The Killjoy Chapter 1: My Dad’s Biggest Mistake

The house was completely silent, desolate as if a hurricane had rampaged through and everything was destroyed. Somehow I knew something was very off, I had that sickly feeling in my stomach, the kind you get when you know something awful is about to happen. I stepped into the kitchen to find my father slumped in his chair encircled by papers. His head was in his hands, shielding part of his face, but through the gaps between his fingers I could still see his dark eyes, deep neverending pits of misery, he would never be able to clamber out of. 

“Dad,”

I said, removing my earbuds and shoving my Iphone 4 into my pocket. He uncovered his face and started rubbing his temples.

“Your mother… had some...how do I tell you this...some unfinished business.”

“I thought Mom was in Nevada now, fucking with crackheads behind her elderly parent’s backs. She don’t give three shits about us. What kind of ‘unfinished’ business.”

“Her parents may be elderly but their pockets are miles deep enough to support her numerous exploits. But that’s not the point, now she is springing me with a rape accusation.”

It was as if my whole body went numb, Why...after all these years.

“B...but you didn’t do anything to her... why is she doing this” I stammered out.

“Because she can, she needs some excuse for getting pregnant at sixteen,” Dad said.

“But why…?”

“I already said so. We don’t have the damned money for a lawyer so I’m probably going to prison!” Dad snapped standing out of his plastic chair.

“How the hell do they believe that bitch, I mean if you really did anything she would’ve accused you years ago!” I yelled back.

“How...HOW, because I’m black man, and she’s a rich, vulnerable, white chick who’s daddy makes millions off of Saudi-Arabian crude oil deals. She can do what she wants and nobody can stop her!” he shouted pain spiking his voice.

“And now she’s gonna take me away from my baby,” Dad whimpered, tears welling up in his brown eyes. He collapsed back on his chair sobbing. My Dad throughout my life had always remained resolute as a mountain. No matter how hard it stormed, he stood tall, wore a smile when the world tried to take it away. When I cried he wrapped his soft arms around me, my face pressed against his large belly. Now it was me who was holding him while he sobbed in my arms. Dad was one of the kindest people whom I’ve ever known, who still gave when he had nothing, who had always believed the best in people. Even me, the daughter who had given up on the world and shunned it’s contents. I wanted to tell him it’s okay, the way he always told me, but it wasn’t. The life we tried so desperately to build up would be torn down again, this time for good.

No one said a word for the rest of the evening, we remained silent as we awaited the inevitable. My Wendy’s double cheeseburger felt like rubber in my mouth, Dad barely even picked up his. My homework seemed to drag on longer than usual, I’m too preoccupied, I can pick up before class tomorrow, NO are you kidding, stop being the massive fucking dissapointment you are, and do you’re damn work you fat, lazy, bitch. I looked to see the back of my hand bloody, dots of graphite among the slippery red mess. I dig my mechanical pencil underneath the flabby flesh of my hand, scraping underneath my pasty, white skin, turning it brilliant red. Ready to concentrate now? No, guess I have to stab myself some more.If I had never existed this wouldn’t of happened. Dad would have had a future and would’ve been free to study without the burden of my existence. My “Mom” If you can even call her that wouldn’t of tried to excuse herself by framing Dad. But most of all, I wouldn’t have this life, a life of cruel bullying, financial struggle, and now this, because Dad got drunk with his highschool girlfriend and didn’t bother to use contraceptives. If it weren’t for Dad’s mistake, me, Shelley Grifith, he would probably have an OK job, an Ok family, and be settled in an OK neighborhood. Why am I stuck with this existence, why did I even have to be born?I look down at my messed up hand, a huge brilliant cut, exposing an interior that looks disturbingly similar to strawberry jam. I better stop, an infection could cause me to miss school work. I have straight A’s for once, and I don’t want to fuck everything up like I always do. I clean up the blood from my desk and drown myself in my work. What else can I do, trig functions don’t care about your problems.

The Killjoy is an event created completely for the benefit of the people.

Starting September 28 and ending January 1st will be a country wide competition, you may compete alone or form your own team, the maximum amount of members forty. Your job is to defeat as many teams as possible before the deadline. To defeat a team you must kill over half of their members. The person/people that has defeated the most teams before new years wins 100,000,000

A 100,000,000 we are so generous to reward.

Good luck!

Created for the benefit of the people my ass. Who the hell is “We” anyway, the government, some private company, the mafia? Well so much for reading crazy internet conspiracies, I think looking down at the spiderweb screen of my phone. I pick at the lukewarm, concentrated mashed tato’s on my lunch tray. I take a sporkful of the pus colored mush and shove it in my mouth. I may as well be eating sawdust but some food to calm my stress is better than none. Eating soothes my nerves better than Prozac ever could, I work on last night’s cut with the complementary plastic knife. 

“There you are Shell’s!”I look up to see Adrian and Courtney Akagi-Krovopuskov sit down on either side of me. I immediately hide the plastic knife in my coat pocket, when they see me cut myself they go up my ass like any decent childhood friend would. Usually I don’t give a shit, it’s always the same yammer whether it’s the guidance counselor or Dad. With them it’s different, Courtney and Adrian scare the SHIT out of me. Most people are fooled by their light blond hair and beautiful smiles, but I’ve been friends with them long enough to know they ain’t no angel children.  In first grade some poor dumbass taunted Courtney for having a “girly” name despite him being a guy. Long story short the kid had to get seven stitches in his forehead, and Courtney got suspended. Oh, there was also a time when the quarterback said Adrian had fine titties, in the hospital the doctors found a lightbulb up his anus, no one knew who did it. Don’t ask how Adrian got it up there, I’m still clueless to this day. Despite all that, they are some of the most chill people I know.

“Guess what, last night I found a ‘Hacking for Dummy’s’ book in the storage room,” Courtney said.

“So you finally got around to cleaning out ‘dollar store Tartarus’ or whatever the fuck you call it,” I said picking at the slop on my tray.

“And now he is obsessed with coding and all that shiz,” Adrian stated.

“You know, it would only be courteous  to assist our comrades when the presidential election rolls around,” Courtney mused.

I choked on my tato’s, the coarse mush somehow made it out of my nose and onto the linoleum floor. I quickly chugged the last of my coke before anything else could happen.

“You okay,” the twins said laughing.

“I’m fine,” I gurgled out, coke dripping from my lower lip.

“It’s not like anyone else is going to take up the task of cleaning that damn shit-hole out. Dad’s in solitary confinement and Mom is either at the gym, at a shoot, or working on the Jack Daniels,” Courtney said with a downcast look in his azur blue eyes. I looked down at the linoleum floor of the hallway. In two days time each of us will have a father behind bars.

“Hey, I thought you Russian’s like Vodka not Whiskey,” I said.

“Don’t you dare draw conclusions based on nationality!” Adrian screamed for all the other students in the hallway to hear.

“Jeezus fuckin christ it was a joke,” I said quietly. 

“Don’t just joke about anything,” Courtney said.

Oh God what did I just say. Their Mom had a serious alcohol problem that almost took her life. Fuck, that was such a crass thing to say. They must hate me now, it’s justified I’m a disgusting waste of time who whines to much. No wonder they are my only friends, only they can put up with my bullshit. Now I’m causing more bullshit when they already have more than their fair share to deal with. God I’m such a burden, especially to dad… I never should have been born. He wouldn’t be in jail then. No Shelley, don’t you dare cry. DON’T FUCKING CRY. Suddenly I start sobbing. I’m quivering all over and my mouth remains rigid and open like I have lockjaw. I feel salty mucus and tears run into my mouth, only to drip out again as the sobs escape me. I then feel a gentle hand on my shoulder then another.Why are they there for me, what do I have to offer.“Da….aaa….ad,” I choke out from my tears.

“Huh,” Courtney said.

“What about him?” Adrian asked patting my hair

“My….Mo...o...o..ooom is…A...a...ccu...hing,” I stammered out between sobs.

“Tell us about it when you’ve calmed down O.K,” Courtney said wrapping his arm behind my back.

With my only guardian going to prison how can I calm down.

“Is this the residence of Vincent Griffith,” said the policeman at my door. He was a white guy with gray-ish stubble on has angular square jaw. His eyes were concealed by the wire-rimmed sunglasses. On his shirt was his badge

Davis Little

It was like a lead ball was dropped into my stomach when I answered, knowing exactly why he was here.“Yes, this is my dad’s residence,” I said.“Can he come out,”  Little commanded.“DAAAAAAD, they’re here,” I yelled into the hallway.Dad lumbered out of the hallway, a suit case of the few possessions he was allowed to take. It was like he aged decades in a single day, his eyes were worn and weary, his shoulders were hunched. When he looked at me all hope was drained from them. After he would get out of prison If he would get out of prison (the courts hadn’t fully decided everything yet) it would be nearly impossible to find a job and we were already financially unstable, also, I’m still a minor so the police may put me into a different family.What will happen to me from now on, will I ever see my dad again.“Shelley,” my dad said breaking the silence.“Yes,” I answered, my heart in my throat.“Whatever happens to us stay strong. You may not think it, but you have persisted even when our lives...were at their worst,” he said.“Dad…” before I could say anything his arms enthralled me. Pressed up against his wide belly, I was the most at peace I had been in for the last 24 hours. It was like being in a cocoon that kept all the bad things out. I hugged him back. I just want to freeze this moment and savor it forever.“Keep on doing good work, and stay strong Shell,” Dad said into my ear.“You done yet, we need to get this guy into the car,” The Officer Little snarled through coffee stained teeth.“I love you Shell, I always will,” Dad said breaking away, leaving me in the cold snowstorm of reality. Immediately after the Officer Little grabbed my dad by the arm and led him off of our shabby porch in handcuffs. I could see the crease of skin between my Dad’s neck and shaved scalp as he was being taken away. The sun was beginning to set on our run-down neighborhood. When the police officer thought I wasn’t looking he stomp kicked my father to the ground in one violent motion. My father, the man who gave when he had nothing, the man who made sure to release mice we captured because he believed all life was precious, was being brutalized when he had done nothing. Little wasn’t about to stop there though, he shoved his boot into my father’s ribs causing him to convulse on the ground. Hot, burning, tears welled up in my eyes, making my vision go blurry. Officer Little continued, kicking my father in his side, digging his boot into my dads soft flabs of skin. I couldn’t take it anymore, the sobs flooded out of me, I had never felt so helpless before. I wanted more than anything to shield my dad against every blow, to lash out at that horrible Davis Little, a man who should never have been let into the police force. But I couldn’t, I’d only cause dad more trouble than he was already in.The officer then pulled his baton out.My heart dropped. Little then started to beat him bloody raising bruises and welts where they didn’t belong.Why does my dad have to suffer, because he is poor, because of the color of his skin, he never did anything wrong...WHY...WHY… YOU SICK FUCKING BASTARDS. I screamed to myself through my cries. I placed my hand to my mouth and sank to the floor.Eventually the cop wrestled my bloody and bruised Dad into the car even though he wasn’t struggling, he then got in his seat and sped off, sirens blaring, as I stood there not crying for I had run out of tears. I felt so numb I couldn’t feel the impact of my father being hauled off to prison.If I wasn’t even born.The back of my wrist had long been awaiting the box cutter I had stored in my underwear drawer. It was so sharp, but with each laceration I felt like a piece of me was finally being set free. I had to go deeper, to get rid of the numbness, to finally feel like something was being set right. I dragged the blade like a zipper down my wrist opening up my blood and tissue to the world.  The red bile poured out, splattering across my stained white bed sheets like blended cherries. The pain was intense, but in its intensity I found liberation. A liberation like no other in my dim cluttered bedroom, the back of my wrist letting out torrents of blood. I sliced again this time much harder, letting the blade go deep into my flesh as if there was treasure down there.Fat, ugly, useless, burden.I repeat to myself like I’m chanting a prayer. Suddenly I can’t take it anymore, to sit around in the house my father no longer inhabits. Memories of us together feel like ghosts in the empty rooms, ghosts which won’t stop haunting me. My feet take off,  taking me away from this haunted house. I barely notice the dozens of dilapidated houses and gas stations I run past. My feet just keep on moving, no matter how the chilly September air pierces my lungs, or how my feet ache in the thin canvas sneakers I purchased at walmart. My legs feel like they are moving on their own making me sprint down the cracked sidewalk. I don’t even notice my wrist is still bleeding.

Courtney and Adrian’s house is huge. Their mother (Svetlana Krovopuskov) had amassed a pretty profit from her work as a porn star, which allowed them to buy the monstrosity. Unfortunately there’s a catch, no one can take care of it. The twin’s try their absolute damndest to keep the place tidy but  it still somehow becomes more grimy and cluttered each day, while their Mom shacks up in her bedroom with her whisky and meth. I knock on the white washed door careful not to get any bits of peeling paint underneath my finger tips, but that’s when I notice it, the lights are on. Last month the power got cut off after a storm damaged some power lines and no one has been able to fix them. The warm amber glow feels so unnatural from this run down house. I hear heavy footsteps coming up to the door, much different from Courtney and Adrian’s light, quick treads. Suddenly the door is yanked open causing me to step back a little. That’s when I’m looking into the ink black eyes of  Shinra Akagi, Courtney and Adrian’s father. I stood there frozen like a deer at the receiving end of a rifle, mouth agape. Shinra was a surprisingly short man, barely 5 feet, but what he lacked in height he made up in raw muscle. Wait a sec, isn’t he on death row, for killing all those people when he was still part of the YakuzaBut before I could open my mouth to ask he yanked me by the back of my black hoodie and inside the house.“What brings you here,” he said, with his thick japanese accent. He had lifted me up above the the filthy carpet. My hoodie was almost strangling me, the fabric held onto my skin like a vice.  Through the shock I could see the elaborate traditional japanese tattoos that snaked down his triceps.“I SAID WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE,” he said, punctuating each word like a knife to the gut.“I...I’m here for Courtney and Adrian,” I stammered out.“What’s your name,” he said loosening his grip.“Shelley...Shelley Griffith,” I said, my hoodie digging into my neck.“Shelley...you keep my children company in school,” Shinra said.“Ye...yes we are all close friends.”Shinra lifted his eyebrows as if he didn’t quite believe me, like each word I spoke contained a hint of deceit. He nonchalantly dropped me, I took a hard hit to the floor, and the wind exited my lungs. I was on my knees gasping for breath as Mr. Akagi towered over me ominously. I looked up to see his black eyes staring right down at me, in disappointment or disdain. His eyes were black holes sucking all the light in, I looked away and stood up, propping myself with my arms. “Weren’t you in prison?” I asked facing him again.“You Americans have no idea how to keep me in,” he said.“So you broke out,” I ventured.“Yes, in your words I...broke out,” Shinra said as if he was trying on a distasteful piece of clothing.“Why?” I asked. Stupid-ass question Shelley, WHY THE FUCK WOULDN’T HE WANT TO BREAK OUT.“I heard this rumor...from the guards about an event called the Killjoy. It’s this competition…”“Wait I just read about it today,” I blurted out not realizing Shinra was still speaking.“It is courteous not to interrupt,” Shinra said dangerously, looking at me as if he were figuring out what incision would cause me the most pain.“Sorry,” I said.“Anyway, there is no way I can sign up for the Killjoy for I have no internet access in prison, and it’s not like I can gather enough people to form a team,” he said leading me to the back of the house. I followed him, my stomach turned at the stench, but I forced my dinner to remain down. I maneuvered my way around small piles of trash, rotting newspapers, and cracked bottles of cheap whiskey. I felt a drop on my shoulder, I glanced up to see the ceiling leaking some sort of smelly brown juice that left an opaque splatter on my hoodie. I shuddered to think about what it contained, so I steered my eyes forward to the darkening halls as I tried to keep up with Shinra.Where are Courtney and Adrian anyway, they should be around somewhere. Did Shinra do anything to them. The darkness closed in on me, smothering me like a pillow soaked with chlorophyll. All light from the living room had vanished as I headed straight into the dark void. Warning bells went off in my head, how could I trust a prison escapee who is leading me into a dark corner of the house.I gotta get out of here, find the twins and get the cops to rearrest this man. Hell, he is trying to sign up for the Killjoy. Before I could turn around I felt a sharp sting in the tender flesh behind my knee. My leg gave way in front of me and I hit hard concrete. The ir escaped my lungs, I attempted to brush off and crawl, but somehow Akagi knew and I could feel another slash on my other leg. The pain was intense and seemed to spread out through my entire body.How could I be so stupid, how could I be so god-damned stupid, for crying out loud he’s an ex-member of the Yakuza.He was coming down on me, like a hunter with his prey. I could feel more cuts etched deep into my skin. I could feel my blood pooling around me.“If you go, you’ll tell the cops. I can’t go back there, the Killjoy, my offspring” Shinra said. Even though I couldn’t see it, I knew he was  preparing his blade for that final lethal lash.No I won’t...no matter anyway, just let him kill me here and now. It’s not like I’ve got something to live for. No more bullies, no more poverty, my father’s mistake will finally be erased. Let him kill me, let him end this horrible life for once and for all.

“Father, is someone visiting us.”Fuck you Courtney, you too Adrian. Why won’t you guys just let me go already, I’m a burden to you, you don’t get it. I don’t want to be “saved” I just want to die.I could hear his light quick footsteps down the dark corridor, approaching us. Shinra backed off, postponing my death. I heard the click of a flashlight, and a brilliant beam illuminated the hallway. Shinra stood over me, bloody knife in hand, as I lay there limp and helpless my blood forming huge red puddles on the floor. A look of disgust and horror overcame Courtney’s brilliant blue eyes, which glittered and reflected just like water in the gleam of the flashlight.“Father you said you wouldn’t harm any of my friends,” Courtney said.“You cannot trust everyone whom you know son, this young girl would have thrown me in that violation against human rights if she had the chance,” Shinra said in a matter-of-fact voice, turning to his child. Courtney’s ocean colored eyes became solid ice, he was just about to throw a rebuttal when Shinra spoke yet again.“Reese, my once good friend, when I told him about what I had done in the Yakuza he immediately alerted the police. I came here to forget and move on. I had trusted him. The people here are scared and fickle, like one large pack of wolves which never lets anyone in,” Shinra said.“That’s because you alert authorities when you find out someone is a mass murderer,” Courtney said quietly. Shinra bared his teeth.“I get it,” I said. The two turned their heads towards me.“You must’ve felt so betrayed when he broke your promise. When you go to jail you lose everything. My only parent is in prison right now. I probably would’ve turned you in when I think about it. But I know what it’s like to be betrayed, when someone who you would do anything for leaves you for the wolves after everything. I feel you, just don’t hurt anymore people and I won’t have a reason to,” I said. Shinra’s expression softened, and he placed the knife in his pocket.“I’m signing up for the killjoy, so I’ll have to kill my opponents. I’m doing it for it’s nearly impossible to be charged by the law. If I win, I’ll have enough money to pay my way out. I’m also entering my children, I think I’ve prepared them well enough” he said, kneeling down beside me.“So leave us, you do not want to mingle with our affairs,” Shinra commanded.

“Father, she’s bleeding out, should we at least patch her up before she leaves? It’s only common courtesy” Courtney ventured.“If you must,” Shinra said.

The sunset had long since given way to the nighttime. Streetlights cast dim glows underneath them. There was a lighter blue gradient at the horizon, showing that there were still remnants of daylight. The streets and neighborhood were completely quiet but they wouldn’t be for long. Soon gangsters and other felons would creep out of their homes. Drug dealings, drivebys, newcomers to our neighborhood are shocked but we aren’t. We’re so hardened by past experiences the bullets would ricochet right off of us, crime has become like background noise, we don’t pay attention to it but we know it’s still there. Unlike the darkened outside Courtney’s room is completely illuminated. Despite the rest of the house being a filthy fucking mess, his room is pristine and organized, same with Adrian’s. He is quiet when he cleans out the cut on my arm, sharp and completely focused. He is efficient, yet surprisingly gentle, but the rubbing alcohol still makes me wince.“So this is the last time I might see you,” I said, breaking the silence. “If I die in the Killjoy, which is totally possible,” he answered in an expressionless voice.“Where is Adrian anyway, I want to say goodbye before your Dad signs you guys up,” I said.“I think I can tell you now,” Courtney said taking a glance behind him.“What’s the big secret?” I asked.“She’s got a girlfriend. She’s out on a date,” he said.“Where to,” I asked“The woods,” Courtney answered.“The ideal place to bang when you want to keep a secret,” I said. “Yyyyyup. Dad has a pretty traditionalist mindset. So if he found out what Adrian and her GF were smashing in the sticks he’d go lose it,” he said.“Seems accurate,” I answered staring outside the window while Courtney moved on to my other arm. It was completely dark now for some reason the streetlights had been shut off. The night had enveloped the entire neighborhood under an almost light proof cover. I could hear the drops of rain hit the roof of the decrepit mansion, lulling me, making me forget that my only friends may be dead before next year, that my father could be getting beaten over his head in the prison lavatory, if the other inmates found out why he was sentenced. The rain washed the pain away sucking out the ache. I was about to close my eyes when I saw it. A brilliant bike light illuminating the street outside. I recognized Adrian’s black hoodie as she pulled in, shoving her bike by the hedges. “Adrian’s back,” I said sleepily.“She’s early, it’s only 8,” Courtney said, finishing wrapping a bandage on my arm.“Must’ve been dumped,” I said. Not trusting the words that exited my mouth. Courtney seemed to pick up on that,“If that happened she’d ransack the corner store of it’s mint chip ice cream and sulk at the kiddie playground down the road. I just can’t see her back so early, she claimed she’d be back past 1 am,” Courtney said with a worried look on his face.I heard the front door slam.“DAAAAAAAAD THE COPS…” Adrian yelled“What about those bastards!” Shinra said his brisk footsteps growing louder. “I think they found us...there are like 5 squad cars on 3rd street. I tried to keep a low profile but I think one followed me,” Adrian got out breathlessly.Shinra swore in Japanese and yelled something to Courtney in the same language.Courtney held up a finger and then speed downstairs. My heart caught in my chest, what would happen to Courtney and Adrian, maybe if their Dad got rearrested then they wouldn’t have to enter...So many thoughts span in my head I didn’t know how to react. I sat up on Courtney’s bed, I should get my fatass out of here before anything happens, I don’t want to get in the way. There was a loud rapping on the oak front door. It was as if a bomb dropped no sound now but there sure as hell would be in a little bit. I could hear Courtney and Adrian answer. I then noticed something glint out of the corner of my eye, the silvery glint of a blade. I jumped right up, limping on the creaking would. Now I could finish what Mr. Akagi had started. I grabbed the slender hilt of the blade. It’s shine was chilling, so perfectly shaped. I unbandaged my arm letting it glide across, opening old and new cuts in the process. The sting was unlike any other, but I felt like I was being set free through the blood that exited on the floor. The blade being dragged under my skin hungrily, engraving into my tissue. Leaving its mark like a teenager engraving his name on a dead tree.I will finally be able to go, my father will no longer be able to see the horrible mistake that was written on his life. I will no longer burden my friends, no more bullies can make my life miserable. I’m sorry Adrian...Courtney not even you could lift me out of the dark pit I’m buried in.They couldn’t stop me now life could no longer keep me chained to this Earth. “We both know yer daddy is somewhere in this estate, either show us or we’ll charge you two youngsters with harboring a criminal,” said a familiar voice.“I’m sorry sir we really don’t know where Mr. Akagi could be hiding, I don’t think he came to his estate,” Adrian said.Something strange hit me, some sort of fear. I placed the blade back on the shelf and slowly crept out of Courtney’s bedroom. When I stepped out into the darkened hallway I heard a guttural growl from across from me.I turned my head to see a tall, skinny woman in a stained pink silk bathrobe creep out of the shadows. I took a step back into the wall, it was the mother. Her blonde hair was tousled and wet, her eyes were bloodshot and barely carrying huge bags underneath them. It was clear she was a beautiful woman once but life had sucked everything out of her, leaving a shell that sustained on opiates and other drugs. “Heard you kids talk’in,” she slurred through her russian accent. She paused for a second.“ The fuck is all the fuss down stairs she growled.”I wanted to be angry at her, for her neglect, for how she abandoned her children leaving them in the cold of an almost empty house, so she could drown in whatever chemical cocktails she pleased. But I just felt sad, to see someone so battered they shut off the rest of the world, trapped in a vicious cycle of addiction. in a way she was like me, but she used drugs to deal with her pain, while I cut myself.  I walked away from her as quickly and quietly as my injured legs would let me.“You two are real sweet kids, don’t want to see you in juvie,” the cop drawled.“So tell me where Shinra Akagi is hiding already,” he screamed in frustration.Silence, “Uh…” Courtney said only to be cut off.“I’m here,” it was Shinra.“That my husband...” Svetlana drifted off, her dull blue eyes glazing over.CRACK!The bone-chilling sound seemed to echo throughout the halls, the unmistakable breaking of a bone. I bit the inside of my lip awaiting the bone chilling cries that would follow, but there were none. I made my way away from Svetlana and down the stairs, my leg crying in pain. Shinra Akagi despite his miniscule height towered over the lifeless body of the police officer. A slight trickle of blood made its way down his lower lip and onto the torn carpet, his eyes had rolled to the back of his skull.Shinra had just killed someone, and his face was as nonchalant as if he was buying groceries.The door broke down with one loud crash and a dozen or so officers wielding guns and batons came storming inside. Oh god we’re fucked. My mind had devolved into a state of panic, I wanted to run but that would destroy my legs. The cops were cold and silent as they enthralled us, guns pointed. I was trapped, no use running now. I stole a quick glance at the twins, they remained calm but their eyes told a different story. “PUT YOUR HANDS UP,” said the policeman closest to Shinra. We all followed his command except Shinra. The police man stepped up to Mr. Akagi.“I SAID PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS UP!” he screamed in his face. Shinra did so accordingly eyeing the cop.“This is your last chance Akagi, go easy and we’ll have no issues whatsoever. Got it.Akagi remained silent. Suddenly, as quick as lightning Shinra roundhoused the cop knocking the gun clean out of his hands. Another cop aimed his shotgun at Shinra’s head.“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Akagi said matter-of-factly. As if on que Adrian knocked him down from behind in a smooth clean fashion, and kicked him in the ribs, forcing the gun out of his hands. Shinra put a bullet in the defeated policeman’s skull, and Adrian did the same.The cops were stunned before anyone could shoot Shinra spoke“Who wants to go next,” he asked. One cop pulled out his gun hands shaking, seemingly out of nowhere Courtney apprehended him from behind flipping him on the ground, just as pristinely as his sister. One officer fired, but Courtney used the fallen cop as a shield. He then fired at Shinra, who barely dodged his bullet. That’s when I noticed his name tagDavis LittleThat bastard. The policemen then advanced firing away, there bullet shots echoing throughout the house, Courtney flipped the glass table in the living room, taking out two officers. Glass stuck out of their faces in small shards punctuating their skin, blood ran down staining them red. Shinra threw one of the dead officers causing one of the policemen to fall back, he then got out a knife from the back of his pocket and ran it down the nearest cop’s throat, causing his guts to spray out like strawberry puree, he then kicked him aside. One of the officers, glass still in his face aimed his gun at Courtney, but Adrian took him down quickly. She dug her leather boot into his face cracking the bones of his nose and pushing the glass deeper into his face, causing more blood to spray out as they ground up against his skull, obscuring his face. I limped over into the kitchen, heart pounding at all the chaos. I slumped at the table trying to recollect what had just happened. The shouts, the cracking of bones, and the blasts of gunshots worked their way into my mind. Did my two best friends just kill a couple policemen, I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but it still shocked me. I massaged my temples trying to contemplate how I got into this whole situation, alone in the kitchen surrounded by half-eaten food while my friends and their ex-Yakuza father fight a dozen or so heavily armed police-officers. “You again,” said a familiar voice. I then found myself looking into the cold gray eyes of Officer Davis

“Well, looks like you may be joining yer Daddy in the bighouse,” he drawled.

“I did not assist in any of this, also, I’d be in Juvie, no where near my Dad is being held,” I snapped back my heart in my neck.

“Well ain’t you a lippy one. Say what you want but guilty in my book,” he said inching closer, cornering me. What could I do but stand there against the high kitchen table. I couldn’t call for help because that might distract and maybe even kill my two best friends, my leg is injured so I can’t run, could I ever fight back. No matter how strong you are life always finds ways to beat you back down, fighting is useless because you are the only one that gets hurt. Let him take me, I thought as Officer Little took out his pair of handcuffs. Except something deep inside didn’t want me to, a deep burning passion, a want for revenge, a desire for justice. 

“Your Dad is a sex offender and you helped out a japanese gangster, looks like there isn’t much hope for you. So be a good girl and come easy,” Davis sneered about to cuff my hands.

“Fuck no,” I hissed batting his cuffs away.

“I said BE A GOOD GIRL,” he said tackling me slamming me against the floor. His meaty fingers dug across my body ravenously searching for my wrists so he could cuff them. I struggled under his weight, trying to get that sonofabitch the hell off of me. His breath smelled of beer and stale cigarettes forming a sharp mush the made my nose recoil.

“GIVE ME YOUR HANDS,” Officer Little said while fervorously twisting my arms. He was heavy pinning me to the ground like he was a slab of concrete on top of me . I tried to shift, but his knees remained planted to the ground. Then I remembered an exercise Courtney and Adrian would practice, where when the punched they put all their body weight into their fist making their blows much stronger. I had a lot to work with in the case of body weight, Davis’s hands found there way to my left wrist, twisting my arm behind my back. I then rolled putting all my body weight into it and managed to get under the table, except Little then grabbed my leg, his hand a vice around my ankle. I tried kicking but his grip was too tight. Out of desperation I slammed his fingers into the steel table leg causing him to let go. I scrambled up to see he had propped himself with the table. I went up behind him, grabbing a handful of his salt and pepper mullet and slammed his face into the table. He struggled hard, wrapping his arms tightly around me lower half. I then noticed the harsh edge of the table, I grabbed his head again  dragging it until it met the corner. I shifted my hand, grinding his head until the tables solid edge made contact with his eye socket. That’s when I shoved, driving the hard metal into his eye, crushing it in a bloody gelatinous mess which leaked onto the table. I shifted his head around dragging the corner around the bony edge of his eye socket pulverizing anything into a squishy gross mess. All while Officer Davis howled in agony. I shoved harder blood spraying from the dark, mesy, hole where his eye once was. BANGAn almost unbearable sting practically crippled my leg and my knees fell to the floor as I barely held myself up to the table. The hot agonizing sting brought tears to my eyes. He then straddled me gaining the upper hand again. I reached for something...anything when my hands found the handle of an iron skillet. I bashed him in the head with the skillet causing him to lighten his grasp. I bludgeoned him again, this time drawing an oozing patch of blood from his scalp. I did it again, harder until he let go. Officer Little grabbed for his gun, but another blow to his cranium stopped him. I hit again this time feeling the crack in his skull. Again, this time making sure to go extra deep into the soft mushy part where his brain was. I continued until bloody brain matter coated the pan red and sticky, until his blood pooled on the wooden floor, until he could no longer struggle against me, until he had finally lost the battle of life. I dropped the pan shocked at what I had just done. I had just taken somebody’s life, the Life of Police Officer Davis Little. I looked down to see thick gooey blood, which had already started to turn dark and congealed in my palms, like jelly. The house had become quiet as a corpse.

And probably filled with corpses too.

I heard footsteps toward the kitchen, I turned around to see Cortney, Adrian, and Shinra enter the kitchen.

“Oh my God...Shell’s,” Adrian gasped gaping at the horrible scene at the end of the table.“I can explain I cried out, grabbing on to the table only to collapse because of the gun wound in my leg.

“There isn’t much to explain,” Shinra said examining the scene of the murder, looking closely at Officer Little’s bashed in skull, and bloody brain matter leaking through his nose. He then became still and looked into my eyes. His ink black irises, blacker than the depths of space searched through my dark brown ones in the midst of the ghastly quiet. He then spoke“I’d like you to join my team in the Killjoy.”