Kid Silver: Alone Chapter One by: Matthew H.

Jones

1. Harry Garrison wasnt my ather and he made s!re " #new that. Other #ids$ normal #ids$ theyd be asleep in bed by now. Me$ " was o to brea# someones %aw$ or their arm$ or their #nee. " was o to brea# someones somethin&. Harry wo!ld do the tal#in&$ o 'o!rse. (ro essor Hawthorn had #idnapped some ri'h mans da!&hter. )he ri'h mans name wasnt important. *either was the da!&hters name. She ended !p not ma#in& it. +ell$ Hawthorn had threatened to drop her in a vat o a'id i the ri'h man didnt pay !p. Apparently$ there was some wa lin& be ore the ri'h man went p!bli' with the #idnappin&. " dont !nderstand the mindset o people with deep po'#ets. As i we wo!ldnt 'ome. "t was all li#e 'lo'#wor# b!t ar more pointless.

)hey 'alled him a hero. )he newspapers named him the Gray Knight be'a!se he was &arbed in a lon&$ &ray 'loa#. )he newspapers 'alled me Kid Silver be'a!se "$ sort o $ wore silver. "t was 'loser to &ray body armor. *othin& too e,'itin&. )he st! didnt even stop b!llets. "t %!st slowed them down. *either o !s !sed or even li#ed those names that the newspapers &ave !s. He 'alled me Ma,well and " 'alled him Sir when " didnt 'all him -Harry. +e tried o!r best to stay o!t o the papers$ b!t thats hard when yo! leave a trail o bro#en bodies in yo!r wa#e. "t 'omes with the %ob des'ription$ " &!ess.

Matthew H. Jones

"t wasnt hard or the le&endary Gray Kni&ht to ind (ro essor Hawthorn or people li#e him. "t was ass!med that the Gray Kni&ht had a 'omp!lsion to de end the helpless 'iti.ens o *orth City. "t wasnt that at all. "ve h!rt &ood$ honest people and hes #illed them. /!rin& the day$ he wears a s!it$ a bla'# s!it with a bla'# shirt and a bla'# tie be'a!se yo! 'an hide a lot o blood on a solid bla'# o!t it. He was a mean loo#in& man with h!ndreds o &rooves di&&in& thro!&h his a'e. He had little sho'#s o &ray r!nnin& thro!&h his bla'# hair and he was never all0the0way 'lean0shaven. " thin# he mi&ht have been in his early orties$ tho!&h " didnt delve too m!'h into his li e. *ot that " wo!ldve &otten m!'h o!t o him i " tried. " mean$ " lived with him in his pentho!se$ b!t " really didnt #now him. )he man wasnt ri&ht all the time$ in the head " mean. " dont #now why he started wearin& the 'loa# at ni&ht and &oin& a ter 'riminals. )here are two di erent people in that one man$ both o whom are monsters. +e dropped down onto &ravel$ slidin& into the shadows li#e a hand into a &love. )he Atlanti' O'ean was spittin& and 'h!rnin&. )he air tasted ioni.ed. A storm was 'omin& soon. A &roanin& rei&ht ship bobbed la.ily !p and down in the harbor. )here were men$ several men pa'in& ba'# and orth$ tryin& not to loo# li#e they were &!ardin& somethin&. Men with &!ns t!'#ed in their belts wal# a 'ertain way. )he metal impairs the swin& o their pelvis. "ts very sli&ht$ hard to 'at'h b!t on'e yo! learn to see it$ yo! 'an never not see it. He had insisted that theres a way to tell i someone has a holstered weapon$ no matter what. " only believe him be'a!se hes always ri&ht abo!t those thin&s. " personally 'o!ldnt tell. 1/raw their ire$2 he said in a 'old &rowl$ b!t he didnt have to. " always drew their ire. " was small. +ell$ " was relatively small$ and " was 3!i'#$ even with the armor on. 4!llets 'an still hit a small tar&et$ b!t it was harder than i it was a bi& one. )hat was the lo&i'$ anyway.

Matthew H. Jones

" ripped thro!&h the air li#e a b!llet o!t o a &!n$ movin& on a strai&ht tra%e'tory or a tall$ bald man with a wide 'hest. He had a bi& 'hin and his hands were down at his sides$ mar#in& him as an all!rin& tar&et. He had a &ood hard %aw$ b!t all the teeth on his le t side shot a'ross his ton&!e and down his throat. He ell to the &ro!nd s'reamin& b!t " #ept movin&. )he &!ns were o!t b!t most o the men were %!st starin& at the bi&$ bald man s'reamin& on the &ro!nd$ s!ddenly bloody and #i'#in&. " sw!n& my le& o!t at a man with lon&$ &reasy hair. His #nee hin&ed in a way that it wasnt s!pposed to and he went down. His mo!th b!rst wide open and s'reams &!shed rom his lips. )he others 'a!&ht on that they sho!ldnt pay any mind to the in%!red or theyd be the ne,t to drop. A b!llet whipped past my ear. " elt the r!shin& air more than " heard it '!ttin& thro!&h the salty wind. " s!r&ed strai&ht at the armed men and their b!llets b!rst orward to meet me. More o the men ell in ripplin& 'ross ire. )he men were shootin& ea'h other in a 'l!msy attempt to shoot me. Harrys &ray 'loa# was littin& and lappin& in the wind and he was movin& li#e the hand o death. " hadnt 'o!nted$ b!t there had to be at least twelve o them. He never wasted movements. )he loomin& Gray Kni&ht didnt dispense more than three stri#es or ea'h man b!t all o them stayed down. All o them had bro#en bones. )hin&s wo!ld be'ome 'ompli'ated i Harry went o #illin& people$ his ima&e in the press bein& the least o it. "nstead$ he p!t the bad &!ys in wheel'hairs. Most o them were already !n'ons'io!s b!t we still 'ir'led aro!nd$ deliverin& blood 'ho#es where needed. )he tri'# behind a &ood blood 'ho#e is indin& the %!&!lar. Most &!ys %!st s3!ee.e as hard as they 'an. )hats o#ay i yo! want to #ill the person. 6o!ll either snap their

Matthew H. Jones

ne'# or 'r!sh their tra'hea. Harry didnt want to #ill people$ so " needed to #now where the %!&!lar was.

Harry led the way !p the &an&way into the rei&hter as the ship bobbed and swayed. " hated i&htin& on a boat. "d ima&ine that "d li#e i&htin& on my own boat$ i " had my own boat. As it was$ " was the invadin& or'e. " was the (ersian$ tryin& to ta#e Spartan land. 4oats are always narrow$ 'ramped and i yo! #now the terrain$ yo! #now where to hide. )hen theres always the ris# o bein& thrown in the o'ean. " 'o!ld &et ba'# on the boat or swim to shore i " had to. "ts %!st that the Atlanti' O'ean is always 'old. Harry #new that " hate boats$ b!t he didnt really 'are.

)he loor slanted and swayed and some li3!id sloshed in the distan'e. All o the ship was &roanin& li#e a wo!nded animal. A 'hained0down barrel ban&ed !p a&ainst the railin&$ so!ndin& e'hoes o!t in the ni&ht s#y. " 'len'hed my ists$ e,pe'tin& someone to atta'#. *o one was there. )he de'# was empty$ b!t a doorway seeped yellowed li&ht a'ross the s'! ed$ salted wood. +e des'ended$ ta#in& a steep$ narrowed stairwell. 8oi'es e'hoed !p towards !s. A laugh track. Someone was wat'hin& television down there. More li#ely$ someone had been wat'hin& television !ntil they heard &!n ire. *ow$ the television wo!ldve been abandoned and only !se !l in mas#in& o!r ootsteps.

)he end o the stairwell led into intervals o li&ht and shadows$ lon&$ even bars o them li#e a 'he'#erboard. )he so!nd o the television e'hoed o!t rom beyond massive$ bl!e and yellow$ metal 'ontainers. (ie'es were movin& in the 'he'#erboard shadows$ (ro essor

Matthew H. Jones

Hawthorns hen'hmen$ or hired &!ns$ or whatever they 'alled themselves. "t all 'ame down to the same thin&. )hey were %!st pawns. )he pie'es were a&itated$ littin& 3!i'#ly thro!&h the intervals o li&ht. )hey were s'!rryin& aro!nd 3!i'#$ tryin& to i&!re o!t the 'ommotion.

Harry had one o Hawthorns men be ore " even #new the man was there. His hand shot o!t into the shadows and p!lled the man into the li&ht$ a wide0eyed$ thin man who seemed too pale to have ever seen dayli&ht. Harry %abbed on'e into the pale mans ribs$ snappin& the bone. Air r!shed o!t rom the mans lips as the bro#en rib 'ompressed his l!n& on the ri&ht side. )he man s!'#ed in air to s'ream and be ore he 'o!ld " la!n'hed my ist into his throat. )he pale man made a wet so!nd instead o a s'ream$ his eyes waterin& over and morphin& into bi& pani'#ed orbs. )hen the pale mans eet went sla'# !nderneath him. Harry slammed an elbow into the spa'e between the pale mans ne'# and sho!lder. )he man went down witho!t another so!nd$ his eyes rollin& into the ba'# o his head.

1Get rid o him$2 Harry said$ startin& !rther down the 'he'#erboard shadows. He had a habit o that$ tellin& me thin&s " already #new. Harry was o $ ta#in& 'are o the other men and he e,pe'ted me to t!'# these men away$ hide the br!tali.ed$ !n'ons'io!s bodies and stret'h the time between the rest o them #nowin& that someone was here and the rest o them #nowin& that we were here.

" opened !p one o the metal 'ontainers. "t was !ll o bo,es$ b!t there was spa'e or the pale man. " t!'#ed him away and 'losed the door. "t 'la'#ed so tly. )here were two hen'hmen lyin& in the li&ht. He always moved too ast. " dont #now how "ve never been shot doin& this. "

Matthew H. Jones

always eel li#e "m wor#in& a&ainst him. 4y the time " &ot the se'ond man hidden$ he had o!r more or me to hide. At least it wasnt li#e there was an in inite amo!nt o men or him to beat !p and brea# down.

)heres a moment when it all stops matterin&$ when " dont need to bother with dra&&in& those heavy men. Sometimes its a s'ream and sometimes its a &!nshot. )his time it was brea#in& &lass. Apparently$ those bo,es in the metal 'ontainers held ra&ile 'rystal stemware$ o all thin&s. " ra'ed aro!nd the metal 'ontainer$ r!nnin& li#e " was bein& shot at. "n reality$ it was more li#ely that he was &oin& to ta#e a b!llet in the head.

He was !p on a plat orm with a man 'r!mpled be ore him$ bl!e0&ray li&ht spillin& a&ainst his ba'#. )he &lass stemware had allen rom the opened top o a bo,$ spillin& down to the &ro!nd below. )here were two men r!shin& toward the dist!rban'e$ ishin& pistols rom holsters. " threw mysel into a roll$ 'at'hin& and trippin& them !p by the le&s. " hadnt tho!&ht abo!t what " was doin& !ntil a ter it was done. )he both o them smashed down to the &ro!nd and " rolled ba'# onto my eet. )here was a twin&e o pain in my hip. One o them had 'a!&ht me hard in the thi&h$ b!t " 'o!ld i&nore it. )he one 'losest to me had allen down badly$ smashin& his nose in. )he other one had 'a!&ht himsel with his hands. " %!mped on him irst$ slammin& my ists into his #idneys. " wor#ed my way !p his body$ &ivin& 3!i'# stri#es$ hearin& bones brea#. " inally &ot to his ne'# and p!t him to sleep$ wrappin& my orearm aro!nd his ne'#.

)he other one$ with the b!sted nose$ had hoo#ed his arm aro!nd my ne'#$ yan#in& me o my eet. He was a bi& b!ll o a man and it loo#ed li#e he wasnt &oin& or a blood 'ho#e li#e "

Matthew H. Jones

had %!st &iven. He had lost his &!n or or&otten that he had one. " heard and elt a sin&le vertebra pop$ not brea#. <ven tho!&h he hadnt bro#en my ne'# yet$ it still s'ared me. "t always s'ares me. =p above$ " wat'hed him drop rom the plat orm with his &ray 'loa# bellowin& behind him li#e a wave o smo#e. Harry th!dded down onto the loor$ 'at'hin& himsel in a 'ro!'h.

Harry spran& !p onto his eet and r!shed o down the 'he'#erboard$ his oot alls th!nderin& away rom me. " 'o!ld never 'o!nt on him to help.

"nstin'tively$ " 'lawed at the mans arm$ b!t " had padded &loves on. )he man started sha#in& me li#e a do& with a rabbit in its mo!th. " heard and elt more o my vertebrae poppin&. <a'h one made it harder to thin#. " threw my elbow ba'#ward$ slammin& it into his side. He had a hard belly and " 'o!ldnt land a blow dire'tly. " 'o!ldnt breathe and tears were rollin& down my 'hee#s as my eyes b!l&ed in their so'#ets.

There was this time when Harry and I first met when there was a rat in the basement. I was four at the time, or I think I was. I forget why I was in the basement, in that big basement at rince!s Tower, but I was down there, searching through things. I found a rat with big, black, beady eyes. It had been tra""ed in an old barrel half full of sawdust. I had told him about the rat. I said that it scared me and he took the rat by the scruff of the neck. The thing had grown huge, big enough to give any cat second#thoughts. It writhed and lashed, trying to get away. Harry held it firm and told me to hold out my hands. I told him that I wouldn!t. He grabbed me by the face with his free hand, his rough fingers locked against my cheeks. He "ulled me closer and drew the rat near to my face.

>

Matthew H. Jones

$%ither you hold it and risk it biting your fingers or I let it bite your face.& It had bit me, sni""ed the flesh between my inde' and my thumb and then again on my knuckle. (lood "earled and dribbled from my hands. I wanted to dro" it. I was afraid of it, but I was more afraid of him. I did what I had to do. It ke"t biting me, but I couldn!t dro" it. Instead, I crushed its rib cage. He let me dro" it when he saw it was dead. " did what " had to do with the man$ as well. " rea'hed ba'# and d!& my th!mb into his eye so'#et. " ell to the &ro!nd and my th!mb 'ame ree rom his eye and thats the only reason why " stopped. " had intended to di& my th!mb into his brain$ i " 'o!ld. )he man st!mbled ba'#ward. His ri&ht eye was a drippin&$ red hole and his mo!th was stret'hed wide with silent$ sho'#ed s'reams. He was &oin& to &et his senses ba'# and he was &oin& to 'ome a ter me. " did somethin& to stop that$ too. " shot my le& o!t$ dire'tly into his #nee'ap. "t bent in the wron& dire'tion$ ma#in& a s!'#in&$ poppin& so!nd. He ell orward li#e a tree and " rolled away be ore he 'o!ld all on me. He ell hard on his a'e or the se'ond time. " slammed my elbow down hard on the ba'# o his head and " really wanted to thin# " #illed him. )hat wo!ldnt do$ as ar as Harry was 'on'erned. " rolled the bi& man on his side so he wo!ldnt 'ho#e in his own blood. " sat on the &ro!nd with my hands '!rled into ists$ ro'#in& ba'# and orth. My throat h!rt. My 'hest h!rt. My ba'# h!rt. My hands wo!ldnt stop sha#in&. All " wanted to do was lay down. " 'o!ld do that later. *ow " had to &et !p. " st!mbled !p onto my eet and st!mbled down the middle o the 'he'#erboard. " wal#ed strai&ht down the line$ b!t in retrospe't " sho!ld have st!'# to the shadows. " was an easy tar&et. " 'o!ld have &otten shot in the ba'# o the head.

Matthew H. Jones

At the end o the line$ he stood be ore a lar&e$ metal vat with r!sted$ s3!are rivets. H!n& above it was the &irl$ literally tied to a 'hair and h!n& on a hoo#. Her blonde hair draped a'ross her a'e$ swayin& limply with the motions o the 'hain. Tell me he didn!t leave her u" there the entire time. A man who wo!ld !se a vat o a'id as a weapon is as 'lose to a de inition o insanity as one 'o!ld &et. =nderstandin& that means !nderstandin& that he probably had the poor &irl !p there or the !ll two wee#s and she was probably already dead. )he a'id wo!ld have started to splash and evaporate and she wo!ld have &otten n!mero!s 'hemi'al b!rns$ at best. )hen$ there was the a't that ropes ti&ht eno!&h to hold her alo t in a 'hair wo!ld also 'onstri't her veins and arteries. At best$ a&ain$ shed permanently lose sensation in her e,tremities. (ro essor Hawthorn was o $ wavin& his arms and ma#in& some sort o spee'h abo!t somethin&. )he (ro essor was a spidery0thin man with a bald$ vein0riddled head. He wore a lon& white lab %a'#et and &reen$ elbow0len&th &loves. " wasnt e,a'tly s!re why he did that$ ran aro!nd dressed li#e that. "n one o the pro essors hands$ he held a swit'h o some sort. " ass!med it had somethin& to do with the &irl on the hoo#. " didnt thin# it o''!rred to the pro essor that the &irl was dead. *one o these people made m!'h sense. " wasnt payin& attention to what (ro essor Hawthorn was sayin& and it didnt matter. )he Gray Kni&ht had that rabid0do& loo# on his a'e$ his &ray 'loa# shro!ded aro!nd him li#e /eaths own shadow. (ro essor Hawthorn was &oin& to be history. )he pro essor #ept his 'hest p! ed o!t@ brandishin& the swit'h li#e it was a sti'# o dynamite. )he (ro essor mi&ht not have #nown that the &irl was dead$ b!t he #new that the swit'h was the only thin& #eepin& the sneerin& Gray Kni&ht at bay and that wasnt &oin& to last lon&. )he (ro essor hid how s'ared he really was$ b!t when Harry s!r&ed orward$ his &ray 'loa#

Matthew H. Jones

l!tterin& aro!nd his sho!lders$ the pro essor st!mbled ba'#ward and the swit'h lew rom his hands. Harry was on the (ro essor$ his ists 'rashin& down li#e a piston. (ro essor Hawthorns head snapped ba'#$ blood b!rstin& rom his mo!th and nose. +et$ leshy so!nds e'hoed thro!&h the rei&hter. Harry had the (ro essors lab %a'#et wrapped aro!nd his ist$ b!t hed stopped p!n'hin& Hawthorn. )he (ro essors eyes had rolled !p into the ba'# o his head and Harry didnt want to #ill the man. )hat wo!ldnt do. " #nelt down and pi'#ed !p the swit'h o the loor. )here wasnt m!'h to it$ an arrow indi'atin& !p and another one indi'atin& down. )o the side o that$ there was a to&&le readin& -<,tendB Cetra't. " loo#ed !p the 'hain to the p!lley system above. )here was a tra'# alon& the 'eilin& o the ship whi'h wo!ld &!ide the body away rom the vat o a'id. )he &irl swayed li#e a slab o bee on a hoo# and little droplets ell rom her limp body as she past overhead. " pressed the /own arrow$ brin&in& the &irl down. " didnt want to to!'h her. " tho!&ht " mi&ht vomit i the 'hemi'al b!rns had messed her !p too bad$ b!t itd be worse or me i " as#ed Harry to 'he'#. He was always loo#in& or opport!nities to hone me$ to to!&hen me !p. She really was bad !nderneath her sheet o blonde hair. Her eyes were wide open$ b!t she had no irises. )hey were both mil#y0white. Her s#in was melted !p 'lose to her s#!ll and was peelin& li#e wisps o paper. She loo#ed li#e she was smilin&. Her teeth were very white. " stripped my &love o and pla'ed my inde, and middle in&er a&ainst her ne'#. She didnt have a p!lse. )his wasnt a stran&e o''!rren'e. )here was no point to the thin&s that we did. *ever. )he men$ who 'o!ld &etaway$ wo!ld &etaway be ore the 'ops 'ame. )he ones who 'o!ldnt wo!ld most li#ely &et o . +e werent 'ops. *o one read them their Miranda Ci&hts. )here was no eviden'e o wron& doin& in most 'ases. )here was no eviden'e in a le&al sense$ anyway. )he 'ops li#ed !s be'a!se we p!t 'op #illers in wheel'hairs when they 'o!ldnt. )he

1D

Matthew H. Jones

mob li#ed !s be'a!se we too# 'are o the 'ra.ies who were bad or b!siness. 4oss 8in'ent had done the same thin& with a di erent ri'h mans da!&hter$ min!s the vat o a'id$ and the Gray Kni&ht and Kid Silver had done nothin& abo!t that. "t was a 'on li't o interest.

11

Matthew H. Jones