The Night Fell on Lincoln City
Trevor Brock walked down the desolate back roads on the outskirts of Lincoln City. His mind not on the hunger in his stomach, not on the great life that he once shared with the family God had given him, or the fact that he didn't know what his next move would be.
Intead he thought about the corruption, the greed, the murder, and those who facilitate those evil actions. Those who get away with their crimes. The drug dealers and the politicians are not much different. Both dealing in the area of dependency. Both need you to need them. Neither there to help the victims, but both eagerly sought after once the need is there. Corruption had many different faces.
Trevor thought about Kyle. The young man who only wanted to serve the greatest country in the world, and perhaps rack-up some free college in the process. Battle Buddy...that's what they called him. Trevor knew him, heard about his family, and shared glimpses of their life together. The happiest moments were shared and so were the bad. Kyle loved baseball and proud of his little brother Damon who was playing semi professional Double-A baseball.
Hopefully his brother knew how proud he was of him. Hopefully he knew his brother loved him. Trevor's mind drifted away. Escaping into territory that never made him feel good about himself. Memories could be like a window, but once the glass is shattered, it cuts. They serve a purpose but come with a great price when totaled up. Beyond the darkness is a brighter day. Only the darkness never seems to end. The blood, the murder, and the death, all continue on long after the cards have been dealt.
"Cover me...I'm going in." Kyle had said.
Those were the last words that Trevor ever heard Kyle say. Moments later there was an explosion and Kyle was no more. When Trevor found him there wasn't much left to recover. He wasn't exactly dead, but he was gone. The sounds he was making were somewhat peaceful, but definitive. Whatever he was hanging on to in that moment slipped away. As did the last breath he'd breathe on planet Earth. Trevor remembered it clearly, and there weren't any tears in his eyes. There wasn't then, nor was their now.
The life a twenty-two year old Trevor Brock had known crumbled fast after that. As he looked down on his Battle Buddy blown into pieces, it was a prelude to what his own life was about to look like. Only Trevor would be front and center to see the great fall of his own life. He'd get a front row seat to the destruction, the hurt, and the torture, of his life falling to pieces. At times it tumbled quickly and other times it slowly fell apart to give him a better look at it. Regardless of how it all worked out, Trevor knew exactly where he stood now. That was no secret. Trevor had no secrets left.
Having pride and surviving on the streets we're not a hand in hand combination. So elements of his dignity were compromised due to his current disadvantage. One he often had to remind himself that he contributed to. He understood that regardless of what happened after that. He should've remained in control of himself and not burned bridges. Not necessarily told the truth or gave his opinion so freely out of anger. Trevor didn't want anyone to pitty him, or feel sorry for him in any kind of way. He only wished his family had more to do with him. He knows he hadn't handled things the way that he should've.
The Military sent Trevor home and put under evaluation. Kyle had fallen peacefully into death on the battlefield. Trevor hadn't exactly handled the aftermath the way he should've. In those instances a soldier becomes a person, feelings, emotions, and instincts. Trevor came from a take one and give one background. Raised far from rich, but not exactly one of the hood rats from Gates Street. Not untouchable and not overpowering, but unrelenting. One hell bent on getting his licks back.
"You Hit Me - I Hit You Harder"
Victory is not always a win. Seeing Kyle like that saddened Trevor, but the fear and anger merged together. Like a one man Army Trevor started throwing grenades and shooting anything that moved. He killed civilians and severely injured other platoons in the area.
The backwood country boy from outskirts of Jackson, Mississippi had snapped. Sent back like damaged goods to be evaluated by the medical department at Fort. Benning in Georgia. Screw all the good things that were carried out. To hell with the fact that he'd seen Kyle blown to pieces in front of him. Just forget about the promises that were made and broken.
"It's not that he went off like a one man commando unit. It's that he did so with so many bullets and shrapnel in him." Doctor Olsen Waters on Trevor Brock.
Allison Clarke was an amazing girlfriend who was sincerely also a true friend of Trevor's. This wasn't puppy love or lust of teenagers. They learned from each other, they taught each other, and shared experiences with one another. They sincerely loved one another like family.
The two of them leaned on the other, depended in ways on the other, and created an unbreakable bond between them. Trevor had promised that he would make this work. Convinced that he would when he went before her father. Promising to provide for her, keep her safe, and provide for her womanly needs.
"Why am I still here?" Trevor Brock asked. Day after day.
Allison met Torri Black when Trevor got stationed in North Carolina. At first they liked being so close to Mississippi and the fact they could drive back home. Something that hadn't been possible from previous places they'd been stationed. When Trevor's unit went to war in the middle east. Torri would keep Allison company. They'd met Torri at a military event. She'd been the guest of another military soldier. They exchanged numbers and became acquaintances. Torri had just been a weekend pick up for the soldier, but she and her kid got by however she found necessary. The soldiers threw money around. Torri knew that.
When the war started she spent most nights at the apartment with Allison. Eventually their company included some pretty shady individuals. Torri had to get what she could where she could. Allison had never had to live that way, and she didn't really know anything about it. Despite the fact that a lady in her early 20s should probably have learned about. She was about to receive a lesson on people, drugs, and the damage that they cause.
"Where were you, soldier boy?"
Trevor had been shipped back. At first Allison had driven the distance to see him, but then his wife stopped coming to the hospital on weekend visits. Instead she stayed up for days and chasing a buzz. Torri had introduced her to drugs, and Allison was using cocaine to help her deal with feelings that she was feeling.
"Maybe the marriage was too fresh for everything that had happened."
Allison's dad had a heart attack and fell out dead. Trevor was in the deserts of Afghanistan. She went home to be with her family. After a few weeks she went back home. That was probably not a good thing in hindsight. She'd been looking for a copping mechanism. Using sleeping pills and alcohol. Sunk into the depths of depression. Torri checking on her gave the illusion that she cared or that she was a good person. Basic human mannerisms created a wall of deception that Torri worked behind.
Allison's mother grieving would put a pistol in her mouth about three months after James died. By this time she'd found out that Allison was on drugs, and told her mother that she'd been raped by a dealer. The day she called from jail was more than her mom could handle following the death of her husband. She still just started crying throughout the days since he'd passed. Jim had been everything in her life for 47 years.
There Marie was with her little girl in jail, and needing help. He'd have handled things of that nature. Marie just kept the house going. Cleaned, organized, and maintained. James made the money running his farm and overseeing two more. Allison an only child had a perfect life.
"Perhaps, that's why you meant so much to her growing up. She had no siblings. Her need for you was different."
Marie couldn't bare the burden of it all. Jim had left her in good shape financially. She could've physically went on maintaining the farm she was on, but it wasn't that. She didn't want to be in the place that life had taken her. She'd never planned or thought about where she was, or where she was going. She accepted what was, what had been, and what would be. Clung to the simple things that life provided. That's what James loved about her.
Things were different when Allison graduated. Marie had been a constant part of her school life. Volunteering, sending supplies, and showing up for football and basketball games. Then she quickly married Trevor. Just like that Marie's little girl was gone.
Then there she was at her father's funeral and not looking good. Now she was calling from jail. Needing mommy to come get her out. Marie didn't have it in her. Her strength was gone. Diminished to nothing. She was proud, and now her son in law is being held in military limbo, her husband dies unexpectedly, and, her daughter now has picked up deadly habits, that landed her in jail. She was completely decimated. They found her sitting in a recliner with a .38 Special in her lap. Exactly where it had fallen when her hand dropped.
Trevor had a good idea about everything that was going on until right up near the end. Once Jim died and the letters stopped coming in he had to dig for the information. He called on favors from friends and family. Sometimes they came through, and sometimes they didn't. Marie had gotten Allison out of jail, but she got put back in two weeks later. By then Marie had already shot herself. Trevor found out when she turned to his mom for help. She wrote Trevor telling him.
It was worse than his mother Grace even knew about. She was dealing with Trevor's sister and her abusive husband Carl. Trevor's dad divorced his mother once the children were raised. He took off to California. Grace was not as affected by that separation as Marie had been losing Jim all of a sudden. But she was always nosy in terms of her daughter's life. Especially when she was with a woman beater. Carl had no problem laying his hands on Jennifer. Grace had called the cops to address several situations of conflict, but they get back together. Then they make her the problem and reason why things were going bad between them.
Grace had helped Allison get out of jail. She told her she had to come stay with her. So she could help her get right, and Allison said she wanted that. Even told her that she needed her like a mother that she'd just lost. However, Allison never showed up. There was something she needed more. She sat there in a hotel room with Torri and Brandy smoking crack. Discussing who's turn it was to fuck next and get more smoke. Brandy could get it fast, but she sucked the dealer off for a rock in hand. Here Torri and Allison had to go post up and move their product.
"What are you looking for?" Allison would say. "You wanna have a good time?
Trevor knew a little about some of what was going on. He thought he had an idea as to what was happening, but they were going to be letting him out soon, and he wanted to walk into a situation that was pure hell. A situation that he'd soon wish he was no part of. In a world that was like that war zone that he'd been in over in the middle east. Like the battlefield, he'll see things he never wanted to see, and unlocking emotions he never intended on facing. Sometimes you go too far. Making a return back nearly impossible. Sometimes when you've reached your limit, there's no turning back. The worst part is that you wouldn't turn back even if you could. When you become one with pain, addicted to torture, and at peace in the turbulent tides of hell. There's a clearing. A spot you'll once again emerge.
They Should Never Have Let Him Out
Trevor got out of the medical center and called himself a cab. He went to the airport and cashed in on his ticket home. He took another cab to the apartment complex.
He probably expected to find his wife in need of help, holding and loving, reassurance that everything would be alright as long as they had each other. He knew what she meant to him, and he knew that he meant that much to her. He was about to get a heavy dose of reality.
Immediately upon entering the apartment he noticed the messy condition of the place. He clicked the light on and saw the bedrooms trashed. In the master bedroom he found it stripped. His king size bed missing and replaced by a cot. Trevor would've thought the place was being lived in by homeless people, but he saw the flag from Kyle's coffin busted on the floor. Trevor thought about how much it meant to him that Kyle's mother sent that to him. How tough the decision to be in sending it to begin with.
The maintenance man came around the corner. He saw Trevor and said, "You can't be in here."
"Why? I pay the rent here." Trevor said.
"Nobody is paying rent here." He said.
"Where's the lady who lived here?" Trevor asked.
Trevor saw the glass cylinder on the floor and on the table. Other paraphernalia for using drugs. He reaches down and picks up Kyle's flag.
"Didn't pay rent." The maintenance man replied.
Trevor went to walk out of the apartment. When the maintenance man grabbed him by the shoulder. In an attempt to stop him, but Trevor kept walking.
"Hey, you can't take that flag." The man said.
"Is that so? Then perhaps you can explain why not." Trevor said.
The hurt and pain was painted on his face. A realization that things weren't okay, and weren't going to be OK.
"Because it's stealing. Theft of property." The maintenance man said.
Trevor had no idea what was going on. He was emotionally devastated and still in the dark. His anger at a boiling point. Thoughts of Kyle on his mind. Concern for Ally was at the forefront and above all. The picture the apartment painted was one of complete horror.
"If I've got something that belongs to you. Then you take it. Take from me what you think belongs to you." Trevor's voice sharp and cutting.
"Just go on. Get outta here." The man said.
That's exactly what he did. Checking Greenville out for his wife. Showing her picture in some shady areas of town. Going places he wasn't exactly welcome. Especially not with a military style hair cut and dressed like an off duty cop. He went on through the night.
"What's up, player?" He was approached.
The guy was clearly a street thug. Someone that probably knew about what was happening and when it was happening. Not moving any real weight himself, but nickle and diming his way around, and looking for his next big break in the streets. This wasn't a powerful player on foot out there questioning me.
"I'm looking for this woman, right here." Trevor said.
"We don'tlook for people around here." The thug responded.
Trevor stepped back creating some distance. His anger boiling over, the fear he felt inside, and this moment of confrontation reaching a point that a gun was flashed. The thug held up his shirt so Trevor got a good look at the weapon.
"Alright. I'm going to move on."
The thug laughed at Trevor and mumbled something that he couldn't make out. He disappeared into the cover of night. On to the next spot. He walked throughout the night from location to location. Narrowing in on the possible place that she was located. He stood outside of the Maverick Motel. The information came from a hooker trying to sell Trevor some pussy. Instead she took $20 in exchange for some information.
"She's over there at the motel. You know that guy she's with?" The hooker asked.
"No...is she with a guy in there?" Trevor asked.
"Yeah. He's not a pimp. Must be her plug or something." The hooker continued.
Trevor went over to the motel parking lot and observed the scene. He was in the right spot. He could tell. That overwhelming feeling was pretty strong. From the perimeters of the parking lot he watched for her. Which room would it be? Was she ever really here? Questions consumed his thoughts, but he rode out the feeling that this was the spot.
His heart sank as he saw her exit the lower level of the motel. Trevor felt an instant burst of anger that woke up the silenced rage. Alerting a dog inside him that he was tired of trying to put away. There was a sense of fear, anger, and maliciousness in his heart. The same feelings that he could usually maintain, were now aching to get out of control.
Allison had walked around the car, and two guys followed a few minutes later. Trevor was walking through the parking lot as quickly as he could. They never saw him coming, but with one guy on the driver's side, and one on the passenger side, Trevor would have to take the closer one first. The guy turned as Trevor approached him, and with one smooth punch the guy crumbled to the ground. That first guy never got back up, and his partner took off running.
"Allison...hold up a minute," Trevor shouted.
The guy was faster than Allison, and he'd already ran across the highway. Trevor ran over and caught Allison. "Hey...it's me...baby."
Allison looked into his eyes, and Trevor could see she wasn't herself, and when she saw him she realized how far she'd really slipped. It embarrassed her, made her feel belittled, and she wanted to be away from Trevor.
"It felt like you'd finally got the house of your dreams, but it's taken away from you and given to someone else. Finding your dream, but having to watch someone else live it instead of you." - Allison
Trevor could see that she was in bad shape. He wanted to help her, but he could see that she wasn't going to be receptive of anything like that.
"Get away from me, Trevor. Get the fuck away from me." Allison shouted.
"Wait, Ally...let he talk to you. Come on...you owe me that. You owe me at least that much." Trevor said.
Two men were walking out toward them. Trevor saw them, and figured that they were coming to make sure that Allison was alright. To see that this big man wasn't beating the little lady. As they got closer Trevor open up semi facing them. Putting himself between Allison and the two black dudes.
"We're good...fellas." Trevor said
"Get away from the girl, bro."
"Look...I told you, we're good." Trevor said, but with more intensity.
The clerk in the store had already called the cops, Trevor could see these guys weren't just checking on the lady. They were overstepping their boundaries. Getting just a little too far out of their lane.
"What, mother fucker...you want to touch me?" Trevor said. His tone serious and rage filled.
"No Trev, don't do this?" Allison pleaded.
"You thinkin' about takin' that shot, homie." The thug on the left said.
Trevor Brock watched him close, and when he extended his arm to point in Trevor's face, The arm got snatched, wrapped, and snapped. The other guy was jumping in, but he wasn't close. By the time he took a kick to the chest his partner's arm had already been dislocated and snapped.
There was no way that Trevor could've known the clerk called the cops, but he figured they'd been called following the fight in the parking lot. Trevor looked at Allison.The look was one of true feelings. Neither one of them were about to do what they really wanted to do, but their circumstances would leave them no choice except for the decisions they had finally made.
The police officers were in the turning lane at the traffic light. Trevor was already gone. This time he would have to let it go. He moved through neighborhoods swiftly, quick, and stealthy. Very light on his feet swiftly moving along.
Trevor had to consider his situation. The resources it would burn to track her down. She wasn't going to come with him. If he used the resources he had to track her, he'd be forced into not coming away empty handed. The cold hard reality was setting in. He wasn't in position to go hunting her down. It was a crushing blow and a truth that was hard to accept. It was sad. It was hard to see.
The articles that Trevor had read on cocaine had given him the insight of how addictions worked. From the hit that sent them reeling into the grasps of addiction, to the hit that took them out of the game. They're so dedicated to finding that next hit that they'll get the whole situation twisted. The facilitator becomes the good guy, and the folks who are really trying to help are the bad guys.
Allison had nobody. Trevor was the last piece of anything familiar in her life. The last symbolism of normalcy in her life. The addiction to cocaine had made her walk away from the only thing she really had left. The hate that was manifesting inside him for drug dealers was something evil. He knew how the streets were. He grew up in the neighborhood and stayed around the projects were the kids he knew best lived. The man is selling a product, and one that's in high demand. They've constantly got to watch their backs, and it takes someone willing to work. Make those deliveries and create an endless cycle of torture for the victim.
"Victims? They're consumers. The buying market."
They weren't really victims, but they sure as hell were the losers in any deal made. These bought and paid for politicians who just lit it slip through, they're the other end of the whole bunch involved in the ruining lives business. They're all involved. The police force are bought and paid for, and in most cases not even really getting paid. The deal that was done was before it ever got to them. They're just their like pawns in the game. Used and abused. Most had been picked on their whole life, mad at the world, and ready to take it out on someone.
That was something Trevor understood. Being so mad that you will nail them at any cost. Vengeful and hell bent on making somebody pay for it. That rage and vengeance needed to be properly placed though, and the damage inflicted be placed on those who were spinning the wheels or keeping them greased up. They definitely deserved whatever ended up happening to them. Because they were ruining lives without a consciousness or concern as to the damage it did on the other end.
Innocent Bystanders
The world keeps on spinning, and the sun keeps coming up in the morning. Trevor thanked God for the many wonders of the world. He made apologies for the innocent folks who'd unfortunately get caught up in his battles. Still these were battles that must be fought.
Outcomes that must be decided. Debts to society that needed to be paid off. Instead of beating the case and being free, they'll beat the court and take a beating for the improper rulings that the justice system fucked up.
There Trevor was out there allowing himself to be consumed by the savagery that drove him to that point to begin with.
"So tell me, Trevor...did you intentionally put yourself in it, so you'd be full or vengeance and rage?"
"No, Doc...I was full of vengeance, rage, and revenge, by the time I came on the scene."
Trevor put some money together, and went hunting for Allison. He searched throughout the area he'd last seen her. She was nowhere to be found, but then he spotted Torri Black and three men. Trevor observed the scene before eventually walking down towards the loading docks. They had a Ryder truck parked on the very last bay. The three men immediately walked out to cut Trevor off.
"What's up, fellas. I need to speak to the lady." Trevor said.
"Not happening today, pal." The bigger bald headed biker looking one said.
"Are you guys her bodyguards or something?"
"As a matter of fact we are." Big biker man, replied.
"Bullshit you mother fucker...you don't gotta lie to me. That broke ass bitch can't afford security. You're a bunch of future criminals." Trevor said in a condescending way.
"You want to get your ass kicked, punk." Big Boy moved out aggressively.
Trevor moved around. The Big Biker tough guy, was mostly throwing punches in a boxing type of way. Trevor just kept his feet moving and beat the hell outta big boy. Had fifty pounds on the 230lbs Trevor Brock. The other two guys tried to collapse down on Trevor. They applied a little strategy in their pursuit, but all to quickly it came down to fighting, and Trevor understood why Big Boy spoke for the three of them.
Trevor walked right up to Torri Black. She was absolutely terrified as Trevor approached her. However, you rarely if ever got her true emotions or intentions. She said what needed to be said to get paid. She didn't hesitate to leave the reality of truth, and she'd go the way of whatever she thought would they wanted to hear. She knew that people liked hearing opinions that were like their own. She was the literal example of do whatever it takes to get what you want. She'd Backstab, glorify, con, or manipulate, and deceive, for her place at the table. She probably didn't know what the word 'Loyalty' meant.
"Look at this bitch." Trevor said. He was looking for a glimpse of fear. The intimidating language and way it was spoken, caused her to flash that fear she had well hidden.
"What do you want with me?"
"Right now...Just to talk." Trevor said.
Torri smirked. "I can see. You didn't bring a gun."
"Do you think I need a gun to take you out?" Trevor questioned her.
"I've got one." Torri volunteered that little bit of info.
"That's because unlike me you need a gun. I completely understand why you'd carry one. Especially when you're in the business of screwing people over." Trevor said.
"You've definitely made some serious violations. You've crossed lines that are clearly harmful to your fellow citizens. You put innocent people at risk."
"Maybe I did...so be it." Torri lashed out.
"There's no maybe...you definitely did. The question is what your punishment should be. I mean I'd be completely satisfied with just ending your miserable existence, but is what you did worth the death penalty?"
"What's your deal, soldier boy." Torri tried a confident approach.
"I'm dealing with you right now, or trying to negotiate your punishment. I mean otherwise I'm just gonna have to take it to the max." Trevor said.
"Get out of here....leave me alone." She snapped out.
"Sorry, but that's not an option at the moment." Trevor said.
Torri was putting her had closer to her pistol. She had no intentions of going out here, like that, and definitely not to him. Mr. Soldier Goodie Two-Shoes. Trevor noticed her movement immediately, and he had to make his move. He grabbed her throat with the speed of a rattlesnake strike. With the other hand he disarmed her.
"I thought you just wanted to talk." She cried out.
"I lied. I was just telling you what you wanted to hear. See I'm not the law. So while you're doing whatever it takes, so am I, tuts." Trevor explained.
"Look...I apologize." Torri said.
Trevor had to admit. Ms. Torri was a unique individual, but ruthless and dangerous to other people.
"I'm not in the apology business. You're playing 'The Pain Game.' now, and the odds are stacked against you. What do you guys think should be her punishment? There's no jails here."
"Maybe you should whip her with the belt." One of them said.
"Give her a belting? No...no...no. This bitch ruined people's lives. Her life must be affected permanently for that she did."
"Come here Jose." Trevor said.
Within several seconds none of the men had moved and inch. Trevor looked at the three of them huddled in fairly tight.
" Well come on, Jose." Trevor invited him again.
"Sir, none of us are name, Jose."
"Come on, stop fucking with me. You knew I was talking about the little Mexican looking mother fucker on the end there." Trevor shouted.
The guy walked up there by the box-truck. Fear painted on his face like a mask. Trevor grabbed Torri by the hair. He then proceeded to pull her and drag her off to the back of the warehouse. Behind the property was an undeveloped wooded area.
"Climb that ladder." Trevor ordered the two of them.
Once they were at the top. They walked to the side the two men still stood out there waiting.
"This pistol has three bullets left inside the chamber." Trevor said.
He shot Torri in the leg, and blew half her knee cap off. She hit the ground screaming. Trevor then gagged her mouth.
" Oh shit." The henchman cried. "Man you shot her leg in half." He could believe how that all had played out.
"Are you ready to jump, Jose?" Trevor asked.
"What? No way. No...please, sir." The do-as-you're-told-boy, begged.
"Listen...you want to play a little game? Come on...your life is on the line, Jose."
"Yeah...I'll play. Just don't kill me."
"We have two men standing there like targets, and we have two bullets in the gun, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well then, you know what that means. You've gotta be perfect. Trevor told him. "If you kill both of those two guys, with the two shots in the chamber, you win."
"What if I miss?" The henchman asked.
Trevor looked over the side of the building. "You know there's an outside chance you survive a thirty-five foot fall. Why risk it, though? Make two good shots."
"What if I hit one but miss the other." The henchman asked.
"I'd say that you were unlucky...because you'll be going over the side of this building." Trevor leveled with him.
The henchmen aimed the pistol at Edward, and he squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit Ed in the chest.
"You're one for one. Nice shot with a .38 at this range." Trevor said.
Dave was scrambling around and looking to run. But mixed signals that had him unsure.
"You better shoot...he's gonna go on you." Trevor advised.
The henchman squeezed the trigger, and missed Dave high and to the right. He slowly lowered the pistol and turned to look at Trevor.
"So are you going to jump? Don't make me throw your fat ass over the edge." Trevor said coldly.
He motioned toward him, and the henchman jumped off the side of the thirty or forty foot building. His body shattered and contorted on the pavement below.
"Well...we got one left, and he's running. Good luck, Dave...I'm coming to get you." Trevor said. "Gotta complete the mission."
The following day Dave would be found naked, and beaten by what looked like belt marks from a thrashing, but that wasn't the whole story. Because he had broken and fractured bone throughout his entire body. He was placed in the ICU at the local hospital.
Trevor had to leave town. He had tried to find Allison again, but unfortunately wasn't able to make that happen. He had waited around the hospital seeing she'd come looking for Torri. Nothing materialized and he had to get out of there. He went back to Mississippi to reunite with a few old friends.
Trevor. didn't know where these dirty roads were taking him, but he knew his mission, and he was ready to rid society of as many scumbags and losers as he could before one got him, or the police department managed to figure out who he was. It really didn't matter how it ended up playing out. It had to be done.
...the bus rolled on through the night.
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