Ravage
Drake had no choice but to watch her fall. Julie landed on her side in the sand with a thud followed by a low moan. Drake quickly climbed down the steps of the climbing frame and rushed to his sister.
"Aaow!" Julie whined. Drake smiled in relief. "Why am I always the one to fall?" Drake helped Julie to get back on her feet. "Well, you're always so eager to be first through, that's why, sis." Drake helped her to brush off the sand that was stuck on her back. "Maybe you should take it easy so you don't end up at the hospital again"
"But now I've got some new bruises for my collection", julie said with an elated tone. Drake laughed at Julie's posotivism but then said with a less humorous voice: "It's good that I'm keeping an eye on you though, mum wouldn't be happy with me if I left you by yourself and something bad happened to you." Julie chuckled. "As if you would, I'm all you've got!"
"And I'm all you've got, silly", Drake said and punched Julie's arm playfully. "Hey, let's go swing!" He said. "I bet I'll swing the highest of us this time, well, as I alway do." Julie didn't listen to her brother but started sprinting towards the plot of sand where the swing set was located thirty feet away.
"Oh, no you won't", Drake said and was right behind, racing past Julie with full speed. The swing set was the twins' favorite activity on the playground. They always competed how close they could come up in the sky. Drake reached the low wooden fence that surrounded the set of four swings, and with great agility leaped over it and raced on to the best swing. Julie sighed melodramatic when she realised she'd lost the competition.
"You always have to take the best one." Drake laughed and was just about to step off the swing and offer it to her when they heard laughing and loud voices down the street. Four boys who looked like around sixteen or seventeen, strolled in the middle of the street that went past the playground. Drake was about to turn to his sister when he recognised one of the boys' face. It was Nick. Nick and his friends who had violently abused and almost killed a boy, who was now in a coma. That happened about a year ago and since then Nick and his gang had created chaos wherever they passed. Theft, fights, abuse, and scaring anyone who crossed their path. Nick had a really bad temper. That's what almost killed that poor kid. Unfortunately there was no evidence against Nick and now he roamed free, showing off his power.
Draked hoped that Nick wouldn't look their way and catch sight of him and Julie. He was very anxious and trembled a bit. If something happened to Julie he wouldn't ever forgive himself.
"Drake?" Julie's voice came out in a whisper and she sounded afraid. Drake didn't even look at her. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the boys who had now reached the playground and were walking past them 80 feet away. Drake found himself exhale after a long time of holding his breath. He didn't even dare to breath in case his nightmare scenario would come true. He knew that is was impossible for Nick to hear him breathing at this distance, but he was scared Nick had some sixth sence or that he maybe was some predator of some sort. The gang kept on walking, pushing each other and screaming really loud while talking, and just as Drake thought the coast was clear, Nick turned his head towards him, just like as he had caught his scent or heard his heart beat in his chest. Nick's gaze was first searching the playground but then spotted Drake and Julie where they sat frozen on the swings. He elbowed one of his friend's upper arm and pointed at the twins location with a nod on his head. The other three grinned at then and followed Nick's lead as he began to stride towards the swings with an evil smug on his lips. Drake's eyes widened in terror and his heart started pumping even faster in his chest as he watched his biggest fear approach him and Julie.
"Drake, I want to go home now." Drake wanted to protect his sister more than anything but still he couldn't move a muscle. Julie's voice sounded like it was miles away and Nick closed into him unimaginable quick and he was so afraid so afraid and Nick's face was the devil himself.
"Hi, kids, having a blast are we?" Nick almost sounded friendly when he greeted them and somehow it made him even more terrifying. Drake was still frozen in his seat and couldn't bare himself to answer. "Then why are you just sitting there? You know..." Nick lost his way of sounding polite. " Those swings are for swinging. Not just sitting on." Drake finally found his voice somehow and stammered when he answered.
"We were just about to go home." He barely got the words out of his mouth.
"Why? We're not getting scared, now,are we?" Nick sounded as he was talking to a kitten and Drake really felt like one. Nick's words sounded very threatening though. Nick took another steps towards the wooden fence and Drake finally got to his feet.
"Our mother want's us to go home, or she will be worried."
"Yes," Julie agreed. "we should really get going." She, too, got off her swing and hurried to stand next to her brother.
"Now, now kids, don't run away. I just want to talk, I'm not going to-" Drake grabbed Julies hand and started sprinting to the back entrance of the fence. Behind the swing set there was a big lawn and beyond it, the road that led to their house. Behind them he heard Nick yelling orders to the other three and shortly after, heavy steps approaching fast. Drake tried to run as fast as he could without tripping Julie over. She was smaller than him and had a hard time keeping his speed. Drake heard that she cried and panted. Drake himself was just as terrified as her but only for Julie's sake. Julie being scared just made a point that Drake had to be strong and brave for her.
They had no chance of getting away. The older boys was way faster than they were and it didn't take long until they had caught up with them. Drake heard a snarling noise in his ear, then someone grabbing the arm he was holding Julie with and jerked it backwards hard so he had to slow down, then another hand took a firm grip of his hair. Drake gasped and was forced to lean his head painfully packwards. He heard Julie scream and then a voice telling her to shut up. The one who was holding Drake let him lean his head forward so he could see what was happening. It was Nick who had captured Julie. Drake felt a panick attack grow inside him. A fear he never thought he would ever experience rammed in his chest as he saw Julie, crying in Nick's grasp and begging him to let go of her. Nick just grinned a dangerous smile and pulled her closer to him by holding her throat. Drake saw red.
"Let go of my sister you devil!" He started fight back against the boy who was holding him with one arm around his neck, and tried to turn around to bite him, but the boy just took a stronger grip around Drake. He put a leg between Drake's so he had no chance to move at all.
"Don't. Walk away from me. When I'm talking to you." Nick growled in Julie's ear, pronouncing the words slow and distinctly. Julie whimpered and cried with her eyes tightly shut.
"Drake...?" Julie whispered as if she was praying. Praying for Drake to help her. Nick tightened his grip around her throat even further.
"Shut up! No one's going to help you, do you understand? It's just us here." Nick wasn't reasonable anymore. If he ever was. "You won't go running home to your mother. I'll make sure you'll never see her again." Drake gasped in shock. Was he...? Really going to...hurt them? Drake searched desperately after people passing by but it was surprisingly empty around them. Julie had a hard time breathing because of Nick's hand around her neck and because of the panick she got from Nick's words. Nick only laughed.
"Let us go, we haven't done anything wrong, can you please just let us go!" Drake tried to get free but to no avail. He was trapped. He felt tears well up in his eyes and he sobbed. Nobody has ever gotten away from Nick. He never showed mercy. Drake and Julie's mother had told them to stay away from the parts of the city were Nick and his gang usually kept to. She had also told them that Nick was sick. Not sick as having the flu, but a sickness that never passed. It was in his head. Their mother said that he was damaged from birth and could never get well, and that's why they should never talk or look at him.
Drake had never really understood what she meant by sick in the head. He was only eight years old. But now, as he looked at Nick and looked into his eyes, he couldn't see anything . No trace of life. He now understood what his mother meant. Nick wasn't right. He had no flu or no broken legs, but he was sick anyway.
"I said SHUT UP!" Nick shoved Julie hard in the ground. She landed on her hands and knees and tried to stand up but wasn't fast enough. Nick stood beside her and lifted his foot up and back. Drake screamed. The impact threw Julie several feet away. She landed on the ground with a thud that made Drake's heart stop beating. Julie had lost her breath and was trying to inhale.
"NO! STOP! YOUR'E HURTING HER!" Drake couldn't stop screaming and begging him to stop. He fought with a strength he didn't know he had. "STOP!" Drake pleaded. "PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING!" He didn't see the slap come. His cheek burned, and he looked around in shock. Nick stood right in front of him. He was furious. Nick leaned his face close to Drake's. "You are going to shut your mouth or I'll let it all out on your sister, got it?" Drake only watched him in terror as Nick turned back to were Julie was lying. His face was cold and blank as he showed no expressions of feelings when he grabbed Julies arms and pulled her back on feet and put her in front of him. He glared on Julie with a hatred so fierce it made Drake stop breathing and his body to shake tremendously.
"Dude, c'mon, Nick." Somebody pleaded. " Let's get out of hear before someone catches us." The voice came from the boy who held Drake.
"Shut up!" Nick shouted. "We're not done here yet." he said and pushed Julie to the ground once more. "If only all of you would just shut up already!" He kicked Julie in her stomach.
"Nick...They're just kids, we can't..." Drake didn't hear them. It was like he was inside a bubble and the voices came far from the outside. He only saw and heard Julie, who fought for air and pleaded and cried and called for him. Drake couldnt' help her. He'd always been there for her, and now when she really needed him he couldn't even comfort her.
"Please, please, please..." Draked repeated the words more to himself than to Nick. "Please no...don't..." Tears running down his cheeks was soaking his collar. "No..." His voice was only a whisper now. The voices outside the bubble was arguing really loud but Drake still couldn't interpret what they were saying. Drake heard something else, too. Something that rumbled in the distance. It was thunder from a storm that approached. A shadow neared the spot where Julie was. It was Nick. Drake closed his eyes, still pleading for him to stop. "Please please please...don't do this...no..." The bubble closed around him even thicker than before. Low shouts and sounds of something hitting a body. Loud cries of pain. "Please stop it... I'll do whatever-" A scream so loud and filled with endless rage, followed by a cry of unimaginable pain, got Drake to open his eyes and witness what was far worse than any nightmare he could ever imagine. Nick had stopped kicking Julie, who now laid still and quiet on the ground facing away from Drake. Nick was breathing hard and stared, almost as in shock, at his victim that were no longer moving or begging for mercy. The following seconds were completely quiet except for Nick's panting and the thunder that was closing in on them. The boy behind Drake let out air from his lungs as he broke the silence.
"What have..." He paused abruptly when Nick turned around and looked at him with empty eyes that showed nothing, and the grip around Drake's neck loosened all the way. Drake didn't notice anything of it. All his attention was directed on his sister. No longer crying. No longer calling his name.
Drake was suddenly alone, kneeling beside Julie on the grass. Another thunder, now right above them, as the first drops of rain came falling down.
"Julie?" Drake reached Julies shoulder with a hand that trembled so hard he barely could control it. He turned Julie so that she was facing the sky. The rain had made her light hair darken and fold itself around her face. Drops of red searched its way out from between Julie's lips and down her chin. She had a big black bruise on her right temple. It looked like she was sleeping.
"Julie?" Drake was now pleading as his voice cracked and more tears broke their way out from his already wet eyes. "Julie, please, wake up!" Drake sobbed. "Don't leave me! You're all I've got Julie, don't you dare leave me alone! Please, don't!" Drake was now screaming and violently shaking Julie's shoulders to get her to wake up. "JULIE! JULIE! NO!" Eventually Drake broke and let his head fall down on Julie's neck while letting out cries of agony and grief. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Julie..." He lifted Julie up in his arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry."
