Dante Webster crossed his arms over his chest as he looked out the window.
"It's been a year, man, aint no one going to find you, or do anything to you for it." One of the guys said.
"You're just like your low life uncle, even had to take the same name, didn't you, Skank?" Dante replied.
"Hey, watch it, T.D. He's not the only name thief in this room." A young black guy said.
"True, so true Tin-tin. We all stole a name, from someone." Dante said, it was true, they had either looked up to or were related to men that were killed twenty-two years earlier, so they'd taken the names. T-Bird, Tin- tin, Skank, Funboy, Top Dollar…So Dante got called T.D. more than he did Top Dollar. That still didn't deny it.
"You remember how that pretty girl screamed?" Funboy cackled.
"Who could forget? She screamed so loud, she pleaded and begged, she cried and struggled. And for seventy-two hours we all had the times of our lives. Even T.D. over there." Skank said.
"I don't see how T.D. did it, rape is rape, but your own child? There's just something a little mental about that." T-Bird grinned.
"Well, you didn't have these objections last year." T.D. said.
"No, they not objections, mental is good, mental is real good." T-Bird laughed.
"She pleaded so much. 'Daddy, daddy stop, please.'" Funboy mocked, laughing hard.
"I don't think either Shelly Webster ever got much resting in peace!" Skank proclaimed, they all bowled over laughing.
~~~~~
"I talked to Albrecht, Shelly Webster." Eric said, as he stepped up behind her.
"I see he must have told you the whole story." She said, flatly, no emotion even tingling her voice. She was sitting on a fire escape, he was standing behind her. The window of the apartment was dark, it was broken out.
"Indeed…" Eric said. "Shelly…I'm sorry…" He said.
"Don't be, it was a year ago…Long ago…" Shelly said, standing up. Eric could tell that she was trying to push back emotion.
"Is this the apartment?" He asked.
"Yes…" She said quietly.
"Want me to go in first?" He looked at her.
"No, no, I need to go in, alone, I need to do this, on my own…Two months I've been awake, this will be my first time back in…" Shelly said quietly.
"Understood." Eric said and watched Shelly step in the window.
~~~~~
Funboy pranced around outside the liquor store with a full bottle of vodka when he heard something behind him.
"Who 'da fuck there?" He asked, turning around. He watched as a man with shoulder length wavy black hair stepped into the light. He wore a black trench coat, with his face painted up white. Funboy had heard about this guy, same mother fucker who killed the first guy to go by his name.
"Hello, Funboy." The guy slapped his bottle from his hand, and it shattered on the ground.
"Get away from me! You dead mother fucka'! Get away from me!" Funboy said, stumbling back.
"That's right, I'm a dead mother fucker. And just like the first Fun Boy was when he laid hands on my Shelly, you are too, for laying hands on the other Shelly." Eric said and jumped forward, Funboy didn't have the time to react. Eric grabbed his head and moved his hands, rolling the head heard between them until he heard the neck bone snap. Standing over the lifeless body Eric could only shake his head. "I don't know what's worse…Taking a woman, a beautiful, sweet, perfectly innocent woman created by God, and destroying her for hours, and leaving her in pain, killing her in the long run…Or taking a child, a beautiful, innocent, selfless child, and destroying her for days, and leaving her in the pain that kills her in the long run…" He said as he turned to walk away.
~~~~~
The memories flooded into Shelly's eyes, and she cried out, collapsing onto her bed as images flashed before her.
---She had been laying on her bed when the shots rung out. Shelly sprung to her feet and ran for the doorway, only for one of her father's friends to step into the room and push her back onto the bed.
"MAMA!" Shelly screamed as she tried to get up, only to be pushed down again, this time the man climbed on top of her. "Please get off me, please, please leave me alone!" Shelly pleaded, tears beginning to curl at the corners of her eyes, she'd been in this position before, she knew what was coming, God she knew what was coming.---
Eric had returned to the fire escape when he heard Shelly screaming inside. Damn the memories, they always came back so hard, still, he was curious. Slowly he moved to the window and looked in, Shelly was laying on her back on the bed, struggling with something unseen, so evil from her memory. It was then that he noticed the ring on Shelly's finger, on her right ring finger. Sarah must have passed the ring down to her daughter. He forced a small smile that quickly faded into concern as Shelly thumped off the bed.
--- "Little bitch!" Funboy hissed as he climbed off Shelly and swung hard, knocking her to the floor. He moved and pulled her back onto the bed by her hair to finish what he started.---
After an hour Eric couldn't watch this anymore, he slid into the window and walked over to where Shelly Laid on the bed and grabbed her shoulders, trying to shake her from the memories. Apparently it somehow worked, the girl's eyes flew open, wide, and scared, and she instantly clung to the first thing that could offer any sort of protection, Eric's chest.
"Shelly, Shelly, it's okay, they're just memories, they can't hurt you anymore, it's okay, it's okay, I'm here." Eric said, he looked up to see the Crow sitting on the window sill.
"Protect her and you can stay with her forever, her and your Shelly, they are one." The Crow said, only Eric could hear it, he looked down at the head of red hair pressed against his chest. Now, was that really possible? Was the Shelly he held right now and his Shelly the same soul.
"Shelly, let me see your eyes." Eric said. Shelly slowly, reluctantly, looked up at him. He looked down into her eyes, oh, Sarah was there, being Sarah's daughter let him see Sarah through Shelly's eyes, but there was something else there, Eric nodded to himself. The Crow wasn't lying, Shelly was his Shelly. Eric leaned down, and kissed her forehead, leaving a small black print on her forehead.
"What was it, Eric?" Shelly asked softly.
"You'll find out in time, you'll find out in time." Eric said, and softly brushed some of her hair away.
"I don't understand." Shelly said.
"You will, you will." Eric reassured her and hugged her. "Now, let's go find you some other clothing." He said. She nodded slightly climbing out of his arms, and off the bed.
"It's been a year, man, aint no one going to find you, or do anything to you for it." One of the guys said.
"You're just like your low life uncle, even had to take the same name, didn't you, Skank?" Dante replied.
"Hey, watch it, T.D. He's not the only name thief in this room." A young black guy said.
"True, so true Tin-tin. We all stole a name, from someone." Dante said, it was true, they had either looked up to or were related to men that were killed twenty-two years earlier, so they'd taken the names. T-Bird, Tin- tin, Skank, Funboy, Top Dollar…So Dante got called T.D. more than he did Top Dollar. That still didn't deny it.
"You remember how that pretty girl screamed?" Funboy cackled.
"Who could forget? She screamed so loud, she pleaded and begged, she cried and struggled. And for seventy-two hours we all had the times of our lives. Even T.D. over there." Skank said.
"I don't see how T.D. did it, rape is rape, but your own child? There's just something a little mental about that." T-Bird grinned.
"Well, you didn't have these objections last year." T.D. said.
"No, they not objections, mental is good, mental is real good." T-Bird laughed.
"She pleaded so much. 'Daddy, daddy stop, please.'" Funboy mocked, laughing hard.
"I don't think either Shelly Webster ever got much resting in peace!" Skank proclaimed, they all bowled over laughing.
~~~~~
"I talked to Albrecht, Shelly Webster." Eric said, as he stepped up behind her.
"I see he must have told you the whole story." She said, flatly, no emotion even tingling her voice. She was sitting on a fire escape, he was standing behind her. The window of the apartment was dark, it was broken out.
"Indeed…" Eric said. "Shelly…I'm sorry…" He said.
"Don't be, it was a year ago…Long ago…" Shelly said, standing up. Eric could tell that she was trying to push back emotion.
"Is this the apartment?" He asked.
"Yes…" She said quietly.
"Want me to go in first?" He looked at her.
"No, no, I need to go in, alone, I need to do this, on my own…Two months I've been awake, this will be my first time back in…" Shelly said quietly.
"Understood." Eric said and watched Shelly step in the window.
~~~~~
Funboy pranced around outside the liquor store with a full bottle of vodka when he heard something behind him.
"Who 'da fuck there?" He asked, turning around. He watched as a man with shoulder length wavy black hair stepped into the light. He wore a black trench coat, with his face painted up white. Funboy had heard about this guy, same mother fucker who killed the first guy to go by his name.
"Hello, Funboy." The guy slapped his bottle from his hand, and it shattered on the ground.
"Get away from me! You dead mother fucka'! Get away from me!" Funboy said, stumbling back.
"That's right, I'm a dead mother fucker. And just like the first Fun Boy was when he laid hands on my Shelly, you are too, for laying hands on the other Shelly." Eric said and jumped forward, Funboy didn't have the time to react. Eric grabbed his head and moved his hands, rolling the head heard between them until he heard the neck bone snap. Standing over the lifeless body Eric could only shake his head. "I don't know what's worse…Taking a woman, a beautiful, sweet, perfectly innocent woman created by God, and destroying her for hours, and leaving her in pain, killing her in the long run…Or taking a child, a beautiful, innocent, selfless child, and destroying her for days, and leaving her in the pain that kills her in the long run…" He said as he turned to walk away.
~~~~~
The memories flooded into Shelly's eyes, and she cried out, collapsing onto her bed as images flashed before her.
---She had been laying on her bed when the shots rung out. Shelly sprung to her feet and ran for the doorway, only for one of her father's friends to step into the room and push her back onto the bed.
"MAMA!" Shelly screamed as she tried to get up, only to be pushed down again, this time the man climbed on top of her. "Please get off me, please, please leave me alone!" Shelly pleaded, tears beginning to curl at the corners of her eyes, she'd been in this position before, she knew what was coming, God she knew what was coming.---
Eric had returned to the fire escape when he heard Shelly screaming inside. Damn the memories, they always came back so hard, still, he was curious. Slowly he moved to the window and looked in, Shelly was laying on her back on the bed, struggling with something unseen, so evil from her memory. It was then that he noticed the ring on Shelly's finger, on her right ring finger. Sarah must have passed the ring down to her daughter. He forced a small smile that quickly faded into concern as Shelly thumped off the bed.
--- "Little bitch!" Funboy hissed as he climbed off Shelly and swung hard, knocking her to the floor. He moved and pulled her back onto the bed by her hair to finish what he started.---
After an hour Eric couldn't watch this anymore, he slid into the window and walked over to where Shelly Laid on the bed and grabbed her shoulders, trying to shake her from the memories. Apparently it somehow worked, the girl's eyes flew open, wide, and scared, and she instantly clung to the first thing that could offer any sort of protection, Eric's chest.
"Shelly, Shelly, it's okay, they're just memories, they can't hurt you anymore, it's okay, it's okay, I'm here." Eric said, he looked up to see the Crow sitting on the window sill.
"Protect her and you can stay with her forever, her and your Shelly, they are one." The Crow said, only Eric could hear it, he looked down at the head of red hair pressed against his chest. Now, was that really possible? Was the Shelly he held right now and his Shelly the same soul.
"Shelly, let me see your eyes." Eric said. Shelly slowly, reluctantly, looked up at him. He looked down into her eyes, oh, Sarah was there, being Sarah's daughter let him see Sarah through Shelly's eyes, but there was something else there, Eric nodded to himself. The Crow wasn't lying, Shelly was his Shelly. Eric leaned down, and kissed her forehead, leaving a small black print on her forehead.
"What was it, Eric?" Shelly asked softly.
"You'll find out in time, you'll find out in time." Eric said, and softly brushed some of her hair away.
"I don't understand." Shelly said.
"You will, you will." Eric reassured her and hugged her. "Now, let's go find you some other clothing." He said. She nodded slightly climbing out of his arms, and off the bed.
