Pitch Black Heaven

I WALKED, DRAGGING MY FEET, DOWN THE DARKENING STREET. I HADN'T expected it to get dark so quickly. I hurried along hugging my shopping bag to my chest. The clattering of footsteps echoed in the quiet street, stray cars passing me one by one.

“Hello?" I whispered. A woman walked passed me, juggling her young toddler and a load of shopping in her arms. She pushed the button that unlocked her car and crossed the street to where it was parked.

I exhaled sharply. I was being paranoid. I folded my free arm across my chest, tucking my ice cold hand under my jacket and dipping my chin lower. The whoosh of a car passing startled me once again, my whole body tensed before relaxing when I realized nothing was wrong.

More footsteps rattled behind me, I didn’t bother to turn this time.

"Watch out!" A boy yelled. He ran past me knocking me over. I went hurdling to the ground holding myself up with the palms of my hands, the contents of my shopping bag scattered across the footpath.

"Hey jerk!" I shouted - pissed off. The guy didn't even turn or say sorry. "Hey!" I said again, this time his head turned. My jagged breathing stopped abruptly when I saw his face. His bright hazel eyes were practically glowing, his dark hair was hard to define from the dark street and his pale skin was like a ghosts.

My heart froze for a second before continuing to beat even faster than before.

"I did say watch out… freak." He muttered before sprinting off.

He was calling me a freak? He was the freak in this situation, leaving a lady flat on her face.
"Hey speak for yourself jerk!" I screamed, but he was already gone. I stammered to my feet gathering my shopping and dropping it back in the plastic bag. I thought about following him and demanding an apology, I doubted I could keep up. With a heavy sigh I continued my walk home, not perusing him.

As I crossed the main road and turned down my street my phone vibrated in my pocket, I pulled it out and checked the message – it was from mom.

Hurry up, we’re all waiting!

I snapped my phone shut with a sigh.

~

"So how has Los Angeles been Liam?" Dad asked casually between mouthfuls of roast potato.

"Yeah Liam, what’s it like?" I wondered eying him. His petty stories about college and study were a load of crap. Ha, no way was he ‘studying’, he was up to something over there, and I knew it.

"It’s very, uh… sunny." He shrugged, lightly glaring at me. I wanted to stick my tongue out like I would of when I was three years old, but I resisted the urge.

Anyone would know it was sunny over there. It was Los Angeles for goodness sake. We were talking about beautiful sunny California, full of beaches and palm trees.

"How’s school coming along?" Dad said.

"College," Mom corrected with a smile as she took her seat at the table. When she said ‘college’ she sounded like the typical proud mother, beaming she took another helping.

"Good." He said simply, poking at the peas rolling around on his plate. He seemed so dethatched, his mind preoccupied.

My eyes narrowed.

"Tell us more about this 'college' you go to?" I pressed leaning further across the table, I stabbed myself another piece of pork with a bit too much force.

He looked up and looked long and hard at our faces. "It’s been amazing, the grounds are superb, classes are going well and the people, they’re just great…”

I could hear the falter in his voice. He defiantly was up to something over there. I wasn’t afraid to admit it, I liked being right, and I liked proving Liam wrong even more. Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother but he was being a pain in the ass. I was his little sister. We used to tell each other everything - once upon a time – back when he’d stayed home with us for the summer. That had been the longest period of time he’d stayed with us. After that he would disappear constantly, only coming back on rare occasions.

This was one of them.

"Sounds great son, we'll have to come visit you up there sometime."

Liam froze his eyes widened ever so slightly. "Visit... C’mon mom and dad, what’s the point, it’s just college." I could almost hear him choking on his lies.

I smirked widely. "No, no. We'd love to come visit you. It would be real fun seeing your college. We’ve never been to L.A so there’s always sightseeing." I stretched out the word 'love', smiling when Mom and Dad both nodded in agreement.

Mom took a moment to swallow. "Sounds lovely, we'll have to book some tickets as soon as possible.” She said grinning pleased with the outcome of the conversation. “Isn’t this exciting?”

"But, but!" Liam protested, staggering to his feet, before his knees buckled and he dropped back into his seat.

"But nothing, sit down, we barely see you and it’s about time you hung out with your family." Dad said sternly, making the decision final.

I smiled to myself, finally I’d find out the truth.

Liam fidgeted, sweating bullets. He swallowed loudly.

I bet you he had some secret girlfriend over there. Or better yet, maybe he’d never gotten into college - seeing as he is an absolute idiot.

I was placing all my bets on the downfall of Liam and I had a feeling I’d be raking in the cash sooner or later.

But I didn’t have long to celebrate, at that very moment a load smash made my thoughts choke to a stop. The vase on the mantel piece behind Liam smashed and broke into dozens of little pieces on the floor. It splintered and puffed out like dust onto Liam’s back.

Mom’s favorite vase had now disappeared into oblivion.

My eyes jolted to Liam as he stared blankly ahead pulling something from his pocket. It was a gun.

"Liam?!" Mom screamed as dad pulled her to the ground with a swift tug.

Liam pointed the gun at the window overlooking the front yard and shot continuously. I screamed and dove to the ground holding my head, I landed with a thud on the floor.

The sound of each gunshot was ear splitting to my fresh ears, a long ring residing as the cracking sound hit the walls and came back to smack me in the face. I could barely hear anything other than my screaming. Shot after shot, the most paralyzed I felt, all I wanted to do was get up and run away but my nerves wouldn’t let me. Suddenly Liam grabbed me roughly by the back of my shirt and pushed me further towards the gunman.

“What are you doing? No, don’t!” I protested, trying to crawl back towards him.

Liam ignored me and kicked down the table, using it as cover, ducking with each round of fire.

I arched my head trying to get a decent view of the attacker but at the moment from my position that seemed impossible.

“Liam!” I screamed, desperate for a hasty explanation of some sort.

He looked at me once, it was a pained look. I bet he regretted it, in that one second a bullet grazed his shoulder and boy did it bleed. He grunted and pressed his hand to the wound.

I turned my body around to get a proper look at the assailant - who seemed to be content with having a shootout right in the middle of a family dinner. A tuff of choppy dark hair, black like a ravens’ feathers was whipped across his forehead covering his eyes slightly, his grey hood sat up over his head and a scarf was wrapped around his lower face, his two eyes sitting above. He was tall and reasonably well built - quite like my brother, his hands were gloved and he had a gun in hand.

Two electric eyes collided with mine.

My breath caught in my throat. His eyes were like topaz, a golden hazel, as if I was staring right into a glass of sparkling champagne. Something about them was intensely beautiful.

Where had I seen them before?

"Roll!" Liam shouted fiercely at me. I did as he said and rolled across the floor. I struggled to swallow when a bullet hit the exact place on the floor where my head had once been.

“Get out of here!" He yelled. I hesitated. “Hurry up, get the fuck out of here!” For the first time in my life I saw pure fury and anxiety in my big brothers eyes. He knew I knew and there was nothing left to hide. He jumped over the table and made a quick sprint to the window, diving out past the broken glass to tackle the gunmen in a fist to face battle.

Mom and dad were already crawling away shivering with fear. Mom’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked back to Liam, then to me. "Rhiannon come on!" She commanded reaching out and grabbing my ankle, tears streaming endlessly down her cheeks. I reluctantly crawled after them, my eyes not trailing far from Liam and his attackers’ shadow wrestling in the front yard, gun shots still going off.

Pitch Black Heaven - © MemoriesdonoJustice / Rose Tonis 2009