"I hate hospitals."
My Ma looked back towards me as she shut the large window's blinds, "Really, because I would have thought you loved it here as much as you keep making yourself come back to this place."
Ouch Ma, that hurt. "Well, at least this time it wasn't my fault, who would have thought someone would rob me. I didn't have any money so they must have been disappointed."
"They did a lot more than rob you! Three broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a concussion aren't just 'robbed'." My Ma stared at me with a stern face. I guess what happened really bothered her, not surprising.
"Well, I guess they just got mad and carried away when they found out I didn't have any money, haha. And my ribs were only fractured Ma."
My Ma looked down with a sad expression carved into her face, "I just don't understand why this stuff keeps happening to you, what am I doing wrong?"
I quickly stood up off my bed and raised my voice, "Ma you're not doing anything wrong; this isn't your fault. It's only the fault of the people who did it. I only wish I had seen one of them but don't worry, they won't bother me again."
My Ma looked up at me surprised at my sudden spike in energy, "How do you know that, and should you really be jumping up like that?"
I dropped to the ground and started doing pushups, "Ma I'm getting discharged today so you know I'm fine, look, and why would they rob me again if they know I don't have anything?"
She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Tom get up off the ground, I don't want you pushing yourself even if the doctors said you're fine."
"What, Ma, trust me, I've been doing these for three weeks now and I'm fine." Oh shit…
"What do you mean three weeks?" My Ma gave me a concerning look. I grabbed my stuff, I had already packed it, and hurriedly walked out of the room while yelling back to Ma, "Huh, come on, let's get out of here!"
My Ma chased after me, "Tom I swear!"
By the time we made it home, it was dark out and we ate dinner together, afterword I went to my room and prepared. Shutting the door to my room I leaned up against it, taking a deep breath. "I remember who you are, I remember all of it.?" All I have to do is wait for Ma to fall asleep and then I can go to Aaron's to find out where they live. Once I know where they are they won't be a problem for long. I have to make sure they won’t ever bother me again; I don’t want to be fighting on three fronts. Them, the crazed father, and the agent. It just so happens that they will be the easiest and fastest ones to take off the board.
I pulled out a steak knife that I had taken from the kitchen out of my pocket, "This should do just fine."
After my Ma's usual bedtime passed I crept out of my room and down the stairs, as silent as I could. Once I made my way halfway down the steps the wall on my left ended and I could see the whole living room and in it, "Ma what the--" I quickly covered my mouth reminding myself that I needed to be quiet, the image of my Ma on the couch had scared me at first. Wait, she's asleep. I walked over to her and notice a bottle of pills on the table. I picked them up looking the bottle over, I know nothing about the medication so this didn't do anything. Until I read the directions,"(Take one thirty minutes before sleep, it should take effect after thirty minutes and help with sleep.)"
“(Note: In some people, when taken for an extended period of time, this medication may cause the thinning of the blood.)”
After reading the directions I knew what they were, "Sleeping pills, they must have kicked in faster than she expected and she ended up passing out on the couch. “I set the knife in my right hand down on the counter and pick up my Ma, bringing her to her bedroom.
She's far lighter than she should be.
After laying her down in bed I pulled the sheets up over her and left the room. I grabbed the knife I had set on the counter and headed out.
Making my way through the houses I thought out loud, "That slimy mother fucker thinks he can just jump me and get away with it. Leaving me naked in the dirt." I tightened my grip on my knife as I jogged all the way to Aaron's house.
I was now a few houses away from Aaron's place, "Of course, he would have people coming in and out of his house at midnight, fucking Aaron." I watched from his house staying hidden while I thought of what to do. I wasn't sure if I should let myself be seen, word might get back to that chipped tooth mother fuck—" when I saw a particular person leave Aaron's house, "That kid!”
I followed him for a while, making sure we had enough distance from Aaron's house so no one could see us. Once we were far enough I snuck up behind the kid, putting him in a chokehold and throwing him over my hip. He slammed into the ground and the wind was knocked out of him while he staggered trying to figure out what had just happened.
Crouching down I put my knife to his throat, "Give me a reason why I shouldn't open your throat?"
His body jolted as I put my knife to his throat and his eyes found my face in the darkness, "It's you! I thought, I thought you died."
"So you were working with them, thought they had finished me off?"
"What? No! Don't you remember, I was the one that found you. I came to help you but you were hit by the car, and then it drove away, and I didn't know what to do so I called the ambulance and ran." His eyes teared up as he spoke.
What the hell is he talking about, I was hit by a car? Is he making this up? Would he have to balls to lie to my face when I have a knife to his throat? I don't know. I pushed the knife harder against his neck, "Since you want to help me you can tell me where they are."
"Who?", as the words escaped his lips I grabbed his head and slammed it into the concrete. "Who do you fucking think, the guy with the broken teeth!"
"Cole? His, his name is Cole, Bryan Cole... He lives down the street, not too far from here. He has an old rusted-red truck, you know the ones from back in the day?"
I pressed down harder on his head, digging it into the concrete, "I'm going to need more than that!"
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"He went to the same school as you, the one with the shooter. His front door is plywood. He always has his crew with him, and they all drive beaten-down antique trucks, the really loud ones..."
I stopped pressing down on his head and pulled the knife from his throat, "Fine, I just have one more question, did you tell them where I live?"
"But I already told you?" He looked up at me with fear in his eyes.
"Is that what I fucking asked you, NO! Now tell me did you tell them where I lived?"
He hesitated before answering, "They made me?"
I slammed my foot against the side of his head and he collapsed to the ground, "I'll call that even."
He didn't seem like he was lying.
Could I really be forgetting being hit by a car?
If that's the case then what else am I forgetting?
Could my tumor be getting worse like the doctors said it would? I haven’t had any headaches since I got my ability though.
No, stop. No point in getting worked up over something I can't even remember. I just have to--there, that's the place. It really is plywood, what a piece of shit. There are the trucks too, but who's car is that? This doesn't seem like the type of place he would just bring people over to, so most likely it's one of his crew, but I can't shake the feeling that it looks familiar.
Is this something else I'm forgetting?
The concussion must have been pretty serious to affect my memory, if I'm forgetting things, that is.
Focus!
By the looks of the cars, there are only four people here if they all drove here, including the familiar-looking car. There could easily be ten people if they all brought as many as they could carry. I need to get closer so I can see inside.
I stand up straight, and walk across the street and to the house as if I lived there. Once I get to the door I drop low and go to a window, the only one that didn't have boxes blocking it. Before looking in the first thing I noticed is how loud it was. I glanced into the window to see the chipped-tooth motherfucker sitting on the couch with one other guy playing video games, while another guy, smaller and younger than the other two, was sitting in a foldout chair drinking a six-pack by himself.
This is only the living room but I don't think anyone else is here. No other foldout chairs are here, and only enough food and drinks for them.
No, I can't forget about the fourth person, the one who drove the familiar vehicle, they might be in another room. Definitely can't be sleeping with how loud the TV is, though.
I can take four people.
I grip the knife tight in my right hand while I move back to the front, plywood door.
They probably won't notice. I try turning the handle. It isn't even fucking locked! I leave the door slightly cracked and take a few steps back. The way the door is positioned I only have one person whose back is to me so the other two will notice when I open it, so I might as well scare them. I charge at the door slamming my body into it and it swings open with a loud ringing sound, the loose door handle hitting the wall made it. Chipped-tooth and the other guy on the couch see me and are shocked still by the sudden entrance.
Running by the guy in the fold-out chair, I drag my knife from the middle of his upper back to all the way across his shoulder. The serrated knife easily tears through his shirt and skin, the pain of that alone should keep him occupied.
The guy on the couch next to Chipped-tooth is the first to react. He stands up pulling out a knife from his side, ready to place it in my chest.
That thing is fucking huge! Ridiculously so.
I stop the knife while it’s still at his side. He responds by throwing a punch with his other hand, or that’s at least what he looked like he was moving to do. I stopped him before he could buy moving around his arm with the knife, making sure to get a good twist on it while I lifted his arm up behind his back. This caused him to bend over I placed my knife into his shoulder holding the knife.
I catch the knife as it falls from his hand.
Finally, I get to him.
Turning I saw Chipped-tooth still sitting on the other side of the couch, except now he was holding something.
Is that a, OH SHIT!
I kicked the end of the double barrel shotgun up towards the ceiling before he pulled the trigger.
BOOM! Bits of the ceiling rained down.
He was going to shoot me and his friend at point-blank range, and if that wasn’t enough he had pulled both triggers at the same time. He’s trying to kill me, glad we’re on the same page.
He scrambles off the couch and away from me.
As if I would let him—
BAM! I feel metal rods hit me in the back knocking me forward, but I catch myself before I fall. Turning back I see the first one I attacked still standing a few feet away from me. His chair was now laying on the other guy who had fallen to the couch.
Dammit, I don’t have time for him. How is he standing anyways the pain should be excruciating but he seems fine, shit! He’s drunk, the pain isn’t affecting him like normal.
I turn and throw the large knife at Chipped-tooth’s back. The butt of the knife hits him in the back of the head, it shouldn’t have been enough to knock him down but he falls. I see the TV slide forward, almost falling off the table they had it on.
Dumbass tripped over his own cord.
I turn to the guy on the couch and rip my knife out of his shoulder with my left hand while I catch an unopened beer-can that was thrown by the other.
These two are so in sync. How the fuck are they doing this, I need to take at least one of them out. I already have the one I stabbed in the shoulder pretty much down so I’ll go for the one who hit me with his fucking chair. Then I can deal with Chipped-tooth.
I take off running but feel my leg get caught on something, almost tripping me. Looking back I see the guy on the couch grabbing my leg with his good arm, holding one with everything he has.
“Get him, bro!”
Bro? The other!
Are they brothers? Is that why they are so in sync?
I look back in front of me and he was already there, getting ready to hit me. I brace for impact. Despite him being the smallest and youngest looking of the three he was still bigger in size than me. Jumping I placed my free right foot on his inner left knee while dropping my knife and grabbing both of his arms. With all my weight on his right knee, it gave out, causing him to fall forward on top of me. While falling I broke loose of his brother's grip on my leg, it was easy since he only had one good arm. When my back hit the ground I used my knees to throw him up and over me but didn’t let go of his hands. He slammed into the ground and I used the force of his fall to roll up into a handstand on his wrists that I was still holding.
Bending my legs I dropped my whole-body weight on his stomach, landing on it with my knees. He vomited to the side. I stood up and stomped on his face, knocking him out. Then grabbed my knife and ran to Chipped-tooth. Before getting to him I picked up the large knife laying on the ground, the one I had thrown. Looking at it I turned back to the brother on the couch, he was standing up. I threw the knife at him and he raised his good arm to block it. This time in it stuck, stabbing into his forearm and he dropped to the ground next to his brother in pain. I then made my way to Chipped-tooth, stabbing him in the back with my knife.
“I’ve got you—”
I felt something hard and heavy touch the side of my head. It felt just like before when the beer bottle hit me in the back of the head and knocked me out.
Not this time mother fucker, my perception is already activated!
Using all the power in my body I moved my head with the blow, softening it enough so it didn’t knock me out. But just enough. I fell to the side from the force of it, quickly I covered my head.
If I get knocked out it’s all over, everything. I’ll be killed by them for sure. I have to protect my head.
BAM! It hit me in the side.
I know this feeling it’s a bat, just like when they jumped and beat me.
BOOM! It struck me in the back.
Not again! Not again! Not like last time.
Every blow brought me back to being beaten.
BOOM!
Everything came rushing to my mind. Being jumped by camo-pants, losing Tobie, Chipped-tooth jumping me and stripping me before leaving me to die. Tobie talking to me when I thought I was going to die there.
BOOM!
Not! AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!