Cracked Glass chapter 2
Yeah, somebody wanted to make Cracked Glass multi-chapter. Plus, I realized that I could expand on not only Sarah's journey but how it came to the events in chapter 1.
This chapter is from Double D's POV. So let's start chapter 2!
How did it come to this? How did three boys who were average students- Ed and Eddy- and mostly, well behaved end up commit the biggest school shooting since Columbine?
That would be a long story. One that's going to take a while and a little courage.
It was just another afternoon in Peach Creek with Ed and Eddy when Eddy had another idea to scam the local children out of their money. This time, the scam was for clothes which was going to be especially difficult. For the most part, Ed and I were sewing filthy, disgusting rags together to make a shirt or a pair of pants. Eddy sold most of these for as low as ten dollars.
I would have given him credit if the scam worked. But we didn't even get to attempt the con with the local kids of Peach Creek. We had set up a stand in the Cul-de-Sac when we saw two boys, aged around sixteen who were wearing dark colors.
We should have seen the warning signs back then. But we were too busy attempting our scam to pay attention. All Eddy cared about was making money. Ed didn't really care at all and all I cared about at that time was getting away with no bruises.
The first boy stopped and looked at our stand. He had reddish brown hair, piercing green eyes and wore a black Boston Red Sox cap, a navy hoodie and jeans with an eyebrow piercing and a nose piercing. I don't see how anyone could get a piece of painted metal to mutilate and destroy their bodies. Sorry, where was I? Oh, yes...
The first boy laughed and said " So you're selling these pathetic rags for as little as ten dollars?"
Eddy grinned mischievously and replied " These are Ed-brand clothes. Forget about Nike, Adidas, Puma, Gucci- These are the real deal? Edini-brand shirts, pants, shorts, even a few jackets."
The first boy rolled his eyes and sarcastically said " What a ripoff."
Eddy frowned at that and replied " Hey, jerk? Are you gonna buy something or just talk trash? 'Cuz I've got a bunch of well-paying s-costumers waiting in line."
The boy looked around and said " I don't see any well-paying customers. I don't see any customers at all."
The second boy lightly tapped him on the shoulder and said nervously " Ryder, we're going to be late for the meeting. Come on."
He had black hair with hazel eyes and wore a black hat with a black sweater and jeans. The boy also had a facial piercing.
Ryder replied " Calm down, Conrad. They won't be upset if we're three minutes late. Besides, these guys might be interested in coming. I know their stand has crappy merchandise but with some training, these three could be bred for greater things."
Eddy's eyes lit up and Ed and I both looked at each other, confused and worried. I knew that look on Eddy's face because I've seen it before and it couldn't mean anything good.
Eddy asked " Hey, where do we sign up for this meeting thing?"
Ryder answered calmly " Just follow us." as he and Conrad walked away.
Eddy grabbed the collar of Ed's jacket and said " Come on, Ed! This might actually be good." as he looked at me with annoyance.
I argued " Eddy, we can't just trust them! We don't even know who they are and they have piercings! What if this meeting is simply a facade, a con by those two boys to trick us? We could get beaten up for our foolishness-or worse."
Eddy glared at me while I sighed and followed Ed and Eddy. Only to protect them and make sure that the two of them wouldn't get hurt. The path of these two boys took us through the side streets and the alleyways of Peach Creek until they stopped at a large, church-like building.
Ryder smirked and asked " This is your last chance to back out, runts. Are you sure that you're in?"
Eddy put his thumb on his chest and answered rudely " Hey, I ain't no runt. I had to deal with my dad losing it half the time and the stuck-up suckers at school. Like a bunch of weirdos in Goth Anonymous are gonna scare me."
Ryder rolled his eyes and said " This isn't Goth Anonymous, kid. It's something else entirely. Conrad, let's show them."
The two walked up to the door of the large, church-like building with Ed and Eddy as Ryder pounded three times on the door.
A person asked " Safe word?"
Conrad answered with a hint of joy " Relapse, Barry. Are we late?"
Barry opened the door and revealed himself to be a 25-year-old man, who had dark skin and blond hair and light brown eyes. He seemed very muscular with several tattoos on his arms and hands. This made me feel even more nervous.
Barry replied "Five minutes. He's pissed. You and Ryder better get in there. These three, too." as Ryder and Conrad went into the building followed by the three of us.
The inside looked nice and the typical passerby would have mistaken it for a church. But there were no pews or crosses anywhere to be found. Most of the attendants were in dark or neutral colors while others wore bright colors. That confused me because if they were to be a group like a gang, why wear both bright and dark colors?
A tall, middle-aged man glared at Ryder and Conrad before he said impatiently " Ryder and Conrad. You're both late. Ryder, this behavior doesn't surprise me coming from you. But Conrad, this stunned me. Usually, you're early or on time for meetings."
Conrad hung his head slightly down in shame like a five-year-old and replied embarrassedly " Sorry, sir. Ryder and I could both promise that this won't become a regular occurrence."
The man said " I hope not and who are these three?" as he turned his gaze to me, Ed and Eddy. I was slightly shaking, Ed was waving and Eddy was leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.
Ryder answered calmly " These three boys are new recruits to the group, sir."
The man said " So you three boys want to join Demon Anarchy, eh? Don't look like ideal recruits. But then again, looks can be deceiving. Ryder and Conrad, you and the recruits may sit down. You two will be rewarded thirty marks each for the new recruits but you will also lose marks for being late. Ryder, since this is your third time, you lose fifteen this time. Conrad, you will lose five."
Ryder and Conrad sat down on one of the benches as Ryder motioned for us to sit down with them. Eddy sat next to Ryder while I sat next to Eddy and Ed sat next to me. The man looked at all of us with indifference.
The man said " We have twelve new recruits for the DA. We will put the recruits into four teams of three. Melody and Cole, you are in command of Group 1. Nick and Justin, you have Group 2 at your use. Lauren and Estefania, you're in charge of Group 3. Ryder and Conrad, despite your misconduct, I will allow you to command Group 4."
The man continued " May we begin our teachings with a proverb from the DA Handbook. You may only be small as David but if you have the strength against Goliath, you'll be very big."
The meeting continued for thirty minutes until the man said " Alright, disciples. Our meeting is over and you may now enjoy whatever free time you have today. The recruits and our eight captains, come over here for your assignments."
The first three groups were picked and sent to their captains as they were called. Ed, Eddy and I were still standing there with Ryder and Conrad staring at us.
The silence was broken by Ryder who said " Come on pledges, you have a lot to learn before you become a disciple." as the five of us headed outside.
Ed seemed interested and despite my hesitation, I was extremely intrigued at the intents of this...Demon Anarchy. Eddy seemed slightly upset but we all knew he would be back with the two of us.
Conrad handed all three of us a book with an anarchy symbol on the front and said " This is the DA handbook. Read it, study it and memorize every word of it. For you pledges, this handbook will be like a guide to your future lives."
We nodded and Conrad continued " We'll see you three back here tomorrow. That's when your training starts."
The three of us walked back to our houses as Ed said " That was so cool."
Eddy and I both looked at each other before Eddy scoffed and replied " Yeah, if you're a little kid or a loser. That was such a waste of time that we could have spent making moolah."
I said " I, for one, am intrigued by the actions and habits of this Demon Anarchy. I'm going to go back there tomorrow and detail this training. It could be something worth recording and showing to the public."
Ed nodded and we both looked at Eddy to see his reaction at our interest in the DA.
Eddy shrugged and replied " What the hell? Maybe I'll meet a few chicks there and learn some karate and survival skills and stuff like that."
That is what started our voyage into the world of the Demon Anarchy.