9 Years ago

  Jacklyn and Andre fell side by side onto the large coal mound, huffing and puffing. The sun was beginning to set over the hill as the cool smoke-filled air of the evening began to fill the empty railway yard. The girl reached into her pocket, taking out a pack of gum and offering him a stick.

  “Pink’s my favorite,” she said.

  He accepted and the two chewed, in silence. The sounds of the occasional train filled what would be awkward void. Suddenly, Andre shot up, “Damn—dang it!”

  Jacklyn stifled a laugh. “Swear jar.”

  “That don’t really count!” He said, “But more importantly I forgot to stop by the bail bondsman’s place! Shoot, ma’s gonna kill me.”

  “Relax, just do it tomorrow.”

  “That’s weak. I should’ve done it today.”

  “Well you didn’t, so quit beating yourself up over it.”

  He shook his head, “I’m all she’s got, Jacklyn,” he said, “I’ve been looking after my house for a second now. It’s nothing I ain’t used to.”

  “Huh,” she seemed intrigued, “So it’s just you taking care of you and your brother then?”

  “Oh nah, I’m the oldest of seven.”

  “Uh…well…how did you manage to keep everyone together?”

  “I took on some jobs,” he said, “Can’t remember if it was four or six at the time but I know it wasn’t legal. Still, it made us money, and that’s all that mattered. Got us a place next to the church, and stuff for the babies. After that things got a little more stable by the day.”

  “That how you learned your Talent too?” she asked and tugged the red chain around his neck, “and got this thing?”

  “This and my name came from my dad. He was Andre Carmichael Sr., and the chain was in his will that’d I’d get it once he passes.” He shrugged, “At least I got some street rep outta it.”

  Her brow rose, “Like a cool nickname?”

  “Uh…well—”

  She gasped, “What was it? Was it cool/”

  “Y’know I thought a lot of things were cool back then—”

  “C’mon, Carmichael, tell me! It’s just us anyways.”

  “Look, just promise not to laugh.”

  She nodded.

  “They call me—to this day for some reason—A9.”

  “…”

  “You know, like a K9 dog but since my name starts with an ‘a’…”

  “…”

  “And since they say I get mad like a dog and I fight like one to…”

  Her lips trembled.

  “You makin’ this too awkward!” he said getting up.

  “W-w-wait, A9!” she laughed, “its badass I promise! I just thought your face looked funny I swear!” She pulled him back, wheezing off a few more giggles. “Seriously though, you work so hard and it’s…I think it really is cool.”

  Andre looked on, her blue eyes fixed on his, but now she wore a warm smile. He then noticed she was a little close. His face went hot and quickly shot to his feet. “Yeah, I guess you right.” He said, “I just wouldn’t what my folks would do without me sometimes, y’know?”

  “Ta! Obviously!” she said, walking with him to catch a freight car back to the neighborhood. Hey hopped aboard a damp one filled with graffiti. “…So, can I be like…J9 maybe?”

  “Drop it.”

  “C’mon!” she laughed, “The more you reject it the more I’m gonna push!”

  “Then keep at it cause I ain’t budging!”

  “…JK-47…y’know like—”

  “Shut up!”

  ...

  Annaline was star-eyed. “Wow! So, you’re telling me he held his own against you’re teacher?”

  The two were talking a few days later at recess at their usual hangout spot next to the fence. Jacklyn was oddly talkative, going on and on about her time with Andre.

  “And we’ve been hanging out ever since!” the brunette said. She snapped her gum with her tongue. “He’s everything, Annaline! Strong, fast, beats up by brother, and a good leader at that!”

  The blonde girl squinted at her, then, began to smile. “You seem to really like him, don’t you?”

  “Well duh!” she said, “He can fight, actually listens to what I have to say—oh, and did I tell you that he even beat the fuck out of my parents?”

  “Three times now—”

  “The way he ricocheted my dad’s shotgun when he shot him! Ta! He totally toppled like a jenga tower, can you believe it? I wish I had a camera!”

  “You seem really happy your dad got shot.”

  “Well duh! He had it coming.”

  “Right. You know you should really think about going someplace else, Jacklyn.”

  “You think I haven’t?” Jacklyn replied, “Where am I supposed to go? And don’t say the fucking orphanage.”

  “Well…” She leaned towards the fence and turned her gaze at Andre playing on the other side with his brother, “Since you and him are so close now and all…”

  Jacklyn simply chuckled, shaking her head.

  “Oh I’m serious,” the girl replied, “Its best you two get cozy sooner rather than later…especially since I’ll be leaving soon.”

  Jacklyn’s eyes widened, “You’re all finally leaving?”

  “Oh, no, the rich are here to stay!” she giggled, “I’m taking about me and daddy.”

  Jacklyn had to remind herself that she was ten, “Oh, your dad. He supposed to be important or something?”

  She gawked, “Oh my—obviously! He’s like the entire reason we came here to fix this place! He’s the guy of Motor City”

  Jacklyn stopped chewing and glared. “Fix this place?”

  Annaline laughed nervously. “Oh no, no, rest assured I totally vouched for you, I swear! I told him it was wrong for him to move all you guys to that hideous park next to that filthy train yard.”

  “And?”

  “He told me if I wanted another rabbit for my birthday, then I’d better stop talking, which I did.”

  The brunette groaned, “I expected too much.”

  The blonde looked around. “Where are your brother and his friends? I haven’t seen them for a couple days.”

  “Ta! Bob’s at the hospital with my folks and his friends followed them!” Jacklyn laughed, “Screw them anyways. This’s the only week I can remember actually enjoying going to school with him gone.”

  The two watched Andre and his brother playing at the basketball hoop again. The older boy noticed her, to which Jacklyn smiled and gave a small wave. He returned the expression with a brief nod and returned to his brother.

  “Oh my God!” Annaline said, “Was he looking at me?”

  “Get over yourself.” Jacklyn said.

  The younger girl laughed. “Why don’t you go talk to him? He’s like, right there.”

  “Cause we both know how much trouble we’ll be in if our folks found out—especially mine.”

  “Ugh. Are your parents that racist?”

  “Pretty much,” she said, “The whole park blames the other side for all the shoot-outs and gang activity, while they hate us for the so-called ‘recent enhancer abuse’.”

  “Well, isn’t it true?”

  “Psh! Of course not! You’d think we’d just give away shit that rare?”

  Annaline smiled, “I see. Well perhaps if you can change then so can your parents after all!”

  Jacklyn nearly spat her gum, “I’m not like them at all!”

  “Really? You used to call every kid on that side ‘nappy’, ‘ashy’, or ‘hood rats’.”

  “I—shut up that was a long time ago!”

  “One week, six days, four hours—”

  “Stop being weird!”

  The bell rang, its old chatter managed to echo across the playground, warning the students to return for fourth period.

  “Aaaaand that’s another day down!” Annaline said. “Tomorrow it’ll be my turn to talk about—”

  “Hold on,” Jacklyn said, “Before you go, I need you to do me a favor before you leave.”

  The girl made a face, “First the gum and now this? You’re making me sweat here, Jackie.”

  “Annaline,” she growled.

  “But because I’m so nice I suppose I’ll indulge!”

  “Ask your dad about a man named Andre Carmichael Sr. I need to know how he died.”

  “And why do you think my daddy would know anything about that random name?”

  “Because you said he was ‘the guy’ of Motor City, remember?”

  The girl stared, then, her mouth dropped opened, “Ooooooooh, I did, didn’t I?” She pressed her fingers to her chin and scrunched her brow. She smiled again, “Okay! But next time, you’ll be in debt to me!”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” The brunette waved her off, “Later.”

  From the bushes showcased a clear view of Andre and Jacklyn folding the flag after school that day, the two careful to hold it above muddy ground. Just then, the girl’s foot slipped forward and the center fell. The two instinctively threw their weight back, stretching the flag and saving its center.

  “Ta…” she panted, “that was close,” she panted.

  “Too close,” he agreed.

  They finished and returned to Mr. Singh, the teacher’s displeased face unchanged.

  “I’ve never seen you two more coordinated until now,” He spoke, taking the flag and stuffing it in back pocket. “Perhaps if you cared about beating me as much as your laundry skills, I would be the one folding it right now.”

  “You wanna say that again, Asshole?!” Jacklyn pounced, but Andre quickly held her back.

  With a small grin, he turned and left for the sidewalk. “I won’t be here tomorrow, but I look forward to seeing your skills on Monday.”

  “Take all the time you need, punk!” Andre called out. He let Jacklyn go readied his chain, “You hear that? Monday he’d going down.”

  “And I have the perfect move to try today. If done right, it can totally tear a guy’s arm off!”

  “Can’t wait,” he smirked.

  As they walked off to the rail yard, they were completely unaware of the rustling in the bushes to which he emerged. His glare deepened at the sight of them.

  “Andre…” Cenner growled.

  ...

  Jacklyn stirred the next morning, her eyes blurred. Rubbing them, she checked her alarm clock, her face gawked.

  “Shit, who turned off my clock?!” she said. Throwing on her clothes she’d been wearing all week, she ran from her room to the living room, stopping in her tracks at the sound of the TV. Her parents occupied the space, her mother now with a bandage over each eye on the couch, and her father with a walker next to him sitting in his favorite chair across from her. The two looked in her direction, then, went back to the television.

  “You guys are…back, huh?” she said.

  “You seem surprised to see us,” her mother said.

  Jacklyn looked at their chairs in the kitchen. Bob’s was turned to the side.

  “Where’s Bob?” she asked.

  The two were silent.

  Jacklyn began to feel her back shiver, “Guys…Bob?”

  “We thought you didn’t care about the guy,” Her father said, “or his friends.”

  He took out a paper and began reading, “Your mother and I were under the impression you only liked black guys. Especially guys named Andre Carmichael.”

  The girl’s face went pale. Her eyes shot to the clock on the weather channel, seeing it was well past three.

  “Why didn’t you wake me up?!” she screamed.

  “We decided it be best you sleep in,” her mother said. She looked over and grinned, “To show how much we care.”

  Jacklyn’s mouth went dry, “Where’s Bob?”

  She made a face and shrugged, “I dunno.”

  Jacklyn’s head shot to the other side, “Dad?!”

  The man yawned and turned the page.

  Jacklyn stormed over and grabbed him by the collar, “I swear to God if you hurt him—!”

  But the man grabbed her wrist and with surprising strength, yanked her up and hurled her across the room, hitting the TV. “Him?!” he boomed, “What about us, brat?! You spoiled little girl. I lost my job because of that thug! He should be happy he’s getting the same treatment as his father!”

  ‘What?’ Jacklyn slowly got up, her body shivered with rage, but she clenched her jaw on the gum in her back teeth.

  “Oh, just cause we were a little ‘harsh’?” her father continued, “We treated you like you ought to be treated. Work to the bone till you can give us something worthwhile, that’s what material chumps like us are stuck at! It’s what my daddy taught me and my granddad taught him!”

  The girl growled, “You really think Bob’s special because he can just skip all the hard work?”

  “YES you idiot! That’s what makes him talented!”

  “It’s what makes him precious,” her mother added. “And he listens, unlike you. Tell me, did you ever pick that gum up?”

  Jacklyn looked back and forth between the two her fist clenched. She eyed the remote on the floor and a broken leg from the table. Her fingers twitched. Her father glared at her, “Don’t you dare, girl.”

  The girl went for the leg but her dad leaped, however, she faked him out and ran past him to her room, slamming the door shut and locking it. She tore her bedsheets, and dig under her bed, hearing the two already banging on the door.

  ‘C’mon, c’mon, where the fuck are they?!’ she thought. Then, her hands yanked out her two silver handguns. She checked the chamber, only to see to was empty. ‘Fuckers stole my ammo!’

  “Girl!” her father’s voice sent her had up and alert, “Get outta there right now or we shooting the lock!!”

  Jacklyn’s fist balled, her jaw clenched harder, so hard that her teeth would’ve been broken if not for her gum—

  ‘Gum,’ her mind echoed, a whisper amongst a wall of screaming. Without another thought, she pulled the gum from her mouth and stuck it to the corner of the door. She yanked her posters down and used the gum from those, as well as the wads she kept hidden under her bed, covering the door’s sides and cracks in bulges of sticky pink sludge. Then, she jumped out her window and made a beeline for the railway yard.

  The girl blitzed through the park, running faster than ever before. Not many people payed her any mind, and only a few looked, but most were heading for cover at to the oncoming rain, which quickly pelted the ground. But Jacklyn didn’t care. She made her way away from the park and to the hill, a trek which left her gasping for air. But finally, she made her way to the top and looked to the bottom.

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  And she wished she didn’t.

  All she saw was Andre tied to the tracks. The oncoming train was already feet away from him. But what did it was his face. Even from their distance, she could see his eyes were full, but nothing came out. Her’s however, spilled with tears

  “NO!” She screamed, running down the hill for the train yard. She tried to run at the train, but the three boys held her back, despite her punching and crying. Finally, they pushed her back, only for her to run up and clock Right across the face, knocking him over. She shoved Left hard in the stomach and kicked Cenner in his balls as hard as she could, the boy’s face filling with betrayal as he fell to the ground. Twisting back to the train, she attempted to run again, only to stumble and fall on her stomach, and what was Andre before her. If she’d eaten anything, it would’ve been gone.

  “Andre…Andre…” she sobbed. “Please…please God no…Andre…”

  “It had to be done, Jacklyn.”

  The girl slowly raised her head at the voice, a slight turn to the left shoed it belonged to Cenner, who stood in front of the three. Her eyes were wide, her lip quivered. “W-wha…?”

  “Since that day you left home for the train yard with the list of addresses. I knew something was up, but I didn’t want to admit it.” He looked away, his face solemn, “So I had to see for myself.”

  She shook, unable to say anything.

  “Jacklyn,” he said, crouching next to her and taking her hand, “Please I did this for you because…” He looked away, his face red again, “because I love yo—”

  ‘FWOCK!’

  He howled in pain as her elbow struck the side of his face so hard bone could be heard snapping as he fell over. With a cry, she jumped on him, throwing everything on her arms at him over and over again.

  “Love? YOU CALL THIS LOVE?!!” She dragged his head along the ground to where they faced the bloody tracks. “That was all the love I ever knew, right there!!”

  “Jackie—”

  But she’d already began beating him harder, aiming for his head and throat. Her hand felt a loose chain on the ground, to which she unknowingly raised it over her head, her face tear streaked.

  “AND YOU TOOK IT!”

  The other three grabbed her again, this time shoving her back enough so she fell to the grass. She shot to her feet, seeing them standing between her and Cenner. Left Shot a look at Right and Bob, who continued to look concerned at Jacklyn. The girl eyed them, her body filled with rage.

  “Stay away the fuck from me!!!” she screamed, “All of you!!!”

  Shutting her eyes, she twisted herself and ran for the hill, running up it and for the school. She ran to the gate, only to see the vice principal locking it up, muttering to herself.

  “You!” Jacklyn yelled, running in, much to the woman’s startle.

  “Miss Wollfe!” she said, “Why weren’t you in scho—”

  “Please!” Jacklyn panted hard, hand son her knees. She pointed behind her, “They’re…they’re killing a kid down there! He’s tied to the tracks and—”

  “Miss Wollfe I’m not sure what you’re on about—”

  “Aren’t you listening?! One of your students is DYING down there!!”

  “And to that I say they are only my student until three thirty!” she checked her watch, “And it is four ten now.”

  Jacklyn’s body froze. She watched the woman go to her car and climb inside. She began to drive off when a rock broke through the window.

  “Fuck you!!” Jacklyn screamed, hurling more stones at her car, “FUCK YOU!!!”

  The older woman tensed ducking her head at the shattering glass, “This is an assault, Miss Wollfe and I will all the police!” her car sped off, more stones hitting and denting the back as it disappeared down the road. Jacklyn stood in the middle of the street, furious. She wanted to scream, hit something, kill something, but no one was there, nothing was there. Her knees hit the pavement, staring off to the empty street. Gasping for breaths, she clutched her stomach and began to cry.

  Later that night, she dragged herself through the door of her home. From the corner of her eye she saw her parents surrounding Bob, who was shivering and saying something that she couldn’t recognize. In fact, all their words were nothing but muffled sounds in her ears. She trudged to her bedroom, dragging her feet step by step until a few finally reached her ears.

  “Ray, you not gonna say nothing to her?”

  “Nah, she knows better now.”

  “…” Jacklyn tried to use the handle but the door didn’t budge.

  “It ain’t gonna work.” Her mother said, “I don’t know what you did to that door but we couldn’t get that thing open even after shooting that damn lock off…”

  Ignoring the rest of what she had to say, Jacklyn left for outside again and climbed to her roof. She stared into the night sky, seeing nothing but wet clouds and a glimpse of the moon. She rolled to her side, curling her body on the cold metal. The sound of a train passed by. Its horn and noise rumbled the park again. But to Jacklyn, it was much louder than before. It whined and wailed, screaming at her. She tensed and covered her ears, holding it until she forced herself asleep.

  The next day Jacklyn followed Bob to school. She saw him meet up with Right and Left.

  “Can’t believe what happened yesterday.” Bob said, “I still can’t get the image out of my head. The way he screamed.”

  “I know,” Right nodded, “I suppose we were a bit out of line.”

  “You think!?” Left said, “He’s dead! Gone because of you two!”

  “Don’t act like you weren’t involved either!” Right snapped, “We’re all just as guilty for what happened!”

  Bob nodded, “Agreed. Poor Cenner.”

  “…”

  The three looked behind them, only to see nothing.

  “Was someone there?” Bob asked.

  When Jacklyn arrived to school, she was immediately ushered to the office by two teachers who waited for her at the gate. She took a seat in the familiar box. The vice principal strolled up to her, bandage on her cheek.

  “Miss Wollfe, you’ll be happy to know that rather than press charges I’ve decided to enroll you in our special juvenile class as our first student! From now until you graduate, you will be spending your entire school day in a blank room with all your assignments. Now, do not forget to bring your own lunch and supplies as we cannot afford to give you any.” She smiled at her, “Oh but at least you get to go home at three thirty now, meaning no more detention! Isn’t that wonderful? No more Mr. Singh!” she motioned to the two teachers at her side, “Now, these two will escort you to class and be checking in to ensure you don’t cause any more damage to m—property.” She waved her off, “Enjoy the rest of your Friday, Miss Wollfe!”

  Jacklyn felt a tap on her shoulder and left the office, unaware why she was even there to begin with.

  After school, Jacklyn made her way to the street where she saw Bob and a bunch of other kids waiting to cross. Bob looked over his shoulder and waved at her, “Oh, Jacklyn, over here!”

  She went over to his side and he hugged her.

  “I was so worried! You wouldn’t believe what happened yesterday! There was this weird guy a mask…”

  His voice trailed off tom her. The girl was completely unresponsive at her brother’s mindless babble. Her eyes went to the road, watching the sign across give the signal to cross. All other kids began to make their way across, but Bib kept talking. She watched him talk until the walk sign changed to a timer, counting all the way down from ten to one and get replaced by a red hand once again. Finally Bob looked behind him at that.

  “Oh, sorry about that!” He laughed, “Must’ve been in my head there.”

  Jacklyn watched Bob turn his back to her. A massive semi-truck’s horn blared, its blue cab coming into view as it sped down into the school zone like a runaway jet.

  Without a second thought, she shoved her brother into the road.

  “Ahh! Jackie, what are you—?!”

  ‘CRASH!’

  “…Why?” Jacklyn whispered.

  She stood there at the sight. Kids filled the corners, taped off by the police. An ambulance sat at the side, its siren still wailing.

  “I didn’t see him, I swear!” the truck driver said, “He just showed outta nowhere!”

  Neat the ambulance, her parents were there. Her mother crying and even her father shed tears.

  But the one who was in the most ears was Jacklyn.

  There in the middle of the street was Bob sitting there. Unharmed. He seemed confused, looking himself over. He looked up at Jacklyn’s tear-streaked face.

  “Sis, why are you crying?”

  “It’s a damn miracle!” her mother said, throwing her arms around Bob, “You’re still here, Bob!”

  His father joined his side, slapping a hand on his shoulder, “And you got a good Talent at that.” He grinned. “Even your sister’s happy for you.”

  “…”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Wollfe,” the officer said, striding over, “Based on eyewitnesses, it appears your children were about to cross but her brother leaped in the way for whatever reason.”

  “Reason?” her father said, “It runs in his blood.” he looked on at Bob proudly, “Our son’s a hero. Nothing can kill him!”

  “Really?” a kid on the side said, “Bob’s got Talent?”

  “And he ate a whole truck at that!” a girl said, “He’s badass!”

  “Ha!” Right laughed, “Yeah that’s right! That’s our Bob for you!”

  All the trailer park kids cheered and clapped, calling Bob’s name. The noise was deafening to Jacklyn, who was on her knees next to her brother. The truck driver walked by, he gave her a concerned glance.

  “I’m real sorry, kid,” He said, “I know it was scary but your brother’s okay now.” He patted her shoulder and walked off, “Chin up. He’s got a great Talent! He’s going to make your family real rich soon.”

  “…Why?” Jacklyn repeated, “Why aren’t you dead?”

  Over the course of the weekend, Jacklyn continued to assault Bob.

  When he laid in bed that night began screaming upon realizing that his bed had been filled with glass. The next day she woke up early and filled his soda with ammonia, waiting patiently in the kitchen for him. She smiled as he strode in, “Morning, Bob!”

  “Morning sis!” he replied cheerfully, taking a few gulps. He immediately began gagging, “GRAGH! GLUR—GAH! HELP! HEL—!”

  “Bob!” their mother said, running in. The boy continued to gag, then, cough hard, his breath coming back. Teeth grit, Jacklyn left for the hardware store…

  She would follow him, stalk him. Hammers would be thrown at his head sporadically. Dogs would attack him at every wrong turn. He tried to drive his dad’s car to practice, only for it to be set on fire and sealed form the outside with her gum. His face would even be spontaneously smashed through anything sharp whenever they were alone; and every time he would be rushed to the hospital on the verge of death, only to return home hours later perfectly fine. A couple days later, their father finally caught her that night pouring an entire container of sleeping pills into the boy’s mouth.

  “That does it!” he said. The man grabbed Jacklyn by her hair and yanked her out through the door-less room into the living room. She tried to get up but he punched her hard across the face, blood flew from her mouth.

  “Ray!” their mother said, feeling her way along the wall “What happened here?”

  “I think,” he said, looking down at the girl, who tried to crawl away. He flipped her over, holding her by her hair, “I found our problem…” he shook her, “Why? You tried to kill your brother!”

  “Why not?!” she shot back, “Bob gets everything! Clean clothes, food…love. And I get nothing! But the minute—the MINUTE I find something worthwhile, someone I care about, you take it from me!! So let me ask you, WHY?!!”

  She tried to get from his grip, but her head was still woozy from the first strike. Her father got close to her ear.

  “You’re worth nothing! You hear me? You’re barley as valuable as your dead boyfriend form the tracks a few days ago!”

  Her teeth grit harder, “Fuck….you!”

  His fist smashed into the side of her head, knocking the girl unconscious. He glared, standing over her body. He eyed his wife, who simply shrugged. He was about to reach for her again when they heard something.

  “Dad? Mom?”

  The two shot their heads back to see Bob standing there, rubbing his eyes. He squinted at the sight, his face concerned, “Why did you hit Jacklyn?”

  Their mother shot a glance worried glance at the man, who stared at the boy, then, hobbled off the girl. “Son,” he said, “Jacklyn’s been bad.”

  “Really bad?”

  He nodded, “Just head back to bed for now, son. I’ll make sure to tell you everything tomorrow.”

  He looked between his parents and his sister. He nodded, “Okay dad.”

  The boy wandered back to the door-less room. Their mother folded her arms and looked down at their daughter, “How ‘bout we put her punishment on hold till after school tomorrow?”

  “…Fine,” her father said. He stood up against the wall and his wife gave him his walking stick. He began to leave with her, “We’ll let our boy enjoy one more day with his sister I suppose.”

  …

  The next morning, Annaline waited impatiently at the fence. She tapped her foot and looked to her butler at the limousine parked across the street.

  “You!” she pointed, “Whatever your name is, how long have I been eating for now?!”

  “Three minutes, thirty-one seconds.” The existed man replied, putting away a pocket watch, “Miss Leporidae, perhaps you should consider asking me every other minute, rather than—”

  “Silence!” she squeaked. Huffing she looked back at the playground and stomped her foot, “Jacklyn Wollfe, show yourself right this instant or I’m leaving—and for good!”

  “I’m right here,” a familiar voice moaned behind her.

  “Eep!” the blonde girl jumped. She spun around to see Jacklyn behind her wearing a hoodie with her head tilted.

  “Jacklyn!” she demanded, “What happened? You’ve been gone for like—ever!” she walked over and grabbed her hood, “And what’s with this disgusting get up?”

  Jacklyn tried to pull away but the hood came off, revealing a black eye. Annaline’s smile vanished. Her hand went over her mouth. “Jacklyn…are you okay?”

  “Forget about it.” She said, “Did you get the info?”

  “Well, yes. But you—”

  “Annaline!” she said, grabbing the girl by both of her cheeks and looking deep into her eyes, “Focus.”

  Annaline looked concerned but took her hand off and sighed. “You’re not going to like it.”

  Jacklyn’s lip quivered, “My dad had something to do with it, didn’t he?”

  Annaline’s pressed her lips together and glanced down, “Jacklyn, he was the reason Andre’s died.”

  “…”

  “According to daddy, this ‘Andre Sr.’ guy was the leader of the largest gang in Motor City. They terrorized the place for years. Then one day an officer who’d been following their case led a raid in his home. There was a shoot-out between them and—”

  “Did they find enhancers?”

  She nodded. “He was promoted shortly after.”

  “…Got it,” She turned to leave. Annaline watched her walk a few feet. She called out.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I don’t know!” Jacklyn cried, spinning back. Her face began to well with tears, “My parents are gonna kill me! My brother got everything he ever wanted! And to top it off the ONE person who gave two shits about me is gone, Annaline—he’s fucking dead!!”

  “Wait,” she said, “You don’t mean…”

  “Andre’s gone!” she sobbed, “He gone and it’s all my bro—” She stopped and shook her head, “It’s all my fault!”

  Annaline didn’t reply or make a quip. Instead, all she could do was watch Jacklyn fight back sobs. The girl put her finger to her head and scrunched her brow, tapping it a few times.

  “I’ve got it!” she said pointing it in the air.

  Jacklyn looked up, “Got what?”

  “You said you’ve always wanted to leave this—stink-hole, right?”

  “I mean yeah. But you also said I couldn’t come with you the day we met.”

  “Well you’re in luck because this looks like an emergency and I changed my mind.” The girl reached into her bag and pulled out an earring, “Put this on.”

  “Uh, ok.” She said, finagling with it, “But how—”

  “Left ear, also, do you think you can survive for the next…” she coked her head left and right, “six…seven hours or so?”

  “I mean, probably.”

  “Good!” she skipped back to her car and hopped in the backseat. She poked her head out, “Remember, now you really owe me, Wollfe! So I expect to be paid in full, mwahahahaha!”

  The car sped off, leaving Jacklyn alone again. This time though, the girl couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

  “Stupid kid.”

  …

  “Jacklyn Wollfe.”

  The girl spun around to the sudden voice. It was night at the middle of the Junkyard about ten minutes from the trailer park. Surrounded by heaps of twisted and rusted metal, as well as decayed and damaged appliances and other household goods, she reached for a rusty pipe beside her, gripping it in her sweaty hands.

  “Back off asshole!” she shouted, looking around. “I’ll kill you!”

  “I’m right here, young lady,” the now gurgled sounding voice rasped from her left.

  She spun and swung the pole, but a white gloved hand deflected it with a cane, knocking from her hands. She scrambled backwards as he stepped into view. He was a short well-dressed man in black with a pony-tail glaring down at her. She noticed he had an odd-looking black mask on his pale face, making his breathing sound almost inhuman.

  She was slack jawed, “You! Wait, are you—?! No, how did you find—?!”

  “You have friends in very, very, high places.” He spoke, “And it’s rather irritating.”

  The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The raunchy smell of garbage and the trailer park filled the air. Finally, Jacklyn budged.

  “Are you Annaline’s friend?”

  “No.”

  “…Uh—”

  “I’m an acquaintance of her father. And it seems she’s rather intent on you.” The man wheezed again, “I’d like to know why.”

  “Because we’re…friends?”

  His eyes became even more tired, “Try again. Use your brain.”

  She let out a low growl but kept her mouth shut and thought hard. She chewed, “I…still don’t know.”

  He sighed, “Your Talent, fool. What makes you worth this hassle?”

  Jacklyn glared, “Hey this wasn’t part of the deal! You were supposed to help me because Anna—”

  “I’m not obligated to do anything.” The man interjected, “You’re friend is but a child playing adult with you, yet you took her word as such.”

  She gritted her teeth and looked away. The trailer parks’ lights and sounds were so close it hurt. Her fists clenched, “So you’re just gonna leave me then?”

  “That depends. Do you believe yourself to be so minute it deserves to rot here?”

  “That’s not up to me!” she exclaimed, “I wasn’t born privileged, old man! I don’t have Bodily or Spiritual Talent, so I let someone trick me into thinking what I have is good enough until it wasn’t!” she shook her head, “He’s dead, now. And I’m down here while the privileged get to eat whatever they want!”

  “Privilege,” the man repeated, “Your usage of that word is precisely what holds you back.”

  The girl looked at him, her face stunned. She cocked her head and snapped a bubble, “Got something to say?”

  “…” He walked over to her, making the girl back up until she hit a pile of junk behind her. She looked back to see him looming over her, “You believe this idea of ‘privilege’ can cost you anything. Your belongings, your own body…even your consciousness—and for the most part, you are correct.” He turned and started to leave, much to the girl’s surprise.

  “However, there’s one thing that, no matter how much ‘privilege’ you may think one lacks, can never be taken because it is the very essence of every single human being on this earth. It isn’t something exclusive to you or a certain group. In contrast, it is the thing that makes anyone viable for the top. It is ever changing because it can only be as valuable as their user deems it to be.” He spoke, his voice fading into the night.

  “…Hey,”

  He paused and turned back to see the girl had been following him. Her body shook and her eyes were wide with focus.

  “You weren’t done yet. Finish your speech!”

  “…You should already know by now,” he began, raising his cane, “because it is everyone’s unspoken right...” he held it up and she looked down to see he was pointing at her.

  “Talent.”

  The girl looked down, “I…I don’t—”

  The man turned to leave again. Then he heard something hit the ground behind him. He stopped, spying two handguns over his shoulder.

  “I was never any good with these,” she said. She reached into her mouth, producing a wad of pink chewed gum, “But when I needed it most, this was all I had.”

  “Show me.”

  She took two pieces of metal and stuck them together with her gum in between. She shook it around and threw it to the ground, stomping on it hard. She looked up at him and shrugged, “I make stuff stick.”

  The man went over and picked up the metal. He tried to pull it apart but it wouldn’t budge. He eyed the contraption, his brow creased.

  “I know what you said, old man.” The girl spoke, “But there are guys out there, guys like my brother who think they’re invincible. So many of them it makes me sick. All I want is to make them suffer. Make them beg for mercy.” Her lip quivered in anger, “I wanna use my Talent to remind them how fragile their so-called ‘privilege’ really is!”

  The masked man eyed her. The two faced each other down in the rain filled junkyard. The girl glared at him, and he returned a look of his own. Then, he tossed the metal contraption over his shoulder, “Fair enough.”

  He held out his keys, pressing the button on them. Headlights emerged from the shadows, revealing the man’s vintage style black muscle car driving forward up to them. Jacklyn shielded her eyes at the blinding lights and attempted to look back, only to see the vehicle was speeding towards her.

  ‘The hell? It’s so fast?!’ she thought and stumbled and fell back as the car swerved to the side, stopping inches from the two. The door opened, loud heavy-metal sounding music blasted at the two, riveting the girl’s ears and making her body rumble. It quickly turned off and a very young woman stepped out of the vehicle, looking down at her. Jacklyn was entranced; she had tanned skin, black bob cut hair with piercings on her face and tattoos snaking up her neck. She wore a white dress shirt, black pants, with fishnets running up her forearms. She aimed a gun at her head.

  “It appears,” she spoke in an ice-cold pitch, “You were followed, Alastor.”

  Jacklyn’s body shuddered, unable to move. However, the man known as Alastor stepped in between the two, facing the woman.

  “Put your weapon away. Our mission is finished.”

  The woman eyed him, then Jacklyn. She placed her gun away and went over to the passenger side, climbing in. Alastor got in the driver’s seat and the girl got in the back. When she sat down, she found the woman was staring at her through the rearview mirror. Jacklyn gulped, “Um, hi?”

  “…” She turned her head, “What’s the meaning of this, Alastor? You told me specially there would be no detours.”

  “This was a special request.” He said, “Anna, you really should—”

  “Don’t call me that,” she said.

  Jacklyn shifted up, “Hey, um, Alastor—”

  “Mr. Dark,” he said.

  “…Right, uh, can we stop at that trailer over there. There’s something I need to do.”

  He eyed her form the mirror, “Is it that important?”

  She nodded, “Let’s just say, I want to give you guys a demonstration of my talent.”

  The woman eyed him, who turned the car around and drove over to the trailer.

  “That’s far enough,” Jacklyn said, the car stopping a few yards from it. She hopped put and reached behind her ear, tossing a piece of gum in her mouth and chewing. She climbed in thought the back where she kept her window open and looked around the room. Her clothes and belongings were all boxed up and her posters were torn down. The girl grimaced and left the room, stepping into the living room kitchen where the TV was left on. She saw a note on the refrigerator:

  Ray,

  Taking our Bob out while you deal with Jacklyn. Call if you get hungry before we get back.

  Louise,

  She saw her father sleeping on the couch. A pile of beer cans on one side and a baseball bat on the other. A mix of fear and anger filled her body down to her clenched fists. She walked over to him. His face looked punch-able.

  “You…” she said, chewing harder. She wished for nothing more than to hit him, strangle him, suffocate him, break his heart; hurt him like he hurt her. But then, she saw his knees, still a throbbing purple. He still wore his police badge despite being fired and now that she realized it, her father never did drink all that much. Her fists unclenched and a smile crossed her face.

  “Take your time on your way out,” she said, pulling the gum for her mouth and sticking it to his forehead, “Hope you like bubblegum, asshole.”

  She turned her back to the man and yanked the wires form the gas stove. She cranked the heat up to its highest and took the remaining chemicals she had and dumped them all over the floor. She left the trailer through the front, sticking her last piece of gum to the handle and locking it behind her. From the car, Alastor and the woman could see the girl return, the orange glow of the forming fire becoming more and more apparent. She hoped in the back, “Now we can go.”

  The shaved woman tossed Alastor another glance, who simply drove off, letting the trailer burn behind them. Its light shone so bright that the park residents didn’t even notice the expensive black car leaving…

  Fort FORD facility

  “This is where I depart. You two are to remain here.”

  Jacklyn and the woman shared the same expression, watching Alastor climb back in his vehicle. They were outside the gated fort late at night on an island in the center south part of Lake Michigan. The woman stepped up.

  “You cannot leave me with this one, Alastor!” she said, “I still need to find—”

  “What you need to do is learn patience, Anastasia,” The man cut her off. “Hone that skill as you oversee this one.”

  “…”

  “Is there going to be an issue?”

  “…Not at all,” she said.

  The man eyed her then drove off. Anastasia gave the girl a disgusted look and went inside the building, “Follow, now.”

  Jacklyn followed, making a face, ‘Tch! What’s her problem?’

  The two entered a wide gray plain room. It was a grid design with several platforms of varying sizes scattered throughout. Anastasia looked at her, “From now and until Alastor gives you mercy, you will train here to refine your Talent. Now, what is it?”

  Jacklyn felt her pockets, then, behind her ears. Her face flushed, “Got any gum?”