"Justice is always violent to the party offending, for every man is innocent in his own eyes." – Daniel Defoe
Chapter 1
My name is Pete. That's P-E-T-E, Pete. I am fifteen years old, about five foot and eight inches tall, owning a skinny built body and eyes too tired to keep open during the day, after I've been out late last night with my bowler and top hat wearing friends. I must bitterly admit to you, readers, about what I've been doing with my humble young life, and doing all the things that my mother has always warned me to never do; hanging out with violent machines that dare call themselves "humans", drinking drug-laced milk that they warned us all about in my school, and spitting between the eyes of homeless men once my friends and I are done inflicting the all powerful ultra-violence.
I used to be quite the bright-eyed and bushy tailed little boy; used to be in the Boys' Scout team, go to church every Sunday morning with my dear mum, and helping the elderly cross the street with the help of my hand. I was the perfect prototype of what societies has always wanted in a young boy but have lost it in the past few decades. Since I blossomed into the tender age of fourteen, I was already rewarded with my first job working at this bakery shop about a few streets away from my home. It paid very little, but at that young age, any little money is actually a whole lot of money to an adolescent boy. It kept me happy to earn the money so that I can go on and buy myself a couple of outfits, since my mum is on welfare and couldn't work due to her broken back.
You're probably wondering how I came to meet with Alex, Georgie, and Dim. Well, it all started on a cold, dark Fall's night, September to be exact. My boss had to go home to his five year old daughter's birthday party early, so he gave me the keys and permission to look over the shop for the rest of my evening shift. I did everything well that evening, putting all the things away, making sure the dishes are done and dried, and sweeping the floors till it's all dust-free. Right when the sun has finally gone down to hide beyond the mountains the city's buildings, I place the broom back to its original place, and took off my apron to hang it up in the closet. That's when I hear the front door opening and the bell ringing.
"Store's closed." I simply said without even turning around.
Thwack!
I jump and flip myself around to come face to face with my soon to be new droogs. There standing in front of me, stands the tall and lanky Georgie, gripping his baseball bat with a crooked ugly grin, and standing next to him is this overweight boy who looks like an ape. What with his "huh huh huh" laughter coming out of his fat face, and people would surely mistaken him for an ape at least once or twice in his life. Poor bugger. Finally smacked in between the two of them, stands a shorter but much more dangerous looking fellow, his left eye being like decorated with false lashes and wearing a bowler hat to complete his sinister appearance. He smirks arrogantly at me before taking a few steps towards me, and I absentmindedly take one back in fear. He laughs, but it was the sort of laugh that I've never heard before; cold and bitter and almost synthetic in nature, which brings all the little hairs in the back of my neck standing right up.
"Welly welly welly welly well! It appears to me that little Pete doesn't remember who I am!" The short man says, giving me another baleful smile before taking another set of steps towards me. I slowly keep backing up before a cruel twist of fate set me up to bump my back against the glass display case, and Alex's grin grew wider and wider the more closer he comes towards me. I stood very still, holding my breath as he finally plants himself about an inch away from me, and I shut my eyes with a million prayers whiplashing all across my head to God or whoever is up there to help me live for tonight. But most importantly, I pray to God that he helps my mum to continue on with living if I end up dead tonight, bless her old soul.
"Open those glazzies, brother! I'm not going to hurt you tonight. You're of no use of entertainment for me this nochy," I hear this man saying with an air of carelessness, and I open my eyes to find him looking at me with a more softer and less threatening expression on his face, "I for one just can't believe that you don't recognize me, brother."
I try to recognize him underneath his bowler hat and his false lashes, but so far I can't. People of the night are so different from the people of the day. He gave me no permission to think anymore, however, for he took off his bowler hat and looks downward to expertly remove his lashes out from his left eye before looking up at me. It took me just a second or two before I take in a sharp breath with wide eyes.
"Alex? Is that you?"
He smiles, showing his bright white teeth at me, "Yes, little brother, it is I, Alex Delarge."
"… You're from my school. But I don't understand… Why are you—who are those two?" I look from behind him to see the tall lanky fellow messing around with the cabinets and the fat one munching on a piece of cake hungrily. Alex didn't even turned around behind to see what I'm seeing, he just smirks before taking a step back to turn around and whack his cane against the wooden floors audibly to catch his friend's attention. They look up before coming up in front of us and Alex casually turns to me before surprising me with draping his arm around my neck like a dear friend would do.
"Droogs, meet Pete! He's from my skolliwoll, you see! Such a nice young lad, this one is!" He cackles at my surprised expression before letting his arm drop down so that it can wrap around my shoulders instead of my neck, "Pete, these are my droogs, Georgie-Boy and Dim."
I can feel my face sizzling in embarrassment as Georgie and Dim laughs at me, and I want to more than anything than to just flee from this place and to just go home before it gets too dark. Unfortunately for me, it is almost about to be 7 o'clock, which is the hour where all the gangs comes sneaking out to do their nightly businesses, so I can assure you that I am very unlucky tonight.
"… P-please let me be. I must go home, to nurse my mum. She's very ill, you see," I speak in apparent nervousness, avoiding all of their penetrating eyes, "Just let me be. I won't speak to the cops about you three. Just let me go…"
"Oh, you're breaking my heart with your whimpering, brother," Alex says with his voice dripping in sarcasm, "Nevermind that. We'll let you be if you can promise to join our brotherly shaika. I think you'd make a wonderful addition, brother."
I shift my eyes towards his wicked face, "You're not serious, are you?"
"I am being very serious, brother," He smirks before expertly pops his cane open with just his thumb, revealing to me-in pure shock and fear-his shiny small knife. I gasp right in the second when he places the sharp side of the knife right on top of my throat, "Or must I use physical force to show you just how serious I am?"
My eyes glances at the two other men, who's currently watching me with much excitement, as if desperately wanting Alex to cut me open like an animal for their desire of violence. Time stood still for me, the world spins all around my head, and the inside of my mouth and throat suddenly went desert dry. I gulp, feeling no saliva of course, and my protruding throat grazes against the sharp knife. Why me?
"Do we have a deal, brother?" I hear Alex say, "Will you join us for all the long days that will come?"
"What happens if I don't?" I dare ask, my eyes looking straight into the blue-eyed monster next to me, "What then?"
His eyes widen a little and so does his grin, and surprisingly he lets the knife down and away from my throat. I sigh in relief, holding my throat with my hand, all the sweet saliva coming back to my throat and mouth. I close my eyes, trying to calm myself down, when I hear a loud shriek. I open my eyes with a surprising jump, and I see Dim hitting the floor with his hands over his bloody chest, with Georgie kneeling over him and placing his own hand to stop the bleeding as well. I turn to Alex and watch him as he watches Dim with a sick, twisted expression on his face. I can't believe he's taking in pleasure of torturing his friends like that! How is that even humanly possible?
He turns to me and I yelp a little when he places the knife over my throat again, his other arm wrapping around my mid-section so that I won't get away from him this time, "Now do you see, Pete? Now do you see what would happen if you don't join?"
I look at him before looking at Dim, whose bawling his eyes out like a child while Georgie comforts him like an older brother would. My heart swells up in sympathy as I watch these two; these two must have been forced to be with Alex as well. He might have done the same exact thing to them as he is doing to me now… using brute force, verbal abuse, and violence to get what he wants.
Alex threateningly pushes the knife into my throat, impatient with me, and I couldn't do anything but sigh, "Alright. Alright… I'll do it. I'll join you all."