Story 2A

Brandon’s shoulder didn’t radiate pain, it just felt cold. The cold stung and ate at him, making every waiting moment borderline agony. It hurt to move his arm.

He stood waiting outside a fairly large two story building, leaning against Gabby’s car. It was making the pain worse, but Brandon held his good hand against the stab wound, trying to keep too much blood from spilling out. His red hoodie was stained darker near his shoulder with the already spilled blood. Brandon breathed ragged breaths as he waited for Gabby to finish volunteering. She practically made a religious habit out of this service, which he didn’t really get.

After what seemed like a short, cold, eternity, Gaby finally walked out of the shelter. Gabby was a short girl and naturally far too thin for her own good. She pushed some of her mousy brown hair out of her face a frowned slightly at Brandon’s wound, not that most would be able to tell. The dark reflective sunglasses she always wore obscured her eyes completely. With a sigh, she unlocked the car and gestured to the door.

They were minutes down the road before Gabby finally broke the silence, “You got injured. Again. You said it was something bigger this time too. I guess it wasn’t another ‘friend’ who needed some quick cash again? You holding up okay?” Despite her words, Gabby took no care to add much emotion to her normally bland voice.

Brandon coughed and nodded slightly, “This is different then the other times. The most painful too,” Brandon paused, considering his next words. It was an open  secret between the two of them that he did some work for the Knights, but they didn’t really talk about it. It was a mutual agreement between the two that personal things stayed personal. He could only hope his next words didn’t jeopardize anything, “The Knights are after me now. Someone robbed them and I’m the most likely suspect. They-“

“Did you?”

“Did I what?” Brandon rubbed his injured shoulder slightly.

“Did you rob them?”

“No! I would never! I’m broke but I’m not suicidal.”

“It was a simple question, no need to yell.” Gabby glanced at her phone, checking the time.

“I need some place to lay low for a while. They already sent Equalizer after me and they know where I live. You know I can’t fight those guys myself.”

Gabby checked her phone again before subtly speeding up. She shook her head, “And you think I can? You should just skip town. Run away and move on. It’s safer for everyone. This whole shitstorm might blow over soon.”

Brandon clenched his fist, “What if it doesn’t? What then? Do I just recreate my whole life somewhere else? You know I can’t do that. Look, don’t do it for me, do it for Anna.”

Gabby sighed, “Fine. You can stay for a little while. I’ll try to protect you.” She frowned, raising her phone again.

Brandon raised an eyebrow, “What’s with the phone? You’ve been checking it a lot recently.”

She was silent for a moment before answering, “Nothing important, just some medicine.”

Brandon considered asking for more, but that would strain their mutual secrecy they kept. Maybe if his circumstances were different, he would ask for details about why she needed medicine, but he would rather not bite the hand that feeds him.

The rest of the car trip passed in silence, with Gabby slowly speeding up and checking the time twice more. Eventually, they stopped in front of a house that seemed crammed into the lot, taking up every inch of space it could get and still wanting more. It wasn’t wide even though it was nearly touching the walls of the two neighboring houses. It likely went at least a little ways back and was multistoried, towering over the neighboring houses slightly. It was this tall building with a gray exterior that Gabby called home. In the small, barely existent yard was a nondescript gray Jeep. Rapidly, Gabby sent out a text message before shoving the phone in her pocket. She hopped out of the car and set off at a brisk pace for the door, leaving Brandon to clutch his shoulder and follow behind.

The door was opened by a tanned, fit looking man when Gabby was a few steps away from the door. She gave a slight nod and stepped through. Hesitantly, Brandon followed, casting a side long glance at the stranger. Brandon started around the room, noting how meticulously neat it was. The interior had a brown and white color scheme with cream colored carpeting. With a sigh, Brandon sunk into the inviting looking couch that was on one side of a low coffee table.

Gaby sat down in the recliner across from him with a glass of water. Quickly, she dug in her purse for something, lifting her sunglasses off her face briefly so she could see better. Gaby pulled a small pill bottle out of her bad, dumping a single kaleidoscopic pill in her hand. She popped it in her mouth and followed it up with water, letting out a long sigh after she swallowed it. Gaby gestured to the stranger that had opened the door, “That’s John. I haven’t mentioned him, but he’s my roommate. He’ll be the one patching you up.” Gabby turned to John, “And John, this is Brandon, my friend from work, and, as of right now, an ex-member of the Knights. Can you get the first aid kit?”

John simply nodded and climbed up a set of stairs, leaving Brandon to try to put together words, “You told him about that? Why? That was supposed to be a secret between the two of us! Toby doesn’t even know!”

Gaby shrugged, “Brandon, you sound like a child right now. John’s a good friend, I trust him. He won’t sell you out, if that’s what your worried about.”

“Still, you should have asked me first.”

“Frankly, trust him more then you.” Gaby peered into the pill bottle and frowned. She swore under her breath and tossed her car keys on the table. Her voice raised to a shout, “John, I have to head out to the pharmacy! The keys are on the table!”

With that, Gabby got up, grabbed a set of keys off a hook on the wall, and left. The sound of a car starting up could be heard outside, leaving Brandon alone in the room.

A few minutes later, footsteps pounded down the stairs. John stepped out of the staircase, taking a seat next to Brandon on the couch. He set the first aid kit on the table, opening it up. “I’ve been informed you were stabbed. In your shoulder I assume?” John stared at the darkened patch of Brandon’s hoodie.

Brandon nodded and winced as he pulled it off, pulling the clothing away from the wound. Cold tingles of pain shot around his shoulder as he took it off. They briefly intensified as he peeled his button shirt away from it, unbuttoning it to show the actual wound.

John frowned and Brandon winced as they stared at it. The wound was ugly, a jagged red gash against his skin. It stung as it came in contact with the air. John pulled a needle and string out of the box. He pulled a cleaning pad out of the box too and put a little ointment on it. Brandon winced as John started methodically cleaning the wound.

A silence held between the two for a series of painfully long minutes to Brandon. He winced again at the sting of the pad before asking, “Its John, right? I heard your Gabby’s roommate. How’d that happen?”

It was a legitimate question for Brandon. Gabby was quiet and practically antisocial. Sure she did work at charities as a hobby, but she usually had a sullen, silent expression that conveyed nothing.

Brandon frowned at John’s lack of response. The man obviously wasn’t deaf. John ignored Brandon, keeping at his work. Brandon didn’t ask a second time. Minutes later, John nodded and studied his work, “Stitches. They dissolve.” John’s voice was quiet and low, but it radiated a hidden confidence. Despite how quiet it was, Brandon had no doubt that Gabby’s roommate ever had to raise his voice to be heard.

“Hey, John,” Brandon started, “how did you learn to do this stuff?” John remained silent and didn’t answer the question. Brandon winced as the needle poked through his skin, sewing the wound together.

Minutes later, this too was done. John stared at the sewn wound for a moment before nodding. The faint jingle of a ringtone rang distantly in the house. John stood and started walking, “Farewell.”

Brandon stood, “Wait! You didn’t tell me anything about you!” He regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth. He didn’t mean to sound like a petulant child when he said that.

John paused at the base of the stares, not looking back to spare Brandon even a glance, “Do you want to know?” John walked calmly up the steps, the phone ringing quietly in the distance.

Brandon stood in the center of the room for a long time. Distantly, he noticed the phone had stopped ringing, but his thoughts were on the mess the day had been so far. It hadn’t even been more then an hour ago that he was fighting for his life. Could it really have changed that much in an hour? He was used to walking a fine line with the Nightmare Knights, but being on the run was something else. It wasn’t something he where he could go home and wake up to the smiling face of his daughter.

His daughter!

Brandon would have happily slapped himself for forgetting to care for his precious child. What kind of father would he be if he forgot about his own flesh and blood descendent? He couldn’t abandon Anna, he just couldn’t. The idea of doing so sickened him and struck a pain in his heart. He knew what he had to do.

His shoulder ached as he walked across the room. It would be best to not move it too much, but if he needed to do so for Anna’s sake, he would risk his whole arm. Distantly he heard the sound of a conversation upstairs; John was talking on the phone.

Brandon grabbed Gabby’s car keys off the table and silently walked out the door.