Chp. 3 - Brutality

Layla awoke from a dreamless sleep. She slowly began to shift in her bed to regain full awareness. The sleep medication usually makes her groggy in the morning, and today was no different. She rolled over to look at the clock on her night stand: 3:43 a.m., it's her 23rd birthday. She grudgingly climbed out of bed and walked to her kitchen to get a glass of water. As she dragged her feet across the floor, her cat Fluffy rubbed against her leg and began purring. "Hey there, can't sleep either?" she softly spoke to the cat. He simply responded with a meow and more rubbing against her leg. After reaching the kitchen, Layla opened the cabinet above the sink, reached up for a glass and then closed the door back. As she filled the cup, Fluffy jumped on the counter and Layla began scratching behind his ears. She paused a moment to drink and then place the glass in the sink. Before she turned, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the small mirror she had hung up by the window. She stood at 5'7" with a lean but well muscled build. To say she was pretty would be a severe understatement. But she did not want reassurances of her beauty to satisfy her self-esteem, and often took such compliments with a grain of salt. She breathed confidence and grace with a sense of irresponsible charm; the kind where men stopped dead at the first sight of her smile, and resumed life again at the sound of her voice, an occurrence she always noticed, and even though it flattered her, it sometimes gave her a twinge sadness. She wanted to have meaningful conversation and connect with others, not be oogled and treated like an object . As she stared into her reflection she saw what she always saw: she was tired. Tired of being stuck here, in the monotony of her job, college, and just nothing exciting going on. Tired of waiting for life to finally happen. Tired of feeling alone despite being surrounded by people. Layla decided sleep wasn't going to come back for a while, so she would go for a drive. She put on a pair of jeans, a dark green shirt, gave her cat some food, grabbed her keys and her purse, then walked out the door

 

She was immediately greeted by the cool humid air of Wichita, Kansas. She lived on the outskirts of the city where there was less light pollution, so when she looked up she could see stars quite clearly. She stopped for a moment to look at them, letting her mind wander as she took in the sight of infinity. Nice night for a drive she thought to herself. She walked over to her Honda Civic, opened the door and climbed in. She quickly started the car, threw it in reverse, pulled out on to the street and took off. She liked driving. It was her happy place so to speak. Its where she could just decompress and listen to nothing but the engine, the road, sometimes music, but often times it's where she prayed. She grew up in the church, and while she hadn't been super active in her faith for a while, she was a believer. Lately, she prayed for the country, and for a leader to step up and find a way to bring peace, but the longer the war went on, the longer she began to lose hope. "God, I know that nations rise and fall, and that the only kingdom that matters is yours, and I know that even bad things can be used to fit your plan….but so many people are being treated unjustly, corruption is rampant, and people are dying in what used to be a safe, free country. God send someone to stand up and lead us to you, to lead us to peace. And I want to be useful, God. Give me an opportunity to get involved and help somehow…I don’t know who I should help, so God just show me the way, open a door" She thought about her friends that went off to join either the army or the resistance, and how some were killed by North Korean attacks, when they weren't being killed by each other. She wiped a tear from her eye and kept driving. There was an ever so slight peak of red orange light on the horizon as the first specks of sunlight began to tease the coming of the morning. She thought briefly about pulling over somewhere to watch the sunrise, but decided she didn't want to sit still for that long, so she kept driving. She took side roads, she took main roads, she took roads she knew and ones she didn't (although the latter was quite rare considering she knew most of them.) Scattered throughout her trek she passed the long empty houses of friends who had left to go fight. She had a tight knit circle of friends, but even they were not immune to the division caused by the war. Some joined the military, still believing the government stood for truth and justice, others joined militia groups believing the government had become corrupt beyond measure and their concerns were proven legitimate when one of the east coast militia groups revealed secret files detailing certain members of congress conspiring with the invading Coalition forces. Despite both military and militia forces fighting against the Coalition, they still found time to slaughter each other as well. It was a mess. Layla thought more on that east coast group, as she couldn't quite remember what they called themselves. Something about ghosts wasn't it? I think it had historical reference to the south east maybe. Its weird how they don't advertise themselves and post propaganda like the other militia groups do, what are they hiding from? Sounds sketchy to me, I wouldn't trust it. Suddenly her car made a ding sound.

 

She looked down and noticed she was low on gas. Well, I think I can make it to Craig's, I think Remy works tonight, he always makes good conversation. She drove for another ten minutes before spotting the small 24/7 gas station where she worked and pulled in. When she stepped out of the car, she noticed a black Audi, which was at a pump across the lot, perpendicular to the one she was at. She smiled and thought, some rich old guy with insomnia like me. At least he has a nicer car to drive in. She walked into the  gas station, waved hello at Remy the cashier, turned immediately down the row to her right, grabbed a coke from the fridge and looked around. She noticed the only person here (besides the cashier) was a young, muscular man, about her age, with cheap jeans and a grey flannel, and a few cuts and bruises on his face. Or maybe a young guy in a fight club? She thought in confusion. She looked down at the aisle and grabbed a pack of skittles, turned around and nearly jumped when she realized he was right in front of her. "Sorry," he spoke with a slight southern accent, but not the kind hiding chewing tobacco and Jim Crow legacy. It sounded sweet, with a deep tone, and was well spoken enough to be taken seriously. "Didn't mean to startle you, just grabbing a candy bar" She hesitated a moment as she looked at him. He seems like he's a stray too. She shook her head and mumbled "it's no worries, all good. Where are you headed on a night like this?" He smiled. "Well eventually South Carolina, but I need to stop in Kansas City. My phones about to die, you wouldn't happen to know the best back roads to take would you?" She rolled her eyes, "what, you can afford that Audi out there but not a car charger? The station sells them up front." He seemed slightly caught off guard by this question, but didn't hesitate long before replying, "well, I also don't really trust my phone right now, kinda paranoid about all that government tracking you down and reading your phone stuff. I was gonna buy a map but I just wanted to know which routes probably had the  least amount of cops." While she wasn't totally buying his story, she figured he probably was sincere about the paranoia part. "what are you worried about? Not carrying drugs or doing anything illicit are you?" she replied playfully. "He grinned and shot back, "Only if you count reckless speeding." She walked over to one of the maps at the end of the aisle, opened it up, and began pointing out a route. "These are your best bets under normal circumstances, but to be honest, so many of the officers in the area left to join the fighting that a cop is pretty rare anyway. But if you're set on paranoia then this is the way to go." He eyed it intently, committing it to memory before saying, "thank you very much I'll keep that in mind." She nodded, then turned back to Remy to purchase her drink and snack. "Hey Remy, how's the night been?" Remy, half asleep, replied groggily, "oh you know, boring as hell, as usual."

 

Before she could reply, there was a gunshot, and a bottle near them exploded. With reaction speed faster than she could blink, the young man had dove on her and took her down to the ground for cover, her purse falling to the floor, as the store began to fill with bullets fired from outside. Remy yelled, "Oh lord the day is here!!" and took off out the back door. Layla got to her hands and knees peered around the corner and looked outside through the window. Men in Iranian Army uniforms were behind her car and the pump, firing at the store. "Are they Russians? Koreans? What are they doing in Kansas? Layla screamed out in fear. Tyler answered, "they are wearing Iranian uniforms, but those aren't Iranians. They're all speaking English like Americans, and the uniforms look cheap and haphazardly thrown on. They probably work for someone else and just want it to look like Iranian soldiers." Layla then realized not only had the war trickled into Kansas, but now she was caught in some crazy conspiracy that she never would have thought real. A million thoughts flooded her mind. "Who are you? Why are they here?" The young man didn't reply, as he grabbed a lighter and lit the end of the cloth in the bottle. "When I throw this, run to my car. They've surrounded yours, and I'm your only way out. Also, I'm sorry in advance." he snuck down the row to the door, pulled a pistol out of his pocket and fired a few rounds into the window to open a large enough hole. She replied in confusion, "wait what are you sorry for--" but right then he threw it into the midst of the soldiers, setting fire to 3 of them, and her car. Before she could protest, he bolted back down the aisle, grabbed her, and then ran out the other door on the perpendicular wall. They reached his car and hopped inside, immediately hearing gunfire as the soldiers tried to cut them off. The man (who had started the car already with the remote while they ran) threw the car in 1st and floored it out of the parking lot onto the road.

 

BOOM

 

Suddenly everything around the car lit up like it was day time, and the ground shook. Layla turned around in her seat to see a cloud of smoke and flame engulfing what used to be the gas station. Okay God, I know I asked for a sign, but I didn't expect it so soon.  She whipped back to the young man. "Okay mister, you owe me some answers and a new car." The man smirked, "We just got shot at and nearly blown up and you're worried about your car?" But she wasn't phased, "I wouldn't have had to worry about anything if you hadn't been here at all. They were after you weren't they?" He rolled his eyes, despite knowing she was right. "Fine. Tell ya what, this car belonged to a hitman, its not going to show up on any police 'missing car' databases so you can have it when I'm done." She blinked in disbelief, "wait really?" Oh my god, this is so worth being shot at, I will find every excuse possible to go for drives in this. "But," his words interrupted her thoughts, "as I mentioned earlier, I'm heading to South Carolina. So you'll have to come get it." she shot back, "um, no. You can bring it back to me when you're done with your business, I'm not about to drive into a warzone just to pick up a car." He shrugged, "How do you know I'll bring it back? What if I die?" She rolled her eyes and took his phone out of the cup holder, then said, "Almost dead huh? Looks like you've got a full battery." She began to put her phone number into his phone then sent herself a text of her number. As she did so he replied, "Didn't trust it, government could be getting data from it." She rolled her eyes dismissively and said, "if you say so. Now I've got your number, so if you try to flake out on me you won't hear the end of it. Now, you still haven't answered my question."

"And that is?"

"Your name? I might need it for your contact info. I'm Layla."

"Nice to meet you, Layla. I'm Tyler."

"Hello, Tyler. Now if you don't mind, could you take me home please?"

 

Back at the burning gas station, a soldier found a purse in the wreckage. She dug inside to find a wallet, then opened it up to see the license of a girl with auburn hair, blue eyes, and a local address in Kansas.

 

After navigating through various backroads to make sure they weren't followed, Tyler pulled into Layla's driveway. "Well, its been fun, but I think I've had enough excitement for tonight." Layla spoke as she opened the door, "try not to get yourself into too much trouble. And don't scratch my new car!" Tyler grinned and replied, "wouldn't dream of it." She closed the car and walked up to her door, and Tyler stayed behind a moment to ensure she got in okay. Layla suddenly stopped, and swore, before walking back to the drivers side door. As Tyler rolled the window down she quietly muttered, "I don't have my keys. You don't happen to have lock picking in your arsenal of illicit skills do you?" Tyler thought for a moment, then turned off the car, opened the door, got out and walked to the front door. Taking out a pocket knife, he stuck it between the door and the frame, catching the latch with the blade and pushing the door open. "Not exactly lock picking, but if it works it works." With a sigh of relief, Layla walked into her house, stopping at the door, and turned around. "I would offer you a drink or a place to sleep because it's too late to be driving, but to be honest I'm not 100% sure I trust you, no offense." Tyler shrugged, "You probably shouldn't. I am a stranger after all. And I torched your car. Most reasonable people wouldn't let me in their house after that either. See ya around, Layla." and he gave her a sincere smile and walked back to his car, then drove off. Layla watched him go until the tail lights disappeared around the corner, then closed her door. Well, that was interesting, she thought to herself. She was greeted by the meows of Fluffy,who came walking slowly up to her. "Well hello my darling, have I got a story to tell--" suddenly she stopped as she heard screeching tires and gunfire. In a flash she darted to her room, opened her closet, unlocked her safe and pulled out a Glock 19, and two extended magazines. The first she loaded in to her pistol, the other she stuck in her pocket, then she killed her lights, and ran back to her living room window just in time to see 2 large trucks, each with men spilling out of the bed and cab holding guns aimed at her house. "Oh, s**t," was all she managed to say before they began firing on the house. She ducked down, arms over her head, completely sure she was doomed when suddenly they stopped. She heard voices shouting, mostly in English but she couldn't quite tell what they were saying. She peeked over her now destroyed window sill to see lights aimed behind the trucks at a black Audi, and a man in grey flannel holding his hands over his head in a sign of surrender. Then she heard his voice, "She is an innocent bystander in all of this. Let me make sure she is okay, and then I'll come quietly, please let her go free." Despite the horror she felt in this moment, her heart racing faster than at the gas station, her senses dialed to 11 by the adrenaline pumping her veins, she couldn't help but notice his voice was totally calming. He was surely going to be harmed, or killed, yet he was entirely indifferent. No, she thought, not indifferent. He's at peace. The men  glanced at each other, before the leader said, "We were expecting someone else to be driving that car. Is he dead?" Tyler nodded, "He's at the bottom of a hill in Colorado." The man seemed confused, and irritated that he had this complication to his work, "You are not the one we were sent to kill, but you are of extreme value. Take your gun out, slowly, and toss it aside. Then you can go check on the girl." The man in grey did as ordered, then walked slowly but confidently to the house and through the front door. "Layla? Are you okay?" He called. " She stood up, her mouth suddenly dry, and since she could not find words to give him, she merely approached him and slapped him. 

Though she had struck with anger and force, he took the blow without resistance, and looked her in the eye before replying, "That's fair." He then pulled the keys to Audi out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Well, I probably won't be coming back to give you this, so you might as well keep it for yourself." She looked at the keys and suddenly her anger changed to fear and sadness. She met his gaze and despite still having a dry throat she managed to ask, "what's going to happen to you?" He shrugged. Truth be told, he didn't always have a plan, even though many of his comrades back home believed he did. In fact, he was much better at improvising, although at the moment his worry was for Layla, not himself. He regretted that she had become involved, and wished he could somehow get her out of here without the group outside following them, but all he could do at the moment was pray they would take him and leave her alone.

He turned and walked back out the door, down to the armed men. Again Layla thought he had absolutely no fear, and was the definition of calm and serene. "Alright, take me away gents. But leave the girl out of it," Tyler's voice was strong, collected, and invoked a sense of command in the armed men, even though he was their captive. Layla watched helplessly as they tied his hands, and threw him into the back of the largest truck, which then took the lead when they left, followed by the second smaller pick up. She sat there, tears beginning to form as she processed everything that just happened. Why am I worried about him, we just met? But shouldn’t I do something? Call the police? What can they do against those guys? Frantically she searched her mind, as the tail lights from the trucks edged closer to the curve down the road where she would never see them again. Fluffy brushed her leg again, and meowed. She looked at him, then picked him up as she came to a decision. "Alright Fluffy, lets do something stupid." She then ran to the Audi, put her cat in the passenger seat, started the car and tore off after the men.

 

Layla had no plan. She had a fast car, a cat, and a glock, but no plan. It was still night time, and even though the moon was in full, cloud coverage was spotty and caused moments of darkness to intersperse an otherwise brightly lit road. She kept her distance for a while, in order to try and maintain a sense of secrecy, but she had no training in this. It wasn't long before the rear truck noticed her, and shots rang out in the night air. The car took a few hits, none in vital areas and none near Layla, but she swerved anyway to keep it that way. Her body began pumping more and more adrenaline, and she felt time start to slow down. Seconds became like minutes, and on instinct she lifted her glock and began firing back. She had never fired her gun at another person before, and had never fired period from a car. It was disorienting, and she struggled to balance maintaining evasive maneuvers while aiming her shots. The first 5 went wide, only one managed to hit the truck. The 6th, out of luck, managed to strike the driver through the rear windshield, and it began violently swerving  before hitting a curb and flipping on its side, sliding to a halt, but not before Layla clipped it on the passenger side door. It took out her mirror, and badly destroyed her fender and door, but it was all cosmetic, nothing to damage function to the car. She was raddled, and accidentally dropped her gun on the passenger side floor as she let out a short scream. She panicked and tried to reach for her gun while stepping on the gas to get closer. As the lead truck began firing on her, she immediately thought, Screw it, if I'm gonna go out, I'll go out with a bang. She shifted to the next gear and floored the gas, then swerved wide to the left.

In a matter of seconds she had nearly closed the gap, then turned back immediately behind to ram it in the back, which then tore off the front bumper of the Audi. The car had moved so fast the soldiers could not land any hits, and at the moment of impact the shooters in the back were thrown from the back. Layla maintained a super close follow after this hit, and went to reach for her gun, when a person landed on the hood of her car. She looked up to see Tyler, free of his bonds. "Mind opening the sunroof?" Layla did exactly that, then he crawled in quickly to the passenger seat. He noticed her gun in the floor and picked it up. "Mind if I borrow this?" he asked as he stood through the sunroof. Layla had instinctively let off the gas when Tyler landed on the car, and this gave plenty of room between her and the truck. Tyler took one shot and nailed the driver. The truck immediately took a sharp left turn and slammed into a tree. Layla took in how he was completely calm, and how he kept steady while the car shifted about. He took only one shot, and even though he took it quickly after rising out of the sunroof, it was not a rushed shot. He's done this kind of thing a lot, she thought in awe, what kind of life has he led?

Tyler sat back down in the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt, just as fluffy crawled from under it to sit in his lap. The two said nothing as they drove along the quiet Kansas night. After a few minutes Tyler asked, "So, that was very brave what you did. You saved my life, and I'm very grateful." Layla said nothing, but grinned to herself. Then Tyler added, "You know, it's probably still unsafe for you to return to your house, if any of those guys are still alive." Layla glanced at him before replying, "I guess I'm gonna need a place to stay." Tyler hesitated before asking, "got any family you could stay with?" but Layla was already shaking her head, "none that are near by. Besides, now that I'm in the driver seat, I think I'll stay with this car, make sure it doesn't get anymore damage than it already has." Tyler grinned, "I guess I can't convince you otherwise huh?" He began to scratch behind the ears of Fluffy and he began to purr loudly. Layla had a brief look of interest as she noticed this. "I guess I can probably trust you," She said quietly. Tyler turned to look at her, "and why is that?" he asked. Layla shrugged before replying, "well, Fluffy normally doesn't like anyone except me. He runs away and hisses at them. Yet, he's letting you pet him, and cuddling you." Tyler couldn't help but give a big smile, which gave Layla a sense of warmth and peace. "Well, my friends sometimes call me the cat whisperer. I love cats, I have black one back home that I named Toothless" he said as he started rubbing under Fluffy's chin. Oh my god, Layla thought to herself, he's a dork underneath all that muscle. Then she came to a decision. "Alright," She spoke, "Where to then? Cause I'm guessing my safest place at the moment is with you." Tyler hesitated before grinning, "Well, I'm supposed to meet some friends in Kansas City," He replied. Layla then stepped on the gas and said "Then to Kansas City it is."

Author's Note

Finished Chapter! though perhaps some rough edges could be smoothed out, tell me what you think!