DARK ANGEL


Chapter Two - the Laughing Target

"A man is dreaming that he is a butterfly... How can you know, when he wakes up, that it's not the butterfly who is dreaming that he is a man ?" (R.M.)
"Some things are too beautiful to de destroyed... until the point of no return..." (Juunanagou)

It was a dark moonless night...

A night for ghosts, for dispair songs. A night during which kids were thinking twice before sneaking out. Old legends were perhaps subjects of jokes but in such nights, they were coming back to tickle the subconscious.

In a tunnel, in some bad quarter of some mad city, a fire was projecting some dancing glimmer on the curved wall. Sometimes, ghostly moving shadows were interrupting the golden light.

The fire was coming from a burning car, crushed against the wall. Two junkies, half drunk, were celebrating some victory, their motobikes on the side. Pressed against the uring stinking sticky wall, a 11 years old boy was holding tight his little sister, 6 years old. They were both trembling, not trying to imagine what would come next. The boy, Fuma, was bleeding from a cut at his forehead, and at his knee. His sister, Kotori was covered of blood, but which wasn't hers. Her tears had made furrows among the blood and dust on her face.

There, in the burning car, their two parents had met death in the car incident, after trying to escape the HELL ANGELS. The kids had been projected out before the collision, and had seen the coctail molotov thrown by the "angels" into the car.

Noticing that perhaps the two "angels" were too drunk to watch them closely, Fuma grasped Kotori's hand and began to half-pull, half-carry her to the exit of the tunnel. A metallic bar hit the wall just two centimeters from Fuma's eyes. Under the shock, he fell backwards, involving Kotori in his fall. He put protective arms around her while one of the "angels" was crouching near them.

"Ya wanna leav' us, kids ? Why ? The party just b'gan", he told, moving slowly the metalic bar near Fuma's eyes. "We're goin' to haf a lotta fun together", he added, touching slightly Kotori's cheek with the bar. Fuma pushed it away. The man snorted, then stood up and threw his foot in Fuma's face, projecting the young brown haired boy at 5 meters away. He hit the other angel's boot in the process.

"My mum also hated kids", the first one - Tobby - concluded with a wolly voice. He began to laugh alone at his own humor.

A sudden caw interrupted his throaty laugh. He startled, turning on himself, and saw a big, black bird on the handlebar of his motorbike. He made large movements of his arms to chase the animal away, but the crow justed moved his wings slightly, cawing again.

"If ya shit on my handlebar... we won't be friendz", he told, approaching.

Steps sounds pulled him from his thoughts. The other angel - Ben - raised his eyes to watch at the newcomer, slowly moving his hand to his back, and firmly closing his fingers around the handle of a "morning star" that was sticking out his worn jeans. He remained straight, watching the approaching figure.

"Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children."

The young, soft, but firm voice was echoing in the tunnel as the stranger was approaching. The two HELL ANGELS were tensed, waiting for the best action to do, judging of the threat the newcomer could bring. The two kids, pressed against each others, were also staring, helplessly, as the approaching figure stepped into the circle of light created by the fire of the car. Tall, dark cloth, with a long black coat, a sword attached in the back, purple hair, and some ghostly clown make up on the face.

"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers."

"What da hell isdat?", Tobby was staring at the stranger with wide and surprised eyes.

"Shall I join your party?", the newcomer inquired softly.

Ben was still tensed, "Halloween won't come before a month, dude! Get your ass outa here if you value your life!".

"Da shit ya smoke must be awesome, man! Didja see ya face?", Tobby started laughing, too much under the influence of the alcohol to realize of the danger.

Trunks had observed the two men, judged their personality, and already made his choice. He stepped closer to the two Hell's Angels. "I came all this way to find your group... And you tell me to leave now? You break my heart...", he added, sounding chagrined.

Ben took his gun and pointed it menacingly towards Trunks: "I told you to leave this place now! I count until three !"

Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm happy for you ! But I went beyong the stage of "three" many years ago...", he added, grinning.

Ben frown while Tobby was laughing his ass off. "One..."

Trunks walked two calm steps closer to Ben. "Before I leave, you'll answer a question of mine..."

"Two!"

Trunks still made two step closer, until the Ben's gun was pressing against his chest: "and I can't value Life, for I'm already dead..."

Ben made a distusting frown: "See kids?", he started for Kotori and Fuuma, "This is why you shouldn't try drugs. We're professionals, don't imitate.". Trunks was watching Ben with a soft and amused smile.

"Oh... Excuse me, I forgot", Ben blinked, " THREE !", and he fired.

The shot-sound echoed against the wall like a thunder, as Trunks was projected backwards under the violence of the blank point shot. Blood flew in the air and on Ben from the large wound on Trunks' chest while Trunks' body was hitting the ground.

Fuuma had put a hand on Kotori's mouth to prevent her from screaming, even if the tiny hope he had seen with the newcomer's arrival had suddenly metled like snow under the sun.

"Good shot, maaaaaaaaaaaan!", Tobby shouted, raising his thumb up, while Ben was staring at the lifeless corpse a few feet from him. "Stupid!", he hissed between his teeth. He raised his gaze towards Kotori and Fuuma, "If you count on dumbs like this to save your lifes... better start praying God...", he added, walking towards the children.

"Oh no, Ben, don't kill them yet...", Tobby pleaded, "I still want to have a little f--". He stopped in the middle of his sentence, jaw-dropping, his eyes catching some movement from the lifeless body... which didn't seem anymore lifeless at all, considering that it was now sitting and examining the wound... which was slowly reducing and healing.

Ben turned towards Tobby to see why he wasn't finishing his sentence, then saw Trunks, calmly sit and looking at him with a gentle smile.

"What the hell...", Ben whispered, staring at the smooth untouched skin, visible through the hole in the black tee-shirt, only remaining proof of the previous wound.

"It's good you talk about God...", Trunks said, raising on his feet. "because HE gave me a message for you...", he started walking towards Ben.

Ben moved backwards, trying to find any explanation of that miracle, and deciding for the most reasonable - and most probable, according to the statistics - thing to say: "You monster". He shot at Trunks.

Trunks caught the bullet in the left lung, he stepped backwards under the shock, then resumed calmly his walk towards Ben: "HE said you did enough...", his face was calm, and looked almost full of concern, despite the heavy black and white make-up.

Ben shot again twice, reaching Trunks in the stomac and in the liever. Again, Trunks stepped backwards before resuming his walk as if nothing had happened. "It's time to pay for your faults...". Tobby, despite the non-negligeable alcohol quantity in his blood - or rather, the quantity of blood in his alcohol - understood the situation and started running away.

Ben aimed Trunks' heart and fired twice more. Trunks jerked violently backwards and bent over, a hand pressing on his chest at the heart level for a few seconds before raising his face - no more calm and full of concern, but with an evil grin and fire in his eyes - towards Ben: "Hell is opening its arm to thee."

Before Ben could react, Trunks jumped to him and grabbed the gun from his hand. He did a bad key to Ben's elbow and the bone came out in a sinister crack; meanwhile, Trunks was already turning on himself almost graciously, still holding Ben's arm who hadn't reacted yet to the pain, and firing at Tobby with Ben's gun. The bullet caught Tobby at the right knee, exploding it. Tobby howled and rolled in the dust. Trunks stared at him for a few seconds, watching Tobby opening wide eyes with horror, realizing his wound, then trying to crawl towards the wall, leaving a bloody line behind him. Trunks smiled at this.

The mid-horror, mid-pain scream from Ben drove Trunks' attention back to the man whose broken arm he was holding. He let go off the man who fell on the wet pavement, not very far from the children. Ben looked up at Trunks. With the warm light on his face and the flames reflection on his long black coat, Trunks looked like the Avenging Angel from Hell. For a moment, he was voiceless, almost forgetting to breathe, then: "What are you made of, man...? Those who die don't come back..."

He didn't exactely believed in his words - which he had learned as a matter of fact for his whole life - but was more repeating them to try to reassure himself, to believe this was just a bad dream, or a bad trip from one of the shits he had smoke at some party a few moments before.

Trunks was staring at his tee-shirt, five holes showing unscratched skin were the only traces of the previous shot from Ben, along with the blood which hadn't dried yet. "Man, I hate what you did to my cloth. This tee-shirt was brand new!"

Ben tried to crawl backwards, holding his arm, feeling the bone under his fingers, but trying the do-not-to-think-about-it-now--there-is-no-spoon--do-not-to-think-about-it-right-now. "Those who die don't come back...", he was still repeating as a school-contine.

"Okie, we're going to play a little game, Ben!", Trunks started, checking first how many remaining bullets were in the gun he was still holding. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that Tobby had reached the wall and was using the metallic bar along it to help his balance while jumping on his still intact leg to move away from the main scene. Trunks reported his attention towards a speechless Ben. "A simple game... I ask questions... and you answer me..."

Ben remained speechless, breathing rapidly under the pain. Trunks stared at him for a few seconds, then "Which country are you from?"

Ben blinked: "What?"

" 'What' ain't no country I know...", Trunks retorted calmly, "Do they speak English in 'What'? "

Ben was about to make an heart attack: "What?"

"ENGLISH!!", Trunks snapped, "Can you speak it?"

Ben startled: " yes..."

"Then you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes..."

"Good.", Trunks said in a satisfied tone, "then tell me who in your gang told about us to the cyborgs!"

Ben was out of fear: "What?"

Trunks jumped forward and leant on him, pressing the barrel of his gun hard against Ben's cheek: "SAY 'WHAT' AGAIN! C'mon, say 'What' again! I dare you, I DOUBLE DARE YOU MOTHERFUCKER, say 'WHAT' one more goddamn time!", his face was full of fury, nothing any more to do with the soft look of a few minutes ago..

Ben looked like he was shrinking on the spot. Trunks considered him for a short while, and simply said "Breathe". Thus Ben realized he was again forgetting about breathing.

Trunks went on more calmly: "Now tell me who in your gang told the cyborgs about us."

Ben trembled: "I don't know what you are talking about, I--"

"Do I look like a bitch?", Trunks interrupted him.

"What?", Ben asked without thinking. Trunks, who was still leant on Ben, stood again, and shot Ben in the shoulder of his untouched arm. Ben screamed, breaking into trembling and shaking spasms on the ground, curled up like a foetus.

"Do-I-look-like-a-bitch?", Trunks repeated.

"no...", Ben hissed between his teeth, in agony.

"Then why do you try to fuck me like a bitch?", Trunks went on.

Ben blinked in surprise. "What?"

Trunks sighed, then shot in Ben's left knee (he likes that, the knee...). Ben rolled on the floor, screaming his voice away. Kotori and Fuuma were like stone statues.

"I repeat, because apparently you didn't get it the first time", Trunks went on with a tone of a teacher, facing some slightly retarded student. "Why do you try to fuck me like a bitch?"

"I don't", Ben cringed, trying to figure out how to hold his three hurt-or-broken arms and leg with his - not exploded yet - right leg. "I really don't know what you are talking about...!". He closed his eyes, expecting his right leg to explode really soon. Irony, his right leg was going to be one of the only parts of him to remain unhurt.

Trunks saw in a distance that Tobby was reaching the end of the tunnel. He kneeled down near Ben and grabbed his hair, raising his head towards his. "you know what?", he whispered gently, "I think I'll believe you". Ben got an relieved smile. "But it's time for you to sleep", Trunks added, raising the gun to Ben's face.

"Oh shit", Ben whined, the most used word in case of violent death - still according to the statistics...

The sound of the shot echoed on the walls of the tunnel as Tobby was reaching the outside. He didn't dare looking back, knowing already what had happened.

Trunks raised on his feet and look in the direction that Tobby had taken to run away. As he started walking in that direction, Kotori broke free from her brother's grab. "Mister, WAIT!"

Trunks turned to her as she was grabbing his coat. "Our parents are in the car... don't leave us, please!".

"KOTORI-CHAN!!!", Fuuma screamed, panicked, but not daring approaching the dark angel yet...

Trunks stared at the car and the hungry flames which had almost already comsumed everything, flesh, synthetics, plastics and leather. Kotori raised her eyes at that moment and caught the look in Trunks' eyes. It was like he was brought into some distant past. Some past he was fearing to look into. She knew instantely that he'd do no harm to her brother and her.

"Kotori!!!", Fuuma called again, "Come here now!!!"

"Don't be afraid, nii-chan", Kotori retorted with a weak smile. "He is not a bad person". Trunks looked at her, astonished to get that adjective after the show he had made with Ben.

"Please, don't leave us...", Kotori whispered again. Trunks looked at her, then at her brother (Fuuma cringed when he did so), and sighed, as if attending some internal battle. He then turned towards the crow who was still standing on the motorbike handlebar, as if nothing had happened, and nodded. The crow cawed and took his flight in the direction Tobby had taken. Trunks reported his attention back to the kids.

"True... you can't stay here...", he said calmly.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]