Vicious
"The city looks so pretty, do you wanna burn it with me?" -City by Hollywood Undead
I finished one of my three essays. Yay! Almost done my first semester already? Goddamn. I hope that you like chapter three of Heartless.
Also, adding these songs to the playlist:
Youth by Daughters (mostly for the line "If you're still breathing you're the lucky ones, cuz most of us are breathing through corrupted lungs")
People Help The People by Birdy
I forgot to mention in the last chapter, I don't promote illegal drug use. Don't do drugs. Always be responsible, promise? Kay, good. I hope that you like chapter three of Heartless.
-Enjoy!-
His uncle had not returned when he got home that night and had not been home the following morning. Talon had made breakfast for himself in the apartment they lived in and fed the fat grey cat that seemed to always be two steps behind him. It was late in the afternoon, just before Talon had promised to meet his new partner, that his uncle stumbled through the door. The older man staggered into the room and slumped on the couch, holding his head as though fighting a migraine. He turned on the television, a fuzzy picture of a silver-haired newscaster appeared on the screen. The mugshots of two bank robbers were on display, two faces that Talon had known fairly well. Earlier that day they had been sent out to steal from the city's private safe, but they were apprehended by vigilantes. The so-called heroes obviously didn't wait around very long, they were gone by the time the cops showed up. Talon rolled his eyes and turned away from the screen, grabbing his black leather jacket off its hook by the front door.
"Those pests." He heard his uncle mutter.
"And I have to go meet one tonight." Talon groaned.
His uncle didn't move from his spot on the couch, he didn't even turn to look at him. Talon grabbed his keys, shoving them into his jacket pocket along with his wallet. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. The girl that he was going to meet tonight had made it clear that she didn't trust him, the feeling was mutual. However, she probably knew a lot about the organisation, and whatever this Heartless thing was. If he was going to get information out of her, she had to make her trust him.
"There's a war out there kid," He heard his uncle mutter. "Make sure you're on the winning side."
Even though his uncle wasn't looking, he nodded. The young man let the door slam behind him, he didn't care if anyone heard. The air was beginning to grow cold and the sun was starting to set earlier. The city was drenched in the last few rays of sunlight, the autumn sky a warm orange colour. He mounted his motorbike, letting the motor rev for a minute before setting off into the city. The streets were filled with people, some traveling in large groups, just trying to get by. Most stood waiting for buses or cars, some were heading underground to the subway station. All around him the city began to turn on its lights, billboards and shops were illuminated with bright shades of neon. The night was just beginning. He sped up a little bit, cutting through an alleyway as a shortcut. Nearly five and he didn't want to keep the princess waiting. The city seemed to go by in a blur. The lights and the people hardly registering as he sped down the busy streets. He arrived at the meeting place a bit early, but the blonde still scowled at him.
"You're late." She grimaced, leaning against her bike.
Talon glanced down at his watch and then back up at the blonde.
"You said five." He told her, raising an eyebrow curiously.
The blonde shrugged him off, not bothering to reply to him.
"We're heading to Winchester Park," She informed him, her face completely monotone.
This girl hadn't so much as cracked a smile since he's met her. In fact, the only emotion the girl seems to have is displeasure. Talon began to imagine what the girl would look like if she smiled. She would be radiant if she smiled. She was pretty, her skin was cold and pale, her lips as red as blood, secrets hiding in her sunken eyes. She had smoke in her lungs and poison running through her veins, she was lethal. He wondered what could have possibly happened to make her smile go away, what was it that made her vicious?
"Rumor has it someone over there has been selling Heartless." She continues, strapping on her helmet.
The girl mounted her bike and started the engine, the motor letting out a loud howl as she did. The girl looked at him expectantly, as though she was waiting for something. Talon only looked at her, puzzled. The girl rolled her eyes and drove off before Talon could say anything. She seemed to like driving off on him. Talon quickly followed after her, speeding down the mostly empty road. Rush hour was over and traffic had died down significantly, Talon could drive as fast as he wanted, which he loved. He loved the feeling of the wind whipping at his face, it gave him a sense of freedom, something his uncle never let him have. The blonde speeding alongside him was smiling, he had never seen her smile. She looked happy and free, the wind whipping through her long hair. The park was empty when they got there, an endless realm of shadows in the dark of night. The streetlights gave a dim glow, bathing everything in yellow. Penny parked her bike and left it by a tree, said that she didn't feel like paying for parking.
The park was empty when they got there, an endless realm of shadows in the dark of night. The leaves on the trees were yellow, most of them lying dead and withered on the grass. The night air was cold, enough to make Talon wish that he'd brought a warmer jacket. The streetlights gave a dim glow, bathing everything in yellow. Penny parked her bike and left it by a tree, said that she didn't feel like paying for parking. She led him to a park bench under the glow of a streetlight, taking a seat and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
"You smoke?" Talon inquired, sitting next to her.
"No," She replied, handing him a cigarette. "We have to look like normal people, what else would we be doing at a park in this weather?"
She had a point. Nobody would be at the park for fun after dark, especially with the temperature dropping. Nobody would think twice if they saw two people smoking in a park. He put the cigarette between his teeth, but didn't light it. He wasn't big on cigarettes, didn't like the taste. He knew that there were better things to smoke. Thanks to his Uncle's crime syndicate he could get the good stuff. However, he should probably abstain from drugs for the next little while. Just in case this Penny girl makes him take a drug test. A few painfully awkward minutes passed. Occasionally, he would look over at Penny, who was looking anywhere but in his direction. He wondered if he should say something. The nicer he was to this girl, the more he could lure her into a false sense of trust. But he didn't know what to say. Only one thing was on his mind, their mission. They were supposed to find something, but he still didn't know what it was.
"What is Heartless?" Talon eventually asked.
Penny looked at him, twirling the unlit cigarette between her fingers.
"Nobody told you?" She inquired.
Talon shook his head.
"It's a new black market drug," She explained. "Nobody knows what it is or how it works, but it's lethal."
Talon tried to remember if his uncle had ever mentioned Heartless, but he couldn't. His uncle ran the biggest crime ring in the city, how was it that he didn't know about this Heartless?
"All we know," Penny continued. "Is that a few weeks ago a large group of people turned up dead, all because of this drug. According to witnesses, they had been acting erratically in the days leading up to their deaths. Afterwards, the autopsies revealed severe brain damage, a lack of white blood cells, even heart failure. On people who had been completely fine and healthy. This is more than just overdose, this drug does things."
"Has anyone found Heartless?" Talon asked.
"Not yet." Penny shook her head.
Another long silence passed between them. Seconds ticked by that felt painfully long. It felt like entire days had passed since they sat down on that bench. He wanted to talk to her, to ask her something. But he couldn't figure out how to make conversation with this girl. She wasn't exactly the easiest to talk to, and she wasn't going to open up to him. The only thing that he could think of was to keep asking her about Heartless, even though she didn't know much.
"What do you do with the drugs you confiscate?" He asked curiously. Obviously, they weren't smoking them. Unless they were. But Penny didn't seem like the type to do drugs.
There was something about her that seemed pure. She looked so innocent, but Talon knew that things were never quite the way they appeared. She looked delicate and pretty, but in a violent way. An angel from heaven with the power to raise hell.
"Throw them out." Her response almost made him choke. Why would a secret underground agency throw away perfectly good drugs? He couldn't fathom it.
There was a cold look on her face, she pressed her lips together around the unlit cigarette, a ring of red lipstick leaving its mark on the bunt.
"You really hate drugs." Talon assumed.
The blonde nodded. "I've seen drugs destroy too many lives."
That sounded curious. He knew that she didn't trust him, and if he pried then he would only add to that distrust. He wouldn't make her tell him anything, not yet anyways. He had to get her to trust him, had to get her to let her guard down.
"Care to elaborate?" Talon inquired.
"No." She replied flatly.
Another silence, this was getting annoying. But he had to get her to open up. He had to at least try asking her one more question, maybe something not as personal, maybe she won't act so cold.
"What made you want to do this?" He tried.
Penny looked like she might rebuff him again, but instead she stared at him with a tight lipped frown on her face. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. Something almost melancholy in a sense, almost as though she was remembering something. There was something so curious about this girl, something very peculiar. Talon watched her as she tossed the unlit cigarette on the ground and crushed it beneath her foot.
"It was because of someone very close to me." She told him. "He told me that we need to fight because no one else will."
She looks down and Talon swore he saw the tiniest hint of a smile cross her face before vanishing. Good, this is good. She was opening up, slowly letting her guard down. But she wasn't leaving herself completely vulnerable. Yet.
Talon decided to take a chance and ask her another question. "Where is this person now?"
"I don't know," Penny replied, she kicked the grass beneath her feet, sending tiny blades of grass dancing in the twilight air. "He disappeared a few months ago, haven't heard from him since."
Talon wanted to ask her more questions, he wanted to know who this person was. Maybe they knew about this new mystery drug. Maybe they had valuable information that could shut down this band of underground crime fighters. But all thoughts of continuing their conversation were drowned out when they heard a high pitched scream. The scream was female, coming from a nearby alleyway. That was never a good sign.
Penny was on her feet in a second, scrambling to put on her helmet and start her bike. She looked to where the sound of the screaming had come from, watching the shadows for movement. Talon watched her in confusion.
"What are you doing?" He asked her. "We're supposed to wait here in case the drug dealers show up."
"And if some poor girl dies because I was waiting for drugs, I'll never sleep well at night again." Penny replied, narrowing her eyes at Talon.
And then she was gone, she sped off into the busy night streets, going after the sound of the screaming woman. It shouldn't have surprised him that she abandoned their mission. She had been looking for an excuse to leave since they got there. He watched her fade into a cloud of smoke, into a night of endless shadows. Half of his brain told him to go home. But the other half whispered to follow. He needed a good reputation with the agency in order to collect intel on them, and he couldn't do that if he abandoned his partner and let her get killed on their first mission.
With a long sigh, Talon mounted his bike and took off after her.
-End of chapter 3-
These keep getting shorter and shorter. Honestly, I don't know what wrong with me... This might get really fucking sad, just a warning. Might even trigger some people.I have depression. I have suffered from depression most of my life but it started getting really bad when I turned seventeen. Seventeen was an awful year, I felt like there was so much pressure for me to do well in school and get into a good college. I picked the program my parents wanted me to pick (Don't do this kids, it will only lead to unhappiness) and I hate it. I wish that I was happier but I am not. And maybe that's just what these years are all about. And I have gotten better since seventeen. Seventeen is confusing and stressful and weird and honestly every little thing just feels like your whole life is ended. But I got passed that, I graduated with honours and now I attend uni on scholarship. I know that one day I'll be happier, but that day is not today. And I can't wait for that day to come.
If any of you ever feel like you have no one to talk to but you need to get feelings out, my PM box is always open. And if you don't feel comfortable confiding in me, I will leave hotline numbers below.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868
Teen Line: 310-855-4673
Suicide US: 1-800-784-8433
Suicide UK: +44 (0) 8457 90 90 90
Suicide Australia: 13 11 14
Suicide Germany: 0800 111 0 111
Suicide China: 0800 810 1117
Bullying: 1-800-420-1479
Self Harm: 914-392-1904
Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743
Eating Disorders Hotline: 1-847-831-3438
Rape and Sexual Assault: 1-800-656-4673
Greif Support: 1-650-321-3438
Runaway: 1-800-843-5200
Depression: 1-630-482-9696
Abuse: 1-800-799-7233
Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 (helping LGBT youth)
I'm going to put the list in my profile as well, got to help as many people as possible!
Don't worry about me though, I'll be okay. I just need to take a minute and remind myself that everything is going to be alright.
Remember that everything gets better with time :) You're going to be okay.
