Crooked Chapter 1

Prologue is done, now for some good stuff.

1.

            One hour earlier…

            Warm metal dug into my lower back from my white halter top when I leaned against our weather beaten Jeep. In the scene before me, Atlas was sitting under a nearby pine tree in the clearing we had parked in, with one earbud haphazardly hanging into his ear while he turned his head and was adamantly telling a story to Doll. Doll, on the other hand, seemed to only be half paying attention as she was staring intently into her compact mirror and threw an occasional nod in Atlas’s direction that was Doll for, I have no idea what the hell you keep talking about, but to seem nice I’ll nod sometimes.   

            Reaper was being quietly constructive as usual, flipping the steaks on a portable grill and adding seasonings. He is, by far, the most ominous-looking person I’ve ever met. His black hair contrasted drastically with his skin that looked so white he appeared unhealthy all the time. His eyes were such a shocking dark blue they looked an unnatural color, a piercing color that shot to your core. He was the thinnest boy I’ve ever met, too, and he always wore the same thing. He had clone after clone of the same grey hoodie, solidary dark jeans (sometimes sweatpants when he was feeling lazy, but that wasn’t very often), and black sneakers. You should be thankful you’re not around Doll when she rants about his repetitive clothing patterns, not that it ever affected Reaper. He knew Doll was just a nag, and besides that Reaper never told off anyone. Ever.

            And to complete the few minutes of relative peace all of us managed to dig up, Daxon came striding up to stand beside me. I smiled into his skin when he drew me into a hug. Daxon was considerably taller than I was, and wore loose fitting blue jeans, a black tank top and his Dad’s old military dog chain clinking against his chest. I breathed in his scent, and even though he smelled like exhaust fumes at the moment, I didn’t care.

            I felt complete. All of us were together like the family that none of us had anymore, with the exception of Candice and Kenzie. We were going to meet up with the two of them in about an hour or two, but I’m sure they were managing just fine on their own. All of us always do, but we’re at our best when we’re together. That’s how it’s been for years now.   

            The seven of us. Sometimes I’ve wanted to kill everyone in our tight little unit (myself included), but for the most part I’d like to believe all of us are meant to be together. I like to think of it as seven used-to-be-ordinary people brought together by chance, circumstance, and now for a common goal. 

            We just wanted to survive, and we needed each other for that. How were we supposed to know that it was about to become so much more than that, more than it already had?

 

Sixty miles away…

            Candice groaned, and put a hand over her forehead in exasperation.

            If Kenzi didn’t drive like a damn madwoman… The red SUV jerked backwards, and Kenzi gave a little giggle, as if almost being run over by a U-Haul truck somehow held humor. In Candice’s eyes, it didn’t. In most people’s eyes, it wouldn’t.

            “If you get us both killed I swear to God I’ll hang you in the afterlife, because there will be a special place in Hell for you.” Candice growled.  

            “You’re always so uptight, Candy, we’re going to be-“

            “Watch the f*****g road!” Candice grabbed the wheel, and swerved them out of the way of an oncoming minivan holding a less-than-amused soccer mom. Somehow they had managed to verge into the wrong lane. Again.   

            “Who gave you a license? I want to file a lawsuit against them.” Candice said.

            To put it nicely, Kenzi’s driving skills left something to be desired. Kenzi was a different kind of girl, quirky some might say. She was relatively tall, with a thin frame, and can seem oblivious to the real world sometimes since she always appears to be caught up with her own thoughts. She had long, wavy light reddish hair that fell down past her shoulders, and abnormally big, baby blue eyes shrouded by long, red lashes. The girl was completely obsessed with The Rolling Stones, which drove the others crazy to no end when “Satisfaction” or “Start Me Up” have been replaying for the last, say, hour.

            So in times like these when it is wise to be in reality and pay attention to what it is you’re doing, sometimes Kenzi’s overactive imagination can get in the way. Just a little. Especially when it comes to dodging in and out of traffic on the wrong side of the road. Especially when someone thinks dodging in and out of traffic on the wrong side of the road is a game and one to be taken lightly (which is Kenzi’s way of life).

            Candice, though, was now clutching the sides of her grey, polyester seat for dear life, her silver painted nails digging small slits into the material. The track “Let It Bleed” was blasting through the speaker system, and Kenzi sang along with the song, “You Got the Silver”, nodding her head from side to side with a cheerful smile on her face.

            “Hey Kenz, ya care to watch the road? We’re veering over again.” Candice warned, sounding strained. Her brown eyes narrowed to slits when she had to slip her hand over the wheel to put the car in the right direction.  

            Never again, thought Candice, will I ever let Kenzie have the wheel. Candice had been lied to. Kenzie had told the older girl that she was a great driver.  

            This is where it’s going to end. I’ll have survived a juvie break, three months of prostitution, and a gunshot wound in my right calf, but I won’t make it through this road trip with a goddamn DC Universe nerd.  

            “Sing with me, Candice! “Hey baby, what’s in your eyes? Is that the diamonds from mi-“ She stopped singing suddenly, to jerk the car on the right path again, shouting, “WEEEEEEEHEEEEEE! Did you see that? He gave me the finger! What a hard a*s, right?”     

            “You almost plowed him off the road into a ditch.” 

            Kenzi ignored Candice’s comment to continue humming along with the melody.  

            Candice ran a hand through her wispy, dark brown hair. As far as looks and personalities go, it’s easy to say Candice and Kenzi were polar opposites. Candice stood at five foot six, and had curves where Kenzi was as flat as a board, though both girls were lean. Candice had muscles, too, but girlishly so, and was physically the strongest compared to Xandra, Doll, and Kenzie (not that any of them were weak, by any means). She had tanned skin, and her eyes and hair color matched. Her face was very angular and slim.

Where Kenzi wore “The Rolling Stones”, “Batman”, and “The Green Lantern” t-shirts, Candice preferred her low-cut tank-tops, leather jackets, and leather biker pants or tight jeans that hugged all the right places with her occasional dress up days. She wore deep red lipstick, and eyeliner to make her face look even more dramatic and to give it flare, while Kenzi had no interest in make-up at all (her large eyes didn’t need to be brought out any more than they were naturally, anyway).

Candice now tugged down the leather jacket she had been wearing earlier, burning up in the dangerous car. She cranked on the A/C to give her hands something to do besides grasp objects in the car out of fear for her life.

“Aren’t we almost there?” Kenzi fought to be heard over the air conditioner and Mick Jagger.

Candice pulled out the road map, eyeing a place Daxon had circled earlier. They were currently on Interstate 280 that connected San Jose to San Francisco. “Not yet,” she said, “We still have a little while… about an hour, I’d say. Can you keep us breathing for that long?”

“Probably.” Kenzi responded with a little laugh.

“Okay, you do that,” Candice made sure to talk slowly and clearly, “Just focus on the road and where you’re steering, okay?”

Kenzi nodded, still humming.

One more hour, Candice, just one more hour. You can make it, d****t, you haven’t lived this far to die yet.

Very few people could test Candice’s patience this far and still be allowed to exist. Only six other people, to be exact.

 

“So when do we leave? We have to meet up with Kenzie and Candice soon.” I said to Daxon, who still had me in a tight hug. I worried thinking about Kenzie and Candice, even though I knew they should be fine as long as Candice was driving.

I felt Daxon shrug, his muscular shoulders pressing against me with the movement.

“I’d give it some more time. Let the others rest and recuperate a little longer, huh? Besides, we need time, too, don’t we? It’s been a while since I’ve had time to be able to do this,” Daxon’s voice had dropped to a lower, sexier tone when he took my chin in his hands and moved my face up to his. I had to use the Jeep for support to be able to reach my lips up to meet his.  

It was in moments like these, just a feather light brush of skin against skin, when I’d felt the closest thing to safe I’d ever felt.

Daxon tugged my chin closer, pressing my body against his warm, solid build more firmly. His tongue grazed my bottom lip and a small noise escaped the back of my throat. I started to open my mouth to allow him better access, when I heard footsteps crunching the dry grass on the other side of the car and jerked back suddenly.  

Daxon looked at me in confusion for a second, “What’s-“ He cleared his throat when Reaper’s thin form took shape in front of us, and he awkwardly shuffled his feet at finding us in such a, um, compromising position.

“Dinner’s ready,” Reaper murmured, and turned to walk away swiftly. I caught a glimpse of his skin that had blushed a furious red color, and a coil of embarrassment and guilt worked its way up my stomach.

            “Thank you!” I called lamely to his retreating form, and I sighed. I leaned my forehead against Daxon’s chest, who chuckled.

“Of course it had to be Reaper, didn’t it?” I growled, and sighed again.

“Reaper’s a big boy and can handle it, Xan.” Daxon was still laughing at me, or the situation, I didn’t know which. I, however, found neither very entertaining.

“But he’s just so shy, and sweet and… so Reaper. You know what I mean.” I gave up hopelessly, lifting my head from Daxon’s chest to meet his crystal clear, light blue eyes surrounded by dark brown lashes, the same color as his short, spiky hair.

My boyfriend shrugged. “He’s killed more people than you have.”

Well, there it was, wasn’t it? The truth comes out and now you’re a little closer to knowing what all of this is about. It’s true, though, Reaper’s past is even more haunting than my own, as sorry as I am to have to say that. Someone like Reaper… I’ve always thought that he especially shouldn’t be here.

He should have been one of those boys born in a nice, quiet suburban neighborhood where his mom was mayor of some small town and he went to charity councils on the weekends. Where his dad had a respectable job and the most dangerous thing he’d have to do at his age is try not to wreck his new car and not get an F on his chemistry test. He would have been one of those guys who was sweet, and caring to his girlfriend and who had an enormous group of friends who didn’t care if he could be a little shy sometimes or not. He should have been the star of a basketball team who never actually made it that far in the league, but would have been a place where he could shine every Friday night with his friends.

But, considering fate has never bothered to listen to my opinions anyway, I guess the same goes for Reaper. His name was never really Reaper, but none of us ever talk about what it was like before, or what our real name was. Before our mismatched group was formed or before someone joined us or was found.   

We have an unspoken rule of sorts that has always been understood and followed. Once you’re with us, you take your new name, live with your new identity, and you don’t talk about what life was like for you beforehand. It’s easier that way, for all of us, because no one had a perfect, innocent life that you could brag about, anyways, and it’s easier to move on, I think, if you never mention what you missed. All we knew about each other was what we needed to know, and absolutely nothing personal.

It’s different for me, though. Everyone else… Doll, Kenzie, Reaper, Atlas, and Candice didn’t have a past with anyone else in our tiny unit (Except for a few months when Doll met Atlas, but nothing before that), except for me. Except for Daxon, but let’s reserve that story for now. Right now we’ve got bigger problems, and bigger ones yet to come in the immediate future.

Author's Note

chapter one! Review me and I will review you back. opinions, comments, questions, concerns, or anything else is appreciated. Luv ya!

Reviews

[Chaz Hemsworth]

I love the premise, a gang of 7 doing what they do best. Your style is distinct. I do think you'll need to expand on characters in later chapters but for a first this is good.

[BClancy]

Wow! Great first chapter! I really liked the description of the characters and their personalities. My favorites are Reaper and Kenzie! I'm excited to see some more chapters come out!

[Vidya Bacchus]

This was really great.I find you have quite a way with words.Great job you :)

[ZeniaK]

thank you :)

[Vidya Bacchus]

You are welcome :P

[Silent Wolf]

Wow. This is just... wow. I like how this story is going. It's not too fast or too slow. And as for the grammar, I didn't see any that struck out at me. So good. Can't wait to read more. :3 Message me when you have the next chapter out, or just comment on this review. (commenting would probably be easier...)

[Nusquam Esse]

So far this is seeming pretty good. The dialogue doesn't feel awkward, and the characters seem well fleshed out considering the number of them, and that this is the first chapter. You may want to consider introducing the characters at a slower rate? But I can't really judge this until I see more of the story. Will need to see more to make a better judgement, but so far it seems well written, with thus far good characters, and a non-cliche setting /(plot?) Keep it up, and lets see where this all goes!

[ZeniaK]

hey nusquam! Hey, thanx for taking the time to review all of my things, that was incredibly nice of you. Don't worry, I'm going to return the favor right now. ;) Thanks again your reviews are a big help!!!

[Praveeta]

A wonderful write. Love how you have described the characters.

[ZeniaK]

thank you so much :D

[Praveeta]

You are most welcome.

[M.B.Valentyne]

Hey Zeniak!

Want to point out that I felt the ending from:

'But, considering fate has never bothered to listen to my opinions anyway,'

was by far, in my opinion, the best part of this segment. It was powerful and reflective. Really left me asking questions such as; Who were they before? Who are they now? What have they done? ect.

The polar opposites of Candice and Kenzi is also an interesting topic.

Something I've realised recently is that it's not always necessary to be overly descriptive,when just telling the story will suffice. It's all about finding that balance between author and storyteller.

Nice work!

[ZeniaK]

Thank you for your review MB, it means a lot to me!!