"Purple." I grunt, holding out my hand as Addie places a can of spray paint into my palm. I pull the mask up over my mouth and shake the can, relishing at the rattling sound it makes. Ah, yes, like music to my ears.
I take a step back and get to work, adding another layer to my sugar skull mural on the side of the temple. The woman's hair was all that was left, a curling violet and navy waterfall that cascaded down her bare shoulder, adorned with little white flowers. White pupils peered out from an unsettling black abyss, and her bright red lips curled into a menacing smile.
"What are you going to call this one?" Gwen teases, leaning against the red brick of the wall, arms crossed.
I toss Addie the can of purple. "I need green. Bright green."
She tosses a can of neon lime to me in return. "What are you going to call it?"
Wordlessly, I title my graffiti.
WITHOUT A REASON. XX.
Gwen and Addie come up on either side of me as I cap my can and pull my mask down. "I like it." Gwen tells me, nodding approvingly. "It's very dark."
"I think it's lovely." We all turned on our heels to see a rather irritated man, in his late forties, glaring at us with a gaze so cold that it could freeze lava. "So lovely, in fact, that I've decided to share it with the police."
"Oh, shit."
I turn on my heel, grabbing the duffle, and take off running, Gwen and Addie on my tail as the man remains in the alley, yelling after us.
We just keep running.
We take off down Vonnegut Drive, the sun beating down on our backs, our sneakers slamming the ground, the duffle bag slamming into my hip and thigh over and over and over, the paint cans inside rattling against each other like tinned sirens alerting the presence of street artists.
We make it to Gwen's car, a beat up black 2003 Honda Civic, and throw ourselves inside the car, half laughing, half hoping that the landlord of the building didn't call the police.
"What to do next, ladies?" Gwen asks, her tone amused. In the reflection from the mirror, however, her eyes are somber and focused entirely on the road.
My phone buzzes loudly, a sharp ZZZZZ that echoes inside the car. My heart jumps a little as I read the contact. Lucas.
"Luke's at the skate park, we can head over there-"
"OH SHIT!" Gwen slams her foot down on the brakes and we all lurch forwards, our seatbelts cutting into our chests.
I snap my head up to look at whatever it was thaf made Gwen stop so quickly. A glance at the landscape in front of us freezes Gwen and I in place.
"Gwen, what the actual f-" Addie starts to complain, her voice more agitated than scared.
"Addie, look." I hiss, waving my hand around my seat and snapping my fingers to get her attention.
A quiet gasp escapes her lips as she brings her steely eyes up to the sight in front of us. Caution tape and swarms of SWAT teams are blocking the road. A few news vans are inside of the taped off area, reporters and journalists toeing around soldiers anxiously, like rats scurrying around a house late at night.
A hulking member of a SWAT team begins to purposefully make his way towards the car, and panic shoots through my veins as if it was injecting via IV. Although we haven't done anything wrong, my palms begin to sweat, and I attempt the wipe them off on my jeans.
The man reaches the window and taps on it. Gwen's hand shakes as she rolls her window down, her face pale.
"What are you ladies doing here?" His voice is deep and his words are slow and deliberate, as if he was hoping for us to have done something wrong.
"Heading to the skatepark," Gwen says confidently, although I fear her pallor might make the officer think her to be lying, "we're meeting friends."
"Mhmm." He raises his visor and reveals murky hazel eyes. Something about his sunken in and tired features gives me the vibe that he's been waiting to stop someone all day. "And what made you go this way?"
"The skatepark is at the end of this street. It's the fastest way." Gwen's voice is no longer quivering, and her pallor has faded. Her left hand travels to the gearshift, ready to throw the car in reverse. "If it's an issue, I can go around."
"I think that would be wisest. Good girls don't get in trouble with the law."
He says this with a straight face, his eyes much too somber and serious for such a ridiculous statement. Did he really just say that?
"Erm, yes, sir. We'll be on our way." She shifts gears, her knuckles white as she holds the knob. "You have a good day."
"You too, ladies. Stay out of trouble."
"Will do, sir."
Gwen shifts gears and starts to back out, stopping only to roll the window back up.
A helicopter circles overhead, searching for a place to land, the breeze from the blades sweeping up dirt from the street.
"Text Luke. We're all going home. Something's not right." Gwen's voice is ice, cold and sharp. "I have some research to do anyway."
"For what?" I say incredulously, turning in my seat to look at her.
"School."
"Gwen, since when do you do your work?" Addie asks, puzzled.
"Don't worry about it. I'm taking you guys home." Her voice is even colder now. A warning. Addie and I silence ourselves.
YOU ARE READING
Cooper.
General Fiction2020 - the very near future. The world economy is still in shambles, and there is one company whose name seems to be found on an alarming number of products and services. Countries all meld together. Cultures are dying. Creativity is dying. Individ...
