Tribulation (Soulless Wanderers, #0)

by Drew Strickland

  The bartender turned to Daniel and rolled his eyes. Daniel thought it very cliché to actually roll one’s eyes, but here he stood, looking at another man doing just that. “You’re gonna be waiting a long time with that attitude, buddy.” The bartender turned away and helped a girl a few people down from him.

  “Great.” Daniel looked up and down the bar and saw nobody paying attention. He quickly reached behind the bar for a bottle of whatever he could grab. The bartender quickly came around and grabbed his arm.

  “You’re about to be thrown—”

  Daniel grabbed the bartender by the shirt and pulled him close. “Serve me my fucking drink, right now. You pull anything and your guts will be spilled out all over the place, you got it, buddy? But you pour me a shot right here, right now, and you won’t see me again tonight. Alright?”

  The bartender looked at him. Daniel saw the attitude flee from his eyes as Daniel let his own mask slip a little. “It’s been a long fucking night. I’ve just had a lot of assholes. What’ll you have?”

  “Just pour a shot. As long as it’s not fruity, it’s good.”

  The bartender grabbed a bottle of what looked like whiskey. “This one’s on me.” He pushed the shot glass toward Daniel. “Now disappear.”

  Daniel looked at him and downed his shot. “Thanks.” He slammed the glass down and walked away, glancing over his shoulder. The bartender disappeared from view and went back to his job. Daniel wasn’t much of a troublemaker in public, but he also hated people and their disrespect. At least he didn’t take it any further than that, and the bartender was good on his word and didn’t have him thrown out. Not that Daniel would have really killed him for it. He would have been the first one anyone looked for, but it was nice to have that inside him to reach down and pull out. Greg would not approve. But fuck him, Greg wasn’t there.

  Now that Daniel had a few drinks in him, he was ready to peruse the dance floor. The music was loud and causing his blood to pump with the beat. He stepped on the floor, becoming surrounded with sweating bodies desperate to release their sexual tension. Daniel had none of it in him but was ready to release his own type of lust. The one for blood. He loosened up and continued on.

  A few groups away he saw her. Libby was surrounded by a small gathering of people. However, it seemed everyone was surrounded by groups of people. But it looked as if she was part of this group. Everyone seemed very drunk, their eyes narrowed to slits and their movements sloppy. There were two guys, both looking like average college douchebags. Their hair slicked into some sort of point at the front and collared shirts open to the third button, showing off their average shaved chests. The three girls in the group all looked similar to every other girl in the room. Libby was in the center, looking like she enjoyed the attention.

  She danced, spinning around to different people in the song. She let the men grind up on her while she grabbed the girls and pulled them closer to her. Their sweat was mixing on their bodies, and she whispered something in the taller girl’s ear. She pulled her face in and kissed her on the mouth. Daniel watched as each of their tongues left the warmth and wetness of their own mouths and intermingled amongst each other. The girl Libby was kissing was obviously drunk. Her tongue was all over Libby’s face. She didn’t seem to mind. And neither did the men. They both humped harder up on both of the girls, desperate for some attention of their own.

  There was no way Daniel could insert himself into a group like that. He wasn’t even sure that Greg had what it took to make himself fit in there. Danny was pretty new at almost everything, and he definitely had no interest in joining an orgy just to try and find someone to kill. He was going to have to wait Libby out. There was definitely no giving up on her, but he also knew his own limits. He began to make his way off the dance floor and headed to the bathroom.

  He pushed through the crowd of people and opened the door to the restroom. There were two guys in the corner, probably making some sort of drug deal, whether selling weed or ecstasy, who knew? Daniel had no interest in the guys and went to the sink. He ran the water and stared at himself in the streaked mirror. His vision was slightly focusing in and out from the booze. He wasn’t used to so much hard liquor. He wasn’t unfamiliar with having a beer or two to wind down and relax, but he also never pushed it much further than that. Tonight may have been the most he had drank in a while. He splashed some water on his face, the temperature not much more than lukewarm. He grabbed a few paper towels and wiped his face, preparing to wait out the lust fest on the dance floor.

  When Daniel left the restroom, he looked toward where he left Libby and her new group. Except she wasn’t there. There was one of the guys, it was hard to tell the difference between them, and the other three girls he was still desperately grinding against. Libby and the other gelled hair douche was gone. Daniel looked around frantically but couldn’t see her. He couldn’t lose her. He knew this was his chance. She might be gone tomorrow, and he wasn’t going to let her slip through his fingers. He quickly shoved through the crowd on the dance floor.

  He made it to the three girls and the remaining douche. He got in one of the girl’s ears. “Where’s the girl who was here earlier?”

  She looked at him, her face twisted in confusion. “Who the fuck are you?”

  Daniel could smell the pungent alcohol on her breath. She was definitely one cosmo away from puking or passing out on the floor. “I’m looking for the blonde girl. She was here earlier. Fuck, you just made out with her.”

  She laughed. “Oh yeah, she took Chad to the parking lot. He’s gonna fuck the shit out of her. Is that your girlfriend?”

  “Hey, get off my girl,” the other douche shouted at Daniel, finally noticing him there. He shoved Daniel and stepped up close to him. This was definitely not the kind of attention Daniel needed right now.

  “My mistake,” Daniel said, trying to avoid anything. He began walking, but the guy grabbed his shoulder.

  “Don’t walk away from me, pussy.” The douche was obviously drunk. His own breath reeked of sugary shots. Daniel needed to find Libby and get away from this asshole.

  “Look, you’re the big dog. I get it. Now, go back to trying to fuck this girl, and I’m gonna go find my friend, alright?” Daniel held his hands up, hoping to be done with this.

  It seemed to satisfy the ego of the drunk asshole. “That’s right, bitch,” he said. He turned back to his own group and started grinding up on the girls with a newfound boost. Dick.

  Daniel hurried out of the club, not giving a shit to check in with Greg. Fuck him. He could sit there and ponder about who he was going to kill. Daniel knew who his target was, and he was going to get her. Maybe he’d follow her back to her room, or maybe he’d see where she ended up going with the guy. It didn’t really matter, because wherever she was going, Daniel would find her.

  Outside, he saw a mess of cars. There wasn’t a single one driving, though. He kept walking, trying to see anything that stood out. Did he miss her already? He really hadn’t been in there long. At least he didn’t think so. There was no way she could have gotten in a car and driven off without him seeing her. Not that quick. Then he saw it. A car in the back of the parking lot had its interior dome light on. Jackpot.

  He was thankful the small-town club hadn’t done pat downs so he could keep his knife on him. However, he still kept it hidden away so he didn’t cause any extra added attention to himself. There was no need to pull it out yet because he didn’t have a use for it. He was just going to see what was going on. Maybe let them fuck in the car, then he could make his move. If they left, he’d figure out where they were going.

  When he got closer to the car, something seemed little off, though. The car was running, but the door was open. The dome light was on and the dinging of the seat belt alarm was going off. There were some intense whispers coming from inside, and Daniel crept closer to the beat-up Toyota. He got closer and saw the blonde hair on top of the man inside. Daniel got closer and saw it.

  A str
eak of blood shot across the inside of the window. Daniel quickly opened the door that was ajar. Another streak of blood shot out, across his own face. He felt the warm, sticky blood. The red seeping into the collar of his own shirt. He wiped his face, smearing the blood around and looked down. Libby was sitting on top of the young man from the dance floor. She had a blade plunged deep into his throat. He gurgled, unable to speak as blood continued to spurt out of him.

  “What the fuck?” Daniel managed to say.

  Libby’s eyes shot up to him. The look on her face was very familiar. It was the same look he had on his face when he killed someone. She smiled at Daniel and opened her mouth. Before she could say anything, a voice cut them off. “Hello? Hello? Are you okay?” Both Daniel and Libby looked down. In the man’s hand that didn’t hold his throat, his cell phone was lit up. He had made a call. “This is nine-one-one, can you tell me where you are? We’re sending someone out.”

  Shit.

  Libby looked up at Daniel. Both of them were covered in blood. Daniel did the first thing that came to his mind. He grabbed Libby by the wrist and pulled her out of the car. “We need to get the hell out of here, right now.”

  The two of them ran out of the parking lot and down the street. Anywhere was better than here, and they needed to get there fast.

  10

  Daniel held Libby’s hand as they ran down the street. He had no idea where he was going, but he ran with her anyway. Thankfully, the blood wasn’t dripping off them and was mostly just soaking and staining into their clothes. The last thing they needed was a literal trail for someone to follow.

  “Where are we going?” Libby asked.

  “I don’t know. But we need to get away from there. The police response time won’t be fast enough. We just need to hide out somewhere.”

  “Follow me,” Libby said. She stepped into the lead, still holding Daniel’s hand. It felt comfortable to still hold onto.

  She turned the corner, and they ran across the street. Not a single person was in sight. It was another small blessing for them. He had nothing to do with the murder, but he didn’t need anyone sniffing around his business. They would start asking questions and make him nervous. Besides, Libby most likely wouldn’t be sticking around for any of that, so it would make for even more questions. So, either he had to hold her down at the scene or flee with her. He knew they could get out of this.

  Daniel followed Libby blindly wherever she ran. They ran through trees, they ran down an open road, and finally things looked familiar. The town was small, but it was also spread out. There were plenty of nooks and crannies to search by the time the police arrived. They’d be far enough away from there by that time. The pair ran back across the street and into the parking lot of Libby’s motel.

  “Is this really the best choice?” Daniel asked. He knew there was always the bunker, but he didn’t dare take Libby there. That was his and Greg’s place. He might be pushing the line with Greg by sticking with Libby, but it would be crossing it if he brought Libby there himself.

  “Look around. No eyes in sight. Now hurry.”

  Daniel looked around. Libby was right. The only thing he saw was the television on in the clerk’s office, but he was too busy watching whatever late-night show was on to be bothered with looking out the window at two people going to their room. This may actually be the best place to be for them. Daniel took note of how collected Libby seemed to be. Perhaps it was just adrenaline kicking in and causing her to take charge, but she seemed to really have a clear mind at the moment.

  The two of them ran up the stairs. Libby slid her key in the lock and quickly shoved the door inward. Daniel took one last look around. Not a soul was in sight. They may have actually gotten away with it. Although, what did he really get away with? Helping some girl he had wanted to kill? Maybe a little more thought and he would have easily seen what Greg was talking about and he wouldn’t have been in this situation. Never mind that now, here he stood.

  Daniel locked the door behind him and turned to Libby. She no longer seemed so calm and collected. She paced erratically and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. “Oh, my God, what did I do?” she asked, more to herself than anyone in the room. “He’s dead. I didn’t mean to. He just wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept pushing, you know?” She looked up at Daniel, her face flowing a river of tears now. The blood that was splattered across her cheeks began to mix with the tears, causing breaks in the trails across her skin.

  “What did you plan on doing?” Daniel asked. It was amazing to him how quickly she broke down from being so together outside. Adrenaline was a powerful thing, plus he had never been in a position of feeling out of control. At least, not when Greg wasn’t around. But at least with Greg, he knew he was in good hands. Libby seemed to be in a totally different place.

  “What do we do, Danny?”

  He looked at her as she asked him for advice. He knew exactly what he should have done. He should have turned around when he saw her in the parking lot, covered in blood. He should have taken Greg’s advice. He should have never followed her to begin with. But what was he going to do now? “I don’t know. It’s probably best if you clean up first.”

  She nodded, taking deep breaths. “You’re not going to call the police, are you?”

  That was the last thing on his mind. The further away from this and the police, the better off he was. He shook his head. “No, I’m not going to call anyone.”

  She nodded and wiped her face. “God, you probably think I’m so hideous right now. I’m covered in blood and snot.”

  “I don’t think any of that matters right now.”

  She smiled. Her face looked pathetic and almost pouty. It was a complete 180 from the woman he had seen in the alley. From the woman he had spoken to at the bar. She had seemed so in charge, almost untouchable. “You won’t leave, will you? You’ll stay here?”

  He laughed a little inside. Here was this woman, traveling alone and conning people left and right, completely comfortable with the life of a drifter, and she was asking this stranger to stay because she was scared. Maybe she wasn’t as much of a wildcard as Greg had thought. Deep down, she was just like everyone else. He looked at her and gave the best lie he could. “I’m not going anywhere.” That part was true. “We’re gonna get through this together.” That part wasn’t.

  She sniffled. “Thank you.” She hugged him and buried her bloody face into his already bloody shirt. She pulled back and went into the bathroom, pushed the door shut, except for a sliver. “I’m gonna leave it open a little. I don’t want to be totally alone.”

  Daniel nodded as he listened to the water start. He could hear the clothing falling to the floor and the shower curtain pull. The water continued to flow and the curtain was pulled closed. Daniel had to finish it now. He pulled his knife from inside his pant leg. Thankfully, it was still strapped there after all the running. If he did this now, he could clean himself up and get out quickly. What about anyone who saw him at the club? Most of them were too drunk to remember, and anyone that saw him with a girl, knew that girl to be a blonde. He smiled thinking about her wig and how much it was going to help him stay anonymous.

  He pushed the door open to the steamy room. She had created a huge mess for Daniel, but he was going to fix it all. In the end of all of this, he was going to make sure and heed Greg’s advice. He hated to admit it, but she was more trouble than she was worth. At least she would die just like anyone else he could have picked. He stepped into the room, ready to pull the dark curtain back. He placed his hand on the slick vinyl, breathing steadily.

  Before he could pull it back, he felt the weight and pressure of a gun barrel pushed against his head. If he wasn’t sure before, he heard the hammer pull back. “Looks like you’re trying to do more than just help out a confused girl. What’s the plan, Danny?”

  Daniel didn’t have an answer. The only thing that went through his mind was Greg’s advice. She was too much of a wildcard.

&n
bsp; 11

  Daniel let the knife fall from his hand. The metal clanged against the cheap tile, the sound barely louder than the running water from the shower splashing against the tub. The heavy metal of the gun pushed against the back of his head again, causing his heart to pick up its pace. He was caught, just like before. But this time was different. The stakes were real, and he was facing his own death. He had misjudged Libby, severely. He had seen her kill and knew it was coming for him next. He turned around, risking being shot in the head.

  Daniel stared down the barrel of the gun that was pointed directly between his eyes. He moved his head slightly, looking behind the gun. Libby stood behind the door, completely naked. Her blonde hair was gone, the wig thrown on the countertop to his left. Her brown hair with the slight purple streak was tucked up high on her head. A few loose strands of hair dangled down to her neck. Her face was still splashed with blood, the tears from earlier still having left trails through the red. He continued to move his eyes down her body, following the blood trails. Her breasts weren’t large, but they weren’t small either. They were just enough to have fit into a pushup bra to make look larger than they were. Daniel noticed that she never reached for a towel to cover up, even watching his eyes wander over her naked body. She had no shame.

  “What’s the plan now?” Daniel asked, still looking down her body. His heart raced faster, mostly at the thought of meeting his own death, but a small part knew it was from the blood-covered naked beauty in front of him.

  Libby closed the gap between their bodies, still holding the gun. They were mere feet apart. He wondered if he could wrestle the gun away from her, but the thought fell from his mind when she dropped the gun to her side. She stepped directly into him, her breath was hot at his neck. He could feel her breasts pushed against him, her own heart beating fast. Soon, the rhythm of their hearts matched, and he looked down at the blood-covered woman in front of him. She stood taller, and their lips met.