Okay, so I'm really proud of myself that I got this done quicker than I usually do. It only took me a week to write, and it's my longest chapter yet. Still not completely happy with this, but it's doing what it was intended to do. So for all of you who were wondering when all the loose ends were going to be explained(if that makes any sense) this is your chapter. I actually got the idea from a review I got, and I can't remember which one right now...
Tales of Lives Past Pt. 1
"Why do you accept me so much?" Raya asked, wincing in slight pain.
"We like to confuse people." Marko said in an offhand manner. He was concentrating on removing the bandages from Raya's back. After three weeks, the wounds had finally healed over, leaving only new flesh and small, tiny scars that would fade with time.
"Why do you really though? I mean, from what I've heard, you're all supposed to be a big set of bastards." Raya slowly twisted her back, carefully, almost afraid, to make sure the pain was totally gone before anything extreme came along.
"Hey, your backs all right!" Paul cried, bouncing over to where Marko had her on the couch. Paul's blonde hair bouncing, bracelets flashing in the feeble light, a wicked grin set on his youthful face, and his eyes, his beautiful crystal green eyes. All in all, he wasn't bad to look at, and no girl in Santa Carla was going to disagree.
Marko let out a heavy sigh as Paul came over. Saved again from answering the inevitable. Raya had a right to know, she had a right to know about them and what demons they truly were. Marko saw Raya smile at Paul as she slowly pulled her shirt back on, but her eyes kept flickering over to Marko. She knew there was something he wasn't telling her, probably several things, but she would find out what it was soon enough.
Dwayne looked over at the Packs newest project. Raya was really still with them for one reason, one she still didn't know. Marko's bond with her had deepened even more, almost like they were related. Paul and her grew closer as time progressed, and Dwayne was happy for him. It was damn near time he got someone. Dwayne smiled lightly at Raya being healed. She was sore the last few days as the skin stretched to allow a regular range of movement, and the agony was finally over.
David was still more skeptical of the girl, watching her even more intently, studying her actions to try to discover the reason behind the small connection he felt with her. The small things she did definitely became more familiar, but also more normal, more like it was her instead of resembling anyone else.
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All six occupants were sitting in the cave happily, contentedly. Paul was sitting on the fountain, tapping out the beat to the latest hit song. Marko was tuning up his bike, several extra parts laying around him. Dwayne was in a chair reading, silent as usual. Raya was curled up on the couch, an arm resting on the armrest, body leaned up against the side. Laddie was sitting cross legged on the couch with Raya, fiddling with the frayed bottom of her jeans. And David was in his own chair, a wheelchair of all things, off a little to the side. He could see everyone, smell their fears and taste their thoughts. The pack was happy, his pack was happy. Knowing that he was about to disrupt eh balance that had just settled down again, David rose from the chair. Dwayne stopped reading, set the book down and looked expectantly at David. Marko fitted the last part on his bike and ran a hand through his hair, also rising to his feet to watch David. Paul did rise, but the song tune never completely left his head, he was still humming softly. Laddie glanced up and quietly went over to Dwayne, his little hand gripping the leather sleeve, his eyes wide. The Lost Boys were getting ready, and they shared the last moment of peace that they might have for a while due to what was about to happen.
"Let's go, boys." David called. He barely had to raise his voice for it to send echoes throughout the cave. A low, throaty laugh followed the immediate movement that the command had caused, almost a growl, almost a purr. The cold blue eyes stayed void of any real emotion, but a maniac glint always kept them bright, unwavering in their intensity.
The boys climbed easily up to their bikes, but Raya was still unbalanced by a few stones, stumbling her way into the night was not the greatest thing.
All four were already on the motorcycles, Laddie tucked safely behind Dwayne. The engine of David's bike hummed at a low frequency, almost drawing Raya to it. There was something about eh way he was sitting on it that she had never noticed before. Something about the low hum resonating in her chest, combined with the image of the black trench coat and ice blue eyes called Raya to David. For the first time every, Raya walked past Marko and Paul. She climbed on behind David, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She thought it was just coincidence that David looked so appealing tonight, but David was in fact already cracking into her mind set, breaking down the walls that she didn't even know she had. There was just something about David that was, quite frankly, irresistible.
It was a whole other animal. It was fast, calculated ans spontaneous at the same time. David didn't take the small, barely noticeable measures that Marko took to insure Raya felt safe. David didn't lean into a turn slightly earlier to warn her to go that way too. He turned, as quickly and as sharply as he wanted, not caring if Raya felt secure or not. It was all about the pleasure of the ride, if someone felt insecure with David, he'd pull over and drop you off right then and there, no matter where it was or what it was like. The thrill that had slowly left the bikes returned, burning dangerously to boiling point.
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The boardwalk was crowded, as to be expected. The beat form the rock concert could be heard from the beach all the way down to where the Boys parked their bikes, right in front of one of the only video stores in the city.
Raya still wanted to continue her conversation with Marko. She knew she would get the answer out of him somehow, it was only a matter of time. Paul picked up on the apprehension emanating from Raya's form, becoming aware of just how important the truth was to her.
"We'll be back." Paul whispered, sneaking up on Raya and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly before slipping of into the crowd with Dwayne, David, and Laddie.
"That seemed planned." Raya surmised, watching Paul's wild hair disappear into the crowd.
"No, but they do sense things a little different than most." Marko replied casually, walking at a leisurely pace, hands stuffed into the back pockets of his jeans.
"So, you never told me the real reason." Raya broke the silence, disregarding however comfortable it might have been.
"Real reason of what?"
Raya hit him on the arm, a satisfying thump coming from the punch.
They were earning several strange looks from the nicer outdoor restaurant they were walking past. Raya only began laughing. "You know what."
"We all had the same experiences as you." The playful gleam that was ever-present had suddenly left Marko's eyes. He suddenly looked older and wiser than he had before. "We all grew up together, thinking we were alone in our misfortune, not telling anyone. David was the only one that really brought us through. He found us and we all became this big crazy-ass family. That's how it's been since then." Marko looked at Raya seriously, no hint of a smile on his features.
"So I'm a charity case." Raya said, almost disgusted with the thought.
"No...and yes. We all see a little bit of ourselves in you. We made one rule when we got together. You don't give up on your own kind." Marko looked drained and tired, and eerie glow cast upon him by the faded yellow street lamp.
"As nice as that sounds, I don't know if I can believe it." Raya looked out at the ocean, hiding the disappointment in her eyes from Marko. She had expected there to be more to the story, more substance as to why the group of bikers everyone knew was dangerous took in a girl one of them found on the side of the road. As unsatisfying as Marko's explanation was, it was probably the only one Raya would get.
"Sorry, but you asked, and I told." Marko called over his shoulder, quickly leaving Raya without her even knowing.
"Thanks for the attention to detail." Raya smirked, looking for Marko in the crowd and not finding anything.
Now that Raya was on her own, she got less attention, less fear. Whichever one of the boys she was with, she always got jealous stares and a wide berth when walking. She suddenly had to force and push her way through the crowd, dodging several couples too immersed in each others tongues to notice anything concerning the outside world.
"You should be a bit more grateful, you know." David had come out of nowhere, sliding up to Raya's side, one had on the small of her back to direct her through the throng of people.
"You should warn people before you sneak up on them" Raya said, reaching a small table at an outside burger restaurant. All surfaces were covered in some sort of grime, but his place was heaven compared to where she had eaten the night before.
"That would ruin the point of sneaking." David sat down across from Raya, no readable expression on his face and his eyes still as cold and emotionless as ever.
"What's your story?" David asked, a cigarette twirling between his pale fingers. David was so incredibly white, almost as if no blood ever brought any color to his face, as if it was afraid to give the boy any real color.
"You know my story. Do you not remember the second night where we all had a nice little intervention?" Raya replied coldly, almost becoming mad at David's lack of enthusiasm and emotion.
"I remember. I also remember you leaving several parts out. And until we know everything about you, how do you expect to know all about us?" David leaned forward, his eyes boring into Raya's, the cigarette laying forgotten on the plastic table, the smoldering tip slowly melting a small hole into the table, a small black ring encircling the outside.
Raya watched the cigarette smolder, imagining nothing else but being away from Santa Carla, from everything. Becoming frustrated under David's piercing gaze, Raya picked up the cigarette and inhaled sharply. Coughing violently, she dropped the cigarette to the floor, crushing it with her foot. Having extricated most of the smoke from her lungs, she looked up at David, meeting his cerulean gaze with the same burning intensity.
"If you want to know my story, it's equally fait that you share yours as well." Raya smiled, inwardly proud for putting out an answer that she thought David would be too vague to answer. He wouldn't get the truth from her without sharing something equally painful.
"You want my true story?" David asked, raising and eyebrow, deep voice reverberating through Raya's chest.
Nodding silently, Raya fought to hold David's gaze, trying to coax the truth out of his eyes.
"Fine. But first you must get all the other stories. Mine won't make sense without it." David smirked, stood up, and walked away, leaving Raya on her own once more.
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The tales that would follow wove horrific epics close to the storyline of 'Hannibal'. Take out the chainsaw, and you had Paul's story. His father beat him, his mother and sister, and tortured them repeatedly. Beneath the white pants and long coat and tails lay scars that Paul had earned at a young age. The worst part about it, was that Paul's father was a cop. The pain and suffering Paul went through made Raya's father seem like a normal person, but not quite.
Marko was more hesitant. His past wasn't as dark and twisted as Paul's, but it was tragic in it's own way. Marko witnessed his parents kill themselves, they overdosed one night when he was all but fourteen. He lived in L.A. at the time but was forced to leave his home when all other forms of family refused to take in the problem child that everyone believed had been at fault for the homicides. He lived on the streets for two years and eventually made his way down to the coast to Santa Carla on the motorcycle his father had left behind.
Laddie, poor, sweet Laddie. His father had forced drugs on his mother, waited until she passed out, and then raped her. His mother had been disgusted with the product of the own pain and was ashamed that he good Christian girl image she flaunted was shattered with his birth. She basically ignored him, giving him as little attention s she possibly could, hiding the existence of her child from all the population. He never went to school, and he barely knew anything of the outside world until the Boys had gotten hold of him.
Dwayne was the last, and his sad tale made absolutely every other frightening story ever created seem like nothing. People often wonder how it is that a parent, someone who is supposed to love and protect us can go against the stereotype so amazingly, so tragically. Dwayne spend the first ten years of his life in a basement, leaving only for school. His mothers favorite game to play was where she would have him drink a chemical acid and water solution. His vocal chords were severely damaged and hews not allowed to talk under any circumstances. Each night was a new torture, his mother never relented in her cruelty. He was given absolutely nothing to do, wear, or eat. After his tenth year in a basement, a school nurse called Child Protective Services, and he was given to a Native American family that had been in his mothers tribe. They gave him everything, almost re-raised him. He never really recovered, that's why he never really talked except to those select few who had gotten under his skin. His story was the hardest for Raya to get. Paul was easy, took only an hour to get him to crack. Marko was slightly harder, took an entire day but hat included Laddie's story as well. Dwayne took two days, almost three. She had to explain her reason over and over, and slowly get into his head. Consequently, Raya became closer to Dwayne faster than anyone had ever been able to. Raya earned respect that day, as well s the truth to the four boys pasts. Only David was left, and then the real reason for their acceptance of Raya would come out.
Nothing humanly possible was going to stop the truth from coming out. Her own tale seemed nothing compared to the talked of pain and catastrophe that she had just heard. The only thing that was the same besides all the pain they felt, was that David rescued them all. From what exactly, Raya didn't know. But all the gruesome details of their childhoods and then the fact that David came to the rescue made the leader seem a whole lot different that the eye perceived him to be.
David knew she had succeeded, that task he had set her was nothing compared to what he was about to put her through. If only David had been a bit less ruthless, the dark secret holding their fragile existence separate might have never been broken, forging their two lives together, if only David could learn to be a bit more forgiving, if he could learn not to follow orders so directly. Maybe if David could have done that, Raya wouldn't have been put through al the misery she too endured. Maybe she could have been normal, grown up with a mother, and grown up happy.
So that's a little bit of an explanation chapter, and I know what I'm going to write for the next one, so look for that in about two or three weeks, but no promises. Reviews are always appreciated, so please leave one, it only takes a second.