Should I Stay? (Slow Updates)

#7

By the time we reached the designated meeting place it had started to snow lightly. The temperature had dropped down to 26 degrees, way colder than it gets in the city. The ground had a thin layer of white, along with the trees and other vegetation. There weren't many buildings, only run-down warehouses. The area itself was pretty small, and it seemed empty. But it wasn't.
As we drove past the old buildings we could see figures of people. A group of seven were standing in the open in front of a black car that looked almost identical to the gang's. Each person was wearing black pants, shoes, gloves, and short-sleeve shirts, which made them seem a little bit crazy considering the weather.
About fifteen feet away from them, Alexis stopped the car. "I want everyone to come out with me." She said flatly. "Dan, Julia, Sara, Amy and Ronan stay behind Ray and I. Jordan, stay with Casey." Her eyes wavered to me for a little bit, looking worried, but almost instantly looked away and stepped out of the car. Everyone else followed, grabbing guns from the back, except for me, and meeting the other gang half way. On closer inspection, all of them were guys.
The guy in the front was the tallest, who I assumed was the leader. He had piercings all over his face. The guy next to him was only a little shorter, but looked just as mean with sleeves of tattoos on his arms. Most of which were weapons. The rest of them also had piercings or tattoos, but the two in the front had the most. They also looked the most menacing.
"You bring everything I asked for?" Alexis asked in a deep voice as the gangs came face to face. Jordan and I stood in the back behind everyone. The leader of the opposing gang stayed silent, only pulled out a large bag and chucked it over Ray, who looked inside. Then he gave it to Alexis, whispered something, and looked at the gang leader.
"This isn't what we asked for." Ray said, matching Alexis's tone. A flash of nervousness appeared on the leader's face but quickly disappeared.
"Yes it is." He answered back with a steady tone.
"No. It isn't." Alexis said. Her voice was lower than before, and I saw her body tense up. She was about to blow.
Not wanting violence, I slipped out of Jordan's reach and past the others till I reached Alexis. Shaking, I reached up and placed my hand on Alexis's shoulder. I jumped when she turned around. She looked irritated, but her eyes softened a little when she saw me. "Please calm down." I whispered, trying not to sound nervous. She took a deep breath, and turned around. Her voice was softer now. "We asked for more. Where is the rest?" She asked.
The leader paused, as if thinking of an answer, before smirking an asking, "Who's that pretty little thing behind you?" I scooted behind Alexis by instinct, causing him to chuckle. "She's so cute."
Alexis's body tensed up again. "She's mine and none of your concern." She stated coldly. "Where's the rest?"
Rather than taking her tone as a warning, the man continued, "Does she make you feel better? She calm you down?" He knew he was getting on her nerves. Alexis didn't say anything, but her body became more stiff as words were spat out of his mouth. Ray, getting fidgety at the sight of Alexis, tried to interject, but the gang leader kept on. "She's hot. A real cutie," he observed, "but she's not really yours, is she? No, you kidnapped her, right? You forced her to be yours. And she hates you, doesn't she?"
And then Alexis snapped.
The first gun shot came from her gun, which hit the gang leader straight in the head. He fell to the ground instantly. The rest of his gang began to scatter with panic, pulling out their guns and running behind their van or other obstacles they could take cover with. Ray and the rest of the gang pulled out their guns as well, taking cover and shooting.
Despite the loud noises and possible death, I stood in place, both shocked and horrified at the sight in front of me. The gang leader's blonde hair was stained red from the gaping hole in his forehead, allowing blood to ooze out. His eyes were turned back in his head, leaving nothing but white pearls. His mouth was open in shock, and his body was laying in an unnatural position; his arms bent behind his back and his legs going opposite directions. Snow was already starting to cover him.
I was brought back to realization when Alexis roughly jerked my arm and practically dragged me behind a large, metal box that was used for holding garbage at one point.
"What the hell are you doing just standing there?!" She shouted over the shooting. I stared at her. Had she not just shot someone in the head? She ended another person's life, and is now shooting at that person's friends. She wasn't fazed at all.
I didn't respond, so she let out a frustrated grunt and turned around, shooting at someone. The shots echoed through the metal containers and other buildings, leaving ear-splitting bangs. Occasional screams could be heard, most likely from the opposing gang. Over all the noise the sounds of bodies dropping was the most deafening.
I was staring at Alexis again, who hadn't even looked back at me after she'd started shooting, and realized she wasn't paying any attention to me. The woods were behind us and there was nothing stopping me from escaping. Nothing at all.
I began to slowly creep backwards, being careful of Alexis, and slipped behind another metal box that was just a little bit smaller than the one she and I had been behind. I stared at her for a minute, shaking from both fear and excitement. What if she caught me? What if I actually escape?
I turned around, ready to sprint, when I ran into a hard chest. I looked up to find one of the gang members from the other gang staring down at me with an evil grin. I went to scream, but he covered my mouth with his hand and grabbed me. He pulled my against him, carrying me like I was a doll. I furiously pulled at his arm but he was about twice the size of me, meaning my attempts were absolutely useless.
He walked the opposite direction of Alexis and behind more metal boxes and old buildings until we met another member of the gang. He tied a cloth around my mouth, and then I was transferred to him.
"You're gonna be useful." He chuckled in my ear. I shivered and began flailing my arms randomly. I successfully slapped him in the face, causing his head to jerk to the side. He slowly turned back to me, growling. I shrunk back. He balled his fist and was about to punch me in the face when his body was blown to the side. When I looked I saw Jordan standing there with a gun in her hand.
"Casey!" She yelled. I started to run to her when I saw someone come up behind her. It was the man from earlier. Jordan turned around to defend herself, but she wasn't fast enough, he shot her leg. She let out a deafening scream, which echoed louder than all of the shooting combined.
Behind me I heard Ronan scream Jordan's name, followed by Dan, Amy, Sara, and the rest of them. Alexis was soon to follow after shooting another man down. The gang members who were still alive realized what was going on, and ran over to Jordan and the man. I ran behind a building.
There were only three members of the other gang left, but it was enough to hold Jordan hostage and protect themselves from Alexis and the others. The man who shot Jordan lifted her up, holding her neck in the crook of his elbow, and raised a pistol to her head.
"Let us leave." He commanded. His voice was extremely deep, which made sense with his large character. The other two gang members raised their pistols towards Alexis and the others. Dan was the first to speak.
"You have to let her go first." He said calmly, but there was panic in his eyes. Every member of the gang had fear in their eyes, including Alexis. They were scared to lose one of their own.
Knowing he didn't have much options, the man threw Jordan to the side and shot at them. His partners did the same and made a mad dash for the van. Alexis and the others chased after them, sudden anger filling their actions.
Jordan was only 10 feet away from me, her leg bleeding profusely. Her hand was pressed to her leg in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but her moans were clear signs it wasn't working. I looked around and ran into the open, lifting her up by her shoulders, and dragging her behind the building. She was panting heavily.
"Jordan, it's me. Just take deep breaths, okay?Alexis and the others will be here soon." I tried to comfort her. When I saw the blood up close I got light headed, but I knew I had to help. I ripped a piece of my shirt and wrapped it a few times around her leg. "Just add pressure." I told her. She nodded and sat up, pushing against the wound. I started thinking about what more I could do, but then I realized: I could escape.
I looked down at Jordan. The fabric was turning red, but the bleeding seemed to lessen. Her face was pale and there was sweat dripping down but she would be okay, right? Once the others came back they'd help her. Jordan had been so nice to me... I couldn't just leave her. But this was my only chance.
"You'll be okay." I whispered. She gave me a weak smile, before she realized what I was about to do. I stood up and turned around when she grabbed my leg.
"Casey no." She said, half pleading and half terrified. "You can't leave me. Alexis will find you." I turned around and stared down at her. She hesitantly let go of my leg and brought her hand back to her side. "You can't go, Casey." She said, pressing her wound again. "She'll find you." I heard a gunshot go off in the distance, and looked to see that the other gang had managed to make it into their van, but their tire had been shot, and Alexis and the others had dragged them out and shot them. They were so far away they were small specks in my sight. I could barely make out who was who.
"She'll always find you." Jordan reiterated. I looked at her. Her eyes were sad, they were full of sympathy. I didn't want that for the rest of my life. I didn't want to belong to Alexis. I didn't want to live with a gang. I didn't want to live with killers. I couldn't.
"Then that's a chance I'll have to take." I told her flatly.
And I ran.

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A/N
I hope everyone is doing well and is safe from this pandemic! I added a "Meet The Characters" at the beginning! Have a blessed day.

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