Gabe gave him a chummy pat on the shoulder and feigned sympathy,
”Yeah, these broads are going to be our downfall, don’t you think so Gregory?"
He reached for the paper cups and swapped them quickly.
"We should drink to that my friend. Down with the dumb bitches, destroying our lives.”
Even if he hated Gabe, Gregory was kind of relieved that it would finally be over. He gave him a half-hearted smile, took the cup and downing the pink liquid in one single gulp. Still distracted by what was happening on the dance floor, he had become a bit careless and realized too late that this had been a trap. He looked down at the paper cup. What had happened? Why was his cup dark green? He had put the blue one in front of him, so that he could distinguish the cup in which he had poured the poison. Struck by panic, he looked at Gabe and knew instantly that he had been busted. And worst, he just drunk the poison. Mila said that there was no antidote up to now and it was supposed to be lethal. Everything around him started turning. He couldn’t help thinking about what an amazing spy he was. A spy that screwed things up because he was jealous, watching a girl on a dance floor being kissed by someone else. Really a brilliant performance. Gabe looked at him knowingly.
“Looks as if the savior is beyond saving,” he smirked. Everything was a blur around Gregory. He couldn’t see straight and Gabe supported him seemingly helpful when he tumbled.”
We should go out and get some fresh air my friend,” he said playing along sounding worried. Gregory’s whole body was screaming for help, but his voice would not obey him any longer; he felt numb. His blood seemed to freeze in his veins. Suddenly there was turmoil in the hall. Mila rushed to the dance floor with Natalie right behind. She looked shaken. “Leyla you have to come with me. Alex is dead. He is out there lying on the ground. We have already called the cops.”
She was out of breath and deadly pale. Leyla’s eyes searched for Gregory, something had gone wrong.
She saw him leave the hall together with Gabe. Her bad feeling got even worse. She told Greyson they had to get outside as something terrible had happened. Gabe noticed that someone had found Alex. This meant he had to act fast.
He dragged the almost spaced-out Gregory into the boy’s loo with Lorenzo’s help. Lorenzo stood outside the washroom, letting no one in. His argument was that somebody felt sick and it was not a pretty sight. He pulled out his cell phone and told Edward and Luke to crack a car.
“No, it doesn’t matter what kind of car you silly idiot, but you have to hurry. The cops are already on the way. Do it quick bloody hell.”
He was shouting into the phone. They should have sent him to do the job. These two morons would only mess things up. Gregory had collapsed in the meantime. Gabe decided to drag him to the parking lot together with Lorenzo before the cops showed up. Luke and Edward managed to break into an old Chevy. They loaded Gregory in it. Gabe was furious, the idiot was dead. He had no pulse. He could not even finish him off properly. What a shame. He threw him out of the car into the bushes, got out mauling the lifeless body with some foot kicks.
“Give me the Vodka,” he snapped at Lorenzo.
He emptied out the whole bottle over Gregory’s body. An insane smile lit up on his face.
“Come on guys, let’s make a fire. This piece of shit will burn brightly for sure.”
They had to change their plan when they heard the police siren approaching. They got in the car and drove away as fast as they could. Gabe's rage couldn’t have been any worst. He had wanted to kill the son of a bitch but he also wanted to see him suffer. That part had been spoilt, as the idiot had pretty much poisoned himself drinking the stuff that had been meant for him.
The savior wasn’t such a smart ass after all.
No queen, no king, but death and destruction
Aiden came outside followed by Brooklyn, where meanwhile almost all students had come together. Everything was a big mess; the cops had arrived, and the crime scene was sealed off with yellow tape. Alex was lying on the ground in a bizarre way, his legs twisted in a strange angle. Natalie was sobbing quietly; she had been the one that found Alex lying on the ground and had dashed immediately to Mila for help. Leyla reached the scene, followed closely by Greyson. The party was definitely over, even before king and queen had been announced.
Aiden and Leyla looked at each other, both thinking exactly the same things. Where the hell was Gregory in this whole mess? Leyla turned to Greyson, “I'm sorry I have to go home, I hope you understand. I need to find my cousin. He seems to be missing; I can’t see him anywhere.”
"Shall I take you home?”
Greyson’s voice sounded concerned. She didn’t want him to be around. She had other things on her mind. Something must have happened to Gregory, she just knew. His plan must have gone awfully wrong.
"No, thanks but I 'm going with Brooklyn.”
She cast a conspiratorial look at her friend. Brooklyn understood and nodded. When Greyson had left together with the still sobbing Natalie, Aiden said that he would take Brooklyn home, as her parents were home for once. Each time when her father was around, he watched over his little girl, as he called Brooklyn like an overprotective mother hen. It was quite ridiculous, but probably, he tried to make up being absent most of the time to cover up his feelings of guilt. Her mother was a different story. She had enough trouble with herself and her Beauty programs and wouldn’t notice whether Brooklyn was home or not. Leyla stayed behind with the others waiting for Aiden to get back.
He didn’t want Brooklyn to go home by herself. He was too worried that something could happen to her. Who knew what Gabe and his clan were up to. They apparently were capable of anything tonight. Gabe had to be incredibly angry and he didn’t want to take any chances by leaving Brooklyn stroll along all by herself at night. So he wanted to make sure that she made it home safe and sound. He urged her to stay at home during the weekend not leaving the house or do anything stupid. She almost saluted when he was being so deadly serious. She wondered what kind of stupid things he had in mind. Now that Gregory was gone, his protective instinct had reached the top, which was understandable given the circumstances, and nevertheless kind of annoying anyway. Before getting out of the car, she wrapped her arms around him. It was supposed to be a comforting hug and he seemed to understand. She kissed him gently on the cheek.
“I hope you find Gregory and that he's still alive.”
He nodded but his expression was grim, “I hope so too.”
Their eyes met in the rearview mirror. She stood there looking after him as he drove away. She looked small and fragile in her white dress and the worried look in her green eyes, the very idea that Gabe could get his hands on her was unbearable.
At least he knew that tonight she was safe. Her parents were there, which was rare enough. He drove back to school as fast as he could, where Leyla waited in the dark parking lot for him together with Mila, James, and Matt. Aiden got out of the car. He looked at their faces. They were all still pale and shaken.
“Any news?”
They seemed to have swallowed their tongues. Leyla plucked up her courage and stepped forward.
"It was on the news. Matt saw it on his cell phone. Alex is dead and the murderers didn’t leave any traces behind.
It looks as if Alex has dropped dead on the ground without a reason. What it also means is that Gabe and his people will get away with it. Yet unfortunately, there is more. Sebastian's house has burned down without a reason too. There are no survivors,” she added quietly.
Aiden looked petrified, as he knew exactly what that meant. Not only Sebastian had paid for Gregory being busted, his parents, his little sister, and the young clumsy dog, Wilma, Sebastian’s sister’s birthday gift - they all had paid with their lives. His legs were shaking and he sat on the hood of his car. Things were even worse than he had expected. He swallowed hard.
“And where is Gregory?"
His question echoed like a threatening curse through the night. Leyla
voiced what barely was more than a whisper, “There was nothing about him in the news. He was not reported missing and now that it's the weekend; it is not going to happen soon. My parents will have to report him as missing and go to the police.”
He looked around. Everyone was still wearing their clothes for their Big Night Out- the guys in suits and the girls in their evening gowns. The situation was quite grotesque under the given circumstances. Aiden got up, “We’ll have to find him. If they killed him, they must have left him somewhere. If we are lucky, he is still alive.”
His voice was unsteady. They all nodded. Mila took a few flashlights from her shoulder bag.
“Then I guess it is a good thing that I 'm prepared.”
She distributed the flashlights and they went on to search the area around the school grounds. A difficult task. It was dark and the Campus was a large area to be searched.
By one o’clock in the morning, they gave up. They would meet again the next day. It would be easier to continue the search in daylight. It made no sense for now.
The Morning After
Leyla had not slept at all. The thoughts had been racing through her mind all night long. Fortunately, her parents were already sleeping when she got home. Her father always stayed up until he made sure that she had arrived safe and sound at home. This time, he apparently had left it to Gregory to make sure that she arrived safely at home. Gregory! Leyla was trembling all over. She wondered if he was still alive? After this sleepless night, Leyla tried to sneak out quietly. Her parents thought for sure, that she was still asleep. At half past six in the morning, she had given up tossing and turning taking a quick shower. She dressed in her jogging clothes, left a note on the kitchen table writing that she was on the way to Brooklyn, and would not be back until lunchtime. She left the house on tiptoes, careful not to make any noise. She looked back to see if they really hadn’t noticed her sneaking out when she collided with her spiteful and unfriendly neighbor, Mrs. Webber. What was this woman doing on the sideway carrying a wash basket in front of their house on a Saturday morning at this time. Looks like she had no other hobbies than a cleaning and washing phobia. Leyla jerked back apologizing, whereupon she had to listen once again that the youth of today had no manners. Her shrill voice had managed to wake up Rogan, who had previously been peacefully slumbering on the porch. He started barking. Damn it now, that was more than she could take right now.
“You!”
Leyla brandished with her index finger in front of Mrs. Webber's face, “You don’t have the slightest idea what manners are, strolling around of our house with your washing at dawn and insulting harmless citizens,” she hissed as she jogged away without another word.
On her list of worries, Mrs. Webbers ranking was not very high today. This mental woman had the nerve to call other people rude - just incredible. She had ruined things with the entire neighborhood and nobody would ever talk to her. Snorting, Leyla jogged toward Main station. She wanted to get some coffee before she would take the subway to school.
Starbucks was not open that early in the morning, but otherwise there seemed to be a lot going on this sunny Saturday morning. Today, there was the market day at Main Street. Some street vendors already offered their merchandise for sale and there was a lively atmosphere. Leyla loved this district; it was peaceful, but there was always something going on. She bought some coffee and took the subway to Scarborough. Then she texted Aiden and met him at the Scarborough Centre Station. He looked exhausted as if he hadn’t slept at all. They were both not in a chatty mood this morning.
"Is there anything new?” Leyla asked and Aiden shook his head.
"Where are the others?” she wondered.
He shrugged.
“I thought it would be better, if not, the whole bunch of us would hang around the Campus on a Saturday morning. It could raise some unnecessary suspicious questions. We’ll take turns. The two of us are taking the first shift.”
He was right, she hadn’t even thought about that. How stupid of her. They walked past the Covenant Church and searched the whole area including their meeting point in the Civic Park.
By eleven o clock, they were totally dehydrated and exhausted. The sun burned mercilessly from the sky and they decided to take a break and get some food and something to drink. Soon she would have to go home for lunch anyway.
Leyla took her cell phone texting Mila. “Mila and Matt will continue searching the area at one o clock”, she informed Aiden.
She sighed.
“Do you think he is still alive out there somewhere?"
She watched Aiden closely. He looked as if he was going to collapse.
“I don't know, but we will not give up until we find him.”
He hugged her briefly and got in his Mustang.
“I need to sleep, otherwise I'm of no use.”
Leyla had to agree to that and waved after him. Where was her cell phone?
She had it with her earlier! She remembered having put it down on the stonewall close to the entrance of Covenant Church when they decided to take a break.
Shit, that was just what she needed right now.
She sprinted back. When she got there, she looked relieved as her cell phone was still where she had left it.
While she grabbed it, her gaze wandered over the stonewall which exposed the view to the Church.
There was a large weeping willow beside the church and below the tree. There was a park bench inviting visitors to linger.
The sun blinded her and she screwed up her eyes. Was there someone lying on the ground beneath that bench?
Strange, she thought. Usually, there weren’t any hobos around that church as far as she could remember. She tried to take a closer look at the huddled figure and then it hit her like lightening. Hadn’t Gregory been wearing a dark blue suit yesterday?
The huddled figure lying on the ground next to the bench was in fact wearing a dark blue elegant suit that looked completely dirty and rumpled.
Holy shit, it seemed she had just found Gregory.
Amnesia
He woke up and his head hurt like hell. To his astonishment, he looked at the blue sky above. Why was he sleeping outside? His whole body ached as if every bone had been broken. He wasn’t sure if he was able to move, so he remained a seemingly endless time motionless on his back on the rocky hard ground. His eyes wandered, and he realized that he was lying in the center of a seemingly large bush.
He saw leaves of that bush appearing on the verge of the blue above him as he tried to let his eyes dart around. Then he tried to get himself in another position crawling on his hands and knees. The pain was almost unbearable and he thought he would faint again, but eventually he was able to sit up. He looked around. Not far from the bush, he saw a street. He rolled back to his knees getting hold of some leaves of the dense bush putting them aside to see if anyone was around; someone that could help him. It took him some time until he was able to get up. Yet apparently, he had not broken anything, because otherwise he probably would not be able to walk.
He dragged himself to the street nearby. He could not remember how he got here. Honestly, he couldn’t remember anything, not even his name and where he came from. He looked down at himself and was puzzled to see that he wore something similar to a tuxedo and a former probably white shirt. However, now, it was filthy. He must have been at some party last night. He tried to remember anything, but there was only a big blank. There wasn’t a soul in sight, no one he could ask where he was, and no one that could maybe help him. He could feel despair slowly starting to creep within. He felt like he was walking through a haze. The street in front of him was nothing but a blur, his eyes unable to focus on the surroundings, his legs felt numb and, every step was pure agony.
He almost fell off the sidewalk, lurched out onto the street and a passing white Ford almost hit him. The driver barely dodged him, doing a daring evasive manoeuvre. He heard the curses yelled in his direction, as the car thundered by. He felt woozy. The sun
burned mercilessly down on him and sweat dripped over his forehead. He felt sick by smelling his own stench. Somehow, the sleeves of his dirty jacket smelled of dried vomit and vodka. He had no clue where the hell he was, or how he got here.
He dragged himself shuffling past a church. It must have been early afternoon. The sun was burning high in the sky. How could he be in such a miserable state? He tried to remember what had happened last night, but his mind was a big blank. Where was he? What had happened to him? He didn’t even have a cell phone on him. Yet, whom would he call anyway? He didn’t even remember his name! He arrived at the entrance of a cemetery behind the church, the Iron Gate stood wide open. The sun seemed to burn him from inside out alive. He put his dirty hand in front of his eyes and spotted a wooden park bench in the shade of a big weeping willow not too far away. He struggled towards the bench with his last ounce of strength. He had almost made it, but just before he got there, he blacked out.
He crashed to the ground and lost consciousness.
The rescue of the Savior
Leyla got closer to the huddled up dark shape lying on the ground in front of the bench. It was without a doubt Gregory. He was still wearing the dark blue suit that was now completely dirty and the stench of vomit and vodka filled the air. The stench was so appalling that she felt sick instantly. She crouched beside him giving him a quick shake. He moaned miserably but did not move. Although the stench emerging from him was hideous, she felt like hugging and kissing him. He was not dead, because dead people did not moan.
ELEMENTARY VIRTUE: The Savior Page 15