No Time To Bleed

Eli stepped out past the fabric and into the darkness with Kevin.

Kevin was a nice boy to Eli, but when he got mad, he’d have this glare that made Eli want to crawl into shell. Plus, he was scared of the dark.

He always remembered his mommy turning on his night light before kissing his forehead, saying “I love you, Eli. Don’t forget that.”

It made Eli sad sometimes that his mother would never be around anymore, but he had a new family now. One with Clarissa, she’d give him baths just like his mom used to. Alex, who snuck him packets of sugar at the motel and gave him nuggies. Jasmine, who was angry a lot, but she was nice. Even though she’d hurt that little girl. And Cece, who seemed like a big sister.

But right now he was in the dark and outside with Kevin and no night light. Not even a flash light.

“Come on.” Kevin’s face took on a serious tone as he grabbed onto Eli’s arm, pulling him along.

“Where are we going?” They were stepping past the highway roads and Eli ran over the three rules Clarissa had given him.

One: Don’t trust anyone she didn’t trust.

Two: Run or hide when you’re scared.

Three: Don’t go where you don’t you’re way back.

Eli was scared and it was so dark, he could only see Kevin and a few feet back.

“Kevin, you’re hurting my arm.” Eli whined.

“I don’t care.” The boy grumbled.

Eli still held the brick in his hands, but he’d never used it. His mommy had always told him to never hurt people unless you had to defend yourself. He’d asked her what defend meant and she’d had to go to talk to Mary, his other mom.

They went through the bushes and weeds. Eli’s heart was beating faster and faster in his chest.

“My daddy doesn’t like your friend Jasmine. Louis doesn’t either.” Kevin croaked.

Eli was feeling more and more sick, the air didn’t smell right the further and further away they got from the bridge.

“Jasmine’s nice and Louis is crazy.”

Kevin’s latch on his arm got tighter, making tingles go up and down. “My brother’s not crazy. And you’re stupid.”

“I’m not stupid!” Eli pulled against Kevin. “And I wanna go back!”

Eli whipped around began trudging through the blank dark.

“Stop! Stop! I need to show you something!” Kevin scratched and itched at Eli’s collar. “You’re my friend!”

That froze Eli in his tracks.

“I’m your friend, Eli.”

Eli swallowed. Kids at his old school didn’t like him because they said his mommies were weird and nasty. He’d never had any friends.

Eli turned. “You’re really my friend?”

Kevin stared his brown eyes back at Eli. “I am. Now come on.”

Kevin and Eli walked side by side, the smell growing stronger and stronger in their noses.

“I made a secret hideout in case the zombies came. I wanna show it to you.” Kevin went on. “We can come here if everyone else dies!”

The excitement was in Kevin’s voice, but Eli felt the opposite. He didn’t want everyone to die.

They edged their way closer and closer to where the smell had to be rotting from.

“I found it when we camped out here. My brother said it’s a bomb shelter. It’s where people don’t get cooked.”

They made their way down the wire steps and thing didn’t look so strong to Eli. Looked like a stack of Legos he’d made on a carpet. Kevin and Eli pressed the door shut behind them, but it didn’t go all the way.

“It doesn’t close too good without something in front of it.”

The underground shelter had dirt packed floor and looked like something off of movies Eli had seen where grownups went underground. It had a couch that you blew up with air, some flashlights on the floor, and something black.

“What’s that black thing?” Eli asked. It smelled really bad down here.

Kevin skipped over and his hoodie flopped on him. It seemed too big for him.

“It’s a gun! Daddy found it and he gave it to me to fight!” Kevin waved the gun around and Eli’s heart jerked in his chest.

“My mommy said don’t play with guns! Stop!”

“You said your mommy was dead. Are you lying?” Kevin flipped the gun in his hands.

Eli was getting angry again. He didn’t like it when people talked bad.

“I’m not lying.” He griped. His mommy had always told him it wasn’t good to get mad.

A shot went off and Eli screamed as it seared past his skull.

Kevin giggled. “Sorry. My daddy put stuff in it.”

Eli dusted off his pants and stood again. He didn’t wanna make Kevin mad again. Kevin was his friend.

“Why’d you bring me here?”

Kevin giggled again. “It’s fun! We can get away! We have food!”

“There’s no food here.” Eli shook his head. He was tired. He wanted a bath. Those always made him feel better.

Kevin nodded. “Yes there is. Come on.”

Eli followed Kevin further into the cave like place.

“I got food back here.” The chain roamed along their feet.

In the far back corner was a small whimpering animal, bones sticking out through the skin, eye sockets wobbling to hold in the eyes, and a clamped leash around its neck.

“A dog!” Eli scrambled forward, petting the dog’s stomach.

It just whined and the legs tried to lift themselves up.

“A dog! I can’t believe you got a dog! My mommy said she was gonna get me a dog! I wanted one! What’s his name?!”

“He doesn’t have a name.” Kevin said.

Eli petted the thinning fur; some of it came off in clumps into his hand.

“Why not?”

“My daddy told me not to name stuff like that.”

Eli wanted the dog to get up and play with him. “Why not? He’s a pet. You take care of him.”

“My daddy told me not to name stuff you kill for food.”

Eli didn’t even understand what that meant. He just kept petting the dog.

“You don’t kill doggies. They’re nice.” Eli stood and stepped in something sticky.

He lifted his shoe and saw chunks of it on his feet.

“Did the doggy throw up?”

The nasty smell was even closer.

Kevin just stared at Eli, close to a chest that was next to him. “My daddy told me to keep my food in here on ice.”

Eli smiled, running his hands over the wood of the chest. “Aw, my mommy puts fruit snacks in these.”

He pulled open the lid, little muscles straining to get it all the way up without his friend’s help.

When Eli looked inside the chest, he froze. Tears went down his cheeks. Inside were pieces of red meat on large slabs of ice and flies, lots of flies and little white things. And a dog’s head.

“I killed them. My daddy taught me how. He said meat is good. Makes me big like him.” Kevin stood next to Eli, gun still in his hand. “Do you wanna be big like my daddy?”

“I wanna go back.” Eli was scared, really scared.

“Why are you crying?”

“I don’t know.” Eli didn’t like lying, but he was scared.

“Tell me why you’re crying and we’ll go back.”

The dog whimpered on the floor as Eli saw Kevin’s finger on the trigger.

“God says you’re not supposed to kill. It’s a sin.”

“My daddy said God isn’t real.”

“You’re stupid then. I hope you burn in hell.” Eli said. He’d heard that girl with the big stomach tell him his mom would burn there.

It was mean.

Kevin just giggled. “I can’t burn in hell.”

Eli hoped the boy would. That way he wouldn’t hurt anymore dogs.