It was two hours later and Damien still couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. The bartender had fled after the man called Dedrick left leaving his bloody mess. The obese man was still passed out. How could one man- no not a man there was no way he could be a man, but still one person did this so easily.
Damien was worried about what he’d have to do next. Summoning his courage to walk through all the blood and guts and not throw up to pick pocket the fat one. He moved swiftly thanks to his small athletic frame. Trying very hard not to get sick he ran through the puddles of blood. But threw up when his foot got tangled in an intestine and he fell face first into a severed head.
He made it to the drunk and was reaching into its pocket when a hand darted out and grabbed his. Damien yelled and tried to pull away, but the man’s grip was firm. Damien slowly looked up to see who caught him. His breath caught in his throat. It was Dedrick!
“That’s very naughty of you.” Said Dedrick smiling and releasing him. “If you’re going to steal, steal from the dead they don’t need it any more. Just make sure they’re actually dead or you’ll be the dead one.” With that Dedrick left laughing.
A couple hours later Damien was throwing up behind the whore house. All he could see was the bodies, or what was left of them. Damien felt numb. He was in complete disbelief. That he stole from the dead. That was one thing not even the lowest of thieves did, but he did. He was in disgust, the image of him going through their bodies kept replaying through his head. Am I monster? He asked himself. He looked at his watch the only thing left he had to remember his parents. Oh shit he thought he had to get back to his gang to pay the dues or he’d be beat. He set off at a blazing pace into the darkness…
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Damien got back to the gang just in time to see the gang head Slade, finish beating Damien’s friend Zack. Slade was a big thirteen year old boy. Most street urchins didn’t live past twelve so Slade was, unfortunately the leader. The urchins usually died from beating or rapes so they always had to be alert. Slade looked up at Damien smiled a smile full of malice, then turned back to Zack and redoubled the efforts of the beating.
Damien knew Slade was doing this to get to him and tried not to let it get to him. He was about to try to stop it when, Slade stopped and walked over to Damien.
Slade smiled eyes glinting, “you got your dues?” he asked obviously hoping he didn’t.
Damien looked down and held out a credit chip.
“Only one?” asked Slade pretending to be innocently curious, but his eyes held the truth filled with darkness Damien saw something bad coming.
“That’s what dues are.” Said Damien keeping his eyes toward the ground hoping to get off with only being slapped around.
“Look around Damien.” Said Slade innocently “do you think this place pays for itself?”
Damien looked around the gangs headquarters was just an abandoned hotel building, which had be blown apart during the war. “Yes I do.” Said Damien shocking himself, and cursing himself for saying such a stupid thing.
“Oh really. Well you have to pay dues for your friend Kayla over there.” Said Slade laughing and looking past Damien to a small seven year old mute urchin.
Kayla just looked up and widened her eyes. Slade laughed.
“She’s only seven! She doesn’t have to pay dues until she’s eight!” Yelled Damien completely outraged by the unfairness of it all.
“Really?” Asked Slade innocently, “Then have her tell us how old she is.” Said Slade laughing.
Tears filled in Kayla’s eyes as she ran away.
Damien lost it, “Go fuck yourself, you guttershit.” Said Damien immediately regretting and horrified by what he said.
Damien hit the ground hard from the force of the slap.Slade smiled bent down close to Damien and whispered, “you are exactly what I neeed. You will be a symbol. And once you have people supporting you, I’m going to destroy you.”
Damien did exactly that. He stopped paying dues and even cursed him openly to his face, and all slade would do is stomp around raging for a few minutes. Others in the gang started only listening to him, but that was only the good part.
Every night for the next week Slade took Zack outside. Zack would always come back beaten and bloody, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Slade had violated Zack in every way. He had broken him. The first few nights, he protested and fought back, but eventually he grew silent. And throughout the night Damien heard flesh hitting flesh no protest a Zack was passed around like a piece of meat. But that didn’t make Damien snap. What made Damien snap was what he found outside two weeks, after he told Slade to go fuck himself.
Damien walked outside to find Kayla thrown in the dirt. Beaten within an inch of her life. Violated, and then have her face and body purposely cut so she’d have ugly scars forever.
Damien screamed in pure rage. Then ran to find Slade.
Twenty minutes later Damien found Slade near the river. Slade was waiting for him alone. When he saw Damien approaching he smiled with malevolence and said, “So Damien, you finally came. So are you ready to be a good little bitch and suck you masters dick, or do I have to kill you before getting my dick sucked?” Asked Slade eyes glinting.
Damien sank to his knees thinking it was hopeless. Slade smiled and started walking forward while unzipping his pants.
Damien thought of all Slade had done to him, his friends, and countless others before him. Rage consumed Damien once more. With a yell he pushed a very surprised Slade into the river.
Slade hit the river with a splash, and started getting carried by the current. After a few seconds he started laughing and yelled “I thought you’d do something like that so I tied a rope around my leg and that boulder. Now I will kill you.” Slade’s face filled with horror as the rock shifted and started rolling into the river. The boulder was carried under the water dragging a crying Slade down under with it.
