. I punched him in the head hard enough that he passed out, but he would live. The other guard got up and grabbed my neck with both hands. I reached behind me and poked both of his eyes. He screamed as he fell to the ground. I quickly ran into the room and found the safe. It had a lock that required 3 numbers from 1 to 50 to be put in. I listened to the top of the box as I turned the knob of the lock. Finally I got one click and then I got the second. Sadly the guard I had punched in the head regained consciousness and pressed a button that was on the wall. I knew it was for reinforcements so I hurried. As he passed out again I got the third click and the door of the safe opened! I got the shiny green gem out and put it into my pocket. I put an ace of spades playing card inside the box and closed it. Then I heard people running down the hall, so I ran to the window, held my pocket with the gem, and kicked the window. The glass shattered and I jumped though it. Before I hit the ground I grabbed onto the side of the building and stopped myself. I got onto a balcony to a room and jumped from one balcony to the other until I got to the porch that was at the top floor. I pulled myself over the railing and leaned against the railing like noting had happened. Then I went inside and found Erick.
“Hey! Where have you been?” He asked.
“I went outside and then walked around.”
“Okay. So what are you going to do now?”
“I’m bored, so I’m going to leave. Is that okay?”
“Yea. If you don’t want to be here, you can leave, but I’ll walk you out.” He said.
“Alright. Let’s go.” I said and we went to the elevator. We got in, pressed the main level button, went down, and got out. All the guards were gone, so they were probably trying to find the robber somewhere near the scene. We got outside and I saw the group’s car. “That’s my ride.” I said.
“Okay. I’ll see you at school on Monday.” He said. I nodded and then I walked to the car. I opened the car passenger door and got in. Vlad was driving the car and he drove away. I slumped in my seat once we were out of the area of the hotel.
“You did good, even though you were late.”
“Thanks. By the way, how did Drake, Nick, and Satashi get back?”
“They got a ride from Sam. He was stocking on food, so he picked them up on his way back.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So did you not kill them?”
“The two guards didn’t die. One I punched in the head and the other I poked in the eyes. They will be fine.”
“Good, because the boss wouldn’t like it if you had killed someone on your first mission.” Vlad pointed out.
“I know.” I said and he smiled.
“So your finally a man of the group.” He said with a proud smile.
“Yea, thanks for helping me get here.”
“It was my pleasure. When I found you 5 years ago I knew I couldn’t leave you with that family. When I became your gardener as my assignment I saw how that man abused you, so I felt sorry and wanted to help you. The only thing I could think of was to take you to the boss.” He said as he stopped at a red light.
“And I’m going to always be in your debt for doing that.” I said as I put my hand kindly on his shoulder.
“I know. The boss treats you like his own now.”
“And I’m also grateful for that. I look up to the boss like the father I always wanted.” I said as Vlad started driving again.
“He thinks of you as the son he’s always wanted.” Vlad said with a wink.
“Yea. You all are the best family a guy could have.” I said.
“We all are a family aren’t we?” He said with a smile as I changed back into my cloths from before. I put my fancy cloths back into the bag.
“Yea. We all care and take care of each other. I’d call that a family.”
He nodded as he drove up to the church. He stopped the car and we got out. I quickly ran up to the doors of the abandoned church. Vlad followed slowly and I knocked on the door. It was quiet around the church and felt peaceful.
“Who is it?” Satashi called through the door.
“James and Vlad.” I said and he opened the door.
“Hey! You made it!” Satashi yelled as he hugged me happily.
“Yea. It wasn’t that hard.”
“Come in, come in.” Satashi said as he let go of me. Vlad and I came in and Satashi shut the door. All 10 guys, including the boss, were sitting in the pews of the church and they were talking. They stopped and looked at us when the door shut.
“James!” They yelled as they saw me.
“Hey!” I said.
The boss got up and walked up to me. He put him hand on my shoulder tenderly. “You got it?” He asked.
“I’m sorry. I was attacked on my way out and it was stolen from me, but I luckily got away.” I said, as I put my head down. Everyone looked sad, but not ashamed.
“Well at least they didn’t get you.” Boss said as his hand came off of me. He turned around and started to walk back to the sad group when I busted out laughing. Everyone looked at me in confusion.
“Man! Ya’ll are easy to fool!” I said with another laugh. Everyone smiled and laughed too. The boss walked back to me with a grin.
“So you did get it?” He asked.
“They would’ve had to kill me for me not to leave with the gem.” I said as I took it out of my pocket and showed it to everyone. They all cheered as the Boss took it from me with a large smile.
“I’m proud of you James. You did good.” He said and I smiled.
“Thanks.” I said and the boss put the gem in his pocket.
“I’m going to leave and be back in the morning. When I get back we are leaving.” He said and everyone smiled.
“Aruba diarchic England!” Sam said in his French accent with a proud grin.
“Aruba diarchic!” We all, except for the boss, yelled in a cheer. The boss laughed.
“Where are we going now?” I asked the boss.
“You’ll see.” He said with a wink. Then he walked out of the church.
Everyone smiled at each other, and then we all started to pack all of our stuff. I packed up the food with Sam while everyone else did another job.
“I hope we go to Japan for once.” Sam said in his deep accent.
“I don’t care where we go. As long as we leave here.” I said as I taped the top of a box closed. Sam and I both picked up a box and carried them outside.
“Right, how close are we from your town?”
“Only a few miles.” I said with a sad smile as we walked towards the pick up truck that was owned by Sam.
“At least London is very populated. The cops won’t spot you easily here.” He said as we set our boxes in the back of the car.
“I hope they don’t see me.”
“Don’t worry, concerti. We will be gone by dawn.” He said with a smile.
“Yea.” I said and we walked back inside the church. I helped Sam with the last 4 boxes and brought them to the truck. Once that was done I came back inside.
“Hey, J! Can you help me with theses?” Freak asked as he tried to carry the largest box out of all of them.
“Sure, Freak.” I said as I went over and grabbed the side of the box that he wasn’t holding. We got it out to John’s Volvo and put it in the trunk.
“Thanks.” He said with a smile.
“No problem. It would’ve been really bad if you had dropped that box of explosives.” I said and he looked shocked.
“How did you know it was a box of explosives?”
“I could smell the explosive powder before I even touched the box.” I said as I saw John carrying a large box and then he tripped over a tree branch! I ran over as fast as I could, I slid on my stomach and caught the box before it hit the ground.
“He’s safe!” Freak yelled as he crossed his arms and pulled them across each other like an umpire for a baseball game and since everyone was now outside they all laughed.
“Nice slide!” Austin said with a smile as he shut the back of Vlad’s car.
“Smooth catch!” Vlad said as he stood next to Austin. I got up and held the box with one hand and brushed the dirt off my shirt and jacket.
“Wow! You’re so strong!” John said as he got off the ground. “I could barely carry that box with my whole body and you’re carrying it with only one hand!” He said.
“Of course! He practices fighting with me and he sharpens his knife skills with Drake every day.” Nick said with a smile and Drake frowned.
Everyone laughed at John’s weakness as I brought the box over to John’s silver Volvo. I closed the back of the car and smiled.
“You shouldn’t have carried the guns, John. They are too heavy for you.”
“Sorry.” He said with a smile and I smiled too.
“So what do we have left?”
John ran to the church and looked around. “We’re done!” He called back and everyone gave a sigh of relief. Everyone except for me went inside. I went to John’s car and got out the brooms we always brought with us. I walked into the church and saw everyone was already getting ready to sleep.
“Aren’t you going to sleep, J? We’re leaving early tomorrow.” Nick asked me as he sat on a pew with a blanket. Everyone was on their own pew with a blanket and pillow.
“I’m not going to sleep tonight. I can feel it.” I said with a wiry smile.
“Too close to home to feel comfortable?”
I nodded. “I don’t feel safe here.”
“That makes sense. All of us don’t feel safe when we are home.”
“Yea.” I replied as I started to sweep the floor by him.
“Are your parents still looking for you?” He asked. Nick was like an older brother to me, so he always was the one I shared my feelings to.
I handed him a newspaper that was on the pew in front of the one he was on. I pointed to an article. I had read that paper this morning so I knew what that article said. It talked about the middle school boy who had been taken by “Ace of Spades” and how today was the 5 years anniversary of his abduction.
“So today was the day you joined us?” He asked.
I nodded as I swept more.
“I can’t believe those evil people are still trying to get you back! They don’t deserve a son as good as you!” He yelled to the paper in my defense.
“They want me back so they can hurt me.” I said as I looked down.
“Speaking of hurting you, who gave you that bruise on you neck and shoulder?” He asked as I noticed my t-shirt and jacket were not on my shoulder and showed the bruise.
“Um…I did that.” I lied as I didn’t look at his eyes.
“You’re lying. Now tell me who gave that to you.” He said with a smile.
“It’s noting to worry about.”
“Come on, you can tell me. You tell me everything.”
“No, this one time I think it would be best if I kept this one to myself.” I said as I swept more. Then the door of the church opened and the boss ran in. He shut the doors behind him and walked over to Nick and I.
“How do they know?” Boss asked me with wide eyes.
“What?” Nick asked in confusion.
“Tell me, James! How do they know your in London?!” Boss yelled at me and everyone got up. Vlad ran over and everyone followed.
“They know?! How?!” Vlad asked.
“What are you talking about?!” Nick yelled.
“James’s family has somehow found out he is in London!” Boss said and he turned me to him. He quickly noticed the bruise on my shoulder and neck. Vlad and the boss gasped.
“They got you?” Vlad asked me.
I looked away and tried to keep calm.
“James! You have to tell us! Did they get you?! Did they touch you?!” Boss yelled.
I nodded and the Boss’s eyes got wider.
“How badly did they hurt you?” Boss asked.
“Only this bruise.” I lied and I didn’t look at the boss.
“He’s lying. When he lived with his family I would ask him if they hurt him and he would say he accidentally hurt himself or it was only a cut or bruise.” Vlad said.
“Tell me James! Tell me or we will have to find out for ourselves!” Boss yelled.
“They burned my arms and cut my legs.” I said as I looked at the ground.
The boss unzipped my jacket and took it off of me. The whole group gasped when they saw the black spots on my arms from the burns.
“What did they use?” Boss asked me.
“My mother’s curling iron.” I said as I held back my tears.
“Vlad, get some ice for his arms and some band-aids for his legs.” Boss ordered.
“No! I’m fine!” I protested.
“Quickly Vlad.” The boss ordered again and Vlad left. “How did they get you?” Boss asked.
“I was at biking to get to Vlad when my father spotted me. He and my three brothers grabbed me and brought me back to their house. Then the tortured me until I finally got away from my brother’s grip and jumped out their window. I ran back to my bike and rode away. I was hoping they would give up on getting me, but I was wrong.”
“They are searching the whole city for you.” Boss said.
“Then they will never think of coming to an abandoned church in a cornfield that is outside the city.” Nick said.
“Hopefully, but we will have to hide James when we leave tomorrow.” Boss said as Vlad ran back to the boss.
“I’m sorry for causing trouble.”
“It’s alright, but you should’ve told us.” Boss said. I nodded as the boss put a bag of ice on my arm. I winced at the coldness of the bag.
“Change into a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt.” The boss ordered. Vlad went outside and came back with a pair of my shorts and a shirt. I changed into them and the boss told me to sit down. “Everyone else go to sleep.” The boss ordered and everyone followed, except for Nick and Vlad.
“I want to help.” Nick said.
“We need 2 extra hands.” Vlad pointed out. Nick held ice up to my right arm and the boss held some up to my left while Vlad bandaged up my legs. I sat there quietly as my arms went numb from the ice. Nick looked up at me with a sad smile and so did Vlad.
“Why didn’t you tell me, J?” Vlad asked.
“It isn’t worth telling. It isn’t horrible.” I said as I looked at all the bandages on my legs. The Boss squeezed my wrist and the three of us looked at him in shock.
“You need to tell us this kind of stuff. What if they had seriously hurt you?” The boss said as he let go of me.
“I can handle it. I’m used to it.” I said as I held back tears.
“You shouldn’t be used to abuse.” Nick pointed out.
Vlad nodded. “But he is telling the truth. He should be used to abuse because he was abused every day that I was at his house.” Vlad said.
“How many times a year did they abuse you?” Nick asked curiously.
“As long as I can remember.”
“Even on your birthday?!” Nick said in shock.
“They did worse on my birthday. I hated my birthday because of it.” I said.
“But why did they abuse you?!” Nick asked.
“I’d rather not say.” I said as I looked down.
“Your parents told me that you had done something when you were younger that made you a disgrace.”
“I did.” I said as I looked down.
“What?” Nick asked.
“I killed my brother.” I said.
“What?! You would never kill anyone!” Nick protested.
“When I was 5 my oldest brother got angry at me and tried to kill me. I tried to defend myself and I ended up killing my brother.” I said.
“But you did it out of self defense!” Nick yelled.
“It didn’t matter. My family already hated me, but then they wanted to get revenge for my brother’s life.” I said.
“Your parents did seem short a few marbles.” Vlad commented.
“Your parents must be crazy.” Nick added.
“I don’t know.” I said as the boss sighed. We all looked at him curiously.
“I won’t let your family get their hands on you again.” The boss said.
“Neither will I.” Vlad said.
“Amen!” Nick added and they all smiled at me.
“They aren’t my family.” I said and they all looked at me curiously. “You guys are my family now. You are the people I love and want to protect.”
“Yea.” The boss added.
“We are the family of the ace of spades.” Nick added and we all laughed.

The author's comments:
not finished

I woke up to see Nick asleep on my shoulder, Vlad sleeping on the floor below me, and the boss was nowhere to be found. I slowly slid Nick’s head off of me and set him on the bench gingerly. Then I slowly crept out of the church and went outside. The sun was rising and there was fog spreading across the whole cornfield that surrounded the abandoned church. I rubbed my bare, bruised arms to keep myself warm as I walked over to a large oak tree that was in front of the church. I sat on the ground and leaned against the trunk of the tree. I looked up at the slightly pink sky and smiled.
“Only a few more hours.” I whispered to the sky above me. “Then I will be rid of those evil people for a little while longer.”
I heard something moving in the cornfield that was now only dead stalks. I turned and looked directly where the sound was coming from. Then a little puppy started running, but then it fell to the ground and I saw its side was bleeding! I quickly got up and went over to the puppy. When it saw me it whimpered in fear, but I stroked its small head and it clamed down. I sat on the ground next to it and it sat up. I smiled as the puppy looked behind me. Then the puppy started whimpering and I looked behind me. I saw there was a large red fox, teeth and claws ready, looking directly at the little dog. As the fox started to run over I got out my small handgun. I knew the fox was going to try to kill this dog, but I wasn’t going to let him.
“No dog for you.” I said and then I pulled the trigger of the gun. My bullet pierced the fox in the head. It fell over as blood came out and I picked up the little dog. I carried it to the church and quietly went over to the band-aid kit Vlad had been using. I got out two band-aids and put them on the puppies’ wounded fur. The puppy wagged its tail when I scratched behind its ears. Then I brought the puppy back outside and set it on the ground. I sat next to it and it crawled its way into my lap. The dog flipped over where his underside was showing and I could see it was a boy. I scratched the dog’s stomach and it wagged its tail. I smiled and it licked my hand in gratitude for petting it. The dog ran around the tree I had been under and barked. I heard a branch crack behind me, so I quickly turned around and looked. It was the Boss. He had been walking over to me and accidentally stepped on a branch that laid on the ground.
“Find a friend?” Boss asked me warmly.
“Yea. He was being attacked by a fox, so I saved him.” I explained.
“I had seen the fox in the field.” The boss said.
The dog saw the boss, but he ran over to me quickly and jumped in my lap. He whimpered and hid from the boss.
“He won’t hurt you.” I said in a sweet voice to the dog. I picked him up and carried him over to the boss. Boss petted the dog’s head and the dog started wagging his tail.
“No tags?” Boss asked as he looked at the dog’s neck.
“No collar either.” I explained. “He came from the woods so I think he’s a loner.”
“Then he will fit right in.” The boss said.
“What?” I asked.
“You seem to really like this dog, so if you want he can become part of our family.” The Boss offered.
I hugged him and he laughed. “Thank you.” I said.
“You should get whatever makes you happy.” The Boss said as I let go and he put his hand on my head like I always imagined a great father would.
I heard everyone in the church moving. The Boss smiled and looked at me. “Are you ready to leave them once again?” He asked me.
“I’ve been ready.” I said and we walked into the church. Everyone was awake and folding their blankets out of habit.
“Is everyone ready?” Boss asked. Everyone nodded and the boss smiled.
“Alright! Let’s blow this joint!” Nick yelled as he sat up off the bench and everyone laughed. Then they all put their blankets and pillows into the cars. Sam, Drake, Austin, and Satashi got into Sam’s black pick up. John, Freak, Jake, and Chris got into John’s silver Volvo. Vlad and Nick were already in Vlad’s red Jeep. Boss and I went over to Vlad’s car and got in.
The car line up ended up being Jeep, Volvo, pick up truck. Vlad was in the front of the car line up because he knew exactly where to go. No one other than Vlad and Boss knew how we were going to get out of the small continent without going on a plane and that wasn’t an option because so many of us were being looked for.
“So where are we going?” I asked everyone. Boss was sitting next to me in the back of the jeep while Nick sat next to Vlad in the front.
“I was wondering the same thing.” Nick said.
“Boss?” Vlad asked as he looked through the rear-view mirror to see Boss.
“You’ll see in about two minutes.” Boss said and he wouldn’t add on. Vlad turned back to the road and smiled. “Turn.” Boss said to Vlad and he did so.
I sat in the back seat and fidgeted. I couldn’t wait to get out of London! I looked in the lane next to us and saw a car that was about to pass us by Vlad’s window and mine. I recognized the person in the car! It was my brother!
“Nick! Take the wheel!” I yelled. “Vlad! Get down! Paul!” I put my head in between my legs.
Vlad ducked down and Nick grabbed the wheel. “What the hell is Paul doing here?!” Vlad yelled as he kept his head down.
“I think he got his drivers license this year.”
“S***! This is the worst thing that could happen! We are so close!” Vlad whispered.
Nick was steering the car and he looked over at Paul. “Who is he?” Nick asked me.
“My oldest brother. He is great with a sword.”
“Then did he cut your legs?!” Nick asked.
I slowly nodded and Nick got angry. “I’m gonna ram the hell out of his bloody car!”
“No Nick! Don’t!” I pleaded.
“Why not?!” Nick yelled. “He doesn’t deserve to live if he hurt you!”
“If you do that he will find me. Do you want that?”
Nick frowned and focused on the road. Boss looked through my window and looked at my brother. He frowned as my brothers’ car passed ours.
“No wonder he beat you.” Boss said.
“What?” I asked.
“He’s probably jealous that you are better looking than him.” Boss said.
“Yea! He has a really pointy nose!” Nick laughed as Vlad and I sat back up. Vlad took control of the car again.
“He didn’t always have that nose, did he James?” Vlad asked me and I smiled.
“What do you mean?” Nick asked Vlad.
“James gave Paul that ugly nose.” Vlad said as I smiled even more.
“What?! How?!” Nick asked Vlad.
“A few years ago Paul and James were in the garden. When I found them James was on the ground crying and Paul was kicking him in the side. Then all the sudden James stopped crying and jumped up. James slugged Paul in the nose and broke it.” Vlad informed Nick.
“You stood up for yourself?! That’s great!”
“But sadly James’s father took him up to his room and beat him badly. Then his father threw him out the window. James broke his arm and the paramedics were told that he accidentally fell out of the window and that’s how he broke his arm and got his bruises.” Vlad added and Nick gasped.
“My god! They sound brutal!” Nick said.
“They were, but poor James was outnumbered in that house by 5.” Vlad said.
“Thank you once again, Vlad.” I said with a sad smile. “You saved me from them and I will always be in your debt because of that.”
“You owe me nothing.” Vlad said with a smile as he turned the car into a narrow dirt road as I realized we were on the edge of Whales, in the countryside of England. London was gone and that’s all I needed to know. But then Vlad jerked the breaks. Other breaks squealed from the other cars following and then it was quiet. The quiet was broken as I heard a car door open and then slam shut. It was followed by two more of the same sounds. I looked around Vlad’s seat to see my nightmare. My three brother’s with chainsaws. My heart stopped as all three of my brother’s saw me. Vlad looked at me, as my eyes grew as wide as his. This couldn’t really be happening; my nightmare.
“Out of the car, James!” My brother Kevin hollered and the sound of his voice rang in my ears. He pointed at Vlad and smiled. “Get out now or you band of hooligans are gonna die along with you, mate!” He ordered and I quickly threw my car door open.
“James!” Vlad, Boss, and Nick yelled as my feet hit the cold ground. I watched as my father came out of one of the three black cars in our way. He stood with an evil smile.
“Come here James.” He ordered and I slowly went to my father with a frown.
“Let these people pass without harm. I will stay without a fight if you do.” I offered and numerous car doors opened. I looked back to see all members of the group standing behind Boss and Vlad. Vlad walked over towards me, but my brother jumped in front of him with the still chainsaw.
“Back up.” Kevin ordered and Vlad frowned.
“Make me, boy.” Vlad spat back and my brother handed his chainsaw to my other brother and took out a knife.
“The chainsaw isn’t made for your death, old man.” Kevin complained as he lifted the knife high in the air.
“Vlad!” I yelled as I ran towards them. I got in between my brother and Vlad as the knife hit. The knife pierced my right shoulder and I gasped. The pain was horrible, but bearable. “Don’t you dare touch any of these men!” I hissed to my brother and he pulled the knife out of my shoulder. With an evil laugh he plunged it into the upper part of my left chest. I pulled the knife out of my chest and winced. I quickly took one step back and threw the knife at my brother Paul. It hit him right where I was aiming, square between the eyes. He screamed as he fell to the ground and then went still and quiet. I had killed another person.
“Bastard!” My father yelled as he pointed his gun at me. He shot twice. I pushed my brother towards my father and one of the bullets hit my brother and came out through the other side of his heart. He fell dead as I realized a bullet was going straight towards Nick! I quickly sprinted and grabbed Nick. I held his arms and the bullet finally hit me in my right leg.
“S***.” I gulped as my knees hit the ground. I quickly sat on the ground and turned around. I grabbed my pistol from my left pocket. I pointed it at my mother.
“No!” My remaining brother, Lenis, and my father yelled. I pulled the trigger and the bullet hit my mother’s left leg. She screamed and my father and brother grabbed her. My father quickly got into a car with my mother and my brother got into another. They drove off and left one car and my two dead brothers in front of me. I dropped my gun and my hands went to my mouth. I gulped down the urge to throw-up as my body shook uncontrollably and then I took a deep breath. The whole area was silent. I killed my brothers. I’m a murderer. I… My thoughts a stopped by many barks. The puppy from before ran from near the cars and towards my lap. I scratched its ears and it lay in my lap. I looked back at Nick and searched his whole body for any sign of injury and was relieved to find none. I smiled at Nick as I felt everyone look at me.
“Nick are you okay? Did that bullet touch you?” I asked with concern as Vlad ran to me.
“Dear god, James!” Vlad called with a gasp. “Why the hell did you put yourself in front of me when that knife was coming at me?!”
“I would never let any of those people lay a finger on any of you if I could fix it.” I said and Boss knelt in front of me as Nick did also.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked Boss.
“Yes, but are you?” He asked back and I smiled.
I looked at my leg, then at my shoulder, and then at my chest. “They’ve done worse.” I whispered. Boss looked at my leg with uncertainly. “Can you help me up, Vlad?” I asked and he held his hands out to me. I grabbed them with my own. I pulled myself up as Vlad helped, but when I put some weight on my right leg I felt the true pain of the bullet. I quickly took my weight off my foot and put it all on my right. Boss knelt down and I saw him touch my right foot, but I couldn’t feel it.
“Can you feel that, boy?” Boss asked.
“No.” I whispered. “I can’t feel anything past the bullet.”
“That’s not good.” Vlad said and Boss grunted in agreement. “We need to get some help.”
“No! I’ll be alright!” I exclaimed and Vlad looked at me with uncertainty.
“James, that wasn’t a suggestion. That was an order.” Boss said angrily and it slightly scared me. “Now we can’t go to a hospital.” Boss thought out loud.
“What about that boy you used to guard for? He had a personal doctor. Couldn’t you call him?”
“Henry?” I asked and he nodded. “I really don’t think…” I started to say when Boss grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket. He pressed many buttons and then listened as I heard a dial tone. Boss handed me the phone as someone answered.
“James?” Henry asked.
“Hey Henry.” I said.
“What’s up, James?”
“I need a favor Henry, could you help me with that?” I asked shamefully.
“Of course! What do you need?” He asked.
“I need a doctor.”
“Why don’t you go to the hospital?”
“I just can’t go there, Henry. You have to trust me.”
There was silence for a long time. “Alright. Come to my house. Will and I will get a doctor.” He replied finally.
“Thanks a lot, mate. I’ll be there soon.” I said and then hung up the phone. I looked up at Boss.
“Everyone in the cars. We’re going to the mansion.” Boss ordered and everyone started moving around. Nick came to my side and put my arm around his shoulders on my right side. He helped me walk over to Vlad’s car and then Vlad and Nick helped me get in. Boss hopped into his seat and let me set my leg in his lap. When Nick shut the door Boss put a towel on my bleeding leg. Nick and Vlad got in their seats and Vlad started up the car. We drove away from my brothers’ bodies and went towards London, but turned down the long paved driveway that led to Henry’s home. Before I knew it Vlad stopped the car and we were in front of Henry’s home. Nick quickly went over to my car door and opened it. He helped me out as Boss helped get my leg out without it being hit. When I got firmly on the ground. Nick helped me limp over to the front door. I realized how much of a wreck I really looked and felt stupid going into a mansion while looking so bad.
I was covered in dust, blood was pouring out of my three wounds, and I was covered with burns, cuts, and bruises from my last meet with my family. Before I could change my mind about the whole thing Nick rang the doorbell. The chimes sounded and my heart rate sped. Henry opened the door with Will behind him. Their eyes searched me from injury to injury and then rested on my eyes.
“What the blood hell did you do?!” Henry hollered.
“Did you get in a gang fight?!” Will added.
Nick spoke before I could. “Listen you two, we don’t have time for explanations. We have to get this bullet out of James’s leg.” Nick said firmly and Henry stared at him.
“Nick, calm down.” I said and he frowned. Boss’s hand rested on my shoulder and I looked at him.
“Will you boys help us?” Boss asked in a civilized tone.
Henry nodded. “Follow us.” He said and then I heard many people coming from behind me.
“Can we all come in?” Vlad asked. “We all want to help.”
Will nodded and then turned to follow Henry. We all went into the kitchen to see two other familiar faces of horror. Erick and Kristin stared at me and then at the mob of men following me. “James!” Erick exclaimed as he jumped up off the chair he was on. Kristen was speechless.
“Doctor Hansen.” Henry called and a man in a lab coat came to us.
“Yes?” The man asked.
“This is the boy I was telling you about.” Henry explained and the man looked at me.
“Set the boy on the table.” The man said and Nick helped me get over to the table. When we got there I looked at Nick.
“I got this, Nick.” I said and he let go of me. I slid myself onto the table and sat up, but kept my right leg straight in front of me. The doctor looked at my leg.
“What is in there?” He asked me.
“A bullet about…uh…” I started to say as I pulled my gun out of my pocket. I took a bullet from inside it and showed it to the man. “About this big.” I said and the man looked at me oddly.
“What is your name, boy?” He asked. I looked at the boss for the answer. Everyone here knew me as James Houser, but I had two other names.
“James Hyste. He is my adopted son.” Boss said.
“Then who are all these other men?” The man asked.
“We are all people without families, who help each other and make a large non-blood related family.” Boss explained.
“Ah. Not common, but understandable.” The man said and then looked back at me. “You seem to have gotten yourself into a heap of a mess with these wounds.” He said. I nodded and was speechless. All eyes in the room were on me. Erick’s hand rested on my shoulder and I looked up at him.
“Why do you have a gun, mate?” He asked me.
“You wouldn’t understand, even if I explained why, Erick.” I said truthfully. I looked over at Boss. “Please Boss, let’s go. I can handle the bullet and the wounds. Let’s just get out of here.”
Boss frowned at me. “I can’t let you leave here, James. You can’t even walk, let alone do anything else.” He protested. “Let the doctor at least get the bullet out and give you a tenuous shot.”
“Tenuous shot?” The doctor asked.
“The other two wounds are from a knife.” Boss explained.
“Ah. Well let’s start with the bullet. It’s pretty far in there.” The doctor said. “But the bullet seemed to go in from the back of your leg, how did that happen?”
“He took the bullet for me, Sir.” Nick said. “He ran and protected me from it.”
“You’re a brave lad to take a bullet for someone else.” The doctor said to me.
“He’s extremely brave, Sir. He took those knife wounds for me.” Vlad added. “He’s the best lad I know.”
The doctor smiled at me. “Well let’s turn you over so I can take a look see.” I turned over on the table and laid my head on my arms. The doctor took a while to finally talk again. “I’ll need to give you Anastasia so I can go in and take the bullet out.” He explained and I nodded. I felt a pierce in the lower bicep of my leg and then it was gone. I couldn’t feel anything but heard a lot of movement and saw the disgusted looks on everyone’s faces. My phone started going off and I took it out of my pocket. Boss looked concerned. I saw it was my brother Lenis. I answered.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Put it on speaker, boy.” Boss whispered. “The whole group needs to hear.”
I nodded and put the phone on speaker. “Hello James.” Lenis said and my body stiffened.
“Lenis?” I asked.
“Who are you with right now, boy?” He asked.
“No one, Lenis. I’m trying to get the bullet out of my leg, that’s all.” I lied.
“You really shouldn’t have jumped in front of that other boy. He looked so weak. He’ll die soon enough, you should’ve just gotten it over with.” He explained and I frowned.
“Shut the bloody hell up, Lenis. That boy deserves to live more than you.” I barked back.
“At least I’m not a murder like you, James. I may not have liked Paul or Kent, but I didn’t kill them like you and I certainly didn’t shoot my own mother. You deserve to go to bloody prison!” He yelled and my heart burned.
“All of you people my be related to me by blood, but you are not my family. Those men you saw with me today, the ones I protected, they are my family.” I said firmly. “And when I killed our brother it was not because I wanted to, it was because I had no other choice.”
“You did have a choice!” He hissed.
“I had to choose to die or to live, Lenis. I chose to live because I knew there was a better life out there for me. I’ve already found it and if you think for one second that I will let you take that away from me, then you are mistaken. I’m through with being tortured by the five of you. Sixteen years was enough. I finally understood this morning that the 5 of you would stop at nothing to kill me, so I decided to do something about it.”
“There’s still eternity left.”
“Mother and father will be gone soon enough.”
“But I am your twin brother. I will live as long as you will, James. I still have all the time in the world to kill you and your god damned followers.”
“If you even try to lay one finger on my family again I will show you no mercy, Lenis. I did today and now I see that was a mistake. I won’t make that mistake again.” I retorted.
“You can never beat me, James. You are too weak and untrained.” He spat.
“I know all there is about a gun and how to use my hands. We are now evenly matched.” I spat back.
“Next time you’re in London we’ll finally find out who will live, James.” He said.
“Go to hell, Lenis. I will never be in London again.” I retorted.
“We’ll see.” He said and then the line went dead. I looked up at Boss and smiled.
“We’re safe for a little while.” I said and he frowned.
“But how long is a little while, James?”
“A little while will be up when I finally leave this family. Once I am alone and have nothing to stand in my way, I will finish the fight from this morning. But I can’t have any friends at that time or family. I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me.” I said and then looked at Boss. “Once we are done here where are we going?” I asked.
“Siberia.” He replied. “But we’ll have to find a new way to get there, since a crime scene is in our way.”
I nodded and then looked at Henry and Will. “Thanks again, Henry. I can’t thank you enough for your help.”



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