The Queen of Carnage

by Wright, Candice

  “Come out, come out wherever you are,” the psychotic dickhead calls. I feel an arm against mine as Megan leans up against me to see what’s going on and, as much as I want to snap at her to move back, I can't imagine how terrifying it must be to have one of your senses stripped from you and not know what’s going on around you.

  Weasel starts laughing maniacally like the creeper he is.

  “Oh, that’s right, you can’t hear me, can you, bitch?” he mocks, pulling one of the shelving units over so it crashes to the floor.

  I look at Megan and realize he’s here for her, not me. What the fuck is going on? Megan is white as a sheet and shaking like she’s seen a ghost. I grip her face with my free hand, needing her to keep it together. I mouth that I need her to distract him. Her eyes widen but she takes a deep breath and nods. She crawls away from me as Weasel systematically destroys the store around us. She makes it to the farthest part of the counter before standing up on shaky legs and pushing a jar of pens off the counter to get his attention. I watch from my spot as he spins around and his ugly face breaks into a smile.

  “Well, well, well. Look who it is. Little bird, I’ve missed you.” She knows him but I can tell from every twitch of her body this is not a happy reunion.

  “I hear you’ve made friends with that bitch that got me booted from Carnage. Tsk, tsk, Birdy. Have you no loyalty at all?”

  “Fuck you!” I hear Megan whisper and for a second I’m so shocked, I can’t move. I’ve never heard her speak before. I wasn’t even sure she could.

  “Well, if you insist, Birdy. Come over here and get on your knees. Show me how much you’ve missed me and I might refrain from cutting out your tongue.”

  She turns toward the opening, moving her fingers behind her back. It takes me a second to realize she’s signing.

  I’ll distract him so you can sneak out the back.

  If she thinks I’m leaving her here, she is fucking delusional. She lifts the counter flap and heads toward him. When she’s close enough, he grabs her by the hair and forces her to her knees.

  He puts his gun on the shelf behind him so he can open his fly without letting her go and I take advantage of the only shot I might get. I stand up and shoot him right between the eyes without any hesitation. He crashes back into the shelving behind him and slides to the floor. I’m up and around the counter two seconds later with a shaking Megan in my arms. I check her over and after determining she's okay, I crawl over to Parker.

  He’s lost a lot of blood but I can feel a faint pulse. I run back to Megan and drag her over to Parker with me. I press her hands against the wound on his neck but it’s doing little to stop the blood from flowing. She nods that she understands what I need from her, leaving me free to run and snatch my purse from behind the counter. I grab it and head back to Megan, skidding in Parker’s blood and nearly falling. I pull out my phone and hit speed dial with shaky hands as the adrenaline floods my system.

  “Oz’s crematorium, you break ’em we bake ’em.” Fucking Oz and his stupid sense of humor are strangely fitting for once.

  “Oz,” I whisper.

  “Luna?” Oz reacts to the tone of my voice and the joker is replaced with the lethal killer he’s trained to be.

  “Where are you?” I hear shuffling in the background. I reel off the address before taking a deep breath.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve just started a war and I need someone on my side to have my back. I have to call the guys but I need you,” I say, not having any idea how this is all going to play out.

  “On my way.” He hangs up, leaving me to dial Halo who, out of the three, might be the easiest to talk to.

  “Hey, sugar, we’ve just got back from collecting King who is his usual charming self again.”

  I can hear King in the background shout, “Fuck you!”

  “Halo.” My voice shakes even though I feel a little calmer hearing his voice.

  “What happened?” he shouts.

  “Weasel shot Parker and I think the prospect outside too but I don’t want to go out and check in case anyone else is out there. Parker is in a bad way, Halo, he’s been shot in the neck. He needs an ambulance but I don’t know what you want me to say to the police,” I ramble.

  I can hear running and bikes starting up and I know they are on their way, thank fuck.

  “We’ll be there in five, sugar, don’t worry about the police. Rebel is calling an ambulance now but we’ll probably beat them there. Doc is with us, so don’t panic. Where is Weasel now? Are you safe?”

  “Yeah, me and Megan are fine. I… Weasel’s dead. I shot him.” I hear his sharp intake of breath.

  “I’ve gotta hang up but I’m on my way, sugar, I promise.” He hangs up and I crawl back over to Megan who has managed to stem the worst of the bleeding by shoving her fingers inside Parker’s neck. I look at his face, surprised to find his eyes open and watching me.

  “Hey.” I grab his hand and squeeze. “You’re going to be fine. The guys are on their way. Just hold on for me okay?” He squeezes my hand so I take that as a yes.

  We stay exactly as we are, time crawling by agonizingly slow until the door crashes open behind us. I turn my head and see Carnage bikers flooding in but my eyes are focused entirely on Gage as he barrels toward us with a face like thunder. He scans me from top to bottom, checking that I’m okay before his shoulders finally relax a little. He comes directly over to me and picks me up, squeezing me tightly. He hands me over to Halo who wraps his arms around me, kissing me softly and wiping the tears of relief from my eyes.

  “Orion is with King and Joker. He wanted to be here so badly but he had to stay and protect them in case this was a trap.” I nod, I get it.

  “It’s fine, Halo. It was the smart thing and the right thing to do.”

  “I need you to move now!” someone barks from behind me. I turn and see an older MC member shouting at Megan’s back but of course, she doesn’t hear him. I watch as he shoves her and she lands sprawled to the side of Parker with her fingers still inside his neck. Something inside me snaps. I shrug out of Halo’s hold and walk over to the crouching Doc, who is berating Megan for getting in his way, and kick him in the face. He falls as I pull my leg back to kick him again but find myself restrained by a pair of strong arms.

  “Enough!” Halo roars at me. “He’s trying to save him and she’s in the way. We don’t have time for sensitivities right now.”

  “She’s keeping him alive, you fucking motherfuckers. Her fingers are in his neck and they’re the only reason he’s still breathing.” He must look to see what I’m talking about because he lets me go.

  “Shit!” He crouches down next to her and tells her to move so he can take over.

  “She can’t hear you, she’s deaf,” I explain, crouching down on the other side of her. I rub her arm gently to get her attention and sign that she needs to let go. She shakes her head at me.

  “Megan, let go. Halo has him. I swear it,” I sign.

  I watch the tears drip down her face before she turns to Halo and nods. He slides his fingers down beside hers. She watches his mouth and on the count of three, they switch. She pulls away and turns into my arms, sobbing. I stand with her and pull her away before Gage wraps his arms around us both. I hear a commotion at the door and look up to find Oz and Zig shoving their way inside.

  “This is club business, Luna,” Gage scolds me.

  “They weren’t looking for me. They were looking for Megan,” I tell him, making him look down at her suspiciously, which is another reason I called my brothers.

  “Luna.” Oz snatches me away from Gage, much to Gage’s disgust, and wraps his arms tightly around me. I let go and move toward Zig when I notice Gage still has hold of Megan, only this time, he has his massive hand wrapped around her wrist.

  “Let go of her, Gage.” I step forward and take her free hand.

  “Club business, Luna. I have a dead prospect outside and one down in here and you want to let go of the only connection w
e have to the traitor over there?” He nods in Weasel’s direction.

  “This is one of those times, Luna, where you are just going to have to shut up and deal with it. This is an MC, not a fucking knitting club.” He seethes.

  I feel my brothers stand beside me, flanking me and having my back like they have done a thousand times over the years, and stare down one of the men I’m falling for.

  “She sacrificed herself to get me out,” I point out softly, making him look down at her and swallow. She’s shaking so hard I can feel her body vibrating through our connected hands.

  “I only managed to get a shot at Weasel thanks to her. The only reason Parker is still alive is because of her. Now let her go so she can get checked out. You want to talk to her, I get that, but let her get cleaned up and looked over first,” I say softly, not wanting to make a scene in front of his club brothers, knowing instinctively that will be the wrong move to make. I walk up to him and slide my hand over the one of his holding her wrist.

  “I’m not going anywhere. She can stay with me.” He looks at me like he wants to give in but when the paramedics turn up I know the police will be hot on their tails, signaling our time is up.

  He looks over at the biker I vaguely remember being called Agro and nods for him to take Megan. He comes up and takes her, grabbing both of her arms behind her. She looks at me scared and confused for a second so I sign that I will sort it out. She nods, trusting me. God, I hope that trust isn’t misplaced.

  “Take her to the cells,” Gage tells Agro, never taking his eyes from mine, waiting for me to protest. I say nothing. Nothing I say will make any difference right now. I let every ounce of my disapproval show though. Agro walks her outside. I turn to follow but Gage grabs my arm.

  “Don’t interfere. Gecko will take you back to the clubhouse. Stay there and keep out of the way. Orion will want to see you but he won’t be able to stay for long.”

  I don’t answer him, say goodbye to him or Halo, or even acknowledge Gecko when he walks over to me offering me his hand. I turn to face my brothers who both have neutral expressions on their faces. Guess the bikers must be fools because if they really knew what was going on beneath my brothers’ placid expressions, they would have all pulled their weapons by now.

  “Chosaint,” I tell them in our native tongue, knowing they will understand me. They both nod in unison before I slip my hand into Gecko’s and let him lead me outside to my truck. I climb into the passenger seat and toss my keys onto the driver's seat as he puts his bike in the back. I lean my head against the cool glass beside me and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for everything that’s about to go down. Why does everything always go to shit so fast?

  “Everything’s gonna be okay, Luna. You have to trust your guys to sort it out,” Gecko tells me as he starts the engine. He pulls out just as I hear sirens approaching in the distance.

  “Okay, for who, though, Gecko? My friend is being locked down in the same place that nearly killed me after she just saved both mine and Parker’s life. The MC sure has a fucked-up way of showing their gratitude. I’m sure next time she’ll just sneak out the back and leave me to fend for myself.”

  “They’re trying to tie up loose ends. It’s been quiet for the Carnage for a while but then you show up and, no offense, Luna, things start fucking up.”

  “I love it when someone says no offense before offending you. It’s such BS and you know it. Weasel was a traitor. I think we’ve safely established that so my turning up only helped there. King being sick has fuck-all to do with me. My friend and I were minding our own business when we were attacked by a former MC member. But please, feel free to blame me if it makes you feel better, Gecko.”

  He wisely stops talking and we drive the rest of the way back to the compound in silence. The gate is more heavily guarded than usual but I guess that’s to be expected. Gecko parks the truck. As soon as he turns off the engine, I hop out and make my way inside. The bar area is busy but I can’t see King or Orion. I head upstairs to Orion’s room but can’t find him there either. Fuck it. I don’t have time to chase after him. Considering how worried about me he’s supposed to be, he’s making it impossible to find him. I grab two hoodies from his wardrobe and slide them both on over my T-shirt. I head down to the cells without anyone seeing me. I walk in just as Agro is locking the cell closest to us and slips the key into his jacket pocket. He turns to me and frowns.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Luna. Get your ass upstairs now.” He steps toward me so I dip my head, making myself look nervous and unsure.

  “I just wanted to make sure she was okay,” I tell him, making my voice quiver. He shakes his head at me like I’m nuts but nods for me to go and follows me back upstairs.

  “I’m going to go and lie down. It’s all been a bit too much today, you know?” His face softens a little now that I’m acting like a good little girl. He nods and holds the door open for me to head back to the rooms. I give him a little wave and head off, ducking around the corner to wait for him to disappear. When I’m sure he’s gone, I head back down to the cells.

  My heart breaks a little when I hear Megan crying in the corner of her cell, still covered in Parker’s blood. Technically, I’m not breaking the rules being down here because I’m not letting her out but I’ll be damned if I let her suffer down here without me. She must see the movement as she looks up sharply, showing me her tear-stained face before her lip wobbles when she notices it’s just me. I crouch down beside her, slip my fingers through the bars, and grip her hand tightly in mine. I wait for her crying to subside before pulling away and signing for her to tell me everything. She sighs and leans back, nodding. I pull one of the hoodies off and slip it through the bars to her. I watch her slide it over her head, knowing better than anyone how much she’s going to need it. She smiles at me gratefully but I don’t miss the sadness in her eyes or how she folds in on herself as she begins her story.

  The official story is that my mother was a club whore who belonged to the Chaos Demons. The president got her pregnant but he already had an old lady so she was made to stay but was never given the protection that came with old lady status. She was to live out her days as a club whore whether she wanted to or not. They were never going to let her leave. It was only as I got older that I realized there were some major holes in the story.

  I was always treated like a pariah, the unwanted club princess, but it still should have given me the protection that comes along with being a club kid. The problem was that when fucked-up shit started happening, nobody believed me. They thought I was an attention-seeking whore like my mother. I was trapped within an MC that was supposed to have my back but, instead, they hung me out to dry based on a bunch of secrets and lies I wasn't privy to.

  My father hated me. Confiding in him earned me a slap around the face. I remember him screaming at me that I was just like her. After that, I just kept quiet.

  I stop her for a second. “Kept quiet about what, Megan? What happened?”

  Crogan happened. Crogan was the son of my father’s old lady. He had his sights set on me and he didn’t give a single shit I was underage and not interested. Every time he was nearby, he would find any excuse he could to touch me or grind up against me. He always found ways to get me alone so he could kiss me and grope me. The older I got, the worse it became until I turned sixteen. That’s when he decided I was old enough to become his. He went to my father and his VP, Rock, to tell them he was making me his old lady. Rock—who was actually my father’s step-brother—was against it from the start but my father said he would think about it. When Rock pointed out how the other members would react when they realized their own teen daughters would be painted as targets from members when they hit the same age, he denied him. Crogan was furious. He convinced himself if he got me pregnant they would have no choice but to allow it. I grip her leg, offering her some comfort, not liking where this story is going.

  I woke up to find him on top of me. He was so hea
vy. I could hardly breathe. I remember it had been freezing that night so I had gone to bed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt and wrapped myself up like a human burrito. I had no idea that in the long run, they would save me, buying me extra time.

  He forced his tongue into my mouth as he tried to dig me out from under the blanket so I bit him. He slapped me in the face but he never stopped trying to get to me. He finally managed to pull the quilt out from between us and went to work on getting his hands down my pants. He stopped kissing me to bite down on my neck, hard enough to draw blood, so I screamed as loud as I could. I screamed so loud it hurt my ears but I didn’t stop until he started punching me over and over and over. She looks at me with tears in her eyes.

  My scream was the last thing I ever heard. When I woke up in the hospital a month later, it was to find that I would never hear again and that my mother, father, and Crogan were dead. I stare at her in complete shock.

  “H…How… what the fuck?”

  My father was the one to find Crogan just as he was about to fuck me. He dragged him off, pissed that he disobeyed a direct order, and beat the shit out of him. Crogan was given a warning to stay away from me or they would take his cut. A warning—that’s it. For beating his daughter to near death and almost raping her. My mother lost her mind. When Crogan decided if he couldn’t have me that night, he would have her, she stabbed him to death. She took his gun and shot my father before turning the gun on herself.

  Rock became President. He knew what had happened and let me leave the MC, knowing I would never be safe there. He paid my hospital bills and gave me both my and my mother’s possessions before they were destroyed. I’ve seen them ride by a few times over the years. Their black and white colors make them hard to miss but it’s been six years since I’ve heard from them, until today. I know there was a protection order placed on me. As long as I didn’t betray the club in any way, I would be safe. I guess having Kings of Carnage at my place of business was considered an act of treachery.