The Artful (Shadows of the City)

by Wilbert Stanton

  Our roles were reversed. The first day Dodger and I took her into the tunnels of Manhattan, she was like a lost child, confused and scared, and that was how I felt now. She hung close to our shadows, trusting us to lead her through a world not her own. Now she had a confident air about her, and she scanned the area with a knowing gleam in her eyes. I helplessly followed, putting all the faith I had into her. The mutilated bodies didn’t seem to bother her. She walked past them without a second thought. I, on the other hand, stared in sick fascination as we ventured closer and closer to each body marking the street corners. The buildings were in truth no different than those of Manhattan, and yet they had a dark mystique about them. I couldn’t help but feel there was a haunting life. They all seemed to mesh into one hungry dark being, eager to devour us as we moved deeper into the city. I shivered as a warm breeze ran across my goose-bumped skin.

  “Something about them.” I stared hypnotized at the empty windows and broken doors. “I don’t know, these buildings don’t seem right, they seem”―a shiver ran through my body as I grasped for words to explain ―“not right.”

  “Yeah, my father used to joke that all these buildings were haunted. Skinlickers did horrible things to people in most of these buildings. The men they would torture for a laugh. The women, well, I don’t have to tell you what they’d do to them. But people weren’t just eaten; they were massacred. All that suffering stayed behind… lingering, wanting to inflict the same kind of pain that was done to them.”

  “That’s not possible. You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?”

  “Of course not. Think about it, when you step into a cemetery, you can’t help but feel a sense of loss and sadness. If you fill an area or something with enough of a certain emotion, it kind of takes on that quality.”

  “I don’t know, I think with a cemetery, it’s more of what it represents which makes people feel sad.”

  “Fine.” She stopped and looked deeply into my eyes, and I saw a sadness reflected. “And all of this? It represents the pure savagery of man.”

  We didn’t speak anymore for a time, just walked in silence. Every other block we stumbled upon some sort of savagery. Bloodstained walls or half-eaten body parts. There was a moment I thought I would get used to it. If I saw enough of it, it wouldn’t bother me. I had to man up, after all. Here I was, acting like a child in the care of his babysitter. This wasn’t how I wanted our trip to go; I was sick of being a sidekick. I had to step up. So I straightened, shoulders out firm and head held high and sped up, trying to match Gia’s pace.

  Until we turned a corner and all my resolve was thrown out the window. We ran into two bare-chested men in tattered jeans. One had a shaven head, rings stretched his earlobes, big enough for a finger to fit through,, and a number of piercings along his lips, tattoos sloppily etched into his back and arms. The other was a bit smaller. He wore tight jeans and combat boots. His hair was a mess of knots and tangles, a thick beard covered most of his face, and he had a number of tattoos as well. They crouched down low, over the remains of a naked woman. Bits and pieces of flesh were gone from her face and neck. Her stomach was a gaping hole of blood and gore as they used their hands to spoon her insides into their mouths. Even though Gia held up her hand in silence, I puked, unable to help myself. They turned toward us, their carnivorous smiles and filed down teeth reminding me of a shark.

  Gia turned toward me, her earlier confidence escaping with the color in her skin. “Oh, crap. Run!” She grabbed my arm and pulled me as I let loose the last of my breakfast.

  “We got some fresh meat, boys!” The words seemed to chase us down the street. I ventured a look over my shoulder to see them giving chase, laughing and throwing bits of human meat at us.

  “Come and get it!” shouted the other. “Dinner time!”

  “We’ll feast on the boy for dinner and have the girl for play!” His voice was dry and frightening.

  “Then eat her for breakfast.”

  “And play with her some more!” They laughed wildly. This was a game to them. We were sport. They didn’t view us as people, only things to be played with and eaten. We can’t get caught, we can’t get caught. I would have killed Gia and myself before they caught us. We ran down a street and another, turned corner after corner and couldn’t lose them. They remained on our heels like vicious dogs. Before long, I realized we were just going in circles. Gia was panicked and no longer knew where we were going, I had to act before―

  A woman stepped out from around a corner. Her face was heavily pierced. Blonde pigtails fell about her slender shoulders. She wore a school girl outfit. Her skirt was stained with blood, and her legs were covered in scabs. Pigtails wobbled as she tilted her head, flashing a sinister smile filled with shark-like teeth. The baseball bat held loosely at her side glistened with semidry blood. She snarled like a feral beast as we skidded to a halt.

  The men that were giving chase were gaining on us, excitement in their eyes. Gia was frozen in place, staring School Girl down, readying for a fight. But I knew better. There was no way we could win; now was the time for flight. I grabbed her arm and pulled her down an alley, and the three joined together to catch us. The alley was barely big enough for us to run side by side, so I led the way, pulling her in tow. Rats scurried out of our way as we jumped over garbage and other dead things. The alley seemed like an endless tunnel. More than once I cursed myself, thinking it would lead to a dead end, trapping us. Gia reached into my bag and pulled out the gun as we were reaching the end of the alley. We ran out into the street, spinning around as she took aim; they were still confined to the alley’s narrow passage. It would be an easy shot, but something occurred to me.

  “No!” I yelled, grabbing at her arm, too late. The bullet shattered the head of baldy, throwing his body back, knocking over tight jeans and covering School Girl’s face in a shower of blood and brain. We all paused in shock, as the thunderous sound echoed through the city streets. “Not good!”

  “What?” She aimed the gun at School Girl ready to snuff out her life as well. “I’m saving us!”

  “You just alerted everyone in the area where we are. Put that away, before you have all of Brooklyn down our backs!”

  School Girl looked at us with renewed ferocity. She screamed and pulled at her hair, jumping up and down and yanking skinny jeans to his feet, both taking cautious steps toward us.

  Gia put the gun in her bag and took off running. I followed. School Girl continued to scream, but soon hers were followed by other screams, shouts, and strange calls. It was as if the Skinlickers were talking to each other through code. At every corner, a shadow seemed to move, and the patter of footsteps could be heard. They were coming from all over, converging on us.

  “We have to get off the street.” I searched desperately for an escape, a fortifiable building or an entrance to the underground―regardless of what Gia said, anything would be preferable to this. “How close is it to slaver territory?”

  “They’re no better!”

  “I’d rather be in chains than eaten alive.”

  “About an hour’s run; we won’t be able to outrun the Skinlickers, though. We have to hide, maybe keep hidden till the sun comes up and they scatter. They’re like rats, they pop out of every―” Before she could finish her sentence, a big guy jumped out of a doorway, lunging for us. I was able to sidestep him, causing his hulking mass to fall onto the ground. He went for my legs, but Gia was faster and delivered a series of stomps to the back of his head, repeatedly knocking his face into the cement, until he stopped moving and a slow puddle grew around his head.

  I shouldered my way past the door he came from, leading her in, leaving bloody footprints behind. We closed the door and locked its bolt and chain. It wouldn’t be enough; we had to barricade. Gia must have shared my thoughts because before I could finish chaining the lock, she used her back to push a cabinet over. I ran to her side, helping her get it in place. It weighed a ton, but I was relieved it would offer extra support. I had
time to look around and realized we were in an old clothing store. The front was all windows; luckily the gates were pulled down. We backed away from the entrance as pounding started. The gates rattled rumbled.

  “Here piggy, piggy, piggy!” came a shout from outside, followed by imitation squeals and laughter. “Come out, come out, come out!”

  “Can the girl come out and play!”

  We were trapped.

  ays of moonlight crept in through the front gate openings. We were surrounded by shelves and racks of rummaged-through clothes. Stripped mannequins lay broken and discarded about the floor, toppled over from display cases. In the faint light, they resembled torn-apart bodies. Gia turned on her flashlight and shone it back and forth; bloodstains were on the counter to our right, red handprints all over the abandoned cash register. There were spatters on the walls as well. They seemed to lead into the back where the fitting room was. She aimed her light at the opening under the fitting room door where we saw a body sprawled out, halfway into the room. A staircase led up to another floor and a door behind the counter.

  I walked over, trying the door, making sure there was no other way for the Skinlickers to get in. Luckily, it was locked. I hoped it couldn’t be opened from the other side. There was no way of knowing for sure, but we had little choice in the matter. I motioned toward the staircase and Gia pointed her light leading the way. We walked cautiously, the sound of broken glass and debris crunching under our feet. We walked up the stairs at a slow pace, Gia up front and me holding the rear. I was happy to leave the store front, and the barrage of curses and violent banging behind. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise with each step we took to the second floor.

  We were greeted by a door that read employees only, it hung from its hinges, and the lock torn from the wall. I pushed it open further. There were no windows on the second floor; the only light came from our pathetic flashlight. Boxes and crates were thrown about the storage area. It was hard to take in the whole area with just a flashlight, but she shone it around as fast as she could, trying to cover every corner.

  Not fast enough. The weight of a grown man barreled into me, knocking me to the floor; I banged my back hard enough to lose my breath. Stars exploded in front of my eyes while I gasped for air. There was a scream, and Gia’s flashlight fell to the floor, the beam spinning. For a split second, it illuminated the savage face of the man straddling me. The second time around, I was able to make out his features; dirt-crusted skin, a wicked smile, and tattoos all along his cheeks. The third time around, I caught the dirty gleam of his razor-like teeth as his hungry mouth came at me. With all the strength I could muster, I drove my fist into the bottom of his jaw. There was a clap as his mouth snapped closed. Something moist fell onto my chest. I had little time to think. My hand exploded in pain, but the screams I heard from my would-be attacker filled me with pride. The light came around again, and I saw him hurled over on his side, blood pouring from his mouth, his tongue lying on my chest. That’ll teach you sick bastards for filing your teeth into fangs.

  I sprung up to my feet and kicked wildly at his side. The flashlight was no longer aimed at us. I couldn’t see a thing but the hefty weight of my foot slamming into flesh was enough for me. Before I had time to gather myself, I realized Gia was in another corner struggling with a shadowed figure. I picked up the flashlight and ran over, following the sounds of her protest. He had her pinned down on her stomach, holding his hand over her mouth and the other holding her arm behind her. The sick bastard was licking at her fingers like a wolf tasting his kill. I raised the flashlight high and brought it down onto the back of his head. There was a loud bang as he fell over on top of her. I dropped to my knees and bashed him repeatedly over the head, as Gia struggled out from under him. With the last hit came a cracking sound and he fell still to the floor. The flashlight was dead, and we stood there in darkness, trying to regain our nerves.

  “You broke the flashlight.” Gia’s voice was shaky and lost to the darkness. “Way to screw us over.”

  “I could have let him eat you.”

  There was a moment of silence, and then she threw her arms around my neck. I was shocked as she hugged me tightly. Unsure of myself, I gently patted her back in a consoling matter, not wanting to cross any boundaries by touching her too much.

  “Thanks, you big idiot.” She rested her head on my chest, breathing in deeply. I inhaled the sweet scent of her hair; it was mixed with sweat, but still sweet none the less. The warmth of her body and the slight press of her breast against my chest made me forget about all the violence that just took place, about the psychos trying to tear down the front door so they could feast on us. My pants grew tight and I awkwardly pulled my hips away from her.

  “Jesus.” Her voice was once again taking on her usual condescending tone. “You’ll never have to worry about getting it up huh?”

  She laughed and took my hand, leading me further into the supply room. My eyes needed time to adjust to the darkness. We felt our way along supplies and shelves until we found another door in the back. I tried the knob, and it turned. We both took deep breaths before opening the door; we anticipated another horror show, but were relieved to find the door led out onto a fire escape. A raised ladder could be dropped all the way to the ground, and a steel staircase led up to the roof.

  “We should go up.” I looked toward the roof and gauged how much time we had left until morning. “We can hide out on the roof; it’s almost morning. They’ll have to thin out, right? Maybe we can stick to the roofs while they are crowding the front entrance. How far you think we can get?”

  “Not sure, let’s go up and see where we are.” She ran up the stairs, and I followed close behind.

  Under better circumstances, I could have said the view we had was beautiful. We could see the Manhattan skyline in the distance, as well as the gentle yellows and pinks creep into the sky as the sun woke from its slumber. Soon, the world would be bathed in the sun’s harsh rays, and yet it was those early hours of the day when everything looked so beautiful and magical. Gia stood at the edge, looking out over the city, her hair fluttering around her face as the warm wind washed over us. The colors of morning framed her body, making her into a magical being. I stared in awe, once again feeling my heart beat erratically, begging to be near her.

  She caught my eyes. Embarrassed, I looked down. “We don’t have far to go!” She pointed out past some buildings, which led deeper into the city. “Skinlicker territory ends a couple of blocks that way. We can run it, fifteen―twenty minutes tops.”

  I walked over to the other end of the building, looking down at the congregation of cannibals still trying to work their way in. Their numbers had swelled. Over twenty took turns screaming and clawing at the building. “Don’t they ever give up?”

  She joined me, looking down at the throng of Skinlickers. “Not likely. We’re the perfect meal, food and fun…” She looked uneasy saying the last part. I couldn’t even bring myself to think what they would do to her.

  “Okay.” I tried to muster up as much confidence as I could. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and this was my time to prove it. “We wait them out, cover up, and wait for sun up. When they start to scatter, we make our way down the fire escape and leg it. If they give chase, we out run ‘em, simple as that. Will they run past their territory?”

  “No, doubtful. Slavers love catching Skinlickers. They sell big at the games.”

  “Games?”

  “Chrysler holds games at his stadium, all gladiator-like; most of the time he makes people fight each other, or animals. But on special occasions, he sets up matches with Skinlickers.”

  “Only one man leaves, huh??”

  “Exactly.”

  “I thought you said they were civilized.”

  “Hey, the Romans did it.”

  “Okay, whatever. Not our concern. Let’s try and get some rest. We have another half hour or so.” I sat on the ground, leaning against the roof ledge. Gia sat next to
me, staring hard into my eyes I gave her a questioning look before she sighed and put my arm around her shoulder. She cuddled up close and rested her head on my shoulder. It filled me with excitement.

  “Make sure you stay awake. Don’t want to be caught off guard,” she said, closing her eyes and getting comfortable.

  I leaned my head back and listened to the cacophony of shouts and curses coming from downstairs. With each bang, my nerves jumped, as I thought every loud noise was the blow that let them in. How long would it take for them to get in and figure out where we were? It seemed like a slow agonizing race between the sun and them. I pulled my hood up and closed my eyes.

  The sound of shattering glass and crumbling steel pulled me from my light snooze. Damn! The sun was barely up. I shook Gia awake and climbed to my feet, looking over the roof edge. They had done it. They were climbing into the window two by two and three by three, some fighting, others pulling and pushing. Like rabid dogs, they fought for the first chance at their meal.

  “We have to go!” I shouted, grabbing Gia’s hand and running for the stairs to the fire escape. I kicked at the ladder until it unlocked and rolled down. “Go first.” I held her hand, helping her climb outside the railing onto the ladder. I had enough time to gloat over her not brushing off my help like before. The shouting from other side of the door brought me back to reality; they were already making their way up.

  “Go, go, go!” I yelled, climbing on behind her. Time seemed to crawl. When the door burst open, it was like a slow motion scene. Men tumbled out, and their hungry saliva and dirt flying through the air. There was a moment of confusion before they spotted us.

  “Jump!” Gia yelled from below, just as one of them grabbed at the ladder, shaking it violently.

  I meant to jump, but let go of my hands too soon, tangling my feet in one of the ladder rungs. My body half-turned as I fell toward the ground and landed hard on my side. As Gia helped me up, a body fell head first nearby with a sickening crunch as his skull shattered. We looked up to see the cannibals laughing and hollering like a pack of wild hyenas, climbing over the railing, some trying the ladder and others attempting to jump. We didn’t wait to see how successful the other jumpers were. We ran down the street with a thousand voices behind us.