Lost Boy

Writing Games Challenge... Part two.

He'd been haunting the city for months. Ever since he ran away from "home" for lack of better word. His mother was ignorant and his step father thought he was a plaything for all things unholy and sacreligious. When he tried to tell his mother, she did nothing. "Oh Nathaniel, your step father would never do such a thing." What the hell did she know any way?

He'd left everything he knew to vanish into the streets of the city, his city. She watched over him and kept him safe, provided food and water and shelter. Everything that he needed was there, if he knew where to look. He'd become a Shadow Child, sleeping through most of the day and coming out near the evenings. Sure, that's when the monsters came out too, but at least he'd be awake when they came after him. It usually worked too, until tonight.

He was sprawled against the base of a large rock, watching the moonlight reflect off the river's water. Trash floated downstream and made it's way to the ocean. He felt like falling face first into those waters, become just another piece of trash. He would have if he wasn't so tired. Tonight marked the one time that someone had gotten the drop on him, the one time when his guard being up hadn't mattered to a hill of beans.

A pimp from the north side had been watching him for a while, which he knew. He always knew when he was being watched. Tonight was the one time that he missed a set of eyes. The pimp had sent Tobias, his right hand man, to watch the boy and "convince" him to make some money working the streets would be in his best interest. Nathaniel refused and walked away from the pimp's boy. He didn't get far. The pimp sent a second man as insurance.

"Listen, boy. If you don't want to work for the Boss, then you might as well be a dead man. He's offering you so much! Money, good food, clean clothes."

"Your boss can suck it! Besides, he can't afford me," Nathaniel said, with more gusto then he felt.

The insurance policy was told that if he refused, to beat him into submission and force him to change his mind. Nathaniel wasn't sure what hit him; a fist, brick wall, or a bus. No matter, it wasn't going to end well. The boy fought back as well as he could, which did little to a man who was used to hurting people for a living and enjoyed it. Nathaniel knew a few things about a fight, it's never clean, never fair and if you can, don't be there. After a few moments of fighting, the opening he'd been hoping for revealed itself. The boy, small in stature, hooked a foot behind the knee of the larger man and shoved forward, throwing his opponent off balance. He landed on top of the man and knocked the wind out of him.

"Kill his a*s!" The insurance policy managed to croak to the first man. Nathaniel ran full force to the end of the alley and tried to dodge the pimp's boy. He twisted right, then left, then right again to throw off the aim of the other man. It didn't work as well as he would have hoped. Just as Nathaniel could feel the fresh air of the street, he felt a sting to his left side. With out time to stop, he just kept running.

Now, after the fight was over, he was at the river's edge watching the moon reflect off the polluted waters and holding his side. He'd been bleeding from a gaping knife wound for the last mile. If any one cared to, they'd find a trail from the alley to where he was now sitting. Of course no one would bother to notice the black blood stained concrete till morning. It would be too late by that time.

"I came here," he told the river and the city, "to find myself and here I am loosing the only thing I wanted to safe."

Nathaniel smiled a sad smile and looked away from the river and city's lights. He looked at the shore line and thought of how hard it was to crawl the five feet to the banks and the freedom that water provided. Finally, Nathaniel shut his eyes and took a ragged breath. He exhaled slowly, so slowly and finally went limp, his head falling to one side.

Now he could rest, there was no need to fight anymore, no need to survive. He was done and had found the perfect place to rest. Dawn would shine once more, but he wouldn't see it. Live could go on without him, as it always did, as it always would.

Author's Note

Writing Games Challenge. Please overlook misspellings.

Reviews

[GBU POETRY ONLY]

URBAN sleeze delight... Wonderful story filled with heartache & ragged imagery. Great opener... The molested conflict that starts at home and ends in the city streets. Lost Boy is story you can sink your teeth into... Bravo! GBU
(I'm working on a story and seems my time is your time: after a fight..
Wish me luck.)

[the in between]

first of all, you are so amazyingly gifted at writing ! i couldn't stop reading each sentence. :)
second, this sentence needs a correction: "I came here," he told the river and the city, "to find myself and here I am loosing the only thing I wanted to safe."
instead of safe its save right?

[J. Marc]

Excellent first paragraph! Keeps the attention of the reader riveted, longing for more. A dreadful situation you are describing here, with a lot of decency. I loved the ending with the river scene: a river symbolizes often life and its vagaries. The boy crossed cleverly from one bank to the other. Great!

[meffswife]

I love this story! So gritty, and real. The end, where he just falls asleep, his life slipping away, against that rock. And dawn coming..such strong symbolism. I always love your stories! Keep writiing, I"m proud of you!

[misha]

Great job