The Name of the Game

Chapter 16

"Guard the door for me will you?"

Mikey nodded, and Gerard closed himself and his boyfriend inside the bathroom. He leaned his shoulder against the wall, watching everyone at the party. His eyes scanned the restaurant. There were couples dancing on the light, diamond-patterned wooden floor. He could see his parents in one of the raised booths with two people from The Left Hand Men. Donna was laughing. A man held her hand delicately, and after he said something to her, he kissed her hand. Mikey watched his father scowl, then whisk his mother away to the dance floor.

Mikey looked around, trying to spot the couple he had seen Frank come in with. He eventually spotted them on the far side of the restaurant. The man was wearing a fedora, a grey suit, and had found a cigar somewhere in the restaurant. The woman wore a lavender dress that practically swallowed her whole. She was pale and skinny, almost sickly. Mikey couldn't pick out which one Frank looked more like.

Suddenly, someone in the bathroom yelled, making Mikey jump. He assumed it was Gerard and hoped he was just mad. He didn't want anything bad to happen in there. He settled back against the wall, turning his head to look at the crowd once more. He noticed two men on the dance-floor, one masked, the other not, challenging each other. Their faces were dangerously close together. Mikey tensed slightly. He didn't think it would end well.

Before he could even finish the thought, the unmasked man whipped a gun out of his waistband and fired it into the air. Mikey jumped again as the crowd began to yell. It was as if everyone had gone from being at a glamorous party to being at a back-alley knife fight in just a few seconds.

Another man pulled out a gun and fired it, but this time, it wasn't into the air. The man who had fired the first shot hit the ground with a thud. Everyone quickly pulled their weapons, and Mikey began to panic.

He turned and threw open the bathroom door. "There's been a disagreement," he said quickly. "We have to get out of here!"

Gerard swore and kicked over the trash can. "Okay," he said, recovering, "Mikey, you go out the back exit, on the far end of the place. Run into the woods and hide for a while. Hide your mask in your coat. Call someone to come get you. I'll see you at home. I... I love you, Mikes."

Mikey grabbed his brother in a quick, tight hug. "I love you, too." He turned and took off across the restaurant.

He dodged bullets, crouching under the bar stools as he made his way to the other side. He eventually made it, then stood up and flew out the back door. He started into the forest, running as fast as his skinny legs would carry him.

He heard another gunshot close to him and fell to the ground. He stumbled to his feet and managed to keep running. He ignored the branches that slapped his face and tore at his sleeves and pants.

He eventually tripped over a big rock and fell again, landing in a huge puddle of mud with rocks that cut into Mikey's face and hands. Tears began to flow fast down his red cheeks. His sobs only further hindered his breathing. He tried to keep himself from hyperventilating.

Mikey sat up and pulled his knees to his chest. He wiped his muddy hands on the cleanest parts of his clothes he could find so that he could dry his eyes. He pushed up his mask, then remembered what Gerard had told him. He took the mask off and pushed it down into his coat.

Mikey was sat there, leaning against a tree, when he began to feel something stinging in his left ear. He reached up with a hesitant hand. Nothing could have prepared him for what he felt.

He screamed, then quickly covered his mouth when he realized that there was now a crescent-shaped hole in his ear. He pressed both of his hands to his mouth, pain now overtaking him.