The Thorns Under Pedals

Chapter 15:

“Where are we going?” Little me called up to my brother who was holding my hand tightly. We were outside close to the park. We would sometimes go after school when he would pick me up. At this tender age of five I cared more about spending time exploring than being at home. My brother knew that so we would regularly take different paths to get home. Today though our parents had made it clear to come home right after school. This was not the fastest way to get home.

“I have something to take care of first that can’t wait. I need you to play here and wait for me.” He turned abruptly and knelt down to my level. Concern was washed over his features especially in his eyes. I frowned, not sure what was causing him to react like this.

“Why can’t I go with you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “It will be too boring for you. It’s much more fun here.” He gestured towards the monkey bars I loved to climb. Still I didn’t move away. Something told me he wasn’t being completely honest. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Promise?” I had asked. I was always afraid of him leaving me behind but I never wanted to bother him in case it was important.

“Pinky promise.” He said while sticking his pinky out for me to wrap mine around. Which I did with a little hesitation. “Look there is Beth.” He pointed to a blonde pigtailed girl dressed in a red shirt and blue jeans who was swinging on the bars. As soon as my eyes landed on her I forgot all about being worried and rushed towards her. Only a couple feet from her did I turn back to look at my brother’s back as he waved leaving.

My worry came back the longer he was gone. I was used to being at the park with Beth for an hour to two but by the time Beth had to go home and the sun was starting to go down it was coming back. I was swinging my legs as I hung from the bars looking out at where my big brother had left. My index finger on my right hand began a beat as it tapped the metal bars.

There was almost no one at the park at this hour. The only sounds being my breathing, a few cars passing by, and the swings creaking from a couple kids farther away. My ears picked up rustling in the direction I was looking at. It took my eyes a moment to see figures that looked like shadows in this light. There were three and none of them seemed to notice me staring at them. Their voices were hushed making it hard to understand what they were saying but I knew one of the voices was my brothers. A smile broke across my face as I jumped down from my spot safely.

As my feet rushed me forward I began to hear their conversation. That was when I heard my brother say, “We look out for all as if we are family. One injured family is a wound to us all. One death we will avenge.” The closer I got to the three I started to slow down, getting an eerie feeling.

“B-brother?” I called in an uncertain tone. It felt like I was trespassing. The two other guys were intimidating even though they were about my brother's height and close to age. Their presence was a lot more frightening and cold. When all three pairs of eyes turned my way I stepped back a bit afraid. It seemed like they could see through me.

“Liz.” My brother's voice softened along with his gaze. “Did you have fun with Beth?” He asked as he gave one last glance at his companions before coming to kneel in front of me.

“Ya. She had to leave early today though.” I found myself answering though my eyes were still looking at the strangers. I grabbed his hand tightly and I could feel something sticky. I frowned looking down to see he had a cut on his palm. He seemed to remember the wound and turned me around ushering me in the direction of home.

“Mom and dad are probably worried. We should hurry.” He said calmly.

I nodded wishing to be anywhere but in the two other guys' presence. I could not help but ask, “Who were they?” As we were a block or so away from them. My brother holding my hand with his uninjured one.

“Just some friends from school.” His voice was strained and I knew that he did not wish to be asked more. Though I was curious I kept my lips shut and walked beside him silently the rest of the way home.

Beep. Beep. I groaned and turned my body to hit the alarm only to hit the bathtub instead. Opening my eyes to see myself in the bathroom brought last night back into my head. My head was pounding and my throat was aching. The beeping continued from down the hall as I struggled to get to my feet. Rubbing my temples did not ease the pain nor did it help my mood. Once I turned off the alarm I went to the computer and moved the mouse to see the video had ended while I slept. With a heavy sigh I dropped on the chair and buried my head in my hands.

How did my brother get mixed up in their group?I wondered as the memory from my dream came to mind.Not only did he get involved with these people that were dangerous but swore on his family members' lives. By going against the Williams family my brother would have had to learn something to go against his very beliefs. However, what would that have been if he was ok with how they treated people? Ugh. I was getting a massive migraine with all these questions that had left me not feeling like I even knew my own brother.

My image of him was twisting to what I knew of the William family's bodyguards. Cold, calculating, ruthless, and bloodthirsty. None of these were traits I saw of my brother. My brother was warm hearted and cared for his family no matter our faults. He pushed himself to be the peacemaker to the conflicts. Yes he watched horror films with me but he still flinched at the amount of blood and gore. His touch was gentle as he had helped me up from slipping or caught me mid fall. Rarely did he ever raise his voice or show anger.

Yet look at me. I used to be shy, quiet, keep to myself by watching horror films, and not easily scared. I used to be a normal high school girl that was into dressing up and going shopping with friends. Would anyone have guessed I could be a serial killer that was seeking revenge? That I could kill so many with no regret or hesitation?

I banged my closed fisted hand down on the table. The mouse rattled along with a mug that held my tea nearby.

What could have happened to make my brother seek these people out? What did he do to get them killed?No matter how long I spent thinking the question over I couldn’t seem to understand my brother's thought process. I glanced at the recording slots and decided that listening to them would possibly bring some light to the questions I now held. After All these guys would have had a clearer idea as they had made the same oath he had.

I moved the scroll to the part that I had left off at and clicked to play the rest. Disappointedly the two were not speaking as minutes ticked by. They seemed to be in agreement that the oath was more than enough to say at the time. While they were silent I took in the details around them though in the dark it was a bit difficult. There was so little rising in the horizon signalling sunrise towards the end of the recording. Still I waited hoping for something else that may help. As the truck started to roll to a stop on gravel Carlos broke the silence.

“Don’t think, Jorge. Just do as you're told and you won’t experience the pain Xavier went through.” His voice was soft as if it saddened him to think of her brother.

I stilled hearing my brother's name come out of his mouth. The way he spoke suggested he knew much of him and was sad about how he had left. How that could be I was not sure but I hoped they were going to tell me more. More of the side of him I apparently had never known.

“We both know it wasn’t because he hadn’t done what was told.” Jorge snapped back. “Xavier followed his orders and it got him killed.”

Bang. A loud sound vibrated through the speaker. Next I could hear rustling as Carlos shifted and pulled Jorge’s collar toward him. “Shut the f**k up Jorge.” The words had sounded like they were dripping with venom.

“I’m only saying what we both know is true.” Jorge growled, feeling anger slipping through.

“Ya? And what good is that going to get either of us?” Carlos had a deep threatening cold voice vibrating in his throat. “You know what the truth does to people like us? I’ll tell you. The truth kills us by having our limbs ripped off our bodies so that we die slowly from blood loss if we are lucky. Worse case we watch each one of our loved ones die slowly in front of us before we finally get to be killed off escaping the huge weight of guilt washing over us as if they were giving us mercy at the last minute. So shut the f**k up and follow orders without question do to the oath you swore.”

My hands began to shake as I squeezed them together tightly. Carlos’ words ringing into my ears.

My brother had gotten the worst punishment,I thought. He had to watch each of them die knowing that he was the reason they were being slowly killed. My head was bowed as I heard rustling of clothing again. Heavy silence filled the truck before someone's door was thrown open. Another door was opened minutes later before the recording ended. With an unsteady breath I clicked play on the next video.

I lost track of time as I sat there going over at least twenty recordings and had finally caught up to the one happening at this moment. None of them held any information that helped understand my brother or held any evidence the two were carrying on with to find me. It was as the two were at a stand still angrily at a face off. The two were short in conversation allowing for silence to fill the space unless a matter needed to be brought up. Even then I could not catch much of what they were discussing. This made me sigh in frustration even as the conversation or lack thereof at the moment was much the same. Maybe they needed a push.

With that thought in mind I got up and changed, getting refreshed. For now the plan was to get more information from the pair and by doing so I was going to need a few items. Once I grabbed everything I needed I walked down the neighborhood street. The sun was warm against my back and the fresh air helped calm my fears of not knowing what my brother had been up to or what giving my soul to the devil actually meant. Right now I focused my mind on items and a way to make the men talk using all the little details their conversations from before shed light on. Would they be more guarded? Possibly. Would they talk more? I hoped so but only time will tell.

It took pretty much all day to set up my plan considering that I had to stop at several places to get my items. Thinking of a way to do this without revealing my identity was difficult as I did not want to give too much away or else they would really find out who I was before my revenge would be complete. After I had my plan mapped out and my items all set I began taking the first couple steps. Which meant by almost four p.m. I was standing outside an adoptive agency. Dressed in casual clothes that would not make me stand out I stepped through the thrust hold with a casual sway to my hips.

There was only the guy at the front desk who was twirling a pencil around his fingers while looking down at his phone. The guy seemed to be twenty if not a little older and was clearly bored out of his mind. Hopefully he would not remember most of the encounter besides talking to a girl younger than himself.

“Hello.” I tried to make my voice gentle and timid.

His brunette shade head looked up to reveal dark eyes that looked at me with little to no interest. “Hi. Are you looking to adopt or drop off an unwanted animal?” His voice was almost robotic like he said this phrase all day long.

“I’m actually here to pick up for the Anderson family.” I calmly spoke as I placed a file of paperwork on the desk and slid it to him to view. He sighed before glancing down at the sheets. A few times he looked up at me to verify the information but for the most part he put the information in his computer then made copies of a handful of the signed documents I filled out this afternoon.

“Please follow me.” He said as he grabbed for the keys to take me to the back room. I nodded and stepped behind him as he began the walk. “You know that these dogs are reaching the end of their life expectancy, correct?”

“Oh yes. I’m very much aware that they are, which is why I want to let them live the rest of it out on nature grounds here.” I smiled sweetly. The guy just shook his head and muttered something like crazy under his breath. Luckily for me he didn’t ask anything further, just showed me to each of the dogs' kennels.

The noise of dogs whining was sounding as we passed by each kennel. The dogs each seemed to have saddened eyes that were hoping to be away from this place. A place that would end up killing them if they were there for too long for whatever reason they were not adopted. The three dogs that I would be picking up had been scheduled to be put down the next day because of them being too old for their breed to adopt. Each of them was 13 years old.

The guy stopped without more than a here we are that I almost ran into him. I waited patiently for him to slip the key into its spot to open the kennel. As he was getting us in I took a look at the three pure black Plott Hounds on the other side. One was standing at the kennel bars which would have to move for us in. Another was laying in the center on a blanket with its head down watching closely to our movements. The third was sitting next to the one on the blanket wagging its tail. I moved around the guy as he opened the door even though he protested. Cautiously I stepped into their space as the three pairs of eyes narrowed down at me. I heard at least one growl knowing that it was the one that had light brown on his ears. He was known for being aggressive towards others. The other two were silent but watchful. Slowly I knelt down and held out my hand palm up. The guy stood behind me expecting the dogs to attack. These were the dogs who would be my cerberus in this plan's outcome. Would they survive? That would be up to them. I was looking forward to spending time with them regardless. I smiled at them warmly.