More curious soul(s) have been admitted to The Infinite Library, and it is my pleasure as Keeper to welcome them as loyal patron(s)
Silver Slip Holders:
Zaodo
Kenneth Washington brown5o
Seq0starboy
Patrick Schulz
Gabriele Sulpizio philip mantey danda
Bean_On_A_Tree
Midnightdrop
Extra Chapter Bounty: Top 10 in the Rankings
The first thing I did was try to call Gia’s phone.
I didn’t really have any hope it would work, and wasn’t surprised when my call went to voicemail.
After that, I started searching the various nooks and passageways formed by the maze of food stands and trailers, occasionally calling out Gia’s name hoping for the small chance that she was somehow in earshot.
As the minutes continued to trickle by, I started going over the worst-case scenarios in my head, not out of fear or anxiety but sheer practicality.
‘If I can’t find her within the next twenty minutes, I need to report it to the authorities, and they can hopefully send out an alert to be on the lookout.
After that comes the Amber Alert and scent-tracking dogs…finding her in the first twenty-four hours will be critical for-‘
My thoughts were derailed as I went to exit one of the last hidden side passages in the area, only to bump chest first into someone much smaller than me.
My hands moved before I could think, and my hand shot out, grabbing a slim waist and pulling it against me to stop whoever had bumped into me from falling onto the ground.
“Shit, my bad, I wasn’t-”
I paused mid-sentence as I looked down to see who I was apologizing to, only to see a familiar pair of wide brown eyes staring up at me with an expression of disbelief, ‘Yeah you and me both.’
“Maddy, get back here?!
Where do you get off pulling that kind of bull-”
My head shot up as I heard Nate’s voice a second before he rounded the corner and froze on the spot.
I watched as Nate’s eyes were slowly consumed, by rage as his gaze went from Maddy to the hand on her waist, up to my face.
“What the fuck are you doing here!?” Nate swore as his nostrils flared like a rampaging bull and his hands balled into fists.
“Hey man,” I said as I took back my hand and stepped back, “She bumped into me; I caught her out of reflex.
I don’t want no problems tonight.”
“Nate, chill the fuck out,” Maddy said, trying to calm the situation down as she turned to face her boyfriend. This story is hosted at g.com.
However, Maddy’s words had the exact opposite effect as Nate’s jaw clenched and a vein stood out on his forehead.
“Don’t tell me to chill after the shit you pulled in front of my family and the whole fucking town!” Nate swore before his eyes shot over to me, “And if that wasn’t bad enough now you’re over here with this fucking guy!
What did you not get enough of his dick the first time around, you fucking whore!?”
“The fuck did you just call me?!” Maddy gasped as she glared back at Nate.
Nate sneered at her, “What the fuck else am I supposed to call you when you’re dressed up like that and meeting some fucking guy in an alley!”
‘I really don’t have time for this.’
Without a word, I turned around and started walking away not wanting anything more to do with the lovers quarrel unfolding in front of me.
“Hey, where the fuck do you think you’re going!?
I’m not done with you, asshole!”
“Too bad,” I shouted back without turning around, “I’ve got more important things to worry about.”
“I said I wasn’t done with you!”
“Nate stop!”
I heard his heavy footsteps trampling towards me and sighed as I took a large step forward and pivoted, turning around with my hands raised as Nate reached out to grab what had been the back of my shirt.
I dropped down, lowering my center of gravity before driving forward with my full weight as I tackled Nate at the waist.
We both went down in a heap, and the scramble for control started in earnest as Nate thrashed around wildly and tried to throw me off of him.
“Get the fuck off me!”
“Should have thought about that before you swung, motherfucker!” I hissed back as I looked to sink one of my arms around one of Nate’s limbs to try and subdue him.
But for all his shortcomings, Nate wasn’t weak and fought me off with raw strength and even managed to score a couple of glancing blows across my body.
“I’m going to fucking strangle you to death, you fucking homo!”
‘Homo?
Where the fuck did that come from.’
Realizing I wasn’t getting anywhere, I abandoned my original goal and managed to quickly untangle myself from Nate and stood back up, “Did you get it out of your system yet?!”
Nate scrambled back to his feet, his chest heaving with a mix of exertion, rage, and something else that made me pause as I glanced at his eyes, ‘He’s afraid… no, he’s fucking terrified.’
I paused as several things clicked at once, and I gained a whole new level of insight into Nate’s personality.
‘No wonder he’s angry all the fucking time.’
“Nate, stop right fucking now before someone sees us!” Maddy voice pierced through my thoughts, and I watched Nate stall for a second as something about her warning seemed to register in his mind.
It was at that moment that my phone went off and I quickly picked up the call, “Yeah?”
“I think I found Gia.
There are some kids out by the parking lot around her age, but I’m not sure.”
Checking Rue’s location, I took a minute to plot a route, “I’ll be there in two minutes.
See if you can spot her for sure.”
“Alright, get here quick.”
“Saved by the fucking bell,” Nate shouted at my back, “What, you scared to fight me when I’m sober pussy?!”
I didn’t bother with a response as I rounded the corner and took off at a jog, all while cursing my decision to go to the fair.
As promised, I closed in on Rue’s location within five minutes, and I easily spotted the lone pair of cars on the very outskirts of the parking lot and the group of underclassmen hanging out around an outdoor lamp.
From a distance, I could hear their laughs, but it wasn’t the carefree, good-natured kind; no, the laughter was mocking and cruel.
“Yo, for real.
When’d you become such a bitch?”
“Excuse me?”
“Was it after you fuckin’ OD’d?
Because if so, you don’t got to worry about your sis; it’s only weed.
Though maybe you should be worried; you know they say addiction is a genetic disease, right?”
“Come on Gia, we’re leaving.”
“Look, she already said she wasn’t going with you, so why don’t you fuck off, and I’ll make sure she’s taken care of properly.”
“Or you can shut the fuck up, and I’ll let you go home with an intact fucking jaw.”
The short snippet of dialogue I had overheard was enough to get my blood boiling as I entered the lamp’s radius.
Stepping up behind Rue, my face was set into a chilling mask as I stared at Troy McKay, who had his arm around Gia’s shoulders and a previously cocky smirk across his lips that vanished the moment I stepped into view.
“Shit.”
I let my gaze rest on Troy like an oppressive weight before I glanced at Gia and gave a small jerk of my head, “You’re done for the night, let’s go.”
Gia didn’t say a word as she quickly stood up and dashed over to me, but I nudged her towards Rue, who immediately wrapped her up in a hug, “Don’t ever disappear like that again.
You hear me?
I was worried sick.”
As my sisters embraced, I turned my attention back to Troy, who was visibly sweating, “You get a pass for tonight, but if I hear some shit like that again, I’ll make sure you and Roy ain’t identical anymore.
Got it?”
Before the little shit could answer, my hand shot out, grabbing the still-lit joint from Troy’s fingers and putting it up to my lips.
With a single deep inhale, I chiefed the rest of the joint, waiting until I could feel the cherry embers against my fingers before I blew the thick plume of smoke right in Troy’s face and flicked the roach into his lap.
The little fucker flinched and quickly brushed the ashes and embers off him like he was soaked head to toe in gasoline.
“Enjoy the rest of your night.”
Turning around, I escorted Gia and Rue back to our car, and we all wordlessly got in as I started the car, preparing to go home.
“Are…you sure you’re okay to drive?” Rue asked softly as she looked at me with a silent thank you, “You just smoked a whole joint in less than a minute.”
I couldn’t help but scoff as I threw the car in reverse and looked out the back window, “Their weed ain’t shit.”
My response got a mindless chuckle from Gia, who was most likely experiencing her first high, and in return, a small smile split Rue’s face as she leaned against the door and watched the lights of the fair splay out across the front windshield as I pulled out of the parking lot and drove us back home.