Pay Your Dues

Awesome cover made by  xXZombie_UnicornXx

Thanks soooo much!

There was that girl again. The girl that no one else seemed to be able to see. She was across the yard, just staring. Right at me, as always. She was staring with those eyes again. Her eyes were emotionless, bottomless, yet they told me everything I needed to know. She was here, and she had come for me. She lifted up her hand and beckoned me to follow her. It was my time to pay up, and she was here to collect. 

It makes me remember back to that day, the day I had made the mistake of asking for her services. I was being chased by Them again, that is the guys from my brothers"gang". They were nothing more than a bunch of juvenile delinquents, really. My brother owed them money, a whole lot. And they wanted it now. They weren't willing to wait again, last time they'd been stiffed. My brother was good at things like that, but it almost always caught up to him. They were relentless, unwilling to let a chance like this go by. They would use me for ransom, but my brother most likely wouldn't give it to them anyway. He couldn't care less what happened to me, I was a burden to him after mom and dad died. He's all I have left, but he's so up to his neck in drugs and debt that I'm more of a hinder than a comfort. I was running as fast as i can, but They were faster. They'd almost caught up to me when I was suddenly grabbed by the arm as I was turning a sharp corner and pulled into a dark alleyway.  

I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to keep from letting out a noise of surprise and giving away my hiding place. I slowly looked over, only to find no one there. Odd, I could have sworn that someone pulled me in here. I shoved myself as close to the wall as I could, and waited for Them to go by, their loud footsteps like thunder to my ears. I waited a good five minutes before peeking out to see if They were gone. They were, but i didn't want to chance a run in with them again, so I decided to walk through the alleyway instead. The ally wasn't very long, as I could see a faint light at the other end. I don't usually make a habit of going through alleyways, as I never had a reason to and heard they could house something dangerous or, the more likely homeless person or junkie. It was dark here, and smelled bad. Seeing as how it's not a pleasant place i don't think that i'll be coming back anytime soon. Just as I finished that thought, I tripped over something and scraped my leg. I hope it doesn't get infected with these highly unsanitary conditions. I looked to were my foot was when i fell and found an odd sort of necklace. It looked old, older than anything Id ever seen. It must be fake, to be in a place like this. It was made of a hard sort of wood, and had an intricately carved design on it. The more I looked at it, the more it looked like an eye with a skull in the middle, and seemed to be swirling. It was truly hypnotic. 

It's sort of pretty, I thought. I picked it up and hung it around my neck and tucked it under my shirt. I looked up and noticed it was getting dark. Maybe i should head home. I was only about halfway there when She stepped out of the shadows. I merely glanced at Her and kept walking, as a stray person out walking was hardly cause for suspicion. Then as I was about to walk into the house, i heard a 'click'. I froze, and slowly turned around. It was one of Them.  

"I told them you would show up here eventually", he says with a sly grin, " Now come along and play nice and you won't get hurt".  

He grabbed my arm and directed me to his car, where another one of Them was at the wheel.  "Don't even think about making a sound or i'll blow that pretty little face of yours right off, got it girlie?".  

I didn't say a word, just let myself be guided to his car. I was scared the whole ride, they'd never done this before. Never actually taken me anywhere, my brother must owe them more than I had thought.  

"Where are we going?", I asked out of curiosity. 

"A place where the sun don't shine, girlie. A place you're likely to never leave alive, not if that shit brother of yours don't pay up. Now enough with the questions, i don't want to hear another word from you". 

Seeing how I didn't want to be shot, i occupied myself with watching out the window. Maybe i'll get a sense of where were going. We passed right through the center of town, and to the boarding docks. They opened the car door and led me out, over to one of the large storage containments. 

"Now, your brother better pay up or your ganna be locked up in there for a very long time. I'll shoot your legs, tie you to a chair, and duck-tape your mouth shut, got it girlie? So were ganna make a little phone call, and your ganna help us explain the situation a little". With this, he picked up his cell phone and called up my brother. He had it on speaker so, I could hear everything that was being said. 

My brother picked up the phone with his usual "Hello"?  

"Ya bro, we got your little sis here and shes ganna be taken a long trip if you don't pay up, NOW, got it"?  

"...", only silence was heard on the other end for a second, then the guy with the gun said,  

"Hey girlie, we could use some screams over here, let him know just whats goin' on". I just looked down. After a minute of silence he said "Fine, I guess the girlie could use some assistance with those screams over there".  

And with that he came over to me and pulled out a pocket knife and pointed it at me. I'd never been in this situation before, I was more scared than i'd ever been before in my life. He took my arm, and stabbed the knife right through it. My screams of agony could be heard half a mile away i'd bet. After all this time of silence from my brother on the other end of the line, i could barely hear him say "Keep her. I don't care".  

My screams slowly turned into sobs as i was lifted up and hoisted into the containment unit. I heard them close and padlock the door. When I found the strength to stand, I went over and pounded my fists onto the metal wall as hard as I could, to no avail. Nobody could here me, and I knew this even in the state I was in. 

I fell to my knees and sobbed for a great while, after I found the strength to pull the knife from my arm, which was throbbing. I was sitting there and cursing Them, and wishing that help would come, though i knew it wouldn't. I put my hands to my chest, and was slightly surprised to find that in all the confusion, I still had on the necklace I found. I gripped it in my hand and brought it to my face. I looked at it, it was covered in my blood. I touched it, mesmerized by how beautiful it looked covered in blood. By this time i had stopped sobbing. I felt a breeze and looked up. Her! It was the girl that I saw when i was walking home, but how is she here now?  

"I will help you", she whispered, "All you need to do is ask". Her voice sent shivers down my spine. 

I opened my mouth to speak, only to be interrupted, "Of course, you will have to pay the price".  

"P-price"? i managed to stutter out. 

"Yes. The price", she continued to whisper in her raspy, dead sounding voice,"I shall do with them as you please, but in return, I will get your soul to do with as I please, when I decide it is your time to die".  

"Do it", i said with no hesitation, "Kill them all. My brother included".  

And it was done. So here I am, years later. And here She is. And She wont wait patiently for much longer. So, with those concluding thoughts, I walked forward and payed my dues. You see, I had come to terms with my fate years ago, and now im prepared to die. See you on the other side.