Demons of Abyss - Retribution

Chapter 4

Elea

Meanwhile, three weeks have passed in which I have trained almost every day with my new training partner. Kilian has offered to work with me on my technique, and I am more than happy about it. In these last three weeks, I have managed to save my energy and even last longer during training. Bear is an excellent trainer and I have learned so much from him, but Kilian treats me harder. He doesn't show any hindsight and that's exactly what I need. Today, however, he is going to take a ride on his bike. That's one of the reasons why I am just coming back from my run with Lucy. Just as I'm about to take Lucy back to Ben, I'm marching down the hallway when I notice a loud babble of voices. I don't want to eavesdrop, but when my name comes up, I can't help but stop. So I give Lucy a hand signal to lie down next to me, which she dutifully does. Then I try to concentrate on the conversation. I hear Grandpa's deep voice through the door. He sounds angry and yet a little bit worried.

"I thought she'd stop at some point. It's enough. I thought when she came to me at eight years old and said she wanted to train to avenge her parents, it's just a phase. Something girls her age just have, a phase. But now she's twenty, and she won't let it go. I don't know what else to do. All I know is that I will never let her near those wankers. Somehow I'm going to stop her."

"Joe, I don't want her to go either. I couldn't take it if something happened to her. But what are you going to do? You can't get inside her head. You can't just erase those memories."

This time it's Uncle Bear's voice that sounds worried, too. It hurts to know that my grandfather thinks this is all just a phase. Especially because he too, has lost someone. Just him of all people should understand me best?

"I may not be able to erase the memory from her mind, but I can make sure she never leaves the house again."

"You're out of your mind. You can't lock her up. She'd never forgive you for that."

"But she would be safe. She wouldn't be at risk of being r***d and shot by those assholes." A long pause follows and there is so much sadness in the next words that I can literally feel it through the thick walls. "Bear, I've already lost my daughter and my unborn grandson, I can't lose Elea too. It would finally drive me mad."

"I know, Joe, but your plan will only make her more miserable. She'll hate you for it."

"I'd rather live with her hatred as that she'll suffer the same torment as her mother."

After these words, I can only dully perceive their voices. Grandpa's words dominate my mind. He would imprison me? He would actually forbid me to leave? Hurt and disappointed, I pause as Lucy nudges my fingers with her muzzle. I then make a decision.

I take Lucy back to Ben, with whom I still haven't really spoken until now. I don't want to discuss again whether he wants me to go or not. Because, no one wants me to go. But I want to. I have to.

So, that evening, I make my way to my room to finally put my plan into action. I close the door behind me. Then I reach for the old gray rug that lies in front of the foot of my bed and knock it aside. Underneath, I lift one of the old floorboards to reach my hiding place. I reach for my fake papers that one of the former club members made for me. Of course, without Grandpa, Uncle Bear, or anyone else knowing about it. Then I reach for my three kunai Knives. I stroke the mahogany colored end and then place them on my bed. I also retrieve the five hundred dollars from the black little wooden box and place it next to the knives. These things will have to suffice. It's going to be difficult to get into the Demons' clubhouse, since Bear says it's guarded like a high-security wing. Which f*****g sucks, since it harbors the murderer of my parents. The murderer and president of the Demons. The asshole I'm going to kill. I plan on enjoying it when the life drains out of his ugly face. But in order to do that, I have to get inside that fortress first. That only works as easy prey, a club slut or a member of the Demons.

And since the last two options are eliminated, only the first one comes into question at the moment. I know that they collect weak women who ultimately end up in their whorehouses against their will. But before that, they bring them to the clubhouse. A chance for me. I have to stop this torture. So I have to be easy to get around, and once I'm inside, I can wipe them all out. I hope this plan works. I thought I had a little more time to plan everything out in more detail. But I can't let Joe lock me in. So I have to get out of here as soon as possible.

I pack my things into my black army backpack and add laundry to get me over the next few days. The ride will take an amount of time. Then, when I finally arrive in Denver, I have to find out where the Demons are looking for these women. Somehow, I have to attract their attention.

I put the backpack back in my closet and sit down at the small desk. I can't leave without saying goodbye to the people I owe my life to. Furthermore, I owe them at least that, even if this is only a piece of paper, they won't read, until I'm long gone.

After getting everything ready, I think about the fact that I have to leave tomorrow night. This is my last night here. Accordingly, to that, I fall asleep restlessly.

I have breakfast with Maria and Ben and try to behave normally, which I succeed in, because they treat me as always. Although I catch myself a few times looking at them for too long and suddenly there is some of that telltale liquid in my eyes. Fortunately, I can still hold it back and say goodbye to them without tears. A goodbye that for me could be for eternity and that for Maria and Ben was only fleeting, as they think I'll still be around tomorrow. But I won't be, because I will be on my quest for revenge and may never be able to sit at the same table with them again.

With these thoughts, I make my way to the workshop, my job. Since I was twelve, I've been helping out in my grandfather's workshop. There, where Ben and Bear also work and earn their money. It takes only ten minutes with my gold piece. A Harley Softail, which belonged to my father and which I have brought back to life with Uncle Bear. Every time I start the engine, settle into the old leather seat, and my fingers grip the handlebars, I feel like I'm closer to my dad. He rode that Harley. It was a part of his life, and it means so much to me to just ride down the roads imagining Dad floating across the asphalt with Mom. In those rare moments, I think about them being somewhere near me and don't feel that deep pain I usually feel. It's a feeling of lightness. The feeling that maybe they are still here. Somehow.

As I open the front door, the familiar smell of old motor oil and fuel hits me. Some probably wouldn't like that smell as much as I do, but I love it. It means a tiny bit of distraction. Distractions, that I have always enjoyed. Because, when I'm wrenching on one of the engines, I can forget about my anger and hatred. I can switch off my head. I don't manage to do that anywhere else. Not even when I'm running the barren landscape of Avondale with Lucy do I forget my revenge. Cause the reason I am running, is to get stronger, faster, more powerful. Almost everything I do is about my revenge. But here, in this workshop, I'm just screwing. Here, I'm just Elea, getting an engine running again. The girl who forgets she's been through something bad.

And so I spend the day making a Hemi engine purr again and being a normal girl for the last time.

On the way home, I take an extra detour and enjoy the sultry afternoon air. After an hour the large cream-colored building with stone ornaments and the dark wooden window frames appear in front of me. Every time I see it like this, it looks like a huge villa surrounded by a barren, dry landscape. Only a few pine trees stand around the house. Far and wide there is no other building, because Joe makes a point of living in seclusion.

In order not to draw anyone's attention to my disappearance, I park the bike behind the house, next to the old shed. There is a little less chance that someone hears me.

After my arrival I make my way to my room. Once there, I take off my old jeans and my dirty gray shirt and go to the shower, which to my luck belongs only to me and is right next to my room.

The rest of the day I avoid the others as good as possible. I don't want to betray myself with my behavior and since I'm more of a loner anyway, it will attract the least attention. Late in the evening, I have another training round with Kilian and leave early to practice a few punches and warm up beforehand. But when I open the door, Kilian is already standing in front of the huge punching bag, pounding his fists on it. He winks at me, his way of saying hello. I nod and grab the jump rope to warm up.

Two hours later, I return to my room completely sweaty and tired. So I jump in the shower one more time, thinking of today's workout. It was by far the most silent workout I've ever had with Kilian. He didn't talk very much, which is not unusual, but I also barely got a word past my lips today. The fear that I might give myself away was too great. It was strange to know that it was my last chance to prepare for the Demons. To welcome my bloody future, without the people who had been with me until now.

After the shower, I check my bag one last time and put on a pair of black track pants and a sweater of the same color. I want to lose as little time as possible when I set off. Then I lie down in my bed and try to sleep a few more hours to be reasonably rested. But I can't get a wink of sleep. The excitement and uncertainty keep me awake until three o'clock. So I get up with a strained neck, put on my sneakers and tie my long black hair into a ponytail. Then I open the window, the only one in my room, and look down into the darkness. I reach for my backpack and hold it over the precipice, only to drop it right after. With a dull sound it lands on the meadow. I take one last look back at my room where I spent the last fifteen years of my life. A small tear is brewing. But before I feel more, I blink it away and turn around. I swing my legs over the edge of the windowsill and slowly lower myself down until my feet touch the edge of the wall below me. My fingers still clutching the windowsill until I have a reasonably firm footing, I place my fingers on the wall ledge and slide down with my legs first. When it's safe, and I now only have about nine feet to jump. So I push off and try to hit the ground as quietly as possible. Which I also succeed in doing. Then I exhale deeply, grab my backpack and head for my bike.

Once there, I push it a few meters towards the road and when I think I can't wake anyone up with the noise, do I sit on it and start the engine. One last time I look back before I firmly resolve to forget everything I had here. Because, only if I forget how beautiful it can be, will I be able to handle the torment that awaits me.

And so I drive off into the night, unsure if I will ever return here again. Whether I will ever meet these people again. But one thing I know: I will get my revenge.