CHAPTER 3 Part 1: Their Return

Agony, depression, and suffering had Danny locked into its chains, held down tight on the hospital bed. He’d been through a lot by crying every night and having nightmares of that dreadful night. Worst of all, he had his own voice torment him, reminding him of the failure he was for allowing his backdoor to be open. That very realization brought out the worst type of guilt anyone could’ve thought. But at least his friends were there to comfort him at his worst.

Sitting up straight on the bed covered in stitches, bandages, and still healing from his wounds, Danny sighed. “Fuck my life… fuck it all.”

Even with his current mindset, Danny managed to apologise to Anna about everything. She accepted his apology with a taste of his own medicine. He allowed her to give him a real good punch to his arm and in doing so, it was enough to make everyone smile from his reaction. Sarah’s jokes were enough to keep him laughing too, even if she still disliked him. Though Sarah wasn’t a heartless person, she couldn’t really treat him the same in his current situation.

“That was yesterday, today’s now. I still feel like shit,” he said, letting out another sigh. “At least having Veronica by my side really cheers me up.”

Speaking of Veronica, she knocked on the door and welcomed herself in with a smile on her face. “Hey Danny! How are you feeling today?” She closed the door and walked up to Danny.

Stopping next to his bedside, she pulled a nearby chair closer to him and sat down. Danny still had his head hung in shame. It was obvious he still blamed himself for not locking his backdoor. Veronica didn’t enjoy his current mood and felt bad, so to cheer him up she grabbed his hand and massaged it. It actually worked in her favor because Danny raised his head and grinned.

“Hey Veronica?” he asked.

“What is it, Danny? Need something?” she replied with a brighter smile.

He was about to say something, but he hesitated, then moaned. “Nah…”

“What? Tell me.”

His grin widened. “I-I just wanted to thank you guys. For everything.”

“Of course! We’re friends, after all.”

Friends… That word triggered Danny for a moment, which made him clench the bed sheet beneath his palm.

Veronica noticed his growing agitation and felt confused about it. Before saying another word, Danny placed his other hand above hers. “Yes, you’re right. We’re friends. But… I’ve been meaning to tell you something, Veronica. For a while actually.”

Veronica felt confused, more awkward at that. She glanced around and a single drop of sweat trickled down her face. “Uh… wha-what do you mean? What are you trying to say?”

He leaned close towards her. “Since we’re alone this is the perfect opportunity.” He started blushing and smiled.

She felt a little uncomfortable and nervous, so she decided to slightly lean away from him. “O-Okay…?”

He took a good deep breath and his eyes narrowed. “I’ve always liked you Veronica. And more than a friend.” He became as red as a tomato. “I’ve always felt this way… ever since we were kids.”

She retracted her hand and looked down. “Is that so?” she asked with a forced grin. Looking away, she stared at the window. “That’s really sweet.”

Danny’s eyes were wide, sparkling, and quaked out of nervousness. “D-Do you feel the same?”

She continued staring at the window, gazing at the sky as birds flew by, leaving Danny in silence. His breathing felt heavy, and the weight of a rejection placed pressure on his chest. His heart beat rapidly, eager to hear her answer. She finally turned to look back at him and the face she had made his heart sink into depression.

Veronica was frowning with disappointment. “I’m sorry… I can’t give you an actual answer because I have feelings for someone else, or should I say…” She clenched her skirt. “Why do I still feel this way?”

Danny got upset and he too expressed disappointment. “Tch… Let me guess? You still have feelings for Jack, even though he’s been dead for like, what, five years?” he said in such an aggravated tone that it made Veronica frown even more.

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Yes… Look, I’m sorry. I know that sounds stupid, but I’m sure one day I’ll lose these feelings…” She looked out the hospital window again, staring off to the city skylines. “Yeah, someday.”

Was Danny hearing that right? Or was he being played and being treated like a fool? How could someone possibly still have romantic feelings for someone who’d been dead for that long. To Danny, the thought alone was utterly ridiculous.

Feeling played and rejected, he forced a convincing empty smile enough to fool Veronica to temporarily object to his growing annoyance. “Well, I guess when that day comes,” He gave her a thumbs up and winked, “please give me a meaningful answer!”

She grinned and clenched her skirt even more, hiding her frustration. “I promise…” She hesitated for a moment, but sighed instead, expressing a genuine smile afterwards. “I’ll give you a proper answer.”

They both laughed, though Danny’s was artificial. They both started playing charades, but shortly after Danny remembered something. “Hey Veronica, about the guy who killed my sister yesterday.”

“Yeah? What about him? Did you figure something out?”

He nodded. “That guy had a friendship bracelet. He was definitely the guy we met yesterday at the bus station.”

She gasped and looked serious. “Are you sure it was him? I mean, when I looked into his eyes he didn’t seem like that type of person?”

Danny’s inner conflicts came out in a loud, aggravated sigh. “Oh come on, Veronica! You can’t base judgement just by looking into…?” He paused and started thinking. “No wait, you’re right and wrong. When I looked into his eyes, he had the eyes of someone who had no emotions.”

Veronica took out her phone. “We gotta tell the police. It’ll give them more details on the investigation.”

Danny agreed, and they both notified the investigator. They informed him of every detail they knew about the suspect, how he looked, height, and of any marks or tattoos. The investigator knew who it was right away just from hearing the description they gave of his height and eyes. They were both relieved and shocked that this person was already infamous, especially at an early age too.

That bummed Veronica out, knowing someone close to her age was already living a life of crime. She thought the stranger was quite attractive and seemed friendly, but nonetheless, no one should judge a book by its cover.

Veronica informed the other two girls by text about the situation. It was a relief for everyone, especially knowing that the criminal had a reputation. They intended to keep investigating themselves too, but as for now it was best to just focus on recovery for Danny.

Both Danny and Veronica enjoyed the rest of the day playing games, eating, and laughing about the past. As it was getting late now and Veronica had to go, Anna had texted Veronica that she would come later to accompany her home and when arriving, she’d wait outside to take the bus home instead of walking. She pointed out that it got dangerous around that time, so it would be safer to go with a friend than being alone.

“Bye Danny. See ya later,” Veronica said, waving.

Danny waved back. “Yeah, see ya.” Watching Veronica leave and close the door behind her made him feel like she’d closed the door to his heart.

Danny sighed and stared out the window, gazing at the sky as gloom overshadowed the joy he’d shared with Veronica. He clenched his blanket, ground his teeth, and a single tear of rejection slipped through his eye and ran down his face. Danny whimpered. The feeling of being rejected by the person he’d loved for so long felt more painful than the life he’d just lost. Not only had he lost his last family member, but the person who he loved had crushed his heart, all because she still had feelings for a person who was no longer in this world.

***

Veronica arrived at the entrance of the hospital door and saw Anna standing at the edge of the public sidewalk at the hospital’s main entrance. Veronica ran to her shouting her name. Anna heard her and looked to see Veronica approaching. Both girls smiled once they were together and held hands for their safety. They weren’t close to home nor were they far from it, but they were close to the dangerous parts of Detroit, the place riddled with crime. They knew that if they held hands they wouldn’t lose each other or worse, get abducted.

After walking for some time they arrived at a bus stop. Veronica pulled out her phone to see if it was the right one that would lead them to their area, but as the bus pulled up Anna dragged her, not realizing that Veronica was checking the bus route.

Both girls walked towards the back of the bus, passing scary looking strangers who were eyeing them real hard. “Pay more attention, Veronica. I almost left your ass behind,” Anna said softly as she guided her almost to the back, but close to the nearest door. They both sat down and sighed.

“Sorry, I was just checking the bus route,” Veronica whispered, though both girls stared forward. A couple of men glared at them with perverted eyes.

Anna noticed and quickly looked sideways and stared out the window. “Man… I feel so unsafe, but what about the bus? What now?”

Veronica looked at her phone and turned pale. “Oh no!”

Anna closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Let me guess… we’re on the wrong bus, aren’t we?”

Veronica nodded, her half smile twitching. “You should’ve listened to me, you impatient buffoon.”

Anna glanced at her, then groaned. “Damn it. I’m sorry, okay? I overreacted.”

Though it was frustrating how they were on the wrong bus, both girls checked to see where the next bus might lead them. It got even worse from the routes they saw on Veronica’s phone. From one of the routes it was heading to, the bus was heading deep into the outer city limits near one of the worst areas of Detroit. Another led to the inner city but it’s not a good decision to stop there from how much of a hotspot it was for drive-by shootings. In Veronica’s mind it’s best to just take the next stop before the bus would go deeper into the outer city limits where they might face more potential dangers.

Veronica pointed her finger to the stop they’ll hop off to Anna. “Is this fine with you or would you rather face danger Missy because if we skip this stop you can kiss our innocent white butts goodbye.”

Anna frowned. “I guess so, we don’t have much of a choice anyways.”

They both sighed and took the time to relax. The less they thought about the situation, the more they stayed calm and didn’t overreact, though it was difficult doing such a thing when there were a bunch of strangers still staring at them, licking their lips while giving them a couple of winks here and there.

As the bus drove through the broken streets of Detroit, Anna tapped Veronica’s shoulder. “Say Veronica?”

Veronica tilted her head. “Yeah Anna?”

“Do you ever get the feeling you’re being watched?”

“Hmm?” Veronica looked around the bus, freaking out from the perversive eyes still gazing at them. “Oh, I don’t know, Anna. You tell me.”

Anna shook her head. “No silly, not these perverts. I mean, like a scary, ghostly feeling of being watched.”

“Well, now that you mention it I have had a couple of occasions.”

Anna sighed with relief. “Good. I thought I was the only one who felt that feeling. What a relief!”

Veronica smiled. “I wonder if Jack’s watching over us in heaven.” She yawned and leaned against Anna’s shoulder.

Anna smiled as well. “Perhaps it’s not a far stretch, but I don’t believe in that religious crap about heaven and such. You already know my reasoning.”

“Sorry, I forgot you’re not religious anymore. Not that I blame you, but I still believe in it.”

They both laughed. Anna pulled out her earbuds from her pocket to listen to some tunes. “You want to listen as well?” she asked, looking at Veronica.

Veronica accepted her offer. The two shared an ear piece each and listened to their favorite band. After a couple of minutes that felt like forever, they decided to get off the bus and start heading to a bus stop that would hopefully take them home.

As the two girls walked, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy and scared, especially on an awful sidewalk like this. It was riddled with the pinnacle of crime at every corner such as prostituition, drug addicts, and beatings. Not only that, they also saw a potential murder where a stranger in a hoodie causally walked by a man and pulled a knife out to rob him but the person they were robbing was armed, pulling out a gun and scared him off as he pointed it at him. Both girls felt completely out of place due to what they were wearing.

It was even more noticeable when they were being called out by creeps. Just now a random guy tried grabbing Veronica from around a corner. Luckily, Anna knew how to defend herself. It helped that Veronica did martial arts as a hobby. Giving the guy a good punch to the gut then kicking him in the groin, both girls ran as fast they could in case he had anyone else with him. Finally being away from that danger, both girls walked away, clutching each other’s arms.

However, Veronica felt terrified. “Anna, I wanna go home!” Her grip on Anna’s arm tightened and her hand shook violently.

Anna stayed close. “Don’t worry, Veronica. We’re almost there, I think?”

“You think? Oh boy, we’re screwed.”

“Oh shut up, you big baby. What’s our status? Are we close to the bus stop needed to head back home?”

Veronica checked her phone again. “I-I think so. Wait, yeah! I definitely think so!”

They continued walking, but the closer they got to their supposed destination, the more dangerous the area got. They held each other’s arms so tight that they both felt like they could snap each other’s arms in half.

As the two continued their cautious walking, they were heading into a long dark alley. Once they set foot in front of the alley, they spotted multiple people in the long tube of flickered darkness. It all looked organized and suspicious. There were men in groups, vehicles lined up, and trunks full of suspicious items.

“Uhh Anna…” Veronica said nervously.

“Y-Yeah, Veronica!” Anna replied, gulping afterwards.

“I-I think they’re doing bad stuff here… like really bad stuff,” Veronica said while slowly pulling her phone out. “I-I think we should notify the po-police!”

Anna grabbed Veronica’s hand, making them slowly retreat. “You’re right. Let’s get out of here.”

“Just let me dial 911.”

With a trembling finger, Veronica started dialing until loud screeching tires made her jump in fright. From the sounds of how those screeching tires came to a halt, it was definitely behind them. The unbearing amount of fear they were experiencing made both girls shake so violently that it almost made Veronica wet herself. They were terrified of what was parked behind them in such a hurry.

Swallowing fear and slowly turning around, they saw people exit from multiple vehicles. Both girls were stunned with shock and couldn’t move.

The group of men stopped and observed the two, then they chuckled and walked past them. They immediately turned back, noticing Veronica’s phone light up in her hand and the number she was about to call. They quickly surrounded the girls, making them hold each other for their safety.

It was terrifying for the two. Veronica clutched onto Anna’s arm to the point Anna made a yelp from how tight her grip was growing. Her eyes felt pulsed, her vision blurring, Veronica’s breathing started sounding shortened from how much fear’s swelling up.

This is it we’re dead, no wait! They’re going to rape us, that’s ev-even worse! Veronica’s eyes dimmed for a second and her knees felt weak.

Just the thought of what those strange men might do to young maidens like them made Veronica want to pass out.

One tall individual walked up behind them and placed his rough hands on their tiny shoulders. They were too scared to look back to see who was touching their innocent shoulders.

He gently gripped them, scaring them more. “What are you girls doing around in this part of town?”

A long sigh passed through his lips and recognized Veronica right away from her hair. “Oh, you must be the cute girl I met yesterday. Wait a second?” He leaned closer to her ear. “You’re not here to screw with me again like you did yesterday, are you?”

Veronica quickly shook her head. “N-N…”

“Oh, okay then. By the looks of it you guys seem lost. Need directions?”

He was about to extend a finger to point where they needed to return, when Veronica’s phone brightened and he spotted the digits she came close to dialing. He reached and grabbed her hand, which made her yelp in embarrassment.

He grabbed her phone and turned it off. “There we go, we don’t need to get those guys involved, do we?” He slid her phone back into her hand. “My fault for being too touchy. I just had a proper reason.”

Anna quickly looked over her shoulder and glanced at his wrist, noticing the friendship bracelet right away. “N-Nice bracelet yo-you got there.”

That didn’t work in her favor, though. Instead, he patted her shoulder and made her gasp. “Thanks for noticing. I like your hair, Ms. Blondie. You remind me of someone I once knew.” He stopped talking and examined her backside, which reminded him of his past. “Huh, I’m sure I’ve seen ya, but where? Oh well, the past is the past. Now is forward.”

He glanced at Veronica’s hair. She also reminds me of someone, but who?

He sighed, turning their shakened bodies towards the direction they needed to walk down, and pointed. “If you keep going that way I’m sure you’ll get to the bus stop you’re looking for.” He let go of the two girls and the group of men laughed again, but the girls were still shakened. “Sorry for scaring you girls like that, but you two don’t belong here, so beat it.”

Anna couldn’t bear her emotions, so she turned around to confront the man who killed Danny’s sister. “Why?” she shouted. “Why did you help us when you’re something worse than what you are?”

Veronica grabbed her arm. “Stop Anna! Let’s go already before he actually kills us!”

He raised his hand without glancing back at them and flailed it around. “I’m trying to help you get out of here, or perhaps I’m just misleading you.” The group of men laughed and they all disappeared into the darkened alley.

Anna felt a little irritated. The mystery behind him made her curious. But for now, she had to let it go for their own safety.

The girls started walking to the direction he’d pointed at, and soon afterwards their adrenaline exploded. They disappeared quickly from the scene, yet Anna couldn’t help but feel something familiar about that guy. She just couldn’t put her tongue on it.

The group of men didn’t even bother to look back as they continued walking down the alleyway. Instead, they made fun of the situation. “Yooo!” one guy shouted.

“You scared the fuck outta them, Jack!” said another.

Randolph sighed and softly punched Jack’s arm. “To be honest my boy, I think you could have handled that better. You’re still taking advice about girls from these fools I see!” He turned around to the group, pointing angrily at them. “You guys intimidated the poor girls!”

“Man, why you blaming us? We were just fucking around?” the one with dreads said.

“Yeah Randy, chill man,” the one with a black hoodie said.

Randolph scolded the group and pointed at Jack. “Uh, don’t think you can just mess around with anybody, especially you big dog! I know you scared them on purpose, not to mention that cheesy compliment Eric taught you.”

Jack looked to Randolph. “Yeah… you’re right. But if I didn’t do that then she would’ve called the police on us.”

One of the men pointed ahead. “Jack, boss man is here.”

Eric stood before them, a very tall black man built like a boulder with tattoos across his body, a white tank top, jeans with sneakers, and he had a physique like Hercules. They all walked up to him and greeted him with handshakes and shoulder taps. Jack didn’t care, he wanted to get this over with.

“Jack, remember your manners, fool,” Eric said angrily.

Jack sighed. “Why does that matter when I already know the boss and live in the same household as he does?”

Eric slightly pushed Jack and aggravated him. “Just because you live in my house doesn’t mean you can act like some punk ass bitch.”

Jack laughed and so did Eric. They both walked together and confronted the other group of men who were awaiting their arrival. They all talked to one another until Eric commanded the other members to go to separate groups.

They all split into three groups, one did the drug dealing where a car with an open trunk was just a foot away, the other bought the supply from a SUV past the drug dealer, and the last one bought the weapons where a man has a table set up just down the middle of the alley and behind him was his own van parked. Jack volunteered to go alone to buy the weapons but Eric wanted him to have someone with him. Jack refused. Eric had no other choice and ordered him to make it quick since he knew what type of person Jack was. He reminded Jack not to do anything reckless or stupid.

Jack walked off to the gun dealer and waved his hand, ignoring his advice as he approached the gun dealer’s table.

Eric sighed and confronted the turf leader. “Sorry for the wait. Let’s do this.”

They began negotiating more plans, as well as making future investments. It was great that everything was going alright so far. No fuses, no arguments. But most of all, no one had been hustled. One group had already finished their deal, but they stayed put while waiting for the others. To kill time they started chatting with the rivals about last night’s American football game.

Jack, on the other hand, took his sweet time by examining a couple of firearms. Though he wasn’t doing anything suspicious, the dealer didn’t like his aura because he felt uneasy being around him. He even went as far as forcing a smile to try and convince Jack that he was not afraid of showing any signs of nervousness. What gave the dealer such an ominous feeling towards Jack was due to his stone cold eyes, hesitation while examining a gun, and then Jack making sudden movements. It scared the poor guy.

The dealer cleared his throat and spread his arms out to all the guns displayed on the table. “Sooo? What are you boy’s looking for today? Hopefully I’ve got everything you guys need!”

Jack continued examining the same gun. “Hmm, I see… I see,” Jack said in a cold tone.

The dealer leaned over the table and hovered a hand near his mouth. “I even have the super illegal stuff too you know.”

Jack didn’t hear a thing he said since he was only focused on the firearms. He stopped examining the weapon in his hands and placed it back on the table, setting his sights on other guns. “Hmm? You’ve got a nice set of toys here so far, especially,” he picked up a shotgun, “this one. I really like this one. What is it?”

The dealer couldn’t hide his nervousness anymore and started sweating after hearing Jack’s serious tone. “Uhh, it’s a Benelli M3! She’s a beauty and also super expensive too!” He pointed at the firearm. “She even has a pistol grip too. You don’t see that often on shotguns!”

“Hmm…” Jack suddenly aimed it at nothing and pulled the trigger, startling the man. “Is that so? Interesting. If I heard you correctly,” he lowered the gun and looked back at the dealer with an icy stare, “you said it was expensive, right?”

The dealer backed away. “Yes! But at half the price.”

A sadistic grin grew on Jack’s face as he lowered the gun to his waist. “Fine, we’ll take ten rifles, fifteen hand guns, and five fully automatic weapons.” Jack went back to examine the shotgun with suspicion.

“That’s all? Okay umm, let me pack those up for you real quick!” He began packing up the weapons into black duffel bags and cases. “We’ve finished early it seems, so I guess that’s good.”

As the guy kept talking to himself, Jack held the shotgun in one hand and used the other to reach into the back pocket of his pants. The man noticed Jack fiddling around.

“Hey, um, you’re making me kinda nervous there buddy,” he said in a shaky tone.

“It’s fine. I’m just scratching my butt, that’s all.” Jack’s grin faded and he proceeded to reach deeper.

The dealer hurried back into packing the guns before Jack grew even more suspicious. In doing so, Jack got his cue. He slowly pulled out a shotgun shell and pumped the gun. The guy presumed Jack was still testing the gun, so he was oblivious but he still hurried his process. Jack made sure the guy wouldn’t look, so he waited for another cue.

The man was so nervous that he accidentally dropped a gun and had to bend down to pick it up. Jack took the opportunity to load the shell into the open chamber and coughed loudly so he could retract the pump to make his intentions go unnoticed.

Even though Jack coughed to cover his suspicion, the dealer still heard something slide into the chamber of a gun. “What was that?” he asked, fear embedded in his voice.

The man still had his back turned and didn’t see Jack’s sinister smile. “Nothing, I just wanted to say thanks for the free stuff, pal.” Jack pointed the loaded shotgun in the guy’s direction.

Jack pulled the trigger and the man fell face first from the intense blast. Everyone around them pulled out their weapons and arguing ensued, with the end of Jack’s gun smoking.

He couldn’t help but smile. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

The rival gang presumed it was a timed ambush and started attacking Eric’s men. Eric’s gang fought back by disarming the men while punches and bodies were thrown. Some blood spilled but no one was killed.

Eric quickly knocked the leader out and his gang managed to knock the others out. Even though his intentions were not to kill them, he’d wanted to build a relationship. Sadly, his efforts went to waste.

Jack placed the shotgun on his shoulder and walked towards the guy’s dead body to collect the keys to his vehicle. Jack presumed everything was fine for him, but he didn’t notice Eric was walking angrily towards him.

Eric stopped behind the table and shouted, “Yo Jack! Was that you?”

Jack grabbed the keys and turned around. The smile on his face had disappeared. “I don’t know?” He swung the shotgun back into his hands and pumped it, then ejected the shell. “Perhaps it was, boss.” Jack started laughing without expressing happiness, which aggravated Eric.

Eric furiously clenched his fists and rushed towards Jack as he laughed, then punched him in the face. Jack flew backwards and landed on the cold wet ground, completely knocked out.

Eric took deep breaths to ease his anger and once he did, he ordered Randolph to carry Jack back into the SUV. Randolph listened and picked Jack up, then took him towards the SUV. Eric ordered the rest of the gang to pack everything they’d bought and to make sure to get rid of the body Jack had made. They followed their leader’s order and started grabbing all the weapons in the duffel bags.

Eric face palmed over the entire situation, regretting that he’d brought Jack along. Now he wondered that if he hadn’t brought him, then perhaps everything would’ve gone smoothly.

Randolph threw Jack into the SUV and got into the driver’s seat. “Oh Jack!” he shouted in a humorous tone. “You just had to piss off the boss man, didn’t you?” Randolph started the vehicle and not long afterwards, Eric hopped in the passenger seat.

Eric leaned back and sighed, looking very annoyed. He slammed his hand on his thighs. “Man! What’s wrong with that fool?”

Randolph started driving and the rest of the crew followed. “I don’t know man? He ain’t right. Ever since he turned thirteen, he began acting all messed up! Ya feel me?”

Eric crossed his arms. “I guess you’re right. I just wished he was more like his sister.” He pulled his phone out and texted Angela. “Say Randolph! You got her food, right?”

Randolph pulled out a bag of fast food and shook it with a sarcastic smirk. Eric pushed him in a friendly manner and they headed off into the night.