Some cool Fighting Babies images:
Image by wakingphotolife:
There were four of them in all. The mini-van they were riding in it was parked on the side of the road. They were driving through the mountains; it was still early and the fog drifted down the slope to blanket everything.
“Hey, what’s the hold up?” one of them shouted from the car. He was wearing a driver’s cap and a brown leather jacket. His round face was leaning out the window.
“Just give me a second will you,” the man outside said.
“Alright. Just hurry it up. We’re parked on the fucking side of the road at five in the morning, don’t tell me that’s not suspicious,” the man in the car said.
“I’m done Chen. See, I’m done?”
Tao walked back to the van and pushed himself into the backseat. Sitting next to him was another man, of thin build. If not for the gaping hole just below his armpit, he would have appeared to be asleep. When Tao got into the van, the body had flopped forward from the seat-belt. Tao shoved it back. Next to it was a girl. She sat and stared out the window, her mouth was tapped shut along with her hands. Chen had run the duct tape all the way up to the girl’s elbows. Whenever Tao looked over, the girl looked as if she was in prayer.
“You sure, we have to do all this?” Tao said.
“I don’t ask questions why. I just do them. You know better.”
“No. I mean about the girl.”
“I don’t see why not. Fucker deserves it.” Chen turned around and looked into the backseat. He pulled one of his sleeves down to brandish bite marks. The pits where the teeth left indentations had become red. All together they formed a circular shape as if they were from the jaws of some small animal.
“I don’t think it’s right. We could just tape his hands. You didn’t have to tape his entire arms together. I mean, I’ve got a fucking gun with me back here.”
“Nothing’s ever right. And you complain much. So sit back and shut up. Enjoy the ride.”
Tao watched the the van pull away from the mountain face back onto the main road. He leaned back and took the gun out of his coat pocket and stowed it underneath the driver’s seat. It had felt heavy. He never realized how heavy they were until he stood on the side of the road and felt the handle press against his hip.
The girl was awake. Her long hair flanked the sides of her face and she stared straight ahead. Things had gone smoothly at first. Chen and Tao went into the house and escorted them out. The man knew what was going on, who they were. He accepted it. He didn’t fight. He was sitting on the sofa reading yesterday’s paper while having a cup of coffee. When Tao and Chen came through the door, he folded the paper and put it on the table next to his cup. “Come with us,” Chen said. The man nodded his head. He walked upstairs with Tao following him, went into a room with pink walls. In the morning, they appeared a dull orange.
“Hey baby. It’s time to wake up,” the man said. He massaged the girl by her shoulders until she raised an arm to rub her eyes. She put her arms around the man and closed her them.
They walked back down the hall in silence. The stairs creaked. Chen was drinking the coffee and reading the newspaper the man left on the table. “Alright. Let’s go,” he said.
Tao opened the door for the man. He was clutching the girl against his chest. He set her down into the seat by the window and buckled the seat-belt. The man went in next, followed by Tao. There was no struggle and the ease that everything had proceeded with surprised him. He had expected shouting. Maybe he’d have to draw his gun. None of that happened. When Chen and him came through the door, they could have just been picking the man up to go to work. Perhaps he had come to peace with things. Accepted them as part of the process.
Tao felt relaxed. He leaned back against his seat and took his hand away from the holster. He laid one arm across the back headrest while chewing on the thumbnail of his other hand. Chen drove slow at first. The fog was heavy and the roads at the top of the mountain were not supported by any guardrails. When they passed this section and the glint of wet sheet metal passed gave them some security, the pace picked up. They were expected back in the city at around eight. It’d be a few hours.
During on long straightaway, the man reached for Tao’s gun in its hip holster. Chen slammed on the brakes, sending the van into a straight skid. The tires screeched like a wild bird. The man lost his balance and was thrown forward along with Tao before being inertia swung them backwards. The gun fell onto the floorboard, next to Tao’s feet. By reflex, Tao punched the man in the face, snapping him back again and picked up the gun. He pulled the trigger next to side of the man’s body. The quick staccato blip of the silencer alarmed twice as Tao felt his hand grow moist. The man leaned over onto Tao’s shoulder.
“Fucking shit. You were suppose to fucking watch them,” Chen said. The van was stopped in the middle of the road still.
“I was. I was,” Tao said.
“I saw you in the rear view mirror. You looked like you were about to take a fucking nap.” Chen moved the van to the side of the road.
Tao’s hand was still on his gun. He pulled it back and looked at the dark lines along the top of his thumb and fingers. It went up his forearm and across the sleeves of his shirt and suit. It was a clean wound. Probably didn’t hit any organs besides the lungs. He had expected more blood. He took his pocket square and plugged the opening in the man’s body. The other shot had gone into the backseat and into a tool case in the trunk. Chen handed him a towel from the front. “I knew something like this would happen. Knew he was going to freak out. No one ever comes that easy,” he said.
Tao wiped his hand and put the towel on the seat between him and the body. He forgot about the girl. When he turned to look at her, she was wide awake. She went straight for Chen’s arm which was hanging in the air in front of the man’s face. The girl bite down hard. Wouldn’t let go. Chen tried to pull it back but she stuck to it. Tao brought the gun up. “No! Fucking no!” Chen shouted. Chen took his free hand off the wheel and balled into a fist. He knocked her out cold. Her body went slack and her mouth let go. Tao caught her as she fell and shoved her back into the seat with one arm. “What the hell was that? Shit,” Chen said. He inspected his forearm. “That fucking hurt.”
Tao didn’t say anything. He felt dizzy and put the bloodied gun back into the holster and leaned forward. “You got a water bottle?”
“What’s the matter? You feeling sick or something?” Chen said.
“Just give me the water bottle.”
“Come on, not you too. You going to freak out too? I could leave you here.”
“No. I just need some air.”
“Wash your hands while you’re at it, it looks like a damn mess.”
There was a small ravine, used to drain water off the road, next to the van. Tao squatted next to it and took a long drank and emptied the rest over his hands and the cuff of his shirt. It turned the dark into a dull pink. He took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves up even with the wet cuff. His arms felt cold in the morning mist so he put the coat back on. The windows in the backseat of the van were tinted. No one would be able to see anything from outside. He looked at his hand, flexed them back and forth, watched the veins grow and contract. It was jittery so he tried to shake it and took two deep breathes. Just part of the process he repeated to himself.
He looked ahead of the van. He could see nothing except for the fog, not even the yellow lane lines were visible beyond just a few feet in front of the headlights. The sun would be rising soon and all of this mist would recede away until tomorrow morning.
Indy — Submitted by Cher in Jacksonville FL
Image by humanesocietyoftheunitedstates
Reason #203,605: Because he is devoted, loving, and is so appreciative that we saved him from the streets. We know he would fight to the end for our family. And he has willingly embraced our two new babies despite no longer being the center of attention. [To submit your own reason why you love your pet, click here.]
