saints and soldiers » klance

14: Settle for Satin

But there is comfort in a world
Where darkness is the only thing we see
And cold is all we have to breathe

Keith had always found ways to be thankful for- and make use of- his particular talent for becoming invisible. Using it to hide a limp was a fairly recent discovery- within the last few years or so- but startlingly useful. People didn't notice- or care, maybe- as he hobbled by down the street, toward his house.

Middle school hadn't, as Keith had expected, seen a decrease in the number of bruises on himself or his classmates. In elementary school, the middle schoolers had seemed so old and so big, almost god-like. Utterly untouchable. They were stronger, he had been so sure. They could stand up to their parents or at least do a better job of escaping. They would all be safer in middle school.

Now, almost done with sixth grade, he had long let go of that hope, letting it fall away like so much garbage- just like so many other hopes he'd harbored and abandoned over the years. It was routine, he was sure, for many of the people he knew. They just weren't willing to admit it to each other, like he would never admit it to them.

He looked across the street at a park. It was teeming with children just out of school, backpacks abandoned in piles on the wood chips as they chased each other tirelessly. A few parents lounged on benches, gossiping or on their phones or watching their children like hawks. He smiled slightly at the scene. It was almost picturesque, movie-like in an overwhelmingly normal way.

He continued down the street, shifting his backpack and wincing as the straps bit into his shoulders. He hated it, but the bag was cheap, so his mother had insisted. His shoulders were screaming, and he was beginning to legitimately worry that, at any moment, they might just break off, as if he were a concrete statue instead of a human boy.

A turn erased the sounds of children playing from the air. He breathed deeply, letting his head fall back and closing his eyes. The sun was warm, almost too hot on his face, somewhere on the brink of pleasure and pain. The street was blissfully silent, the only person in sight Keith himself. He relished the opportunity to be alone, knowing it might not happen again for a long time. He was lucky to get a few seconds to himself a day, living in such close quarters with his mother and with Roy over more and more often. It wasn't something he was particularly eager to get home to, so he slowed down, nearly stopping, reveling in the peace.

A low rumble sounded in his ears. He opened his eyes to see a car rolling down the street, glinting dully in the sun as it passed him by, turning the corner he'd rounded only a few seconds ago.

He'd wish, later, that he had run after it. Back to the safety of the park and the parents and the noise.

He kept walking, slowly but faster than before. Reluctant as he was to go, they wouldn't be happy if he was too late.

He took no notice of the van rumbling down the street, painted a matte black, windows tinted dark.

He didn't see the driver lock eyes on him, gesture to someone in the back.

He wasn't watching when that person shoved a loaded pistol into their belt.

He did see the van stop. He slowed his pace, walking slowly as he stared at it, wondering why it was stopped in the middle of the road. He cocked his head curiously, slowing even further as the doors in the back opened and a man jumped out. He looked scruffy, wearing jeans and a stained gray t-shirt. Keith picked up his pace ever-so-slightly as he noticed the man's eyes on him. He had learned to be afraid when adults looked at him like that.

Of course, fear had been beaten out of him long ago. Maybe if it hadn't, he would have run. Maybe, he would have made it back to the park.

Maybe he wouldn't have turned away, allowing the man to get so much closer.

He turned around, coming to a stop and eyeing the man who was now only ten feet away. He looked feral, wild, almost hungry. His eyes were glinting with a hint of something Keith didn't like. He began to back away, eyes fixed on the man who was pacing him with an unhurried step.

Something shone in the back of the van. Keith peered past the man in front of him to look more closely. Were those... eyes? Were there people back there?

Looking away was his fatal mistake. He realized it half a second to late, though a half a second was as long as he had looked away.

He looked away from the vehicle just in time to catch a glimpse of the little girl in the back of the van- gagged, bound, and covered in blood and grime- shaking her head at him with wide eyes as the man lunged forward, clapping a hand over Keith's mouth and hauling him back toward the van.

He struggled with everything he had, twisting and kicking and clawing and punching at anything he could hit. It wasn't nearly enough. He was thrown into the back of the van, breath whooshing out of him on impact.

He could not be here. This couldn't be happening, he wouldn't let it. No, no, no, this was not where he was supposed to end, how he was supposed to end, what was supposed to happen to him-

He surged up from the floor, lunging for the still-open doors of the van. He could see the street, the door was open, there was no one blocking it, he could escape-

He never got the chance.

He felt the cold bite of a needle plunging into the back of his neck just in time to fall to the floor and watch as the face of the girl who had shaken her head faded to black.