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The Hopeless State (BlisteredBlood & Lilytania)

BlisteredBlood

The Crucified Angel
Joined
Jan 9, 2009
Location
Rhode Island
Disclaimer
What you are about to read is a work of fiction. Any similarities between all parties - living or dead - is purely coincidental.

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A scream sounded out before the sound of a blunt object came crashing down upon flesh and bone, splattering blood and brain matter against the floor and scattering it on the wall. Each primal howl from there on in continued to sound out with increasing viciousness followed by a cacophony of bone splintering and blood splashing for about several minutes more before an object was dropped to the ground, followed by one young man, panting out of exhaustion. The young man soon dropped onto his knees, looking down at the handiwork he had committed, having savagely bashed in another man's head in with a baseball bat. All that was left now was the the other man looking upward at the ceiling lifelessly, his face clearly broken in several different places and part of his skull caved in, complete with blood oozing out of every pare within his face.

"You..." Said the young man, glaring at he corpse hatefully. "You motherfucking bitch... Why did you have to lie to me...?" He added as he continued to pant down in a state of exhaustion while his face began to wrench hard into a look of pure animalistic hatred and rage.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKING LIAR!!!" He screamed again, his voice piercing through the night like a gunshot before he grabbed the blunt object once more, bringing it back up high over his head and then bringing it back down with a furious roar, getting the same sickening crack of bone shattering under the force of the weapon as the other man's blood spread out over the snow-covered parking lot.

With that, the younger man left.

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January, 2011.

Central Falls, Rhode Island.

A day that would begin as any other for some. Getting up early in the day, getting the kids ready for school, go to work, come on back home, eat some dinner and then go to bed then repeat the cycle once more.

It had been that way for a certain 18 year old by the name of Richard Liston, a recent graduate from C.F. High School with top honors and plans to head on over to Bryant College on a scholarship. It was amazing that he even lived this long, what with the recent strings of robberies and domestic violence breaking out every so often and gang violence topping the charts every month. Yet there was one thing that "Little Ricky" as he was called by some of his friends - he stood only 5' 8" and weighed about 165 pounds soaking wet - had that a select few seemed to have. A natural charisma, a winning attitude, a positive outlook on life in general and seemed as though that he was poised for greatness so that he could get out of this little shitpit of a town and not be among the rest of the garbage that seemed to pile up day after day after day. At least that was what some people in the Central Falls police department said, anyway.

So what was it that kept him here, living amongst the people that would be more than likely to mug him without even a second thought or possibly even kill him without giving a rip about remorse? What was it, you ask?

He had a sick mother that was laid up in Miriam Hospital over in Providence at the time, having endured a marathon surgery to remove three cancerous tumors that were threatening to metastasize within her lungs. He had gone there on numerous occasions, fretting over her continuously. Each time, he would get the same "don't worry about me" speech from her, but that only made him worry even worse. He didn't know how his mother's Medicare would handle the outstanding medical costs, but there was one thing that Richard would do to help stem the tide. He had recently gotten himself a job over at the local Stop & Stop on Broad Street, working insane hours in order to put food on the table for his out of work father and his little brother who was still attending 3rd grade over at St. Joesph preschool.

Each day when he came home, the result would be the same, day in, day out and had been repeating this process for the past several months now. But tonight, when Richard finally came home to the Illinois Street apartment house after being given some much deserved time off, the first place he went was over to his room, walked over to the mirror in his room and looked himself over, sighing when he saw that his short dark brown hair had been a little too messy looking for his liking. He aimed his eyes of hazel down at the brush on the bureau then picked it up with his left hand, brushing it back away from his eyes. Once done, he then walked over to his closet and took his Suicide Silence logo shirt out before tossing it over to the bed then peeled his uniform shirt off and tossed it over to the hamper across the room, it landing inside of the basket.

"Swish." Richard mused to himself with a bit of sarcasm and chuckled to himself with a shake of his head before walking over to his other shirt on the bed, picked it up and pulled that over his head and arms. He would then walk over to the desk in the room, scrounged up some loose change and stuffed it into his right jeans pocket along with his cell phone he got last Christmas.

Following this, he went back out of the house after telling his dad that he was going to head over to the Providence Place Mall, stating that he was going to meet up with a friend of his there then left, heading for the bus stop on Dexter Street.
 
Myra Reynolds reached over and hit the snooze button on her alarm clock. She rubbed her head. She groaned, looking at the time. It was eight thirty. It was a nice Saturday morning, and she had to go to her new job. She rolled out of bed, dragging herself to the bathroom.

After getting dressed in her work uniform, a pair of khaki pants and a black polo shirt, and brushing out her long, shoulder-length, wavy brown hair, Myra headed to the kitchen downstairs. Her brown eyes swept over the room. A note was on the fridge. She read it, her eyes sweeping over the note. Her parents were out of town for the weekend. She gave a slight smile. They'd never left her home alone for more than about ten hours. At sixteen, she hadn't done too much in her life. She was glad to have free reign of the house for the weekend. She gave a light smile, and headed to work.

At the end of the day of work at the coffee shop, she headed home, exhausted. She walked all the way home, irritated at all the annoying customers she had to deal with. She wished she could get a more decent job, but it was better than nothing.

Myra went home, changing clothes and walking out of her home again. She decided she'd go and hang out with some friends, since she didn't have her parents telling her what she needed to do at the moment. She headed out of the house again.

Myra made her way to the bus station, walking with confidence. She stayed away from others. She wore a green t-shirt and jeans now. She waited patiently at the bus stop on Dexter Street, looking at the few people around.
 
Nice indeed, that is if Channel 10's weather trackers actually got the weather right for a change. Especially since the last Nor'Easter that came through literally buried several cities from Olneyville to North Providence in about four feet of snow. But, at least they had one thing right for today. They called for the weather to be rather pleasant for this Saturday morning despite the skies were grayer than they had been in recent weeks, giving the air above a sense of forbiddingness. But, at least it wasn't too bad a day in Richard's eyes.

Upon arrival at the bus stop, he spotted Myra sitting at the bench before smiling gently and waved a hand at her before he spoke. "Hey, Myra." He said to her in a relaxed tone of voice. "They finally let you out of the asylum you call a house? Then again, as mental as your parents are, I'm not surprised." He added with a teasing scoff and a laugh before he took his spot beside her.
 
Myra looked around at the pleasant day. She was amazed that the Channel 10 news crew had been right. It was such a gorgeous day. She let the low sun soak into her skin. She sighed, her brown eyes searching the area.

When Myra spotted Richard, she gave a gentle smile. "Hey, Richard," she said. She waved back at him. She listened to him, then laughed. She pushed him gently as he sat down. "I get out!" she protested playfully. "Sometimes," she murmured, looking down at her laugh. She gave a smile. "My parents are out of town," she said. "I got free reign." She smiled. She crossed her legs and her arms, looking at him. She didn't dare tease about his house. She knew things were hard.
 
"Oh, so the wardens are out for the day, eh?" Richard asked with a sly grin spreading across his face like that of Cheshire Cat examining Alice curiously. "That means you finally get to have some fun for a change!" He added before laughing once more as he then leaned back into the bench and emitted a small sigh, looking up at the early morning skies above them for a little while then looked back to Myra once more.

"How did they say they were gonna be outta town for, anyway?" He then asked while quirking an eyebrow at her. "Couple of days, a week, what?"
 
Myra stuck her tongue out at him. She saw the grin, and heard his comment. She laughed, as if she'd never laughed before and was trying it out. She leaned back against the bench. "I have plenty of fun!" she said. "You've seen me. I have my fair share of fun." She gave a light smile.

Myra shrugged at his question. "The note said the weekend, but they've changed it before. They just decided to leave me alone this time." Usually, she was put under the charge of neighbors. She was glad that wasn't the case this time. She looked over at him. "Why?" she asked.
 
"No reason. I was thinking since I'm gonna be off work for the next few days, I was thinking maybe I'd swing by and we can hang out there. Besides, I've been meaning to see what the inside of your parent's house was." Richard answered with a reassuring smile on his face and a nod of his head before he spotted her stick her tongue out at him, grinning a little more before laughing some at her. "Keep hanging that out at me, Myra. I might end up catching you in a kiss." He playfully threatened as he wagged a finger at her like a Catholic school marm.

With that, he then glanced up to the sky once more, emitting a small sigh of sorts mostly due to impatience. Since this was the weekend and all, the RIPTA buses usually ran about 30 minutes against the other whereas on the weekday, they usually came about 15 minutes. Since they had just gotten here this morning, it was probably going to be a bit - as proved when he took his cell phone out and looked at it for a moment, seeing it was about 8:45 now. but then again, the usual Downtown bus showed up ahead of schedule on some occasions.

"God, where is this damn bus...?" He muttered to himself before he stuff his phone back into his pocket as his Vans covered right foot began to tap against the concrete.
 
Myra smiled, leaning back comfortably against the bench. She crossed her arms over her chest. "It's just a house, you know. With four walls and a roof." She looked over at him. "If you really want to see it, just come over. I'll just be hanging out there these next few days, probably. When he waggled his finger at her, she smiled. "I'd like to see you try," she said mischievously.

Myra was silent for a moment, looking around at the buses. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She looked of at Richard. "How's your mom?" she asked quietly. Her voice was reserved and cautious, ready to defend herself if necessary. She watched his body language for anything off.
 
"Yeah, I know." Richard answered with a smile and a nod of his head. "I'll probably swing by later today after we spend a little bit of time at the mall. After that, I gotta take care of a few things at the house and then we'll see what's the possibility of me hanging out with ya will look like." He added as he pointed at her once more and winked at her.

A silence would then form between the two of them for a moment or so before Richard heard Myra ask him about how his mother was holding up. A bit of a sad look was on his face as he leaned forward as he thought about his response carefully. Under a technicality, he could lie about the fact that her mother was going to be just fine and everything was going to be OK, but what good would it do? Richard wouldn't be any better than any one else if he just outright lied to Myra like this.

"It's... Been pretty rough." He answered in a downtrodden voice. "She's been undergoing a battery of chemo for the past week and a half ever since she the surgery. The doctors there said that if she's lucky, the tumors they removed won't come back. There's no telling at this point right now, though." Richard admitted as he then looked up, his eyes completely devoid of any happiness and his face looked as though that whatever smile was there before was completely annihilated in a nuclear blast, replacing it with someone that looked as though he just come back from a funeral.
 
Myra gave a gentle smile. She nodded. "That sounds good," she said. She brushed hair behind her ear, looking down at her lap. She looked at her watch, glancing around at the street. They still had about ten minutes before the next bus was scheduled to come. As Richard winked at her, she laughed, elbowing him playfully.

Myra waited for Richard to answer. When he did, she turned to face him, seeing his face as it rapidly changed from the smile to the stoic face he now wore. She nodded. "I hope she gets better. If there's anything you need, just tell me," she said. Even though she was sixteen, she still felt like she could do something for him. She had a nice sum of money, and she cooked. She always had that to offer.

"So," Myra murmured, trying to break the awkward silence. "What have you been up to lately?" she asked. "Anything interesting?"
 
Richard looked up to the sky for a moment when Myra asked him if he was up to anything interesting, but the only answer he could come up with was a shake of his head and a smile that he aimed back at her. "Not sure if what you could call trying to keep my head straight is anything interesting, but then again, I suppose that's par for the course, isn't it?" He asked with a chuckle of sorts.

"How about you?" Richard asked. "What have you been up to?"
 
Myra smiled, laughing and leaning her head back. She sighed, shutting her eyes. What was interesting with her? Nothing was coming to mind. She shrugged absently. "Just hanging out," she said. "I had work early for a couple hours. Junior workers only work a few hours. I did not even know my parents were leaving me until this morning." She gave a smile, shrugging. "Got any plans more interesting than that?" she asked. She looked over at him, her eyes sparkling.
 
"Well, not really." Richard answered. "I got out of work not too long ago, so I figured I'd head out and go relax for a change while there's still of a semblance of daylight out." He added with a nod of his head and a smile of his own.

Soon enough, Richard's expression changed once again, this time showing a little bit of contemplation as indicated when he lifted a hand under his chin and scratched it with the same amount of thought that had been there ever since he had come this way after getting off work from Stop & Shop a little while ago.

"You know..." He began. "If you got time, how about you and I go do something? Might kill some time, don't ya think?" He asked.
 
Myra smiled. "No one has plans, it seems," she said. She stared up at the sky, smiling. "That is good," she said. She crossed her arms across her chest as she watched a lone cloud travel across the sky. After a moment, she looked back at Richard.

Myra saw Richard's expression change. She eyed him curiously, trying to figure out what exactly he was thinking of. She tilted her head to the side as he spoke. She thought for a moment. "I've got lots of time," she said. "I don't have to work, my parents are gone..." She shrugged. "I'd say I'm pretty free. What did you have in mind?"
 
"I was thinking you and me go catch an early bird special down at the mall and then swing back to your place for lunch." Richard answered without missing a beat. "Besides, I figured you might need some company, someone not as mental or stuck up as your folks." He added jokingly then grinned at her.

Looking down at his cell phone once more, he could now see that it was ten minutes until nine o'clock before he could hear a bus engine approaching. Glancing to the left, Richard could now see the downtown bus arriving ten minutes ahead of schedule. "Well, there it is. They must be trying to beat the morning rush hour." He said as he eventually stood up onto his sneakered feet then looked towards the bus.
 
Myra smiled. "That sounds good," she said. "I'm rather hungry." She patted her stomach. She jabbed him in the side with her elbow at his comment on her parents. "My parents are not mental!" she protested. She gave a smile, knowing they honestly were slightly.

When she saw the bus coming, Myra stood. She nodded at Richard. "Must be," she said. She watched as the bus rolled up. She grabbed her student ID out of her pocket and her bus pass. She headed toward the bus, showing her pass and ID to the driver, who nodded at her. She headed to a seat toward the middle of the bus, waiting for Richard.
 
Richard soon followed Myra onto the bus, taking out the $2.25 to pay for the bus fare and began to slip it all into the coin slot. Once he got the OK from the man, he then began to look around for a seat before spotting Myra in the middle row then walked over to it as well then settled himself into a spot beside her, sighing mostly to himself once he was settled in.

"That being said," Richard said. "We can always get something up at the food court before we go catch a flick. Last thing I wanna do is see you go hungry before we do anything else." He added before looking at her figure for a moment. "Who knows, maybe it'll fatten you up a little." He teased once more before nudging her arm with the point of his elbow and grinned with lighthearted laugh.
 
Myra watched Richard as he came onto the bus and paid the fare. She waited patiently for him to come over. She smiled gently as he sat down next to her. She settled into the seat, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Myra looked over at Richard when he spoke. She nodded, smiling. "Even food court is cheaper than movie theater," she said. She grinned. She was glad now that she had stowed twenty dollars in her pocket before she left. She wasn't going to let Richard try and pay anything. She nudged him back. "I don't need fattening up, thank you," she said. "You can't even see my ribs."
 
"I know, I know." Richard answered with a smile on his face and a chuckle as he took Myra's nudging in stride while the bus began to move.

Once they were off, Richard settled back more into the seat before he took his phone out once again to keep an eye on the time. Five 'til nine now, he figured before he glanced up to the roof of the bus in thought for a moment as he began to discern what the two should do first once inside. They could do a little bit of window shopping once they got the tickets to see something, they could also hang around inside the arcade to skip the previews - not for nothing, but he felt there were times when they seemed to roll on forever in his opinion - and then pop back inside or they could just secure their seats once they were in the theater so that no one would think about stealing their spots.

Richard then realized that he forgot his wallet at home and upon this realization, he slapped a palm over his face and shook his head from side to side with a grumble. "Oh great..." He muttered to himself before he gave a long sigh. Can't believe I forgot my wallet back at the house! He thought as he shook his head again, deciding to just downplay it for now. This hasn't been my week...
 
Myra glanced out the window, her eyes watching as the city whizzed by. Her gaze went over to the bus map to figure out when they would have to get off to get to the food court. She sighed, leaning her head against the window after a moment. She wasn't entirely sure what she thought about everything. Her life wasn't entirely stressful, but it was in a way. Most people's lives were stressful in one way or another, weren't they?

Myra looked over at Richard when he spoke to himself. She smiled, pulling her legs up toward her body. "Is something wrong?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. She wondered if it had something to do with his mom. She adjusted slightly in her seat so she was facing him mostly. "You know, I've got better hearing than you might think." She winked slightly. She was quite keyed into the world around her. She didn't miss details quite as easily as some might.
 
Richard only shook his head after a moment when he eventually sat down beside Myra as the bus began to move, heading towards the downtown area where the two would frequent the most. Sure, it was sort of like a human zoo once they got to the bus terminal to then change buses, but at least the people that were there weren't complete and total dicks about it and at least were courteous enough to let you by if you were carrying a few things that were either heavy or too bulky. At least, that was what he thought about it, anyway.

When Myra asked him if something was wrong, Richard only shook his head at her with a calm look in his eye before he turned his attention towards her with an arched brow. "Nah, I forgot my wallet back at the house. Fucking douche I am." He answered as he tightened his eyes shut for a moment in mock irritation before looking at her with a believable - but somewhat forced - smile on his face.
 
Once they arrived at the bus terminal, Myra got off, hurrying around the people and making sure she kept up with Richard. She didn't like areas with a lot of people, and this part of downtown was packed like sardines with sweaty bodies trying to get to their various responsibilities.

Myra relaxed when they got to the next bus. She flopped onto the seat, and waited for him. She shrugged. "That's fine," she said. "I've got enough money for food and tickets." She smiled, crossing her arms and looking at him. "So, how's life in general? What have you been up to in all this time that I haven't seen you?" she asked, smiling. The lack of meetings was both her parents' fault and his. She was practically locked in the house half the time, but whenever she was out, he wasn't around.
 
Once they arrived in Downtown Providence, Richard was about to step off of the bus, but not before he got a transfer from the first driver in order to get to the one he saw Myra beginning to get herself on. God, that girl could be so impatient sometimes, he thought as he then thanked the driver after acquiring the pass and then moving onto the next bus Myra was on.

Once on this bus, Richard began to move on over to where Myra was sitting at before hearing her speak. "Yeah, but I still feel like a heel about this. If you want, I'll pay ya back for it tomorrow." He offered her before hearing her ask him this. "Well, as for how I've been doing generally speaking, you ask?" He asked her in return as he leaned back into the seat with a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, like I said, it's been pretty hectic for little old me, But I suppose it comes with the territory." He added with a small chuckle.
 
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