When we arrived at a long stretch of road that was at least twenty minutes north of the township, it was already getting dark. The sun made haste in disappearing over the horizon. It wasn’t generous with its light today. The blackness of the humid night quickly crept out to take its place.
We arrived to where there was a large number of luxury cars scattered in a circle, with headlights all streaming into the center, like it was a spotlight on a stage. Anais screeched her Mercedes to another abrupt stop, flinging the door open and racing out, not even stopping to close the door behind her. “James. Follow me!” she yelled. I followed quickly, shutting the doors, coming up behind where she was pushing through a circle of people into the blinding headlights and what was happening in the beams in the center of the crowd.
I heard the sound of a grunt first, then a whooshing sound of a fist pounding into flesh, like the stomach, or maybe even a cheek. Then coughing. Yep, it was punch to the gut. More grunting. Then another punching sound but this time there was a crack and moan soon afterward.
I shoved my way into the light where I could now see Byron. He was punching into a guy who looked no older than sixteen, being held up by two other guys on each of his arms. The boy had curly brown hair all swished to one side, black rimmed glasses, and a weedy thin body. This was no fight. This was three guys beating the shit out of a guy who was half their size.
I saw Anais next, bursting through the crowd and running over in front of Byron.
“STOP!” she screamed holding up both her palms in front of him. “STOP BYRON! STOP! You’re killing him!” He shoved her out of his way as he pummeled into the glasses-wearing boy once more. She sobbed loudly as she saw the boy’s face filled with pain. Blood running from his nose. I swear I think I even saw Byron laugh. That was it for me. Byron raised his arm again, but before he could punch it forward, I was there behind him, holding him back, stopping his raised fist from propelling into the boy’s body again. The crowd suddenly went still and quiet, watching me intervene, like what I did was either crazy...or a miracle. All the eyes blinking at me like silent rapid fire.
“Not really a fair fight, is it Byron?” I said, cutting through the shocked air of silence. I was still holding his arm in the air when he turned to face me. His eyes glared towards Anais and then back to me. Instead of taking a swing at my face as I expected he would, he smirked and broke away from my hold. The two guys holding up the beaten younger guy called Seth, dropped him to the ground and he crumpled into a heap, moaning and groaning. Anais ran to his side, her hand going to his back and rubbed it in a soothing action. “Seth...Seth...are you okay?”
I wanted to go help Anais with her cousin, but right now, I had more pressing problems. Namely the group of secret society guys who were all rubbing their fists together, surrounding me. I was quickly imagining myself as their new punching bag for the evening. I had not thought this all the way through when I decided to interject. I could probably, quite easily take a few of them down, but a group this big, no way. I would be lucky if I could walk with both legs tomorrow.
“It’s good to see you James,” Byron said to me, but also like he was addressing the crowd. “I can’t say I appreciate you stepping in the way you did, but frankly...I’m impressed. That was a bold move.” Byron looked out to the eyes of our audience. “No one else would dare go up against me like that...so you’ve definitely got my attention.”
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be shocked or scared but I think it was safe to say I was both. Fighting Byron was not the issue. It was the way he seemed so calm. Too calm. Like those pictures you see of serial killers that have no emotion in their face. It had my mind doing mental flips about what he might do next. When someone doesn’t react the way you expect them to, that’s the time you start to worry. My hand began to shake. I knew it would happen after how I just intervened. There was no doubt that the violence had set it off. I slowly moved my hand from view and shoved it into my jean pocket. I didn’t want these guys and Anais to know I had a weakness...or condition...or whatever the fuck it was. It was my cross to bear and not something I wanted to reveal.
“And you,” Byron turned towards Anais crouched on the ground now, still tending to her cousin’s beaten body. “You’re lucky we don’t have you spread-eagle on the ground right now for all of us. It’s lucky your Daddy knows people who can bend the rules.”
Bend the rules? Anais said nothing. She kept looking Seth over and over again, trying to assess the damage done to his thin fragile frame.
“You can’t baby him all night Anais. He has a race to win. Now tell him to get up now!”
Anais turned to look up at Byron. Her eyes were so open and wide, you could almost see the daggers flying out. “You almost killed him Byron! How do you expect him to race in a state like this? He can barely move.”
“Well he shouldn’t have lost the preliminary. Do I have to remind you all,” Byron’s voice grew louder, more fearsome, “that we don’t tolerate losers? We are the best because we only initiate the best. Not pathetic, pubescent looking legacies like your cousin. We were merely ‘reminding him’ of what he’ll get if he doesn’t win tonight.”
“You’re a monster,” Anais said barely loud enough for anyone to hear, but in the deathly silence, it carried through the air and slapped Byron right in the face.
“What did you say?” His voice changing, becoming aggressive, taking a step toward Anais. Immediately my protective instinct kicked in.
“I’ll do it,” I said out loud, breaking the tension, diverting Byron away from Anais. Throwing myself in front of the line of fire, so to speak. I guess I did it because I not only really liked this girl, but what Byron was doing to Seth was wrong. There was a part of me that couldn’t allow that to happen even if I knew it meant I would get hurt myself. I’m not the type of person who could just be a bystander if someone was in trouble.
“Excuse me,” Byron said, “did you just say you’d do it?”
I stood tall. “Yeah, are you deaf or something? I’ll do it. I’ll race for Seth.”
My comment only made Byron smile more grimly. “So...let me get this straight...you wanna take the place...” Byron turned back to Anais and Seth, “of this guy?”
I nodded, not repeating my answer again. But I think it was because I wasn’t sure the same answer would come out now that I was realizing what I had just agreed to.
“Now this...is...very interesting.” Byron studied me, trying to figure out why I was doing this. He was making some sort of mental assessment as he considered my offer to play substitute for Seth.
Another guy moved towards Bryon, speaking quietly into his ear. He wasn’t as tall as Byron or me, but he had a similar build and had blondish hair. I saw Byron nodding before he shook his head and dismissed him.
“Deacon does have a point...you’re not an ‘investment’...and only our newly appointed investments can participate in this race. It’s a showcase of our new potential. The ones we think are the best and most skilled...or in Seth’s case...how much we have faith in our legacies being initiated this year. You have to be one or the other to race for us. Those are the rules.”
Byron shrugged his shoulders at me and turned his attention back to Seth on the ground. “So make me a...what do you call them? An investment,” I quickly piped up. It was the obvious solution. Byron swung back around to face me.
The guy called Deacon moved towards Byron once more. The guy I assumed given his name, was until recently, Anais’ betrothed.
“No fucking way Byron. No one here is going vouch for this guy. No one knows anything about him or what he can do. We can’t just accept him as a new investment because he has a hero complex and has a thing for the prick teaser over there on her knees.” His eyes glared at Anais, who refused to look up at him.
My urge to use my fists was crawling up on me very quickly. This Deacon guy was getting on my nerves and if he didn’t watch himself, I would use my ‘hero complex’ to take him down a peg or two
. Hell — I wanted to knock him the fuck out!
“Oh that’s not true,” Byron started. “Didn’t he take down two of your guys a couple of weeks back? And I know firsthand how our president feels about him. So I think he would be very impressed if we had him recruited.”
This threw me. Byron did not only know about what was happening to Anais on that tree, but that I was the one who intervened. How long had he known? From the very start? And who was the president? Had I met him? I was starting to get the odd sense that I had been watched since the night I helped Anais. But the why was really weighing on my mind. I didn’t like the idea that there were people in the shadows taking notes of everything I was doing and saying. My parents’ warnings about ‘secret societies’ were now making a lot of sense. Fuck! — I could already hear my mother saying, “I told you so,” in my head. And I hated knowing they might be right.
“So I’m going to vouch for him,” Byron announced. “That is...of course...he really does want to try his hand to become one of us? Because to be honest, I’m dying to see what else he can do.”
There was no way I intended to complete any kind initiation and become one of these psychotic secret society freaks, but logic told me, that it was the only way I could protect Seth and Anais without anyone getting hurt tonight. I figured I could drop out of the initiation process tomorrow, when things had settled down. Just fail whatever crazy task they gave me...and move on. It seemed like the best and most logical plan I could come up with. I mean, they can’t force you to become one of them if you don’t do what you’re told...right? That can’t be how it works.
“Yeah, it’s totally what I want.” I took a confident breath as I tried to look and sound convincing. “Pretty please, sign me up.” I was hoping the sarcasm in my voice wasn’t obvious and that my weird accent covered it up. I could see Anais shaking, like she was about to burst into screaming and yelling, her shoulders moving back and forth, like she was rocking to keep herself together and calm. Seth was still spitting blood out of his mouth and onto the ground.
“Tremendous,” Byron cheered. “Let’s welcome our new investment shall we everyone — James Riley.” He stared out into the crowd, who looked nowhere nearly as pleased as Byron. There were a few claps that littered through the group, slow, staggered and unsure. This obviously wasn’t how recruitment was done, but Byron was some kind of leader, making his own rules. He had the power and was exercising what he was allowed to do. No one dared question his actions. That in itself told me he carried a lot of weight where this society and decisions were concerned.
I started to make my way over to Anais and Seth and check in on how they were both doing when Byron’s deep voice stopped me once more. “Oh and Riley...” he said with a hint of mischief on his tongue, like he was excited to deliver this next tidbit of information. “I should let you know that the end result is still the same for Seth here. I mean, you’re driving for him so if you win, you win for Seth.”
“And if I lose?” I asked, already sensing the answer in my head, but I needed to hear it all the same. It was the extra motivation I wanted.
“Then it’s Seth who receives the loser’s punishment.” He looked at Seth who was still coughing and spluttering. “That clear?”
Anais eyes were on me now, conflicted and scared. I wasn’t sure if it was for me, or Seth or both of us. The sick bastard actually looked like he enjoyed the torture, eyeing Seth again like he wanted to finish what he started.
“Crystal,” I said back, and walked over to Anais and helped her up. At the same time she managed to get Seth to his feet too. The right side of his face was already bruising up and he was holding his stomach where Byron had punched him earlier. His glasses were sitting crookedly on his face so I moved them so they sat correctly on the bridge of his nose. He didn’t flinch at my touch. He looked grateful. Seth even tried to get his lips to form a smile, but failed to get his mouth to follow.
“Thanks man,” he said, in between gasping for air and wiping snot from his nose. “Anais said you were a good guy...but you shouldn’t have...I mean I could have...I would have...” Anais rested her hand on his shoulder in a sweet concerned way. “I’m sorry Anais.” His voice was breaking. I could tell he wanted to cry but was doing his darndest to make sure it didn’t happen, especially in front of Byron and his crew. That would only make him look weaker.
I put my hand on his free shoulder. “It’s fine. Really. I’ll make sure this victory is yours. Don’t worry about it.”
But they both look equally concerned. And why wouldn’t they? They didn’t know what I could do. I wanted to tell them that they had nothing to be worried about. That my step-dad was a superb driver, that he had trained and educated me in engines, torque, speed and a car’s agility. I wanted to tell them how I had mastered, with ease, roads that twisted and rounded at speeds of more than 200kms per hour all over the world in countless luxury cars. I wanted to tell them, that this was going to be like a Sunday drive in the country. But I decided that a surprise would be much better. Perhaps lift their spirits. So I played clueless for a while. I had to admit, I wanted to see the looks on their faces when I crossed the finish line, leaving the others behind trailing in my dust. Was I being a little too cocky? — Perhaps, but it was only because that’s how sure I was of what I could do.
“So what car will I be using to race with?” I said looking all around at all the luxury cars surrounding us.
“Its...it’s...the Bugatti Veyron. Over there near the Porsche. It’s the super-sports model.” Seth lifted his finger towards the parked cars.
I knew exactly which car they were talking about but looked side to side trying to see what car they were talking about. “Bug-who?” I said, sounding like I was confused.
Anais and Seth both looked at one another, seeming even more freaked out than before.
“Look...I’m sure I’ll figure it out...” I said this time revealing a sly smile. Anais’ eyebrows lifted as she watched me. I think she knew I was hiding something from the both of them.
When I was seated in the car and the other racers from the other secret societies had arrived, I found Anais leaning against my window, looking like she was trying to find something inspirational or supportive to say, but couldn’t come up with anything.
“You know...a good luck kiss would really help me through this,” I said smirking at her. I knew I didn’t need any luck. I just wanted a hopeful taste from her beautiful lips. A welcome distraction to what I had verbally agreed to with Byron. I hadn’t given much thought to the repercussions of not following through. There was a nagging voice in the back of my head that kept telling me what a mistake I was making, so I did my best to ignore it. And Anais had the ability to blitz any doubt that was quickly crawling into my conscious.
Anais’ eyes squinted at me, and a cute smile formed. “Well, I want to help you to win any way I can.” She looked behind her where she saw Deacon and Byron watching us, and then she leaned forward and kissed me, sucking on my bottom lip, running her tongue along like she wanted to lick my whole body. Everything inside me went into overdrive. This wasn’t a kiss, it was an erotic invitation. The way this girl went from innocent angel to seductress was making me crazy. It played with my mind about her true personality. Which girl was she exactly? Because on the outside she was sweet and proper, but then I would get glimpses of a girl who screamed naughty, not nice. Something wild and free that wanted to break out. I almost lost all focus on the race as she continued to suck hard on my lip. That was until I heard Seth moaning behind us, which got Anais to retreat from her tongue tease. I knew Anais was probably trying hard to be sexy and to give me some ‘extra’ incentive to help get my head into the race, but the way she teased my mouth had my body spiraling. I shook my shoulders, making sure I had my focus back to where I needed it to be. The purr of all the engines around me was like a switch to my brain. This was my time to shine.
So let me tell you how the race went down. Exactly. How. I. Planned. Whe
n you drive there is a lot you need to consider. Specifically the road, your car, the other drivers and their cars. You need to judge the right times to turn, accelerate, as well anticipate what the other drivers might do given the type of car they’re driving. And it was like I could read each and every mind on that long road that night. No move wasn’t anticipated. None offered any challenge to what I had been taught and what I could do. I had calculated my position and speed down to the last second, and when I crossed that finish line coming out of the woods on that long stretch of road, miles ahead of the rest, I had barely broke a sweat. That’s how easy it was for me. That’s how good my skills were and how fast my mind could mentally prepare and assess my opponents and their abilities. It was almost like a video game in my head and I was the only driver. I knew I could have been much more boastful. Hell, I could have yelled, “YEAH BITCH!” Jesse Pinkman style from Breaking Bad into Byron’s face, and fist pumped the sky like Marcus had shown me, but I didn’t. I could have really owned the win. But instead when I climbed out of the Bugatti and stood before the cheering crowd who were all chanting “Lappell, Lappell, Lappell”, I walked right past Byron and his crew who were waiting for me to stand next to them, and instead I walked over to where Seth was leaning on Anais. I grabbed his hand and held it in the air. My victory was for Seth and Seth alone. I began yelling, “Seth!” changing everyone’s cheers so they were chanting “Seth” instead, purposely making it known to Byron and his merry men that I wouldn’t be doing anything their stupid secret society wanted. Yep, yep, James Riley was in’da house! Sorry, but I’m still a peacock who likes to show off his feathers once in a while. It’s important to revel in moments of glory being that it’s part of our nature after all.
People were abuzz. No, more than abuzz. They were gossiping like schoolgirls as we slowly disbanded and made our way back to our own cars. It was hard not to hear their conversations as we left the grounds, especially when they were openly talking about me in earshot and making comparisons to some other well known drivers in the Lappell.
Fiendish Play Page 10