Page 3
Alora
There was an eerie gloom tonight, and although you couldn't see the clouds, you knew they were blocking out the stars and only letting a sliver of moonlight penetrate the blanket of darkness. When I was little, I was afraid of the dark and the monsters that hid within it. I guess most kids were, except for my little sister. Evie was fearless, more fearless than I ever was about anything. Which was hysterical because my mother blamed me for Evie wanting to be like me, and all the while, I rebelled to prove I could be as carefree as she was.
My scuffed boots kicked along little pebbles as I walked. I was trying hard to pretend that I wasn’t freaked out, but I could have sworn that someone was watching me back at the cemetery. Nothing had seemed out of place per se, and I certainly hadn’t seen or heard anything, but there was this feeling like ice water slowly running down my spine.
It was the one place where I usually never had to worry about anything or anyone. Not like out here. Here on the streets, everyone was fair game, and if you walked down the wrong alley, there was a good chance you’d never make it home again. The sound of someone laughing made me look over my shoulder, but it was just a couple of guys stumbling out of a bar. Luckily, they turned and walked in the other direction.
I spotted Rex standing on the next corner, his cigarette tip glowing as he inhaled. I’d met him on my second day at the homeless shelter when he’d taken pity on me. I had graduated from the halfway house, but my on-and-off-the-wagon drinking put me right here. Homeless, and each time I fell off for more than a week, having to start saving all over again. Rex took me under his wing to help keep me safe. I loved his stories, especially his times of being overseas with the army. As sad as they could be, they were emotionally gripping and powerful. I think we got along so well because we both understood loss.
“There you are. I was starting to worry you had gotten yourself into some trouble,” Rex stated like I was his daughter out after curfew.
“Naw, you know me. I try to avoid trouble at all costs.” I smirked as Rex laughed.
“Who are you trying to fool, girl? We both know that trouble follows you around whether you want it to or not.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” I looked up and down the street. A few people sat outside leaning against buildings, which was nothing out of the ordinary for this time of night. “Are they full up inside?”
“No, I just can’t sleep. Sometimes, the ghosts speak too loud and keep me awake. Besides, your spot is safe. I asked Paula to watch your stuff.”
Maybe somebody else would’ve thought he was crazy for talking about ghosts, but I knew what he meant. I had too many of my own, and they all liked to take turns torturing my mind.
“Thanks, Rex. I don't know what I would do without you,” I said, laying my hand on his shoulder.
“Keep your head up. Big things are on the horizon for you. I can feel it.” His smile was warm and genuine, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe he was right. Nothing good ever happened to me without it being ripped away. Whether it was my fault or someone else’s didn’t matter. It always ended the same way.
“Maybe I’ll get that new house soon, and then you can move in, and you’ll owe me,” I said, making him laugh, but my smile turned to concern when he began to cough. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, stop fussing over me. It’s just a cold. You go on and head in. I’ll be along in a little while.”
I didn't want to leave him out here alone, but he turned his back on me and slowly walked away, effectively ending the conversation and telling me precisely what he thought of my worry.
Wandering across the road to the shelter, I opened the door and headed down the dimly lit hallway. A few of the people, like Rex and Paula, had become my family. Jerome was manning the counter, and I nodded to him as I walked through the doors to the sleeping and eating area. Almost everyone was curled up on their sides or their backs on the low cots. Belongings were either stowed beneath them or clutched to their chests. The few precious items that each of us had felt like pieces of gold. A new pair of socks, a stick of deodorant, or a protein bar didn’t mean much to me in the past, but living on the street humbled me more than even prison could.
I spotted a woman I didn’t recognize bent over my cot, rummaging through my bag. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Running up, I yanked my bag away and clutched it to my chest. “That’s mine. Give it back,” I said as I spotted the watch in her hand.
“It’s not yours now, I found it. Rules are rules. What you find, you get to keep. What’s left alone is no longer yours.”
“I’ve been here for a year, and I’ve never even seen you around. This is my spot. Paula was keeping an eye on my stuff for me.” I glared at the woman, furious that she’d violated my few belongings and the bit of privacy that I clung to.
“I don’t know who Paula is, and it doesn't matter how long you’ve been here. The rules of the street don’t change.” She went to put my sister’s watch in her pocket, and I grabbed her.
“You’re not taking that watch.”
She jerked on her arm, but I refused to let go. “Yes, I am. Let go of me.”
“No, not until you give me back my watch,” I commanded.
“Help, help, assault,” she yelled, waking everybody up. “Let go of me, you thief. Stop trying to steal my watch.”
“Your watch? It’s not your watch. It’s mine. Anyone who’s been here longer than the few minutes you have can tell you that.”
“What’s going on here,” Paula asked as she ran out from the back, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“This thief is trying to steal my watch,” the woman said, pulling on her arm again. I wasn’t letting her go. She was liable to run for the door, and there was no way she was leaving this building with my sister’s watch in her dirty grasp.
Paula looked to me for an explanation. “I caught her rummaging through my things, and she has my sister’s watch. I'm not letting her leave this building with it.”
“You can’t prove where I got this watch,” she snarled.
“Wanna bet? Paula, take the watch and look at the back. There will be an inscription that says, Evie, Happy 13th B’day ,” I said.
Walking over, Paula held out her hand. “No, I don’t need to prove anything,” the woman argued.
“Actually, you do. Inside these walls is a safe space for everyone who stays here, including yourself, but we do not condone stealing. If this watch is truly yours, then you have nothing to fear,” Paula said.
The unknown woman looked between the two of us and then around at all the eyes watching. “Whatever, it’s a broken piece of junk anyway. Take it.” She held the watch out to me, and I took it from her hand before I let her go. Flipping it over, I showed the inscription to her and Paula. “Whatever,” she said and turned to walk away.
“Jerome, please escort our new guest out,” Paula said. “You will not be allowed back here for seventy-two hours, and if you do something like this again, you will be banned for life.”
“Like I’d want to come back to this dump,” she snarled as Jerome grabbed her bag and walked the woman out the door. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m so sorry, hun. I was taking advantage of everyone being asleep to get some breakfast meal prep done. I genuinely didn’t think that anyone in here would become a problem.”
“It’s okay, Paula, I understand. It’s just that this is the last thing that I have of my sister. I couldn’t let her take it.” I rubbed my thumb over the inscription on the back of the watch before turning it over to look at the cracked face. Sadness flowed through my body, and I had the strongest urge to break my sobriety. Then again, I always did when I thought about my sister.
Paula patted my shoulder. I watched her as she headed into the back and then sat down on my cot. Some days were just harder than others, and today was one of those days I would be happy when it was over. Closing my eyes, I tried to fall asleep, but the moment my lids shut, all I saw was the worst moment of my life all over again. There would be no sleep for me tonight.
Greyson
“Easy, girls,” I said as the dogs ran at me, skidding to a halt and then sitting down. Their tails wagged while some of the younger pups whined and yipped. I’d always had a dog and loved pit bulls, but when I realized that I could make big money as a breeder—and the dogs wouldn’t be used for fighting—I was all in on the Belgian Malinois.
“What is all the racket about?” Rodney stomped down from the upstairs apartment to the nursery area. Rodney had been my live-in manager for over three years now, and keeping an eye on our pregnant girls or those that had just pupped was his top priority. He was also one hell of a dog trainer. I’d say the best in the biz. He helped me earn top dollar on every single dog sold to the police or the military. I wasn’t only an entrepreneur. I had a vision, and that vision was to give the middle finger to law enforcement everywhere while I killed right under their nose. Why? Why the fuck not? It was fun.
“Hey man, it’s just me,” I called out, walking through the dogs as I headed to the freezer with the cooler.
“Do you ever fucking sleep? What the hell time is it anyway?” Rodney yawned as he followed me into the walk-in.
“It’s almost five. You know me, when I get a call that there is a deal on some good meat, I’m gonna take it with all of these hungry mouths kicking around. I have five more coolers out in the car. Can you help me bring them in?”
“Unbelievable. You wake me up two hours before my alarm, and then you put me to work,” Rodney grumbled as he walked out.
Only one of the coolers had Giles’s remains. The rest were beef and turkey. Rodney didn’t know about my extracurricular activities. Right from day one, I made it known that I was extremely picky about what I fed my dogs, so I set the expectation that I would be the only one to pick up their food. I then spent the time grinding it together and dividing it into meals. The frozen mixture was thawed out daily and added to fresh vegetables and fruit for my precious fur babies over the next month. So sad that Giles’s final resting place was a shitty one. I smirked at my joke as I prepped the meat grinder.
“Are you really gonna start that now?” Rodney dropped the heavy cooler onto the counter.
“No better time than the present. Gotta make hay while the sun shines. Isn’t that what you farmers like to say?” Rodney had spent his entire life on a cattle farm until he came to work for me. I had more land at my house, but the fifty-acre training facility did the job that I needed it to for the dogs, and it was closer to town. “Go get your coffee. You’re no good to me when you’re miserable like this,” I said once the last of the meat had been brought inside.
“Yeah, yeah.”
When I first bought this spot, it was nothing but bare land. Since then, I’d added a state-of-the-art kennel, a breeding and pupping house, an indoor and outdoor training area, and ten acres of fenced land for the dogs to run and play. And, of course, I had to include the best security money could buy.
“Are Jax and Blue ready for the demonstration tomorrow,” I asked as Rodney walked into the packaging area and plopped down on a stool.
“Here, I grabbed you a coffee, and of course, they’re ready. I’m always ready.”
“Thanks, man.” I smiled, taking a sip of the hot brew. “Good. I’m hoping to get top dollar for them.”
“You will. They might be two of the best dogs we’ve ever produced. Ruby, Daisy, and Star are producing the best puppies for military use. Blue is already passing all the bomb sniff tests with ease.”
“Excellent. I’m looking forward to the demonstration.” Starting the meat grinder, I dropped in the first pile of Giles. “Turn on the music, will ya?” I smiled and hummed as I worked. Today was going to be a great day. I could feel it.