ok this really really sucks lol
do your worst
ps: sorry it's so long!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
killer
The dog growled menacingly and bared its fangs. Billie pressed her back into the chain- link fence and tried to swallow the scream that threatened to escape. In all her fourteen years of life, she'd never seen something so huge. She could see clearly that the dog hadn't eaten in weeks. His skin clung to his ribs, revealing every outline. Her heart went out to him, but then fear leapt into her chest and took over.
Frantic, she turned and jumped onto the fence, clinging to it for dear life. Wildly, she climbed higher, as the pit bull crouched to pounce. She reached the top and jumped over. Intending to land on her feet, Billie raced through the air legs first. But the impact of the jump made her knees buckle, and she fell to the hard, burning asphalt. Heart pounding, she sat up and massaged her smarting ankles. Her eyes traveled up the fence. There, swinging from the top, was her leather book bag.
Her gaze fell to the dog. He had suddenly transformed from the outraged monster he had been a minute ago to a pitifully begging mutt. He crawled on his belly towards her. Pushing his nose against the fence, he whined softly. Billie wondered what had made him change, when the spilled contents of her left over lunch caught her attention. Her pity got the best of her.
Keeping a wary eye on the dog, she got up and gingerly made her way to the food.
Cautiously, she picked up half a ham sandwich.
The dog whined and watched her with begging eyes. Carefully, Billie stuffed it through one of the fence's metal links. She snatched her fingers back fearfully, as he swallowed the food in one bite.
Knowing an apple wouldn't fit through the fence, she backed up and tossed it over the side.
From the way the dog whined and danced around the red fruit, she could see he didn't know what to do with it.
Biting back her fear, she climbed over the fence, snagging her book bag on the way. Forgetting the apple, the dog watched her, ears pricked in curiosity, head tilted in confusion. Billie knelt by the apple and pulled a pocket knife from her jeans. She sliced the apple and fed it to the dog, knowing it would not be enough to sustain him for long.
The dog licked his black muzzle and wagged his tail. Billie observed him prancing around her legs. Looking at his sleek black body and white paws, she realized he was actually a very beautiful dog.
She also noticed that the dog seemed to regard her as his playmate. Just for that little bit of food? she mused. She figured that no one had ever done that for him before; perhaps she was on his good side now. She giggled at the thought.
But still, she couldn't just leave him here in the big parking lot all alone. If he hadn't been able to provide for himself before, he definitely wouldn't now. She pondered over the idea of taking care of him. It would be a handful.....but, for some odd reason, she already felt attached to the animal.
She felt her fear melt away, and the decision was final - she would take her new friend home.
Walking through her neighborhood always made her uneasy. It was the tough part of town. Every day, she endured those long stares from men who were either mentally undressing her or deciding what they should steal.
But today was different. People took one look at the huge pit bull trotting at her side and looked away. Billie smiled to herself then to her friend.
Billie walked up her short, narrow driveway and examined her old house. Its baby blue paint was chipped and peeling. The front door was cracked and unpainted behind a tiny white screen door. A few discolored flowers grew scattered in the bare front yard. Billie decided she liked the small, two bedroom interior of the house instead of the outside better.
Holding the screen door open, she let the dog inside. He stood awkwardly in the cramped kitchen, unsure of what to do next. Billie laughed and took a pound of hamburger meat out of the fridge.
Hoping her mother wouldn't be too mad at her, she put the meat on a plate and set the plate in front of the dog. He looked at the plate and then at Billie.
"Go ahead," she urged. He immediately did as he was told.
Billie turned and walked to her mother's room. "Mom! Mom?" she called.
No answer.
She opened the door and walked inside. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. Confused, she went back out and searched the house. Soon, worry started to creep in. She ran back to her mother's room.
Maybe she had been asleep, and Billie hadn't noticed her.
But the only thing Billie notice was the shiny, black gun left lying on her mother's dresser. Shock hit her like a tidal wave. This hadn't really happened had it?
Then realization sunk in, and grief, desperation and dejection washed over her.
"No!" she choked. Tears began streaming down her face.
She fell to the floor, sobs racking her body.
A long time ago, Billie promised herself she would never cry, for tears meant weakness. And weakness, was something you could not show when you lived in a neighborhood full of gangs.
But right then, Billie didn't feel like keeping promises. The only thing she wanted to feel was her mother's arms around her. Arms that she used to push away.
Why, oh, why had her mother killed herself?
But then, something occurred to her.
If her mother had committed suicide, then wouldn't her body still be with the gun?
Dead bodies couldn't, exactly, get up and walk away. Even so, the thought of her mother being dead made Billie shudder.
Hearing the dog snoring in the next room, she picked herself up and limply dragged her feet back into the kitchen.
The dog lay stretched out on the linoleum, asleep, beside a plate that had been licked clean.
Suddenly, something bright green on the counter top caught Billie's eye. In a hopeful flash, she was clutching the small note. It said:
Billie I've gone to pick my mother up,
I'm so sorry billi,
later i'll be bac,
I've left a key under the mat,
so lock up when leaving thank you,
I should be ther,
in about thirty minute,
-Leah
Billie leaned back against the counter confused once again. Her mother's note made no sense. Billie's grandmother had died when Billie was four. And why had her mother made so many grammatical errors? She had misspelled words and commas everywhere.
That was definitely something that Leah Weston would not do.
"Unless she did it on purpose...." Billie whispered.
She read the note over and over, but she couldn't find anything. She had always liked word games, but this was unlike anything she'd ever tried to interpret.
Billie noticed how her mother had put unnecessary commas after every line, so she decided to write down each letter that came after a comma, but when she finished, all she had was ILISIIL.
That made no sense, so instead, she wrote down each letter that came before a comma.
"Picture," she repeated out loud. What was that supposed to mean?
After half an hour or racking her brain, it dawned on her. Billie dashed back to her mother's room.
She knelt down to the bottom drawer of her dresser. Digging through her clothes, she finally found it.
The Picture.
It was a photograph of her mother, father, and her newborn self.
Before her father was killed. And now, her mother, too.
Billie choked back a sob.
She reached down and pick the picture up. But there was something stuck to the back of it.
She turned it over in her hand and gasped. A letter was folded and taped to it. She quickly detached it from the picture and unfolded it.
Carefully, she read:
[i]My darling Billie,
You might be wondering where I am, right now. Well, don't worry about me, I'm not dead.
But I do need to explain some things to you. I wrote this letter to you when you turned twelve. I knew this very thing was going to happen, but I didn't know when.
You see, I've been selling drugs for a living. I didn't want you to know, but now, I have no choice.
But then, a few months ago, the money I'd just gotten from a big hit that I sold was stolen. My suppliers were angry that I couldn't get them the money, but one of them was sweet on me.
He would always offer me money, drugs, or a place to stay, but I would refuse, of course.
He was the only reason they've held out on me so long. I've tried so hard to pay them back.
But that was so much money, Billie! Far too much to pay back in only two years, when I was trying to keep clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. Now, they've come.
Their names are Dror, Gray, and Korbin. But don't worry, they won't hurt me much. Dror won't let them. He's their leader, and he loves me.
But, Billie, he will be sending Gray back to our house to take any valuables or money left. I told them there was none. So, Billie, you must follow each of my instructions carefully.
The only valuable thing we have is the jewelry box Grammie gave to me before she died.
First, you must go get the metal box and key out of the shed. Put the jewelry box inside and lock it.
Next, go in my room and look for a loose floor panel. It will be next to my bed side table and marked with an X. There will be money in there. Take it out, and put the metal box in. Take my picture, the money, some clothes, and some food in a bag and run. Anywhere, as fast as you can.
As I said, they are coming back, but he is very liable to kill you without Dror there to stop him.
Please be safe.
One more thing, I'm terribly sorry this had to happen. I never wanted to hurt you.
And I love you more than life its self. Just know that. And be careful.
Love,
your mother,
Leah Weston[/i]
Billie realized she didn't have much time left. Adrenaline pumping hard through her veins, she leaped up and raced outside to the shed. On tiptoe, she could barely reach the shelf on which the metal box was placed. She snatched it up and ran back inside. She opened the box and took out the key. The jewelry box was just small enough to fit inside. Billie lifted to wooden panel, took out the money, and replaced it with the box - after locking it.
She put the panel back in its place, scooped up the money, and rushed back to her room.
After dumping her textbooks out of her book bag she put two pairs of jeans, a few shirts, a jacket, and a pair of shoes inside.
Hearing the commotion, the pit bull came wandering into Billie's room.
Seeing that there was nothing wrong, he wagged his tail, yawned, and curled up on Billie's carpeted floor. Billie wrapped a rubber band around the thick roll of dollar bills and dropped them in her bag.
Suddenly, the dog's eyes popped open. He jumped up, the black hair of his back and neck bristling.
A low growl rumbled from his chest. Billie's heart jumped in her throat. Some one was there.
In a rush of terror, she threw the picture in her bag and ran to her window. She heard the front door being opened, and someone shuffling through the hall. She struggled with the window before realizing it was painted shut.
Still, she attempted her escape as she listened to the intruder search her mother's room. She had no doubt about who it was. Her will to live overcame the need to be quiet. She began hacking at the window with her knife, then punching it - perhaps she could break it.
She uttered a strangled cry when hearing all go silent in the next room. The dog growled louder, as the footsteps grew closer to Billie's bedroom door.
"No!" she choked out for the second time that day, and threw her shoulder against the glass, pushing with all her might. She heard the door knob turn and the panic rose to a new level. Tears came pouring down her face. Was this how she would die? Murdered by her mother's kidnapper?
"Ugh!" She heaved a fist into the window, ignoring the biting pain in her knuckles as the glass finally burst and showered onto the soft earth below. But, before she could jump out, powerful hands grabbed her shoulders and jerked her back. Keeping her back to him, she struggled from his grasp.
"Stop," was all he said, though it sounded more like a grunt. She stopped and, trembling with fear, she turned around to face a huge man with big muscles and an ugly smile. "Left my gun here," he explained with a sneer, tossing the black object in the air and catching it smoothly. "You must be Billie. Your mom told us Billie was her boyfriend....that lying bitch." he spat, ignoring a warning growl from behind him.
Billie was outraged. She forgot about the gun in his hand and threw herself at him throwing punches.
"Don't you ever talk about her that way!" she screamed.
With one punch, Gray sent her sprawling.
Billie landed on her back and groaned. His fist had knocked the wind out of her lungs. He chuckled and wedged a hard toed boot in between her ribs, before crunching down. She gasped for air, trying to ignore the searing ache that ripped through her abdomen.
Neither of them noticed the dog behind Gray. Suddenly, he became the furious beast Billie had met at school. He lunged at the man,knocking him down. Billie scrambled up and out of the way of the pair of the all too powerful bodies. She debated on whether she should run now while she had the chance or try to separate the two before Killer got hurt. She discarded the latter; there was no way she could overpower either of them. She backed away in indecision. Her eyes suddenly widened when she spotted Gray grasping for his gun. In a moment of courage, she lurched forward and seized the weapon.
Gray's neck was in the dog's teeth before he could fight back. The dog shook his head hard, ripping Gray's jugular wide open. Blood spewed from his neck as he struggled, and Billie covered her mouth to keep from throwing up. The man's body relaxed, his eyes glazed, and he drew his last breath.
Billie was stunned. But she got up and squatted beside him. Fishing around in his pocket, she felt the bulk of his wallet and withdrew it. She grabbed her notebook, toothbrush, and a book and put them in her bag, along with his wallet. In a split second she chose to include the gun. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she called softly to her dog.
"C'mon, boy!"
He finally let go of the man's neck, and, with one last warning growl, followed Billie out the back door.
Outside, Billie looked at the dog, and felt something in her heart. Love, she decided. There was a friendship between the two that nothing could change now. A friendship for life.
He had killed that man because he thought he had hurt Billie. He had killed for her.
"Killer," she whispered into the cool night air. The dog turned and looked at her longingly, a soft whine escaping his throat. "That's what I'll call you. Killer."
Lol just kiddin
).
