Vertigo

Chapter Eleven - Ghosts

"Is it Alison, or do you go by Dawn again?" Every synapse in my body fired at a rapid pace as the shooter mocked, crouching down beside me. Her gun dangled loosely from her fingers as she stared at me with warm artic blue eyes, barren of mercy. I tried reaching for the gun as the pain shot through me like fire, lighting up every sinew that stitched me together with what felt like a thousand volts – my broken collar bone jutted against itself, sending a repetitive hammering into my skull. Tears streamed down my face as she grabbed hold of my hair.

"I heard you're going after her," The shooter spoke with a smile, her blonde hair flickering down the side of her face as she leaned closer – close enough for me to smell the rich iron scent that clung to her; blood, and the overwhelming burn of gunpowder that stung my eyes. "You're barking at the wrong tree, but good luck."

My eyes flashed open before I jumped out of bed, rushing towards the window for air. My shoulder ached as I touched it – my heart racing to catch my breath. Just a dream, I told myself before repeating my mantra.

"I'm alive, I'm getting better each day. Dawn Grace lived and will heal," I said as calmly as I could before sighing as I stared into the full-length mirror across my room. "Dawn Grace should have died."

I gritted my teeth before throwing my boot towards the mirror, hitting it dead in the center, causing it to shatter completely. Shaking my head, I walked around the broken shards of glass, careful not to cut my bare feet before making my way downstairs.

The cold kitchen floor cut through my feet as I walked over to the cupboard, grabbing a bowl of dry cereal and a spoon. I dug in.

"No milk?" Cassidy asked, setting a cup of coffee down on the countertop – smoke curling from the rich black liquid.

"Couldn't be bothered." I shrugged, tucking my messy hair out of my face.

"Should have guessed. You're hardly even dressed," She shook her head with a smile. "Rich kids are always the laziest bunch."

"Whatever," I spoke, still stuffing his face.

"Speaking of which, your father was thinking of putting you back in school. Somewhere local, though."

"He can go fuck himself," I rolled my eyes. There was no way I was going back to that hellhole. I continued, poking at Cassidy. "Unless he's fucking you, of course."

"Language," she spoke, taking a sip of her coffee. "What's so bad about school, anyway?"

I dropped my spoon, frowning. "It's daycare parents throw their kids in so that they won't have to deal with messy teenage hormones. Do you really think I have the patience to deal with gossip stories and stupid guys, just trying to get into your pants?"

"Never took you for a feminazi." She laughed.

"I'm not. Bitches are worst." I said, thinking back to my time back at the boarding school – a friend of mine had once come to me with her eyes gleaming with excitement. It was the kind of gleam I saw all too often. The kind of excitement one of the girls had when they had a juicy story to tell. This time, it had been about one of the girls offering to go down on her guy friend, despite knowing he had been in a relationship.

"That's the reason I joined the army. Got to shoot at both." She joked, holding her coffee out towards me. I smiled before continuing to stuff my face.

"I'll be able to kick both in the face very soon," I responded, shifting the conversation completely. The smiles on our faces slowly faded away. I sighed, realizing what I did. "I'm going to the Arcade later to sign up. Maybe scope out the competition."

"That's a good idea." She nodded slowly. I could tell she hadn't liked it, but she understood.

I stood up from the table, dropping my bowl into the sink before walking up to my room to get changed. I slipped into my boots and a pair of shorts and headed back down, to the gym this time. Stepping through the doorway leading to the gym, my senses peaked as something blurred towards me – I raised my hand, catching it right before it crashed into my face.

"A tennis ball?" I asked, staring at Cassidy in confusion. "What the hell was that for?"

"Southpaw, yet right-handed," She noted, signalling for me to come over to her. "Why?"

I shrugged, walking over to her as I threw the ball down before taking my jacket off. "Force of habit, I guess."

"Perhaps you're trying to keep yourself from being injured again." She spoke, stepping onto the treadmill. I hopped onto the one next to her and started running to her speed.

"Maybe," I said, slightly out of breath. "Who knows?"

We kept running in silence for the next fifteen minutes, pushing up our own speed each time the other did, until I dropped out, wiping the sweat off my face with a towel. Cassidy did the same. We both hit the showers before heading towards her car, parked in the driveway.

"Cellphones and weapons." The bouncer spoke in a German accent. He was dressed in a black suit that clung tightly to his hulk like build. I sighed, slipping my phone out of my pocket and dropping into the small bag the second bouncer handed to me before scribbling my name on it. Allison.

"Take care of this," Cassidy spoke, walking up to the bouncer before slamming her pistol into his chest. He shook his head, tucking it into the pocket of his blazer as if it were a mere toy. I stepped forward as the second bouncer searched me. He nodded. I was clean.

It wasn't uncommon for them to do this kind of searches. Places like these tended to be filled with people who wished to keep this part of their lives away from the people in their lives. Good people. People like Haylee.

I shook off the thought as I tugged my cap further down on my head, trying to blur into the crowd I knew would be on the other end. I pushed through the door as the adrenalin of the Arcade raved through my being, filling me with a sick feeling of familiarity.

"Let's get this done with," I said to Cassidy, pointing to the far end of the Arcade. She nodded and we continued weaving through the crowd, keeping our heads as low as possible.

"You're the guy I'm supposed to talk to get me into this competition, right?" I spoke as we approached a guy in a purple silk suit. He stared down at me, his eyebrow lifting to his hairline somehow.

"Little girl, you seem a bit too young to even be here," He spoke in a New Orleans accent – that kind that made me hope he'd sing about having friends on the other side. "I suggest you run along with home before mommy gets worried."

I bit down, fighting the urge to send his balls to heaven as he brushed me off, simply walking away.

"Shi sent me!" I yelled out, forcing him to freeze in his tracks. It was a desperate move, but I couldn't afford to waste any more time here.

"What did you just say?" He spoke slowly, turning around.

"I said Shi invited me..." I repeated, less sure of myself this time.

He sighed, walking back to me as he pulled out his phone. "My advice still stands. Run."

"A little too late for that... " I muttered as he drew out his phone, waiting to take down my name. "Alli."

"Goodluck, Kid. Shi is way more dangerous then Darth Maul over there."

"Darth who?" I frowned.

"I think your friend is talking about him," Cassidy spoke, staring at the cage. I followed her gaze, instantly understanding the name – the man's face had been dyed red with what I first thought had face paint, but quickly decided against after seeing his opponent – passed out and pinned to the cage wall by his throat as Darth Maul continued throwing punches at him.

"Great. I'm going to have to cover up another death in this God forsaken place." The man spoke, throwing his palm into his forehead.

I'm dead.