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External Narrator
“She paused,” Helen murmurs to Steven. “There was a hesitation in her step. We’ve been caught.”
Steven nods to her sister, and together, they move from the window from which they were crouched under, watching the interaction happen between Kylie, Emily and the red head they had seen hanging around Amy in school the few days before she had disappeared.
Leaves from the bush crunch underneath their steps yet they don't flinch as they continue to sneak around the corner of the house, away from any windows and hidden from the street. They pause and look at each other, both trying to absorb the information they heard and to try to piece it all together.
Steven starts out the conversation. "Amy is being 'dealt with'. What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
"You know what that means," Helen growls while looking around in what would appear as panic. "In this world, being 'dealt with' means disappearing, taking a long nap, expiring. You get what I mean."
"We can't let that happen. Do you know what he'll do if she dies? The death of this girl will spark years of painstakingly created treaties and spark the attention of so many carefully thoughtout alliances. The death of her will blow the whole country off of the map - literally!"
"It doesn't matter if she dies, there are two reasonable heirs after her!" Helen snaps with a whisper-shout. "Besides, even with her heart pumping in her chest, she still holds the power to blow the country apart!"
"It sounds like you two could use some help."
At the new, but unfortunately familiar voice, both siblings take out their guns and swiftly have it pointed towards the intruder to their conversation. Riley is crouched near some bushes next to the neighbor's fence while scrolling through her cell phone.
"My offer still stands you know," she doesn't take her eyes of her phone, but the siblings know that regardless of that detail, she would still be aware of their every move. "You have resources that I don't, and I have information that you don't. Work with me to inform and protect Amy. In the end, it'll be her choice on who she joins. But this tug of war with her isn't going to get us anywhere."
"We don't deal with snitches!" Steven growls, his voicing rising up a tad bit higher than that of a whisper.
"Well, that's too bad. I had overheard just recently the most interesting piece of information from some new personas. It appears you won't be interested therefore, I think I'll go inform the Black Knights of this new . . . Development." Riley turns to leave but Helen stops her.
"Wait! Maybe, we can, um, work something out?" It sounds like a question and she knows it, but at this point she's grasping for straws. It's obvious that whatever this information consists of, it's enough to be able to sell. If it can be sold, Helen sure as hell is going to take advantage of this sale.
"Great!" There's a smirk, and arrogance to Riley's voice in her triumphant blackmail against the siblings. "But not here, the walls have ears here. Meet me the last place we talked at at three. Don't be followed."
She ducks down and disappears from their sight. When Helen gains enough courage to walk to the bush Riley was hidden behind, there's nothing there. Not even a hole in the fence in which she could have crawled under.
-------
The walls had ears alright. Emily had run down the stairs the minute she reached the top and told Jordan and Troy to hide themselves and Amy's siblings. She didn't know where Helen and Steven had gone, but she knew that they were trouble.
She had run downstairs and into her basement, walking around the walls, straining her ears to figure out where they were standing, if they were still there in the first place. They were, and when Emily finally found them, they weren't alone.
"My offer still stands you know." The words were muffled, but there was no mistaking who it was. They had spent hours speaking through the phone before they finally spoke face to face. She knew Amy had her suspicions, but she never explained why.
Emily stands on her toes and leans against the wall, trying to hear everything she could about the conversation going on over her head.
"We don't deal with snitches!" Steven hisses at Riley.
Their voices are harsh whispers in the day. It's the last few weeks of February and the snow is more or less starting to melt. It won't be fully disappearing until at least May, but spring and summer are almost here.
". . . I think I'll go inform the Black Knights of this new . . . Development." The Black Knights? Emily ponders over this sentence for a while. Why would Riley care about the Black Knights? What would she know? Most importantly, what new development?
"Don't be followed." It's the last thing Emily heard from that cconversation. It's silent for a while before she hears footsteps walking away. The footsteps come back and her ears can't catch much of the new whispered conversation, before two pairs of footsteps walk away.
Something big was happening, and Emily would never be prepared for what the future would hold.
Alexander's POV
"I don't understand . . ." Alec speaks up again. I glance a curious look at him. If there's something that doesn't connect in his head, then there's something wrong. "You were never a gang leader's Heir nor member, and Rosalinda never wanted her children involved. So, how exactly did you come to be? And most importantly, why?"
We look at the old man with an expectant look in our eyes. He only smiles before responding. "That, I'm afraid, is a story for another time. Right now, we have a battle to prepare for."
"Actually," I make myself heard, "Before we go on and agree to support you in this battle, I need to understand what exactly we gain from this, and what the terms would be. We aren't going to go into this blindly, you've attacked us before. We need something to show that you're trusted."
He nods in agreement. "Your members are somewhere around three hundred thousand, correct?" He waits for me to nod before continuing. "I have a little under those numbers as well. I will give you five thousand members almost as if insurance. If our working together accomplishes the task of eliminating the Night Howlers, we can talk about future trade then. If, you're still alive, of course."
"Is that a threat?" Xavier snarls from behind me.
Wendy stiffens at his tone and glares. "Take it as you will. Keep in mind that if you should provoke such consequences, it won't be a threat, as much as it'll be a promise."
"Well then, what steps do you believe we should take in eliminating them?" Alec asks besides me.
"We use the Trojan Horse. It helped the Greeks, it'll help us as well. They want their heir so badly? They'll have her. For a few moments at least. Amy will take over for a week maximum before we attack."
"Won't they see it coming?" Shawn questions. He's no longer day dreaming and instead has his head in the conversation. "You go through so much trouble to keep Amy away, what makes you think they'll just welcome her with open arms?"
"That's where it's going to get a bit complicated . . ." The old man trails off and glances at Wendy who nods.
"They may not accept her for the sole reason that she's a girl and that she wasn't bred for this world. She was born into it, but she wasn't raised for it. Therefore, as a treaty of sorts and a call of peace, well, this is where you, Alexander, come in," she meets my curious eyes before continuing, "Despite the reputation she's made for herself, Amy has raw and untamed talent, a dangerous combination for someone who doesn't know how to use them. The Night Howlers know that, therefore, the only reason they would accept her is if she can prove herself in battle - which can take weeks - or, if there's a leash on her."
Alec's eyes narrow at the words. "What do you mean by leash?"
"Marriage. We would need to announce her engagement to Alexander Black, the leader of the deadliest gang in the country."
------
"It cannot be that easy." Alec mutters to himself. "There's something missing, something big. I'm telling you, in this world, nothing can be that simple."
"Which is why they wouldn't be expecting it." Fred answers. "They want an Heir, a true, blood related Heir and leader, but they won't take her as a teenager, much less a female. It's the only way. Besides, marriage would include the merging of the two gangs, and no one would resist merging with the number one gang in the country."
"There's another side to this story, I tell you," Alec continues to ramble. "We were told that there was another unnamed player in this story. If we can't identify who that person is, we can't carry on with these plans."
Wendy leans forward, her fingers tangled together and on the table. "Who was your informant?"
Shawn doesn't hesitate to answer proudly, "Riley Smith."
Every gang member from the Black Mississippi gang scoffs at the mention of her name. "You know she's a spy, right?" Wendy giggles. "She can't be trusted."
"And who does she spy for?" Alec asks.
Silence.
Fred nods his head. "I see your point kid. Anything else not connecting in that head of yours?"
He nods. "Helen and Steven Clause. Spys for the Night Howlers. They've been here for a while now, I want to know why. Why do the Night Howlers have scouts on two different gang territory?"
"Tell you what," Fred glances at my mute and frozen form. "We can discuss trading hackers and skills at another time. Right now, what I want to know is if you're prepared to go into this battle with us or not? This is between us and them. Unless they do otherwise, no other gang gets involved. Are you in?"
"Yes."
AMY POV
blue. blue. Blue. Blue. BLUE. BLUE BLUE.
Sophieeeeee
blue rectangle. blue rectangle. blue rectangle. Blue Rectangle. Blu-
Parkerrrrrrrrrr
I close my eyes and clench my fists only to cry out and relax them.
don't think. don't think. they're okay. they're okay. they're okay.
Bloooooooooood
pink rectangle. pink rectangle. pink rectangle. Pink Rectangle.
Murderrrrrrrrrrrrr
green. green. green. green. green. green. Green. Green. Green. Green.
green tree. green tree. green tree. Green Tree. Green Tree. Green Tr-
You failedddddd
The hissing in my head hasn't stopped. I'm suffocating in my thoughts and my entire body is filled with excruciating pain.
Don't think. It's what I keep telling myself and yet, it only makes me think of what I don't want to think about. I can't escape my mind. I haven't talked to my siblings in days. I don't know if they're okay, I don't know if they made it with Emily, I don't know if they're-
Murderrrrrrrr
blue. blue. blue. blue. blue. blue. blue. blue. Blue. Blue. Blue. Blue. Blue
Alexander left hours ago and no one else has come for their 'shift'. It's lonely and the darkness is literally at the edge of my vision. I can't move, it all hurts. It's like I failed.
The cries of Sophie and Parker when Wendy made them leave without even talking to me still haunts me. Everything we've gone through, and yet we've never been separated. That was the sole reason why we never left sooner, because we would have been separated.
I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. I Failed. I Failed.
Tears blur the colors and shapes I had so desperately tried to focus on. No one tells me the information I want to know, I can't even ask them the questions I need the answers to because it hurts.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
In and out. In and out. I try to control my breathing but it's really no use. It hurts to breath and right now I'm breathing too fast.
green. green. green. green. greengreengreengreengreengreengr-
I embrace the darkness.
That night I dream about the night I was almost raped, except this time, when Alexander shoots, my limp body goes down with a hole between its eyes.
Hey! 👋
So, update 1 of 2 is done!
The plot thickens! Now, cliche is a good thing, like it's a cliche for a reason, but uh, I dont know if y'all have noticed, but I looove cliffhangers, so, keep that in mind . . .
My goal is to make this book non-predictable . . . Obviously, some things can't be unpredictable, but the majority of it (in my hopes) shall be. I love plot twists too! :)
Alrighty, go on and read the next chapter in this double update!
Bye! 💜