Initiation: A Novella (Initiation Trilogy Book 1)

by Marie, Franny

  *****

  About an hour goes by and Ryan and I are still cruising around looking for the I-Ten gang.

  “How long has she been gone?” Ryan looks out the window as he inquires.

  “Leanne?”

  “Yes.” He turns to face me and I know that I have to answer him or he could very well stop helping me.

  “Just a few days,” I confirm as I keep my eyes on the road, turning a sharp corner of the dark street.

  “Oh dang... How's your mom doing?”

  “Dead.”

  “What? Oh my god, I'm so sorry. How long and what of?”

  “Five years now and brain cancer,” I all but whisper, trying not to allow the emotions to rise in me again.

  “Oh shit, that’s too bad.” He tilts his head down and fiddles with his fingers, the car growing quiet for a moment before I break it.

  “So what have you been up to?” I say quickly, wanting to change the subject.

  “Just... around,” he shrugs, making me slightly confused.

  “That's it?”

  “Pretty much.” He shrugs, speaking softly.

  I’m uncertain of the truth of that, realizing that there’s something he’s keeping from me, but keep my eyes on the road ahead of me.

  “Make a right here and then a few more miles up ahead and that's where I think they might be at,” he demands, talking to me sternly. I do as I'm told, but wonder what the hell his problem is talking to me in that tone.

  “You alright?”

  “Yeah, I'm good, why?”

  “Just asking,” I glance at him in the corner of my eye.

  We head up a few more feet on the street and hit a stop light. As I'm sitting there, I begin to overcome a strange feeling. I rub the back of my neck as I anxiously wait for the light to turn green. I tap on the steering wheel as every second passes as Ryan looks over to me. I glance at him before looking back at the burning red light.

  “Something wrong?” He challenges, but I shake my head no and continue to tap on the steering wheel.

  Suddenly, my windows explode open. Gunshots are being fired at us.

  “GET DOWN, RYAN!” I yell outto him as I pull out my gun and fire back. I open my car door and fall out on to the ground as the shots keep coming at us. I run hunched over, trying to protect myself while getting to the other side of the car where Ryan is and hide behind there. I swing the door open and pull him out.

  “What the hell, man?” he yells as he falls onto the ground besides me.

  “Shut the fuck up and go take cover!” I demand. He does as he's told and runs over to the parked car behind me. As I'm ducking, I can hear the headlights and windows shatter, tires popping, and air hissing out of them.

  “Get the fuck off our turf, you son of a bitch!” one of the guys shooting yells at me.

  What turf? I immediately think to myself. The shooting finally stops and I give a sigh of relief. I take a deep breath and exhale, taking a moment to gather myself as I look around the street signs and see that I'm at the Crawford Court area. What the fuck? The Crawford Riots live here. DAMN! Fucking Ryan!

  “Yo, Ryan! You all right?” I call out to him.

  “Yeah, I'm over here!” He comes out from behind a car parked across the street and sits up next to me.

  “Did you have any idea where we were going?” I ask him in a rough tone.

  “Not really, I just thought they'd be up this street,” he shrugs.

  “I ‘ought to fuck you up for that.” I say matter-of-factly and roll my eyes.

  “Sorry, Collin.”

  “Yeah, now my car is completely fucked up, thanks to your fucking directions.” I stand back up and look around the area some more. “The coast it clear,” I confirm with a sigh.

  “Are you okay?” He stands back up to his feet and dusting himself off, the dirt particles rolling off of his body.

  “Yeah, I'm fine.”

  “Well, now I guess we got to walk the rest of the way?”

  “You really think we're going to fucking walk. No.” I roll my eyes at his ignorance then run over to the parked white highlander that Ryan was hiding behind. I bust the window open with my gun and unlock the door, hopping inside.

  “Let's go!” I yell out to Ryan. He shakes his head and jogs over to me, climbing in the passenger seat.

  “I hope we don't get caught.” He jeers.

  “Shut the fuck up, you have nothing to worry about.” I can hear the sounds of sirens off in a distance and can see that Ryan is getting nervous, looking out the back window I hot wire the car finally and hear the engine start, then I pull out of the area and speeding down the street, continuing on our way.

  *****

  Moments later, we arrive to a building that looks like a warehouse. The walls are a light blue and the building was only one floor with a high ceiling. There are three doors that opened as trucks backed into them so people can load them, taking products to where ever they need to go. There are windows around the building too, though they are closer to the ceiling. The area is surrounded by train tracks and large cases of metal. It looks like they are hook ups for the train. The boxes are locked up and ready for shipping but no one is around except me and Ryan.

  “Is this where they're at?” I ask Ryan as we park across the street.

  “Yeah, I'm sure. I saw the SUV parked here a few times,” he whispers, almost as if he thinks we will get caught only from his voice.

  “A few times?” I question him as I rise my eyebrows.

  “Yeah, let's go check it out.” He is already getting out of the car, so I do the same and follow behind him, but something tells me they might not even be here. Why would they be here?

  Chapter 12

  Ryan and I walk through the tall brown grass and across the street to the warehouse. I run up behind staying close to Ryan and let him lead the way. Getting closer, I notice two windows on each side of the front are tinted slightly and there are three doors to enter in, something that would be hard to notice from a distance as they’re the same color as the building.

  “Are you sure this is where they are at?” I ask him again.

  “Yep. I saw them here not to long ago like I said before,” he confirms.

  We head inside the building and walk down the dark hallway. The lights flicker on and off on the ceiling. As we are walking, I can hear the faint voices of people talking and the closer I get I can finally hear the voices of the I-Ten gang more clearly and it gives me a rush. As I finally reach them the question that pops up is whether or not Leanne will be here or do they have her somewhere else?

  “They might be through those doors,” Ryan says as he points to it and I spot a door a few feet down.

  “I want to check through those doors next to it first,” I reply.

  “Okay, I'll be on the lookout. You go on ahead in,” he covers me as his eyes are wide. I don’t know whether it’s from a rush or from fear yet.

  “Got it.” I run up to the door, pulling out my gun and holding it close to me while gripping it tightly in my hand.

  I slowly reach out for the handle and pull on it gently and as I'm doing so, it makes a faint creaking noise. I take a peep inside and see Leanne tied up in a chair. I creep in slowly. She raises her head up and her eyes grow wide as she sees me, but I put my fingers up to my lips giving her a shushing motion.

  “I'm going to untie you and get you out of here,” I say to her in a whisper.

  I remove the yellow ropes from her hands and legs then taking the black duct tape off her mouth.

  “Collin, I'm so glad to see you,” she whispers in delight and lifts up from her seat, wrapping her arms around me giving me a big tight hug.

  “Did they hurt you?” I ask.

  “No,” she says, shaking her head and letting me go.

  “How did this happen?” I ask her my tone the same as hers.

  “I don't know... I was at the party and... I was talking to my friend and-” she stops as her voice begins to choke and her
tears weld up.

  “Okay, okay. It's going to be all right. All that matters is that you are fine and no one is going to hurt you now, baby,” I promise.

  “You sure about that?” I hear a voice from behind me. I turn around to see who is speaking and when I do, Ryan points a gun to my head.

  “Ryan?” I say his name and my eyes widen with shock.

  “Collin?” he sarcastically says my name, smiling.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I ask him, my eyes never leaving his and my body going numb.

  “He's part of the I-Ten's now, sweetheart,” Kristen walks up from behind him. She is dressed in the gang color purple with a pair of black shorts and her heels to match. Her blonde hair is in curls and her green eyes burn into mine. The rest of the crew is now guarding the doors with their shotguns loaded. Shit! I think to myself. I can't believe I was set up! I should have known. Fuck!

  “You have one last chance, baby. Are you going to come back to us?” she says sweetly as she walks around me. “Or... Are we going to have to have your beloved baby sister take your place?” She runs her fingers through Leanne's hair and I stare at Leanne as I try to think of an answer while hiding my fear from her and them.

  “Neither,” I speak as my voice echoes through the room.

  “You still that stubborn son of a bitch, aren't you? Haven't you learned nothing over the past few days?” She stands close to me as she continues. “Your car and house wasn't enough of a lesson? What about being shot at a few times? No?” She chuckles and as she does, it echoes through the room, sending chills down my spine. “I think you want to come back or otherwise you would have never shot that guy at the store, yes? I have some news for you, baby. Things have changed over the last few years and as you can see I'm much more patient now, don't you think?” She runs her hands up and down my chest as I roll my eyes.

  “How the fuck would I know?” I say my voice tight.

  “Oh, I'm sure you've heard around... And the fact that I waited this long for you to show up for your bitch ass sister.” She says matter-of-factly with a smile. “All she did was talk about you the first night she was here: how her big brother was looking for her and how bad you were going to mess us up, so I had to tape her mouth up, to shut her the fuck up!” She wraps her hands around Leanne's hair and pulls on it tightly, making Leanne wince in pain.

  “Let her go!” I demand her. Ryan pushes the gun harder on my head.

  Kristen marches towards me and slams my head in with her pistol knocking me to the floor. The intense pain in my head explodes and she puts her foot on my back pinning me down on my stomach. I can feel her heel piercing my spine.

  “NOW, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU AGAIN! ARE. YOU. IN? OR AM I GOING TO HAVE TO PUT THIS FUCKING BULLET INSIDE YOUR SKULL?” Her voice is rough and it digs deep into me. My mind spins as I'm trying to process everything that has been happening over the past few days. I don't know if I should go back or not. I shouldn't even be thinking about this crap, but I know if I don't say yes they are going to kill me and my sister too. I mentally gather myself to give her an answer.

  “All right... I'll come back... Just please, let Leanne go. Please,” I say as I try to lift my head up, but Kristen puts her foot down on me tighter.

  “Good boy. I love it when my men beg,” she says in a delighted tone and lifts her foot off me. Ryan helps me to my feet.

  “Now to be sure it’s legit, you know you what you got to do,” she says with a smile and stands next to Leanne. She bends down to whisper something in Leanne's ear and it makes her cry even more. I wonder what she told her to make her upset. I don't fucking like seeing her that way, but knowing Kristen she couldn't care less. This bitch gets on my nerves.

  “Oh, Ryan, baby. Will you take our sweet Leanne here to the back and stay with her? I don't want her to get into this bloody mess,” she says with a smile and winks at Leanne.

  “Sure thing, Miss Kristen.” Ryan replies and does as he is told and grabs my sister's arm tightly and drags her to the back.

  “Collin! Collin! I don't want to go! Collin! Collin!” Her voice and the sight of her tears drifts off to the distance. I take a deep breath and brace for the shit that is about to happen.

  “You ready, baby?” Kristen asks as she walks pass me, the sound of her heels echoing the warehouse.

  I take another deep breath and exhale. Shit!

  “Boys, I believe its Initiation time,” she says with a wink and takes a seat in the chair flipping her hair off her shoulders and crossing her legs, giving off her devilish smile.

  CRAP!

  Chapter 13

  My body is now completely numb. I close my eyes and can feel the I-Ten gang surround me. There are six of them and I'm only one. I know I can't fight them off. I know they're going to tear me apart.

  Suddenly, I feel a blow to my head that knocks me down in an instant. My gun flies out of my hand and onto the floor. I immediately stand back up after the blow, my anger boiling up and my adrenaline rushing at its peek. Am I really going to let these mother fuckers beat the living daylight out of me without putting up a fight first? Hell fucking no! I turn around and punch one of the guys in the face, giving him a bloody nose.

  “Get up and get his ass!” Kristen says with anger.

  I try to reach for my gun, but one of them grabs my arms holding me back. I feel a kick to my face as I'm being held down tightly. I try to get loose from his grip, but fail. Several times, I'm punched in the stomach. The pain is unbearable, but I take it like a man and try to get loose. When I finally do, the blood from my face is pouring down. I’m feeling weak, but I manage to pull out of the grip and reach for my gun and start shooting it a few times at them, hitting them one by one, their bodies dropping to the floor.

  “Get the fuck up!” Kristen yells.

  I turn around, facing her, looking her over for a moment and then marching up towards her in blistering anger. I feel my face burn from the pain, but it doesn't stop me. All I can think about is beating Kristen's ass. I don't fucking care if she is a chick or not. She wants to act all tough, but she really isn't.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” she demands as she puts her hands up and jumps out of her seat and takes a few steps back. I have her scared and I fucking love it. She's nothing without the guys to back her and her big fucking mouth up. I grab her by the hair tightly and as it begins to wrap around my wrist, she yelps like a puppy and looks up at me with fear in her eyes.

  “Oh? Nothing smart to say?” I ask her in a sarcastic tone with a chuckle.

  “Just don't hurt me,” she whispers and begs.

  “I won't have to unless you tell me where the fuck Leanne is,” I point out as my grip gets tighter and tighter on her hair.

  “She's... She's in the back behind those two doors,” she stutters with a brittle tone. I push her to the ground with all my strength and her body impacts the ground and slides across the floor. She crawls on her hands and knees to the wall, sitting against it. Her eyes glossing over with tears.

  “Stay there,” I order, pointing the gun at her as I walk backwards to the two doors.

  When I finally reach the doors, I bust through them, holding the gun in my hand and I see Ryan sitting next to my sister.

  “Put your fucking gun down!” I demand him. He looks up at me and does as he is told the sound of the gun falling on the cold hard ground echoes in the small room, looking past me and realizing that the others have been defeated.

  “Look, Collin, I-” he starts as he looks down.

  “Shut the fuck up!” I interrupt him. “Leanne, go sit in the corner.” I see her move out of the corner of my eye, but I keep my eyes on Ryan. She gets up and follows my instructions though it’s a little hard to see as the room is small and dimly lit.

  “What the hell was that?” I ask Ryan as I kick the gun over to Leanne.

  “Wh- What do you mean?” He says in a brittle tone.

  “You know damn well what the fuck I mean. Why did you set me up?!”
my words loud and filled with anger.

  “I didn't, man! I- I just...” He says quickly. I can tell his mind is boggled on how I got out of that fight.

  “I'm sorry, man. They told me to!”

  “Told you to do what? Bring me here? So they can kill me and probably Leanne too?!” I say as I lean the gun to his temple.

  “I didn't think they were going to do all that shit. They said if I don't follow what they told me they were going to kill Leanne and me too!” His voice shakes and for some reason, I kind of believe him, but I don't want to.

  “You know what, man? Fuck you!” I say and put down my gun to the side of me still holding a tight grip. He sighs in relief.

  “I'm sorry, Collin. Please don't hurt me,” he begs as his voice is low and his breathing heavy. I stare at him for a few seconds and then turn my back from and shake my head in disappointment. I know damn well he deserves an ass whopping, but I won't kill him. For some reason, my heart isn’t able to bear it.

  Suddenly I hear a gunshot and I freeze. Once I gather myself, I turn and see Ryan's body falls to the floor, blood leaking from the side of his head. I look over to Leanne who is holding the gun with two hands pointing it at him. Her mouth open and face expression shocked.

  “He was coming after you, Collin,” She says in a low shaken toned voice as she drops the gun. The sound of the clink is loud as it hits the ground and echoes.

  “It's okay, baby,” I say to her as I walk over to her and holding her tightly in my arms.

  “I- I didn't want him to hurt you.” she says as her breathing becomes heavy and her tears stream down.

  “It's okay, you did good,” I smile. “Let's get out of here, hmm?” I wipe her tears away with my thumb.

  “Yeah, I want to go home,” she nods her head.

  “I know you do.”

  “Collin, your face is all bloody. Oh my God, are you okay?” she says with worry and covers her mouth with her hands.

  “No. Yeah. I'm fine... Just let me uh.”

  I look around me for something to wipe my face off, but Leanne takes my purple bandana off my head and removes the knot that is tied in the back. She unfolds it and hands it to me.