Zed
“Hey, buddy.” Marco grinned at me. “You try some of this shit yet? It’s so smooth.” He handed me a little bag full of white powder, and instantly my veins itched.
“That looks so sweet.” I breathed, holding the bag close. The medicinal smell of the heroin was noticeable through the plastic, or so I thought. After almost a year of being hooked on dope, I could smell it in my sleep.
“That’s a sixty-dollar bag, man,” Marco said. “You’ll want to be careful with that. It’s stronger than what you’re used to. Break it down and sell it in quarters if you have to. We don’t want any ODs on this turf; we gotta keep the customers alive for right now.”
I nodded, already searching my mind for a way to try the pure heroin in my hand. I decided that once Marco left, I could shoot up—between my toes so there wouldn’t be track marks. Then just pass out for a couple of hours in a state of blissful high and wake up in another world. Heroin was like the warm embrace of a woman, and I craved every moment I could get alone with her.
“Marco, what do I owe you for this?”
He grinned at me. “Gratis right now, little dude.” He clapped me on my big biceps. “But if you like it and want to start selling, let me know. I’ll hook you up!”
The junk Marco gave me was the purest heroin I’d ever tried. I was hooked instantly, and I started selling so I could buy even more for myself. I thought Marco was just a neighborhood kid, but I soon realized that he had gang ties. He promised to keep me out of everything, but I couldn’t help but feel suspicious. The junk he was getting was far too good to come with no warning, and it was only a matter of time before Marco’s headless body showed up on my front step.
Around the same time, I was getting heavy into the H. I was shooting up multiple times a day; it seemed like nothing was enough to keep me sated. I was dealing whenever I could, but the customers started to dry off as people overdosed more and more often. I was just about at rock bottom when thugs broke down my door and stole everything. They took all of my junk stash and all the money I had saved up looking for the monster who slaughtered my sister.
Then, I got charged with possession. One of my clients turned on me and handed me over to the cops, with a grin on his face like the bastard he was. I served ten years for it and got no fucking closer to the killer. But he was still around. Oh, he was still around, and he never let me forget it.
“Man, you awake?” Peyton snapped his fingers in front of my face, and I snarled back at him. “Man, you gotta talk to me about this.” He held out a piece of paper with a blurry photo and a name. “You know this asshole?”
I nodded and gave him a dark look. “He was involved with junk back in the day. I bought from him a few times.”
Peyton opened his eyes wide. “This asshole is the motherfuckin’ hustler of Iron Angels,” he whispered. “You tellin’ me you worked with him?”
I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. “What?”
“He’s in the motherfuckin’ Iron Angels,” Peyton repeated with a grin. “Remember I told you to watch out?”
I glared at him. “Why the fuck are you so happy about this?” I growled. “This is bad news, Peyton. This is really fuckin’ bad, and it’s a lot worse than I thought.”
“Sorry, man,” Peyton replied, holding his hands up in mock defeat. “I didn’t mean to make you pissed off, but do you know how fuckin’ serious this is?”
I swallowed the urge to punch him in his smug face. “I do. Can you stop throwing that name around in here? It means something to everyone.”
Peyton rolled his eyes. “And he’s the one who told me about those kills,” he whispered to me. “He’s the one who told me about that guy in Iron Angels carving people up.”
My stomach turned to a block of ice. I couldn’t even process what he’d just told me. If that was true…
“Fuck,” I whispered aloud, feeling my heart thud in my chest. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
“What is it, man?” Peyton asked. He leaned back in his chair and cocked his head at me. “What you fuckin’ thinking about over there?”
“When I was younger, in my twenties, I dealt junk for a while,” I said quietly. Peyton opened his eyes wide but didn’t say anything. “And I thought I was mostly dealing with this street kid, Marco. He got killed one day—someone fuckin’ cut his head off—and I assumed it was another dealer. I didn’t know we were involved with the Iron Angels.”
“Are you fuckin’ stupid?” Peyton glared at me. “You sold grade A junk and didn’t think you were involved in a gang? How retarded can you be?”
I looked down. “I was a fuckin’ kid, alright? And I was dope addicted myself. I didn’t fuckin’ know up from down at that point.”
Peyton gazed at me. “And now you’re thinkin’ that asshole is the one who offed your sister?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I muttered. “It has to be him. It’s been him the whole time. He’s always fucked with me. First Rose, then Marco, and then someone turning me in. Now all the kills around me.” And Lily, I wanted to add.
My heart jumped into my throat when I thought about her. The involvement of the Iron Angels made everything so much worse than it had been before. They weren’t a clueless gang. They were one of the most ruthless, lawless gangs in the country. The towns they lived in, they owned. I knew they had probably paid off the local law enforcement everywhere they claimed territory. And now I knew that it was only a matter of time before they came gunning for me.
And gunning for Lily. Jesus, I’d be lucky if they came for me first. If my previous luck gave any indication of the future, I didn’t think I’d be so lucky. I could just see it now: walking into Lily’s apartment, calling her name, and finding her mutilated and battered body in the bedroom. The idea alone made me sick; I knew that if it actually happened, I wouldn’t be able to cope.
I had to tell her somehow. I had to let her know. If I didn’t, she wouldn’t believe me. I knew there was a slim chance of her believing me now, after everything that had happened. But I at least had to try.
“What are you gonna do?” Peyton looked at me expectantly. His lighthearted demeanor about the situation was very unsettling; it had always been like that, but I expected him to show a little more gravity when the situation called for it.
I frowned. “I gotta find that guy,” I hissed out. “I have to find him before he finds me first.”
“Or someone else,” Peyton said idly. I snapped my head up and looked at him.
“Who?” I demanded.
Peyton grinned. “I’m jus’ fuckin’ with you, boy,” he said, snorting. “Don’t be so fuckin’ tense about this. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s definitely not. It’s not going to be alright, not at all. I need to get out of here, I need to get working.”
“Man, relax,” Peyton said. He clapped a hand down on my shoulder, and his grip was strong. “You’ll figure it out in time.”
I shook my head. “Listen, asshole,” I said through gritted teeth. “There is no time! I have to do something right now! Or I’m gonna be dead, or back in prison, or both.”
Peyton gave me a cool look. “You take care of you,” he finally said. “Let me know when you want an assignment. And stay off the junk, Zed.”
I bristled. “I’ve been clean for over ten years. Watch your fuckin’ mouth, Peyton. One of these days, I’m gonna clock you.”
He rolled his eyes and turned back around. Bastard, I thought. Why can’t he take anything seriously?
As I walked out of the bar, I shoved my hands in my pockets. I knew I had to find Lily, and fast. Time was running out; there was no telling where this guy was lurking or what he was planning next. I knew he was toying with me; the murders kept getting closer and closer to the center of the city, where Lily lived. The police weren’t even calling it a serial killer yet; they were convinced that a group of people was behind the murders. But I knew better, I’d been there.
Think, Zed, think! I buried my head in my hands. It had only been a couple of days since I’d seen Lily, but I realized I no longer had her schedule memorized. I tried to picture her at different times of the day to jog my memory. Our last fight came to my mind—when she threatened to call that douche asshole parent at her daycare. Daycare! I thought. She has to be there.
Quickly, I turned the keys in the ignition, and my engine roared to life. I pressed the gas pedal all the way down to the floor and gunned in the direction of Dawning Center. Here goes nothing. Time to see if I can pull off the old Zed magic.