Chapter Seven
The sky was painted a deep, crimsonlike blue that night. Even when the darkness of night filled the sky, the moon held a reddish hue. Still the wails of the seagulls filled the docks. And yet now, the gulls had a duet with the sullen weeping of the heartbroken, the ones who's loves had been ripped from them that night of horrible bloodshed. Still, the murky water lapped at the warped wooden posts keeping the wharves afloat. But the water flowed with the spilled blood and shed tears of the now lost and lonely. This night, seemingly undistinguishable, was a night that changed everything in some people's worlds. Most would never again be the same.
***
A group of people sat huddled in a bunch, some crying, some ripping things to shreds in their hands to relieve their violent anger. Their clothes were ragged, warn and re-warn by a younger member when they were outgrown. Their speech was hurried and whispered, holding a note of horrible anger or deepest sorrow or dying despair. They sat on the wooden floor of a rundown, abandoned building with a few added beds and sparse chairs and a table or two. The walls had peeling wallpaper and dusty windows. These were the Jerseys.
"Dead. Dead. He's…dead," a girl whispered over and over. This was Iris, Romeo's only love.
Next to her sat Griffin, holding Shadow, his girl, tightly in his arms. The two spoke not a word to eachother as they sat there together. Blade was gone. That meant that Griffin was to lead. He wasn't ready for that position.
Wisecracks was the only one standing as he paced back and forth. He droned on quietly to himself all the thoughts racing through his head while Words, his girl, sat by his pacing track, telling him mindlessly to sit down.
There were three young ones in the group, ages ranging from 4 to 9. These children were too young yet to understand the momentous tragedy that had occurred that night. Freckles, the smallest, a girl of 4, was asleep on the old couch. Her sister, Fidget, had an arm about her as she stared off into space. Her secret love had been badly wounded by a Bronx and was upstairs, engulfed in a painful sleep.
The other two children, Insect, a boy of 8 years, and Sassy, a girl of 9, were usually racing around the lobby, making rude jokes and poking fun at eachother, but due to the more quiet tone of the night, they were abnormally quiet. They sat up straight amongst the group, not comprehending why the girls cried or why the boys were so mad. But they didn't want to disturb them lest they take out their anger on them. They would soon fall asleep as well, following Freckles' example.
A boy stood at a window, separate from everyone else. His name was Loner, and it was a great description of his character. He stared out the window and up into the tiny patch of starry sky visible through the gaps of the tenement buildings surrounding the lodging house. Blue, one of his few close friends, sat in a wooden chair a few feet away, thinking silently to himself as well.
"Where's Solo?" Blue asked of Loner who turned to face him.
"He wasn't at the docks," Loner noted.
Blue nodded, "I hope he doesn't get himself into any more trouble with those damn Bronxes."
"D'you think he killed Blade?" asked Loner.
Blue sighed, "It's hard to tell. But if Romeo died first," he gulped, "Then somebody had to take care of Blade." Loner only nodded.
The two were silent for a while, each thinking their own thoughts, "D'you think…there's a girl involved?" Blue asked almost timidly.
"God save Solo if there is." Loner muttered, shaking his head.
The sky was painted a deep, crimsonlike blue that night. Even when the darkness of night filled the sky, the moon held a reddish hue. Still the wails of the seagulls filled the docks. And yet now, the gulls had a duet with the sullen weeping of the heartbroken, the ones who's loves had been ripped from them that night of horrible bloodshed. Still, the murky water lapped at the warped wooden posts keeping the wharves afloat. But the water flowed with the spilled blood and shed tears of the now lost and lonely. This night, seemingly undistinguishable, was a night that changed everything in some people's worlds. Most would never again be the same.
***
A group of people sat huddled in a bunch, some crying, some ripping things to shreds in their hands to relieve their violent anger. Their clothes were ragged, warn and re-warn by a younger member when they were outgrown. Their speech was hurried and whispered, holding a note of horrible anger or deepest sorrow or dying despair. They sat on the wooden floor of a rundown, abandoned building with a few added beds and sparse chairs and a table or two. The walls had peeling wallpaper and dusty windows. These were the Jerseys.
"Dead. Dead. He's…dead," a girl whispered over and over. This was Iris, Romeo's only love.
Next to her sat Griffin, holding Shadow, his girl, tightly in his arms. The two spoke not a word to eachother as they sat there together. Blade was gone. That meant that Griffin was to lead. He wasn't ready for that position.
Wisecracks was the only one standing as he paced back and forth. He droned on quietly to himself all the thoughts racing through his head while Words, his girl, sat by his pacing track, telling him mindlessly to sit down.
There were three young ones in the group, ages ranging from 4 to 9. These children were too young yet to understand the momentous tragedy that had occurred that night. Freckles, the smallest, a girl of 4, was asleep on the old couch. Her sister, Fidget, had an arm about her as she stared off into space. Her secret love had been badly wounded by a Bronx and was upstairs, engulfed in a painful sleep.
The other two children, Insect, a boy of 8 years, and Sassy, a girl of 9, were usually racing around the lobby, making rude jokes and poking fun at eachother, but due to the more quiet tone of the night, they were abnormally quiet. They sat up straight amongst the group, not comprehending why the girls cried or why the boys were so mad. But they didn't want to disturb them lest they take out their anger on them. They would soon fall asleep as well, following Freckles' example.
A boy stood at a window, separate from everyone else. His name was Loner, and it was a great description of his character. He stared out the window and up into the tiny patch of starry sky visible through the gaps of the tenement buildings surrounding the lodging house. Blue, one of his few close friends, sat in a wooden chair a few feet away, thinking silently to himself as well.
"Where's Solo?" Blue asked of Loner who turned to face him.
"He wasn't at the docks," Loner noted.
Blue nodded, "I hope he doesn't get himself into any more trouble with those damn Bronxes."
"D'you think he killed Blade?" asked Loner.
Blue sighed, "It's hard to tell. But if Romeo died first," he gulped, "Then somebody had to take care of Blade." Loner only nodded.
The two were silent for a while, each thinking their own thoughts, "D'you think…there's a girl involved?" Blue asked almost timidly.
"God save Solo if there is." Loner muttered, shaking his head.