First draft. Please read and comment, thanks.
The café was filled to the brim with busy, bustling bees. The voices in the room were loud, obnoxious. Many of the people speaking didn’t think about what came pouring out of their mouths. Many had no idea that what they said in this little so called safe house could turn their lives into their own personal hell. I flicked my bangs back from my eyes, scanning the shop. Men with no jobs stood leaning against the counters, hitting on the young baristas serving up iced coffee’s. My boots clicked against the green tile as I slid from my stool. I zipped up my black leather jacket and looked towards the girls’ bathroom expectantly.
“Shanna, Shanna, Shanna!” Little Vanessa pushed opened the dirty white door with the pink stick figure proudly painted on and took off towards me at full speed. Her little body slammed against my legs heavily, almost knocking me over. I smiled and gently peeled her off my jeans, hefting her into the crook I made with my arms and nuzzled her warmly. She was my little angel, my little ball of sunshine. She filled the dark corners of my mind when I was doing unpleasant things and kept me coming back. I rocked her gently and bent to pick up her little pink princess bag. “Shanna, can I see mommy now?” I looked down at Vanessa, her brown eyes sparkling and wide. She wanted to see my sister. Of course she did. She’d been stuck with me for two weeks. I nodded and carried her out to the parking lot.
“Shanna.” I stopped, juggling Vanessa and my keys in one hand, and my coffee in the other. I turned to see Christian’s large frame overshadowing mine. I raised an eyebrow and managed to unlock my sister’s minivan, then slid Vanessa carefully into the backseat. I closed the door, smiled at her through the tinted windows, and turned back to Christian. I leaned against the door and crossed my arms, looking at Christian for an explanation. “Shanna, you’ve been off for too long. Those little mutts are running loose all over the damned place.” He gestured towards the café and looked at me harshly. “Do you have any idea how many of them could have been plotting to overthrow us right before your eyes?” I sighed, covering my eyes with my hand and nodded. I pointed at Vanessa with my thumb and raised my eyebrows, daring him to say anything against my taking her home.
“Shanna Banana?” Vanessa’s little nose was pressed against the window, her fingers smudging the glass. I turned to face her and nodded, opening the driver’s door. Christian walked to the opposite side and took his place in the passenger seat as I slid in and hit the manual lock button, locking us all in the small, humid car. I turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the lot, turning the wheel to the left. Christian turned in his seat to face Vanessa and smiled at her, making little grabs at her feet dangling over the cushions. She giggled and squealed, kicked out slightly to avoid Christian’s hands. It always caught me off guard how he treated Vanessa, as if she were his little sister.
After about an hour or so of driving, I pulled into my sister’s driveway. Vanessa was unconscious in the backseat, her stuffed bear clutched tightly in her little hand. I slowly climbed out of the car and opened Vanessa’s door, unbuckling her seatbelt as quietly as I could. I gently picked her up and cradled her in my arms, carrying her up the concrete steps to her home, and knocked on the large red, wood door. Jessica opened the door almost immediately, stealing Vanessa and her warmth from me. Almost instantly I felt dead inside, and couldn’t help but thrust Vanessa’s bag at Jessica. She looked at me, her expression pained, and nodded, her blond curls spilling over her shoulders. Then she closed the door on me, the temporary light Vanessa had given me winking out.
I turned on my heel and walked slowly back to the minivan, sliding into the seat. Christian pat my shoulder, his way of consoling me, and looked out the window. As I pulled back out onto the street he fed me directions, the directions that had already been carved into the side of my brain. Soon enough a large, red brick building was looming above Christian, the minivan and I. I looked at the large, dark house for a while before following Christian out. We made our way to the front door and pushed inside. We hung our coats on the hooks on the wall to my left and stepped around Jack and Derek, who were fighting over who got the bigger gun.
Downstairs, we heard whips slapping against skin and screams echoing off the walls. Christian steered me in the direction of the room at the end of the hall and nodded at the man standing guard. He opened the door and pushed me inside, closing the door behind us. A young man, looking to be in his early twenties, sat tied to a wooden chair. His dirty, greasy brown hair hung in his eyes, untamed and uncut. I sniffed, bringing my hand to my nose to mask the smell of sweat, tears, and blood. His shirt hung in strips off his bare chest. Bones stuck out promptly, glaring at the world. I winced slightly, my eyes catching hints at the long, thin gashes that crept over his shoulders and disappeared down his back.
“You filthy, disgusting mutt.” Christian kicked out one of the legs on the chair, causing the man to slide forward and land roughly on the stone floor. A sickening crack echoed through the room as his nose broke, and I couldn’t help but turn from the sight of him. How I had managed to stay in this business so long was a mystery. The man spit at Christian, blood splattering on his shiny loafers. Christian hissed and his arm struck out in the man’s direction. My hand beat him to the victim, and to my surprise, took the blow Christian had intended for the man that was practically kneeling at our feet.
“So, this time it wasn’t enough to beat me. You had to bring an audience.” I turned to the man, stunned that he dared to speak in front of Christian. Most of the gifted people we brought here were too scared to utter a prayer to see the next sunrise. Christian smirked and knelt down beside him, grabbing his chin and yanking his head up. He looked into his dark brown eyes and cocked his head to the side, making him look at me. I wanted to drop my eyes but found that it would cause me more trouble in the end, so I managed to lock my eyes with his. For a minute, I saw hope in his eyes.
I knew he could tell that I wasn’t as ‘hard-core’ as everyone else, and that gave him hope. He wanted me help him. I dropped my eyes, and Christian let go of his chin. I couldn’t help but reach out to catch him before he hit the floor. Christian looked at me sharply and stood, taking hold of my jacket as he did so. I managed to let the man down carefully while Christian yanked me up. He opened the door and motioned for me to move out. Just as I was about to put my foot out, one of the broken splinters from the leg of the chair imbedded itself deeply into the back of my thigh. I inhaled deeply and turned to see the man on the floor looking at me, pleading. He’d just used his gift to hurt me, and now he wants help? Christian hissed in frustration and pushed me out, pulling the door shut behind him.
The guard that had been guarding the door took my arm and pulled me towards the stairs, and I knew he intended on bringing me to Kelly, so she could pull out the wood, clean the wound and bandage me up. I struggled to slow him down, and we were at the bottom of the steps when I heard the man in the room at the end of the hall cry out in pain.
is just a bit more epic. HAHA~! No, actually, I was going to say "but the gifted thign makes me think you're torturing my classmates," but then my eye caught the elephant, and I HAD to say that.