Those times when the sky was as cloudy as today were the perfect times to go for a walk. The sun has been horrible this summer; you wouldn't want to go outside just to burn yourself with a 113 degrees temperature. Tom Bradshaw, the weatherman in channel 7 said the weather would eventually get better, but yesterday was hot as fuck, and the day prior, and the day prior to that.
Today, though, the air was cooler and gray clouds covered the sky, threatening to unleash a storm at any moment. Not even that would keep Lily Loud from going for a walk. Any time the problems at school or the situation at home took over her nerves, a walk was a very good way to relax and leave all that behind; it didn't matter where it'd take you, the mere fact of having time for yourself was enough to clear your mind.
The blonde was not a little girl anymore; being sixteen years old, her long golden hair fell over her shoulders while that characteristic cowlick on top remained. She was wearing a pair of jeans with black converse shoes, and a long sleeve purple shirt with the word "Black" in front.
She walked down Turner St, her gaze straight ahead as she passed through the crowded sidewalk. Her childhood years weren't the happiest of her life ever since her father left the house to live with a cheap hooker and her bastards. "It's cheaper to support hers than yours." It was the last thing Lynn Sr. said before leaving the house to never return. She remembers mom on her knees, crying and begging him not to go. Lily was five years old when it happened; she stood alongside her siblings, holding Bun Bun tight against her chest as they all witnessed their father sending their family down the hill. Since that moment, even being the innocent little girl she was, she knew nothing would be the same.
She stopped at the intersection and waited for the light to turn green. To her left, the distant laughter of a little girl caught her attention; she walked with her father and mother at each side, protecting her from everything. The little girl was about five years old, her blonde hair tied in a pair of pigtails and wearing a cute purple dress. She was playing with a ball as she walked, laughing as she kicked and then chased it. Lily couldn't help but watch her, totally unaware of everything that happened around while her parents watched her like the guardians they are supposed to be. This reminded her of the few good times. They now seem so far away.
The little girl ran to pick the ball from the ground, but accidentally ended up kicking it again, sending it at Lily's feet. Lily watched the ball, and then at the little girl who looked a little uncertain about going for it. The blonde sighed, turned back to the street and walked away. The little girl went and picked the ball, watching as Lily disappeared among the people.
The situation of the Loud family didn't get any better as time passed. Rita became alcoholic; whenever she wasn't working or trying unsuccessfully to write her stupid novel, she was drinking bottle after bottle of cheap licor on her room, crying and blaming her daughters for making her husband leave until she passes out. Her big sisters, from Lori to Lucy, left the house when they turned eighteen, leaving her trapped in that living hell.
As years passed, Lily had grown up with resentment towards them for being cowards and bailing like rats in a sinking ship. Towards her father, for leaving them and going after a whore she met on the internet. Towards her mother, for not being the adult she was supposed to be in this situation and choosing to relieve the pain with alcohol instead of being there when she needed her.
But above all that, she hated her brother.
Lincoln was not only her brother, he was also her confidant, the person she trusted the most, the one she so much admired and loved, and the one she looked up to. He was the one she recurred to when there was a big storm outside and she needed to be protected from the thunders, or when there was a scary monster inside the closet and she needed someone to scare him away. Lisa never helped her; not even being her roommate she ever tried to comfort her when she was scared. "The probabilities of a monster actually hiding under your bed are zero, sister." She said, "Now, get back to sleep and stop bothering me." Her other sisters would react just the same, sometimes not even getting out of bed.
Lincoln, on the other hand, would take a baseball bat, get inside the closet and valiantly fight him. And after that, he would make some hot chocolate and stay with her until she'd fall asleep. She was no longer in the age of believing that kind of fantasies, but the fact that her brother would go that far to calm her, that meant a lot.
That's why the day he left the house, Lily hugged him tight as tears fell down her cheeks. She didn't want to lose him; he was her best friend, her brother. "Sorry Lily-bug, but I must go." Was all he said. He didn't even look her in the eye, he just turned his back and walked through the door, just like dad, just like her sisters.
In that moment Lily realized that she was alone; she couldn't count on Lola or Lana; they'd be too busy with work or hanging out with her friends. She couldn't count on her mother, as she'd be drunk almost everyday. She couldn't count on anyone.
A bitter taste set upon her mouth; her hand tightened into a fist and her teeth clenched. There was no use in turn to the past; what happened, happened. She couldn't change it.
She eventually arrived at her destination: Green Valley, popularly known as The Black Market. This place was like the dark web but in real life; here you could buy a heck lot of things you wouldn't normally find somewhere else. This place was a pisshole full of mobs, drug sellers, mercenaries, junkies and homeless people. The worst ghetto hood back in the 90's looked like a paradise compared to this wasteland. Lily herself didn't know how she ended up going to this kind of site; maybe it was because of that time in middle school when her mother forgot to pick her up. She sat on a bench for hours; the hot midday sun hitting her directly and the smell of a dead cat nearby contaminating the air. Suddenly, a girl named Cindy sat next to her and offered her a cigarette; Lily became her friend, and soon, Cindy took Lily through the dark path she walks today.
They became good friends; Cindy would come to see Lily at the end of school and they would go to the park, the arcades or the mall. Those were good times; Lily felt comfortable with Cindy, as if she were the sister she so much wanted. But just as any good thing, it didn't last.
One day Cindy stopped coming to see Lily. The blonde would wait for her in the same bench for hours, but she never appeared. Lily didn't mind at first, Cindy probably had other things to do. But as days passed there was no sign of her. Lily gathered the courage to come to this place and ask for her, but while she found an answer, it wasn't what she expected. Turns out Cindy was a dealer for one of the gangs controlling the place, and got caught in the middle of a gang war. She didn't make it.
She put her hand into her pocket, taking a hard square-shaped thing out, it was a pack of cigarettes. The top was red and the bottom white, a cowboy hat in front with the name of the brand "COWBOY" written below. The lid was completely white with a legend written over it: "Smoking Kills". It was stupid to think that would ever stop someone from doing it. It didn't work when they raised the price of a single pack. It didn't work when they started to put gross pictures showing the effects of long term smoking. It didn't work when they raised taxes on smokers. It feels like they just gave up and put the first thing that came to their mind so they could sell their cancer tubes without troubles. Lily herself knew smoking wouldn't solve her problems, but after the nicotine kicks into your system, you cannot say it doesn't help.
TShe turned in a corner and walked straight, passing near several locals a sixteen years old girl should never pass near. Roy's tavern was one of those; that place was a pit of alcohol for the local drunks. It smelled like pee and vomit left in the sun for months. Even some of the clients were sleeping in the street; a greasy fat guy that looked better than he smelled and someone that looked like he was dead.
Next, there was a cheap strip club whose name she couldn't remember, not that it was important. Almost all their clients were the drunks from the tavern, or fat, ugly fucks from other parts of town that chose to go there because either they were too poor to afford a place without STD's or were packing small problems.
At first, Lily didn't understand how those horrible places would even get any income since all their clients were the local junkies, but eventually she realized those places are sponsored by the local gangs.
After walking for quite some time, Lily finally got where she wanted. Food wraps, beer bottles, cigar butts, used condoms and syringes were all around the ground, making it hard to walk without stepping on one of them. The place consisted in a park with trees over tall, uncut grass, some benches occupied by homeless people, and a bridge that crossed over a pond of green water with trash and frogs floating on the surface. The benches, the bridge, and almost all the walls were covered in spray, with paints about the gangs of the zone or obscene draws. Lily had no time to appreciate such pieces of modern art; she only came to this place forgotten by man and God for one reason.
She walked into the deepest part, ignoring all the obscene things a homeless man was yelling at her. The guy was a mess, with an old, stiff jacket covered in dirt and God knows what else, his pants were ripped above the knees and had a big, wet stain in the middle, his shoeless black feet showing long, thick yellow nails, a lost sight on his eyes and a single tooth on his mouth. Some better looking (in comparison) homeless were asking for anything she could spare, but Lily walked past them. She knew that showing money in public, especially in that place, was not a good idea; if someone knows you have money you might become an easy target for burglars.
She walked towards a kiosk in the center of the park. It was just as dirty as the rest of the place; holes in the roof filtered the dim daylight and the smell of shit mixed with ashes contaminated the air. She walked step by step, avoiding the trash and the crap until she spotted a man hiding at the end of the kiosk. Lily reacted quickly, with a still face she put a hand on the knife she was hiding on her waist, gripping tight the handle in expectation of anything.
The man took a few steps until he came to the light. Lily quickly recognized his face, relaxing a little and lowering her guard.
"Hey, Doggo." Lily greeted. Doggo was one of the many dealers that lived there; the guy was tall, bald, and was dressed with a denim jacket, jeans and boots. He was the right-hand of one of the gangs in the zone, which put him in a big position among all the living trash there.
"Hey, Lily?" Doggo said while coming out of the shadows.
"I'm fine." Lily replied. "I need more stuff."
"Normal or special"
"Both." Lily said.
"Alright." Doggo said as he put his hand inside the jacket; Lily saw some interesting things in his belt, such as a knife, a walkie talkie, and some other stuff, but what caught her attention was a gun he had on her back pocket. Lily had never used a gun, but was quite interested in everything about them. She'd have one right now if they weren't too expensive.
After some moments that seemed like hours, he took a fresh pack of cigarettes, and a smaller box which contained five weed blunts. "The price was rised, but I'll leave it to you at the normal price. Just for this time."
"You're the best, Doggo. Here you got." Lily said, handing hima well folded bill. The man took the cash and went again into the shadows. Lily peeked outside, looking left, looking right. No one in sight. Perfect.
Lily walked out of there quickly. She opened the pack and grabbed a cigarette. This place wasn't always as horrible as it is now. In fact, this used to be one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city at the time. The wealthiest families used to live here, big stores selling a shit ton of useless stuff at every corner and had the finest private school in the city.
Lily held the cigarette between her lips, and using a lighter, she burned the tip of the white tube. Soon the cigarette was alive. Giving a drag, she felt the smoke filling her lungs, the nicotine soon flowing in her bloodstream and taking out all her worries. In a matter of seconds, her body felt more loose.
With the arrival of Commissioner Johnson to the police department, things changed. Every passing day this place was less patrolled, which eventually caused thieves and other scum to move here. The rich families moved away, as the gangs took over the hood and made it their own. There is even a rumor that says one of the gangs controls the police department, that's why nobody has been caught.
Lily walked the same path she used to get there, passing a dark alley between Roy's and the strip club. Out of nowhere, she felt as a pair of hands grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into the shadows. One of the hands slammed her violently against the wall while the other was over her mouth, preventing her from screaming.
"Don't even try to resist, girl!" A guy said, holding her tight in place. "Gina didn't give me what I wanted, but I just found something better…" The guy said as he introduced his hand under Lily's shirt, touching and squeezing her breasts. The horrible smell and the rancid breath told her that it was one of the drunks from the tavern. She knew what she had to do, so she let the guy do what he wanted, letting him lower his guard.
The man soon began to play with her nipples, pinching and squeezing them between her thumb and index finger. His grip on her body softened, and soon he let her arms free to focus on her lower region.
Get ready.
Lily grabbed her knifet and held it tight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The guy lifted her shirt, revealing the girl's smooth, soft white skin along with her small breasts. Next, he undid the button of her pants and introduced her hand between them and her underwear. Lily pulled the knife out slowly, letting the bastard do his thing.
Gotcha.
The guy felt as the sharp blade made its way through his chest, slicing his flesh and ripping the muscular fibers . He then let her go; walking back and falling to the ground as he stepped on a beer bottle. Lily watched as the guy grabbed his belly in an effort to minimize the pain and the blood loss. The bastard whipped and cursed her, threatening to kill her and her family. Some moments passed, and now there was a pool of blood on the floor. On top, the bastard stopped crying; instead he was now trembling as the blood loss lowered his body temperature.
Lily got closer; the bloody knife on her hand and her chest going up and down fast. She kicked him on the side, and forced him to lay on his belly. The man didn't show any sign of life; the movement of her chest ceased, and with that he exhaled his last breath.
Lily fixed her clothes and cleaned the blade to put it right away. The blood pool was big; she had to walk careful to avoid staining her shoes.
She had never killed anyone, not even an animal, but she knew sooner or later something like this would happen, especially in this kind of place. The girl took another cigarette and lit it, walking away and leaving the crime scene.
I'll be re-writting the story and updating as soor as possible. Comments and critics are welcome.
