Darkest Hour of Night
Michelle turned the corner, bumping into a strange looking man and blanching as he pulled back his coat. He blinked eight times in a patter and she reached to fix her bra strap, a silent conversation of signals going on amidst a rather large crowd. She made her hand look like a gun and the man smiled, offering his hand to her.
“Hello darling, let’s go home.” He said, noticing her reluctance to take his hand and snatching her with a soft hiss of warning. He pulled her along behind him, until they walk the four blocks to the ‘bad side’ of town. The man pulled her around by the elbow and sucker punched her in the jaw, sending her sprawling against a cement wall.
“Bitch, where is it?!” he growled, crouching down and pulling her face to his, the toothy smile deadly and cold. She squirmed, pulling something out of her hoodie, but Razuko was too quick, snatching up the black packet and swiping a fist across her face, splattering her in her bloodied nose. Michelle inched away as she clutched her nose, not crying a single tear; the packet was a fake.
Then she saw him as he pulled out his gun, pushing it up against her forehead.
“If this is another of yer tricks, you whore, I’ll blow your brains half through that wall.” He growled, waving the packet in front of her, his finger easing onto the trigger. “And if it ain’t… you’re still dead.” He said, pulling the trigger. Michelle cried out as she tried to dive away, not noting the scuffle of a man bowling Razuko over, the bullet going through her hero’s shoulder.
Michelle was up and running, dodging around the deepest corners of the shadows until she was well winded, though one set of footsteps followed her, unnaturally fast. As she saw the man coming to her with the hand gun she back up to the dead end corner.
“No, please, please… I’m pregnant…” She whimpered, sobbing and searching the wall desperately. Instead of the ring of another gunshot, Michelle felt soft, familiar lips over her own.
“I… I know baby, it’s my little one. Shhh.” Joshua whispered, placing the gun in the back of his belt to wrap her up in a tight hug, wincing at the burning in his left shoulder. Joshua’s mind ran with Michelle’s, both of them relieved to know the other was alive.
“Oh Michelle, I’m so sorry…” Joshua whispered, holding her out at arms length to look at her, his shoulder having left blood smears across her neck and cheek when they hugged. He tried to wipe up the smears, only making them worse and frowning. Michelle’s face was covered in her own blood, swear and dirt, her hair matted and crusted from the sidelong fall into a puddle of street muck. She was shivering and soaked now, her hands scuffed up badly. Michelle sniffed and sobbed so hard she could barely look at him, her hiccups seizing every now and then. She shook her head as he was about to speak again, pulling him close and backing into the shadows again.
Michelle collapsed to the ground, exhausted now, her legs too weak to support her. Her lover tried to soften the fall, slipping under her to cradle her against his chest as they sat on the lone patch of weeds in the deep darkness, two lost souls alone in the silence. Finally, he reached out to run his hand along her face, tucking her hair back to give her a soft kiss.
“How is the baby?” she heard Joshua whisper, barely beyond consciousness.
“Wonderful…” she muttered, her half closed eyes closing when she tilted her head. She felt his forehead against hers just as they both fell asleep on that long and troubled night.
No comments:
Post a Comment