Looking Up

"In my world, there is no love." The young urban youth looked inside of what was once his home. The bright light that emanated from the dining room showed his former family all enjoying a warm, family meal, with his mother playing with her grandson and his half-sister and stepfather watching over her shoulder. His mother had love in her eyes, they all did, but their love was lost on him. He was the outcast of the family, the black sheep. Their words were not lost on him. He knew that he was unwanted in their world. His mission was set. He knew that he must find love on his own. He knew that life would not be worth living without love in his heart. He felt soulless watching what was once his family enjoy themselves without him. He gripped on his bag filled with writing supplies, he adjusted the switchblade in his pocket, and he turned around, never looking back on his past, steady looking toward his future.
His first stop was the small corner store surrounded by other dilapidated buildings with various characters all standing around minding their own business, in tune to their own ventures. When the young man entered the store, he was greeted by the store owner, a large man with a nice man and a plump belly and a large laugh. "Hello, young Gavin. How are you doing this fine night?"
Gavin looked upon the store owner with a great sadness in his eyes, one that even a blind man would not be able to miss. With a straight face, he answered, "Fine, how about yourself?"
He wanted to dwell deeper into the truth, but the one thing the store owner learned throughout his many years of seeing young men come into his store with that same look, he knew that Gavin would have to find the answers for himself. "I'm doing fine, my young friend. What can I do for ya tonight?"
He opened his back bag up and answered, "I need some supplies, Gordy."
"Supplies?", he answered back, surprised by the young man's answer.
"Yeah....I'm goin' on a trip out of state and I'm uh need some supplies."
"Where are you going, young friend?", his voice filled with concern.
Gavin smiled and his brilliant smile shone through the bleak environment. "Texas."
Gordy raised an eyebrow and surveyed his young friend. It seemed that the only time this young man smiled was when he mentioned going to this state. "Why Texas?", he asked, heart full of curiosity.
"That's where my best friend is. Maybe that's where my real family is."
"But what about Gina and your mother and father?"
Gavin gave Gordy a blank stare, a stare that told Gordy to not mention the family that had outcasted him. He shook his head and said without emotion, "Supplies, Gordy."
Gordy smiled and reached for a pack of Black and Mild cigars. "How many packs of these do you need?"
Always a stickler for even numbers, he answered, "Gimme five and a blade sharpener and I'm prolly gonna need sone food too."
"Nonperishable, I hope."
Gordy's joke was not lost on Gavin. He chuckled and answered, "But of course. Can't be walking around with a bag full of rotten food, right? The polices would be able to smell me out, fa' sho."
They both laughed for a good while, until Gordy's face became serious and he began to address the young man who stood before him. "Gavin, you know the world is a dangerous place now. What was once up is now down. What was once good and just in the world is now evil and depraved. Just look outside of that store and you can see for yourself. The men that stand outside are murderous men who prey on young people like yourself to enter this store and then leave. You won't make it a whole block before they attack you and kill you, Gavin. You know this don't you?" Gavin had known what these men were. He had felt their evil presence from the first time he had laid his eyes on them. He had wondered how Gordy knew this, but he decided to let Gordy continue. "You can't leave tonight. I can't see your body on the seven o' clock news being found mutilated." Gavin shook his head, determined, hell bent on making it to his destination. "If you want, you can stay here for the night, at least for the night until the sun comes. The sun has a way of weeding out the evil that exists in this world now." Gordy looked out of his store window to the group of evil men who stood outside of his store. They peered at Gavin hungrily, one of them going as far as to lick his large dark lips hungrily. At one point in time, Gavin knew them simply as drug dealers, one who he used to purchase marijuana from, but now, with he loss of the drug trade after The Great Storm, they were the demons of the South, and they lusted for Gavin's soul.
But Gavin held a strong soul in his heart. He also held in his heart a world of pain, and in that moment, he decided that nothing would stop him from getting to the only friend he had left in his world. "I can't, Gordy. Nothing is goin' to stop me from getting to Texas." And with that he attempted to pay for all of his items, but Gordy refused his money with pleading eyes. Gavin knew what those wanting eyes meant. He knew that Gordy truly did fear for the young man's life. It didn't matter though. Death didn't matter. Anything was better than loneliness in his eyes.
Gavin left the store with his mission in his eyes. The predators watched him walk on the lonely road by himself. The hunger in their bellies forced them to follow the young man. He felt them watching him. He felt their hunger as he took his blade sharpener and sharpened his lucky switchblade. He walked past a local Piggly Wiggly and onto a quiet intersection where only broken down houses stood. He knew if the men were going to strike, now would be the time.
"Say lil' cuz? You need some help?" Gavin turned around, still sharpening his switchblade and he saw the group of five watching him intently as he played with the blade in his hand. "What you got their lil' cuz?" Gavin knew not to show any fear to these men, even though their mere presence meant certain death.
They advanced slowly. With a smile, their leader took lead with his hand out, ready to relieve the young Gavin of all of his belongings including his life. He put the blade sharpener in his pocket and waited for the leader to gt close enough to him. The leader was a mere three feet in front of him before he addressed Gavin again. "A lil' man like you don't need to be carrying that book bag there. Why don't you just give it to me and there won't be no trouble." Gavin smiled as the man attempted to come closer. His hand still outstretched, he still felt Gavin was easy prey. Wrong.
Gavin smiled and slashed the man of the shadows' hand clean off. The villain screamed as he watched his hand fall under the shade of a dead tree growing on the side of the road in front of an abandoned house. The four remaining villains rushed to their friend's side but they would prove too late as they saw their leader gutted. His intestines fell to the ground in a bloody mess all over Gavin's black shoes. They stopped short and began to examine Gavin's appearance and they came to a quick realization. They realized the all black sweatsuit the young man wore may not have just been for fashion, but rather, it may have represented the young man's occupation. They realized that the man in front of them may have been a professional killer on the way to complete a mission. And they realized their blunder for stopping an assassin on his way to another kill.
Gavin licked his lips hungrily, the blood lust taking over his body. The anger in his heart had found someone to take out his rage on. They were wrong in ther assumption. Gavin was no assassin; far from it actually. He was just a child born into a neglectful family with a heart full of anger and a soul without love, he was the product of The Great Storm, a demon in himself, a once tender boy who had grown into a cold-hearted man.
He screamed a vicious scream into the wind, cutting into the night, shivering the moon. The four men began to backpedal but Gavin met their gaze with a terrifying calm. "No.", he said sarcastically. "Stay." His smile was the picture of death as the four men were petrified. Their still bodies remained exactly where they were as Gavin slowly approached them with his lonely switchblade. Then something had happened inside of Gavin. His conscious had kicked in.
He stopped at least five feet short of the men and pointed his switchblade at the men. His scowl set an extreme fear in the men's heart, but one of the men decided he was a lot braver than the rest of them. He stepped forward and before he could get any words out, Gavin interrupted him with a harsh voice and answered unspoken questions. "Listen, I don't want any trouble, but I can back it up of you want to bring anymore to me....." He looked in their faces to see if he read fear or contempt. It really wouldn't matter either way, but Gavin knew that if it was fear then he would never have to worry about ever seeing them again but if it was contempt, then he would be constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure danger wasn't there. He saw fear in all of he eyes except the ones that stepped forward. He laughed to himself, thinking, "We have an ambitious one here." He knew this man was looking to prove himself among his group. Gavin smiled at the stupid young man. The only thing he was going to prove was that death came to the dumb and the brave.
Gavin turned around and started to walk away, knowing that the brave one would try and strike him in the back, and sure enough the man of the shadows ran with a breath full of gusto toward the young man. Gavin continued to walk a few steps until the evil man was right behind him. Without looking, Gavin simply flicked his switchblade and sliced the man across the throat. Stuck in the pose of murder, he asked simply, "Do anymore of you want to try and attack me with my back turned to you because if so, I can simply turn around and face y'all, that is if y'all want me to."
Gavin turned around to see the remaining three once dangerous men retreating with their hands up back to the store that they once populated. Gavin had nothing to fear any longer. He turned around and began walking again, knowing that he had became the monster that Gordy had warned him so much about. But he didn't care because he was a monster with a mission. He was going to get to Texas no matter who tried to get in his way, no matter who would prove to be opposition,he would make it to the person who he knew loved him, who he knew he had loved. His mission was to find love and no matter what, he would accomplish his mission.