Author's Note: Surprise extra update for the week because why the fuck not? Dekkasaurus the salty Pearl comment in the last chapter was all for you, savor that shit.
Cold wind whipped across my face tearing through my t-shirt and jeans as if they weren't even there. We were driving fast, how fast I didn't know but the buildings on either side of the road were just a blur. Daddy was behind me yelling to be heard over the rushing wind, "Keep your aim steady girl. Bend out just a little further so you've got a nice straight line with their back tire. Deep breath now squeeze", His larger hands guided my thin arms making sure my aim was true before giving me the order to fire. I hadn't been braced properly for the pistol's mighty kick and would have fallen on my ass if daddy hadn't been there. Bits of rubber went flying from the white van's destroyed tire; I had somehow managed to graze the seam splitting the thing like a zipper. Sparks flew when the bare rim hit the cracked asphalt but the driver didn't seem to slow. "Take out the other tire", Daddy ordered, "If these fuckers want to do this the hard way then we'll fuckin do it. You bastards think you can get away with offing Harry then you got another thing comin", The look in dad's green eyes was nothing short of insanity.
I lifted the pistol again trying to stop my arms from shaking as I aimed, "Daddy I'm scared. Please daddy I don't want to play anymore", tears were making my vision blurry. When Uncle Danny had stopped by the apartment earlier that night saying that we needed to take a ride this wasn't what I expected. Mom had already left for work wearing her special shiny red pumps so it was up to daddy to help me with my homework. I had to write a paper on the Old West and how groups of people would often take the law into their own hands. Danny's arrival had given my father the idea of teaching me vigilantism first hand. That's how I found myself standing in the bed of Danny's truck as it sped down the back roads of Ocean Town. Uncle Fred was riding shotgun while Danny drove, "Please Daddy I'm really scared can we go home?" I didn't even understand why we were chasing this van or what we were going to do once they stopped. The guns were a pretty good indication of what was going to happen even for my ten year old self. You didn't shoot out the tires of a speeding vehicle if you were just trying to scare someone.
"Shoot the fucking tire Siff or so help me there will be hell to pay", Dad's hand was a vice around my wrist. He was using my clan name, the one I was supposed to keep secret, the one that only came out when things were super important. Your clan name was your identity when you became a full fledged member of the family business. "You are a fucking viking Siff, more than that you carry my blood, the blood of warlords runs through you. Warlords don't get fucking scared, they make their enemies flee before them and take what they want." I was still scared, scared of the wild look in daddy's eyes and the stink of whisky on his breath. Whimpering softly I tried to focus on my target like I was taught and zone out the world around me. The echoing crack of the bullet leaving the barrel was the death of my childhood. Right at the moment I fired the truck hit a pothole disrupting my shot so it just grazed the van's door. They turned down a side street and we stopped chasing them; there was murder in Daddy's eyes.
Sirens wailed in the distance, from an early age I was taught to avoid the police. Following dad's example I laid down flat on my back so I couldn't be seen from the road. The gun was still loosely gripped in my left hand and resting across my hip. Nausea rolled in my stomach making me want to throw up my dinner of beef ramen. I had one job, just shoot the fucking tires so they crash, one fucking job and I failed. In the front seat Danny and Fred were screaming every swear word under the sun. Their displeasure at my bad shooting was clear as day thanks to the open back window. "Sorry daddy", I mumbled to the prone figure cursing beside me, "We'll get the bad guys next time." The only response I got was a sharp tug on my dominant hand relieving me of my borrowed weapon.
Dad didn't speak to me for a long time, not until he bade my uncles goodnight and we were back in the apartment. "Get me a beer you brat", he barked shoving me in the direction of our kitchen. I quickly opened the fridge and grabbed one of the tall brown bottles inside it. The main area of the apartment was all one room with the kitchen taking up a small corner in the back. We didn't bother with a kitchen table since we usually ate dinner in front of the TV. Cheap grayish carpet covered the floor, threadbare along the more well traveled paths. Dad was stretched out on the blue couch, his eyes fixed on the news while his hand reached out expectantly. Wary of the gun still tucked into the waistband of his jeans I handed him his opened beer. After a long swig he turned his head so he was meeting my eyes, "You really let me down tonight kiddo. Here I was taking you on your first grownup mission and you failed, do you know what the price of failure is Wulfenite?" A small sound, kind of a mix between a squeak and a moan, escaped my throat. Daddy stood from the couch towering over me like Odin himself, "You cost me blood so you gotta pay with blood. Hold the fuck still and take it like a viking", his fist collided with the side of my head.
Blow after blow rained down on me, pushing me back with the force of them, but Dad never tired. We were viking warriors, the lords of the storm, masters of turning pain into strength. He roared with each attack reminding me of what a pathetic piece of shit I was. Red surged through my vision and I lashed out, tiny feet hitting home on his erect manhood. Sanguine fluid speckled his skin and clothes only fueling his fury until he was beyond reason. Large hands gripped the front of my green t-shirt and I was lifted from the floor. Next thing I knew was the sound of glass breaking, a sharp pain in my face, and falling.
I hit the floor of the barn with a loud thud, waking me from my nightmare and into a world of pain. Everything was dark around me signaling the lateness of the hour or perhaps the earliness of the morning. Light exploded from above me turning my world into something unbearably bright. Memories and reality fought briefly for dominance making it hard for me to understand where I was. Green eyes were right in front of me, I flinched back raising my arms to defend myself. Everything was too much, I couldn't get enough air, my heart was a jackhammer under my ribs, I felt like I was falling again. "Stay back I think she's having a panic attack, Wulfenite I need you to take slow deep breaths", a small hand was moving through my hair guiding my face towards something pale. Exposed skin touched my cheek, too soft and white to be his, while the hands continued to move. "There we go, just like that, I'm assuming this is why you occupy the bottom bunk." Peridot, right Peridot was here; I was at the barn and just fell out of Lapis' bed.
I managed to get my breathing back under control thanks to a combination of Peridot's robotic tone and her hands in my hair. Mutely I climbed back into my bed, the little blonde girl joined me after the light was shut off. Fuck I hated memories I seriously fucking do; it wasn't fair that they could just take over like that. Nightmares about nonsense and blood monsters were one thing but that dream really happened. When I was ten I was thrown out of my apartment window and down onto the pavement. The fall broke my left arm in three places and was the main reason I currently sported a limp. My bruises were all chalked up to the fall and dad got off without so much as an inquiry. "Sorry for being a clumsy ass hat", I called into the darkness where I knew everyone was still awake. No one answered except for a few snorts from the bed above me and a deep laugh from the corner but it was enough. I rolled back over to find Peridot watching me with a curious expression on her face. "Leave it nerd", I whispered, "I'm just clumsy it's nothing for you or anyone else to worry about. Um thanks though for settling me down", I reached over to awkwardly pat her bare shoulder.
The next morning I woke up in my own bed, to the sound of chuckling, without much memory of the nightmare. Peridot had shifted in her sleep ending up curled on top of me like a weird cat. "Say cheese lovebirds", Amethyst cackled and I heard several clicking sounds. I was still disoriented from sleep and unable to do more than groan to defend myself from her picture taking. "Who knew P-Dot was such a cuddler, you two are so fuckin cute I might just hurl from exposure." Once I managed to wake up enough to get Peridot off me the three of us went to the house for breakfast. None of us talked about the previous evening's calamity but my knee hurt like hell. I was actually really sad when Greg took the nerd home; yeah I was getting soft but I was starting to think that wasn't so bad.