My Date with Shadowcat313 Ch. 02

The night grew brighter as I was dragged closer to the bonfire, and I could make out a few of my abductors, and the sight of them was enough to snap me out of my groggy state. The shaved heads, some covered in hats turned sideways or backward, the wife-beaters, jeans, some darker than others, and work boots or, in a few cases, combat boots... these guys were probably more of the same thugs Nickie and I had been accosted by before. And there, nearby, was the leader thug. He now had a long scar across his face, beginning near the front of his right ear and extending across his cheek in a dip, terminating just above the corner of his mouth, the stitches visible as they held his flesh together. The look he glared at me was positively murderous, and there was no doubt that he meant to ensure my death, probably with a lot of torture and suffering beforehand. I started wondering if I shouldn't have had that 'moving on' conversation with Nickie before now.

I was dropped onto my side with a jarring thud as I was unable to put my hands out to catch the ground. I grunted from behind the duct tape, but made no additional noise.

"Now that we've got you alone, without that fucking freak of a girlfriend you've got, we can finally get down to business, the leader thug scowled darkly.

"Let's fucking break every bone in his body!" one of the other thugs chimed in enthusiastically.

"Shut the fuck up!" the scarred thug roared at the other thug, who subsided, chastened.

"That bitch of yours fucking sliced up two of my homies," he continued, "Sent all three of em' to the goddamn morgue. Now, I'm gonna get a little payback. I think I'm gonna start by cutting you up, real slow. I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been fucking born. Then, I'll probably douse you with some gas, and then set you on fire, watch you burn."

Since I still had the duct tape on my face, I couldn't quite suggest that maybe having a few beers instead would be a better idea of a good time. Luckily for me, he reached forward and yanked the tape off. It stung, but I didn't complain about it.

"I wanna make sure I can hear you scream and beg me to put a fuckin' bullet in your head just to stop the pain. I won't, by the way. I wanna make sure you suffer all the way."

My mouth was dry with fear, now, but I did my best not to let the fear show.

"I don't think any of this would be a good idea," I replied evenly.

Two of the thugs grabbed me and set me up, leaning me up against a half-destroyed cinderblock wall.

"You're gonna pay," the thug insisted, "And, if that bitch shows up to save you, we're gonna put so much fucking lead in her that not even her own whore mother'll recognize her."

"I don't think you're gonna like the outcome very much," I warned him, and he showed me his fist close up, jarring my face and splitting my lip on the side.

"Shut the fuck up," he barked, "Save your fucking breath for all the screaming you're gonna be doin.'"

He pulled his butterfly knife, flicked it open, and brandished it at me. Then he swiped it across my face, barely touching me with the blade, but it opened my cheek a little. I winced back, my head thumping the wall and igniting fresh pain across my skull. Blood ran slowly down my cheek.

I looked up, wondering where Nickie was, if she knew through our bond how much trouble I was in. It was no longer anywhere near midnight, which it had been when I was knocked out as I'd been walking down a sidewalk. In fact, the sky was no longer totally dark. Morning would be coming soon.

"Hey, you piece of shit!" the thug kicked me in the side, knocking me over, "You better fuckin' pay attention when I'm talkin' to you."

The two thugs on either side of me pushed me back into a sitting position, but my side screamed. I think he'd maybe cracked one of my ribs. I grit my teeth, refusing to voice my pain.

"Oh, look-at-im," the thug on the right noted with a chortle, "He thinks he's a tough guy."

A few of the other thugs near the fire, most of them drinking or smoking, cheered them on.

"He'll break. He's just a fuckin' pussy, after all," promised the leader thug.

They began kicking and punching me, and I did my best to hunch over, despite having my arms still tied behind my back, trying to protect my head. Fists and boots still found places to ignite pain, so many that I lost count. A kick connected with the back of my head, and I lost consciousness.

I don't know how long I was out, but then a sharp, crackling pain brought me to with a scream. I opened my eyes, trying to scramble backward, but the wall was still there to stop me. The leader thug held a small piece of lumber, of which one end was glowing red. He had poked my arm with the glowing end, burning me awake. It was brighter out, not yet sunup, but within the hour.

"What," the thug growled, "You think you can sleep through this? Fuck no, I want you wide awake so you can see all the shit we're gonna do to you."

He jabbed the piece of lumber out at me again, and it hit the same arm. I grit my teeth and hissed, flinching away. He tossed the wood aside, and had his knife out again.

"Now, we're gonna do us a little surgery on your face, see what you look like without a fucking nose."

I saw something out of the corner of my eye, but just barely, and then one of the thugs, crying out, went flying into the bonfire, crashing into the middle of it, his clothes, hair, and flesh catching fire, and his screams like the bleating of a sheep. The others scrambled for their guns, and then another thug was hurled into a nearby tree, the incredible force snapping the trunk. Both the tree, and the thug fell to the ground and were motionless.

"Where the fuck is she?" the leader thug bellowed, "Get your fuckin' guns and kill the bitch!"

The remaining thugs, all seven of them, had their pistols and shotguns, and were scanning the forest. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I'd get to keep my nose after all.

One of the thugs thought he saw her and fired, the others firing in the same direction, but she was behind them in a flash. She picked up two of them by the backs of their necks and smashed their heads together. They fell in a heap. She plucked another up and swung him by the feet into the remaining four, knocking them down, and then she planted the thug face-first into the ground, snapping his neck. Another shot rang out, and she cried out, knocked to the ground. I cried out with her, alarmed, but she was up again, a bullet hole in her back, near her left shoulder blade. She was gone before the leader thug could line up a second shot.

"What the fuck is she?" he demanded, glaring at me, but shocked, "No normal bitch can take a shot like that and get up."

"She's a very angry girlfriend," I grunted, my sides hurting almost too much to speak, "And you've fucked up royally."

"Hey bitch!" the thug yelled, scanning the surrounding forest, "You better come out where I can see you, or the next bullet goes in your boyfriend's head!"

She was beside him in the next instant, and she yanked the gun out of his hand so hard that I heard bones crack. She threw the gun into the bonfire even as he screamed, clutching his mangled hand to his chest.

"I've given you enough chances to live," she hissed, beyond furious, her eyes crimson now.

"What the fuck are you?" he stumbled back, his eyes wide with terror.

"The last thing you're ever gonna see in your pathetic life," she replied, and then, with one hand, grabbed his throat. Her other fist slammed into his face, caving it in, and she tossed the thug into the bonfire.

She wiped her bloody hands on her pants, and then crouched in front of me, trembling. She untied my wrists, and then looked me over with concern.

"What have they done to you?" she cried, "Those damn pieces of shit!"

"I'm a lot better now," I tried to smile, and winced at the pain, "The sun is coming up. You won't make it home in time. We've got to get you to a safe place."

But the sun was already over the horizon, and she flinched as one of its rays broke through the trees and struck her skin.

"I'm serious," I tried to get up, but my right leg wouldn't hold me. I collapsed back to the ground.

She got up, searched the dead thugs, and found a cellphone.

"Here," she whispered, "You'll need this."

The sun was scorching her skin now, but she tried to ignore it.

"You've got to get out of the sun!" I insisted, fearful, "Please!"

She fell to the ground next to me, quaking with the agony.

"It's too late," she shuddered, "There's nowhere nearby. It took me too long to find you, I'm so sorry."

"No!" I clutched her, pulling her close despite my pain. I tried in vain to protect her from the sun.

"It's okay," she gasped, "At least you'll be okay, and I get to see you one last... time."

"Oh god," I sobbed, "No, I can still save you, just... please!"

She closed her eyes, smiling slightly, and then she began turning to ash, not burning me, though I wouldn't have let go even if it was. And she was gone.

I don't know how long I sat there, holding her remains, even as they crumbled through my hands, and I didn't care. I would've sat there until I died, I supposed, and that would be okay with me. The utter hopelessness that drained me of all will to live didn't let me care. Sure, I could just sit there, with her ashes in my hands, and on my clothes, because that was the closest I'd ever get to being with her again. But she would never have approved of this decision, and neither should I. After all, she'd given her life to save mine, and for me to die here anyway would've been like a slap in her face. I still sat there, tears running down my bruised face, staring at the empty place in my arms where she'd so recently been, wishing I had been able to do something to save her.

Eventually, I used the cellphone to call 911, letting them use the GPS function on it to tell them where I was, as I had no idea. I told them who I was, that I'd been abducted, and that the abductors were dead, but I lied about knowing how they'd died. Nobody would ever believe me, anyway. After that, I put the phone down, the line still open, and lay on my side, ignoring the physical pain while unable to deny the emotional agony. Soon, there were policemen, and medics, and coroners, and a lot of questions, some of which I even answered honestly, while leaving out other facts. I was transported to the hospital to be treated for my injuries, but the most important injuries could never fully heal.

I walked down the sidewalk, my eyes only on my feet as they moved, my mind off on its own. I stopped as I reached the house, stared at it for a few minutes, and then started slowly for the front door. I was still sore, especially my leg, which had been broken, and I'm not including my grief, which was almost constant. The police still had unanswered questions, like the identity of the thing that had killed most of a local gang, and I supposed that some questions just wouldn't ever be answered. I went to the front door, and inside, going directly downstairs to Nickie's bedroom. It was dark, but I didn't bother with the lights. I trudged directly to her bed and crawled underneath the sheets, kicking off my shoes along the way. I could still smell her, her perfume was in the sheets and the pillow, and they unlocked a flood of tears that I couldn't control. It was just too much, too damn much for me to take, and I clutched her pillow against my face as I wept.

After a while, I slept, and I dreamt that Nickie was with me. I lay on her bed, and she held me, her fingers stroking through my hair as she soothed my pain.

"You'll be okay," she whispered.

"I won't," I murmured, though I was, at that moment, "There's nothing for me if you're not here."

"But I'm here right now. I couldn't leave you without telling you that I love you. You must go on."

"I can't go on."

"You have to let me go, Gary."

I clutched her tightly, "No! Not in a million years!"

"Gary," she sighed, "You gave me a reason to be human, and I can never repay you for that. You loved me, despite what I was, and you made me believe that I could be better. I couldn't have ever asked for more. But what is the point of all that if you're just going to give up now?"

"I- I can't! I just can't! It's my fault you're gone!"

"No," she held my face, forcing me to look her in the eyes, "You can't hold yourself responsible for what those bastards did. They paid for what they've done, so the blame is over. Think about what I want for you now, and that is to move on. You can keep me in your heart and your memories, and that will have to be enough."

I pressed my lips to hers, desperate for her, "But how? I've got nothing left."

"Bullshit," she insisted, "There is another woman out there, I just know it, who needs a man like you as much as I did, who needs your love."

"I'll never love anyone the way I love you," I swore.

"That's for sure, but you will love again."

I sighed, and she kissed me, "I'll be fine, you know. And I'll see you again, too. There's always that. Now go on and live your life."

"I really do love you," I assured her.

"And I never doubted it."

I awoke, my cheeks stiff with dried tears, my eyes gummed shut, and my chest tight with emotion. I could feel her arms around me still, but then I couldn't, and the pain flared anew once more. I forced myself to sit up, and then to my feet, wiping my eyes until I could open them. I left Nickie's room for the last time.