HAUNTING EYES

Everything happened in a blur

The bullet hit the windscreen and I jerked back into my seat checking for any signs of injury. Abel dragged me by the collar and pulled out a shot gun from a little compartment close to my seat belt then jammed his hand onto the airbag.

Then I screamed.

You would have if someone jammed their hands onto the airbag towards your seat.

Yo! Why didn't he jam his? The airbag opened and a sleek black revolver came out with a couple of shiny silver balls thingy. Now What the fuck is that!! "You know how to load a gun right?'' Abel said and swerved the car pushing me further into my seat. Boy was I glad the leather was high grade if not I would have probably been bruised to the core. ''Yes I do." I screamed in the midst of the chaos as Abel had already started firing shots at the armed man in front of our doomed asses. Dad used to take me turkey hunting country style when I was younger. Held a rifle for the first time when I was ten. I shot a pigeon and cried my lungs out because I was really young. By fifteen I shot my first turkey. That day everyone was so happy for me. It was like I had crossed over to adulthood and I finally got to do adult stuffs.

wink! wink!

That night my sis introduced me to my first roll of weed. Long story short I spent my summer in the rehab not saying I stopped though. News flash the nurses have quite good sources of marijuana but at least I learnt to control it and that is good right?

right?

So moral lesson: do not hold a rifle because that shit is the start of a fucking nightmare. Well unless you are right in front a killer whose ready to blow out your head any moment from now.

''LOUISE!! LOAD THE GUN RIGHT NOW AND GET DOWN!!''

I looked around for actual bullets but all that was staring at me in the face were the strange silvery pearls. I grasped as many as I could in my palm and freed the latch of the cylinder. The vehicle finally came out of the pothole and jerked towards the side of the road. The man on the bike road right beside us now shooting one of the front tyres. I just recovering from my face being splattered all over the door frame quickly loaded the gun with the remaining pearls that have not slipped out of my hands within the course of the event. Abel opened the door and grabbed the gun from my hand. he threw the shot gun to me and said "If anything goes wrong, you run.'' The chills of those words made me understand that this wasn't some turkey hunting spree. It was a matter of life and death. I watched Abel get down from the car and I heard a little accent then there was a big bang. Tears welled up in my eyes as I prepared to make a run for it I saw Abel with a big splash of blood on his chest.

But not his blood.

I pushed the door open and ran to meet him. The man had blood gushing out of his chest in the most nightmarish manner and his eyes opened to meet not pupils no iris but a huge ball of silver in each eye. I visibly shivered under the hot sun and I could hear the loud thump of my heart beat through my ears.

FLASHBACK

The pine leaves grazed my beige coat as I pushed my way through the dense forest. "Come find me Matt. "I giggled. I ran round the little pond in between the trees hoping the marks of my feet will make my elder brother lose tracks of my whereabout. I grabbed on to a big branch swinging my tiny feet in the air hoping to gain a little balance. Branch by branch I climbed up the tree till I reached midway. I took in the forest view and the sprouting of the winter jasmines and winter berries struggling to grow after the blizzard that hit the whole town last week. I tried to go further but my coat got stuck on a branch and I went tumbling down towards the snow covered forest floor.

I let out a loud yelp and braced myself for the impact instead of the snow covered floor I was met with a huge comfy sweater and warm hands with college baseball bands strapped around one wrist. I sunk into my big brother's torso and tried to drag myself up . Archie groaned and pushed me to into the snow. He grabbed a huge pile of snow and poured it on my hair. That was going to leave a huge frizz I thought as I tried to pull myself from the position I was in.

"Now that's for running off when I called for you. Father is going to be pissed Louie but on the bright side the snow actually gives a little icy feel to your warm features." Archibald's eyes crinkled up in laughter and the greys lit up to almost give a steely silver which blended with the tone of the forest behind him. Archibald and Anastasia, the bane of my existence. They are apparently my two older siblings who made my preteens a living nightmare. I acclaimed the expression warm over the years when people realised I was the only sibling who didn't inherit the steely grey eyes of our father. I had other worries though like worrying about how I was an unplanned child and was eight years younger than my tormentors. He brushed the snow of his dark locs and adjusted the collar of the white tee peeping through his festive sweater. I propped up on my elbows regaining a little balance. " Mind helping me get my coat of that branch?" I gestured to the branch at my back which I sensed as the thing dragging me. Archie stepped back and brought out his phone. "Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!

"Yesssssssssssssssss!!!! " He took a couple of shots of his dear little sister with my part of my coat hanging on a branch, snow dripping from my hair and my limbs spread out like a racoon ready to attack. After a couple of shots, he finally decided to free me from my misery. My coat flagged over my face due to the strong wind and I stood up." You better not post that or something" I puffed my cheeks and feigned a sigh of annoyance looking towards the direction of our cabin. I scampered off leaving behind my brother who was engrossed in reading some texts which just came through.

The forest became darker as I walked further and the trees became thicker. The wind whistled a dreadful tune and a hand clamped down on my mouth. I tried to wiggle out of the person's grasp till I recognized the baseball band on his wrist." Calm down and keep shut."He whispered into my ears and dragged me under a very dark shade beside an oak tree.

Heavy footsteps approached us and Archie wrapped his huge jacket around tiny ol me pushing my face further into his chest . The loudness of the gun shot made me shiver in fear like I was the next person that was going to stand in front of the trigger. I pushed the flap of Archie's coat and shifted my head to the side taking the hollow dead silver that covered the eyes of the woman shot dead.

"No! Lou look at me. Look at Arch . Don't look to the side! Keep your gaze on me and count one to ten in French in your head." Archie whispered frantically trying to shield my face from the sight of the dead woman sprawled out on the floor. Then the men began to talk in a language I didn't understand with their grave voices bellowing through the woods. Archie made sure I couldn't see anything but I definitely knew whatever was going on wasn't legal neither was it safe.

a few minutes later, I heard the movement of a truck. My elder brother's coat was no longer in the way and I saw that the body had been taking and everywhere looked spotless like no one had even trudged the path." Hey! You alright?" He dragged his hands along my hair slowly patting my curls. "Yeah, I guess so." That was eleven year old me trying to act like I hadn't just witnessed someone being killed. "Let's head home Lou. We probably need to keep this to ourselves anyway. We will be fine since we weren't sited." He mumbled staring down at me in pity. I was young but old enough to know when not to run my mouth so I will stay safe.

We moved from the dark side of the woods and continued our journey home both scarred one way or another.

*****

I looked at Abel hoping he had some sort of explanation to why the person was on his tail and probably hoping to find out why he had the same type of bullets that caused the aftermath I saw in woods when I was younger. I spent a lot of my teenage years doing drugs but I was pretty sure none of my memories were tampered with after every relapse at least that was what the doctor said .

Fool or no fool I still got good eyesight and it's the same silvery look I saw in the woods and still see in my dreams from time to time. I knew he wasn't going to just tell a total stranger the details of such a weapon but if I could just get close enough. Abel grabbed the dead man's jacket and ran his hands through his inner pocket searching for something. He paused and brought out a pocket knife strapped to his ankle . After so much shredding of the jacket of the man he just killed with no remorse, he pulled out a pen. A normal pen it looked like till we noticed the green light at the tip. "Well, look at that. A bloody camera! I should have known he won't send a normal bounty hunter for me." Abel grinned.

I scoffed throwing my hands up in the air " You must be kidding me right now? So what is your story uhn? Let me guess a top listed wanted in the black market. No I have something better the FBI wanting your perfect ass for that shiny silver thingy you just used to kill the dude. I knew there was something about you that didn't sit right with me. Looking all perfect "

He just stared at me all through my rants with an expressionless face. I stopped and gave him an equal stare down trying to imagine what he will cook up for me or if he will probably just get rid of me like he is going to do to the dead guy. I visibly shivered at that thought.

Abel's face etched into a scowl his voice coming out deep and heavy" I don't think I can drop you off again."

"What the hell! You said you were going to and all because you are going to bury a man you just killed you suddenly want to change your mind." I pushed my head backwards and laughed till my eyes began to water then I started crying out loud. "Oh my God! I understand that people got to be shady but abandoning me on the road after that stunt you just pulled is brutal. How dare you? You know what? You are such an asshole . I hope I never breathe the same air as you again. "I turned on my heels and walked towards the car.

"Technically, everyone on this earth breathes the same air and when I mean I can't drop you off I mean I have to take you with me." "Yasssssssssss! Wait what??! What do you mean by taking me along with you?" I turned back swiftly.

"You see this?" He pointed to the camera that he had already smashed." This is why I cannot allow you to wander off on your own. He's probably got your name by now and everything he needs to track you down ."

"Who is he?" I instantly became afraid. "Get into the car I will tell you all about it Louise."

"Aren't you going to get rid of the body or something?" "Na!! He knows better to clean his mess up."