Hehe, sorry bout not posting a chapter last week. Highschool suuuuuucks, but it's a necessary evil. Oh and btw, potential warnings for the mid bit since Shales gonna get the crap beat outa her. So, look out for that.
Each time the bell atop the doorway to the cafe rang, Shale turned to see who was their. She wanted to leave soon, nothing bad had happened all day. So in turn she expected something really bad to happen soon and became more and more antsy as time passed.
Shale started fidgeting with the silverware, wondering if she could use the forks as lock picks when she heard the door crash open. Her and most of the other patrons turned up towards the door.
It was a group of older teens, each of them wearing a bike riders jacket and a abundance of spiked jewelry. Each of them had a similar haircut, except for the man in front who was presumably the leader. The only difference between him and the others was his bright blond hair.
Shale though it was familiar somehow. But she didn't know from where.
They looked around the cafe and one of the spotted her. She met his eyes and he turned to tap his leaders shoulder. This was cause for alarm.
She grabbed Edwards hand and squeezed. "Edward, if something happens then go with Skarloey and the others. They'll take care of you. I'll try to find you later."
Edward took a moment to realize what she said. But she was already up and walking towards the group.
"Alright, what'd I do this time." She asked.
The leader pushed through and grabbed her shirt. "You!"
"Hey, where's this coming from? I don't even know you!" Shale said. She grabbed his arm and tried to yank it of but two of the other teens grabbed her shoulders and held her in place.
"This the one?" The blond in front asked. Shale wasn't sure who until she saw a shorter version of the man in front of her make his way through. They were identical down to their bitter scowl except the younger one had a black eye.
'Oh, oh shit,'
"Now I remember you." She pointed her fingers at the two blondes. "Let me guess. After I punched you out in that alleyway and you begged big brother here to beat the crap outa me since you to scared to do it yourself. That about right?"
"Wait, you did what?"
She twisted her head to see Skarloey and the rest of the narrow gauge engines starring at her.
"Did you know about this, Edward?" Skarloey asked.
At this, Edward began to fidget with his silver chain and charm. "Well, yes. I did, but Shale didn't mean to! She was only trying to protect me!"
"Okay, for the record I though he was gonna hurt Eddie. But what'd you know, they didn't. Didn't think it would escalate past that."
"Yea, but I don't care why." The older brother grabbed Shale by the scruff of her shirt. "You hurt my little brother and your gonna pay for it."
That sent Shale into overdrive. Obviously they wouldn't do anything now since they were in public but whatever it would defiantly hurt.
Shale couldn't decide what to do. Fighting her way out would be futile and even with the engines super strength, she doubted that any of them would intervene. And if they bothered to try and find her then she'd bet that they'd try and find her again. So either end this here or run the risk of being caught at a later date.
Shale sighed and tried to keep herself from shaking. "Okay, fine. I don't stand a chance against all you guys at once, but can we at least take this outside? Since I'm pretty sure that none of you want an audience."
The brother frowned, but then he nodded to the two teens holding her and they started to walk out while dragging Shale with them.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash and several people yelling. She turned her head to see Edward trying to make a break for her. But he was being held back by Skarloey and Renneas.
"Let me go! Don't you see there going to hurt Shale? Let go!" He screamed
"Edward, please. Your making a scene. Well get her afterwards, but this is for her to face. Not us." Renneas said
"Don't worry. I'll be fine, promise I-" He didn't get to hear what she'd say. She was shoved out the door as it slammed shut.
"No!"
"Edward, wait!"
:===========:
Once they were outside, the teens dragged Shale into an adjacent alleyway and held her against a wall. The blonde walked up and pulled the knife from her belt.
"You know I couldn't use that even if I wanted to?" She half heartedly joked.
Then her head jerked back suddenly and hit hard against the brick wall. Her vision went spotty and it took her longer than she wanted to register that she was just punched.
The blonde then grabbed her hair and held Shale at eye level. Something dripped over her eye which made it harder to focus but she could feel him glaring daggers at her.
He said something before throwing her to the ground and heard someone mumble before she felt the kick to her stomach.
She grit her teeth as the pain shot through her like lightning. But they didn't stop. They kept kicking. Head, arms, chest. Each blow making it harder and harder to stay conscious.
Then it all stopped. Shale though that it was it but she felt something cool press against her neck. She could feel her heartbeat- growing faster each second- against the edge of the knife.
Fear wasn't how she felt. It wasn't even close. Terrified wasn't either.
Scared, Pain, Cold, Anger, Sadness, Regret, Guilt, so, so much guilt. And over such petty things to. Taking this from someone when they weren't looking, ignoring someone's cry for help in the night, lying to a police officer. Everything she'd rather forget that all at once.
And somewhere in the mix, hoping that Edward could move on.
Because this was where she would die.
He'd find her here. Body cold and swollen from the bruises, but he'd know. He'd know it was her. She hoped that the others would be their to comfort him. Maybe give her a burial if she was lucky. Under the tree she'd called home. Maybe then she'd be able to give something valuable to the world.
The boy grabbed her by the scruff of her jacket and started to yell. Something about never going near his brother again. Shale expected him to slit her threat and leave her to bleed. She felt her eyes close, good. At least then it would be painless.
:=========:
"Hey, don't you think this is enough?"
Jacob felt one of his boys grab his shoulder. He turned to shake them of but was surprised to see Johnny grabbing his arm. He'd almost forgotten why he was here. When Johnny came home being carried by his mates who explained what had happened. Why his little brother had a black eye. They were exploring a alley when some street rat jumped out and socked him in the face.
That was all he needed to know to try and hunt her down.
But as of now, seeing the girl blooded, limp and on the verge of unconsciousness, he knew that this was more than enough. With luck, this might even boost his street cred and send a message to any of the other street rats. His brother was of limits.
Jacob dropped the knife by the girls feet and stood up.
"Right, your right. I'm sorry Johnny, but I don't want to take the chance of her coming back after you."
He settled his arm on his brothers shoulder.
He looked up and addressed the group. "That goes for all of you. And Johnny-"
"Yea?"
Jacob hit him over the head playfully. "Don't ever go wandering around like that without one of the boys around."
"Ow, but I did have someone with me." He rubbed the back of his head.
"Yea, but whoever you brought wasn't enough. C'mon, let's get outa here."
The walked out of the alley but suddenly another boy with black hair came running out from down the street. It was one of those weird emo boys at the cafe where they found the redhead. When he turned to face them, he started to bolt towards them.
Jacob took a stance and shoved his brother behind him to protect him from the impact. But instead, he just ran past them and into the alley. Falling to his knees by the girls side.
Curious as to why he did this, he stepped closer. He could hear him whispering something to her. Then he paused and looked up at him, tears ready to break in his eyes and shifted so his back was facing them.
"Why, why are you like this? Why do you always have to fight. Why?"
He mumbled.
The words stung, but he didn't let them shake him. "It's because that's what'll get results. Now I know she won't bother my brother again. That's why."
He started to walk back but not before he heard the younger boys reply.
"But if that's true then wouldn't Shale be justified to go after you again? The cycle won't end, not if you keep trying to resolve your problems the quick and easy way. It won't end well for anyone, believe me, I would know."
Jacob hesitated for a moment, then kept walking. Trying forget that the girl had a name, which somehow made him feel worse.
They were at the crosswalk when the same group of Emos from the cafe cane running through a green light. One of them yelled out a apology to a car they nearly hit and then continued down in the same direction as the other boy. Somehow, he couldn't help but relate them to his own crew.
"Hey? Are you alright?" Johnny asked. Giving him a concerned look.
"Yea, I'm fine. Let's just go home
