FreeBird Chapter 2

Familiar Faces

Drake awoke to the faint sounds of the City. Car engines hummed beautifully in his ears. They felt quite distant, but he could visualize all of the cars resting at a red light, or flying down the freeway. Drake decided to get up so he could check out the city before the house owner arrived. He pushed himself to his feet. He slept so uncomfortably, his back felt like needles had been plunged into it all night. He rolled his shoulders and made a deep popping noise. He then twisted his back as far as his spine would allow. Every little twitch released a loud disturbing pop.
“I need a bed” Drake groaned as he let is spine relax.
He stretched his long arms and slender legs and let them crack. He exhaled and let his sore bones reset. He thought he might need a nice suit to wear if he was going to buy this condo. He decided that he’d check out the nearest suit store after he looked through the back yard.
As he made his way around the small condo he looked through the large menacing trees. Far back in the woods, he noticed a little shed. He jumped into a sprint towards the small shed to see what he could find inside. The trees whizzed by him as he pumped his long slim legs. He finally slowed down as he got closer to an abandoned shack. He saw a lock on the door. He looked around on the ground and looked under a rock, when a glistening metal caught his eye. It was a key. Drake used it and opened the lock. He looked inside the shack and saw it was empty, except for an old rug on the floor covering the majority of it.
“It must be someone’s” He thought, “But would anyone notice if I used it?”
He decided to leave it. Right now he had bigger things to worry about. He had a car, and may have a place to stay, but the money wouldn’t last him forever. He needed a job, and he needed it quick.
Drake hopped on the bike and started it up. The roaring motor made Drake excited. He loved cars, and he loved this bike. In the light of the morning he could see that the helmet was dark green. He thought that a black helmet would look better for him. His mental list read:
1. Get a job
2. Buy place to stay
3. Buy a cell phone charger
4. Get a better helmet
5. Don’t be seen as a superhero!
He drove down every street in the city. Before long, he noticed a “Help Wanted” sign in front of a GameStop. He walked into the nearly abandoned store. He was quiet and didn’t draw the attention of a man in his twenties with glasses and a thin mustache who busily organized videogames on the shelves.
“Excuse me” Drake cleared his throat. “I was wondering. Are you looking for a job?”
“Uhh… yes” The man replied absently, “Could you come back later, I’m quite busy”
The man had a rude tone, but rather than make a scene Drake held his temper and turned to leave. As he did, the door swung open. Drake saw a familiar face. It was a student teacher that he had, Mr. Damon.
“Drake!” He exclaimed enthusiastically. “What are you doing here?”
Mr. Damon was always enthusiastic and Drake was always his favorite student. Mr. Damon was only 25 and lived in Denstrom, he was tall and well-built.
“I’m looking for a job” Drake replied. “Are you guys hiring?”
“Of course we are. We need all the help we could get right now”
“Ahem” the manager scoffed irritated “We don’t have time to hire someone right now. The hottest game of the year is about to be put on the shelves tonight, and we aren’t even organized”
“Calm down, Dan” Mr. Damon requested, “Drake’s a real hard worker. I trust him. He won’t complain about the work load, and is faster than anyone his age when it comes to understanding tasks.”
“Fine” Dan sighed, “When can you start?”
“If you need help today, I can come in at one if that’s okay.”
Drake hated having to be so polite to someone like Dan. He felt that people wouldn’t get his respect unless they had undoubtedly earned it. Nevertheless, Drake bit his tongue smiled and shook Dan’s hand. As he left he heard Dan whisper to Mr. Damon.
“If he slips up, even once, I’ll have both of you guys fired.”
Drake couldn’t resist turning around, but before he retorted, he stopped himself. “What can I expect to make here?” He forced himself to ask.
“$8.25 an hour” Dan responded.
Drake nodded quietly and left. Drake passed by an ATM and looked in at his savings. The bike money was now for nothing. He had $6,000.00 in the bank and didn’t know what to do with it. He withdrew $500 and drove around, exploring the urban environment. After searching for a place to buy a nice suit, Drake drove past a store called Suits N’ Ties.
Drake entered the large building and looked to find a nice outfit. He picked out a nice navy button-up, light tan pants and black shoes. This was his second outfit and would be for any formal meetings. He posed in front of the mirror, grateful that the pants fit as perfectly as they did on his long slim legs.
“I look so damn good” He thought.
As he approached the check-out a young girl who was in his grade recognized him. She smiled and looked at him. It was a girl who he knew. They weren’t friends, but they talked. Emily was short with glasses and silver earrings. She would either be happy with Drake or mad with him. It was completely ran Drake, and Drake just learned to deal with it. She was usually really nice, but her personal issues made her emotionally unstable.
“What are you doing here, Drake” Emily asked
“Hey Emily. Just buying a nice suit.” He replied monotone.
“Got a hot date or something?”
“Not a date, but I’m buying my own place.”
Emily froze.
“You moved out?” She asked, “I never thought you’d actually do it”
“Ya. Just got into the city last night.”
“Good for you” She commented sarcastically. “Don’t think that means I owe you anything”
Drake shrugged carelessly, “Whatever. Just ring my things up”
She did so and handed him a bag.
“I’ll see ya around” He waved back, carelessly, as he left. As he approached his bike he saw a group of men wearing dark green shirts chase someone down an alley. Drake followed curiously hoping it wasn’t the same guys from last night. As he peered around the corner, he saw 5 giants converging on a single point. He caught a glimpse of the point of convergence to see it was Kelly. This girl must have a “Mug Me” sign stapled to her back.
“Help!” She screamed as she saw Drake.
“What luck,” Drake groaned “Why can’t people just stay out of trouble?”
Drake dawned his gray bandana a shades. He pulled the claw gloves from his backpack and put them on. He slowly crept up behind the thugs and threw a left elbow into the middle ones’ neck. This captured the attention of the other 4 who quickly turned to him.
“Listen kid,” a thug proclaimed in a booming voice, “You don’t want to get involved in our business. Now just move along and I won’t beat your ass”
Drake laughed, “Is that supposed to intimidate me? Nice try”
The thug swung angrily at Drake, who was able to dodge and get out of range. By now, Kelly had hidden in some bushes to avoid danger.
“What do you want with that girl, anyways?” Drake asked irritated.
“That’s our business!” The leader roared, “Now make yourself scarce”
Drake disregarded the threat and prepared for the thugs.
“You gonna attack me, or what?” Drake taunted.
He laughed and flipped off the 5 thugs, and waved it in the air. The 5 rushed Drake into a corner and stopped, blocking any escape for him.
“Any last words, Punk?” the leader snarled.
“Fuck you” Drake spat, flipping him off again.
Enraged, the leader lunged foreword. Drake kneed him in the stomach and leap-frogged over him to escape the trap. Enraged the Leader stampeded toward Drake, followed by the rest. As he lowered his shoulder, Drake sprung foreword and leapt onto the thug, digging the claws through his shirt, and causing him to roar in anguish. Drake stumbled as he fell down the thugs back and caught himself at the wall. The five thugs once again surrounded him. This time they where quicker, and Drake couldn’t leap away this time. Instead, Drake kicked the middle one in the thigh. He spun and elbowed the one to his immediate left, and then spun back and kneed the other one. As the last two converged on him, Drake saw Kelly who had so far been doing her best impression of the invisible woman, leap from the bushes and attack one of the thugs. She landed sitting on the back of his neck and rolled backwards tackling him to the ground. While Drake stared on in awe, the last thug captured him. The large man squeezed violently on his shoulders. Drake desperately flailed his legs. He kicked the Thug repeatedly but couldn’t seem to break the vice. The thug laughed at how the kids’ arrogance was now replaced with true desperation. Drake lifted his legs up and kicked into the thugs’ chest. He pushed himself as hard as he could to break free.
“If… you don’t… let go… I swear, I’ll… break your fucking… arms off” Drake claimed strenuously.
He stretched out his long legs. The thugs’ arms began to stretch disturbingly far. Any second and they would pop out of their sockets. The vice grip slowly loosened and Drake was able to meander his way out of it. As he landed, her sprung into the air and delivered a spinning savate kick. The thug collapsed to the ground. Drake looked over to Kelly. She dusted herself off and smiled.
“What are you doin’ out here all alone?” Drake questioned
“I was lookin for a place to sleep.” She responded shamefully.
“Wait… you mean… you don’t have a place to stay?”
“Ya… it’s not that I don’t have money, it’s that… well… I’m scared of the Thugs findin’ me.”
“Well… I can’t let you live on the streets. If you got money, we can split the cost of a little place I was lookin at. If ya want to.” He offered.
Kelly’s face lit up, “That sounds wonderful!” She exclaimed.
Drake led her to the motorcycle and hopped on. Kelly followed eagerly. They rode in silence the entire ride home. He parked the bike and dismounted.
“While we wait, wanna tell me why those guys are so into you?”
“Sure” She responded sorrowfully.