Page 44
Story: These Shattered Memories
I ignore him as someone else springs into action, coming over to cut the rope around Key’s wrists. His arms fall to his sides, his entire body going slack. A plastic cup halfway filled with water is thrust between us. Key hungrily reaches for it. It scrunches in his fist as he downs it in a second and hunches over to breathe heavily.
“Thank you,” he says after a long coughing fit.
“Of course,” I say. I need him to trust me, or at least trust me enough to tell me more than he’s told Xander. “I’ve done something nice for you, Key. Can you return the favour?”
His Adam’s apple bobs, his dark eyes that are almost black sheened over with tears. He has a snake tattoo that covers the side of his neck, showing his allegiance to The Snake—to my family.
It’s unfortunate he’s ended up like this.
“Okay,” he says after a second.
“Do you know what happened to the guy you sold Haze to?” I ask. “He died a few days ago alone in this warehouse. His body swelled and bloated, and his family had to buy him an expensive coffin because he was so big by the time they buried him.”
Key is already shaking his head. “I promise I didn’t know it would kill him. It wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“This is easy,” I tell him, because it is. Whilst torture is Xander’s preferred method of compulsion, it’s not mine. I much prefer to charm and flirt my way through life. “I just need a name. I just want to know who is supplying it.”
All he does is continue to shake his head, averting his eyes from mine. I sigh and stand straight. “Haze is causing quite a panic around Senna, so I really need you to be honest with me.”
He mumbles something under his breath before his eyes meet mine again. “I don’t know,” he says, this time a little louder.
“Are you lying to me?”
“They’ll kill me,” he says. “They’ll kill me if I tell you.”
“So, you’d rather die here then?”
“I didn’t know.” He shakes his head so quickly it might snap. “I just needed the money, okay? It wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“Someone is dead, Key,” I say. “And you know what happens to those who kill a fellow Snake.”
Killing a fellow associate within The Snake, no matter the circumstances, is strictly forbidden. It keeps everyone in check and avoids scuffles in the neighbourhoods that can lead to unrest and mistrust among the general population. Violence is always the last resort.
“Please. Ididn’tkill him.”
I shake my head, suddenly feeling exhausted. “I’m in a really bad mood today,” I say. “And if I let you go, you know what everyone around here will think. They’ll think I’m soft or worse, showing favouritism.”
“Please.” He shakes his head, tears spilling from his eyes now. I wish I felt bad. “They’ll kill me. I’ve seen what they can do.”
There’s that word again.They.
Key knows something, but whatever it is, he’s too afraid to tell it tonight. He needs a little longer to stew alone with his thoughts, to realise just how fucked he is.
I glance at Xander who seems to read my mind, pulling out a pistol from the waist band of his jeans. It’s silver-plated, with a snake etched onto the barrel. I take it and by the weight of it, I can tell it’s unloaded. Perfect.
“Unfortunately for you,” I say, making a show of checking the magazine and pushing it back in. “Rules are rules.”
“No,” he cries. “Please. No.”
I walk up to him, pushing the end of the silver gun against his thin, pale lips, sliding a hand through his greasy hair and forcing him to look up at me.
“Open,” I instruct.
He shakes his head, tears mixed with snot and blood spilling onto the barrel of the gun. “You can’t do this.”
I smile, forcing the barrel past his lips and deep into his mouth. I watch his eyes widen before he begins to thrash, violently shaking, but my grip keeps him in place. He continues to fight but someone comes up behind him, holding his armsback as he lets out a muffled scream. Adrenaline rushes through me as I watch the fear and then defeat cloud his eyes. Finally, he winces, shutting his eyes because he knows this is how it ends.
I grin and pull the trigger.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44 (Reading here)
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134