The Witness
Chapter 18
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Cole woke up and looked at his surroundings. He had no idea where he was and he struggled through the throbbing pain in his head to remember what had happened. He remembered leaving the Center after getting a phone call from Chenise telling him that Raven had found out where he was and was coming for him. She said she knew that she was risking her life by telling him, but that Raven was getting out of control and he needed to be stopped.
He couldn't believe how easy is had been to just walk away from the Center. He'd gotten his money from his drawer before he went outside. He was outside doing some of his chores and he looked around and noticed that no one was watching. He just walked away. It was as simple as that. Simple right up until he got pulled into Raven's truck while he was walking along the highway trying to get a ride back to the City. He struggled, tried to get away, but it was four against one and then someone had hit him with something and everything went dark.
Now, here he was in God knows where, sitting in the dark. He rubbed the back of his head and flinched as he felt the lump where the blow had landed. He felt a little dried blood. He tried to stand up, fighting a wave of dizziness and nausea from the concussion he had sustained. He gathered his bearings and saw a faint light coming from the corner of the room. He walked toward it, steadying himself on the wall as he went. He bumped into something with a loud bang and stopped, hoping that he hadn't brought attention to himself. He heard nothing from outside the room and assumed he was alone. He made it to the light source and realized that the light was coming from under a door. He listened at the door and heard some music playing and some muffled voices.
He was trying to figure out what to do and kicking himself mentally for not calling Bosco before he'd left the Center. At least he'd have known that he was missing. He was brought back from his thoughts at the sound of a voice just on the other side of the door. He froze, trying to decide whether to stand his ground or go back to where he was and pretend he was still unconscious. The next words he heard made his decision for him.
"Hey, Raven. Better give me that gun in case he's awake and planning an ambush," came the voice with a harsh laugh. With the word of a gun, Cole had decided to go back to where he woke up and pretend he was still unconscious. Maybe he could sneak a peek while the door was open and get a better idea of how to get out of here. As the door opened, Cole closed his eyes and concentrated on relaxing his entire body so as not to give himself away, but the words he heard from Raven made a wave of fear run through him.
"Hey, Gary! Don't forget to give him the stuff. The sooner we get him messed up again, the sooner that cop'll throw him away. Then nobody will care when we waste him. They'll think it's just another junkie caught in a drug deal gone bad," Raven laughed as Gary entered the room, laughing along with him.
"No! I've worked so hard to get clean! I've got a chance at a real life, with a real family," Cole thought to himself. He couldn't just let this happen - not without a fight. He waited for Gary to get a little closer. Maybe if he could take him by surprise, he'd have a fighting chance. But, there's no way he could get past Raven - unless....
Gary came closer after flipping on the overhead light. Cole tried to remain still as the sudden light assaulted him through his closed eyes, making his head pound even harder. "Wait," he told himself. "Just another couple of seconds."
He heard Gary put something down and start handling something else. Cole managed to open his one eye far enough to catch site of the gun that Gary had put down in order to get the drugs ready for Cole. Now was his chance. He just wished he knew exactly where Raven was and if there was anyone else around. He decided that he had to act now, before the drugs got into his system. He had to at least try.
He turned quickly and kicked out with his legs, catching Gary by surprise. He saw the look of surprise on the young man's face as his leg connected with his side hard. The drug paraphernalia that he'd been fiddling with fell from his hands as he tried to recover and regain his balance. Cole sat up quickly and grabbed for the gun that was inches away from him. He managed to get to the gun before Gary did despite the wave of dizziness at his sudden movements. He stood quickly, leaning against the wall as Gary called out for Raven and lunged toward him. Cole didn't remember pulling the trigger, but he heard the loud bang and watched Gary crumple to the ground slowly at his feet. He looked up to see Raven and another kid he didn't recognize running into the room.
He pointed the gun at the two rushing into the room and they stopped at the doorway. Raven looked at Gary laying on the ground and then back to Cole. "You son of a bitch! You killed my brother! There's no way you're gonna leave here alive now," he said as he began to approach Cole. Cole aimed the weapon straight at Raven, causing him to pull up short.
"No! I won't let you do this to me again! I'm leaving. I've got a real life waiting for me," he said, inching his way to the door as Raven and the other kid circled to the left. Suddenly, Cole found himself on the floor with Raven and the other on top of him. Gary wasn't dead after all - just wounded. He'd reached out and tripped Cole. Because of the dizziness from the concussion he was unable to regain his balance in time. "Get the stuff!" Raven called out to Gary who was getting up now.
Raven and the other kid held Cole down while Gary prepared the poison meant for Cole. Cole struggled to get free as he felt the needle enter his arm. As soon as they were done, they released Cole watching to see his reaction to the chemical pumping through his veins. They watched his facial expression change as the drugs took effect, pleased with themselves.
Cole lay on the floor, trying to fight the effects of the drugs, but liking the familiar feeling at the same time. He heard Raven, Gary and the other kid talking, but it was distorted. He could make out that Raven was taking Gary to get patched up and the other kid was to stay and keep an eye on Cole. He watched the two leave and followed the kid with his eyes as he went back out to the other room and sat down.
"I've gotta get out of here. I've gotta find Bosco," he thought desperately to himself. He watched as the kid's attention fell back on the television that was playing. Cole managed to get to his feet and walk quietly to the door of the room. The kid wasn't paying any attention, but the drugs were taking a stronger hold on him. "If only I can get out of here before they take complete hold," he thought to himself, edging out of the room and toward the door. After a couple of very cautious minutes, he found himself outside in the bright sunshine, trying to figure out where he was. He had to get away first and that was the only thing on his mind for right now. He wandered down the street trying to stay out of sight so he could get far enough away that he could figure out his next move
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Ty pulled into the lot of the Center about two hours after they'd picked up Bosco from the hospital. Bosco had filled them all in on what was going on. He told Jimmy, D.K, and Billy that he'd understand if they wanted to head back to the City, but they said there was no way they were leaving now. The four men followed Bosco into the Center where Cole's doctor was waiting for them. The doctor told them that the police had already been there and looked through Cole's room and around the grounds. He was nowhere to be found and apparently took nothing with him, except the money he earned for work he did around the Center.
"Did he get any phone calls or anything?" Bosco asked after thinking for a minute.
"Yes. I started to tell you that on the phone earlier, but you hung up on me. Mrs. Smith, the operator, told me that she put a call through to him around 7:30 this morning. She said it was a girl - she gave her name as Chenise," the doctor replied. Bosco looked at Ty as Ty fished his phone out of his pocket. "I'm on it," he told Bosco, referring to getting the police department to pull the phone records coming into the Center between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 18
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cole woke up and looked at his surroundings. He had no idea where he was and he struggled through the throbbing pain in his head to remember what had happened. He remembered leaving the Center after getting a phone call from Chenise telling him that Raven had found out where he was and was coming for him. She said she knew that she was risking her life by telling him, but that Raven was getting out of control and he needed to be stopped.
He couldn't believe how easy is had been to just walk away from the Center. He'd gotten his money from his drawer before he went outside. He was outside doing some of his chores and he looked around and noticed that no one was watching. He just walked away. It was as simple as that. Simple right up until he got pulled into Raven's truck while he was walking along the highway trying to get a ride back to the City. He struggled, tried to get away, but it was four against one and then someone had hit him with something and everything went dark.
Now, here he was in God knows where, sitting in the dark. He rubbed the back of his head and flinched as he felt the lump where the blow had landed. He felt a little dried blood. He tried to stand up, fighting a wave of dizziness and nausea from the concussion he had sustained. He gathered his bearings and saw a faint light coming from the corner of the room. He walked toward it, steadying himself on the wall as he went. He bumped into something with a loud bang and stopped, hoping that he hadn't brought attention to himself. He heard nothing from outside the room and assumed he was alone. He made it to the light source and realized that the light was coming from under a door. He listened at the door and heard some music playing and some muffled voices.
He was trying to figure out what to do and kicking himself mentally for not calling Bosco before he'd left the Center. At least he'd have known that he was missing. He was brought back from his thoughts at the sound of a voice just on the other side of the door. He froze, trying to decide whether to stand his ground or go back to where he was and pretend he was still unconscious. The next words he heard made his decision for him.
"Hey, Raven. Better give me that gun in case he's awake and planning an ambush," came the voice with a harsh laugh. With the word of a gun, Cole had decided to go back to where he woke up and pretend he was still unconscious. Maybe he could sneak a peek while the door was open and get a better idea of how to get out of here. As the door opened, Cole closed his eyes and concentrated on relaxing his entire body so as not to give himself away, but the words he heard from Raven made a wave of fear run through him.
"Hey, Gary! Don't forget to give him the stuff. The sooner we get him messed up again, the sooner that cop'll throw him away. Then nobody will care when we waste him. They'll think it's just another junkie caught in a drug deal gone bad," Raven laughed as Gary entered the room, laughing along with him.
"No! I've worked so hard to get clean! I've got a chance at a real life, with a real family," Cole thought to himself. He couldn't just let this happen - not without a fight. He waited for Gary to get a little closer. Maybe if he could take him by surprise, he'd have a fighting chance. But, there's no way he could get past Raven - unless....
Gary came closer after flipping on the overhead light. Cole tried to remain still as the sudden light assaulted him through his closed eyes, making his head pound even harder. "Wait," he told himself. "Just another couple of seconds."
He heard Gary put something down and start handling something else. Cole managed to open his one eye far enough to catch site of the gun that Gary had put down in order to get the drugs ready for Cole. Now was his chance. He just wished he knew exactly where Raven was and if there was anyone else around. He decided that he had to act now, before the drugs got into his system. He had to at least try.
He turned quickly and kicked out with his legs, catching Gary by surprise. He saw the look of surprise on the young man's face as his leg connected with his side hard. The drug paraphernalia that he'd been fiddling with fell from his hands as he tried to recover and regain his balance. Cole sat up quickly and grabbed for the gun that was inches away from him. He managed to get to the gun before Gary did despite the wave of dizziness at his sudden movements. He stood quickly, leaning against the wall as Gary called out for Raven and lunged toward him. Cole didn't remember pulling the trigger, but he heard the loud bang and watched Gary crumple to the ground slowly at his feet. He looked up to see Raven and another kid he didn't recognize running into the room.
He pointed the gun at the two rushing into the room and they stopped at the doorway. Raven looked at Gary laying on the ground and then back to Cole. "You son of a bitch! You killed my brother! There's no way you're gonna leave here alive now," he said as he began to approach Cole. Cole aimed the weapon straight at Raven, causing him to pull up short.
"No! I won't let you do this to me again! I'm leaving. I've got a real life waiting for me," he said, inching his way to the door as Raven and the other kid circled to the left. Suddenly, Cole found himself on the floor with Raven and the other on top of him. Gary wasn't dead after all - just wounded. He'd reached out and tripped Cole. Because of the dizziness from the concussion he was unable to regain his balance in time. "Get the stuff!" Raven called out to Gary who was getting up now.
Raven and the other kid held Cole down while Gary prepared the poison meant for Cole. Cole struggled to get free as he felt the needle enter his arm. As soon as they were done, they released Cole watching to see his reaction to the chemical pumping through his veins. They watched his facial expression change as the drugs took effect, pleased with themselves.
Cole lay on the floor, trying to fight the effects of the drugs, but liking the familiar feeling at the same time. He heard Raven, Gary and the other kid talking, but it was distorted. He could make out that Raven was taking Gary to get patched up and the other kid was to stay and keep an eye on Cole. He watched the two leave and followed the kid with his eyes as he went back out to the other room and sat down.
"I've gotta get out of here. I've gotta find Bosco," he thought desperately to himself. He watched as the kid's attention fell back on the television that was playing. Cole managed to get to his feet and walk quietly to the door of the room. The kid wasn't paying any attention, but the drugs were taking a stronger hold on him. "If only I can get out of here before they take complete hold," he thought to himself, edging out of the room and toward the door. After a couple of very cautious minutes, he found himself outside in the bright sunshine, trying to figure out where he was. He had to get away first and that was the only thing on his mind for right now. He wandered down the street trying to stay out of sight so he could get far enough away that he could figure out his next move
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Ty pulled into the lot of the Center about two hours after they'd picked up Bosco from the hospital. Bosco had filled them all in on what was going on. He told Jimmy, D.K, and Billy that he'd understand if they wanted to head back to the City, but they said there was no way they were leaving now. The four men followed Bosco into the Center where Cole's doctor was waiting for them. The doctor told them that the police had already been there and looked through Cole's room and around the grounds. He was nowhere to be found and apparently took nothing with him, except the money he earned for work he did around the Center.
"Did he get any phone calls or anything?" Bosco asked after thinking for a minute.
"Yes. I started to tell you that on the phone earlier, but you hung up on me. Mrs. Smith, the operator, told me that she put a call through to him around 7:30 this morning. She said it was a girl - she gave her name as Chenise," the doctor replied. Bosco looked at Ty as Ty fished his phone out of his pocket. "I'm on it," he told Bosco, referring to getting the police department to pull the phone records coming into the Center between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...