Part 2: Tragedy

1998 Somewhere in South Boston 1.30 a.m.

Faith continued to run and run through streets, down Alleys anywhere that would take her in the direction of home, she was panting hard, sweating profusely and exhausted. She had lost the disturbed biker about half an hour ago but that didn't matter she wasn't going to stop until she was home, until she was safe. The rain started to slowly fall as she ran through the streets. She stopped looked into the Heavens, and then realised that with everything that had gone on she had left her jacket at Embargo; "Shit I'll have to get it tomorrow!" she cursed into thin air. She continued on her way until she came to what looked to be a main high street, it had a few small shops dotted around a main square. Faith made her way towards a store named "Mickey's". Her destination was not the shop but a small alleyway alongside it. The alleyways looked similar to the ones she had she had previously been chased along earlier in the night, but these were more familiar, she knew instantly where she was going, she had walked this way a thousand times, she was nearly home.

Eventually Faith came to the end of an alleyway and crossed a small side street, she looked up at the building directly in front of her. It was quite a small building with three floors and a small flight of stone steps leading to the front door, the outside of the building looked to be in some disrepair. Some of the windows were boarded up others were covered in grime and dirt like they hadn't been cleaned for months. There was a For Sale sign on the building, looking ready to fall off at any moment. Faith made her way up the stone steps and opened the door in front of her and entered into the building. The decor was fairly light some of the wallpaper was falling off, but the inside looked better than the outside. There was a flight of stairs facing her and two doors either side. Faith approached the door to the right with the number "2" on it, she unlocked the door and entered the room.

This was Faith's home, a small five-room apartment that she shared with her mother. The apartment was not in a good condition, paper was pealing off the walls, there were few ornaments or pictures to brighten the place up, and the place had obviously seen better days. There was sometimes a musty damp smell, but that was not the smell that greeted Faith, it was the more familiar smell of Vodka. The smell was strong; she could smell it wherever she went in the apartment. "Mom, Mom," Faith cried out as she made her way through the flat. There was no answer but for the sounds of rain rattling on the window panes, she made her way to a door on the opposite side of the front room, the door was next to her own room.

Faith opened the door and peered around. It was a familiar sight that she was met with. The room was in a terrible mess there was an unmade bed in the centre; the sheets were untidily draped over it there was empty bottles strewn all over the floor. There was no decoration except for a few framed photographs, some were lying on the floor others on shelves; most were of a small young girl with dark hair. This was the source of the Vodka that she had smelt. As Faith looked over the room she looked slightly concerned. She went around to the other side of the bed, a part of the room, which was hidden from the doorway; she could see her mother passed out on the floor with a half empty bottle in her hand. Faith's mother was the mirror image of her daughter, the only difference being she was very much older with bags under her eyes and her hair was a bit shorter and not as well kept as her daughter's. Faith just looked at her mother and remarked "Typical!"

She then wiped some of the rain and dirt off her face with her arm and looked at the residual dirt left on her arm and decided to go clean herself up a bit, she made her way over to the bathroom. The bathroom was small but contained all the major necessities a shower, toilet and sink. There was a small wall cabinet above the sink with a mirror the length of the cabinet attached to it and it was covered in everyday dirt and grime. Faith looked in the mirror and wiped away some of the dirt so she could see herself more clearly. She just looked at herself in the mirror; She removed the hair from out of her eyes, looking at the dirt on her face, just thinking. Faith took a glance down at her hands they were shaking, she couldn't hold them still for more than a second, A small tear began to run down the side of her cheek, but she just stared thinking.

...At this point I can remember thinking why me? Before this night I had never been that frightened, why did he pick me to chase what was wrong with me? At the time I was blaming everything on other people wondering why he chose me to scare, I hadn't done anything wrong; I did not think I was at fault for the incident that night. But now I see I wasn't to blame, but I did have a part in it. If I hadn't been acting the way I was I wouldn't have provoked him. Still that didn't excuse the man and deep inside I was seething, my ego was hurt and I wished that I could do anything that would make him feel as frightened as I felt that night, maybe I would get my chance...

Faith then opened the mirror cabinet and reached inside, inside the cabinet were your normal everyday hygienic products but at the back she spotted a small hip flask she just simply shook her head. She then reached in and pulled out a small face cloth and closed the cabinet. Faith then used the towel to wipe away the tear, and some of the dirt that was on her face. She then took a good look in the mirror smiled half heartedly, then promptly wiped the mirror with the hand cloth, smudging the image. Faith then turned away, a small trickle of water could be heard it was Faith adjusting the speed of the shower. She then removed her clothes dropping them to the floor piece by piece; she climbed into the shower and began to soak herself. She began to pour shampoo on her hair, lathering it, spreading it over her entire body cleaning everything away. She washed the dirt and the rain from out of her hair making sure every inch of her was clean. She was almost trying to cleanse the entire night and what happened from her. The water then suddenly stopped, Faith reached out and grabbed the only clean towel from off the radiator, drying every inch of her making sure she was clean and dry. She then wrapped the towel around herself and put her dirty clothes in a small basket on top of the washer.

With her towel wrapped around her she went into her room to change. Faith reappeared wearing just an extra large T-shirt that came down just over half way down her thighs. Faith then made her way to the fridge; she opened it and looked inside. The fridge was bare except for a bottle of orange juice. She took an apple from out of a fruit basket on the fridge and poured herself a drink of the orange. She slowly walked back into the living room. Faith switched on the small black and white TV and then curled up on a sofa drinking her orange eating her apple and just staring blankly at the TV not really watching the movie that was being shown, but slowly turning over a thousand different thoughts in her head.

…Now looking back I can see that even in my own home I was one of the loneliest people on the planet. At the time I didn't think of it that way, I just thought everybody must sit alone, I just never realised how much I time I did spend alone…

After just sitting for a few minutes Faith finished her snack, she put the glass in the kitchen and threw the apple core in the bin. She then headed in the direction of her bedroom. Just as she got to her bedroom door she looked forlornly at the door to the bedroom next to hers – her mothers room. She then turned away from her room and again entered her mother's room. She looked around the room with sadness in her eyes, looking at the different pictures in the room all of her when she was younger, after a minute she went over to her mother. She removed the Vodka bottle from her mother's hand and placed it on a nearby shelf. Faith then lifted her mom in her arms and placed her on the bed; she then gently placed a blanket over her. She then bent down and gave her mom a small kiss on the forehead and returned to her own room. Faiths bedroom was quite small there was a small set of drawers and a cupboard on the left-hand side of the room and a bed on the right. Just as Faith entered a calendar on the wall caught Faiths eye. She ran her finger down the days on her calendar, she stopped on today's date, in the box it read ...My 16th Birthday.

...It was my sixteenth birthday today and no one knew no one cared not even my own mom. I would never have admitted it back then but it bothered the hell out of me, I kept thinking, was there no one who cared about what happened to me…

"Oh well Happy Birthday to me!" Faith said to herself in a sarcastic tone. She then climbed into bed and pulled the sheets up over her and curled up. At first she just lay there asleep contemplating everything in her life, she then started to cry a little, but that slowly died down and Faith fell into a deep sleep.

As far as the eye could see there was lush green grass, there were a few trees spotted about in the distance but in the foreground a young girl could be seen, it was Faith. She was standing dressed in her usual street clothes in front of a grey headstone. The writing on the headstone could not be seen, but Faith felt sad she could just feel the sorrow in her, but was slightly confused, as she didn't know why she felt it. Faith looked to her left an older woman was standing next to her she had her hair tied back and was carrying a large musty old book. Faith looked to her right and saw a kindly gentleman with a grin on his face. He pulled out a small handkerchief and then wiped his hands with it. He then folded the handkerchief up into a small square and put it into his pocket; he then just grinned at Faith.

Faith suddenly woke up and just remarked "Wicked weird" with a confused look on her face; she then dismissed the dream and fell back asleep.

...That was what my home life used to be like my dad had left us 4 years ago for another woman, my mums drinking was one of the reasons for it, there were others too but that was the main one. I had quit school over a year ago I had no interest in education, I had no friends there and I wasn't very bright I thought I was big because I walked out on school. Looking back I was just a lost person with nothing to do except to go to pubs and clubs and come home to this. I would always find my mom either smashed or passed out; I really tried to put on a brave face and let the whole world know that this didn't bother me. But it did it ate away at me I was lying to myself everyday, I tried not to let this stuff hurt me but I guess it did more damage keeping everything in, letting the anger and sadness become bottled up...

Faith slowly stirred, She stretched her arms, opened her eyes and looked at the clock on her bedside it read 16.00; she just dismissed this and got up. As she strolled around the apartment she saw that nothing had changed. She looked in on her mom and she was still in exactly the same place that Faith had put her in. She went to the bathroom had a quick shower, did her hair and then went to her bedroom to get changed. She emerged a few minutes later fully dressed; she was wearing a red halter neck top with a low cut neck line and black leather trousers." Well I better go get my jacket before Steve sells it or something!" She said to herself as she went to leave the apartment. " Faith, Faith honey," Was the call Faith heard, as she was just about to close the door behind her. Faith then turned around and headed back inside towards her mother's bedroom. Faith popped her head around the door and replied in an expectant voice "Yeah mom what's up?" Her mum looked at her and asked " Faith will you be a darling and fetch me a bottle a bottle or two from the store?" Faith just gave her mom a disgusted look, turned and walked out shouting behind her "No, if you wanna keep doin this to yourself, I ain't gonna help you!" Faith slammed the door behind her and made her way back towards the bar, she looked at the sky and saw the sun beginning to set and murmured to herself "She didn't even remember my birthday!"

Faiths mother was all alone in her bedroom, she got out a plastic bag from under her bed and emptied the contents onto the bedspread. Two wrapped up presents; an unwritten birthday card, a small crinkled up envelope and a pen fell out the bag. She then wrote the card and signed it ...All my love, your Mom Evelyn, she then put the card into the envelope and put all the items onto a shelf, hidden by a couple of empty Vodka bottles. Evelyn then got out of bed and slipped on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and put a large overcoat on. She took the half-empty Vodka bottle from where Faith had placed it the previous night and drank the lot. She hunted around the apartment in search of some more, Evelyn then put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a few lose coins and a couple of notes, after counting her money she put on a pair of shoes and then left the apartment. She looked into the sky with a worried expression on her face; she then pulled the coat tighter around her and headed off in the same direction as her daughter.

As Faith entered Embargo she noticed the music was much lower than it had been the previous night and there was only one customer in. Steve the barman was going about his normal duties of sweeping and cleaning, "Oh Hey Faith, come for your jacket have ya?" was the question Steve shouted from the other side of the bar.
Faith then sauntered up to the bar in much the same attitude as she had shown the previous night and replied " Yeah you keeping it safe for me?"
Steve handed over the denim jacket and answered, "Of course Faith, So how are you after last night? I take it you got home ok?"
As Faith turned to leave she replied, "Yeah I'm five by five, livin' totally large."
Steve with a smile on his face responded, " That's good to hear, say hi to your mom for me oh and Happy Birthday Faith."
As she turned to leave she shouted back, " Yeah thanks Steve."
As Faith exited the bar she closed the door behind her, then raised a little smile as if to say at least some one had remembered, with the light now turned to dark she decided to make her way back home.

Evelyn stepped out of the store named Mickey's and into the main street; she had a small white paper bag in her hand. She then looked at the shop directly opposite, which had a large sign, that had the word's beer, liquor and wines underneath the main name of the shop, these were the words that interested her. Evelyn emerged from the liquor store, carrying two bottles one of Whiskey the other of Vodka and the small white bag she had brought from Mickey's. She turned in the direction of home going down the alleys Faith had used to get home the previous night. Once in the alley Evelyn immediately opened the bottle of Whiskey and took an almighty swig out of the bottle. Every couple of paces along the alley she knocked back some of the Whiskey as though it was water. Soon after she had turned out of the first alley into another, the whiskey had been finished; she tossed the empty bottle aside and unscrewed the lid from the Vodka. Whilst doing this she dropped the white bag she had been carrying, unaware of this she took her first taste of the Vodka.

Evelyn tipped her head back and took three huge gulps of vodka and when she brought her head up to her normal position she was met by the bald headed face of a biker. There were a couple of other people Evelyn could see over his shoulder, a dark haired woman and a black man. She then bumped into the biker. "Oops sorry, I'll just go the other way." Evelyn stammered. She turned around and started to make her way back down the alley, the biker just grinned. Then in front of her a blonde haired man appeared wearing sunglasses and an expensive suit, it was Ianus; he had a smirk on his face. Evelyn just stood there and took another swig of her Vodka. It would be her last as the biker was now standing directly behind her; his face has now changed to that of a monstrous demonic one. The biker then exposed her neck and sunk his teeth into it. He then raised his head with red blood dripping from his teeth and pushed away Faiths mom into a big pile of garbage lying in the alley. The biker licked his lips and remarked, "Not bad for a first taste!" The biker and the two people behind him then approached the now lifeless body with sadistic smiles on their faces…

"That's enough people, we've got to leave at least something behind to mark out our territory." Ianus shouted, the others stopped their feeding and stood behind him. Ianus looked down and picked up the half drank bottle of Vodka; he took a sniff, "damn cheap stuff, let's go people we've had enough fun "he exclaimed. Ianus then took the bottle and threw it against the alley wall; he then strolled off into the night with the other three in tow. The sound of the bottle smashing reverberated throughout the back alleys, there was no one around to hear or so you would think.

Faith now had her denim jacket on and she was making her way towards home she had just crossed the main square and was heading towards the alleyway by Mickey's place. She then heard the smash of a bottle coming from the alley. Faith stopped to listen and had an inquisitive look on her face, wondering what it could be.

…I was on my way home, the smash of the bottle made me a little wary about going into the alleys. I still had to go down the alley though to get home though but I knew this part of town well, so I decided to carry on, now I wish I hadn't…

Faith entered the alley cautiously, checking every thing, she was just a little wary after hearing the breaking bottle. As she came to the end of the alley she noticed a small white paper bag, she picked this up and opened it, there were three plastic bottles of headache tablets in it, Faith just shrugged her shoulders and discarded the bag and its contents. Faith then turned into the next alley and saw the shards of a smashed bottle strewn over the floor she could also smell a strong scent of vodka. Faith seemed somewhat relieved, that the smashed bottle wasn't anything more She now started to walk more confidently down the alley. Faith then noticed something in a large pile of trash that lay in the alley, as she got closer she could see that it was a body. Pieces of cardboard and rubbish obscured the face; Faith then noticed blood seeping out of multiple small cuts and punctures in the body. Faith quickly turned away covering her eyes and holding her mouth. She took a few paces back and threw up; the horror of what she had seen was a shock to take in. Faith then wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket. She then went back over to the body, to see if the person was some how alive she was trying not to look at the injuries, she took the large piece of card that was covering the face and tossed it aside. Then it hit her, like a sledgehammer shot to her heart; the body was that of her mothers. Faiths pulse quickened and her eyes widened, "Mom" Faith whimpered in a frightened tone, she then nudged the body "Mom she cried again She got no answer Faith just fell to her knees in shock, "Mom, Mom," she cried her voice getting louder and more urgent. "Somebody Help me!" Faith screamed at the top of her voice her eyes were burning and the tears were streaming down her face. "Somebody please!" She screamed in absolute terror as she collapsed crying uncontrollably.

…That was the worst moment of my life, my mom and I hadn't been close for numerous years, but she was always there, and now I had no one, I was totally alone. This was the point of one of my wrong choices. After this I decided that I could count on no one but myself, anyone who mattered or who said they had loved me had gone away, I wasn't going to make that mistake again, and this would ultimately play a part in my downfall...