Bluejay

My head was definitely bleeding, that was for sure. At first, I was thankful I hadn’t been knocked unconscious but as the man’s fist returned for another round and lodged into my ribs, I wished I had been. The second punch wasn’t as hard as the first but it still sent me crumpling to a heap on the cold brick ground of the alleyway.

For a moment I thought my vision was blurring when another man, nearly identical to the man hunching over me, came out from the shadows swinging metal handcuffs on his finger. Had it not been for the still-open scar that cut across his cheek, I might not have been able to tell the two apart.

The scarred-man cocked his head to the side and then silently bent down to my level, giving me an awful grin. “Come with us.” Two clicks and handcuffs were tight on my wrists. He lifted me up by my arm. “You know what you did.” 

Confused, I attempted to explain the situation before matters got even more out of hand. “I don’t know what-”

“Shut it, Bluejay.” The first man said as he wrapped an old bandage around his bloodied knuckles. He linked his arms through my hand-cuffed ones and carried me into the shadows of the alleyway alongside his partner.

Bluejay? What on earth did these men want with me? 

The alleyway narrowed, making the air more and more humid. Unable to wipe beads of perspiration forming on my brow, the sweat trickled down into my eyes. My shoes just barely scraped the ground as they pulled my weight to somewhere I could only hope wasn’t as bad as my mind imagined. Unable to muster the courage to explain to them my situation, I’m left in the silence between the two large men.

At the end of the alleyway, I could make out a green light flickering over a staircase that led below ground. A moth circled around the light, inching closer to its death. The men slightly released their grip on my arms, instructing me to make my way down the stairs by putting a muzzle of a gun to my back. I swallowed hard, glancing sidelong at the dead moth that was being carried away on a hearse of wind. 

The scar-faced man knocked on the door with such force I thought it would have made a dent. A few light-weighted steps were heard from inside and then the rusted metal panel of the door slid open to reveal the grey eyes of a dark-skinned face. The beady eyes took their time examining the two men beside me, communicating orders in silence. 

When the panel shut once more, the door unlocked and creaked open on its own. I felt the same rough hand from before push me into the darkness that came from inside. I fell hard onto the concrete floor with my hand-cuffed hands unable to catch my fall. My knees scraped against the rough stone, staining it with a rich red color. 

The door behind me closed, the only light now coming from the bad roofing job at the top of the warehouse. I hear a few voices on the sides of the room laugh while others much closer make no attempt to whisper about my arrival. Where was I? 

In front of me, the sound of wood scraping against the concrete draws near. As the figure steps into the moonlight, I notice the splintered baseball bat in his right hand and then the paint-worn shotgun hanging at his belt. The man smiles at that. Removing the gun from the buckle, he proudly raises it straight like an extension of his arm. Without turning his head to aim, the bullet flies through the air, smashing part of a broken window and into the gunned-down wall behind it.

“Loaded.” He says as he puts the gun back into the buckle, but not clicking its latch. 

I swallow hard, my face numb with fear. “I swear I don’t know anything.” The blood now drained entirely, leaving me pale. “I don’t even know who you are.”

“Of course you don’t.” He swings the bat around as he starts to circle where I sit on my knees in front of him. He leans in for a moment. “We’ve never met in person before.”

“But I mean, I’ve-” 

With his back to me, he slams the bat hard into the ground, causing me to grow silent in terror. “Don’t try and tell me, Bluejay, that you’re going back on our deal.” His brown eyes search mine. 

Bluejay again? “I don’t even know who Bluejay is!” I yell with a sudden burst of courage.

He releases his right hand, the wooden bat drops to the ground, the sound echoing across the empty room. “You liar!” With three steps, he’s within a few inches of my face. “Don’t you try and play with me! I won’t have it. You only walk out of here alive if you keep your end of the deal.”

“I swear I have no idea what you are talking about! I’ve never-”

“Shut it!” He says as he grabs me by the collar. He breathes out each syllable between gritted teeth. “Where is it?”

I draw in a shaky breath. “I don’t know.”

“Tell me now!” With his other hand, he reaches for his gun. “I know you have it! You said when you had it, you would be waiting right there!” He smiles, drumming his fingers on the gun. “If you didn't have it then why were you stand-”

“Someone told me to!” I shouted louder than necessary, causing silence to follow.

The man took a few steps back, his razored head shining in the moonlight. He paused, looking at me with an unnamed fear. “Who told you to?” His hand on the gun had dropped helplessly by his side. “Who told you to stand there!”

“I don’t know!”

“What do you mean you don’t-”

“I’d never met him before!” I shouted before he could finish.

He heaved as though he was out of breath. He turned his back towards me, putting his hands to his scalp and staring towards the sky. “Stop saying that.”

“But it’s true!” I started to believe I might never make it out of here. Glancing down at my handcuffed hands I unintentionally mumbled something quietly. “I really had never seen him before. I’d definitely remember seeing a tattoo of that size.”

The man stopped observing the night sky. “What was the tattoo of?”

I mulled it over for a moment. Then realizing something, I brought my eyes up to his. “A bluejay.”

The muzzle of his gun found its way to my forehead within milliseconds. “What did he tell you?”

I dared not look anywhere but straight ahead. “I was in line and he-”

“I don’t care what he did, what did he tell you!”

I remained frozen. “He told me that he was supposed to have a blind date, but he ended up shying out and asked if I could stand where they were supposed to meet and tell her that he couldn’t make it.” 

“That’s what he told you?” The man didn’t seem to believe a word I said. “And you didn’t tell him to just text her?”

I paused. “I didn’t think of that at the moment.”

The man burst into cackling laughter, holding the gun up in the air. “Here we have ourselves the village idiot who doesn’t know when to get his nose out of other peoples’ business!” The man laughed again, a few other voices joining him. He grabbed me by the collar, lifting me to my feet. The gun had found its way back into the buckle and he now put an arm over my shoulder, turning me to face the hidden figures that stood towards the door. Grinning at me, he said. “I believe you.”

With his arm tossed over my shoulder, he walked me over to where I had first entered, though the door still remained shut. I could make out some faces but most remained darkened silhouettes.

“I’m not going to kill you.”

I turned to him with a shocked expression, causing him to laugh once more.

He motioned over the two burly men in grey suits, instructing them to undo my handcuffs. “I’m going to think of this as the one act of mercy I’ll do in my lifetime. Though,” He paused, observing me as I rubbed my hands over my unchained wrists. “If you do tell anyone about this little mistake,” He leaned in with the same grin. “I’ll have to kill you anyways.”

The green light shone through the now open door, my captor leading me out into the night air. He passed a wad of cash into my hand and in a breathy tone said, “It’s our secret.”

The rusted door creaked shut and I was left alone like I had been long ago. I breathed out a sigh of relief, hearing the voices inside continuing to speak before I had time to leave.

“You should’ve killed him, Zain.” A raspy voice spoke.

“Oh, I know his type.” Zain laughed a hoarse laugh. “He’ll be much too scared to tell anyone.” 

The arguing voices drowned out as I stepped further and further away. The humid air beat at my skin as I continued down the alleyway. The green light fading from view, I lifted the bottom of my hoodie up and over my head, revealing my sleeveless shirt underneath. Tying the hoodie around my waist, I saw the red markings on my wrists from where the handcuffs had been. 

They never intended to kill me. I understood that much from the man’s punches. Though my theory was further confirmed when I had met their leader. A gun with only one bullet, that he had shot prior to threatening me. 

I scoffed, thinking about their method of intimidation. Only a fool would be scared. I stuffed the wad of cash into my pocket. Glancing back over my right shoulder, I see the building far off in the distance. The flickering street lamps around me illuminating the tattooed bluejay on my uncovered shoulder.