The Path To Forever

The ride was arduous for young Gavin, but well worth it as he rode the GreyHound. He scoffed at himself as he thought about the past large storm that hit the gulf coast of the United States. He remembered the horrible hurricane Katrina, and he laughed on the inside as he remembered that GreyHound was the only bus service still running after the vicious storm. Now it was the only form of transportation out of the hellhole that was McComb, Ms.
He thought about how his family had continued to survive and thrive without him ad he leaned his head against the window of the crowded bus. His neighbor had tried to stir a conversation between them but young Gavin's thoughts had been elsewhere as he thought about the people that was once his family. He asked himself over and over again, "How could they replace me with him?"
The thought of what was supposed to be his nephew had brought a smile to his face. But then he thought about how his nephew had taken his place had filled him with a fury that could not be contained in his petite body. He had turned to his neighbor with a vicious look on his face, and before he could tell his neighbor the evil thoughts that had been on his mind, the bus had stopped in Meridian, MS. He breathed heavily and had evacuated off of the bus in hopes that the fresh air would quell the pain that rested on his heart.
He breathed in the air of Meridian before pulling out one of the cigars from one of the packs he had tried to purchase from Gordy. He laughed at the thought of Gordy as he remembered the Arabian man warning him of the dangers that existed out in the world of today. As if he didn't know. He wondered what would be going through his mind as he two bodies were found on the intersection and he discovered that neither of the bodies had been his. Maybe then Gordy would realize that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. His anger would be fuel to take him to his destination.
He blew smoke in that lonely designated smoking section inside of the bus terminal. He looked around to see the usual eclectic group of smokers and nonsmokers who stood around the bus terminal waiting for the bus terminal, that is until he saw one beautiful girl with bright red hair and beautiful green eyes filled with tears. Now usually, Gavin would have followed the rules that his brother had taught him and minded his own business, but this instance was different. Those green eyes had reminded him of someone, someone very dear to him. He knew that if it were her crying on the metal chain link bench, he would do anything to comfort her. So, going against everything that life taught him, he approached this beautiful young woman. The closer he got to her, the more he realized just how beautiful she truly was. Her face was angelic under all of that red hair and her eyes shined. Maybe it was the tears that amplified her green eyes' beauty, but nonetheless, any woman who was still beautiful, even in sadness, was worthy of comfort.
A strange man had thought so too, as he tried to make an advance on the young woman by offering her a cigarette. He had seen her politely refuse the cigarette, but he had also seen the man continue his advances on the young woman. She had been polite and quietly dismissed the man, but Gavin quickly saw the demon growing inside of him. That's when he knew that he had to intervene.
The young woman had stood up and pushed the grungy man off of her, but he had continued his advances, feeling as though force would prove his manhood. At first, Gavin was confused when he seen the young lady allow for the man to get closer to her, but when she kneed him in his more sensitive parts, he had knew that the young lady had played a great trick on the man. The man bellied over in pain, his face filled with anger and dirt as he yelled, "You dirty bitch!"
Gavin felt that ironic as he thought, "This one looks the dirtier out of the two." he continued to walk toward the young, beautiful woman as she walked away from the grungy man in a world of hurt. Her eyes still filled with tears, she could not even look up from the ground, her mind still racked with pain. When she did look up and her beautiful green eyes met up with Gavin's brown pools of anger, it was as if she were walking on an ocean pier with a stunning red dress that accentuated all of her curves and brought out the beauty in her eyes, and in that instance, Gavin had fell in love with her.
He snapped out of his daydream when he saw the man advancing on the young woman with a large knife. He knew the man's pride had been injured and he knew The Great Storm demon would be exacting vengeance if he didn't intervene.
Gavin sprung into action quickly as he rushed past the startled young woman. She turned around just in time to see the man's blade inside of himself, an unlikely event that the man probably had not taken into account happening. His face was filled with shock and pain as the petite Gavin lifted him off of the ground and threw him far enough to where all could see him wither in pain.
When the woman saw the carnage that had just happened, she looked upon Gavin, who held out his hand, ushering her to come on and follow him. She didn't know what she should do until she heard the sounds of police sirens in the background. Even she knew that the police were the most corrupt individuals in America and that they would kill the young man if they ever caught him. Less paperwork. She was angry, but felt she had owed the young man for just saving her life. So she took his hand, and they sprinted away from the bus terminal. Now they were both bonded by the sheer amount of trouble they would both be in if they were caught.



They ran through the dilapidated downtown of Meridian, filled with vagabonds and demons of The Great Storm. They attacked the young couple, but Gavin fended them off and pressed forward. She shouted and lead them to a secret place she ha known about for years. He had followed her simply off of instinct. He felt in his heart that she would no lead him into any danger and soon they found themselves in a dark alleyway, surrounded by rainwater and ecstasy.
He pressed her against the wall, both with heavy breath as he gazed into those beautiful green eyes. They were ready to fall victim to their lust until she turned away from his powerful gaze. He backed up, knowing and respecting her wishes to not be kissed or be touched. She turned back around and faced him with questioning eyes and asked loudly, "Why did you help me!?"
He raised a confused eyebrow. "Because it looked like you needed it."
She crossed her arms defiantly and answered, "Well, I didn't need your help."
He shook his head and with a laugh, he answered, "I'm sure you didn't." His smile had put her at ease. "I guess I couldn't help but step in." He laughed again. "I do have a sister ya' know. Guess I'm just used to always stepping in for....." He trailed off and looked away when the memory of his family crept in his head. When he remembered how he was outcasted from his family, a tear began to formulate in his eye. He turned away, not wanting the woman he could possibly be in love with to see him cry.
She could sense his pain. It was intense, a pain so large that it was almost visible. She walked slowly toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The sniffling she heard was comforting. It let her know that the man in front of her was some kind of human, a sad human in need of comfort. "Stop." a long pause came afterward as she removed her hand and then he added, "I need it."
"Need what?" She asked confused.
"The anger. It's my motivation to get to where I'm going."She took a step back and examined the young man in front of her. He was tense, really tense, she could see that even under all of that sweatsuit. He was slender, but muscular at the same time. She saw the inner scars all over him and she knew that he had been psychologically abused his whole life. She wanted to know more about him, but was afraid to ask. He took a deep breath and asked her, "My name's Gavin and I'm headed to Texas. What's your name?"
He smiled and that made her feel more comfortable as she returned his smile with one of her own and answered, "I'm Hayley."
"Well Hayley, I'm sorry if I interfered in your business in the bus station." He looked into her eyes with his sincere gaze and she chuckled lightly.
"It's okay, Gavin." Her smile was playful and flirtatious. To Gavin, it was one of the few beautiful wonders that remained in the South after The Great Storm. It made his smile shine just as brightly as hers had. She became more curious about the young man that stood in front of her and searched her mind for more things to say. "So why Texas?"
The question was simple, but it sent Gavin into an obvious daydream. "Kasey's there." She smirked but wasn't truly happy for him. Her chances with he young man seemed to diminish as soon as he said Kasey's name. "That's my best friend, by the way. Been that way for a long time now, ever since grade school, she was the only white girl with all the white people who was real enough to function with us, that is until The Great Storm separated us." He looked down to the ground with great pain on his face. "I never realized how much she kept me together until she was taken from me. She's the only whoever wanted me, and I was around her so much that I didn't see how much I was I was unwanted by my...." He trailed off again, looking away from her beautiful green eyes. She placed her soft hand on his smooth, baby face and wondered how such a beautiful little man could be going through so much pain. He turned to face her with another one if his trademark smiles. It made her chuckle and turn away. "What about you, sweetheart? Where were you headed before I came into your life?"
He laughed. She didn't. He looked at her with a detective's look and began to examine her features. Something about the look on her face was all too familiar and it pained him terribly. "I....was escaping."
His eyebrows squenched and he peered at her. "What you mean, escaping?"
She shook her head. "I wasn't always alone, Gavin, matter of fact, just a few days ago, I was surrounded by my brothers, my band."
"What happened to 'em?"
She walked to the wall and leaned against the wall for comfort and support. She slipped down the slippery wall and landed softly on the wet ground below her. She shook her head and tears poured down from her face. She threw her hands in her face to cover and catch the tears falling from her face. He knelt down and moved her hands away from her face. He used his own hand to wipe the tears away from her face and with a quivering voice, she answered, "They were killed, Gavin! Those bastards killed them and they tried to get me but I ran Gavin, I just...I just ran."
She continued to cry into his hand as he continued to wipe the tears away. He tried to find the right words, but none came to his mind, only anger. "Who did that, sweetie?"
She looked at him with an immense fear in her eyes. Tears still pouring down her face, she answered, "I don't know what they were, Gavin. It was a group of men, but they weren't men at all. They were heartless. They stole everything, our van, our instruments, everything that possibly had any value to me." She shook her head still in shock that she had lost everything.
He continued to rub the tears off of her face and he looked deep into her eyes. "Where are they now?"
She looked back into his eyes and answered, "I don't know Gavin, they're probably long gone by now." He smiled and picked her off of the ground and pulled her closer to him. "Well let's go get your stuff back." His confidence didn't restore her faith in the world. In her eyes, he could see how much pain she was in and she had every right to. No amount of money or valuables could bring back her lost friends or lost love. He had no idea how he could bring back love in her heart, but he did know how he could get her stuff back, and he had made up his mind that he would help her retrieve every one of her possessions.
"Come on. We finna come get yo' stuff back." Plus he was an opportunist. He remembered her mentioning the word "van" and in that instant, he knew he would never have to walk anywhere again. In his mind, he knew she would be extremely grateful and he knew he had a partner in his trek to Texas. So his mind was set as he took her hand and led her out of the alley into the dark Meridian streets.


On their path, they fought many whose souls were transformed by the evil Great Storm. Gavin, being the opportunist he was, went into everyone of their pockets and took anything that looked valuable. On one, he found a beautiful yet small six shot pistol with an ornate decoration on its handle. He picked it up with his index and thumb and looked at it with awe. He turned to Hayley with a face full of glee and he yelled, "Hey! Look it's a baby gun!" She laughed and he continued to smile. "Kasey would love this, she always shooting guns. That's why that's my baby there. She always shooting something, I'm always playing wit' knives."
She smiled and asked, "So you two are close, huh?"
He smiled his widest smile, "Close, that's my love right there! She always got my back, ya' understand."
She nodded her head and smiled as she thought about her prior band mates. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Not in front of Gavin. It made her happy to see him speak so highly about someone. It made her remember how highly she thought about her band mates, her brothers. "I'm glad you have someone whose so close to you. Wish I could say the same, but...."
Gavin looked down at the gun. "Don't worry, Hayley, that's what I'm here for. I can be a good friend, ask Kasey." He smiled in her face and her eyes lit up as she watched his smile beam in the moonlight. "I'll just keep this here for my baby. You want something." She gave him a puzzled look. "I mean from the store, it's right there. We got a pawn shop, a lil' corner sto', you might need somethin' to defend yo' self wit'." She nodded her head, unsure of what she could possibly do to help other than get in the way. "Have you ever been in a fight before, sweetie?" She shook her head "no" and he scoffed, "Ahhhhh, no biggie, I'll teach ya. It ain't hard, but it is necessary, especially if you wanna survive in this cold world."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, but let me go in the store first. Since we got some extra bucks from those so-called villains, I can afford to get some more supplies, maybe get some new clothes, might even get a new weapon, or you one. We might need to both be equipped if we're gonna get your stuff back." He held out his hand and she took it as she followed him into the pawn shop.
The pawn shop owner seemed nice enough. Her face was immensely scarred from a fire, but other than that she seemed perfectly nice, a nice contrast to the outside world of Meridian. She looked over Hayley and then gave Gavin once over and Gavin could tell that she was thinking, "What's this sweet lil' girl doing with this man?" But her mind was quickly changed when she saw the young man's smile.
He looked over the merchandise she had in her store and being the picky boy he was, he glanced over everything twice, but couldn't find nothing he particularly wanted or needed. In this sense, the boy could be quite thrifty. Growing up in hardship and squalor taught young Gavin to spend wisely at an early age.
He looked back at Hayley, who seemed to be eyeing some zebra stripe leggings. Gavin looked at the leggings then back at her then back at the leggings then back at her, and he giggled a little to himself, "Wow! What a rockstar!?"
They laughed for a minute and she retorted, "What can I say, Gavin. Hopefully, I'll be that one day when I make it to California."
He smiled and became curious as to how she sounded. He knew he would bring it up in the near future, but for now he had some leggings to purchase. "Let me get those zebra legging joints up there, mane." The store owner looked puzzled while Hayley tried to convince a noble Gavin that he didn't have to buy those for her. He simply threw his hand in the air, dismissing her. "Nonsense, homie. Besides you helped me earn some of this money, ya' dig. I couldn't have fought all those men without you watching my back, baby." The thought of her helping him made her smile, even though she knew that she had not helped him fight all of those hordes of evil men that attacked them. "Yeah, just let me get them leggings there...." And that's the last word he said before his attention was stolen by a beautiful switchblade with a chain at the end of it that was at least six feet. He was in awe by the beautiful design, the long chain that allowed for long range combat, and the sharp edge that came along with it. "What is that?" he said in his dumbfounded voice.
The store owner looked at him with delight, knowing she had just successfully made a sale. "That my young friend, is the Judas Snake Blade, because it switches sides," she laughed as though her joke were funny, but it was lost in translation from pre-Great Storm generation to post-Great Storm generation. "It's hilt is made of silver and the blade is made of metal that was sharpened to perfection and laced with an electric strip, made especially for stunning anything that the blade strikes. Beautiful isn't it?"
Her smile was full of cunning as she knew she was closer and closer to having a sale. "Is it?" He said sarcastically, heart full of joy as he stared wide eyed at the beautiful switchblade. "How much is it?"
She rubbed her chin deep in thought. She knew she could charge whatever she wanted for the Judas Snake Blade, but she also wanted to keep his loyalty as a customer. She knew if he bought this switchblade and enjoyed it as much as she thought he would, then he would definitely come back. "How about one hundred and fifty? Deal?"
"And the leggings?"
She smiled, "Oh, I'll let those things go for an even twenty."
He counted the money he had in his head. What she didn't know is the demon-hearted bastards he had faced always carried the money they had took from others in their pockets and Gavin had plenty fun robbing from the evil men. Not only had he took all of their money, but he had also relieved them of any interesting articles that he had deemed sellable. In all he had collected three hundred dollars. Not a bad amount for a day's work, he figured. He had offered all of the items he had pilfered from the villains and the kind pawn shop owner offered him another hundred for everything he had. Again, not a bad day of vanquishing demonic hearts, he felt. He decided to let her keep her hundred and put that towards his purchase. "Okay, that'll be eighty-one dollars and ninety cents sir. Is that okay?" Gavin smiled and counted the money in his pocket. He had learned that technique early on in life. You never want to count your money where he was from. That was the quickest way to get robbed in Sin City, McComb's affectionate nickname. He pulled out four twenties and a five and told her to keep the change.
He passed the leggings to Hayley and smiled. "Is these yo' size, sweetie." She just smiled, her speckled green eyes showing how grateful she really was. He smiled and winked at her, "So you ready to get your stuff back?"
The store owner became curious when she heard a mission of retrieval. She gave the young man another look over again and she realized that the young man had been donned in an all black sweatsuit. Normally this wouldn't set any alarms off in her mind, but this was Meridian, MS in the summertime and there wasn't nothing cold about Meridian during the summertime. This young man is something dangerous, and a figure to watch out for. She rubbed her disfigured face and recalled the brutal burning she had to endure when a few of Meridian's worst hoodlums ganged up on her and tried to force themselves into her store. She remembered had it not been for the police, she would have killed for sure, but the physical and mental scars were still there, so for this reason she had to ask, "Exactly who are you looking for young man?"
Gavin shrugged his shoulders and answered confidently. "Dunno, but I'm gonna find them and when I do...." He made a slashing motion on his neck to emphasize his meaning.
She looked at Hayley to find fear in her eyes that reminded her of her own fear when the murderous robbers tried to enter her store, and it was then, she knew who they were looking for. She reached for a shotgun under her cash register and tossed it to Gavin with a smile. "Here you go, young man."
He was shocked by her kindness and even though he didn't necessarily like guns of any nature he had to ask, "Why you giving me this?" He couldn't fathom somebody giving him something for free. Another life learned lesson. There was no such thing as a free lunch so he became defensive, expecting an attack. Then he dropped his guard when he realized, nobody would give a weapon to somebody they were going to attack. He checked to see if the shotgun was loaded, and when he saw that it was, all he could do was look at the woman and wonder why.
She smirked and answered, feeling the young man's suspicions, "Let's just say....we have a mutual friend." she pointed to her scar and then looked at Hayley with a look that said "you aren't alone." "I know who you are young lady. You're the young woman in that band aren't you?" Hayley shook her head trying to mask the pain she felt inside. The store owner could feel the pain in her heart. It matched her own. Guess that's what most of the Meridian populace shared. Either they bore great pain or they were the ones that caused it. "My son said he seen you play. He said your voice was beautiful." She laughed, "That was the last time I actually heard anything from him."
"What happened to him?" Gavin asked a moment before he felt he shouldn't have.
"Oh nothing," They both heard the pride in her voice when she spoke of her son. "My little boy just became with principles. He went off to fight in New Orleans." They all smiled. "He used to tell me that the government forgot about the South after The Great Storm hit us." She shook her head with a smile. "My little Johnny, always fighting for the better cause. You know I haven't heard from him in a year." Hayley just stared, content with the hope she had in her son. Gavin felt differently. He figured if it had been that long, then something had to have went wrong. The phone lines been back working and it would be simple enough to drop your mother a phone call he thought, but then again, he didn't know about New Orleans. It had been a war zone since Katrina, and he could only imagine what it looked like now. Gavin felt the chances of the store owner seeing her son alive would be grim. The store owner looked at Hayley and said, "Ya' know he said it was your band that made him hopeful for the future. He was teetering on whether he should go out there or not, but he said when he heard your voice, he knew that there were still angels among us." She laughed softly, "He said there were still people here worth fighting for."
Gavin turned around and smiled knowing that her son had been right. Gavin felt inspired without actually having her sing. He tossed the shotgun to Hayley who held it like a foreign object. "You ready to get your stuff back?"
She looked at the shotgun then back at him, "Gavin. I don't know how to use this, and as far as getting my stuff back goes, I wouldn't know the first place to look for them."
The store owner interrupted, "I know exactly where they're at. They reside in an old abandoned warehouse just a couple blocks from here, but I'm sure they'll find you before you find their warehouse."
Gavin looked at the woman suspiciously. "Why you say that?"
The woman just smiled. "C'mon young sir, you think I don't know how you got all of that money. You were fighting off some of the evil around here and I am not ashamed to admit it, but I'm glad you came and whittled down the number of the fallen. Someone needed to. But I'm sure, in fact I'm positive that news has spreader throughout the small community of Meridian that a hero is among us, and I'll be the first one to admit that they don't like heroes."
She was right too, because the minute she said that a Molotav Cocktail came crashing through the store window. A blaze erupted in the store as all of it's occupants just watched it interrupt in shock and horror as they listened to the Devil's laugh come from outside.
Gavin peered through the flames before they grew too large, and he saw the faces of five murderous men who couldn't have been much older than he was. None had fear in their eyes. None were redeemable. He could do nothing but let God sort them out as to who was the greater of the five evils.
Hayley watched as Gavin walked through the flame with a look of utter fearlessness in his eyes. It was the first time she ever met a man who wasn't scared anything whether reality or fantasy. She saw a man completely driven, not to insanity, but to his destination. It brought out a sense of hope in her that she hadn't had ever since her band mates were murdered in front of her. She walked behind him, shotgun in tow, ready to face the men who killed her brothers. She was surprised the flames hadn't scorched her instantly, but then, in a poetic sense, the flame inside of her heart burned brighter than the flame around her. She was a woman scorned by these men and nothing would destroy her, not before she had saw the murderous men put down by Gavin's hand.
When she saw Gavin standing in front of the men who had killed her band mates, there was laughter in his eyes, a confidence that could not have been mistaken for anything else but. She stood by his side and looked up in his face to find a smile rising his cheekbones. She wanted to know the reason behind his smile, but his smile was so precious, that it no longer mattered. It was a secret he could keep for himself until he was willing to share it. He looked down at her and shared his smile with her. He confidently asked, "Are these them peoples here?" He looked back at the villains with their scowling faces and shook his head. He felt these were a humorous bunch of murderers. They reminded him of the group that tried to take his book bag. They reminded him of the evils of his home.
She looked at he group of men who were now examining her. A disgusting bunch of creatures they were. They reminded her of a bunch of prisoners locked in the confines of Meridian, MS. One of them looked at her and licked his lips. Disgusting. She looked up at Gavin and nodded her head.
"So you the ones that took my friend shit ha?" Gavin laughed.
The leader stepped forward with a malicious grin and answered with a scoff, "Yeah. That was us. I guess you're this hero we been hearing so much about huh?"
Gavin shrugged his shoulders, "Me? A hero? I don't know about that. Really, I just been looking for y'all."
The leader played dumb, or maybe not so much acting, but he laughed it off as simply as he would a knock knock joke. "Looking for us?" He glanced around his team of killers and thieves and turned his attention back to Gavin. His smile was inviting. A kind of smile that always lead to trouble. "You must've been looking for trouble if you were looking for us."
Gavin simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Maybe."
"Well...you found us. So what happens now?"
He nodded his head and his eyebrows lowered finding the humor inside of what would usually be a nasty situation. With a sly voice, "Oh, I think you know. So you gon' tell me where you got my homegirl stuff?"
With a cockiness and a bravado way beyond the expected, he answered truthfully. "Oh yeah. It's just right up the block."
Gavin formed an appreciative expression on his face, satisfied with the information he had received. Then his somewhat frown turned upside down when he realized that retrieving the van and her other items would not be as easy as the information he received. "I guess I'm just gonna have to go through y'all in order to get there, huh?"
The leader looked at all of his men and they all began to pull out their weapons at the same time. Then he looked back at Gavin and answered, "Guess you're right, friend. Sorry we couldn't have met under better circumstances."
Gavin examined all of the would be criminals weapons. One had what looked like a bat wrapped in shrapnel, a horrible looking device that looked as though it could rip out chunks of flesh with every swing. Another one had simple brass knuckles, but his bulky arm size told a tale of pulverization. Another had twin machetes, also muscular, Gavin knew that out of all of them, he had to avoid that one's grasp the most. Another had a large butcher knife, and lastly the leader had "brass knuckles" pass him his worn down scythe.
With the scythe in the leader's hand, he was the picture of death. With his long punk styled hair, his tight fitting black ripped shirt, his leather pants, and black boots, he looked like the reincarnation of the Grim Reaper, but seeing as Gavin did not fear death, he simply took out his switchblade with his left hand and swung the chain around his arm with his right arm and sarcastically answered, "Oh, but the circumstances can't get much better than this."
Gavin smiled and launched his switchblade into "machete's" chest. The rest of his group stood horrified as they watched him fall to his knees and then onto the blade. Gavin shook his head and exclaimed, "Well damn! Ain't that bout a bitch. That was my lucky blade. Guess I can't use it during this fight. Tsk tsk tsk. Not unless you'll let me get it."
"Brass knuckles" went over to his slain friend's corpse and turned him to reveal the hemorrhaging wound caused by the switchblade and answered with tears in his eyes, "You...you killed my brother."
Gavin made a mock surprised look, "Ouch, well I take it you aren't too happy with me."
The whole group charged around the leader, hearts filled who anger as their battle cries erupted in the air. The flames behind Gavin gave a cool contrast to his calm, poises exterior. Inside he was even more calm, confident that these before him would fall victim to their blind rage.
His chain linked switchblade unwrapped from around his arm and he lunged it past the leader and into "brass knuckles". He smiled and pulled on the stunned victim of his electrifying blade, but before he could greet the victim with the bottom of his shoe, the leader twirled his scythe with the blade plunging past "brass knuckles" collarbone and deep into his chest. The rest of their group stopped as they seen their leader murder one of their comrades. Their shocked expressions were not missed by their leader as he began to explain his position of seemingly betrayal. "I can't let the murderer of his brother murder him too. Sorry to steal your kill, but knowing ol' Brass, I know he would not appreciate falling victim to your hands. You understand that don't ya?"
Gavin shrugged and reeled his blade in. "It doesn't matter to me. In my mind two down, three to go."
Gavin's statement sent the remaining two into a frenzy as they raised their respective weapons high in the air and charged at young Gavin. Gavin pulled his chain close and begun to swing the excess chain in a circular motion, awaiting for his opponents to get closer. After all, it isn't as fun fighting opponents who were only going to die at the hands of their leader.
The man with the bat made of shrapnel was the first to strike. Gavin easily dodged his wild swings of fury. Still swinging his blade, he paused the motion and closed the switchblade. Then he continued his swinging motion, figuring out how he could kill two birds with one stone. He continued to parry "shrapnel bat's" attack until he saw an opportunity to trap not only "shrapnel bat", but "butcher knife" as well.
While "shrapnel bat" threw repeated swings at young Gavin, he kicked the butt of his switchblade and made it wrap around "shrapnel bat's" neck. While "shrapnel blade" struggled to catch some kind of air, "butcher knife" attempted to strike Gavin. Big mistake.
His large knife caught "shrapnel bat" square in the heart and both of their breathing stopped while Gavin simply smiled, happy that his plan had worked.
Hayley watched in horror as Gavin made light work of the crew. Gavin unraveled the chain from the deceased crew member's neck, unhitched his switchblade, and sliced "butcher knife's" neck. He kicked both of the crew members to the side and glared into the eyes of the crew's leader. "When are you gonna stop standing by while I kill off yo' crew?"
The leader didn't flinch at Gavin's apparent threat. Gavin began to advance toward the leader slowly, thinking he sensed coward in the leader's heart. That was until the leader twirled his scythe in the air. He sprinted toward Gavin with a maniacal laugh and Gavin knew then that this man was truly insane.
Gavin blocked the leader's first attack, then his second, then his third, realizing that the leader on the defensive. Gavin kicked the leader in the chest, launching him into the air. The leader retaliated by slicing at Gavin's chest. It wasn't enough to leave a large wound, but the scar it left was enough to make Gavin realize that he was human.
Gavin blindly launched his blade toward the leader, but he was composed and caught the blade and the chain on his scythe and twirled the blade until both his chain and switchblade were caught in the scythe's embrace. The leader disarmed Gavin and laughed hysterically. "Wow! Some hero you turned out to be! Now what is your plan!? What do you plan to do now....."
Before any more words could escape his mouth, a shotgun caught him in the chest, launching him backwards. Thinking that the crew leader had been killed instantly, Gavin turned around to discover a scared Hayley holding the shotgun in he hands with utter shock in her eyes that she had just murdered her first human being. She had never killed anyone before and it was apparent all over her face. Gavin gave her a comforting smile, hoping to ease the pain one felt after stealing their first soul. He walked over to remove the shotgun from the petrified Hayley, but was stopped short when the leader leaped up with his scythe high above his head. Her face wouldn't let out the scream fast enough to alert Gavin of the danger that was behind him, but he could easily sense the danger behind him. He turned around and caught the scythe's handle inches before the blade met his shoulder and removed it from his dying enemy. He kicked the leader back, embarrassed to have called the leader his opponent.
"There is no chance for you to win, homie. Just let it go. Let it go dog."
The leader laughed and fell to his knee. "Why don't you just finish it? Kill me, you coward."
Gavin looked at the crowd their battle had drawn. He looked into all of their eyes and he could see that all of them wanted him to end his life, but when he looked into Hayley's eyes, he saw his mission again and he walked over toward her to remove the shotgun.
"It's okay. It's okay, sweetie. Just give me the gun." she was reluctant at first but her firm grip loosened as Gavin took the shotgun and passed it back to he store owner. "I think this belongs to you." She nodded her head in agreement and he walked past the villain who glared at him with evil intent.
He turned and watched him retrieve his switchblade from "machete's" chest and he screamed, "Why don't you just kill me, you coward!?" Tears were in his eyes now but anger was in Gavin's heart.
"Kill you!?" He screamed. "Nah dog, that would be too easy. Look around you. You're surrounded by all of the people you've hurt. All of the peoples whose relatives you've killed and you ask me to kill you? Nah I think they would have a lot more with you then I would." The populace nodded their heads in promise that they would make every painful fantasy they ever dreamed of doing to the leader come true.
Gavin knew the sight of seeing this man dismembered would scar Hayley beyond recovery so he took her hand and lead her away to the secret garden of buried treasure. Her treasure.


They walked for a few minutes in silence, both consumed in their own thoughts. Gavin found himself looking back at the beauty that walked with him and he couldn't help thinking, "What have I done?" He shook his head, angry at himself. He knew his soul had been corrupted beyond God's repair, but he didn't want to ruin the chances this young woman had of gaining a spot in Heaven. Not because of him. "Hey." He stopped for a second on a deserted street to look into her eyes. "Ya' know I never thanked you for saving my life. Thank you. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't used that shotgun on ya' boy." She just smiled a hollow smile and Gavin knew that there were words behind that smile that she couldn't say. Pain had held her back. "I'm sorry that you had to do that though." He shook his head and looked to the sky. "It's been so long since I killed my first person that I forgot what it was like." He licked his lips and looked back into her eyes. "That was your first time wasn't it?"
His voice somber and sincere with the concern he had for her. He grabbed her hand and held it gently as tears began to escape from her eyes. She nodded her head and he smiled. It wasn't a proud smile, more a comforting smile than anything. "I'm sorry I forced you to kill somebody."
"But I didn't kill him, Gavin. Remember. We just left him. He's gonna die horribly isn't he?"
She looked up at him with innocent eyes. "Yeah, sweetie. I would hate to be him, wounded in he midst of all of those people who he hurt in the past, but everything catches up wit' you in the end. No man is safe from karma."
"But don't you think it's a little cruel for us to have left him there? I mean those people. They're gonna kill him. They're going to do unspeakable things to him and we just left him there to receive his punishment like it was nothing. Like it was easy."
Gavin lit one of his cigars and continued to press forward. "I mean...what would you have us do? As fucked up as it sounds, he ain't never done nothing to me. He ain't never killed my people because truthfully he wouldn't had a chance to. The only reason he even got a one up on me was because I was slipping. Too confident. But you saved me and I owe you for that, but you can't fret about that. You can't beat yourself up for the evils that man has done. The world is a crazy place right now. All we can do is survive."
"But are we losing our humanity because of it?"
Gavin scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
They continued to walk until they found the warehouse they were looking for. She noticed her van immediately and gawked at the damage done to the vinyls of her van. The large peace sign on the back had a huge scratch in it, the paint job had been utterly destroyed, complete with joyriding mud and dirt all over it, but the one thing that she cared about the most was almost completely unscathed. The large "hope" sign stood out on the van, almost speaking to her, and in an instant all of her problems, all of her anxieties had flooded out of her body. She had hope again. Hope she never thought she would ever have again. She walked up to her van and ran her fingers over the vinyl and a smile formed across her face. This smile was sincere.
Her smile made Gavin smile as he walked beside her. "Is all your stuff there?" She looked back at him with happy tears in her eyes and she nodded "yes". "Cool."
She jumped in Gavin's arms and hugged him tight around his neck. "Thank you, Gavin!"
He kissed her cheek and then in a moment of extascy she kissed his lips. Their lips parted for a second while they looked deep into each others' eyes and their lips found each other again. They found love on their journey, and in their minds, they knew their was no turning back now. Where ever their journey took them, they would be traveling together hand in hand. Next stop, Texas, after that, forever.