Blood in the Rain
901 Words
The message came again while I was halfway through my cigarette.
Unknown Number: The past always catches up.
I stared at it until the screen dimmed out.
Didn’t feel scared. Didn’t even feel surprised.
Just tired.
The street outside my dorm was slick from last night’s rain, headlights slicing across puddles. I pulled on my jacket, stepped out, and let the door swing shut behind me.
When you don’t feel anything, it’s easy to walk into anything.
I found Drakon behind the arcade like always.
He had a half-burned cigarette in his mouth and two guys I didn’t know standing near the dumpsters, both older, both trying too hard to look unbothered.
“Wayne,” he said without turning around. “You’ve been ignoring me again.”
I leaned against the brick wall. “Been busy.”
“Busy staring at your phone?” He grinned, flicking the ash away. “She got you thinking?”
“Not really.”
“Yeah, right.” He laughed — that light, easy laugh that made people forget he was dangerous. “Anyway, you heard the news?”
“No.”
“Black Tiger boys been stirring again. Some new punk joined them last week — Dex something.”
The name hit like cold steel against the spine.
I didn’t flinch, but Drakon noticed the pause. He always noticed.
He exhaled smoke through his nose and smiled. “So, I’m guessing that’s not good news for you.”
I said nothing.
“Want me to handle it?” he asked. “Could make it… go away.”
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
He shrugged. “Your mess, your call.”
The two guys behind him whispered something. I caught one word — Marian.
Before I knew it, I’d slammed one of them against the wall, my hand gripping his collar tight enough to choke him.
“What did you say?”
He gasped. “N-nothing, man! Just — she’s the girl he’s after, right?”
The rage burned quick, short, and cold.
Then it was gone.
I let go. The guy slid down the wall, coughing.
Drakon smirked. “Still dead inside, huh? You hit like you mean it, but your eyes don’t even change.”
“Because I don’t care,” I said.
He chuckled. “Keep telling yourself that.”
By the time I got back to the dorm, it was nearly two in the morning. The hallway lights flickered, buzzing like dying insects.
Marian had texted once: You awake?
Then another, an hour later: Forget it. Goodnight.
I typed, I’m awake, then deleted it.
Instead, I lit another cigarette and opened my window. The air smelled of metal and rain. Down the street, a police siren wailed somewhere — distant, hollow.
The phone vibrated again.
This time, no message. Just a photo.
Marian.
Tied up.
Mouth covered.
Eyes wide in terror.
Under it: She was warned to stay away.
I didn’t think. I didn’t breathe. I just moved.
By the time I reached Drakon’s flat, he was already dressed — black hoodie, chain around his neck, that same stupid grin.
“Let me guess,” he said. “They touched her.”
I nodded once.
He grabbed his baseball bat from the corner. “Then we’re paying them a visit.”
The ride there was quiet. Just the hum of the bike engines and the sound of rain hitting helmets.
City lights streaked past like ghosts.
They had her in an abandoned parking lot behind an old karaoke bar. Five guys. One woman — older, expensive clothes, red lipstick smeared like war paint.
She smiled when she saw us. “Wayne Takeyomi. The boy who thinks the world owes him nothing.”
I didn’t respond. Just walked closer until the rain started running down her face.
“Let her go,” I said.
She tilted her head. “You think you’re untouchable, don’t you?”
Drakon’s voice came from behind me — low, amused. “Lady, if I were you, I’d shut up before he stops being polite.”
Her smirk didn’t fade. She snapped her fingers. Two of the men stepped forward with pipes.
I moved first.
The first one swung — I ducked, caught his arm, twisted until it snapped.
The sound echoed through the rain like thunder.
The second one came from behind. Drakon’s bat caught him in the jaw, sending him spinning into the wall. Blood sprayed across the concrete.
The woman tried to run. I grabbed her by the wrist — the same way Dex had grabbed Marian — and dragged her to the ground.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because she’s in your way,” she spat. “You break hearts like bones. I was just—”
She didn’t finish. I let her wrist go and stood up.
Marian was shivering, eyes wide. I untied her without a word.
She whispered, “Wayne…”
“Let’s go.”
We left the place in silence, her steps uneven behind mine.
When I got her to safety, she clung to me for the first time. Not out of love, but fear.
I didn’t hug her back. I just stared at the rain hitting the pavement.
She whispered, “Why don’t you ever feel anything?”
I said nothing.
Because how do you explain to someone that your heart stopped working years ago?
- Writer
