by Rob Hunter
“Please, I didn’t do anything!” he begged.
“You were a disrespectful little shit,” the man accused, landing a punch right in his stomach. He gasped, doubling over and wheezing, even as the other man gripped his arms and held him upright. He struggled weakly, kicking into the shins of one of the men holding him and was satisfied to hear a loud grunt, and find the grip on him loosening.
“Help!” he screamed, struggling out of the grip and scrambling forward desperately. He didn’t get far before he was yanked back, his arm twisted viciously behind his back. He yelped, falling to his knees as they continued to twist his arm, until there was a sickening snap and he yelled out, vision flashing white for a moment as pain and then a disturbing numbness flooded his arm.
“You’re going to fucking suffer for that,” the man whose shin he had kicked threatened. He looked up with watery eyes, not sure whether it was pain or fear he was most overwhelmed by.
He was punched suddenly, and he flinched backwards, biting his tongue as he restrained another scream, feeling a bead of blood dribble from his nose. Several more punches were thrown at his face in rapid succession, and he struggled weakly, his head exploding in pain as a great dizziness overtook him as he felt his nose crunch and the bruises already starting to form. His cheek had been cut and was already throbbing, and one of his eyes seemed to be sealed close. His vision swam.
The onslaught of punches barely stopped before he was kicked in the back from behind and he tumbled forward, smashing his already bruised cheek against the ground, before he screamed out as his ankle was stepped on and crushed with a terrifyingly loud snap. Tears streamed down his face, his entire leg shaking, and he was sure that the bone had pierced the skin.
He struggled into the fetal position, trying to protect his head as he was kicked from multiple directions. There were several more aimed at his stomach, but most connected sharply with his ribs and he was sure that they had been cracked. He could feel pressure pushing down on his lungs and making him breathless.
There was a heavy boot pressing down on his neck now and he whimpered, turning his gaze up at the men surrounding him. He was forced onto his back, unable to muster the energy to fight it. The boot on his neck moved and he breathed out in relief before the side of his head was kicked, his neck almost snapping from the force as blood dribbled down his face and suddenly it was as though he’d been splashed with water. There was a cold detachment from his body, and he could barely hear himself moaning in pain, but otherwise he might as well have been floating outside of his body, or be trapped within a dream.
And then there was more pain, but he could no longer figure out where it was coming from, whether he was being kicked or punched, but he saw with blurred vision that one of the men, presumably the leader, had grabbed a bat, and he barely had the time to cover his face with his one good arm before it smashed into him over and over again. He was struck by the sudden thought that they might indeed be trying to kill him.
He was shaking uncontrollably when the beating stopped. He wasn’t sure how long it had been. Every time he blinked, he seemed to be thrown forward in time, and aside from that, everything was moving slowly, as if the men beating him were underwater themselves. He was vaguely aware of coarse rope cutting into his wrist, and then something behind forced into his mouth, which made him gag, straining against the rope tying his wrist as he fought to get it out, struggling to breathe around it.
Someone was talking to him. The words were distorted and he just couldn’t make it out, but he could hear the tone, could feel the pinpricks of cold dread that spread through him at the cruel laughter, and he whimpered, desperately pleading without being able to form words as they left him shuddering alone and injured in the alley.
Adam was anxious. Daveth had left after already having claimed his bed at the shelter, having mentioned that he wanted to get some fresh air and that he would be back in a bit. But the bed beside him was still empty at least five hours later. Roy wasn’t sleeping, his own expression clouded over with barely concealed worry as he kept glancing towards the door every few seconds, as though hopeful that Daveth would walk in any second now.
“Fuck it...” he muttered to himself, getting to his feet and brushing a hand through his hair as he made his way towards the hallway. He hated waiting around for people, and it wasn’t like he was going to be able to get to sleep when he was worried, which he was, so he might as well try and do something instead of sitting around uselessly.
“Guys?” He knocked on the door to the small office that he assumed the gents were hiding out at. It was relatively late and most of the jobs they were required for had been completed for the moment, not to mention most sensible people had gone to sleep by this time. He didn’t, however, bother to wait for an answer before he made his way inside. His assumptions proved correct as Solomon and Edwin glanced at him, smiling wearily but not unkindly.
“Hey, Adam. Everything okay?” Edwin asked, swiveling round on his chair to face the younger man. Adam grimaced.
“Daveth’s still not back. I’m concerned,” he said bluntly. Solomon looked up sharply, frowning.
“Where did he said he was going?” Edwin asked, getting slowly to his feet. Adam shrugged.
“He just said that he was going to get some fresh air. He said he would be back shortly,” he replied, clenching his hands tightly.
“We can call the police, but they probably won’t take it seriously,” Edwin offered, rubbing the back of his neck in thought.
“I’ll go look for him,” Solomon decided, pulling the car keys out of his pocket. Adam nodded, having anticipated and wanted that course of action. Edwin frowned, but did not make a move to prevent them as they both left the office together.
“Do you want to look with me or look separately?” Solomon asked, scratching his stubble as they rushed towards the shelter’s exit.
“He can’t have gone that far...” Adam reasoned. “We should stay together, otherwise we won’t have any contact.”
“Okay. Where do you want to start first?”
“If he’s staying anywhere, then it will be with the Rover. I know roughly where they hang out together,” Adam explained, slipping into the passenger seat of Solomon’s car as the older man started the engine.
“Hopefully, he’s there,” Solomon muttered, hands clenching the wheel tightly as he pulled away from the lot with perhaps a bit more speed than was strictly safe.
Adam scanned every road and alley as they drove off, occasionally giving directions to Solomon, but otherwise focused on the outside world in hopes of spotting Daveth somewhere. Fuck, he was worried. But, he was probably with Ellis. He’d probably just forgotten to mention that he was going to stay with the Rover, and they’d find him in a few minutes and then Adam could beat the shit out of him for making him concerned and everything would be alright.
Solomon pulled up sharply, and Adam jumped out of the car before it had even properly come to a stop. They were parked illegally but Solomon didn’t seem to mind as he followed after Adam, who was scanning the alleyway in search of anyone. He knew this was roughly where Ellis and Daveth met, but he wasn’t exactly sure where the Rover would be.
As it was, the Rover found them first.
“Who are you?” a gruff voice rang out, and he vaguely made out a shadowed figured, face covered in a skull mask, and looking every bit as threatening as the rumors said he was. Next to him, Solomon narrowed his eyes, tension radiating from his body.
“Is Daveth with you?” Solomon asked bluntly. Even without being able to see his face, the Rover’s surprise was evident.
“Who are you?” he repeated, hesitantly this time, and taking a few steps towards them.
“We’re friends. Is he with you?” Adam said. There was a brief silence.
“No. He isn’t.” Adam felt his heart sink at the words. Beside him, Solomon immediately turned away, no longer interested in the other man.
“You sure?” Adam said, clear accusatio
n in his voice. The Rover stared at him. “Because if you’ve done something to hurt him, you’re basically a dead man,” he growled, his eyes glowing furiously. Solomon placed a comforting hand on his arm, trying to calm him even as he turned back towards the Rover.
“I wouldn’t hurt him,” the Rover said, slowly removing his mask. Adam committed his face to memory, glaring into his eyes suspiciously. “What’s going on?”
Adam didn’t want to answer him, despite the vulnerability in the other man’s voice that tugged at his own sense of empathy. Solomon swallowed next to him, clearly indecisive.
“He’s gone missing,” Solomon replied. The other man’s expression was unreadable and Adam felt a flare of indignant anger at it. “Adam, he doesn’t know shit. Let’s stop wasting time and keep looking,” he said, turning towards Adam pointedly. He frowned, still glaring at the Rover even as he nodded and turned away.
“Wait!” the Rover called out as they turned away. Adam glared back at him for wasting their time. “If there’s any news, can you please update me?” The man shifted his feet, scuffing his already matted shoes along the gravel. Adam narrowed his eyes but nodded silently, before turning away and heading back towards the car with Solomon.
***
Ellis was freaking out. He hadn’t exactly thought he’d be able to sleep tonight; his mind was already hyperaware due to his persistent insomnia, but now that he knew Daveth might be in trouble, he knew the additional worry would keep him awake. He paced aimlessly up and down the alley, occasionally pausing and leaning back against the dumpster as he tried to steady his thoughts and contemplate a course of action.
He tapped a meaningless rhythm across his thigh, nibbling on his lower lip as he racked his mind for a solution. After a moment, he sighed and reequipped his mask before collecting his belongings and swinging his rucksack over his back. He’d walked with Daveth enough times to have a vague idea of the places the younger man knew and where he might have ended up.
He headed off, rubbing his hands together in front of him and idly wishing that he had enough spare change to buy some gloves. His last pair had been destroyed last winter, but there wasn’t much he could do about it when he was already being rinsed dry by the local gangs.
He frowned then, turning back on himself and slipping through another backstreet. If Daveth had gotten himself in trouble, it would most likely be with one of the gangs, so it would make sense to start looking within gang territory. He checked his knife, fiddling with his sheath to ensure it was not too tightly secured that he would have a struggle to wield it.
He searched each street carefully, occasionally going back through them multiple times to ensure there was no trace of the other man. He was briefly reminded of what his father had told him, long ago when Ellis was still a boy and they would go hunting together. To look for disturbances, things out of place, scuff marks and breakages, anything that would suggest someone had been there. But it was easier said than done to apply it to an urban setting
He called out occasionally, but he didn’t have much hope for receiving an answer. It was cold out tonight, a sharp bite in the air that warned of mist that would be rolling in by morning and threatened of the possibility of rain. He didn’t like to think of Daveth alone in this weather.
But the city was big and so were the gangs that occupied it. He was coming up empty everywhere he turned and the frustration was bubbling up into a dangerous anger, and he gritted his teeth together, silently fuming as he continued to search.
It didn’t take him long to stumble upon a couple of gang members, neither of which he particularly recognized apart from the emblem etched into their jackets. He straightened out, eyes blazing as he wielded his knife and approached them, not bothering to think about whether this was a good idea or not.
One of them, a broad-shouldered man who was on the shorter side but made up with it for sheer bulk of muscles, turned to face him in time to curse before Ellis grabbed him in a headlock with the knife pressed up against his throat. The other man, nothing more than a skittish teenager, took a startled step back, wide eyes fixed on the mask that flickered fiercely in the faint light from a distant window.
“Have you hurt anyone today?” he growled, eyes fixed on the younger of the two, warning him without words not to make a move.
“We hurt lots of people,” the man grumbled, a strange wetness to his voice as the saliva collected in his mouth and dribbled across his crooked teeth and down his chapped lips. Ellis pressed the knife hard enough to draw blood.
“I’m looking for someone in particular,” je hissed. “British, dark blonde hair, big nose; know where he is?”
“Oh, you mean your little pet?” the man sneered. Ellis growled, slicing his knife across the man’s cheek, satisfied at the spray of blood that coated the ground and silenced the man.
“Where is he?” je said, eyes narrowed. He could hear the man breathing heavily. “Tell me or I’ll kill you, goddammit,” je threatened, tightening his grip around the man’s throat.
“Look, I didn’t touch him!” the man claimed. “I may have heard that a few of our guys roughed him up a bit, but nothing to do with me.”
“Where?”
“I ain’t sure exactly, but maybe around Sixth Street, one of those alleys,” the man explained, lifting his hands in surrender.
“If you’re lying to me...”
“I ain’t, you got my word on that, Rover. Just don’t be telling no one who told you,” the man grumbled. Ellis stared him down for a moment, memorizing his face just in case it came to it, before he released him, throwing him forward whilst still wielding his knife.
“You better hope that’s true,” he warned, glowering at the two men who watched him with heated, yet morbidly curious, stares, before he swiftly pushed past them, making his way out of the alley and into a main street where he doubted they would follow.
His heart was pounding. He broke into a jog now that he knew that Daveth was definitely in danger. He hoped to God that the location was correct. He needed to find the younger man now. And he might just hunt down those men who had hurt him.
“Daveth!” he called out, panting heavily as he slowed to a walk, eyes scanning along the street. “Daveth!” he yelled again, ducking into one of the nearest backstreets. There were lots of winding passages along these parts, which was part of what could make them dangerous to walk along. Lots of place where the chances of witnesses was very slim.
He heard a faint noise, he was sure he did, but the wind carried it as though it was coming from all directions. He growled, stalking forwards with the intent to search everywhere if he needed to. The first few alleys were frighteningly desolate, and he could feel anxiety flooding him, because what if Daveth wasn’t here? What if the man was bleeding out across the city because some shithead had lied to him? And then he saw a faint shape in the distance, barely discernible in the darkness but definitely human. He inhaled sharply, before rushing forward.
“Daveth...” he called quietly, kneeling down to the ground next to the shadowed lump and carefully removing his mask. The person moved beneath him, and he brushed the blood-matted hair away from the bruised face, meeting green eyes that were significantly dulled but still flashed with recognition. “Fuck, Daveth,” he whispered, swallowing heavily as he reached out tentatively and removed the makeshift gag from the other’s mouth.
“Hey, Ellis...” Daveth said shakily, rotating his jaw from side to side, a flash of pain marring his eyes as he did so. Ellis could hear him breathing now, and there was a worrisome wheezing sound accompanying him. “Can you...” The younger man trailed off, instead shifting onto his front to reveal his wrists tied securely behind his back.
Ellis got the message and pulled out his knife whilst he carefully cut away at the rope, his face hardening at the distinct wetness that coated Daveth’s wrist. He couldn’t see properly in the dark, but he imagined that Daveth’s wrists were torn to shreds from the bindings, judging by how tightly and haphazardl
y it had been wrapped. Daveth sighed happily, his wrists dropping down limply as the rope came free.
“Can you walk?” Ellis asked. Daveth didn’t respond for a moment, before he wearily shook his head, the action seeming to hurt him more. “Okay, don’t worry. I’m going to take you back to the shelter where your buddies are, okay?” he explained, stroking his hand through Daveth’s knotted hair. The younger man nodded, eyelids fluttering as Ellis carefully reached out and lifted the Brit up in a bridesmaid’s carry. Daveth hissed as he was rocked, and Ellis could feel the way his body was trembling pitifully.
Ellis didn’t know enough about first aid to be sure about whether he should let Daveth sleep or not, but watching the younger man’s eyes flutter and his head start to lull as sleep tried to claim him sent a fresh spark of panic through him, and he shook the man awake again, mindful of the other’s injuries. Daveth groaned but kept his eyes open, even if they seemed to look around blindly.
Time had never seemed to pass so slowly, yet in such a blurred rush, as it did right then. His own muscles were starting to feel the strain of keeping Daveth lifted, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, continuing to walk at a slower pace than he would have liked in an attempt to make it more comfortable for Daveth, who had fallen silent but still grunted every now and again. And yet, he could barely remember anything, knowing faintly that he had been whispering meaningless comforts to Daveth, but he was not able to remember what it was he said. He seemed to arrive at the shelter having skipped several minutes of his life, despite the tediousness of the long walk there.
And then everything happened suddenly. He walked through the front door, eyes darting around for the two people who he had met earlier, but before he could find them, another man with an impressive beard greeted him at the door, before seeing Daveth and gasping and immediately stuffing his hand through his pocket and calling for an ambulance, whilst a smaller man seemed to materialize at his side, eyes wide and frantic as he called out to Daveth. And then Daveth was being taken away from him as the medics arrived and he was guided into the back of the ambulance alongside the two other men, and there was meaningless yelling as medics rushed about the back of the ambulance and he was pestered with questions and he didn’t know whether he answered them or not, but eventually, he was left alone to his own thoughts, as the sirens of the ambulance whirred into the night.