A Brother's Keeper

Chapter One

He reached deep into his pocket and scrambled to get his switchblade. He felt a little more confident and less anxious as soon as he gripped tightly onto it.

He could hear his heart pumping like if it was beating outside of his chest. He couldn't control his rapid breathing. Though, nothing was in sight, the thought of him fighting something twice his size seemed like a nightmare.

He wasn't ready on finding out what it was but whatever it was, he was sure he wouldn't go down without a fight. He just needed to mentally prepare himself.

Not really sure on how to calm himself down, the young greaser debated on walking to the side of the building, just to catch his breath and relax his mind.

Closing his eyes and hearing the chirping sounds of crickets would make gave him a positive reassurance that everything was going to be alright.

Taking deep breathes, the frigid air stung throat with each breath, making him feel more grounded to the world around him.

With the switchblade gripped onto his hand and his soft drink onto the other, Curly was ready to continue his journey. His journey of finding somewhere to stay.

Walking towards the side of the building, he kept his head head high. Lifting his chin and squaring his shoulders, projecting an air of confidence and determination. He looked to the world, like a man on a mission. He almost forgot who he was and how tough everything has gotten him. He felt soft about letting his emotions control him.

Thinking about the whole situation made anger rise in him. He was angry at himself.

He is Curly Shepard. He is afraid of nothing and no one. He didn't live in fear, no, he'd be the one to cause it. Fear lived in gang rivals. Fear lived across the street. Never near him or his brother or the gang.

As soon as he gotten to the side the building, he leaned against the rough, gritty surface of the brick wall, feeling the cold seeping through his clothes. And gently placed his drink beside his feet.

All of his confidence seemed to die down when heavy footsteps echoed through the ally, sending shivers down Curly's spin. The hair on his back stood up.

The footsteps grew louder and heavier. The familiar feeling of dread crept up Curly's spine, paralyzing him with fear once again.

His fears never went away. They will always linger.

His teeth chattered out of coldness. His teeth chattered because of fear. And his imagination went wild.

He knew he was in danger. He knew we had to take action. He didn't know when he'd be attack or how he'll be attacked but he stayed alert each second.

Taking his back off the hard-brick wall, his hands curled into fists and his eyes shifted from side to side.

He was ready.

The footsteps suddenly stopped. Curly's heart pumped faster and louder. The adrenaline took over his entire body as he struggled to remember every self defense skilled he'd ever learned.

Out of the shadows, appeared a tall-lofty man, dressed in black baggy clothes. His features were hidden under the gray ski mask. Being inches away from Curly, the man just stood in one place. His eyes never broke contact

Curly took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "Who are you?" he asked the man in the ski mask. "What do you want from me?"

The man didn't respond. He just stood there, staring at Curly with cold, unblinking eyes.

Curly tried again. "Look, I don't know what you're after, but I'm not going to give you anything. You're wasting your time."

Still, the man didn't say anything. He just kept staring.

Curly felt a surge of frustration. "Fine," he said. "If you're not going to talk, I'm leaving." He turned to walk away, but before he could take a step, the man grabbed him by the arm.

Curly struggled to break free, but the man's grip was like iron. He was stronger than Curly had expected.

"Let go of me!" Curly shouted, but the man didn't budge.

Suddenly, Curly remembered a self-defense move he'd learned from Tim. He twisted his arm sharply, trying to break free from the man's grasp.

To his surprise, it worked. The man stumbled backwards, caught off guard by Curly's sudden movement.

Curly took advantage of the moment and ran as fast as he could, leaving behind his drink and dropping his new switchblade. He didn't look back until he was a safe distance away but he could hear the same heavy footsteps following behind him.

He was getting chased.

The mysterious man ran faster than what Curly expected.

The stinging of his chest made it almost difficult to keep running. He wondered where all the adrenaline went and why it left him alone. He could feel his muscles becoming weak, slowing him down.

Without any warning the man grabbed Curly's wrist tightly which felt like it was losing blood circulation. The man started to walk towards his car, bringing Curly along with him.

"Stop!" Curly yelled as he struggled against the mans grip, "Help!" Curly shouted, but no one was near, no one could hear him scream.

Curly decided to take matters into his own hands and remembered all the self defense skills he'd learned. The young greaser then dropped to his knees, bringing his captured wrist towards the sky and then brought his hand down directly to the madman's wrist.

Curly now broke loose from the grip and now had the kidnapper's wrist on his hand.

Without any thought, Curly smirked at him. Maybe this guy was sent by Tim for some kind of test.  Maybe he was going to be alright.

Curly shouldn't have rejoiced so early on this fight, the man decided to strike at Curly, using his free hand.

Landing on the ground, he could feel his face throbbing on the area it's been hit. The throbbing sensation made its way all around Curly's face like a virus.

Curly groaned as he tried to sit back up but immediately got brought back down by another swing.

Curly almost forgot he had a old switch blade on him, he slowly took it out of his pocket and tried to defend himself from this psycho. However, the man lost it.

Looking at Curly's hand. The kidnapper forcefully took the switch out of it and repeatedly beat Curly until he was out cold.

The man with the ski masked struggled slightly as he tried walking towards his van, which wasn't far but Curly was a little heavy.

Tying Curly's legs and wrists with rope, he was now in the back of this man's trunk.

Revenge was all over the mind of the kidnapper.