Home > Striker(5)

Striker(5)
Author: Rachel Leigh

“I thought you said that you barely knew him. Funny how your phone says otherwise.”

“It’s Josh. He’s the one who you were talking about in the room when you said you disposed of the body. You killed Josh Moran.” My stomach drops. Suddenly feeling lightheaded, I fall to my knees and bury my face in my hands, before looking up at him. “And you’re trying to set me up.”

 

 

3

 

 

“Walk,” Talon orders, as he shuts the door behind us while shining a flashlight toward the stairs.

My eyes are fixated on the blazing fire that can be seen through the open window of the room across from us. What are they burning? Is it Josh? Is this how they plan to get rid of his body? Bile rises in my throat at the thought. Suddenly feeling sick, I stop walking.

“I said walk!” he barks, nudging me from behind.

“I can’t. I need to know what is going on. You guys are scaring me, Talon,” I admit. As much as I know I need to stay strong and not let them see the fear that is soaked into my pores, at this point, I’ll gladly lay it all out there just to get the hell out of here.

Talon gives me another nudge, and I begin walking again.

Baby steps lead me down the staircase while I take care not to touch the rickety, wooden rail on my way down. The last thing I need is my fingerprints all over this place. If they are trying to set me up, as I suspect they are, I need to cover my tracks better.

“Why did you kill him?” I ask in a hushed tone. “I know he was a creeper, but to take his life—why?”

“Josh wasn’t just an ass; he was a monster. He deserved what happened to him, even if it was an accident.”

“If it was an accident then I’m sure the cops will understand. Can’t you just explain whatever happened?”

He snaps at me, “Stop talking.”

We reach the bottom, and Talon shines the light down a long and narrow hallway. Old broken floorboards rattle beneath us. The walls are covered in everything except fresh paint. There is more graffiti, dirty handprints, and some weird occult symbols in the middle. A feeling of dread washes over me, chills spread like tiny spiders down my spine, and a cool breeze is felt on the right side of my body as I walk past it. “What is this place?” I mutter under my breath.

Not expecting him to answer, he surprises me when he does. “It’s a sanctuary for secrets. Nothing between the walls of this building leaves. Empty souls, dark desires, last wishes. They are stuck in this building for eternity.”

“Sounds creepy,” I say, folding my arms over my chest and hugging myself tightly.

Reaching a door at the back of the house, Talon shines his light and tilts his head with a scowl, directing me out. With the sleeve of my sweatshirt wrapped around my hand, I push the metal handle to the screen door, opening it up. The smell of the fire strengthens in the dry still night.

All three guys are standing around a large barrel in the middle of the backyard. At least, I think it’s a yard. It’s more of a wide-open space that looks like it hasn’t had landscaping attention in ages. The only thing back here is an old shed off to the side, a rather large pole barn, and the barrel full of blazing flames that stretch at least three feet over the guys’ heads.

“Let’s get this over with. I’m ready to get drunk and get laid,” Lars grumbles with agitation in his voice.

Tommy is tapping into his phone and Zed is looking at me with this blank stare. There is nothingness behind his dark eyes. He always looks so angry and cold. Like he can be standing in a room full of people and he’s still alone in his own thoughts. I’ve never really talked to the guy, but I don’t feel like I’m missing out on much. I don’t take him as the type to hold conversations easily. There were times in class where I would watch him as he stared straight ahead, his expression never changing. There were also times that I wanted to get inside his head, just to know what he was thinking because he’s never given light to any emotion. Though, I imagine it’s scary as hell inside his thoughts.

All four of these guys are easy on the eyes. Each one holding his own appeal. They don’t have that athletic, jock appeal. They’re more grunge and darkness. Mysterious and alluring. There is a blackness about them. A more than confident ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude that everyone wishes they could have at one time or another. People follow them, but never walk beside them. They’re loners, and for good reason—they have secrets—dark and dangerous secrets.

“Alright.” Tommy tosses the phone he was playing around with to Talon. “Let’s do this.”

With his eyes glued to mine, Talon walks slowly behind me and sticks his hands and the phone out in front of us. “Toss this in the fire.” After I take it, he moves a couple steps back.

Looking around from one person to the next, my body shivers. Even in the heat, I feel coldness ride down my back like the ghost of my future is standing directly behind me. “Why?” My voice cracks.

Talon snaps, “Because I told you to. Now do it.”

“Whose phone is it?” I look to Zed, who appears to be recording me.

He catches my stare. “You have two choices. You throw the phone in that fire, or we throw you in that fire. What’s it gonna be, Little Thorn?”

Pressing my lips together tightly, I grip the phone and shut my eyes. Without even looking, I toss it in front of me. When I hear Talon breathe a sigh of relief behind me then squeeze my hips, I know that it went in.

Tommy begins clapping. “Atta girl.”

Opening my eyes, I pull away from Talon aggressively. “What? You don’t like to cuddle?” He smirks.

Rolling my eyes, I turn to walk away as quickly as I can, but someone runs up behind me, grabbing me and lifting me up in the air. “Let go of me.” I begin kicking my legs. “I did what you wanted, now I’m going home.”

“Oh no you’re not.”

Talon.

“You think that was the end? That was just the beginning, baby. You do what we tell you to do. You go where we tell you to go.” He sets me back down by the fire, where the guys are all watching and finding humor in this insane situation. “Now we’re celebrating, and you’re celebrating with us.”

“Celebrating what exactly? Getting away with my murder?” I eat my words immediately when Talon jerks my body to his. Gripping my face in his hands, he pushes his fingers so far into my cheeks that I could bite down and feel the space they are invading in my mouth.

His teeth clench together so tightly that I think I can hear the crack of a tooth. “Don’t you ever fucking say that again, do you hear me? We didn’t murder anyone. Josh was a psycho, and it was an accident. We did what we had to do, and now you’re gonna do what you have to and keep your mouth shut, do you understand me?” He presses harder.

All I can do is nod. In a swift motion, he pushes my face back. I rub my hands on my cheeks, where I’m sure he left the imprint of his fingers. Feeling like I’m on the verge of a breakdown, I choke, “Was that his phone?”

“Yes. And you just threw it in the fire. You just got rid of evidence shortly after you two exchanged text messages.” Talon tsks. “Did you really have to threaten him like that?”

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