Blandview High Musical

81. Downward Spiral

The night wind gusted through the open window. Springtime was bringing on warmer temperatures. Jade had taken advantage of the weather by sleeping with her window open. She shifted under the sheets. Her eyes squeezed shut more before she was woken up by an unusual pressure on either side of the mattress where she was laying. Her eyes flew open to find someone leaning over her while she was in the bed. They were sheathed in black. She could hear the jingling of the belt buckle in the dark. Realizing what was about to happen, she started fighting against the person. "Don't fucking struggle!" He shouted. Just then, there was a sound of automatic gunfire that echoed from the lower level of the house. She drove her knee against the man's stomach, which caused him to slump forward. He lost his grip on the bedding and she pushed him off. He landed on the opposing side of the bed, in the dark among the scattered plushies that rested on the floor. "You bitch!" He shouted.

She didn't have time to get the gun out from under the vanity. There was a shotgun in the hallway. She threw the door open and went running out into the hallway. Before she could make it to the banister, someone came from behind, wrapping their arms around her and lifting her up "Where are you going, Princess?" he asked. His grip tightened as he pushed his face against her hair and took a deep breath. More gunfire sounded off as screaming and laughing erupted from below. "Let go!" She screamed, smashing her elbow against the side of his ribcage. He shoved her down on the ground. This was like a bad dream. She crawled to the end of the hallway, where the gun was. The other assailant had emerged from the bedroom and had found her pistol. When she finally got her hands on the shotgun, it wasn't loaded. "Drop it." He said, pointing the pistol at her. She threw it down the stairs and he reached down, grabbing her by the arm and hoisting her up.

He took her downstairs where they had her brother ziptied to one of the dining room chairs. Lawrence was lying face down on the living room rug, a pool of blood muddling under him. She went running to him, her knees landing in the sticky residue that was leeching into the rug fibers. "What did you do to him?!" She screamed. "He's not your concern, Princess. Where's the money?" One of the men asked, walking over to her. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, cradling his head and trying to get him to wake up. "This is stupid, Calvin! We just need to kill them and raid the house!" One of them screamed. There was another gun that was strapped to the underside of the coffee table. "Don't even think it." Calvin said. "Go search the house. This asshole keeps everything onsite." Calvin growled, shoving the two stupid ones towards the staircase. He squatted down to eye level with Jade. "You just give us what we want and we'll leave." "There is no money. At least not here." Jade said. Calvin narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing?" Jason asked. One of the men took the butt of their gun and smashed it against his face. Blood splattered all over the floor. "Let us go and I'll take you to the money." She said.

"Calvin, you can't be serious." The man said. The two stupid ones could be heard upstairs arguing and tearing things up. "Let's go!" Calvin shouted, grabbing Jade by the arm. "Jade, no!" Jason shouted. "Call 911 and make sure dad gets to a hospital!" She screamed as Calvin dragged her out the door. The man hit him once more before following Calvin out the front door. The two idiots came downstairs moments later and ran out the front door. Jason heard the screeching of tires against the pavement as he nearly broke his wrist ripping the zipties off. He rushed to the front door to see the taillights disappearing into the dark. He immediately called 911 from the house phone.

They arrived at the office building that Lawrence used to work out of. There was money there, she didn't think it mattered who it belonged to. "I can get you in through the back. I know the code to the back entrance." She said. Calvin drove down the alleyway with the lights off. "Are you sure this is a good idea, man? What about the cops?" "Do you want the money that groveling shitbag stole from us or not?" Calvin asked. "What money did my father take from you?" "He talked that Lovefeld kid into doing drops, but he sliced the product in half and took our money. We want it back." They got out of the car and headed to the keypad locked door that was the back entrance. Sure enough, Jade knew the code, as they hadn't changed it since her father stopped working there.