Helios Beginnings (The Helios Chronicles #0.5)

by Tawa M. Witko

  “Calm down, Harrison,” Riley said tapping his shoulder. He looked over at Tyler, “No, he just picks up women and then after he fucks them he steals their money and any jewelry they might have on them which he pawns off. The best thing about it is they can’t report it because if they did then they would have to tell their husbands that they got screwed, literally!” He finished, laughing harder than Andrew felt was necessary.

  Tyler looked at Andrew with a slight smile on his face. That was a pretty good scam, not that he could get away with something like that himself because he didn’t look as good as this Andrew fella did. His mind immediately started to turn, calculating and coming up with the idea that Andrew just might be someone worth hanging out with.

  Andrew glared at Riley’s smiling face. He hated when he told people about his life. It made him feel lower than the bugs crawling around in the motel he just left. Why was his life so amusing to him? If he wasn’t so distrusting of people he would likely have gone to another dealer but he was afraid of what he would get from them. At least with Riley, Andrew knew that he was getting untainted drugs.

  “So you see, Ty,” Riley continued, in spite of the look of disdain on Andrew’s face, “He doesn’t actually take money for sex but fuck me, if I looked as good as he does, I’d be the highest paid whore in Hollywood,” he said slapping Andrew’s shoulder.

  “Can we not talk about this shit?” Andrew stated angrily, “So, what the fuck, Riley, do you have anything new or what?”

  Riley laughed again. He was in an extremely good mood. He had a houseful of people, all clamoring to get what he had. As a bonus he had connected Tyler to Andrew. This would be good for him. Tyler on occasion sold for him and picked things up as well. Riley wanted Andrew to be a part of it too. He needed him to see that they could really help one another. He smiled and nodded his head slightly. The night was already turning out better than he had hoped for.

  “Yeah, hold on and I’ll hook you guys up.”

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you or anything. We cool?” Tyler asked.

  “Yeah, you don’t know me or anything, so you can think whatever the hell you want,” Andrew replied as nonchalantly as he could.

  Andrew plopped down on the couch and pulled out his kit getting everything ready. Tyler took a seat as well and watched as Andrew meticulously set things up as if he were a doctor preparing to give medicine to a patient. Pretty soon a few other people came and sat down as well. All of them eager and ready to try whatever Riley had to offer. Riley walked out from the back room and tossed a baggie as well as some 'supplies' on the table.

  “Enjoy, boys,” he said with a wink as he walked away.

  ~*~

  Andrew leaned back and blinked his eyes shut. It never took long to feel the effects of the drug within his body. It was almost instantaneous. He could hear the gentle murmur of voices around him but he was not focused on what the sounds implied. He was happy in his own world, albeit only for the very brief amount of time the drug was in his system. He felt someone nudge him and tried to ignore it knowing it was Tyler. Since meeting at Riley’s party a few months ago, they had become friends of sorts, which basically meant they used each other for product.

  “Hey, Harrison,” Tyler said, nudging him a bit harder. “There’s this big party going on in Palmdale tomorrow. Come hang with me. I’m going to pick up some new shit that I hear is real good,” Tyler said lazily.

  “Yeah, sure, it’s not like I have anything else to do,” Andrew replied getting up from the couch.

  They were at a party in Covina that Tyler had heard about. Andrew didn’t know the people or the layout of the house and top that off with the fact that he was high did not help with his sense of direction. Andrew walked aimlessly through the house trying to find the bathroom, opening up door after door. He opened another and gazed inside. The room looked like a kid’s room.

  “Shit!”

  As he started to close the door, a little boy appeared in the doorway. Andrew stepped back and looked at the kid. He couldn’t be much older than nine, maybe ten. He was wearing a pair of pajama pants, a batman t-shirt and his hair was wild and all over the place. He sort of looked familiar but Andrew had no idea how he might know him.

  “God! What the fuck is wrong with these people, having a fucking party with a kid in the house?” he said angrily and then kneeled down in front of the boy. “It’s okay, little man. I won’t hurt you. Just lock the door so no one else accidently comes in here,” he said trying to reassure the poor kid who looked really scared.

  The boy brought his finger to his lips and made a ‘shhh’ sound. Andrew stared at him in confusion as the boy stepped out of the room and walked down the hallway that suddenly seemed extremely long. Andrew continued to stare at him, not moving. The boy stopped before a closed door and turned back to look at Andrew, motioning for him to follow. Andrew ran his hand up his neck and narrowed his eyes. He was trying his best to see the boy through his drug induced haze. The boy appeared to have tears in his eyes. At this revelation, Andrew’s eyes widen as the boy opened the door he was standing in front of. To Andrew’s surprise, the scene took on an eerily familiar feel to it. Andrew shook the haze out of his head and ran down the hall, worried that something was not right. He threw the door open and what he found inside made his heart sink.

  A woman lay on the bed passed out and there was a man facing the direction of the door. The man’s face was oddly blurred and unclear. Andrew rubbed his fists against his eyes, trying to clear his vision. He could now see the little boy. He was facing the man with the blurry face. The boy’s shirt was off and his back was bright red. The old scars and the fresh marks he had just received shone brightly like a beacon in the dim light of the room. The man looked down at the boy and started shouting at him. Screaming horrible things at him that made Andrew wince. The man then turned the boy around abruptly, so that he had his back to the faceless man. He grabbed the switch out of the little boy’s hand and made two quick swipes against the boy’s shoulders and one on his side. The boy’s eyes were shut tightly, but Andrew could clearly see him wincing in pain. Andrew lurched forward, wanting to do something to stop what was happening but he couldn’t move. His feet were planted firmly in place.

  “What the fuck’s going on?” Andrew choked out.

  Suddenly, the boy’s eyes shot open. Andrew gasped as he saw his own nine-year-old face staring back at him. Andrew tentatively looked up to the faceless man and could now see that a face was fully visible. It was a face that Andrew knew so well. He watched in horror as his father glared down at the young boy, a young Andrew. Andrew quickly looked towards the bed which he realized was now simply a mattress lying on the floor and found that it was his mother who was laying there. She was passed out, not stirring at all, while a mad man was torturing her child.

  “How can she sleep through this, how?” He cried out.

  Andrew’s eyes darted back to the boy who was staring at him with such immense sadness and despair in his eyes that Andrew immediately felt his own tears streak his face. He ran the back of his hand across his eyes trying to stop the tears but was unable to. He stared at the boy in horror. There was a desperation in his eyes that broke Andrew in half.

  “Help me,” the boy pleaded.

  Andrew opened his mouth but no sound came out. Andrew stood witness as his father spun the young boy around to face him. He handed the boy the switch. The boy took it with trembling hands. Andrew shook his head violently, knowing what would come next. He couldn’t watch it but he was unable to close his eyes either.

  “Please, stop!” Andrew begged but no one listened to him.

  “Now, do it RIGHT!” the father screamed and then glanced up at Andrew, smirking in a way that brought a sense of terror coursing through his veins.

  “NO!” Andrew screamed at the top of his lungs.

  “Harrison, what the fucks wrong with you?” Ty asked as he shook him.

  Andrew blinked his eyes and saw that he wa
s still in the living room, sitting on the couch. There were several eyes staring at him, including Tyler. Andrew swallowed thickly and sat up straight looking around the room. His hands raked through his hair as he tried to shake the vision out of his head. Once people saw that he was for all intents and purposes okay, they went about their business and left him alone.

  “What the fuck was that, Harrison?” Ty asked again.

  Andrew shook his head. “I don’t know man. Bad dream I guess.”

  ~*~

  “Hey, Harrison, try this shit. It’s called Golden Girl and it’s better than that shit we got last time.”

  “Really?” Andrew asked as he reached for it.

  Andrew went through the process of doing up his kit, dropping some of the white substance on his spoon, and squeezing the water from his syringe on it. He quickly flicked his lighter underneath it until it dissolved and then brought the needle to the clear liquid. Andrew glanced up to see Tyler watching him, just shaking his head. Andrew shrugged and ignored him. Tyler always thought that Andrew was bit paranoid, but Andrew didn’t care. He didn’t share his kit with anyone and he didn’t use anyone else’s things. He recognized that was unusual for an addict but he didn’t trust people, not even their water which was why he always brought his own. He breathed in deeply as he quickly tied up his arm and inserted the needle. He immediately got lost as the drug entered his system, feeling that perfect and tranquil euphoria when it first hit him and was flowing through his system. In that one moment he had a sense of clarity. In that one moment, everything seemed right. He didn’t feel anything anymore. He didn’t care anymore and he didn’t need anyone or anything.

  When Andrew was younger and his parents would leave him places so they could go and get high, he never understood why it was so important to them, why it meant more to them than he did. But now he got it. This was way better than living a life in hell. He often thought about doing the world a favor and actually killing himself. In his mind, death was truly the only answer left for him, but since he saw himself as a coward he knew he wouldn’t actually do it. As such, this was the next best thing.

  Andrew lobbed his head over to glance at Ty. He watched as he did himself up as well. He barely knew him other than the fact he was messed up more than Andrew was. In fact, since they had started hanging out together Andrew had gotten in the habit of using several times a day. He knew that wasn’t the smartest move on his part, but at this point he no longer cared. Andrew blinked his eyes as he looked around the room. There were lots of people drinking and getting high. Andrew leaned his head back against the couch and snapped the tie off his arm, letting the drug fix all that was messed up in his life. He was smart enough to know it wouldn’t last but temporary relief was better than no relief at all.

  “My name’s Ashley.”

  Andrew licked his dry lips and opened his glassy eyes. There was now a pretty blonde on his lap. He wondered when she had gotten there and how long he had been zoned out. He inhaled and could smell the booze on her. She grinned at him and pushed her breasts out of her tank top. She smiled when he traced his tongue over his lips again. He automatically brought his hands to her breasts and squeezed them before moving his mouth to her skin. She didn’t object. If anything, she leaned in to him. Andrew looked up at her just before she kissed him soundly on the lips. He could taste the vodka she had just drunk on her tongue but he didn’t care right now. He thrusted his hips against her, letting her feel his erection.

  “You are so fucking hot. I have been watching you all night.”

  “You’re hot too,” Andrew replied, swiping his tongue across his lips again and swallowing several times trying to coat his dry throat.

  “You need a drink, baby?”

  Andrew nodded lazily and she leaned back to grab the bottle of vodka off of the coffee table. She poured some of the clear liquid into his mouth, giggling as it dripped down his chin. Andrew swallowed quickly and motioned for the bottle taking a couple more quick swigs of the awful liquid as she licked the vodka on his chin.

  “You wanna fuck?” she asked boldly.

  “Yeah, that’d be cool,” he mumbled as his lids began to droop closed once again.

  She smiled and brought her mouth to his, kissing him wildly, swirling her tongue fiercely around his as her hands entered his hair, fisting it tightly. Andrew moved his hands to his pants fumbling with the buttons on his jeans but his fingers weren’t working correctly. They felt like they weighed a ton. She giggled against him and the motion felt good. Her hands left his hair and moved down between them so that she could undo his jeans. Andrew blinked a few times, trying to stay awake and when his eyes finally focused, he looked confused.

  “You look kinda young.”

  He blinked several more times and swallowed over and over. He supposed it wasn’t such a big deal. He had sex with women twice his age, even three times his age once before. Sex was sex. She had asked him first, his cloudy mind reminded him. She smiled at him and then got up, quickly removing her undergarments. She then jumped back on his lap as Andrew continued to stare at her.

  “Don't worry, baby, I’m eighteen,” she slurred as she brought her mouth back to his.

  He nodded and brought his hands to her hips. She felt good to him. It had been awhile since he had sex, just to have it. He briefly thought about the fact that they weren’t using a condom, but his brain was having a hard time forming any coherent thought or plan of action. She grabbed his hair again and pulled it tightly, effectively cancelling out any concern that he might have had about the situation. For tonight he would lose himself in her and not care about the consequences.

  “My sun, my beautiful sun,” she says as she carefully brushes the hair out of my face. “Do you love me?”

  “Yes, Mama.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I love you, Mama.”

  She smiles at me and it’s perfect. She’s so happy right now. Maybe it will stay that way. The latch to the door moves and daddy comes inside. He smiles at the two of us and drops down on the bed as well.

  “My moon has returned,” she says, leaning over me to kiss him.

  Dad smiles and pulls out a baggie of white powder that looks like sugar. Mom claps her hands and crawls over me, lying on top of him.

  “Go outside, Andrew,” Dad says.

  I quickly crawl away from them, putting on my sneakers, which are a little too big for me. I step outside and look around in the dark, trying to figure out a safe place I can wait.

  Andrew blinked himself awake. He sat quietly on the couch. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but based on the light squinting through the bottom of the blinds it must be daytime. There were still people around but not as many as the night before. Some must have left, including Ashley, the girl he had been with. He saw Tyler who was tying his arm up. He tossed the baggie at Andrew and motioned his head towards where it had landed. Andrew picked it up, shaking the contents of the bag. A part of him said not to do anymore but another part told him told him, why the hell not. What did he have to lose?

  “How long we gonna be here?”

  Tyler shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back, a lazy smile on his face. Andrew frowned slightly. He hated being at the mercy of someone else. He had ridden up with Tyler last night so he would have to wait until Tyler was good and ready to leave which could be an hour to the next day. He hesitated only slightly before he did himself up and was soon lying peacefully against the couch. His mind drifted until he found himself blissfully unaware of anything else going on around him.

  “You!” a loud voice bellowed as it grabbed Andrew, lifting him up.

  Andrew blinked rapidly. He quickly looked around the room and saw people scattering about, including Tyler. Tyler stopped and stared at him. His face was panicked and frightened. He paused for only a moment and then he darted out the window. Andrew could hear sirens in the distance and knew he needed to get the hell out of there as well. The man shook Andrew and forced Andrew to gaze at him. He
was an older man, dark hair with patches of gray intermixed with it. He didn’t look familiar at all.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Andrew asked in confusion.

  “You raped my little girl,” he replied, throwing Andrew across the room.

  “I didn’t rape anyone,” Andrew mumbled. “You got the wrong person.”

  “The hell I do,” the man said as he punched Andrew in the eye.

  Reflexively Andrew reacted. In hindsight, he wished he had chosen another path but it was too late. He punched the man hard in the gut, throwing him off balance and then he swung at him. Andrew continued to swing at him several more times until his hands were bloodied and he was being pulled off of him. He felt the cold steel of the handcuffs on his wrists before he realized what was happening. The person who had stopped him was an officer and Andrew was being arrested.

  ~*~

  It had been a week since the party at Palmdale. He had been brought out of his cell and into a waiting room where he immediately dropped his head on the table. It didn’t stay there long as the creak of the door opening echoed in the room, forcing him to sit up and pay attention.

  “Mr. Harrison, my name is Mr. Wright and I'll be your new attorney. Mr. Guzman has transferred the case to me,” A short, slightly overweight man said as he pulled out the chair and sat down unceremoniously.

  Andrew stared up at him. His mind was going a mile a minute, so much so that he couldn’t keep his eyes focused on him. They kept darting to Mr. Wright and then all around the room. Andrew hadn’t been able to sleep as he had been alternating between either sweating profusely to freezing to death. His whole body hurt and he hadn’t been able to keep anything in his stomach. It had come to a point where he felt as if he were throwing up parts of his stomach lining. Last night felt like the walls were closing in on him. He couldn’t stop the wrenching sobs that his body was making. The guards finally took him to the infirmary because he thought, in all seriousness, that he was actually dying. Of course, he wasn’t, he was withdrawing from the heroin. He had overheard the doctor telling the nurse that they thought he was finally peaking. He wasn’t sure what exactly that meant, but he hoped it would signify that he had been through the worst of it already. Just thinking about the heroin made his veins throb and body react. He needed a hit badly. He’d never gone this many days without using and it was taking its toll on him physically as well as mentally. He’d been scratching at his arm non-stop for that past couple of days, so much so that it was bright red and starting to sting.