Unwanted Clemency

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Ashley’s POV

Shadows kept an eye on me the whole night. About one am is when he started talking to me again. Good timing too, the bar had died down quite a bit. He paid me for the drinks he had ordered and when I reached for the money on the bar his hand covered mine.

“I want to ask you something.”

I looked up at him, “What?”

He smirked at me, “Do you think Officer Morgan’s kids are going to miss him?”

I looked around the bar trying to find Morgan but not finding him by the time I looked back at Shadows, “Who?”

“Come on now, no need to play games. I know he’s waiting for me outside.”

“Is that why you’re still here?”

He shook his head and took a sip of the bottle of beer I have given him fifteen minutes ago, “Nope, waiting for you honey.”

I stepped back and nodded. He wanted me to go with him. Probably waiting till my shift was over to get me alone. I knew Syn hadn’t spoken a word to Shadows and Shadows never picked up a phone. He had no way of knowing about the cops yet he knew.

Some how this fucker knew.

“This would have been so much easier if you hadn’t gotten the cops involved. Now I have to take you.”

I shook my head, “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Yes you are or all those cops out there are going to die and it will be your fault.”

He had to be bluffing. That was the only excuse. He couldn’t take them on. He was one man. Bulky and probably strong but he couldn’t do any damage. They had guns! So unless he was some magical creature I was pretty damn safe.

I leaned over the counter, “What do you want?”

He spoke in a cheery cheeky voice, “All I want is you. But I’m not the only one that does.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He looked away from me towards the exit and back at me, “You know what it means.”

I had looked when he had looked and I could see Syn sitting near the door with his eyes on me. Either he was seriously looking out for me or he was working with Shadows. I honestly didn’t care but if the cops could bust him too I’d be fine.

“I don’t really know him.”

Shadows tilted his head to the side, “I know but we know a lot about you.”

“You’re starting to sound like the mafia.”

He took one last swing of his beer and stood up, “I’m worse then that.”

I reached over for the bottle of beer to dispose of it and he kept his eyes on me. I took it gently having to reach on the tips of my toes to grab it but I did. I pulled away from the bar and disposed of the empty brown bottle and looked back at were Shadows was.

He has disappeared but I wasn’t too worried. He said he was waiting for me so I knew he wouldn’t go far. Beside, if he took one step outside he’d be caught. I felt safe in all honesty. I knew he couldn’t hurt me here.

“Hey Ash! Will you take this out back and throw it in the trash can?”

I turned to see one of my coworkers holding a bag of trash and I took it from her nodding of course. Not really thinking of why I shouldn’t even though I should I wanted my job tonight to look normal. So normal that no one worried about having fifty cops out front if you catch my drift.

I walked out back with the bag and headed to the large trash bin in this dark alley. If it wasn’t heavy I’d run to the bin and run back before anything could process I was out here. Silly, I know but I was paranoid.

When I reached the trashcan I threw the half in and ended up pushing from the bottom of the bag to get the rest in. I felt accomplished when it fell in and I then heard a groan from the trash bin.

I must have been mistaken.

I leaned in holding my breath to avoid the smell when I saw something that made me turn and let anything I had eaten today come back up and out to the street. I backed away from the trash for a second before trying to collect my self.

I didn’t see that.

There was no way I saw that.

I walked back to the bin shaking like a leaf and looked in. I needed to confirm what I saw. I needed to be sure. I stood taller to look over the edge and sure enough the dead body I had seen was in there.

It was the face that brought me to nearly cry.

The lifeless pupils of Officer Morgan were looking up at me. His throat looked slit and he was still wearing the clothes I had seen him in when he was in the bar. I shook my head at the sight. There was no way this was him. It couldn’t be.

I heard a laugh from me and I whipped around to face Matt Shadows, “Took you long enough to find him.”

“I. How could–”

I couldn’t find words. He couldn’t have done this. That body looked like it had slaughtered hours ago and that sound that came out had to be from the bag pushing the air out of the lungs. He was dead and I never saw Shadows leave my sight. Some how he had killed him and I don’t even know how.

I felt my stomach want to heave again but I kept everything down. I had nothing else to throw up other then bile. I didn’t really want the stomach acid to burn the back of my throat.

Shadows too a step forward, “You’re so surprised.”

I started to back up, “You’re a monster.”

“I know.” I glared at him. He was being a cheeky git again, “Oh how I know.”

I continued to create distance between us, “Stay away from me. I’ll scream.”

Shadows had disappeared in front of me and I backed into someone. I turned my head and was met with Shadows behind me. I whipped away and stared at him in horror. There was no way he could move that fast. Nothing human moved that fast.

“You may not be as bright as I’d like, but my, you make the night life amusing.”

Matt continued to talk as I tried to find the quickest way to escape. I looked over at the entrance to the bar and I could see a male standing in front of the door. He was tall, thin and lanky but he had muscle his arms. I know he could pack a punch if he wanted to. He had dark straight hair that reached past his ears ever so slightly. He had tattoos as well.

He pushed off the door and Shadows held his hand up, “It’s alright James. She’s not going to run and if she does she won’t get far.”

The one known as James backed off and stayed against the door and I could hear a cat call whistle behind me, “Syn has got some taste now a days doesn’t he Shads? She’s a lot hotter close up.”

Shadows kept walking forward, “Right you are Johnny. Right you are.”

I stopped walking backwards because I couldn’t see the Johnny guy behind me, “What do you want from me?”

He held out his hand expecting me to take it, “All I want is you sweetheart.”

“Why?”

He sighed and let his hand fall, “Look. Either come with me now or I’ll just make this harder on you.”

I tried to stay call and stale so I could think of a way out of this, “Answer my question.”

“I don’t have to do shit honey. So either get your little ass over here or this is going to turn sour.”

Fuck it. I booked it towards the Johnny guy’s direction. When I did see him I had flung into my adrenaline mood and wasn’t doing down without a fight. I sent a decent punch into him before he could grab on to me. Not to mention a good kick where the sun didn’t shine and he kneeled over to the ground.

It didn’t take me long to get tackled to the ground and I tried to crawl away from the body on top of me. I was flipped over and was faced with the one called James. He was staring down at me like he was ready to eat me.

I pushed away with my feet and hands trying to get far enough away to get enough room to stand up. This time letting a scream out for help. Not that anyone would hear but it was worth a shot.

The James guy continued to crawl forward faster then I was moving. Eventually I stopped when I ran into a cold wall. As soon as James got close enough I sent one of my feet into his face. He caught my foot and pulled me closer to him. I yelped in pain and surprise. My exposed skin was being dragged back to him against the rocks and dirt on the asphalt of this alley.

“I got her Matt.”

I wasn’t done yet. I was still flailing and thrashing around to try to get away. I know it was probably useless but I wasn’t going to give in to them. I didn’t want to die and I didn’t know what else they might have planned before they killed me.

I did get one hard hit to the head and I stopped moving for a second to collect myself. Everything was dizzy and my head was throbbing. I tried to reach for my head with a shaking hand but I was pulled up to my feet. They gave out on me but I was caught by someone and soon lifted.

I couldn’t focus and I felt even sicker. I tried to get away one last time but trying to move made my stomach howl at me and threaten to teach me a lesson if I wasn’t careful. I ended up resting in the arms of who ever had me and closed my eyes. The colors in front of my eyes only want to help my stomach lose itself again.

It took me a little to get my sentence out and I don’t even know if I said it correctly, “Where–What? Where are you taking me?”

I could make out a voice, “The drowning cave.”

No. They couldn’t. I had heard legends of that place. It was a cave somewhere off the coast on a private government owned beach. When the tide rises it floods out the cave and anything caught in it drowns. Hence the name Drowning Cave.

No one really knew if it was real so I figured these guys were just screwing with me just to get me paranoid.

Right?
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